Look of the Day: Kristen Davis

We are taking an unorthodox approach this week, choosing to showcase not one but four different looks that Kristen Davis sported this past week while she was doing the rounds at the SATC2 premieres.
It is no secret that Kristen Davis is one of our favourites when it comes to celebrity style, and last week did nothing to diminish our admiration of this lady and the chic way she carries every vintage outfit we saw her in.

At the New York premiere, she wore a 1950's couture Jean Desses frock, paired with vintage Fred Leighton jewelry, a Judith Leiber clutch and Christian Louboutin heels.
We love this dress, absolutely wonderful colour that could have been a tad overwhelming had it not been for the ruching. The dimension it gives the dress makes the colour a little less intense and sugary.

At the NYC premiere after party held at Lincoln Center, she chose this glittery vintage Pierre Balmain evening cocktail-length dress, Judith Leiber clutch, Fred Leighton earrings and strappy satin Renee Caovilla platform sandals.

At the London premiere, another vintage dress made an appearance on the red carpet.

A glittery 1960's Norman Norell, halter-style frock with mirror embellishment at the waist, complimented with a metallic Judith Leiber clutch and diamond drop earrings.

At the UK premiere after party, held at The Orangery in Kensington, she sported a gorgeous deep jewel green 1956 Christian Dior 'Delphine' dress, sable Ferragamo peep-toes, and boxy, gold Judith Leiber clutch.

What do you think of Kristen Davis' Looks of the Day??

Don't forget to enter our Dulken and Derrick flower pin giveaway. Click here to enter!!

Come On, Tell Me Everything....and a Giveaway!

I rarely find myself in front of the television these days but in the past, there have been a few shows I have enjoyed enough to make an impression on me. I always seem to catch the fever for certain programs after they are off the air and can be found on DVD, allowing me to watch a series at my own pace, usually in the wee hours of the night, when the house is quiet and I have alone time.

One of those shows that kept me company after midnight, during the first few months after I had my son, was 'Sex and the City'. Of course, the big draw for me was to check out the wardrobes of the 'fab four' and see what kind of magic costume designer Patricia Field had up her sleeve. Never left disappointed by what I saw, I became a fan of Ms. Field's, who also served as costume designer for 'Hope and Faith', 'Ugly Betty' and 'The Devil Wears Prada'.

Since blogger-land has been a buzz lately with SATC2 talk and the movie premiering in theaters last night, I thought I would come to you my friends, to give me what I need, a little taste of what Ms. Fields has in store for us this time. I know secondhand information is never as good as seeing it for myself, but since I haven't seen a film in the last little while that didn't entail a cast of ogres or meatballs falling from the sky, I figure I've got to get the goods from somewhere.

So tell me......

What fabulous shoes was Carrie wearing?

How cute were Charlotte's outfits (my personal favourite!)?

What kind of chic accessories was Samantha sporting this time around?

And what has Miranda done with that gorgeous red hair??

Now to prove I can give as good as I can take, I have a fabulous giveaway lined up for you. One of my favourite accessories that graced Carrie Bradshaw's wardrobe in the t.v series were the gorgeous Dulken and Derrick flower pins she casually threw on a t-shirt or LBD, making anything she wore 'very Carrie'!

We have a Dulkin and Derrick 'Pink Poppy' flower pin to give to one lucky reader!

This giveaway has been graciously sponsored by Blue Onion Marketplace, purveyors of such lovelies as the Dulken and Derrick flower pins, Pasotti Ombrelli hats and umbrellas, Kenneth Jay Lane jewelry, and the luxe Globe-trotter suitcases, just to name a few! Click on the link above or here to take a better look at all the finery they have to offer!

Now to enter the giveaway!

1. Leave a comment on who is your favourite fashionista from SATC for one entry.

2. Become a follower for one entry (if you are already a follower, let me know-it will also count for one entry)

3. Mention this giveaway in a post on your blog or in your sidebar for one entry.

4. Tweet about this giveaway or post a link for the giveaway on Facebook for one entry.

You can combine all your entries in one comment.

Good luck to you all and the winner will be announced on Friday, June 4, 2010!

And the Winner Is........

I am so excited to announce the winner of our 'My Mother's Clothes' giveaway. We had 48 entries for the giveaway and the number chosen (by Random.org) was .......

#24-Fried Pink Tomato!!!!
(click on the link to be taken to her blog)

Congratulations!

Please email me with your address and your signed copy of 'My Mother's Clothes' will be on its way.

Thank you to everyone who participated!

On the Cover: Julianne Moore at Vogue

I have always had a thing for redheads, maybe it's the fiery temperment that usually goes along with that flaming shock of hair.

One of my most favorite 'gingers', the stunning Julianne Moore, graced the cover of Vogue in July 2009.

All images courtesy of Vogue (July 2009)

Don't forget to enter our giveaway for a signed copy of 'My Mother's Clothes'. The contest closes today Monday, May 24 at 11:59am, click here to enter.

The winner will be announced later today!

Style Icon: Ines de la Fressange

Todays guest post on style icons comes to us from a woman who is a blogger icon in her own right. What else can be said about my dear friend Tish Jett from A Femme d'un Certain Age, that hasn't been said already! Not only does she know a thing or two about style (an understatement, if ever there was one!) but luckily for us, she graciously shares with us her daily musings on the art of fine living and chic style (the French way and otherwise). 
Click on the link above or here to be taken directly to her blog right after you read her style icon guest post on the fabulous Ines de la Fressange and don't forget to enter our giveaway for a signed copy of the book, My Mother's Clothes (click on the link to be taken to the giveaway)
Merci beaucoup Tish!

Inès Marie Laetitia Egalantine Isabelle de Seignard de la Fressange is an original.
If it’s too soon to call her an icon, surely one day she will number among the most famously stylish women of all time.

It is almost unjust to talk about Inès and then slap on the adjectives fashionable, stylish, chic. She is so much more than the clothes she wears. But then one could argue that is the very definition of style.

What Inès has is personality, character, elegance, charisma. She radiates charm and an almost careless attitude toward dressing.
She is a master of l’art de vivre in all its varied manifestations. Her homes are a further expression of her taste in their fearless decorating styles.

One has the impression she decided early on to enthusiastically embrace life with an unconditional joie de vivre. Wherever she is – at a chi-chi event, with her daughters, working with Bruno Frisoni in her position as president and artistic director of Roger Vivier, hugging her dogs, strutting along a runway, walking down the street – she appears happy.

What better cosmetic trick in the universe than a smile and a loping gait?
Everything about her, from her omni-present smile to her easy, breezy hair seems unstudied, nonchalant. Is she wearing makeup? (Perhaps a smoky smear of shadow, a little liner.) Did she spend hours “putting herself together?” Did she fuss with her coif? It seems unlikely. And that is what makes her so utterly divine. She is natural, completely comfortable in her skin.

She can pull on a pair of slim jeans, her Vivier ballerinas, a white shirt (collar up) and a blazer and look beyond chic. Sometimes she doesn’t bother with accessories, though she likes belts. (I’ve never seen her with painted fingernails.) Then, later the same day, she’ll invent something unexpected for a glitzy soiree.

Granted, Inès was blessed by nature: Her beautiful Argentinean mother was a model and her father a descendant of an old aristocratic family. And of course the gene pool also gave her that enviable extra-long, lean body which makes for a dream dressing base.
But she is not a classic beauty. She is better than that, more than that. She has an aura and a magic about her that has nothing to do with age or lines or the superficial. She transcends the definable.

I remember watching her dance down the runways, particularly chez Chanel. While other models sulked she looked like she was having the time of her life.

The gamine of those days will celebrate her 53rd birthday in August and to my eyes she is prettier, more interesting, more elegant today than she was back then.

Oh yes, did I mention the posture? Perfect. The poise? Impeccable. The voice? A little gravely, very sultry. If you can’t get enough of Inès and you would like to see her in all her insouciant, stylish glory, just click here and take a virtual walk with her as she shows you some of her favorite secret places in Paris and tells us why it’s always better to buy one pair of shoes that are too expensive than five compromises.
Eh, oui. She is French after all.

http://www.rogervivier.com/en/#/ines

On the Shelf: 'My Mother's Clothes' and a Giveaway!

This past Mother's Day, along with all the other sweet handmade trinkets my children gave me for being "the best mom we ever had" (yes, that is a direct quote from my kiddies!), I received one present that I had to share with you.
When I first reached for it across the breakfast table, my daughter told me to "save it for last mommy because it's a book that daddy said you are going to love and you will need some alone time for it". Well, with an introduction like that, I was very eager to get my hands on it but it was well worth the wait!
My family obviously knows me very well (as they should!) and while I am not into clutter of any sort, they know I will always find one more perfect spot on the already crammed bookshelves to tuck away another treasure, which is exactly what this new book has turned into for me, an absolute treasure!

The treasure I speak of, 'My Mother's Clothes', comes to us from author and photographer Jeannette Montgomery Barron. This sweet and touching memoir of photographs reads like a mini biography of her mother, Eleanor Montgomery Atuk, devoted wife, beloved mother and as the author puts it "a genteel force in Atlanta society".
When her mother's memory started to show signs of fading due to Alzheimer's, Jeannette Montgomery Barron did what she knew best, she took her camera out and simply started snapping some pictures. She began cataloguing her mother's chic wardrobe in a series of photographs as a way to draw those long-ago memories back to the surface. These images of her mother's clothes eventually evolved into so much more. They evolved into a daughter's loving tribute to her mother and a way to preserve memories of her as she battled with this horrible disease that eventually took her away from her family, friends and the world that she loved.
To say that I adore this book would be an understatement as I have found myself going back to it, flipping through it again and again, every day since I got it. I had read some reviews of the book before I received it but in no way could they have prepared me for how deeply I would be touched by the author's photos and words, not only as a mother, but more so as a daughter of a mum I admire, love and can't imagine a world without,  much like Jeannette Montgomery Barron.

Click on the clip below for a small taste of what is in store for you!

My Mother's Clothes

Now for the really exciting part!! I have a copy of this fabulous book, signed by the author herself, Jeannette Montgomery Barron, to send to one lucky reader, just read below for all the contest information!

Many, many thanks to the author, Jeannette Montgomery Barron and her publisher, Lena Tabori of Welcome Books, for all their much appreciated help!

To enter the giveaway:

1. Leave a comment on this post for 1 entry.

2. Become a new follower for 1 entry (if you are already a follower, let me know, it will count for 1 entry).

3. Post about this giveaway on your blog for 1 entry.

4. Tweet about this giveaway for 1 entry.

You can put all of your entry information in one comment and the winner will be announced on Monday, May 24, 2010.

Good luck to everyone!

Tuckered Out!

Have you missed me?? I have been away for a few days and I do apologize for that. I've had some very pressing business to take care of that has been keeping me up till all hours of the night (a sick little boy with a very high fever and cries for his mommy!) And as luck would have it, as he is starting to feel better, his mommy is not! 'Exhausted' could be a word to use but I think the image above paints a slightly more glamourous picture so I will go with it.

Not being a glutton for punishment, I am going to 'try' to take the rest of the day to recuperate and will be back first thing in the morning with a new post and a fabulous giveaway!

Now, off to spend a few hours hiding away in the tub!

The Lovely Ones: Katherine Hepburn

Katherine Houghton Hepburn was born on this day, May 12, 1907 in Hartford, Connecticut.

A student of history and philosophy at Bryn Mawr, she received her degree in 1928, the same year she made her debut on Broadway.

The four-time Oscar winning actress starred in numerous films like Morning Glory (1933), Little Women (1933), Alice Adams (1935), Bringing Up Baby (1938), The Philadelphia Story (1940), Adam's Rib (1949), Pat and Mike (1952), and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) which also starred the love of her life, Spencer Tracy.

Married once from 1928 to 1934 to Ludlow Ogden Smith (with whom she remained friendly with for the rest of her life), it was her relationship with Spencer Tracy that acquired her the role as one half of the most famous celebrity pairings of all time. Although they never married and continued to keep separate residences throughout their 26 year relationship, Ms. Hepburn took a 5 year hiatus from her acting career to take care of her ailing love, till his death in 1967. 

She had an unconventional approach to the accepted fashion of the times and preferred to eschew make-up and embrace menswear and pantsuits, high-waisted pants, oversized sweaters and loafers, almost single-handedly (with the a little help from fellow actresses Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich) breaking down the fashion barriers for women at the time. An avid golfer, swimmer and tennis player, her penchant for athletics came through in her sporty, classic American look.

Katherine Hepburn passed away on June 29, 2003 in Fenwick, Old Saybrook, Connecticut and was laid to rest in Hartford, Connecticut.