grace kelly surprise...

back in april i was really wishing to be in london...i have admired grace kelly for soooooooooooo long...and to imagine walking through an exhibit of hers...well...there are no words...truly...

so imagine my jealousy err...excitement...when my good friend (and business partner) adena told me she was going to london... =) all kidding aside...i truly was very excited for her...and couldn't wait for her to tell me all about it...

so adena gets home...and her world wind traveling continues...she is off on another trip...but before that...i needed to drop some client orders off at her house...i knew she wouldn't be home...and as i'm walking up the walkway...what do i see at the door?

can she be any sweeter?

an addition to my coffee table book addiction... =)

grace kelly style

i won't tell you how many times i have looked through this book...you may think i need to get a life...here are some pics from the book...












here is a little snipet that adena wrote about her visit on her fb page...i keep telling her she needs to start a blog...but if you are on facebook...do follow her...she has some great posts on fashion...

Style with grace - by Adena

Grace Kelly that is. As a long-time fan of Grace Kelly, I so enjoyed seeing the exhibit of many of her beautiful outfits at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London recently. She embodied the essence of style, simplicity, and elegance - both as an actress and in her subsequent life as Princess. The exhibit features not only her beautiful dresses, but also her trademark white gloves and a few of her purses and shoes. Her 5' 6 and 1/2" height was problematic for her in initially landing roles, and she admitted that her greatest beauty problem was in managing her weight; however, Edith Head once remarked that she had a waist that was "much too small" (what a problem!) In viewing her gowns, it was apparent how very slim she was - although she wore a size 10 dress (then, the smallest size usually sold.)

One of my favorite gowns is one that wasn't in the exhibition - an Edith Head-designed gown she wore in "Rear Window" - a movie classic for many reasons, not the least of which is the lovely clothes she wore throughout the movie as a young woman working in the fashion industry.

If you haven't had the opportunity to see this movie, please rent it - it's true entertainment (before the age of digital enhancement!)

In addition to Grace, my other style icons include Audrey Hepburn, Jackie Onassis and Princess Diana. Who are yours?

wishing i was in london...

this week...i'm wishing i could be in london...not only because it is a lovely place to visit...but...because the victoria and albert museum is featuring the fabulous wardrobe of grace kelly...

no one has a more fitting name then the lovely grace kelly...as an actress, princess and style icon...she was "grace" in every sense of the word...



this months vanity fair issue is all about the lovely grace...be sure to click and read her amazing story...

the exhibition in london will include:
The spectacular wardrobe of Grace Kelly is on display at the V&A. Tracing the evolution of her style from her days as one of Hollywoods most popular actresses in the 1950s and as Princess Grace of Monaco, the display presents over 50 of Grace Kelly's outfits together with hats, jewellery and the original Hermès Kelly bag. Dresses from her films, including High Society, are on show as well as the gown she wore to accept her Oscar award in 1955. These are accompanied by film clips and posters, photographs and her Oscar statuette. The display also includes the lace ensemble worn by Grace Kelly for her civil marriage ceremony to Prince Rainier in 1956 and 35 haute couture gowns from the 1960s and 70s by her favourite couturiers Dior, Balenciaga, Givenchy, and Yves St Laurent.

and here is my favorite pic of grace kelly...grace and class to perfection...
grace kelly in "rear window"

personal style...

we have all seen her and gawked with admiration - and not a little envy...she needn't be beautiful, nor dressed in anything we couldn't imagine for ourselves...but her clothes are a brilliant orchestration of color and texture...fabric and fit...sensibility and style...and she wears them like a badge...they don't wear her...

maybe it's a color she's claimed as her signature...perhaps it's her panache at mixing the unexpected...she may even buy certain basics over and over...in varying textures, fabrics, and cuts...just different enough to keep things new...

chances are...her look is consistent: every time you see her...her style is unmistakably her own...her personal style is her personal uniform...

grace kelly
a symbol of femininity and taste...this elegant handbag gave form and function to the image of the perfect princess...in fact, hermes, its maker, named it the kelly bag in her honor...
also known for sweater sets & hermes scarf as arm sling


audrey hepburn
in the 1950's, she made the little black dress sophisticated and playful - the essence of her charm...


jackie o
her dark glasses symbolized her sense of fashion, her private nature, and the star status we inflicted on her...
also known for pillbox hats...


barbara bush
the essence of patrician style, her four strands of pearls stood for good breeding and a traditional, understated sense of fashion...


james dean
ever the rebel uniform, the leather jacket underscored his image as a misunderstood loner, a romantic antihero...

diana vreeland - red lipstick
dorothy - ruby slippers
fran lebowitz - men's clothing
harry truman - bow tie
katherine hepburn - menswear-inspired clothes
madonna - undergarments as outergarments
marlene dietrich - tuxedo
michael jackson - single sequined glove
nancy reagan - red
twiggy - fake lashes & micro-miniskirt

can you think of others? what is "your" personal style?

sweaters...

the original "sweater" was a thick wool blanket used by stablehands at the end of the nineteenth century to make racehorses perspire during training exercises...

draped over the likes of lana turner...



known as the "sweater" girl...



and grace kelly...it induced perspiration in a decidely different population...



sweaters are infinitely flexible....they can be thick and woolly...warming men and women alike on snowy winter weekends...

or, as coco chanel discovered...they can be feminine and subdued...like the cashmere twin-set you substitute for a suit jacket...changing your look from hard power to soft sophistication...

beaded sweaters and cashmeres with exquisite buttons say luxury...and have shown up at elegant evening parties and fashionable resorts for decades...paired with dress-up fabrics like chiffon, satin and silk taffeta...

isn't this one a charmer?? found in fast eddie's retro rags... i love its simplicity...AND it is still available...if you are a sz small... i would check out the whole site...as there are a lot of lovely vintage sweaters...and so much more...



and then there are the everyday sweaters made from cotton, linen, wool and fleece...which serve a remarkable range of activities...from tea with grandma to trekking in the dolomites...

but just as i feel your good china should be used more often than just for that once a year "special" occasion...same with your sweaters...pull out the cashmere...the beaded sweaters...and pair it with your favorite jeans...instant chic!

tie one on...

when it comes to scarves...i divide women into two categories...those who know how to wear scarves...and those who don't...for much of my adult life...i was one of the women who didn't...and then i decided to transform myself into one of the women who did...

try it...and see how it makes you feel...

i often tell my clients...this is one of the easiest ways to update an old outfit...or to add color to an outfit...

add a silk scarf to your regular blazer...or...tie one casually onto the side of your purse or your briefcase...(that style was started by babe paley...the wife of cbs owner bill paley...she took hers off and tied it to her handbag, photographers snapped the scene, and within weeks everyone was doing it.)

would you like to feel like grace kelly in the movie to catch a thief? my girlfriend seems to have grasped this moment...and lives it...tie a scarf on your head...don your biggest sunglasses...drive with the top down...and let passersby wonder, "who was that woman?"

the best silk scarves are...of course...from hermes...and they cost upwards of $300...but type the word "hermes" into the search function of ebay...and you'll be delighted at what comes up...

so are you a woman who does wear scarves? what is your favorite way?