Sunday, June 17, 2012

ambrosia

Portrait of Doris Day by John Florea, photographed in 1953.

Note Miss Day's very au courant sheer skirt, and pre-Tim Walker pastel pups.

As an aside, Doris Day sings my second-favourite rendition of the song Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be), in Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much.  The best version is by Sly And The Family Stone.

Don't be sad, Dor. Ain't no shame in being beaten by the best.

A meek and forlorn flower, with naught of pride

I am currently lusting after the work of the American artist Nick Cave.




His incredibly tactile, densely embroidered and embellished works, some of which are constructed using human hair, are just too lush for words.

And it's nice to see that there seems to be a lot of chatter about him despite the considerable google-problem his name poses.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Bill Gaytten for Christian Dior

Wait... What?
Christian Dior, Resort 2013

Miu Miu, RTW 2008

The current Resort collection will be Bill Gaytten's last at Dior before Raf Simons takes over. I can only assume he suffered from some kind of brain explosion - that Miu Miu dress was by no means obscure, having appeared on several magazine covers and red carpets.

One can't help but feel for Gaytten. I don't think I've read a single article on him that hasn't contained the phrase 'big shoes to fill'. 

But don't let's end on a sour note. The resort collection also included this marvelous confection: 


No doubt it will look beautiful on Marion Cotillard.

Is this look a hint of what might have been had Gaytten had more time and less pressure? I don't think so. In fact during his tenure as head designer at Dior, Gaytten created a number of ravishing New Look-waisted ensembles, often incorporating some impressively un-frivolous tulle skirts (like the red one, above). He drew from the Dior archives and displayed the same spooky ability as his predecessors to make sensible women want to cinch their waists and pad their busts. For this alone, he deserves to be more than a footnote in the fashion house's history.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Etsy buys for under $1 billion

Contrast-lined navy jacket, $36:

"Peeper" earrings, $10:

Lucite-handled umbrella, $24: 
Red Ferragamo low heels, $60:

Diamante brooch from Richard Nixon's presidential campaign (it's an election year after all), $13:

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Fork You

Egads.


If I possessed one piece of jewellery half as lovely as this set of cocktail forks, I would be a satisfied woman. From etsy seller, TheJewelryTech.

swatch out

So who knew that Swatch made sunglasses in the 1990s?




Not I, not I.

They really are rather now, don't you think? Ebay is flooded with them and I've half a mind to buy a pair...