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ZORTHIAN & YALE

I can hear the sounds of violins
Long before it begins
Make me thrill as only you know how
SWAY me smooth, SWAY me now

Dubya '68, Hillary JD '73 and me '77 ... PHOTOS: Max

We woke up late to a crisp New England chill that reminded me of why I moved to Southern Cali, and wandered back over to LC 101 to watch Miyoko give her “College Striptease,” to a group of Yalies eager to learn a dance they’d never learn at Payne Whitney. Miyoko had those Elis up there shimmying like strippers, though no one actually stripped. That is, no articles of clothing were removed. This was Yale, after all; some decorum had to be observed.

Miyoko shows Yalies how to do The College Striptease .. PHOTO: Max

Then David and I went back to the Duncan for a minute while Max got a bite to eat at Viva Zapata where he ran into, and claims he flirted with, Allison Pataki (’06), daughter of Governor George Pataki, whom I had met at First Daughter Barbara Bush’s Pimps ‘n Ho’s party back in ’04. Then we strolled up Broadway to shop. I went to the official Yale Bookstore for certain items. But I had to go to my favorite Yale shop with the best prices and the friendliest managers: Campus Customs. Also called the Boola Boola Shop, this double-store has all sorts of Yale memorabilia, clothing, stuffed bulldogs, caps, pens and – my favorite – cotton thongs with the Yale bulldog snarling up from the crotch..

Time for a new outfit and a new Yale Univesity thong! ,, PHOTO: Max

It's an Elihu paradise, decorated with newspaper photos of Yale victories on the athletic fields, a clipping of New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (LAW ‘72) at Yale grinning under the heading “Pomp and Politics.” Then there’s U.S. President George W. Bush (‘68) in a graduation gown, giving what can only be described as the Seig Heil Salute, next to a headline that reads “Bush to Yale’s C Students: You, too, can be President.” Believe it or not, this fine store also has a display of photos of me (oui, moi!). Right above the rugby shirts by Babe Ruth and Ben Stein, there’s my little shrine, on a field of blue, including a pic of me at my 1977 graduation with my* hunky Gymnastics Team boyfriend Phil Levin, a photo of me hosting the show from bed with a Yale pennant hanging over my head, and a newspaper clipping of me, Devinn Lane and Joe Francis doing a panel at Sex Week at Yale 2004 that appeared in the New Haven Register.

Beneath my *Shrine* at Yale's Campus Customs .. PHOTO: Max

I asked if they had any more Yale thongs, but they said they had discontinued making them… So, the ones I do have are collector’s items! I did get some souvenirs shirts for the folks back at the Speakeasy, a pillow for the show bed ironically embroidered with “For God, For Country and for Yale” and two caps emblazoned with “YALE DRAMA,” one for me and one for Max.

Speaking of Yale Drama, we walked into a full-bloom romantic tragedy when we got back to the Duncan where we ran into a recent Yale graduate friend of ours we’ll call Larry who had just gotten unceremoniously dumped by his beloved girlfriend of two years. Such is the drama and trauma of life and love at Yale.

Larry was bummed to the bottom of the barrel. I tried to counsel him as I changed my clothes, but it’s tough to talk to a broken heart. Being a super smart Yalie, he understood all too well the whys and the wherefores of his girlfriend’s decision to call it quits, and his Eli-trained brain knew this was “not the end of the world.” But his hurt feelings resisted such rational treatment, no matter how well-schooled. Sometimes, the sharper the intellect, the softer the heart.

What to do, what to do…Going along with the rest of us to the next SWAY event seemed as good a solution as going into deeper analysis, moping intensely or throwing himself at her dorm room door - or off the top of Harkness Tower. Besides, this was the hottest event of the Week: the Brynne Lieb Lingerie Fashion Show.

Brynne Lieb '07

The big show was being held in Hewitt Quadrangle's Commons, the old freshman dining hall with a white neo-classical, beaux-art colonnade on the outside and all dark wood paneling inside. Being accustomed to seeing Commons filled with overwhelmed-looking freshmen trudging to their tables with piles of books and trays of beef stroganoff, it was refreshing to see the gracious old hall transformed into a stylish fashion house with rows of chairs on both sides of a long runway.

My posse and I were privileged to sit in the front row, surrounded by excited, mostly male undergrads elegantly attired in New York black. As the tension built, the designer herself came out to greet us. Brynne Lieb ‘07, a bright, personable junior whose final essay for one of her psych classes was entitled “Why We All Want to Know Victoria’s Secret,” isn’t just an armchair intellectual when it comes to the Psychology of Lingerie. Brynne puts her needle where her mouth is. No, she didn’t pierce her tongue! But she did hand-sew all of her designs. She also has another talent any great independent designer needs: the ability to pull in all your beautiful and hardworking friends to show off your hot clothes.

Whitney Seibel '06 losing her shirt again..... PHOTO: Jon Carlo Bruttomezzo

And show them off they did, with flair, fun and a touch of class. The models strode the runway with almost--professional skill, but looking a lot healthier than the usual anorexic types at Paris fashion shows. The girls seemed to be having slightly more fun than the guys, but all were a credit to Yale. One of the standouts, Whitney Seibel ’06 (also the cover girl for SWAY Magazine and one of Rumpus' elite 50 Most Beautiful People at Yale"), *almost* lost the top of one of her outfits as she cavorted playfully down the runway. This near-miss, reminding one of a more drastic Costume Malfunction, involved a clever manipulation of tape and shoulder shrug, and should have earned her and Brynne A’s in engineering.

Whitney Seibel '06 on the cover of Sex Week at Yale the Magazine

As for the Brynne Lieb 2006 Spring Lingerie Collection itself, it looked good enough to eat. I don’t know what I was expecting – navy tweed corsets and plaid panties with “Lux et Veritas” emblazoned on the cheeks? But I was deliciously surprised by the frothy spring colors and feminine styles. Lots of creamy strawberry and peach ruffles and tassels, polka dots, fringes and lace for the ladies, and cozy grey and baby blue cotton boxers for the guys. Sexy. Too bad none of it is for sale (that I know of), but it was one of the great moments in Yale Fashion History, maybe the only great moment in YFH.

Alchemy After-Party .. PHOTOS: Suzy & JCB

Then we all went over to the after-party at Alchemy, a hot club with a strange dress code, including “no hats” and “no boots.” Say what? Of course, I was wearing a hat and boots, and nobody bothered me about it. They did tell Max and David to take off their hats. Good thing they weren’t wearing boots. I had a good time dancing, but my boys wanted to go to a *real bar,* so we split for Sullivan’s for a drink, then hung out at the Duncan, where David showed me a little marimba (SWAY with me...), and I counseled various Yalies and townies, as we poured the Agavero ‘til the wee-wee hours.

Other dancers may be on the floor
Dear, but my eyes will see only you
Only you have that magic technique
When we SWAY I go weak

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S W A Y . W I T H . M E
SeX Week at Yale '06
by Susan Block, Ph.D. '77
IN 5PAGES
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