Worthy places to see, travel, eat, play, love. Things to do, wear, enjoy, laugh at + inspire. IDEAS of the moment…things to cheer you up on a MOODY MONDAY!
Scent of a Woman:
NEW Perfume Museum in Paris
As if Paris isn’t magical enough….
If Willy Wonka made perfume instead of chocolates, his factory would look just like the Grand Musée du Parfum, the new museum of perfume in Paris. Because of course there’s a perfume museum in Paris…and it’s absolutely dreamy. You will step into an unforgettable experience of sense, emotion, pleasure, and understanding.
Located in a stunning Parisian mansion previously owned by Christian Lacroix, the scent-driven exhibits encourage visitors to sniff their way through a far more fragrant culture and history lesson than you probably would have ever imagined—did you know Cleopatra and Louis XIV used scent to woo their lovers? Now you do.
ITHAA UNDERSEA RESTAURANT AT CONRAD MALDIVES RANGALI ISLAND: MALDIVES
Just in case you need yet another reason to add the Maldives to your list of swoon-worthy vacation destinations, check out this totally unique dining experience. Guests are taken 16 feet below the ocean’s surface to a glass-domed restaurant where they sample fresh Maldivian-Western fusion dishes—all while enjoying panoramic views of marine life. Just don’t look in Flounder’s eye before you take a bite. And hope the ceiling doesn’t cave in!
Chic Peek – Street Style
I like what she’s wearing. Classic white blouse with a dash of glitter & panache. Very pulled together in an elegant, effortless (so it appears) way. She looks interesting. And those shoes!
(a.k.a. the party of the year) is always held on the first Monday in May. The MET GALA had celebrities and designers arriving at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s iconic steps on New York City’s Upper East Side to walk up the red carpet for the opening of the Costume Institute’s latest exhibition. The theme is “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between,” a show that examines the work of the famed 74-year-old Japanese fashion designer over the span of 40-some years. It’s a subject that has inspired incredible fashion choices this year, some of which will no doubt go down as some of the most memorable ever.
Priyanka Chopra in Ralph LaurenKate Hudson in Stella McCartney
Here are my choices for the top ten best dressed post-worthy looks. I choose sublime over plain outrageous although each women owned their look!
Lily-Rose Depp in ChanelJennifer Lopez in ValentinoZendaya in Dolce & GabbanaLupita Nyong’o in PradaMiranda Kerr in Oscar de la RentaCynthia Erivo in Thom Browne
I always say a trustworthy tailor is right up there with finding a good dentist, doctor, hairstylist & cobbler (if there is an updated term for someone who mends shoes I’m not aware).
A good tailor is worth his/her weight in gold thread. How many of us have been in this scenario: you found the almost-perfect dress, skirt, pant or jacket but if it only hada littletweaking it would fit perfectly. That’s where the magic of a good tailor comes into play. Anything is possible. Well, almost. There are some things worth taking in or altering and there are others that just don’t make the cut (pun intended). I know; I’ve been through it all. I’ve had things altered that I’m really happy with and a few other items that have just been costly mistakes. Like re-working a well-made floor length fitted brocade vintage opera coat that no matter how lovely it looks, even the fact that Grace Kelly wore one almost identical (I have the photo to prove it)…I will never wear.Not even to the opera! The friend who gave it to me said her well dressed mother wore it to the opera & wanted to hand it down to someone who’d appreciate it. Sorry! She should have given me the Chanel suit instead.
If something is really worth fixing to form (an heirloom piece or something you can’t part with) it may be worth the splurge but there are times when it’s just not. You’re better off to go and buy new.
It can be more involved but worth it depending on the item to fix things that have beading.
Here, six next-level alterations any tailor worth her salt can do, and a few things even the pros can’t fix.
They Can Rework a Neckline If you’re worried about showing a little too much décolletage, or not enough, a tailor can help adjust a neckline by adding fabric, removing collars or turning a basic V-neck into a plunge worth carrying around a roll of double-sided tape for. (If that’s your sort of thing.)
They Can Add or Move a Zipper If you avoid wearing a particular dress just because it’s a pain to pull over your head, you might want to consider adding a zipper instead of tossing it in the donation pile. This alteration does require enough fabric to accommodate the zipper, so it isn’t realistic for a dress that’s already pretty tight. Alternately, if you hate struggling to get into a dress that zips up the back, a tailor can remove that zipper and add one under the arm instead.
They Can’t Take Something in More Than Four Inches If you’re talking about pants, the cutoff is closer to two inches. After the four-inch mark, the original proportions of the item will be thrown off and start to look wonky in a whole new way. A good rule of thumb when making things smaller is that you shouldn’t try to reduce something by more than one size.
They Can Fix That Gap in the Waistband of Your Jeans You finally found a pair of jeans that make your bum look Kardashian-level amazing. Only problem: The waistband is gapping in the back in a way no belt will fix. Have no fear, this is actually a super-simple problem to fix. If your tailor isn’t too busy, he or she might even have it done in time for your dinner date the very same night.
They Can Add a Lining to Simple Silhouettes Adding a nude-colored lining to a slightly sheer summer dress means you’ll get infinitely more use out of it (and infinitely more compliments). A-line skirts, shift dresses and straight-leg pants are all good contenders for adding a lining, but be aware that not everything is easy to line. Anything too tight or too complicated is going to pose more problems for your tailor than it’s worth.
They Can’t Adjust the Shoulders Much Think you can just remove the shoulder pads from that ’80s power suit and wear it proud through the rest of 2017? Think again. Adjusting shoulders is a risky move that rarely pays off. Removing shoulder pads often leaves excess fabric that’s difficult to sort out, and attempting to narrow the shoulders of a too-wide top often requires deconstructing and rebuilding the entire thing.
They Can Dye Natural Fabrics Darker Fabrics like denim, cotton, linen and muslin are easy to dye a few shades darker or even make black. So instead of tossing those red-wine-stained white jeans, give them new life as a pair of sleek black skinnies.
They Can’t Dye Manmade Fabrics or Lighten Anything On the flipside, there are certain fabrics that don’t accept dye very well, and few fabrics at all can be lightened more than one or two shades. Polyester and acetate can’t be dyed without factory-grade machinery. Leather is also very difficult to alter. So if you’ve been itching to turn your leather skirt pink (like you’ve seen on all the street-style stars), maybe consider just finding one off the rack.
They Can Alter a Heavily Sequined or Beaded Item Take this one sequins. If you’re unsure of a tailor’s abilities, ask to see examples of his or her previous work. Many—especially those with a high skill level—keep portfolios at the ready in order to entice new clients. with a grain of salt. It is possible to shorten or take in the waist of a fully sequined pencil skirt, but it should be done only by someone who has experience working with
They Can’t Alter a Corset (damn!) Corsets by nature are supposed to fit your body like a glove and are actually easier to build from scratch than they are to alter because of all the pattern pieces and boning required to make one. If you really have your heart set on a corset dress or piece of lingerie that isn’t fitting quite right in the store, take lots of photos and bring them to a specialist who can recreate your dream piece so that it fits you (and your girls) perfectly.
A quote from someone I admire:
Fran Lebowitz , the cultural critic, writer, and sometimes actress :People care more about trends now than they do about style. They get so wrapped up in what’s happening that they forget how to dress, and they never learn who they are because they never learn how to take care of anything. So much of what my generation was taught regarding clothes was how to make them last. How to wash and care for them.
Best advice: take care of what you already own! Re-work only what you have to & shop smart: buy classic pieces you can wear forever and don’t pay a lot for trendy items.
Iris Apfel is a model and an inspiration to women everywhere. I loved watching the documentary about her. Here is the latest video ad campaign for Macy’s. Enjoy!
Striking + Sustainable. A Spring Carryall with a Purpose
Photo: Robby Mueller Carry It Everywhere
Sunny days are bound to be coming our way sometime soon I hope. When they do I’ll be carrying my handmade handbag which was the hero item in the Spring Box of Style sent to me from the people over at the Zoe (Rachel Zoe) Report.
I wanted to share it with you because not only do I think it’s attractively versatile and convenient to carry around, the black and white carryall by *Tribe Alive is made with love by female artisans in India. “Without meaningful employment these women could have fallen into the sex trade epidemic which runs rampant in the communities we work,” shares Tribe Alive founder Carly Burson. This bag provided invaluable skills training and fair wages to its creators, making it even more special to carry for festival season or on the daily.
courtesy Tribe Alive
*Tribe Alive is a fair-trade accessory label that supports independent artisans in developing countries. The striking carryall is made of foot-loomed fabric and cognac brown leather and produced on a small-batch scale to ensure the highest quality.
The beautiful handbag provided five months of employment for more than 150 Indian artisan partners in three cities. From the weavers in Panipat to master tailors and leather workers in Delhi to the logistics team in Jaipur, this bag positively impacted every link of the supply chain.
O’Keeffe in a 1929 gelatin silver print by her husband. Credit ALFRED STIEGLITZ; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Alfred Stieglitz Collection
You’ve got to admire how O’Keeffe was the master of her own public persona at a time when there was no social media. She told photographers how to “shoot her”, not the other way around.
A refreshing new exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum (on until July 23, 2017) for the first time combines O’Keeffe’s art and her wardrobe with photographic portraits. “Georgia O’Keeffe: Living Modern”
The painter of simplified images of enlarged flowers, Lake George tree trunks and New Mexico’s terra-cotta hills applied her meticulous sense of austerity and detail to every garment she owned. Some she designed and sewed herself, others she had custom made, and still others she bought off the rack or in antique shops (Japanese kimonos, for example).
O’Keeffe’s self-created image shaped her work’s accessibility, while at the same time shielding her privacy. This unity is revealed in the links drawn among some 50 works of art and 50 garments or ensembles, accessories included, and nearly 100 photographs of the artist taken by 23 photographers, from Ansel Adams and Cecil Beaton to Andy Warhol and Bruce Weber.
The greatest number of these images were taken by O’Keeffe’s husband, the eminent photographer and gallerist Alfred Stieglitz, often considered her domineering mentor, whom she met in 1916, began living with in 1918 and married in 1924.
For years, O’Keeffe limited her wardrobe to mainly black and/or white, until the Southwest loosened her color sense a bit and also introduced her to denim and jeans. She favored an androgynous look, frequenting the same New York men’s tailor — Knize — (as did Marlene Dietrich), liked Ferragamo flats and wore little jewelry. A rare favorite, visible in many photographs, was a brass brooch made for her by Alexander Calder. It represents her initials, OK, with ancient rock-painting complexity, and she wore it vertically to make it more abstract. In later years, she had it copied in silver, because she thought brass didn’t look good with her white hair.
In my quest to bring more lightness to all areas in my life including my clothes, I came across this Italian resort wear collection at of all places, not Italy but at an outdoor market in Palm Springs. I fell in love with the timeless, low maintenance pieces worn with ease by renowned fashion designer Sabina Bach.
Sabina designs a comfortable, stylish and unrestricted collection, produced in Italy out of all natural fibers like the finest linen and silks.
It’s not yet Spring let alone Summer, but since fashion is on its own calendar, the fashion folks are already calling out Pre-Fall 2017 collections.Is there really another reason for another season?
L-R: Monse, Altuzarra, Givenchy
Pre-Fallis one of those fashion terms that doesn’t really make sense to the general public. Isn’t it kind of Spring/Summer…sort of? Pre-Fall collections arrive in stores in late Spring, and many are available through the end of the year. As such, they tend to be full of the wearable, versatile, seasonal clothes you live in, as opposed to runway looks.
Editors called out their favorite looks: the items they’d beg for because they need them right now, like the bold striped outfit from Monse; the dreamy, not-so-practical looks they’d like to borrow, like Altuzarra’s romantic head-to-toe floral; and the looks they’d like to steal because they feel totally new, like Givenchy’s monochromatic ruby pantsuit (with a huge agate pendant). I wonder how many women can wear these outfits as effortlessly as these models?
FYI: I almost bought a pair of Red trousers today but it just didn’t feel… quite like me just yet.
I’m not into begging or stealing but I might consider borrowing. How about you?
Calvin Klein has always been known for attention grabbing advertising campaigns.
Images from Calvin Klein’s spring 2017 campaign.
I mean unless you weren’t born yet, who can forget a young Brooke Shields flaunting her jeans, a skinny Kate Moss and a buff Marky Mark (Wahlberg) wearing all American classic T shirts & underwear…and nothing else.
Now we have Raf Simons (previous creative director for Christian Dior) blending Art with Denim in a New Calvin Klein Campaign.
Images from Calvin Klein’s spring 2017 campaign.
Continuing to drop hints online about his direction for Calvin Klein, Raf Simons has unveiled a spring campaign for underwear and jeans that juxtaposes those iconic items with modern and contemporary art.
Images from Calvin Klein’s spring 2017 campaign.
Just released on Calvin Klein’s web site and its own social channels, the ads showcase archival denim, a cotton tank top and quintessential men’s briefs in playful contrast with works from the second half of the 20th century. The clothes strike up a conversation with the art — much the way designers and artists in New York’s Pop heyday — on the streets of SoHo or on the dance floor of Studio 54, the company said.
Works by Andy Warhol, Dan Flavin, Richard Prince and Sterling Ruby are featured, photographed at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh and the Rubell Family Collection in Miami.
Images from Calvin Klein’s spring 2017 campaign.
Simons, chief creative officer of Calvin Klein, is well known for his passion for art. “It’s a celebration of Calvin Klein’s iconic underwear and jeans, acknowledging their status as Pop and showing them in the world of art,” he explained.
Pieter Mulier, creative director of Calvin Klein, added, “Looks were specifically chosen from the Calvin Klein archive for the campaign; it’s both a recognition of design firsts and the photographic history of the brand that made these garments famous.”
The eight advertising images were photographed by Willy Vanderperre and styled by Olivier Rizzo, featuring a largely unknown cast.
One ad, for example, features a guy in jeans standing in front of a 2,000 joke painting by Prince. It reads: “A guy goes to a psychiatrist wearing only Saran Wrap. The psychiatrist says to the guy, I can clearly see your nuts you nut.” Another shows a guy in a pair of jeans and taking off his white T-shirt and standing in front of Warhol’s 1976 “Skull” painting. And a third shows a guy in underwear and a girl in jeans and a white tank top admiring Warhol’s “Elvis 11.”
Images from Calvin Klein’s spring 2017 campaign.
Each of the ads features a description of the artwork and a snippet about the artist. Ads launch this month on billboards, the Internet and in magazines.
Photos credit: the series of eight distinct advertising images was photographed by Willy Vanderperre.
Entertainment and entertainers in general are more important than ever these days when we want to lose ourselves in someone else’s drama rather than our own at home.
And if you want a really good laugh and you haven’t already seen it (most have) you’ve got to check out Melissa McCarthy’s SNL portrayal of Sean Spicer. Way too funny! It’s a way of finding lightness & humour in the absurd day to day real life performances. She should get an Oscar. As they say there is always something good that comes out of something bad. Which brings me to tonight at the Oscars. It’s Hollywood’s biggest night and with all talented people involved there is only one who gets to take home the prize in each category. Every year it seems more difficult to choose only one winner when there are so many deserving nominees.
Past Winners: Penelope Cruz, Halle Berry & Audrey Hepburn. LOVE the dresses!
You might be surprised to find out who the biggest losers of past academy award shows were. I know I was, which just goes to prove….there is more than just one winner in each category. Before finding out which dreams will come true and who might be overlooked, let’s take a look back at some of the biggest surprise Oscar snubs of years past.
The most fantastic biggest Losers:
1) Bette Davis, Of Human Bondage
The 1934 film adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham’s novel starred Bette Davis as tea-room waitress Mildred Rogers, who draws Philip Carey into an obsessive and abusive relationship. Davis originally did not receive a nomination for her performance, and the public was so upset by the oversight that a special write-in campaign was permitted to recognize her.
2) Judy Garland, The Wizard of Oz
Possibly my all-time favourite movie! Judy Garland won hearts all over the world with her performance in the MGM musical as Dorothy Gale, the plucky girlfrom Kansaswho ends up over the rainbow and determined to return home. The New York Times described her as “a pert and fresh-faced miss with the wonder-lit eyes of a believer in fairy tales,” yet Garland did not receive an Academy Award nomination for her timeless performance.
3) Peter O’Toole, Lawrence of Arabia
Peter O’Toole was heralded for his performance in this 1962 blockbuster film, which won seven Academy Awards. Its accolades included best picture, but failed to recognize O’Toole’s performance chronicling his experiences in the Arabian Peninsula during World War I. O’Toole went on to earn seven more nominations throughout his career — but he never took home an Oscar.
4) Martin Scorsese, Taxi Driver
This psychological thriller is famous for the cast, the story and the famous line, “You talkin’ to me?” But one aspect of the film that wasn’t entrenched in history was an award nomination for director Martin Scorsese — even though the film received nominations for best picture, best actor in a leading role for Robert De Niro and best actress in a supporting role nominations for Jodie Foster.
5) Jack Nicholson, The Shining
The idea of Jack Nicholson accepting an award for his performance as Jack Torrance by saying, “Here’s Johnny!” is a thrilling fantasy, but the opportunity never materialized, as Nicholson did not receive an Oscar nomination for his role in the Stanley Kubrick-helmed adaptation of the Stephen King novel.
6) Leonardo DiCaprio, Titanic
Despite his starring role in the 1997 blockbuster that drove devoted fans to watch the movie over and over, Leonardo DiCaprio did not receive an acting nomination for his performance as Jack Dawson. The movie took home 11 Oscars of 14 total nominations.
7) Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
Zero Dark Thirty, a grim, gritty and powerful film, was nominated for best picture — but its director, Kathryn Bigelow, was not recognized with an Oscar nod. Long criticized for its lack of racial and gender diversity, the Academy was accused of overlooking Bigelow — who became the first woman to win two best director awards from the New York Film Critics Circle — because of her gender.
8) Ava DuVernay, Selma
The critically acclaimed civil rights film that narrated the epic march from Selma to Montgomery tapped into heated emotions about racial relations in America — and that was before the cast wore “I Can’t Breathe” shirts to a screening. The film, considered controversial due to its depiction of former President Lyndon B. Johnson, received nominations for best picture and best original song. The omission of director Ava DuVernay, a black woman, from the nominations was hotly debated.
9) Alfred Hitchcock
Despite securing five nominations, somehow the acclaimed director known for suspenseful films like Psycho, The Birds, Vertigo and Rebecca never won an Oscar.
Possibly my all-time favourite dress isdrumroll….
Jennifer Lawrence in Christian Dior Couture
Source (for biggest losers): Carey Purcell for Arts.mic
Girl Who Would be KING on Life, Style and INSPIRATION. 
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