The Wild Wes.

Naturally, I love all of the brown tones Mr. Anderson uses in his movies. He possesses a brilliant understanding of minimalism, but I also love his taste in clothing. Anderson seems to love a good velvet suit and he has no problem wearing it during the day, can make acorduroy suit look sleek and modern, and is a fan of the green suit which he pulls off rather elegantly. There is also a certain humor to the dressing of his characters, like with Jason Schwartzman in Rushmore. All in all, he has an excellent sense of characterization, making each character in his movie memorable and letting that carry over into his own style choices. Here are some shots from his movie the Royal Tenenbaums.

*Also here is a link my friend told me about. This man did his master's film thesis on Wes' technique and it's rawther fascinating. Watch the videos that go along with each part and you will learn, learn, learn so much.

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The Nouveau Novos.

The Novogratz family in their revamped Manhattan home

I am proud to announce that 9 by Design is coming to Bravo TV this Tuesday at 11 pm!!! The long anticipated show is going to feature the couple, Bob and Cortney Novogratz along with their seven adorable children and highly innovative lifestyle. From their incredible collection of art to their flair for entertaining, the whole season will be a feast for the eyes and will become must see TV every Tuesday evening.

Bob and Cortney have been turning old New York buildings from wreck to ravishing for the past 10 years and have built quite a collection of masterpieces through their company SixxDesign. They have a very distinctive eye for pairing the old with the new, the modern with the rustic, and the current art with kid art. Their homes are like a gallery: chic, stunning, creative, and the ideal place to raise a brood of seven!

The two know how to play up color and have added their effortless cool to what it means to settle down and raise a family. See more about their work in their book, Downtown Chic, and make sure to tune in every Tuesday for an inspiring season of 9 by Design!

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The Aces of Spade.

The couple in their Manhattan apartment

I ask you, who couldn't love the Spades? This power couple knows how to brand, market, sell, and live well. They have created their own distinct looks that are so frequently copied by others that in turn it makes them seem unoriginal. Not so. These two are a continual flowing fountain of creativity and subtle humor whether it be a pair of gloves or a valentine's gallery of relationships gone awry.

Kate and Andy met while working at a department store in college, eventually married, and moved to New York to pursue their dreams of design. Andy used his superior advertising skills and cashed in his 401k to take a chance on his wife and her concept for the simple handbag. Their idea caught fire, expanding so rapidly they could barely keep up with it. Although the two sold their companies kate spade/jack spade in 2006, they keep busy with the Avant Garde Preschool, a Saturday program that promotes creativity in the lives of New York children, and Partners and Spade, a grown up fun shop that showcases artwork, globes, bikes, and at times tax advice. Andy and Kate are all about innovation and good design, but they always add that element of cleverness and surprise that give their pieces the signature mark of unpretentiousness.

I have not met either of the Spades, but from what I hear from my sister and from their contemporaries, Andy and his wife are among the most fascinating of modern couples. They have worked hard together and have stayed together. The two of them give me hope that I will one day find a counterpart that would believe in me so much that he would even offer to bet his life savings on my ability to make a handbag.

That is trust.

An image from one of the Spades' first ad campaigns for Kate.

(If I am not mistaken, that is a young Matthew Gubler from

(500) Days of Summer on the right)

The lovely Kate as seen in Pink magazine

Andy at Partners & Spade

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The Nominees for Best Couple.

At a Lanvin after party

Tonight is the Oscars. But I'm not thinking of American movie stars, I'm focusing on the French ones. Like Clotilde Courau. She is like a modern day Grace Kelly because she was a beautiful actress who eventually married a prince of southern Europe. Clotilde was in a lot of edgey, dramatic films and was considered "the Shooting Star" in 1998 by the European Film Promotion, but she met Prince Emanuele Filiberto Umberto Reza Rene Maria di Savoia (try fitting that on a birth certificate) and they were married in 2003. Since then, they have become a dynamic duo in the Paris fashion scene, befriending designers like Alber Elbaz and John Galliano. Clotilde even had her wedding dress especially made for her by Valentino. Currently, they are living in the Royal House of Savoy with their two daughters Vittoria Cristina and Luisa Giovanna. How is that for a real life fairy tale?

Clotilde wearing a Chanel jacket on their sixth anniversary

The Royal House of Savoy, in Piedmont, Italy

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The Original Miranda Priestly.

Kay Thompson as Maggie Prescott in Funny Face

Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada

Audrey Hepburn as the bookworm-turned-model

Jo Stockton

Annie Hathaway as the intelligent size 6 Andy Sachs

Funny Face, starring Kay Thompson and Audrey Hepburn, was very much a Devil Wears Prada of the late 1950s. Kay played a woman named Maggie Prescott, who was a very decisive editor-in-chief determined to make her magazine, Quality, the best one on the newsstands. Much like Prada, she converted a frumpy, smart girl with a boyish name (Hepburn) into a glamorous lady and took her to Paris where she truly blossomed and lived the high life. Thompson's character was based on the actions of a real editor-in-chief, Carmel Snow of Harper's Bazaar, just as Streep's was, Anna Wintour of Vogue. A lot of what occurred in this movie is still pertinent today and should be as much of a fashion movie reference as Streep’s rendition. Thompson made a very good point about the importance of a magazine in this movie by stating, "a magazine should be like a human being, when it comes into the home it must contribute. It simply can't just… lie around."

Kay, you're 'swonderful and 'smarvelous and I throw my pillbox hat off to you.

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Lorelai + Lhuillier.

Lorelai Gilmore played by Lauren Graham on Gilmore Girls

Up until the moment of my teen years when I saw this dress, I had thought beaded wedding dresses were confined to the horrific 80s versions with puffed stark white satin sleeves and excessive tulle. Probably the only person who could have changed my mind was Lorelai Gilmore.

The series “Gilmore Girls” may look ordinary to the naked eye or to the first time viewer (who would most likely give up watching because the dialogue is so fast), but if it is watched enough, the viewer will learn all about Connecticut, classic rock bands, and almost forgotten movies. I learned to love everything through this show- Dorothy Parker, Sam Phillips music, and Rory was even my inspiration for entering the journalism field.

Both girls also loved clothes, especially towards the last two seasons. I was so proud of Rory when she wore a floral Marc by Marc Jacobs shirt around the newsroom and I was equally wowed when I witnessed Lorelai’s whimsical wedding dress. The blush pink flower embellishments and the satin sash made me completely rethink the concept of feminine detailing and how it can make a dress beautiful and not busy. So, at this point of my life, I vow to recreate or buy a Monique Lhuillier for my fanciful day that begins my married life. That act will dub me a true Gilmore enthusiast, but I would not have it any other way.

Monique Lhuillier Fall '09

Fall '10

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Seeing The World Through Oversized Glasses.

I am a sucker for a good pair of frames. I always have been, and I always will. This goes right along with my appreciation of a good hard back book and a hearty discussion about quantum physics. My favorite style right now is called the ronsir frame, which gives off an antiquated yet modern look of sophistication. Glasses just evoke that a person has a good head on their shoulders and that they are the sort of person you should get to know. So hats off to glasses, wear them with pride.

Peter Som with Bonnie Morrison

Cary Grant got the memo

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Meeting Style Mentors.

Tim Gunn and I

I have had the greatest priviledge to be in the presence of some very great men. I had made a goal at the age of 16 to meet Tim Gunn in my lifetime, and that goal was fulfilled on March 7, 2009. Since then, I have also gotten to meet Christian Siriano with my sister and gotten to see Clinton Kelly with a close friend. Next on my list are Anna Wintour, Ralph Lauren, André Leon Talley, and Marc Jacobs. I really hope that those will come true just as soon as the first three.

Elaina, Christian, and I

Dearest Clinton

Her Serene Highness.

If there is one person I admire and one person I aspire to be more like, it is Grace Kelly. She was an acclaimed movie star who met Prince Ranier of Monacco at the Cannes Film Festival and later went on to marry him. Grace was a beautiful princess and was the perfect mesh of American and Monégasque, wearing clothes that were Hollywood glamour with the flair of the Riviera. She had 3 beautiful children, one named Caroline who is the mother of Charlotte Casiraghi, friend of Lagerfeld and gem of European society.

Grace in "High Society", her last film before

moving to Monacco

With Prince Ranier and her two eldest children, Albert II and Caroline

Charlotte Casiraghi and dearest Karl

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(500)

Oh where to begin on this one. I was reading the obituary today for J.D. Salinger in the NY Times and it got me thinking about the references (500) Days of Summer made to the writer and other cultural references in general.

-For one, Tom is explaining to his younger sister how perfect he and Summer are for each other. "We talked about Bananafish for like 20 minutes. We're so compatible it's insane." This refers to The Salinger book 9 Stories* where one of the stories is called "A Perfect Day with Bananafish".

-Zooey Deschanel was actually named after the Salinger character from "Franny and Zooey".

-The character Summer spoke of reading "Dorian Gray" which was an Oscar Wilde novel.

-The character Tom is loosely based off of Goethe's "The Sorrows of Young Werther" who was described as "the first unrequited love protagonist" by the movie's director Mark Webb.

-Summer's apartment was packed full of pop culture references like a print of the painting Blue Vase by Cezanne.

-It was mentioned briefly that Summer liked the painters René Magritte and Edward Hopper. Her love of the former is shown later in her apartment when she has a derby hat with a green apple on top of it, alluding to the painting "Son of Man".

-The silent films shown with JG Levitt playing chess with a little boy is definitely in reference to Ingmar Bergman's classic film the Seventh Seal.

There are so many other aspects of the film, but I think you get the idea. So many layers and textures with these pieces, it makes the film that much richer and more special.

*Another note, for any Capote fans out there, the writer Paul Varjak in Breakfast at Tiffany's wrote a book called "Nine Lives". They seem to be similarly set up as Salinger's book so I wonder if it was intentional on Capote's part to make that reference.

*Addendum. The photo above I believe is also a reference to François Truffaut's short film Les Mistons.

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Lauren and Gatz.

No book has more panache and character than the vibrant "Great Gatsby". Concerning the decadent 1920s Long Island society and the lavish lifestyle that they led, F. Scott Fitzgerald highlighted on his personal experiences of trying to keep hold of his "silver girl" Zelda, who was the inspiration for Daisy in the story. Although the book is wonderful, the movie just seems to add to the vibrancy, with the intoxicating jazz and the jaw dropping parties it makes the story that much better. Another bonus of the film was the designer of the menswear costumes, none other than the fine gent, Ralph Lauren. Mr. Lauren understood Jay Gatsby and the caliber of his standard of living and dressed him and all of his fellow cast members accordingly. I love a period film, but this one soars above the rest. Make sure to watch it, but don't forget to drive off in your motorcar and play on the polo fields afterward.

Robert Redford as "The Great Gatsby" outside of his lovely estate

The Respectable Ralph

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I Dream of Jackie.

This is my rendition of the classic Jackie Kennedy Onassis look. The scarf is a Brides de Gala Hermes which doesn't stray far from the Astrologie scarf that she is wearing in the middle picture. I love Jackie because she is the ideal representation of a lady, always looking pristine from Capri to the Oval Office.

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