Dripping with Beauty

My friend Hollie emailed these photos to me when I was looking for some colorful inspiration for a project. They were taken by Stephen Meisel for Vogue Italia. When I first looked at them, they reminded me of Art Nouveau drawings simply because there is no wasted space in the photo- something I always notice when looking at Art Nouveau work. Obviously, they aren’t Art Nouveau but they have some of the same qualities as far as composition.The models look like rockabilly rebels- a look I’ve always admired. They’re a combination of pin-up girl meets boudoir babe in beautiful dresses against a dizzying array of florals and psychedelics. I keep thinking how amazing it would be to see someone walking down the street looking just like one of these lovely ladies. All dressed up with places to go.

The endless cycle

According to the Pantone Color Institute and the NYT, the color of 2008 will be Blue Iris. Not surprising, considering “Yves Klein blue” was all over the runways last February. The executive director of Pantone says “Blue Iris brings together the dependable aspects of blue, underscored by a strong, soul-searching purple cast. Emotionally, it is anchoring and meditative with a touch of magic.”I’m no color expert, and I have been skeptical of color forecasting only because I’ve never gravitated towards one particular hue. Color trends come and go, as do all trends. Big designers don’t follow trends. They usually go with what they’re feeling and rely on intuition rather than what the mainstream is dictating. I always wonder how it is that certain colors, prints, or silhouettes manage to appear on the runway from more than two or three designers. They can’t all be thinking and visualizing the same ideas, can they? Is it a shared global consciousness swimming around in their brains? Whatever it is, it works. And that’s how trends start. It’s interesting, considering it starts on a DIY level and then slowly seeps out into the mass market. That being said, this post is not only dedicated to shades of blue, but to a few designers who always keep it real and never manage to stray away from their DIY aesthetics. (All images from style.com)Commes des GarçonsBalenciagaDries Van NotenLanvin

Harmony Korine…

is everywhere right now. After a long hiatus from making movies, his upcoming release “Mister Lonely” promises to be as equally amazing as his previous films. Never one to be conventional, HK wrote “Mister Lonely” as an abstraction going after emotion and feeling rather than plot. The main story revolves around a group of celebrity impersonators living on a hippy commune in Scotland. Samantha Morton plays Marilyn Monroe, Diego Luna plays Michael Jackson, Denis Lavant is Charlie Chaplin, Anita Pallenberg plays the Queen, and Werner Herzog plays an alcoholic priest. Enough said.I’m looking forward to seeing “Mister Lonely” as I’ve always been a fan of HK since I watched “Kids” back in the day. Something about seeing HK in magazines galore right now makes me anxiously excited about 2008. I’m looking forward to new creativity.Even Marc Jacobs likes him. (Marc Jacobs ad)Harmony and Jabba the Hutt, ANP QuarterlyI’ll leave you with a little bit of Michael Jackson (Diego Luna), Purple Magazine

Cat Power

I love animals. I always said that if I didn’t work in fashion I would want to help animals in some way. That sounds like a Miss America response to a question, but it’s really true. I had cats growing up – my first two were a Siamese mix named Siboney and Daisy. They passed away and my mom wouldn’t allow anymore cats in the house because she was then diagnosed with asthma. Dr.’s orders. Then one day, a little tabby started showing up on our doorstep, so we adopted her but made sure she stayed outside. After a couple of years, she was diagnosed with cancer and passed away. I remember being totally depressed for days. So now, I am the proud owner of Panda, the cutest calico on the planet. I’ve thought about why I love cats so much, and I think it’s because of their solitary weirdness. They’re sneaky, sassy, quiet, and I love how they prance around. There is something totally girlie and kitschy about them. If I could, I’d own one more. But Darryl said that would mean more poop to clean out of the litter box. I think he’s just acting lazy.Illustration by Ros Shiers. Taken from Balcony Jump website. This is one of my favorite images – top 5 for sure.From Lula Magazine.I found this illustration online. It’s from a 1913 issue of Ladies Home Journal. Weird.Samantha Mathis in Lula Magazine.

Time to Dine

One of the things I’m most excited about in life is moving into a home that will allow me to have dinner parties. Proper dinner parties, I might add. That means nix the paper towels and use linens. There’s nothing that makes me more happy than friends, family, and food all under one roof at one table. I can’t wait to decorate and mix and match old china with modern wares. Here are a few inspirational dining photos.Pink and black never gets old. This is the dining room of Joe Corre (son of Vivienne Westwood) and Serena Rees, owners of naughty lingerie label Agent Provocateur. However, from what I understand Serena Rees ran off with Paul Simonon from The Clash a while back, so there’s no telling who’s dining room this is. Regardless, I LOVE IT.A tea party at the home of Daisy and Pearl Lowe.Dining room of designer Christian Lacroix. It’s all about the chairs.

Domestic Bliss

I was going through some of my old tear sheets organized in my “interiors” folder and found some info on photographer Laurie Simmons. She’s been around since the 70’s and made a name for herself staging weird scenes with dolls. In 2004, she had a show at Sperone Westwater gallery in New York (where she is represented) called “Instant Decorator.” She transformed and then photographed pages from a 70’s DIY decorating book which was originally supposed to serve as a tome for holding swatches of fabric and wallpaper samples. The results are kitschy, provocative, feminist, and quite surreal. This is the kind of art that I want to own.The Instant Decorator (Pink and Green Bedroom II/Slumber Party) All images from Sperone Westwater.The Long House (Red Bathroom)The Instant Decorator (Lavender Bathroom)The Instant Decorator (Red, White, & Blue Room)The Instant Decorator (Coral Room with Fireplace)