G-Star Boots F/W 2010

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I've set up a Bijou Living YouTube channel where I've stored some of my favourite online tips, music and inspirations. Stop by for some entertainment if you're so inclined. http://www.youtube.com/user/bijouliving

Gucci

circa mid 90s when ripping pics out of magazines make sure you write the date somewhere

How to look good in the heat

New York Times - Sunday July 18, 2010

Well, now don't I wish it was humid here...

Bill Cunningham captured some wonderful shots of stylish men holding their own in New York City's humidity. Remember my summer business formal post I did for Daniel back in January? Review it here.

My choices for best looks:

1. cotton poplin suit - btw now is a good time to get a classic one on sale.

2. the red pants - one of my girlfriends dated a guy who wore red pants. We called him 'Pirate of Red Pants'. He now works at some posh London fashion school and I don't.

3. pocket square, carnation and spectator shoes - how stylishly late 30s.

4. midnight black aviators - no comment necessary.

5. I want to see what he's going to wear the pinstripe pants with. This is a man who knows how to utilize his wardrobe.

6. leather gloves - age spots on hands are no laughing matter - start protecting early - French cuffs - no you don't look pretentious.

7. Hello!

Supermodel Girl Crush #1

Estelle circa 1985
my first supermodel girl crush - note pin holes in the corners

There's something about Lou Reed's voice that makes me want to snuggle

Quote of the Week - Robert Mitchum

mom, marilyn, billy, dolaine, dennis

There isn't any way to win but there's a way to lose more slowly.

a found letter

letter found in a thrift store First Edition of Skinny Legs and All

dated May 1990

Tom Robbins is not my favourite author (neither is Jack Kerouac) but I've read all his books. I started with Another Roadside Attraction solely for the reason it was the title of the Tragically Hip's (hello Gord Downie!) now defunct traveling music and arts festival. Skinny Legs and All
was my next venture. I think I remember this one because I read it in the early 90s and although the prose irritated me the vibe had a personal sense of familiarity. Yes, I'm proud to have slept in fields and hung out at the Cottonwood Market helping friends sell burlap and vintage upholstery bags.

My favourite Hip album:

Road Apples

of course I can't resist Bobcaygeon, Wheat Kings, or Scared...

Last Weekend on the Turntable

Portishead Dummy

1994

Vintage Emanuel Ungaro

1980
French Vogue

Design Lover - Vintage Sony Table Radio

From my private collection

circa 1970s

Tip of the Week - The Appetizer Plate

An hors d'oeuvres plate is small for a reason.

Quote of the Week - Susie Tompkins Buell

my baby shower - my mom's the one with the corsage

You may well change your clothes from season to season, but I don't think confident women change their style. Style is connected to your values.
Susie Tompkins Buell co-founder Esprit

Last Weekend on the Turntable

The Legendary Ravi Shankar - Golden Jubilee Concert Live

Style Inspiration

Amedeo Modigliani
1884-1920

Did you Know?

The first spectator shoe, originally designed as a cricket shoe in 1868, eventually became an essential part of the 1930s yachtsman's wardrobe.

Vintage Versace Men

1980

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.