inspiration: a woman with good shoes...

enjoy the weekend...

source:  unknown

inspiration: the best color...

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may your weekend be fabulous...

coco & color...

what could be better then coco chanel quotes...combined with color...the color of chanel polish...saw this video on the new york times website...featuring the lovely saskia de brauw...i'm loving the outfits as well...no?

click here to see the fabulous "magic fingers" video...enjoy!

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a little classy with a dash of trashy...

it sometimes amazes me how often someone will ask me specifics about a fashion rule...seems that many spend their days and nites worrying about making mistakes and social faux pas...ok...that may be a slight exaggeration on my part...but work with me here... =)

why not just go ahead and do it intentionally? relax and have a little fun by adding a touch of trampiness to your ordinary outfit...ignore rules of jewelry; wear ropes of pearls with your jeans...like coco chanel, who wore pearls while riding...her big ropes of pearls were fake...of course...which adds a bit to their trashiness...but what fun would that be? or wear your diamond bracelets with a casual outfit...don't wait for that big "black tie" event...

here is the secret: as long as you know the social rule...(no diamonds before 5 pm., say, or no white after labor day), you can choose to openly flaunt it and impress people with your daring side...if you don't know the rule and break it...you look like a rube...if you do know the rule and break it...you are the ultimate sophisticate...and as taffetadarlings so eloquently wrote about "white lies" and not to miss in that same post...wendyb's take on wearing white...

diana vreeland said, "a little bad taste is like a nice splash of paprika...no taste is what i'm against..."


so...go ahead and add a leopard print scarf to your sedate blue business suit...go ahead and wear fishnet stockings with that sedate business suit...go ahead and wear silky underthings while helping out in your child's kindergarten class...it can be your little secret...

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!

lavished at christmas time...

yes...i was lavished at christmas time...seems a lot of my friends are asking what i got...so i thought i would share with you my lovely gifts that i received that are "fashion" related...feel free to share yours as well...it may give someone a great gift idea for a birthday coming up...

as most of my readers & friends know...i love audrey...and...lucky me...got one more book to add to my collection...she is one classy lady...



i love these cocktail napkins i got...won't they be perfect for a girl's nite get together??



hold on to your seats...i am now the proud owner of my first croc bag...les sigh...if you are wondering what the difference is between croc & alligator...here is a post on "is it an alligator or crocodile?"



my lovely niece got me this beautiful necklace...she knows her auntie...love the pearls...they go with everything!!



and one can never have enough gloves...love the color of these...



more bling bling...



and then the hot boots...thanks mom & dad!



after a long nite in the hot boots...i can come home to this luxury...my younger brother's tradition...every year...a new pair of slippers...these are so lady like...no? every girl should have their favorite pair to slip into...only the best for you...



this is actually two necklaces my girlfriend got me...chains & pearls...so coco chanel...goes with everything!!



"little luxuries in a large box" so fun to open...each little luxury was individually wrapped...included in the big box among many beauty items...was a nail file with some bling bling :-) and these cute parisian pics...and...



if you recall i had posted the luxe list - luxury gifts for women...the question was "which would you choose?" and i of course was drooling over the chocolate trunk...a girl can dream...right?? i got this little gem...which actually i am thankful for...a little chocolate is all i need...5 pounds of chocolate, 350 pieces of rich ganache, and four tins of Aztec hot chocolate may be a bit much... =)



and then this precious gift...from my younger niece...it is not fashion related...but it was made by her in shop class...my beautiful new cutting board...made with love...by melissa...and as if this wasn't enough...



she engraved it...awww....love that girl!!

the little black dress...

one is never over- or underdressed with a little black dress ~ karl lagerfeld



aahhh...the little black dress...both mysterious and chic, understated and provocative...its color is the foundation for its success...once symbolic of mourning, black slims the body, frames the face...and hides imperfect tailoring...

the little black dress is easily the quickest way to look sophisticated and endlessly elegant...

inspired by the utilitarian uniforms of maids and shopgirls, coco chanel introduced the black dress in the 1920's...at the time, vogue magazine likened its inventions to that of the model t... rechristened the "cocktail dress" in the 1950's, and it was immortalized in the 1961 movie "breakfast at tiffany's" by audrey hepburn, who accessorized it with sunglasses...and pearls...and how can we forget the long luxurious gloves...les sigh...



nina garcia states in her book "the little black book of style"...fashion legend has it that coco chanel created the first little black dress...it represents all that chanel stood for: comfort, practicality, and self-assured sexiness...but fashion legends always try to be associated with coco chanel...in fact, the LBD (little black dress) was not the brainchild of the brilliant french designer...it was simply born out of practicality...years before chanel debuted her LBD, the garment had found its way into women's closets...as women grew busier, they needed stylish items that were also versatile, comfortable, and practical...the little black dress emerged as a product of necessity...but, yes, it was chanel who perpetuated the legend in 1926, when she debuted her famous "ford" design, which to this day remains an item that is elegant, seductive, flattering, and practical"

if you would like to know more of the history of the little black dress...malie of the vintage shopping guide wrote a great post...

when i think of the little black dress...this comes to mind...

the embodiment of sophistication, simplicity, versatility, and timelessness, the well-fitting black dress is one of the few pieces you will never give away...

who is your style icon?

in my previous post...i blogged about the beautiful audrey hepburn...
love her style...so simple, so elegant, so lady like...

but there are others that i follow as well...a close second...if not tie in first with gorgeous audrey...would be jackie o...i once had someone tell me that i look like her...well...believe me...i smiled the whole day! she was also a classy lady who always looked so beautiful and well put together...but simple, elegant...and lady like...

seriously...what is there not to love?



i guess now that i think of it...i have a number of my self-indulgent idols when it comes to a clothing style...here is the lovely wallis duchess of windsor...so beautiful & elegant...



and...one cannot talk of style and not mention diana vreeland...



and of course...coco chanel...



there are moments in my life when i stop and think, "how would coco handle this?" or what would jackie do?" to heck with who i think is worth modeling...why not choose a style icon of your own? it might be a glamourous figure from the past, or perhaps your style icon won't be a name others would recognize...it could be a real live person that you know and admire for the certain something she possesses...

could it be a stylish and learned woman in your own community? one of my dear customers, a stylish woman herself...has told me stories of the two big icons in her life...her mom & aunt...born at the turn of the last century, these incredible women did loom large in my customer's life...and in mine as i heard the stories...how amazing it was to see the verve and beauty they brought to their daily lives...

is there someone like that you've overlooked in your life? seek her out and sit at her feet to learn...a style icon worth considering is letitia baldrige...the author of the book a lady, first...she writes of her life in the american embassy in paris, the kennedy white house, and the headquarters of tiffany & company...how could you not learn from her?