Tag Archives: Fashion

Hello, Gorgeous!

Good morning & *HAPPY* Monday! After last week’s holiday madness, here are a few random links to help you start your week off smiling.

Hello Gorgeous Grace Coddington Breakfast at Tiffany's

Listen

On Sunday, Husband, bestie, and I will be going to see Grace Coddington at the Frist in Nashville. In case you haven’t heard (or have been living under a rock), the Vogue creative genius has just release a memoir with Random House. Needless to say, I was particularly excited when I heard Grace’s lovely British accent speaking with Terry Gross this week on NPR’s Fresh Air. (& thoroughly entertained by how polite she remained despite some rather ill-informed questions) You can click here to hear the entire interview.

Read

Did you know Breakfast at Tiffany’s was 1st published in Esquire’s November, 1958 issue? (After being rejected by Harper’s Bazaar, might I add.) Whether you watch the movie, read the novella, or read this book about the making of the film
(which I found fascinating!), spend a little time with Capote’s geisha this week.

Watch

I’m just an old romantic (and a Cosby Show addict), but I just had to share this video. I had no idea Mama Huxtable had been proposed to on national television on Thanksgiving Day. Isn’t that sweet?

Disney + Barneys New York

I’ve got to say that when I first saw the pencil thin sketches of Minnie, Daisy, & Goofy, I could not believe Disney would do this seasonal collaboration with Barneys New York. With the emphasis on weight and vanity that already exists for young girls, I just didn’t understand how the exaggerated figures of such beloved characters could ever be a good idea. However, after watching the short, I think I was wrong. As Barneys had said in the past, it really is all about fantasy, and it doesn’t seem (to me) to be encouraging the behavior as much as showing a little daydreaming about something that already exists. We do put waif models on the runway twice a year in beautiful clothes. When you imagine yourself in their shoes, do you really see yourself as that realistic size 10 wearing Dolce & Gabbana?

What do you think? Offensive or just a little daydreaming?

Hello, Gorgeous! : Random Links to Start Your Week

Read:

When I first started reading blogs several years ago, Alicia Paulson’s “Posie Gets Cozy” was one of the first ones I read. Not only does she make incredibly beautiful things, she is a beautifully poetic writer. She’s also the type of writer that makes you feel like an old friend after reading just a couple of posts. Needless to say, when she announced that she and her husband recently had the privilege of adopting a precious baby girl, I couldn’t help but cheer.

In case you are unaware, November is National Adoption month, and this is a cause that is very near and dear to my heart. There are so many children out there who need a family or, more accurately, a safe place to be loved. So go  read Alicia (and Amelia)’s story and then pray about maybe donating time or funds to those kids who haven’t been lucky enough to find their place yet.

Eat: 

Last week I posted this photo on Instagram. (How did we eat lunch before camera phones?) I couldn’t resist. This is my favorite time of year to grocery shop! Fresh cranberries and cider are on display in every bodega while baking powder and Swanson broth are sold in bulk at the market. I am a firm believer that making your own food leads to a more beautiful life so if you’ve never been much of a cook, this is definitely the time to start! I’m going to be posting lots of basic recipes over the next few months to help us all learn some skills while we hunker down for winter starting later this week with this basic cranberry relish. It’s the perfect condiment for turkey sandwiches or tart taste to have on the side of your Thanksgiving plate.

Wear:

This week, I couldn’t help but laugh when I came across these LIFE magazine images from 1945. Animal sweater are *everywhere* these days, and I must admit that seeing how adorable these girls look in them, I may actually have to give in to the trend. Although, I think this saxophone sweater may be a bit more my style.

** BTW, SUPER FUN ANNOUNCEMENT COMING
YOUR WAY AT NOON! **

A Tale of 2 Michaels

For those you that follow me this isn’t news, but, for the rest of my lovely readers, I should probably give some background. I have been flying back & forth between East Tennessee & NYC all summer as Husband does an internship with Michael Bastian. It has been an absolutely amazing opportunity that I’m sure I will elaborate on at some point, but, now that Fashion Week has come to an end, we are heading back to Knoxville so he can finish up his MBA in December. However, before we come home, I couldn’t resist sharing some of my favorites from Michael’s two Spring collections: his flagship and Gant by Michael Bastian.

The thing that caught me the most off guard about Fashion Week really had nothing to do with the fashion at all. It was the feel. Every event we entered had a different feel and no 2 were more contrasting than Michael’s presentations. The runway show was enveloped in white: white walls, bright white lights, even a white carpet. And when the music started and those models walked out, we were transported into several minutes of white-hot sexy. The cuts of the sweaters were bold, the beachwear was hot, and the suits were owned by those men. (When the linen dinner jacket entered the room there was literally a collective gasp from the audience, because it was that perfect.) The man that wears Michael Bastian knows exactly who he is, where he’s going, and what (or whom) he’s going to do when he gets there. Umm… did I mention Husband has ordered several of these pieces? Lucky me.

snapshots from Michael Bastian's Spring, 2013 collection

Snapshots from the third row of the Michael Bastian runway.

Fast forward 3 days, and there was a party going on in the west village complete with greenery, dancing models, and an insanely tasty rum cocktail. The pieces I simply cannot get out of my head? The bold new takes on the Southern belle’s favorite: seersucker.

Party in the Galapagos

I cannot possibly express what an amazing whirlwind of a week it has been. This entire experience has been absolutely incredible both for Husband and for me. To think that a short six months ago, I had never even been to New York. We were reading fashion magazines and dreaming of being a part of that world. When Husband started the MBA program last Fall, Michael Bastian (fresh off his CFDA win) was his favorite designer and the *ultimate* internship to put on top of the dream list. Now we’re lucky enough to call the Michael Bastian crew friends. Isn’t that just crazy? As my momma always says, “God works in mysterious ways.”

But alas, all good things must come to an end. Tomorrow we will make the 12 hour drive back to Tennessee and reality. See you on the other side!

The Launch of Social Primer

Have you ever met someone via Twitterland and known immediately you would be friends? Well, that’s how I felt about Cooper Ray. I just couldn’t help it. When I first met Cooper in person, he was a month out from his now much-lauded premier presentation, and he was a true force of energy. Cooper is one of those rare people that can pour you a glass of scotch, invite you to sit down at his table, and immediately make you feel like you’re one of his oldest & dearest friends.

So when we got the invitation to his show, an invitation “from the men of Social Primer… to join the brotherhood,” it was not only an invite to a New York Fashion Week presentation, it was a chance to support Cooper. If you read his blog, Social Primer, you know Cooper as an etiquette expert, a successful businessman, and a designer that has recently partnered with Brooks Brothers to produce a line of reversible bow ties & the classic tailgating blazer. (Can you tell he was raised in the SEC?) You will also know him as a quintessential Southern gentleman, born and raised in Alabama, and now hailing from ‘the Holy City’ of Charleston, South Carolina. If you follow him or read him, you know him. So it should come as no surprise that when he put out the call to his band of faithful followers to invest in the future of Social Primer, they responded by the thousands. ($25,742 to be exact)

You see, there’s just something about that spirit… maybe it’s Southern, perhaps it’s preppy, maybe it’s ‘the brotherhood,’ but, whatever it is, Cooper has it. He didn’t just give a presentation, he gave a presentation in one of the most venerable settings in the city. As guests entered, we were handed a book of “Pledge Rites,” a special edition of his Bill of Rites for the American Man and a Scotch. (Note: I’m sure there were other drinks, but for the Southerners in the room, that was all that we needed.) And, as we walked over to view the collection, we were greeted by none other than his *lovely* mother, a sweet lady donning pearls and beaming with pride. The looks were fantastic as modeled by a ‘pledge class’ rotating intermittently on risers. I’m still swooning over one particular red sport coat. The contrast fabric ties that made him famous are really cranked up a notch. His details were spot on: notice the SP tshirts… his logo was even embroidered on the shorts. But, of course, you’d expect nothing less… That’s just how Cooper does things.

Please Note: Some images are mine. Some come courtesy of Mr. Ray.
 
 

Labor Day, oh Labor Day!

This weekend, we threw a little dinner party to say goodbye to those summer outfits we will miss the most. As you can see, we also sipped a little whiskey cocktail to soothe our downtrodden hearts.

I must admit, here in the South we say goodbye to summer half-heartedly. When September 4 is usually in the mid-90s, it’s hard to get too enthusiastic about saying goodbye to our lightweight seersucker skirts and unlined blazers. However, I will be the first to remind you that rules are rules for a reason. By not wearing white linen after Labor Day, you are really showing the world that your mama raised you right! You are showing respect for the seasonal dress codes that come with good breeding. And, perhaps more than anything, you are hoping to will Autumn into being. When it is 95° on September 28, let me just remind you that were it not for the fact that you are wearing smart red chinos with a few layers on top, people may not even know it is Fall! Changing over your closet on Labor Day is really just a Belle’s civic duty. You are reminding people to stay strong; Autumn will come eventually. Mother Nature has promised us cooler temperatures and, with that in mind, I suggest you turn on a box fan, pour yourself a sweet tea, and go clean out your closet. Solidarity, sisters!

What about you? What item will you miss the most from your summer closet?
For me, it will be my madras skirt.