Friday, October 30, 2009

♥ the dance of fall.



red and yellow
green and brown
all the leaves fall over the town.

round and round,
on the ground,
twirly green
how many have you seen?

summer come
now its gone
leaving falling
a blooming crown
of yellow and brown

red and orange
beautiful colors all around
swirling,
twirling,
reaching heaven
the dance of fall.

( my mom & i when i was in 3rd grade)

Thursday, October 29, 2009

♥ gotta love that afro hairdo.



ever since i saw this collection,
i can't get afros out of my head.
i was very tempted to wear one for halloween,
but at the risk of looking like a circassian woman,
i decided against it.






in the early 19th century,
circassian women were believed to be
the purest form of white beauty.
their images would appear on makeup ads and
they would sell like hot cakes.
legend has it that they were victims of sexual enslavement
and that they escaped their harem life in turkey
to live free in america.

p.t barnum took this myth and gave it life
producing his very own versian of circassian beauty,
{one which he took complete liberty to fabricate}
these sideshow women were known also as "moss haired girls"
who would tease their hair into afro like puffs,
and hold it in place using beer of all products!
when their exotic oriental look lost its luster,
these women turned to snake charming
and sword swallowing.

on second thought,
maybe i should be one of them for halloween!


Wednesday, October 28, 2009

♥ those who do not want to imitate anything produce nothing.



my boyfriend and i watch alot of movies. ALOT.
so what better way to spend a drizzly wednesday evening
than cozied up with my boy, a bottle of wine and
brand new woody allen comedy,

i can't say more wonderful things about this witty little comedy,
it is charming and heart warming and very well cast.
in typical woody allen fashion, the characters are
self deprecating, hilarious and brilliant,
and (as films like annie hall (1977) and
rife with personal style.

i was smitten with the stylish looks worn by the
overly religious, overprotective southern belle–
turned threesome–loving artist, marietta,
played by the exquisite actress, patricia clarkson.

in nina garcia's fashion tome,
the little black book of style, the fashion editor asserts;
"there are countless scenes throughout the history of film,
scenes that stick in our minds and inspire us to emulate these women,
or their style at least."

i wholeheartedly concur.
here are a few shots from the film that better illustrate my point:

southern belle:
city gal:

my favorite part of the whole bohemian/artist look
is the perfectly wrapped head scarf.

it reminds me of a few of my other favorite
headscarf moments on film:




and of course, no one can wear a trend better than


want to look as cute as j.lo in your head scarf?
here are some cute instructions to try for yourself,

and remember,
"when imitation goes over big,
it isn't an imitation.
it's a trend."

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

♥ art is only art when it is synonymous with living.

help!
if any of you lovely readers knows anyone
who happens to own a time machine,
please let them know that i would
love, love, love
to go back in time to the '60's
not only to bear witness to
the beauty of women's fashion
but also to experience the
colorful, whimsical folk–inspired majesty
that is the work of architect/designer

renowned for his bold and playful textiles created
for modern furniture manufacturer, herman miller,
alexander girard also had a hand in designing
everything from menus to matchbooks for
manhattan restaurant, la fonda del sol,


and was instrumental in the redesign of
which included everything from the colors
and font at the end of the plane
to the lounges, sugar packets and stationery
and created a cohesive look that literally went
above and beyond.

since time travel doesn't appear to be
an option at the moment,
i am thankful that websites like
offer a wide variety charming art, textiles and objects
that will make any home a happy one.

here are a few must haves:


Monday, October 26, 2009

♥ the way we were.


i don't know about you guys, but every now and again
i love to take a stroll down the old memory lane
and look through piles and piles of
family photographs.

it doesn't matter if the pictures are of relatives
and acquaintances that i have barely met,
i just love to get an idea of what my parents
were wearing and what they did for fun
back in the day.

so you can imagine my
surprise and delight
when my boyfriend stumbled upon
this lovely blog, oh so appropriately named:

now, in my spare time i can
peruse pictures of other people's parents
{say that five times fast!}
and get even more of a perspective on
maintaining a timeless style.

here are a few fashionable
family shots that are sure to inspire you
to someday look half as awesome
as your parents
once looked.

love the oversized sunglasses, head scarf, cuffed jeans & knee boots.

love the long sleeved mini dress & bouffant hairstyle.

love the high waisted shorts and ruffled top.

love the effortless european summer vacation look.

love the curly hair & excessive chest hair.

love the cut of the dresses, the lace and the headpieces.


love the very coordinated plaid swim suits.


love the dark eyeliner, bangs and ruffles.

love the shades in the shade.

love the easeful button down shirts.


love the prints, big glasses and bangles.

love the unabashed wedding dress, wine & cigarette.

love the bohemian beach look.

ps. my parents just celebrated their
twenty six year wedding anniversary this weekend :)
here are a few snaps of the when they were my age!

my mom had purple hair and my
dad was an urban cowboy.

remember, in fashion,
one must always look back
in order to look forward.