"Rewrite the Rules" with M.M. LaFleur

On September 21, 2021, I spent the day cruising around Manhattan in a pristine, yellow 1963 VW bus with a terrific team of women from New York-based womenswear brand M.M. LaFleur on their “Rewrite the Rules” tour. Their week-long slate of activities was in support of their campaign “to rewrite the rules of what it means to be a working woman,” and part of their mission was to evoke a back-to-school vibe to the women of NYC.

M.M. LaFleur poetically described the late summer transition from lazy days to school days as having “a spirit of possibility and potential.” To me, this perfectly paralleled the way many of us felt as we ventured from Covid and quarantine back into our communities, offices, and former lifestyles.

The week’s events were designed as adult versions of activities done the first few days of school, like “Book Fair Day,” and “Picture Day,” a collaboration with Bobby Brown Cosmetics for a free a mini-makeover and head shot (see the list of super-creative events here.) I was tapped to participate in “Arts and Crafts Day,” and customize a beautiful giveaway – luxe journals supplied by Papier, the London-based brand of stationery and paper products.

It was a day of scribing, art, excitement, but most importantly, interaction with fellow New Yorkers. I was born in Brooklyn, raised on Staten Island, attended college in the Bronx, and lived in Manhattan in post-college years — I’ve never left my hometown — and I can’t imagine living anywhere else. Chatting with people as they queued up with their notebooks and patiently waited — two words that are not usually synonymous with New Yorkers — to have them inscribed, I learned new things about how calligraphy impacts people, and how I see myself in the world. I will share those observations in my next Life of Scribe post.

The 1963 VW Bus, adorned with handwriting!