Lovely & Amazing

{Elie Saab Spring Couture 2011, Paris}

Tulle, organza, shimmer, and sheer.  Plunging sweetheart necklines and thigh-high slits reminiscent of Jessica Rabbit.  Elie Saab's Spring 2011 Couture line was sweet and scandalous all in one show.  

Check out the video to see how lovely it all really was:

-images via style.com-

In Between Days

{Lilya F/W 2011, "In Between Days..."}

Aren't featurettes so much better than commercials or lookbooks alone?  

I think so.

She's Going To Paris This Year

{Yigal Azrouël Pre-Fall 2011, New York}

"She's going to Paris this year," so said Yigal Azrouël of the imagined woman for whom he designed his Pre-Fall 2011 collection.  And don't we all want to be her?  His clothes are chic in the comfortable, effortless sort of way one one wants to be dressed in the French capital - or anywhere else for that matter.  Stylish dresses and perfectly versatile separates that would seamlessly fit into any girl's wardrobe.  Je l'aime.

-images via style.com-

Set The Timer

Alex Stoddard did not know how to operate his camera outside of auto mode.  He thought that focus was "a nightmare" and didn't really give much thought to composition.  So he decided to evolve his photographic style by shooting and sharing one self-portrait a day for 365 days.  These are some of the resulting images.  At 17 Alex is officially joining blog-roll favorite Nirrimi on my list of teenagers who are unbelievably, amazingly talented artists.  His images are so unique and conceptually inventive.  Looking through them I was constantly excited to see what he was going to do next.  I loved seeing his photographs progress from the early days to the present (today will be day 244).  The pictures are organic and dreamlike, showing not just his photographic talent but the raw emotion with which he approaches his work.  See the rest of Alex's project on his Flickr here.   

-photography by Alex Stoddard-

Sartorialist Spotlight

This is a great behind-the-scenes look at fashion blogging pioneer Scott Schumann aka The Sartorialist, whose über-popular street style blog is follwed by more than 70,000 readers a day.  Schumann, a former high-end sales and marketing consultant for brands such as Valentino & Jean-Paul Gaulthier, roams the streets of New York searching for people whose looks are in some form inspiring - be it in pattern, colour, form, combination or even abstract concept (like the unlikely/fantastic duct-tape boots from the film).  What struck me most about the video was his way of looking at the world around him.  How amazing it is to just carry a camera around and capture & interpret the visual literacy of one's day in photographs - to look at people with the purpose of finding what is interesting & beautiful and highlighting it, creating a blog that's in effect a photo-journal of our society's creativity.  

Star-Crossed

{Tim Gutt's Star Signs, Vogue UK}

Apparently there's a new astrological sign being added into the mix.  Ophiuchus, the snake holder has come onto the scene and bumped everyone else around, leaving my October 19th Libra birthday in the Virgo zone.  Which left me surprisingly annoyed for a girl who doesn't read her horoscope, until I found out that apparently these changes only apply if you were born after 2009.  So happy Libra I will stay, and no better way to represent it than with these lovely photographs by Tim Gutt for Vogue UK.  Kate Phelan styled the spread Star Signs for the December 2010 issue, featuring model Siri Tollerod in beautiful, whimsical outfits by Alexander McQueen, Lanvin and Christopher Kane amongst others.  Ophiuchus didn't make the cut.

-photography by Tim Gutt-

Currently Loving...

{Chanel Le Vernis Nail Lacquer In Black Pearl}

{A Collection Of Textured Pillows}

{Topshop Jumper + Lover Lace-Trimmed Shorts}

{Beagle Puppies At Moncler Gamme Bleu Menswear, Fall 2011} 

{Vintage Gold Stars}

-images via The Cut + afterDRK-

Colour Blocks

{Mark Rothko, Assorted Works}

"Mark Rothko's paintings are...like televison sets for Zen Buddhists." -unknown

I love Rothko's colour block paintings.  They're so beautiful in their simplicity, and so completely dependent on how you choose to interpret them.  There's nothing better than a Rothko to brighten up a room and add some interest to the walls.  Now to decide which prints to get from art.com...

Best Dressed: GG '11

{Golden Globe Awards, 2011}

For the most part, I liked the women who kept it simple.

The best: Emma Stone in Calvin Klein, Anne Hathaway in Armani Privé, Leighton Meester in Burberry, Julianne Moore in Lanvin, Tina Fey in L'Wren Scott & Sandra Bullock in Jenny Packham.

-images via Just Jared-

Epicurean Adventures

{What Katie Ate - Recipes}

One of my New Year's resolutions is to cook more.  Right, to cook at all.  Since I'm probably the only person in North America to not own a microwave, the few times I've turned on my stove has been to do things like heat up apple cider, or the kettle...and once (twice) to make Kraft Dinner.  Although to be fair I do make avocado toast pretty often.  But now, with my kitchen newly outfitted with a dining table, I'm actually enjoying spending time in there, and am embracing the fact that I'm long overdue for settling into a more domestic eating routine.  What Katie Ate is an amazing food/photography blog (my sister made her Chocolate Guinness Cake for my birthday, as posted here) where I came across these great recipes to start out my foray into home-cooking.  Also on Katie's site - this photo of the most delicious-looking hot dog (again with the avocado obsession) I've ever seen, causing me to add a visit to NYC's Crif Dogs to the itinerary for February's New York trip.

             

{"Chihuahua" Crif Dog}

-images via What Katie Ate-