l'amour

Woman of the Year

Last night Patrick and I had a date-night out at the Action Cinéma in the Latin Quarter, an incredible theatre that plays old films, happily to a full crowd.  We saw the film Woman of the Year, with Katharine Hepburn portraying an erudite news columnist who falls in love with Spencer Tracy, the jockish sports writer for the same newspaper, and although she is successful in her career, she fails to successfully please her husband within the household.  

To tell you the truth, the movie was completely misogynistic, 

but enjoyable to watch nevertheless, purely for her incredible wardrobe.  In fact, in the scene of the screen-shot above, she is completely unlikeable because she resorted to adopting a refugee child from Greece, simply because she was named chairwoman of the board for the organization, 

with no plans for actually caring for the child.  

But naturally, I was distracted somewhat by her amazing silk polka-dot jumpsuit. 

 

Agyness

Beautifully shot by Tim Walker for British Vogue

then & now

Yves Saint Laurent haute couture 1978, photo by Guy Marineau

via Harper's Bazaar UK

ps. I really want a straw boater hat

Birthday Saturday + Easter Sunday

Parc des Buttes-Chaumont

Our delicious Boulangerie, Au 140

The shy Birthday boy

Ile de la Cite

Saint Chapelle

Retrospective: Madame Grés at Musée Bourdelle

Madame Grés, sculptor turned fashion designer, opened her own haute couture fashion house 

in 1942.  Her signature jersey and silk gowns were often draped like robes of Greek goddesses,

and tended to have slits that exposed skin in creative and sophisticated ways.  Her designs are

immaculate, and her exposition at the Musée Bourdelle completely blew me away.  Set amongst marble sculptures by the artist Antoine Bourdelle, these dresses were incredible, and totally inspired my decision to have my wedding gown custom-made to look like one of these...

'cause that's not expensive, right?  

j'ai arrivé

Enfin!  Arrived in Paris a few days ago now, just getting over my jetlag.

The Spring weather is perfect, however, and the rosé is helping resolve
the confusion over gaining 9 hours.  Tonight I'm taking Patrick to his birthday
dinner at the restaurant Hotel du Nord, locale of the 1938 film by the same name.

More Paris to come!

southwest jewelry

Love this unique jewelry on designer Kathy Rose via Closet Visit.  

P.S. the turquoise southwestern ring reminds me of The Office last night, 

did anybody else think it was HILARIOUS how Will Ferrell's new character

is obsessed with the Southwest?  His ring, belt and tie clip were turquoise, and 

somehow just that was the perfect addition to his character D'Angelo Vickers

to make him hilariously intriguing:

I couldn't resist.

Yoko

Shibori

via designer Shabd's Blog

Loeffler Randall Spring 2011

Beautiful hand-dyed pieces done by Shabd

Baggu + Shabd collaboration in pretty Spring colors

Made by my friend Kaila, whose lovely work of Shibori dyeing vintage silks, 

linens and cottons can be seen here. 

I love the ethereal nature of these textiles & the more subtle colors I am seeing.  

There are many different methods of Shibori, 

including Kanoko Shibori, or tie-dye as we know it in the West.  

These traditional methods date back to 8th century Japan. 

Monday Night Dance Party for One

Made in the U.S.A.

On the lookout for cute clutches, since as it turns out, I don't own a single one 

and often just want to leave the house with keys, wallet and phone.  

Found these cute ones from eco-conscious designers Clare Vivier 

(manufactured in Los Angeles, with a store opening in Silver Lake soon)

...and these by Collina Strada (handmade in New York).

aaaand I know this is the opposite of a clutch, but how cute is this backpack?

Los Angeles Beyond Cars

Ciclavia on Sunday, April 10 was a total success, and it was so encouraging to see Angelenos out, enjoying the streets of this city outside the confines of a car.

Being on a bike allowed me the chance to appreciate some of Downtown LA's street art, which by the way, is going to be showcased in MOCA's exhibition Art in the Streets starting this month.

But most importantly, it was so much fun exploring parts of Los Angeles I hadn't been to, 

all without the fear of being sideswiped by some douchebag in a Porsche. 

Hopefully, with more bike-friendly streets, Los Angeles will become a city 

like the one I got to enjoy on Sunday.