So let me introduce myself,
My name is Romain, i'm 24, and I live in France.
I've First "met" Mae West when i was 20, in 2006.
Everything happened with internet!!!
I wrote a Piece for the MAE WEST BLOG some weeks ago,
and i think it's the better way to ntroduce my Story with Miss West.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]I was born in France in 1986, six years after Mae West had died, and I am 24 years old now. My grandparents were not even alive when "She Done Him Wrong" was first shown in movie houses. In France, her impact on the cinema was not as important as in English speaking countries. It seems to me that very few French people know who she is.
• • Miss West wasn’t supposed to cross my path. But as I matured, I became even more interested in powerful women with a strong personality. Perhaps that is the link that connected me to her.
• • In 2006, when I was 20 years old, I discovered her. At the time I was a student studying English Literature and British Civilization. I was really into pin ups and the 1950s. Vintage was à la mode, it really was my thing such as watching old American movies with Marlene, Rita, Audrey etc. And since I was researching images of "the pin up girl" — — Bettie Page, Vargas, and Elvgren‘s drawings — — I discovered some graphics with powerful girl power message. I am part of The Spice Girls generation.
• • I hoped to learn more about these female identities in order to read their biographies. Then I found something that listed the pin-up girls by decade. Mae West was listed as one pin-up of the 1930s along with Marlene Dietrich. Her name rang a bell because I recalled her saying "I used to be Snow White, but I drifted."
• • That was enough for me to start digging deeper and I chanced upon a page with many of her one-liners. It blew my mind!!!
• • • • So Who the Hell Was This Funny Lady?! • • • •
• • I had to find out. Wikipedia gave me some quick details and then I fell in love. I HAD TO know more about her!!! I then discovered the Mae West Blog, which I had mentioned on a blog I was writing back in September 2006, and also the Mae West Color Site. Here I was hooked on Mae West, 26 years after her death, 74 years after her first appearance on the big screen, 80 years after "Sex," and 113 years after her birth.
• • So began my fabulous trip around the Mae West universe. I had previously been introduced to the Roaring Twenties by reading Francis Scott Fitzgerald's novel "The Great Gatsby" for my English class in high school. This started me off adoring that 1920s and 1930s look of glamour — — the fashionable silhouettes, the cabaret music, the big names: Louise Brooks, Mistinguett, Joséphine Baker etc. But Miss Mae West really nudged what was just a little crush into a Big Love Story!!!
• • The Internet helped me grow my modest collection of Westiana. First I got "Night After Night," and then "I’m No Angel," and then (I think) "Sextette," and others. Additionally, I’ve bought "The Fabulous Mae West and Other Wonderful Girls," Jon Tuska’s book (which I read from cover to cover without stopping). And I was still hunting for anything about Mae West online.
Since the Internet helped me acquire Mae West books and keepsakes, I was often trolling online for more Westiana.
• • The Mae West Color Site • •
• • Since I enjoyed the Color Site so much, I left a guestbook comment back in April 2007. Not long after, a response arrived from the webmaster Martin. He explained that he had developed the web site in collaboration with Ian, another fan, and he'd be happy to answer any questions.
• • Well, the conversation has not yet ended. I am often asking Martin's advice about items to buy. Martin told me about his experiences — — his meeting at Ian’s place filled with mountains of Mae-morablia. He clued me into other motion picture classics such as "Sunset Boulevard" and acquainted me with actresses like Bankhead, or Gloria Swanson. And, playfully, Martin called me a freak because I am so young but have old-fashioned tastes.
• • In 2007, I decided to leave Paris for Toulouse (Southern France) to study Fashion Design in a more affordable school.
• • SURPRISINGLY, this was where I stumbled across many fascinaing Mae West collectibles. No longer did I need to buy online when there were the most curious little shops — — unfortunately, some have since closed — — where I found her LPs and posters. One proprietor, a very kind man in his forties, sold me records at a discount. He'd say, "Because you seem to really like her, and that’s my only chance to sell it…!"
• • It seems to me that my modest collection is not impressive at all. I do not own anything that was hers, for instance. It's quite funny that, even when I was in Toulouse, burdened with tuition and living expenses, I always managed to have some euros to spend on Miss West, for a book, or another LP or a DVD.
AND I'm Still buying more items, and still loves it!!!
But it seems obvious to me that there was missing good reliable sources,
for us new fan to get the right informations...
But I was fortunate enough to meet other fans, which helped me
on my way to discover Miss Mae West...
And i thought a Forum would be so nice for us Fans to meet each other,
even if we live so far from each other...
Hope you'll like it!!!
ENJOY!
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Subject: ROMAIN 
Mon 6 Sep - 22:46
