BIJOU LIVING

Oct 8, 2008

9 Women To Inspire You

Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months. Oscar Wilde - one of literature's most fashionable scribes

So if your fashion inspiration is as done as the Fall leaves try these inspirational icons on for size:

1. Marilyn Monroe

Can a turtleneck look sexier?

2. Melissa Auf der Maur

Leggings and Frogging

3. Janis Joplin

Velvet, lace and layers of jewels - very Givenchy

4. Greta Garbo

The Scarf

5. Jill Kennington

The Leather Trench

6. Marianne Faithful

The Maxi Coat and Clutch

7. Sophia Loren

Winter Beach Hair

8. Brit Ekland

The Baby Doll and Loafer

photo here

9. Debbie Harry

Pale

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Oct 2, 2008

7 Excuses to catch that last minute flight to NYC

YSL Uptown Seventies Chic

photo decades

1. Yves Saint Laurent investment opportunity - collectors are abuzz with the YSL treasures to be found at the Manhattan Vintage Clothing Show - bring cash for the most negotiating power and go for the 70's stuff (Oct. 10 - Oct. 11).

Alexander McQueen

photo FIT

2. Something unseen was seducing you - "Gothic: Dark Glamour" at the Fashion Institute of Technology - expect Givenchy, Eiko Ishioka's gowns from 1992's Bram Stoker's Dracula, Alexander McQueen, Thierry Mugler and John Galliano.

Babar being shot at

3. A childhood friend was in town - Babar - you haven't forgotten your favourite pachyderm have you? "Drawing Babar: Early Drafts and Watercolors" at the Morgan Library & Museum

Nooka Zoo watch

4. You had to buy a watch at the MoMA Store - MoMA has some of the best designs available under one roof.

Installation at the Met's Superhero exhibit

5. Superman needed you - "Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy" at the Met

Gramercy Park Hotel

6. You were entertaining business clients for lunch - Gramercy Park Hotel roof top patio

Adbusters issue 79

7. You had to see an authentic 'hipster beard' with your own eyes (I prefer the hipster moustache) - any coffee shop in Brooklyn

Oct 1, 2008

Five Weekend Bags

There comes a time when you've just got to get out of Dodge and there's no time like the present.

Here are five bags for hitting the road.

1. Dunhill Chassis Carbon Fiber Leather Holdall Duffel

2. Jack Spade French Market

3. Cole Haan Portage - saddle leather gets better with age.

4. Samsonite Amalfi Boston Bag

5. Diesel Einstein Bag

Sep 30, 2008

How to say no to pension funds and yes to art

I don't have stocks, pension funds or RRSPs. I have art. A safe, approachable and long term investment.

If you're looking for an investment I suggest heading over to Art for Hope (Oct. 1) and then straight up to WhiteWalls in San Francisco and back in time for Tarfest in Los Angeles (October 4). Stop at Bonny Doon vineyard and tasting room in Santa Cruz on your way.

Shepard Fairey has already taken the UK by storm so grab him while you still can.

someone can send me the print of this please...

we'll call it a finder's fee

Sep 25, 2008

What will they say when you die?

With the beginning of the autumn equinox I'm reminded of the unpredictability of life and death.

The changing leaves reading like summer's obituary to the world.

Why not make sure your obituary reads like the changing of the leaves?

Here are my top five obituaries that prove you should write your own:

1. 'Notorious throughout the world.' Benedict Arnold

2. '...she gave a few faint gasps and died.' Mattie Ayers

3. 'His intellectual abilities and literary skills were never in question,... his judgement was.' John Allegro

4. '... she was a worthy partner to the worthiest of men.' Martha Washington

5. 'Bongo-drummer, confidence trickster, brothel-keeper, drug-smuggler and police informant". Lord Tony Moynihan

Obituary of Benedict Arnold

Sep 24, 2008

25 Cocktail Party Must Haves

Friends are coming for cocktails tonight.

25 things to have on hand:

hand size snacks such as - popcorn, cheese, pickles, crackers, wasabi peas, Cheezies, or other nibbles - nuts with a vintage nutcracker are always a hit, make sure you have a bowl for the shells
ice, ice and more ice
cocktail napkins and regular napkins
coasters
vintage serving bowls
tea lights, candles, lighter
ice bucket or two
soda, tonic, juice (cranberry, orange, tomato), pop, cold flat or carbonated water
cocktail straws, cocktail picks
garnish - lemon, lime and good cocktail cherries (check what your drink recipes call for)
extra toilet paper
whiskey, bourbon, rye, rum, vodka, gin, dry and sweet vermouth, cognac, two bottles of both white and red wine, beer, bubbly
clean cloth to quickly wipe up spills
plenty of clean hand towels in the washroom
bottle opener and corkscrew
a game - personally I can't stand games but some people love them at parties
burgundy glasses, beer glasses, martini glasses, rock glasses, champagne flutes
list of cocktail recipes - check the drink section of my blog, or Art in the Age and MasonShaker have some of my current favourites
clean house slippers if you insist your guests take their shoes off
organized front closet with empty hangers (no wire hangers)
bitters, simple syrup (easy to make - boil two parts sugar, one part water or 1:1 shaken until sugar dissolves)
an empty garbage under the sink
cocktail shaker
phone number for a cab or designated driver service - the host should pay or prearrange
appropriate music

Sep 22, 2008

Helmut Lang - Don't call it a comeback

He's been here for years. The F/W 08 collection will remind you of why you loved Lang in the 80s. Sold to Japanese powerhouse, Link Theory, the brand was relaunched in 2007 under the creative direction of Michael and Nicole Colovos of denim label Habitual.

Some critics say the new Helmut Lang is nothing like the old. I disagree. Helmut Lang in the 80s represented the sexy, dirty, bat caving, vodka drinking, creative set and still does - they're just not sporting jet black asymetrical hair cuts, mc hammer pants and elfin shoes.

What you see in the F/W 08 collection is Japanese street chic to a T. Now all Lang needs is a cigarette brand...

Check out Helmut Lang for the full collection.