Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Shagreen

It was my freshman year in university when I cut out the last page of my Vogue magazine and pinned it to my bulletin board.  The subject of the page was a totally unique Louis Vuitton handbag featuring an art deco motif of colorful shagreen and crocodile.  I didn't know what shagreen was at the time, (nor had I yet realised that Vogues are too sacred to tear out pages!! gasp!) but now I know it's an untanned leather made of various shark and stingray skins.  I'm generally not big on animal skins, but I do love a shagreen.

{the page that made the illustrious cut on my freshman bulletin board}


{stacking boxes from lillie}

{Tory Burch}



{vintage lighter set from Christie's}

{bowls from Neiman Marcus}

{frames from West Elm}

{Christian Louboutin}

Monday, October 24, 2011

Cake de Triomphe











Pinterest

I've finally given in to the joy that is Pinterest. 

Follow Me on Pinterest

High Gloss

I'm moving this weekend and I'm so wishing that I could paint my new abode.  Is there anything in this world worse than dowdy BEIGE walls? I think not! Pure white would be sublime but sandy-beige?  So very boring, so very unoriginal!  Alas, unlike my current and previous homes this one comes with a no-painting rule.  I will have to make due with creamy surrounds for the time being, but I can certainly still lust over these high-gloss offerings.  There's something so rich and modern about the sleek reflectivity of a high-gloss paint.  I've only ever painted in matte or at the most eggshell, but these lacquered rooms have me day-dreaming of shinier digs...






Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Fashion Flimed

Recently I've been on a bit of a fashion documentary kick, starting with the fascinating film, Bill Cunningham New York.  It follows New York Times fashion photographer Bill Cunningham through his history and routine photographing the street styles and social lives of women in New York City. 



He's has such a delightful attitude towards life and style, he's really an incredibly eccentric and lovable subject for documentary - I thoroughly enjoyed this peek into his process and life.

I especially liked the bit about one of his regular subjects, former U.N. official from Nepal, Shail Upadhya - who has the most insane collections of printed suits EVER.  Such an unexpected character!


Next I was on to Vidal Sassoon: The Movie.  Vidal rocked the world with his innovative creations in 60s London that at once were inspired by and fueled the incredible fashion of that time.

I loved learning more about his artistic path and overall genius, and it reminded me once again just how much I am personally in great need of a haircut!  Come on over, Vidal - I'm free tomorrow.


Then I was onto the wonderful and heartbreaking, L'Amour Fou - documenting Yves Saint Laurent and his 50-year relationship (and the subsequent art collection amassed there from) with Pierre BergĂ© who was absolutely the epitome of "the man behind the man".  I have read about the life and times of Yves in the brilliant book, The Beautiful Fall and have always been mesmerized by his life of excesses and his tortured creativity. 


This film showed the life of Yves through Pierre's eyes and even though they absolutely had their ups and downs, I found myself looking into one of the truly great partnerships of the 20th century. 



Then of course after all that I just had to go back and watch one of my favorites, The September Issue, because apparently I just haven't seen it enough.

On a related note, next Friday, October 28th The Texas Theatre in Dallas will host the regional premier of DRESSED, a new documentary about self-taught designer, Nary Manivong, who overcame childhood homelessness to miraculously show his collection at NYFW.  There will be a special Q&A with Manivong himself as well as Ally Hilfiger (yes, the designer's daughter) and the film's director and executive producer.  I encourage all you Dallas-ites to attend, it looks to be a great opportunity!  Click HERE for more information.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Tribute

I feel I owe it to my blogger inspirations to pay tribute to them here.  I owe them a lot for keeping me not only entertained but in-the-know and all inspired to live a fabulous and stylish life.  Here's the favorites from my daily blogroll:























So I've pretty much made it seem like all I do is surf the blogosphere, but I can assure you this is not the case!  All of the people behind these blogs are fascinating and unique individuals from whom I have much to learn, I just want to say THANK YOU, stylish bloggers of the world for letting us peek into your fabulous lives!

Friday, October 14, 2011

Fringe Element

Confetti System is the most festive, beautiful and fun thing to happen to party decor in ages!  I would love to do a huge event overflowing with their incredible creations, take a look to see what I mean...










Shop Confetti System HERE.