Quote of the Week - Christian Dior

Elegance must be the right combination of distinction, naturalness, care and simplicity.

Last Weekend on the Turntable

Here Come The Warm Jets
Brian Eno - 1974

100 Years of Menswear

My first fashion book - if you could call it that - was the C volume of Encyclopedia Britannica. When I was bored as a kid my Mom would tell me to go and 'read the encyclopedias'. So I did. The C volume contained 'Costumes of the World'. I still have that volume somewhere - probably nestled amongst my 25 years of fashion magazines in storage.

I was lucky enough to come across One Hundred Years of Menswear at my community library. I don't buy books often but I will, however, be buying 100 Years of Menswear.

Cally Blackmann had me sold within the first paragraph - read more here. Her argument is,

'...menswear has had a far greater influence on women's fashion over the last century than the other way around.'

from 100 years of Menswear

I'm always on the look out for more inspiration! Please share yours in the comments here or on the Bijou Living page on Facebook www.facebook.com/bijouliving.

Vintage Callot

1932

Quote of the Week - Le Corbusier

Arthur Erickson
Eagleridge, West Vancouver, BC

The house is a machine for living in.

Did you know...

The three-piece suit was introduced in 1666 as an effort to teach thrift to the nobility. more

Design Lover: Finn Juhl Model 45

Model 45
designed 1945

Last Weekend on the Turntable

The World Is A Ghetto
War

Convocation Catwalk

University of British Columbia
Originally uploaded by Bijou Living

Where has Stacy been? I found a job! Two years of searching complete - at least until the end of my contract. I'm working in acadameia - which is where my professional training and education have been.

So, there I was yesterday sitting up amongst the faculty cheering on our graduating class of 2010 and what was I focusing on - shoes, pant hems and gown lengths.

What you wear under your convocation gown is more important than you think. I learned this fourteen years ago at my university convocation. I wore a floor length black skirt and white collared shirt. However, I did not realize that the gown's v-neck would be so high and the length would not be suitable for one of petite stature. I had to tuck in my collar and accept that I quite possibly looked like a nun shuffling across the convocation catwalk.

So, as you strutt off on that runway to shake the hands of people you don't know remember to work that catwalk! It's your rite of passage and your time to shine!

PS This time I wore black opaque tights, platforms and a collarless shirt under my gown - and I channeled Carine Roitfeld to remind me how to sit.

Style Inspiration- The British 1920s Hot Places

(or more frankly British colonialists) think fashion Brideshead Revisited, The Great Gatsby, A Passage to India, Out of Africa

Vintage Bill Blass

1970
I'm thinking Dries Van Noten tribal Spring 2010

Quote of the Week - Albert Camus

In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.

Style Inspiration - Serge Gainsbourg

1928-1991

I could not resist

Being a child of the 80s I wanted this tank dress as soon as I saw it in Christopher Kane's Spring Summer 2010 collection.

Well, I found it on sale!

Next to the words 'free' and 'deal', 'sale' is my third favourite collection of letters in the English language. I'll probably only wear it to the beach, to yoga or to bed which all happen to be amongst my most pleasurable activities so money well spent.

What's better than wood panelling?

images by Mark Williams

More wood panelling! I received my daily email update from ELLE Decor South Africa this morning and I just had to share this - what could be my dream home - with you. Head over to their site to view some more great shots by Mark Williams.