The amazing and ever-inspiring Anna Dello Russo gave photographer Garance Doré her first fashion editorial shoot. These images were featured in the February 2011 issue of VOGUE Nippon and present amazing eye-catching prints against a traditional, neutral, yet- stately background. I’m in love. The jewelry is as striking as the clothing!
“Anna Dello Russo is not only a fantastic and sensational style icon. She’s also in love with images and each and every month dares to follow her intuitions and let her imagination loose in Vogue Nippon.” - Garance Doré
I had such a great time last week at the DVF Highland Park Village spring party co-hosted by Krystal Schlegel and Tina Craig with my friends Elizabeth and Annie fron THE NOW STYLEBOOK. I am definitely a fan of their ever-stylish blog. The duo certainly has an awesome style aesthetic! Check out their pictures from last week’s party (including the amazing shoes) and the rest of THE NOW STYLEBOOK. I am also thrilled that Kyle made it from - Knight Moves! Yes, it is true: bloggers have more fun. ;)
I was in Neiman Marcus the other day and came across this beautiful collaboration from Jo Malone featuring patterns from the legendary designer David Hicks. Choose from scents: Red Roses, Pomegranate Noir, or Lime, Basil, and Mandarin - three of Jo Malone’s most popular fragrances! The patterns are striking and they’d certainly make a great gift for any style or design loving friend. And, after you’ve finished burning the candle, it would certainly make an equally stylish container!
Gwyneth Paltrow at her cookbook launch party - *Evan Sung for NY Times
Whether one likes, loves, or loathes GOOP, one should respect that Gwyneth Paltrow is an ambitious and talented multi-tasker. Personally, I’m fascinated by her. In fact, The New York Times titled a recent article, “She Acts. She Sings. She Cooks?” This past Monday, in celebration of the release of her new cookbook My Father’s Daughter, Paltrow hosted an intimate dinner party and cooked in front of a crowd of “60 of her closest friends, many of them starts themselves” with guests including Cameron Diaz, Martha Stewart, Alex Rodriguez, Christy Turlington, Jessica and Jerry Seinfeld, Mario Batali, Jay-Z, Blythe Danner, and Paltrow’s husband, Chris Martin.
Gwyneth Paltrow and Martha Stewart - *Evan Sung for NY Times
image from Gwyneth’s cookbook of the pappardelle recipe - via One Kings Lane
“There were 13 ducks and 26 celeries, I was chopping all day yesterday,” Ms. Paltrow, dressed in a pristine white frock, told the NY Times, “I’ve never cooked for a party this size. I was completely freaked out by the sizes of stockpots and pans.” The dinner party was held at a palatial home in Manhattan on a tented terrace and “two long tables were set up with simple dinnerware, courtesy of One Kings Lane.” The evening was complete with the three-course menu, all recipes from the cookbook, handwritten on a black chalkboard. The first course was roasted red peppers with anchovies and escarole followed by the main course of pappardelle with a hearty duck ragù (there was a lighter version option as well). And, dessert was a simple dish of berries in caramelized cream, served with coffee. Sounds delicious!
Gwyneth Paltrow’s tablesetting at launch party, provided by One Kings Lane - * Evan Sung for NY Times
It only makes sense that bridal, style, and couture mavens Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig would partner up with Lenox crystal to create a signature dinnerware collection. And, as striking as the collections currently featured on the Lenox website for Marchesa by Lenox, was the Marchesa and Marchesa by Lenox preview party in Manhattan. And, what a preview it was! The images take my breath away.
At an evening at the Apthorp, Marchesa designers Keren Craig and Georgina Chapman mingled with the likes of Ann Dexter-Jones, Olivia Munn, Mary Alice Stephenson, Courtney Love, and Arden Wohls. Guests swooned over the new Marchesa bridal dresses and the new Marchesa by Lenox collection. It was clearly a lovely evening for an even lovelier crowd.
Marchesa bridal collection preview
Georgina Chapman and Olivia Munn - isn’t Georgina’s dress incredible?
Marchesa by Lenox preview
completely chic of course!
Georgina Chapman, Courtney Love, and Keren Craig
Natalie Von Bismarck, Arden Wohl and Georgina Chapman
Marchesa bridal collection preview
The china of course- is truly exquisite. The Marchesa by Lenox collection includes patterns: Paisley Bloom, Spring Lark, French Lace, Porcelain Lace, Palatial Garden, and Painted Camellia- to name a few. They are all beautiful in their own right. Shop Marchesa and Marchesa by Lenox.
Loving the new fragrance from Oscar de la Renta - Esprit d’Oscar! VOGUE was fabulous enough to send me a sample last week and I’ve worn it every day since! It truly might be my new signature fragrance! (shh, I didn’t tell you that!)
I love this! What is more chic than hanging the feathers of what looks to be the most elegant swan on the planet above your kitchen table- or better yet, your bed?
I saw the new Judith Leiber Night fragrance a few weeks ago in an issue of Town and Country magazine and remember giving it a second or third glance. I simply adore its sleek, glamorous, Art Deco bottle inspired by one of Judith Leiber’s own designs “The Streamline.” As a fan of the Judith Leiber page on Facebook, I recently spotted some incredible images from a recent Judith Leiber shoot they published on my newsfeed. I was so thankful when Judith Leiber fashion consultant Lucy Sykes Rellie informed me that the fragrance has a beautiful video as well (featured above). Lucy styled the video and after watching it several times on Facebook in complete rapture- I wanted this fragrance even more! Judith Leiber clutches are works of art. It is only natural that the brand’s second fragrance would embody the idea of an innate and effortless elegance.
Judith Leiber Night is a rich, luxurious, and intoxicating oriental fragrance with opening notes of bergamot and black cinnamon leading to its floral heart of peony, lily, and jasmine. And, it’s not just for nighttime, style.com notes: “Despite its name, the black cinnamon, jasmine, caramelized amber, and incense flacon will actually work in the daylight hours, too, with a sultry sophistication that smells über-feminine on the skin.”
Judith Leiber truly is the epitome of evening glamour. There isn’t a clutch that compares. And, after watching the Oscars and the Golden Globes year after year- Hollywood seemingly agrees. But, Hollywood was not the first to sport the sparkling clutch, Jackie Kennedy Onassis carried her custom made piece to the Inaugural Ball. Fiorella Valdesolo noted on style.com, “Even before they became celebrity favorites, the envelope-size, jewel-encrusted wonders were beloved by another famous set: First Ladies; Leiber’s custom-made bags have been a staple at presidential inaugurations since her company was founded in the early 1960’s.”
Sarah Jessica Parker carrying a Judith Leiber clutch at the New York City Ballet Spring Gala
Heidi Klum with a Judith Leiber clutch
Kristin Davis carrying Judith Leiber
Judith Leiber Golden Koi
Judith Leiber Slide Lock in Deco
Judith Leiber Slide Lock in Leopard
The most amazing aspect of the line is its ability to consistently incorporate high style with high glamour without looking overdone. Though they are ornate and decorated with intricate patterns of crystals, Judith Leiber clutches are such crafted with the highest quality and attention to detail that they are never overbearing. The pieces are eye-catching and simply stunning. And, I certainly can’t wait to adorn myself in Judith Leiber Night.
The April/May 2011 issue of High Gloss Magazine is here! This is the second issue for the new online publication and I am so excited to have contributed again! Be sure to check out the second issue online and follow the magazine on Twitter and Facebook! Don’t forget to check out my interview below with the amazing Amy Smilovic of the contemporary fashion line Tibi. I loved meeting Amy a little over a year ago when she made a visit to Dallas!
with Amy Smilovic and Paige Hardison at Stanley Korshak
The Condé Nast Worldwide News Store in London - Jean-Phillippe Defaut for the International Tribune (nytimes.com)
In a world where the the rapid pace of digital technology seems to far outshine the printed, Jonathan Newhouse, chief executive of Condé Nast International has again shined a spotlight on all that is glossy. In February of this year, the New York-based publisher, Condé Nast opened Condé Nast Worldwide News in Vogue House in London - a newsstand created to display the company’s entire international range of magazine titles and offerings along with their mobile and iPad applications and individual websites.
Condé Nast Worldwide News brings more than 130 Condé Nast magazines from 25 countries into one place for your purchasing and perusal for the very first time. As British Vogue writer Julia Neel stated, “The latest issue of Vogue? Of course. The latest issues of Spanish, Italian, French, Japanese, Greek, German, and Brazilian Vogue? Also not a problem.” With this new innovative kiosk, don’t expect newspapers, but expect to find the latest edition of most Condé Nast magazine titles from around the world.
Condé Nast Worldwide News
Visitors to the newsstand will be able to browse through digital versions of their favorite publications as well using the iPads attached to sleek plastic tables. British GQ reported, “The space- also featuring Condé Nast-branded books- has been created to display the magazines ‘like objects in a museum,’ according to designer Ab Rogers (son of the British architect Richard Rogers), with each magazine individually lit, and the combination of a luminous yellow floor, pure-white walls and mirrors creating a ‘peaceful haven.’” Magazines, exhibited like works of art? Why did it take so long for an idea like this to be realized?
“Our magazines are visually exciting products- featuring stunning works by the finest photographers- but most kiosks do not display them to full advantage,” said Newhouse. “I thought a beautiful, modern newsagent could do so and at the same time reinforce the power of the magazine brands and the wide geographic range of our offering. And, it was important to display them together with video screens, iPads and books. It was a little dream I had for a long time.”
Condé Nast International chairman Jonathan Newhouse and Vogue Italia editor Franca Sozzani at the Condé Nast Worldwide News opening (vogue.uk)
Tatler editor Kate Reardon at the opening party (vogue.uk)
The NY Times reported that “Condé Nast is again accelerating the expansion of its international magazine arm, which accounts for nearly half of the company’s revenue.” The company is selling several thousand iPad versions of Vogue and GQ each month. “If you didn’t know there was a digital revolution going on, you wouldn’t think there was anything happening with the magazines,” said Newhouse.
So, what is the future of their traditional glossy counterparts? According to Newhouse, this project and the creation of the international kiosk itself “is a way to demonstrate that magazines remain relevant and financially viable in a world where some consumers, advertisers and investors look on the print media with the disdainful eye of a Condé Nast editor discarding the outdated fashions of last season.”
British Glamour editor Jo Elvin celebrating the opening of “the most glamorous news kiosk in the world.” - vogue.uk
Harvey Nichols’ Averyl Oates at the kiosk opening. (vogue.uk)
British Vogue creative director Robin Derrick and wife Lisa Eldridge
Vogue’s Stephen Quinn with Anita Borzyszowska, Gap’s vice president of global PR and special projects.
No matter the clear uncertainty of the future of printed publications, it is a truly a dream come true to see the merging of international publications sold and displayed under the same roof. The world of glossies at your fingertips- meticulously curated and celebrated like an art gallery? This is the store the publishing world has been waiting for- a partnership between the digital and paper publications. In the case of the Condé Nast newsstand, they celebrate and complement each other and do not seemingly attempt to phase one another out. “I believe strongly in the future of print as well as digital,” Newhouse said, “Not out of emotional attachment- it’s good business. The numbers support us.” Cheers to that! I can’t wait to visit on my next trip to London.
Visit the Condé Nast International Worldwide News store at 20 St George Street, London
This quote from Gloria Vanderbilt in the Taigan newsletter today captured my attention- but it’s so true! Has anyone had a chance to read her book yet? It’s definitely on my “to purchase” list! And, judging by the cover- it’s lovely!
“It’s black, but it’s not dirty enough, and it hasn’t gotten any stickers on it. It’s rather more bumpy than the other one was, but the surface will soon get scratched about.”- Jane Birkin on VOGUE.com
J.Crew has several limited edition products that are giving back to Japan relief efforts. J.Crew has teamed up with Japanese artist Pesu to create this eye-catching minimalist graphic tote. The best part? 100% of profits from the items benefit the Japanese Red Cross Society to assist in earthquake and tsunami relief efforts. This tote is a must-have for summer days at the beach! The t-shirt (featured below), is also a limited edition remembrance of this tragedy created by an in-house graphic artist at J.Crew. 100% of the proceeds from the t-shirt also benefit the Japanese Red Cross. Now that is happy shopping!
