Tuesday, April 28, 2009

My Gorgeous File ~ every Monday

Roger Vivier ~ Haute Couture 2009


Dior Haute Couture
I keep a blog photo file simply called Gorgeous. It's full of all things I find gorgeous, girly-girl, pretty, glamorous, inspiring, and in their fanciful manner they often lift my spirits on Monday when I open my files for the upcoming week. So I've decided to gather these together in a random fashion every Monday to share their sheer beauty in the hopes they will do the same for you. We all need a little of that! I've had my eye on this little Dior Haute Couture number for many months, it was one of the first fashion photos I posted on my blog sidebar a few months back. I simply think it is one of the loveliest creations I have ever seen. So does everyone else, the frothy creation has practically become iconic for a number of reasons. You must pick up the latest issue of Vanity Fair and see the photo spread with actress Emily Blunt (of Devil Wears Prada fame) wearing all manner of haute couture. Not only does the photography by Michael Roberts take your breath away in all it's feminine glory, the article written by A.A. Gill makes a valid larger-picture point to the place of couture in these dismal times. He also answers a fashionable question.....Why do men's and women's buttons do up differently?

Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci . Lace Fan by Defrise ~ Paris

This photo didn't make the Vanity Fair issue but it is on their website. Note the exquisite court-like shoes by Roger Vivier with the fanciful pink bird detail shown in glorious detail above. You must go to the Roger Vivier website {click here} the interactive website is worth a visit. This link will bring you directly to the Haute Couture section where you can watch how the shoe-and-purse illustrations of creative director Bruno Frisoni turn into finished product. Just click on any of the illustrations. Then visit another visual treat on the same site.... the Ines Little Diaries written by Ines de la Fressange and follow her video shopping diary. The former- model-then-turned muse to Karl Lagerfield at Chanel is now the brand ambassador to Roger Vivier and takes you along as she explores hidden shop gems located on Paris streets a bit off the beaten track. The direct link didn't work so just watch the right corner of this interactive site on the main page to see a page corner flip over and then click to get to her section.

Emily Blunt reclines in suggestive style wearing a Christian Lacroix frock (saying dress just seems so inadequate in this case) on a settee that captured my attention. Note the silk flowers and you are going to see a theme here that I can't help but notice going in more than a few stylish directions. I love it when that happens.

Ingrid at Fashion Is My Muse has been blogging about the historical use of lace. She must love this delicate Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci. I have a feeling we're going to see more lace, floral, and petals......maybe ribbon?


When I saw the satin ribbon, the rose quartz , the delicate lace-like creation from jewelry designer Ranjana Khan....I knew I was going to have to borrow this incredible necklace photo from Judith over at the blog Paris Atelier to sit amongst all these lovelies. I don't think she will mind, she shares gorgeous so well.

It isn't just the couture that makes this photo shoot so incredibly perfect. The talented Vanity Fair Senior Style Editor Jessica Diehl deserves a loud but ladylike round of applause for locating the perfect backdrop located in Le Raincy outside of Paris, but putting those chairs in a random fashion...... a stroke of styling brilliance.


Do you see a connection? Exquisite paper flowers by paper artist Jo Lynn Alcorn adorned this staircase setting by designer Amy Lau in this year's Kip's Bay Showhouse in New York. She worked with designer Amy Lau and Maya Romanoff Wallpapers to create this floral application that has everyone going crazy at this year's designer showhouse. The showhouse is open until May 13th.

Though based in New York, paper artist Jo Lynn Alcorn does a great deal of work in Japan where they have a cultural affinity for her paper creations. Visit her website {click here} to see more of her incredible art.

Though she works in vibrant colour as well (see her green flowers for the Harper's Bazaar-Japan cover in her portfolio) I love her white or tone-on-tone renditions, here's a daisy creation backdrop she did for a Marc Jacobs ad campaign.

I saw this photo on the blog French Blue today {click here to read more}. She has paper art on her radar (and her beautiful blog banner) so her blog is always full of this gorgeous craft. Paper artist and teacher Jeffery Rudell did these fanciful wigs in handmade French paper for the Tiffany window "Queen for a Day" displays in New York. I'll see if I can find out more about his "papercut" talent.


"Couture is a promise to the future from the past: There will be entrances and orchestras again, carriages and candelabra again, parties and seasons again. Throughout the history of civilization, doom, doldrums, depression, and disaster have descended to paint the town gray. But they will also recede, leaving little but a shudder. What is left, what abides, is beauty.

A.A. Gill - Vanity Fair ~ May 2009


20 comments:

  1. Wow, I'm soooo glad I stopped by! Thanks for sharing! Exquisite and beyond!

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  2. This is a beautiful post, Sande. I love your appreciation of beautiful, delicate, feminine things. Emily is lovely and I adore those elegant period costumes. Thank you for your sweet comment!

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  3. Gorgeous! It's so hard to pick a favorite! But I think mine might be that wallpaper. So pretty!
    I've been having trouble with my email lately. I wanted to make sure you knew that you won my Big Mama Necklace giveaway! Congrats!

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  4. Such a lovely post -- filled with flowers and feminine things -- always adored the Dior in the first image.

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  5. Sande!!
    I was dying looking at your post! I was thinking WOW...please please God...could I be a bug for just a minute so I could live in that shoe with the bird on it or in that white dress with the flowers on it~ What a surprise when I saw your mention of FrenchBlue as part of this very whimsical post! Thank you miss Sande! I am so honored to be a part of such beauty~~
    xoxo's
    Janet
    p.s. what about those flowers you found on the wall?? Will you wrap us a small white box with on of those huge flowers on top?

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  6. Dear French Blue,
    You guessed it! I'm already trying to figure out how to get my hands on those papercut flowers for gift boxes without actually doing it myself....not too good with the scissors, maybe with ribbon, but that's all! I'll keep you posted. Good to hear form you.

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  7. Unbelievable!!! Just fabulous eye candy! Noel Solomon, Janet Solomon of Frenchblue & Co.'s artistic daughter, from fanciful-fancifulblogspot.com can make the most fabulous huge paper flowers in the world. She has done them for store windows. Maybe she can help with your unique gift wrapped idea. Oh... I would buy!!!

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  8. Oh I love these kind of posts, such a great title: "My Gorgeous File". These things are perfection, I adore the Vanity Fair images, the neklace and the paper arts just top of the cake :-) Not to mention such a great quote. Thanks Sande. Love: Evi

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  9. What a fabulous post full of beauty. Thanks for the mention.

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  10. Make sure to stop bu my blog on Thursday... I painted one of those photos... it's my virtual dress for my leaving Paris party... you're invitied!
    ENJOY!
    Fifi

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  11. What an exquisite post Sande! I loved every single letter of it! You are so very glam and chic! Everytime I visit, I get so inspired! Thank you!
    xoxo
    Judith~

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  12. Oh! I almost forgot! I love the new font on your banner!
    Judith~

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  13. I have a Pretty Things folder on my computer with hundreds of images, and every Saturday I post one on my livejournal. Pictures of some of your beautiful creations are actually in it. I'm glad to know that other people collect pretty images too!

    -Katy

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  14. hello gorgeous! everything in this post is beautiful!!!! seriously!

    xox

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  15. Those pics are so decadent. The pale pinks are amazing!

    Betsy

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  16. I saw the article and photographs and loved it too Sande, xv.

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  17. These are amazing! I think people stand in awe when something is made of paper like that. I love all of it it makes me cringe with excitement! I love working with paper...
    xo/Noel

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  18. Wonderful post! Love the paper flowers and I also feel the sudden need to buy a pair of bird shoes. Thanks for sharing!

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  19. The paper flowers are lovely, so are the dior pictures with an antique ambiance

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  20. Wow!! Your blog is so beautiful!! So glad I found it :) Thank you so much for sharing all these beautiful things :)

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Your comments are such a lovely addition to my day. Thank you.

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