Mystery revealed

Harry Belafonte and Nat King Cole!

This explains why our forebears went nuts over Harry Belafonte.  My god.

Genius

Dior Spring 2011 couture show: Galliano referenced René Gruau, the great fashion illustrator of the 1940s-1980s and created a masterpiece.  A fitting homage and a genuine tour de force.

Photo: Style.com (via a glamorous little side project)

Could this be more beautiful?  The answer is no, it could not.  Makeup: Pat McGrath.  Hair: Orlando Pita. Millinery: Stephen Jones.

News

This afternoon as I was wearily making my way home on the subway, two adorable girls with cameras asked if they could take my photo for a street-style fashion blog.  I must have looked absolutely ramshackly - I certainly felt it after a long, long day at the Toronto Interior Design show (I was foolishly wearing heels which is an utterly stupid thing to do when you're going to be spending hours mingling and ogling shower stalls and carpets and patio furniture).  So who knows what historical trends will be sparked by this serendipitous event.
Just remember what happened the last time someone took my photo.

And, seriously, at next year's design show they should really have waiters circulating with refreshments: hors-d'oeuvres and champagne cocktails.  I'm just saying.



Outdoor suspended chair made out of Corian for DuPont



Carpet stories

Vicente Wolf's blog has been manned by Special Guests since he took off to go galavanting across the globe (I believe he is currently in Nepal).  But it hasn't suffered as a result. Today's post by Nader Bolour from Doris Leslie Blau is pretty special...
If you have any curiosity about antique carpets, you should check it out here.

A sneak peek:

1stDibsing

Oh 1st Dibs, how you fill me with unbounded joy!

Yé-yé

There is a yé-yé epidemic around here.

France Gall is one thing.  "Sheila" is altogether another.

Miles Redd Kitchen

This kitchen by Miles Redd is forever on my mind. 



Chairs

Set of Biedermeier dining chairs, 1st Dibs

Pre-fall madness - Part 3

Proenza Schouler:   I'm not normally a huge fan, but thoses dresses!

Matthew Williamson



Photos: Style.com





Pre-Fall madness - Part 2

This is Pre-Fall, boring old Pre-Fall and look!  Behold the Lanvin presentation: fabulous and wearable.  Was there a Paris-wide conference call about making the look-books fun? 

Photos: Style.com

Pre-fall madness

Is it just me or are this season's Pre-Fall presentations full of wild exuberance and uncommonly bold gestures?
I haven't been following the shows day-by-day so now I'm wading through all the presentations at random and I'm almost breathless from the ride.  I'll post some of my favourites over the next few days.  
First up, Louis Vuitton.  Yes please. 

I'll take one of everything - including that marvellous pair of doors.

Photos: Style.com

Small deeds of derring-do

This morning I decided to paint the disaster that is our guest room/office/hall closet/storage room.  It may have been foolhardy, since that room on any given day looks as though a tornado went through it twice. The painting is supposed to somehow rescue it from abandonment and magically turn it into a beautiful and practical, tidy multitasker. Anyway, I embarked on this perilous but thrilling adventure nonetheless (after procrastinating a while at a local thrift shop where I bought a yellow wool skirt after trying on a gazillion other things, including a marvellous red sequined floor-length number that maybe I should go back and get tomorrow, because really, what I need is one more impossible dress to hang somewhere).

Also, I came home to discover that I had no paint roller, and decided to use a paint brush instead.  Another moment of temporary insanity. But it looks ... AMAZING (so far).  The paint I bought ages ago for this room is a pale, pale green, very "dirty" and lovely and since it's being brushed on, it looks lovely and chalky, like limestone or some Gustavian extravaganza.

Now the real derring-do here is that I decided to test out the "paint the trim the same colour as the walls" theory.  Which I've been meaning to try out in real life for a while.  I'm not usually the type of person to regret things once they're done, but after painting about a foot of moulding around the door, I was horrified.  It was just wrong, terribly wrong.  It's like driving on the wrong side of the road.  I'm going to leave it for now, just to see.

The room is now more than half done, which is quite an accomplishment considering the fact that a) I was using a paintbrush and b) the room is full of stuff that I can't move out of there, only shift around.

When E. gets home he will undoubtedtly think me a fool, but I can feel the beauty about to emerge there somewhere.... tomorrow will tell.

Claire Basler

I've had this issue of Elle Decor UK forever but these images keep popping up in my head all the time.
This is painter Claire Basler's studio and I want to be invited for dinner.  It's just so magical and beautiful.