♥ one should either be a work of art, or wear one.

in a world where information is always at our fingertips,

where reaching someone is as instantaneous as an eye blink,

tweeting is as simple as breathing,

and finding an answer to a burning question

is only just a click away–

it is good to slow it down...

and appreciate the wonderful things

that came before technology.

for instance:

the marvelous and oh so glamorous

fashion illustrations of italian artist,

rené gruau.

long before there was such thing as fashion photography,

digital photography, graphic design, and touch ups,

there were artists who sat with pen and pad in hand and sketched

and rendered beautiful women in still more beautiful clothing.

rené gruau was one such artist, and his work

known during the 40's and 50's as "the new look"

graced the covers of our favorite glossies:

vogue, elle, marie claire, harper's bazaar (to name a few)

and captured the enigmatic,ever.evolving elegance of haute couture

in advertisements for christian dior, hubert de givenchy, balenciaga,

lanvin and elsa schiaparelli (to name a few more!)

and perfectly portrayed the flash and electrical heartbeat of

such entertaining venues as the moulin rouge and lido.

with a body of artwork that is as brimming. with. life & glamour

as the fashionable bodies he illustrated–

rené gruau is one artist whose work proves

that fashion is not always frivolous,

and in the right set of hands,

can be timeless.

images via flickr.

also a cool tidbit that i read here,

is that his signature was a matter of happenstance

that started out as an ink spot on a finished drawing

and became the star that he kept his entire life.

how. very. illuminating.