This Is Why Pianist Eva Novoa Loves Her Floral Infinity Scarf
Barcelona-born Brooklynite, pianist Eva Novoa has produced two cds, her debut Trio (with Masa Kamaguchi on bass and Marc Lohr on drums), and Quartet (with Ernesto Aurignac on alto saxophone, Masa Kamaguchi on bass and André Sumelius on drums), both released on the label Fresh Sound New Talent. Before moving to Brooklyn, she lived many years The Hague, Netherlands, studying, and eventually teaching at Koninklijk Conservatorium.
It was in Holland, that she not only learned Dutch curse words, she also how to live in shitty weather: “It’s much worse than New York. It may rain 6 days out of 7, she says while chatting in her kitchen, over espresso and Spanish shortbread cookies. “Wherever you go, you’re soaked, shoes are dripping water.”
Find out about her beloved fashion accessories after the jump, and learn more about this gifted musician at EvaNovoa.com.
Jacqueline Colette Prosper, @yummicoco
Floral Infinity Scarf
I found this floral scarf on my way to work at a musical theatre in Holland. In a country where there’s so much wind, and you’re on your bike, your scarf eventually flies away.
So you just do this [EVA MAKES A DOUBLE LOOP WITH THE CLOSED-LOOPED FABRIC], and you don’t lose it. It’s really warm! In Holland, you always have to wear a scarf. even in the summer. The weather sucks, and you have to wear something [warm], or else you’ll get sick.
Vintage Little Black Dress From Grandma
For the anniversary of the musical theatre that I was working at in Holland, I got the best complements from all the female actresses, especially the older ones when I wore my grandmother’s black dress. “That’s such a fantastic dress!” they all said.
It’s just a black dress, pretty simple. The dress is probably from the 1940s or 50s that my grandma had tailor-made for her. It has a straight neck, and no sleeves. It has a V-neck at the back, and there’s “pedreria,”[rhinestones] in the front and back of the dress.
Her name was Mercedes, my dad’s mom. She was shorter than me, but I guess we were the same size. If you see pictures of her, she was a beauty when she was young, and she really liked going to events. She was pretty simple, but she was elegant. She had beautiful white hair, and when she was young, she had very pale green eyes, and had a beautiful smile.
One time, I was at my grandma’s house in Madrid, and one of my aunts said, pointed to that dress as well as another one and said ‘try them out, if they are good, then you take them.’ When I wear my grandmother’s clothes, I think of my family, and it’s something special to me.
Bracelet
It’s from a Dutch brand that I received this bracelet from a woman from Canada, whose kids I used to teach in Holland. It’s from a Dutch brand, and it has detachable clips. After a recital, her kids would buy me a new clip as a gift. It’s very light, and as a musician, it doesn’t bother me. It reminds me of her, and my teaching experience in Holland. If I ever lost this, I’d be crying.
My time in Holland definitely had a big impact [on my personal style.] It’s a very grey country, so you need color. I’m from Spain so imagine living in a country where it’s raining all the time, or hailing, and the sky is so low and is always dark grey. You need to wear colorful clothes. Dutch people wear colorful clothing, especially guys. A guy will wear red pants with a green pull-over, and a pink kind of shirt with stripes—that’s the Dutch guy! [LAUGHS]
Jacqueline Colette Prosper, @yummicoco
