{ mademoiselle } en jeans

these vogue spain scans of vanessa paradis wearing ripe white tops and embellished tweed jackets, incongruously combined with dilapidated dungarees...


...inspired me to recently wear this jacket with a favorite bowtie top and too-big, moth-eaten jeans:

what do you think, is it a fitting tribute??

{ tom ford anouk sunnies, elie tahari for neiman marcus jacket (recently seen HERE), jean paul gaultier top, men's calvin klein jeans, kenzo for wolford stockings, prada shoes (i've had 'em forever, but just rediscovered them in my studio last week!) }

{ stretch it out }

as i mentioned yesterday (and also in this post, and this video!), i'm really embracing fashion's sudden, frenzied return to PANTS! i realize that sounds a bit ridiculous, because pants never went extinct, but we're unquestionably experiencing a return to vogue of long, lean, trouser-ized silhouettes this season.

the new york times likened the look to 1970's advertisements for revlon's 'charlie' perfume...

...and printed a fun guide on how to wear the new look, with suggestions including:

• keep the tops slim and tucked in.
  
• as with cocktails, it doesn’t pay to mix. staying in the same color range is ideal, as it helps lengthen the line.
  
• look for jackets with a narrow cut — and coats that are cropped or knee-length. you want any bulk to end at a slim part of the body. and my favorite:
  
• always smile at everyone!

{ can't get enough } DIY ideas for the home

because i've long since grown out of dollhouses, i'm dreaming of new ways to use all the miniature chairs i still love...
{ speacking of, have you seen this genius jewelry stand?! }

...as well as the full-size chairs i also adore, but have no place for (their storage becomes storage (becomes storage)):

can anyone else envision the football atop this task lamp being replaced with a handbag, or dashing hat? seems completely feasible to me:

and now that i've repainted all my old furniture and frames, how about adding some subtle, unexpected stenciling:

or, for a far less understated effect, perhaps i could cover a mirror (or table top or toilet seat cover!) with an iced topping of beautiful bijoux:

{ image credits: 1/ unknown 2/ apartment therapy 3/ wary myers 4/ design sponge 5/ moodboard }

{ inspiration abloom }

these images have been pinned to the moodboard in my studio for ages. the anemone (it looks like the drunken cousin of a gerbera daisy) has long been my favorite flower, and i love how chanel worked them as a theme into their spring 2010 collection:

in this post, you saw a sneaky peeky of how this inspiration made its way into my work. as the anemone symbolizes anticipation, it seems appropo to let you know that my interpretation of this idea will debut in full bloom tomorrow!

{ model / hunt }

much as i love the look of an elegantly airy abode, i've always liked stuff too dearly to ever live in one. hard as i try to simplify, things seem to accumulate around me. this is one of the many reasons i've always had an affection for artist + collector hunt slonem, who sees beautiful objects as friends and muses. the more he has around, the more he is inspired.

there have been written almost as many articles on his homes as there are rooms in them ~ but a recent POP editorial { entitled 'the model tenenbaums' } was the first fashion piece i've seen shot in his spaces. though the story was inspired by wes anderson's film oeuvre, slonem's spirit steals the show. i recognized the art before i even noticed the clothes! below, photos of the master and his house are followed by mirroring scenes from the famed fashion mag:

{ interior shots via nymag / editorial scans via pop }
such a sublime stroke of location scouting! to learn more about hunt slonem's manhattan home, click here. additional scans from the pop ed here.

{ dolce & gabblamourai }

{ runway photos via style.com }
i love that sunday's dolce + gabbana collection was accessorized with my very own rose-gold eskuche headphones! i've always thought of them more as a piece of jewelry than a practicality. if you too like your surround sound to sparkle, they're currently available here.

{ interpreting inspiration }

this morning, i had an exciting appointment with fred allard, the dashing creative director of nine west. after previewing their fabulous fall line (more on that to come!), i finagled my way into his team's trend room ~ where walls are covered floor to ceiling in inspiration, and box after box is filled to the brim with vintage belts, hats, prints, clutches, shoe lasts, bits of antique beading, and other assorted day dreameries. entering a room like that is akin to stepping inside the creative mind ~ made three dimensional.

whenever you have multiple people collaborating on any one collection or thing, it is important to create this sort of concrete code to define your direction. a designer like mr. allard travels the world to cull references for his vision; putting them together in one place both metabolizes his message and broadens the visual vocabulary of his team as a whole.

recently, vogue.com made similar studio visits around new york city in anticipation of fashion week. below are their photos of three different designers' mood boards, followed by images of the resulting collections that i felt best reflected the imagined intentions. in any art, the process is always at least as interesting as the outcome.

mr. de la renta described this season's energy as: "polished and elegant ~ a celebration of modern femininity." more specifically, he's translated art deco references and a cinnamon and pumpkin palette into beautiful beadwork, chic cocktails and indulgent daywear.


for phillip lim, "fall is the tension between disco and punk, a classic wardrobe worn by a girl who would cut her dress." with shades of debbie harry and halston, this became an incontrovertibly covetable collection.


the designers of rag & bone looked to "england in all its colonial glory, in contrast with the people of the himalayas." this collection brilliantly illustrates how a little styling can go a long way toward evoking an inspiration, so that the clothes themselves don't get too costumey.

{ moodboards via vogue.com / runway photos via style.com }

{ kimono kollective }

lately, my designing daydreams keep coming back to glamourwraps (now also: obi belts!)! therefore, i thought it would be fun to showcase a random smattering of snaps from my 'krafty kimonos' inspiration file:

{ work in progress }

today i'm styling a super special photo shoot (and thus have no time to make photos of my own ensemble!). but the really good news is that it's one i'll be able to show you all very, very soon..!

every time i prep for such a job, i like to put together a collage, mood board ~ or at least a pile of tear sheets ~ to communicate the desired look & feel to the photographer, model, and beauty team. it's always very abstract ~ maybe an eyeshadow i like here, a gesture, a hair parting, a pose... but it's a good way to start a conversation when there are some things that just can't be said with words.

anyway, here's my launchpad for today's project:

looking forward to seeing (and sharing) how it all turns out!

{ home alone }

since it's a luxuriously rainy sunday here in new york, i thought i'd share some of my favorite lounging-in-my-lavish-boudoir inspirational images:


(biba poster by james wedge / c.1974)


(photograph by irina ionesco / c.1970s)


(maggie gyllenhaal for miu miu by terry richardson / fall 2004)

i hope you're curled up somewhere equally moodily glam, with a hot toddy and a tall stack of fashion mags...

{ costume of the day } theodosia ambrosia

today i have to say goodbye to my most favorite necklace yet:

... the theodosia:

she was inspired by my unending love for the court style of 'marie antoinette' ~ but this time not by the heroine, la dauphine, but by her extravagant antagonist madame du barry. in my research of du barry's sultry style, i discovered that in 1917 silver screen star theda bara ~ whose real name was 'theodosia' ~ was the first film actress to portray her in the movies:

(theda bara as madame du barry)

when working with rhinestones and ribbons, what better inspiration could one ask for?!?

with a heavy sigh, i'm sending my dear 'theodosia' off to shrimpton couture today, where she's already available for pre-order, along with with the la dauphine couplet (click on photo to jump to listing):

but of course i was way too weak not to wear her just once before i bid adieu!

theodosia necklace, versace sunnies, 12by12 blouse, vintage skirt + bracelets, bluebonnet bauble + crystal chrysanthemum rings, kenneth cole clogs

{ tea for two + two for tea }

(big & little edie beale, from the original documentary)

i am among the world's biggest fans of the 1975 documentary grey gardens. i love the edies beale ~ their batty repartee, their spectacularly zany style, and their waffly warbled show tunes. i love them, madly!

(the real little edie beale ~ a true original)

so i was very reluctant to watch this year's hbo version of their story, starring jessica lange & drew barrymore. i assumed it would be just like when sienna miller botched the character of my beloved edie sedgwick in 2006's factory girl ~ an outrage to true fans.

i was wrong.

(drew barrymore as little edie beale)

i finally watched it yesterday and it was marvelous!!! it celebrated their legacy, it perfectly showcased their style, it made me really, really happy! i ended up watching it three times, straight through.

i'm thrilled that the reinterpretation of grey gardens was such a revelation. i'll try to take screen shots next time i ogle it, but for now, in celebration, i'll settle for sharing this photographic fashion tribute, shot in 1997 by terry richardson for harper's bazaar:

the endurance of beales' influence just serves to prove ~ having your own style never goes out of style!