Fashion Illustration

Being somewhat early for work the other day, I stepped into the bookstore next door and made the acquantaince of this book:

which opened to me the magical world of fashion illustration.  This discovery isn't of the same magnitude as say my accidental discovery of Perfumes The Guide, but comes close.



Eric for Mainbocher, 1939

 My favourite illustrator hands down is René Gruau who started illustrating in the 1930s and published work into the 1980s.  That is an incredible amount of fashion to have witnessed.



For Worth, 1945





For Dior, 1950




For Balenciaga, 1946




For Dior fragrance, 1972



1stDibs-ing

It's a sunny winter morning, the coffee is steaming and with end-of-term giddiness in my heart, I skip over to 1st Dibs to see what treasures I can find... Delicious morning...


First up is this stunner:




Anglo-Indian miniature ivory cabinet, c.1800

Swedish ceramic vases by Stalhane and Nylund



 

 


Baloon light fixture, Holland, 1930s

 



Indian Agora

  


Carl Malmsten burled veneer sofa with ivory inlay, Sweden, 20thc.

  



Anglo-Indian carved mahogany palace bed



English Regency rosewood jewelry box with brass banding




Georg Jensen tureen, Denmark, c.1940

 

Ont., Maritimes hit by wild weather

According to the CBC, "Military helicopters are being used to help rescue about 300 drivers stranded by blowing snow in southwestern Ontario, while wind and rain pound parts of Atlantic Canada."
I wish military helicopters had come swooping down on Hwy 7 this afternoon and rescued me from the evils of the 191 "Rocket" highway bus.  Besides, it sounds kind of like a good time: dashing (I'm extrapolating) military personnel airlifting you to safety in helicopters while puffs of snow swirl around, turning the city into a giant, magical snowglobe...

Soak

It's so cold out.  So very, very cold.  And all I can think of is having a long soak in a hot tub. Which makes me look forward to having a real bathroom and not the rental-in-the-attic-temporary-horrid-drywall-without-tape-even-hovel, but something more along these lines:



Living Etc




Yes, especially like this. I don't know where I got this image.  If anyone knows...


 

Photo: Gentl & Hyers





Castle Gibson Locations

 


Photo: Gentl & Hyers




Sarah Maingot Photography


Come to think of it, all you need is to light a few candles, turn out the lights, drop in the fancy bath salts, and voila! Instant luxurious retreat.  Because then you can't even SEE the cracks in the drywall can you?
Or the el-cheapo crooked tiles...  Luxury doesn't have to cost very much, or involve pristine tilework.

Brent Comber

Brent Comber is a Canadian designer from "Out West" and his wood furniture and art/objects are so lovely!  Very Canadian.

China Grove: "I wanted to create objects that had the look of precious porcelain figurines and present them in an outdoor space that would serve as a natural display cabinet. With this in mind, I treated nine cedar flares—stumps that have been pulled from the ground—with a substance that gave them a china-like appearance."

http://www.brentcomber.com/

Lumière Brothers, the beginnings of film and so much else

These early films by Auguste and Louis Lumière are so beautiful. But I can't help feeling like "eeep, they were on the brink, on the very edge of something; they embraced modernity with so much hope, and look what has happened. Look how the countryside was emptied. Look what the factories did, what they became, how they changed the course of human interaction and of human interaction with the earth."  Eeep. 

Art Nouveau = stretching

Art Nouveau is so inspiring to me - I do think it really was NEW.  The shapes and lines are stretched and pulled and there is a great sense of play & optimism......  Optimism in design makes me giddy.  Victor Horta's whiplashes make me giddy.  Henry Van de Velde, Alphonse Mucha .... words fail.

  

Emile Gallé

Gaudi

Emile Gallé

Hector Guimard

Lalique

Mucha

Otto Eckmann



THE GREAT MASTER: Henry Van de Velde
This desk looks as though someone heated it up til it was melty like taffy and then pulled on it.
C'est merveilleux!



Van de Velde

Van de Velde

Van de Velde

Van de Velde

Van de Velde

Victor Horta

Victor Horta

Victor Horta

Otto Eckmann

Eugène Gaillard



Eugène Gaillard cabinet details



Alphonse Mucha