Happy Mother's Day

Remembering Mom (and Dad!) on Mother's day...an old clipping of their June wedding in a gown she designed herself...my couturiere Mom: resplendent, lovely, loving and bright.  

No Big Whoop Shopping

I was walking along, minding my business, when out of the orange-colored sky...Wham! Bam! Alakazam, wonderful Barneys New York Co-op opened on the sly!  One balmy April night, I waltzed in, more like limped in, as I fell off my bike like Saint Paul off his horse.  I had on my new orchid pink linen dress, was feeling fine and funky then pedalled uptown to Rittenhouse Square against the sun with my white shades on, when all of a sudden I saw it hurtling towards me: a bright red fire hydrant!  What was a cool girl to do but fall off, only to be rescued by two Danish tourists and a Japanese jogger.

Side story aside, I limped over to the new Barneys Co-op on the ground floor of a beautiful Beaux Artes style townhouse and took in the new store scent.  They must have hurried the opening because the window mannequin had skid marks on her crinoline!  Rows and rows of new designers on wheels in every trendy color and texture could be had, and they all had three initials for names: A.P.C., U.G.H. or O.U.F.

The striped floor-length dress was the one thing that drew me in: cashmere-soft cotton, clingy and stripey, like a lemur making a jailbreak.  At a price that was criminal.

I'll have to come back and peruse some more, because at first glance it was no big whoop.  In an economy like ours, that minimalist look just spells: recessionista.

Coco Kachoo!

Chanel's contribution to fashion is certainly nothing to sneeze at.  She invented the idea of luxe cache or hidden luxuries: a gold chain weighing down the inside of her iconic wool boucle jackets, silk lining.  Nowadays, Chanel's luxe is hardly hidden.  Case in point: pearls circling sleeves and pockets!

Le Parisian daydream du jour

I just saw the film, Le Divorce and reminded myself that I have a life in Paris waiting for me if I had the druthers, and that if I didn't get there fast enough, I would be liable for le divorce even before I was le married.  Jane, if you're watching, check out the little doggie chateau to go with your accessories!  I screen captured this just for you!

Transport a la Mode

An Ideal Breakfast

In an ideal world, we would all have 3 hours to make breakfast: enough time to poach the egg, julienne the orange rinds and prepare the framboise for its new life inside a delicate shell and create Japanese confections just in time for a tea ceremony.  After drinking two gallons of Vitasoy chocolate and banana soymilk, I created my ideal breakfast then spent the rest of the day dreaming it happened.

Corner View

I Go Coucou for Couture

Couture, costura or high fashion conjures up something exquisite from a bygone era: lace, broderie, fine linens, something hand-sewn.  From Coco Chanel to the au courant craze for everything organic, I've always had such an appreciation for these labours of love.  

Amazingly enough, it's all come full-circle. I-Spy with my little eye...