Category: S2Ep2: Hammers and Veils

Princess Grace

PARIS: You have to go to college.
LOUISE: Princess Grace didn’t go to college.

Princess Grace, born Grace Kelly (1929-1982) was an American actress who began her career on television and starred in several Alfred Hitchcock films, such as Dial M for Murder (1953), Rear Window (1953), and To Catch a Thief (1955). She also starred in the classic western High Noon (1952) and the musical High Society (1956), winning a Best Actress at the Academy Awards for The Country Girl (1954).

She retired from acting to marry Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 1956, becoming Princess Grace of Monaco, and having three children. As a princess, she founded children’s charity AMADE, formed the Princess Grace Foundation for artisans in Monaco, and became known as a fashion icon, being inducted into the Best Dressed Hall of Fame in 1960.

Louise is correct – Princess Grace, who came from a wealthy family and attended prestigious private schools, was rejected by Bennington College in 1947, due to her low scores in Mathematics. However, she graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, the oldest acting school in the English-speaking world, so she did have a distinguished tertiary education.

Vassar

MADELINE: If I don’t improve my French grades, I can kiss Vassar goodbye.

Vassar College is a private, liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York. Founded as a women’s college in 1861 by philanthropist Matthew Vassar, it became co-educational in 1969. It is one of the Seven Sisters, seven elite liberal arts colleges in the northeast of the United States that were originally founded for women. Vassar offers B.A. Degrees in more than fifty subjects and a flexible curriculum, and is one of the the top liberal arts colleges in the United States. It has a reputation for being cool and hipster, which might be what attracts Madeline to the idea of going there.

Apparently Madeline never did improve her French grades, as she did not go on to attend Vassar College.

“Happy happy, joy joy”

LOUISE: Ooh, spending the summer at Chilton. Happy happy, joy joy.

Louise is referencing The Ren & Stimpy Show, an animated television show which aired from 1991 to 1995 on Nicktoons, Nickelodeon’s cartoon channel. The show follows the adventures of a short-tempered chihuahua named Ren, and a dim-witted cat named Stimpy, and is notable for its absurdist tone, dark humour, adult jokes, violence, and slapstick. The show received widespread critical acclaim after its run and gained a cult following, becoming highly influential on the development of animated shows.

Happy Happy, Joy Joy is a song used throughout the show, in different contexts, with music by Christopher Reccardi and lyrics by Charlie Brisette and John Kricfalusi. It is one of the best-known songs from the show, and a favourite tag line for Ren & Stimpy fans.

 

“He’s playing softball”

RORY: Let’s go …Wedding dress shopping …
LORELAI: Uh, you need to see Dean.
RORY: He’s playing softball.

We know from Christopher Returns that Dean plays softball on Saturday mornings, so this looks to be the very next day after the previous episode, and the fight that Rory had with her grandfather. Rory doesn’t seem to be upset any more, so perhaps her grandfather rang her almost immediately after she got home to apologise, as Emily told him to.

Bustle

LORELAI: I tried on three different [wedding] dresses, one of which gave me a rash. And I gotta say, has anyone missed the bustle? ‘Cause I haven’t.

A bustle is a type of framework intended to support drapery at the back of a woman’s dress, which could either jut out at the back, have numerous heavy folds, or support a train. It was a fashion popular in the 19th century, but still in use for formal gowns and wedding dresses.

Taffeta and Cotillion

RORY: Why don’t you go to a wedding dress place and try a real veil on?
LORELAI: No way.
RORY: Why?
LORELAI: Too much taffeta, it gives me cotillion flashbacks.

Taffeta is a smooth plain-woven fabric made from silk. It is considered a luxurious fabric suitable for ball gowns and wedding dresses.

In American usage, a cotillion is a formal ball, often for presenting debutantes to society. However, Lorelai is most likely talking about cotillions as a class for younger girls, perhaps aged 10 to 13, to prepare them for their future debut in society. Such classes teach social etiquette, followed by a formal party where they put what they’ve learned into practice. We later learn that Emily teaches these classes, and probably taught Lorelai when she was younger.

“Putin arms race thing”

RORY (while reading Lorelai’s newspaper veil): Wait, don’t move.
LORELAI: Rory, stop it.
RORY: This Putin arms race thing is really getting crazy.

In June 2001, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the Bush administration’s proposed national missile defence system could trigger an arms race, as he had no option but to upgrade his own country’s nuclear forces. In real life, this was reported on June 18 2001, which is later than it appears to be in this episode, as Lorelai’s June 21 engagement party is still some time away.

Diana

LORELAI: And then there’s the full on Diana [veil].
RORY: Right, right.
LORELAI: Which is nice, but it just might be a little …

Lorelai is referring to Diana, Princess of Wales, born Diana Spencer (1961-1997). Diana married Charles, the Prince of Wales and heir apparent to the British throne, in 1981. At their wedding in St. Paul’s Cathedral, she wore an ivory silk and lace vintage-style wedding dress with a 25 foot long train; her tulle veil was likewise very long, and floated behind her as she walked.

Diana and Charles divorced in 1996 – another famously disastrous marriage to give a hint to Lorelai.