Ari
Seth Cohen, a big fan of Hats Off, and especially of Mimi, has a
great new book called Advanced Style. It is all about
older women in New York and there is a photo of Mimi and some words
about her importance to him. http://advancedstyle.blogspot.com
He was also on a CBS TV show, The Insider, and if
you are patient at the very end there will be a surprise for all
our fans.
Ari
is up to many things this month and right
now he is promoting his documentary on Kickstarter. He is trying
to raise money and we want to support him!
We just
want to wish all the Moms out there a fabulous Mothers Day. Celebrate
yourself, and remember a mom doesn't always mean having your own
children. A mom is someone who cares about those she loves, and
most often that love is returned. As Ethel says in the movie, Martha
and Ethel, "You don't have to birth a child to love it."
That's for sure. February
15th
It's
Mimi's 95th birthday today, a perfect time to remember the amazing
life she lived...Our good friend Bonita sent us a beautiful note
and we thought we'd post it to mark the occasion:
Hi
Jyll:
Just
thinking of Mimi today !
A strange thing happened...I had a pet bunny who passed away two
weeks ago and I was visiting a couple at Petco that they had up
for adoption. One of them is named Mimi and she has silver white
fur, and get this: around her head she has unusual
fur that lifts and could be a little hat. So I decided to look
up the year that Miss Mimi was born in Chinese astrology and you
guessed it: she was a rabbit !!!
Isn't life amazing ! :):):)
I will be ordering more copies of Hats Off ! soon.
The
article was about the blog, Advanced
Style, and had
a nice photo and text on Mimi. We have very
big news for everyone,
Hats Off
is opening in Sydney, Australia on March 26th at the Dendy
Opera Quays Cinemas. So please let everyone know.
December
23
We
wish you all a fabulous Holiday and a Healthy New Year!
The
note below is from one of Mimi's friends and we thought you might
enjoy it as much as we did:
"Thank
you so much for the copies of Mimi's film. They arrived in record
time and I am sure will be well received at Christmas.
I
will be ordering more after the first of the year.
I
hope that all of you know how much this film meant to Mimi. Sometimes
I got the feeling that she could not believe that anyone wanted
to make a film that was about her life.........but she was sooooooooo
deeply thrilled that it all came together and gave her such wonderful
adulation in her final years. Mimi will be forever missed.
Thanks
again and HAPPY HOLIDAYS !
Bonita
October
12
If
you Live in Marin County and haven't seen the film, there will
be a screening on Wednesday October 21st at 7:00 pm at The Tam
Valley Community Center 203 Marin Ave. (at Tennessee Valley
Rd.) Mill Valley
October
7
Just
FYI, Bryant is the photographer whose photo of Mimi graces our
DVD cover. It’s the one where she is actually wearing
two hats but it looks like one. He just wrote this to me.
hi
jyll,i
really wanted to share the additional photographs of mimi with
you folks.......so many beautiful images that compliment the image
used on the dvd. i have been traveling and could not retreive
them from storage. once again, i enjoyed your film emmencely,
i shared it with my family and friends and we all loved it. jyll,
its so funny because when i met mimi for the first time it was
the evening of the photo shoot and i remember her being so quiet!
i cant explain it, she showed up with a bit of a grand dam persona,
went straight to hair and makeup and appeared all done up "ready
for her close up" :) but she remained
so quiet and in character. seeing the movie was like meeting a
whole different person. it was surprising she had a voice! what
a voice, so inspiring, so wonderful. im proud to have been part,
although small, of this precious womans life. because of you and
the film she will continue to inspire us all. take care and keep
doing what you do. it
was the final curtain but what a performance!
very
truly yours,bryant
woodd
October
4
Letter
from sarah to all the fans of Hats Off:
Dear
Jyll,
I'll
just write this and you can edit any way you wish -- although
you said it very well on the Hats Off website.
Mimi
entered the hospital in mid August because she had grown so weak
due to not being
able
to swallow very well. She had been weakening all year --not going
out as much, not
scribbling
her crazy notes at the coffee shop, not even getting to Chanel
for her adored
bubble
bath. So I had to take over that errand. This proved to be an
onerous chore for
me
for as kind as the staff at Bergdorfs always were to me because
of course they adored
Mimi
I could always feel their thoughts as I would run in wearing sneakers
and a
sweatshirt...
Well, they kept offering to do a makeover for me at any rate.
I
first noticed that Mimi was slipping last Christmas. Always in
years gone by I could
count
on the nicest presents in the nicest boxes being from Mimi. Even
if the box only
held
a pair of socks – still it was nice to get something from Loro
Piana. It made a
change
from my practical presents for everyone. One year I gave everyone
pillows which
did
not go down well with home from college Kit. As always Mimi added
the glamour to
our
lives. Last Christmas she didn’t have the energy to shop and
only went as far as the
apothecary
on 80th Street, so we all got tubes of toothpaste and whatever
else she could
find
that looked interesting. I had a feeling that last Christmas was
going to be the last.
This
year we spent a lot of time together. I was with her more than
at work or anywhere
else
which was fine. We always had a rythum so it was usually easy
to anticipate her
needs.
She stayed in bed and slept more and more and then the problem
with the
swallowing
began in earnest in June. She went to see her doctor but when
having tests
was
mentioned Mimi said “No thank you” and home she went.
Her
time in the hospital was gruesome for Mimi with rough handling
and liquid diets but
we
kept going because she was so lucid and her heart was strong etc.
so I thought she
could
get better. Apparently so did the doctors but Mimi’s muscles
grew so weak from
time
in bed (although she had walked into the hospital with her cane)
that she could no
longer
stand. Her quality of life was rapidly deteriorating so when the
decision was made
to
move her to rehab for the second time I talked to her and she
said “I want to go home
and
look at my pictures and hear my music”. I asked her if she understood
that meant
hospice
and death and she said yes. Thus was the decision made. The second
we made it
I
knew it was the right one even if when I left her that day at
the hospital to go back to the
apt.
to prepare her room for the hospital bed I thought I finally knew
what a broken heart
felt
like.
Mimi
had a week at home and we had a fabulous time. Kit flew home from
Africa,
Michael
came and Jyll followed and stayed and took care of so many things.
We
wouldn't
have had any food if not for her as we never left the apt. Hospice
lived up to
their
stellar reputation and did everything right. I slept outside Mimi's
door so the
slightest
stirring had me up and by her side. The radio played softly and
Mimi spent
quite
a while looking at her pictures on the opposite wall -- a Michangelo
and a Toulose
Lautrec
both of which she loved. I put on the BBC in the mornings because
she wanted
to
hear a cultured voice before she died. People came and went and
all were so happy to
have
a chance for a conversation. Mimi rose to the occasion every time.
The most
moving
time for me was when Kit and his old friends from Buckley all
came in and
surrounded
her bed. The contrast between these boys who have known Mimi since
they
were
5 years old in their muscular good health all gathered around
frail Mimi was very
touching.
She told them how much she loved them and thanked them for being
such
good
friends to Kit and me. Mimi was not one to say I love you lightly.
In fact come to
think
of it she still hasn’t said it to me…hey get back down here
Mimi!
The
week was actually fun but every day brought a change. I did manage
to get her to
swallow
some iced espresso on the weekend. I don’t know what I was thinking
but Kit
had
just flown in after 36 hours of traveling so we had to celebrate
some way. Mimi
loved
it. She more or less stopped talking on Tuesday but responded
when an old collage
friend
of ours who is now a Deacon came and said a prayer over her and
anointed her
with
oils. She said the words “And also with you” at the right
time. Mimi was never
overtly
religious but I saw how happy she was to have Luke bend over her
and pray so I
am
glad that we did that. Kit left early on Wednesday morning and
she lasped into a
coma
like state around lunchtime that day and died 24 hours later.
She
was ready to go. I swear her soul had left her body before she
drew her last breath.
She
is free which is all she ever wanted to be.
I
have been so touched by all the emails from her Hats Off admirers.
Mimi would have
been
so pleased by the beautifully expressed tributes. How lucky we
all are that Jyll and
Michael
made that fabulous movie. We should all strive to be more Mimi
like. Speak
up,
take care of ourselves, and add some glamour to the landscape
be it in dress or word
or
deed. I should practice what I preach.
Thank
you all,
Sarah
Dillon
September
12
Mimi
is in the hospital with an infection. She might be there for a
bit so, If any of you would like to write a card send it to:
MIMI WEDDELL
c/o
Canobie Films
1621
Juanita Lane Tiburon, CA 94920
Thanks
so much!
September
3, 2009
FACEBOOK
FAN PAGE Are
you on Facebook.com? Of course you are. Well,
so is Mimi!Check
out Mimi's fan page by searching for "Mimi Weddell".
You'll
find news updates on Mimi, Hats Off, and related events, coming
at you round the clock!
September
2, 2009
MIMI
MENTIONS ON THE WEB
Mimi
has been featured (once again) on the popular blog "Advanced Style".
Great photos...and he mentions HATS OFF!
*
YEN , Australia's #1 independent magazine for women from
Australia has a wonderful article called "Senior It-Izens." Please
look in the press section for the full article, coming soon.
*
Mimi is also featured in the following blogs:
HATS
OFF to MIMI WEDELL featured in
PLAZTIK
MAG issue #12
HI MIMI,
YOU MAY OR MAY NOT REMEMBER ME BUT I AM THE PHOTOGRAPHER WHO SHOT
THE IMAGE WITH THE LARGE FRED HASSON HAT. I AM PROUD AND FLATTERED
THAT IT BECAME THE IMAGE THAT REPRESENTS THE ESSENCE OF YOU AND
YOUR MOVIE. THE PHOTO SHOOT IS SPECIAL TO ME BECAUSE IT WAS MY
FIRST PUBLISHED JOB IN NEW YORK CITY AT THE AGE OF 20. I REMEMBER
IT LIKE IT WAS YESTERDAY. YOU WERE AN AMAZING MODEL WHO GAVE ME
SO MUCH THAT EVENING AND IN RETURN I HAVE SO MANY WONDERFUL IMAGES.
IF I CAN HELP IN ANYWAY WITH ADDITIONAL IMAGES, PERHAPS FOR THE
"BOOK." LET ME KNOW.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAY YOU HAVE MANY MORE.
BRYANT WOOD
i
have been emailing with Bryant and i am hoping to have some more
images from that shoot, and perhaps some words on Warhol. Did
you all know that Mimi lived across the street from Warhol, and
has worked with him!
We
are thrilled to be part of some major European Magazines that
will be coming out this Spring. Thanks to Ari Cohen and his wondrous
site http://advancedstyle.blogspot.com/
and his own celebration of the divine Mimi Weddell
we have seen a influx of Europeans viewing our sites.
Yeah!!! Stay tuned to the actual dates for the magazine
articles.
MORE MIMI ISMS......
What
is Mimi doing? "I did a shoot for Lagerfeld spent the
entire day doing man and woman photographers very sweet but don't
think they were published. Never received copies of other than
Polaroids they just never sent anything."
"I
did an industrial job with Carol Nadler (Producer) I've worked
with her on and off for the last 20 years."
What's
Mimi Reading?
"Reading
the Clarie Tomalin book on Jane Austin which is pretty flat but
good as a reference. Don't have the definitive bio of Jane Austin
read one when I was 15 that was very good.
Loved
reading the Christopher Plummer autobiography
it was really, really fun. Also, Being George
the George Plimpton biography both outstanding which I've read
lately.
Theater?
"I
Want to see the "Aristocrates" an off Broadway
play but so far too busy to see."
Movies?
"The
Reader I saw. I loved her (Kate Winslet) in that."
Check
out this great blog, Advanced
Style, which includes pics of "inspirational street fashion
of our respected elders," including some of Mimi hereand here.
And here's a video clip featuring a cute moment
from Mimi at Fashion Week (it's 2:14 in)
