John Galliano’s Marie Antoinette Inspired Collection for Spring 2010

Marie Antoinette

As promised, I am thrilled to bring you a very special guest post today from talented artist and style savant Ingrid Mida. Ingrid's repertoire, which includes beautiful, fashion-inspired artwork and photography (be sure to visit her online gallery), is regularly exhibited in Toronto, and she brings a wonderful historical sensibility to each creation. She is particularly inspired by Marie Antoinette, thus making her our ideal guide for this Dior collection. Enjoy!

"Marie Antoinette and the pre-revolutionary court of Versailles seem to be an ongoing source of inspiration for fashion designers, including the spring 2010 collection of John Galliano for Dior. Although the links to Marie Antoinette are more subtle than his “Masquerade and Bondage” collection of 2000, they are there nonetheless. The influence of Marie Antoinette on the Dior collection for winter is in evidence in the riding costumes, luxe hats atop frothy, pouffed hair styles and exaggerated hip lines.

The pouf hairstyle was a signature hairstyle for Marie Antoinette and much copied after she debuted it in 1774. Galliano brings the elevated hairstyle back in this collection to great effect!

During Marie Antoinette’s reign, extravagant hats often topped these towering pouf hairstyles. Similarly, Galliano adds frothy and luxe toppers to complete many of his over-the-top fabulous confections.

Perhaps most obvious is the influence of the riding costume on the Dior collection, especially as Galliano ended the show by appearing dressed in riding attire. 

The male-style fraque a bavaroise was popular for women in 1779 and had lasting impact on women’s fashionable attire. Galliano's interpretation of riding costume in the Dior winter collection is the height of elegance and chic!

Exaggerated hip lines somewhat reminiscent of panniers can be seen in several of the beautiful long evening gowns.

Marie Antoinette was the first fashion icon. She serves as a muse to many designers like Galliano and artists like myself. Please visit me at Fashion is my Muse to read more posts about her and visit my website to see artwork inspired by this period."

- Ingrid Mida

Images: Marie Antoinette and the Dior Collection.

Americana All Year Round

The Fourth of July is always a bright, fun-filled holiday, heavy with color. But for some homes, a more subtle approach can be very attractive, and a patriotic theme can work longer than a few days a year. The new Americana collection at Wisteria reminded me of some of my favorite patriotic decorations.

This regimental drum basket from Wisteria would look wonderful 

filled with a bouquet of flags or festive flowers, such as red tulips.

Folk art and traditional American symbols are a subtle way to bring a patriotic touch to the home.

You can use traditional wooden game boards as trays or table decoration as well.

Or, find something you enjoy that reflects a famous American home, such as a mirror reminiscent of the White House.

Products: Wisteria. Sketches: the White House. Table: http://www.table-settings-with-pictures.com. 

Artist Maira Kalman at Monticello

Thomas Jefferson's brick and mortar autobiography was Monticello:  43 rooms in the Roman neoclassical style. In a recent edition of the New York Times, artist and illustrator Maira Kalman created a picture story on Thomas Jefferson and his beloved Monticello, called The Pursuit of Happiness. Here are a few of her lovely illustrations, as well as some historical tidbits on design. Be sure to visit her blog for the entire story.

THE PARLOR:  Jefferson was ever the apt designer, and he frequently made up what he couldn't buy or find to his liking, such as the pattern on this parquet floor. He also created the automatic double doors visible on the left side of the room (when one door was opened or closed, the other followed in mirror fashion). If you're excessively curious, and enjoy watching tourists awed by a door shutting, click here for the video. Jefferson played violin very well, and liked to perform in this room with his little grandchildren dancing around him. 

JEFFERSON'S BEDROOM:  TJ invented the triple sash window, thus becoming the hero of generations of height-averse housekeepers. He also invented several of the items visible in Kalman's illustration - including the multi-book reading stand (left side), for your on-the-go senior statesman who doesn't have time to use bookmarks. His bed is in an open alcove, with a little ladder on one side for accessing handy storage up above. The practical Mr. Jefferson was able to function entirely out of one space, with equal ease in working or sleeping. 

THE FOYER, as rendered by Kalman. This is not, as it looks to modern eyes, a trophy hall (although it was that too). This was a museum of the Americas. The instigator of the Lewis and Clark expedition and author of Notes on the State of Virginia had many prominent foreign guests to his home, and his personal museum proved to many doubtful European eyes that variety and profit abounded in the New World. Keep in mind there was then no Smithsonian, no Guide to American Wildlife, and that the hapless discoverer of the Platypus was labeled a fraud. 

A room Thomas Jefferson designed. Do we have any cause to doubt the aesthetic talent of our founding fathers? Today's average politician constructs pork barrels, not buildings.

Images: Monticello, monticello.org. Maira Kalman images via the nytimes.com.

Redesign: The Green and White Chinoiserie Desk

I have a quaint little fold-top desk that has been with me since childhood. A writer must have a desk, however small, and this one has followed me like a devoted little dog through a series of apartments and houses, frequently squeezed into awkward corners, dragged up stairs, or stuffed in the back of my SUV. My faithful desk needs a face lift, and I've decided to do it in green and white chinoiserie. 

It may look average now - but wait till we're through!

THE PROJECT

1. Replace the handles and knob with brushed brass bamboo hardware.

2. Decoupage the interior of the desktop in a green and white trellis paper.

3. Paint the foot and crown of the desk in a green matching the paper.

4. Fill it with beautiful things!

THE PIECES

A few favorite items I'd like to use in my re-design (clockwise):  

1. Thomas Paul crysanthymum pillow. 

2. Iomoi personalized paperweight. 

3. Brushed brass faux bamboo hardware. 

4. and 6. Iomoi pencils. 

5. Jasper Conran for Wedgwood china (for paper clips and odds and ends). 

6. Lucite green and white chinoiserie tray, by Iomoi. 

A Jonathan Adler chippendale style faux bamboo chair, accented with a Thomas Paul pillow. While I'm concentrating on renovating the desk right now, a new coordinating chair is in the future. I may get a green version instead of white - Adler makes both!

A bamboo trellis pattern wallpaper I'm planning to order for the interior decoupage. I'd love to do Wearstler's Imperial Trellis (see below), but it's a bit pricy for an amateur project. I need an affordable paper available in less than a single roll, in a green and white trellis pattern. Do you have a great suggestion? Send it on!!!

THE RESULTS...  stay tuned! 

In the meantime, here's a little of my inspiration. ANY mention of chinoiserie can't overlook the stunning blog Chinoiserie Chic, the authority for this subject in the blogosphere. Check out Beth's recent post on the Blanc de Chine Office, as well as a detailed how-to on chinoiserie decoupage, with stunning results like this:
Maybe I should do filing cabinets next?

And while we're at it, here's an example of Kelly Wearstler's Imperial Trellis used in decoupage and the green Jonathan Adler chair. I'd already thought up this scheme when I stumbled on the picture, and it was nice to see how well it could come off. Here's hoping for a happy ending!

Movie Credits:  All "pieces" as listed above.  File Cabinet Photo, originally Domino via StyleCourt, via Chinoiserie Chic. Trellis Decoupage Cabinet Photo, an unknown, online find. If this is your picture, please email me so that I may give credit where credit is due!

My (Uninteresting) Lovely Things

Tag, I'm it! Creative talent Sarah Klassen of Haute Design tagged me to list 6 lovely and uninteresting things around my home (be sure to check out her own very unique list). Really, I think all lovely things ARE interesting no matter how common, so maybe I bend the rules a bit here... perhaps? 

1. Coffee, Coffee, COFFEE! My cup of Joe is the reason I arise each morning. I can't face all that wretched sunshine and good cheer without some fortification. And believe me, you don't want to talk to me until I do.

2. Flats. I do love a pair of heels, but my uniform is stylish flats, calvin klein jeans, a little jacket, and a big necklace. My favorite flats for winter are Tory Burch and Pretty Ballerinas. In summer, it's Miss Trish of Capri and GAP - I love to be active, and I just feel ready to run in a good pair of flats! And yes, I do tend to store them in piles like this... my closet skills leave a little to be desired. 

3. Cupcakes. There should be many, many more of these around my house. Especially Mint Julep ones! Check out the blog Monogram Momma for the recipe! 

4. Books. I chose this image because it resembles my library, insomuch as they both contain books. Alas, the similarities end there, but I'm dreaming big. And in the meantime, I'm collecting as many books as I can (to whit:  after four days of antique shopping in Georgia all I managed to come home with was... antique books.  And prints from antique books. Hopeless.). Whether it's a gorgeous art book or a favorite dog-eared novel, books are a common and essential part of my home.

5. Headbands.  I have an ongoing battle with my hair - some moments I like it down, others, I can't bear to have it around my face... the consequence is that my house is littered with headbands. Most are pretty casual, but for a party, I'd wear something like this beautiful peacock feather band from LovMely Accessories on Etsy. Isn't it charming?  

6. Blankets.  What is more common or more cozy than a blanket? I use blankets just as much in summer as in winter - perhaps more.  It's a constant battle with the a/c down South!

What common items can you not get by without? 

Credits. 

Coffee: stylist Lucyina Moodie.

Flats: Harper's Bazaar image of Aerin Lauder's closet via Moodboard.

Books: Curious Expeditions.

Blankets: Joe Tyler.

Not Your Average Joe

I'm really loving this fabulously feminine condo by designer Joe Nye. I've decided I'll just move in. Care to come over and have some tea with me?









All images (plus an interview with Joe Nye), at Some Ways to Waste Time.

The Selby

This is one of those website you come across, and can't figure out a) why you've never heard of it before, and b) what you did in this world before you did. Todd Selby photographs interesting and creative people in their home environments - and between their style and Selby's photographs, this website is a treasure trove of image and expression.  

A few of my favorites from Francois Curiel's home in Geneva (head of Christie's, Europe).  

Art director Julia Roitfeld at home in New York.

All images, theshelby.com.

An Evening at Emory

This time of year, as invitations for graduations begin to pile up in my mail box, I'm awash in waves of college nostalgia.  New books, new pens, new paper, and learning new things. Enter Emory University's Personal Enrichment and Lifestyle program.  I'd never heard of this before, but it's a fantastic idea!  You can take classes that are usually no longer than half a day, and cover all sorts of interesting subjects you've always wanted to know more about:  Container Gardening, Clutter Bootcamp (for serious!), Decorating to Sell, Landscape Design, Decorating Basics, Kitchen Design, and even a Supper Club to explore great restaurants around Atlanta!  I'm in!  

Classes run through the summer on evenings and weekends, and costs range from about $80 to $180.  You can register at the website.  Happy learning!  

Picture, blackbookmag.com of Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate. 

Everyone Lives Happily Ever After

If it isn't that time of the year again.  You made it through Christmas (barely), you survived some birthdays, you thought serious gifting was behind you, UNTIL:  the Wedding Season!  From showers of every description (book, tool, kitchen, lingerie, you name it) to the weddings themselves, it's time to get to some serious gifting.  But never fear, dear reader.  I didn't give you heart palpitations only to leave you uninspired and alone. Here are some ideas for taking the pain out of presents.

1. Preparation:  The calendar is your friend. Write the event down in your planner, then backtrack in your calendar and write "get xxx gift" with a list of the places he/she is registered (give yourself at least a month lead time for a wedding invite; two weeks for a shower). Do not stick invitations to your fridge in the vain hope that you will remember to go and get a gift - you will, the day before the ceremony when the sole item left on the registry is a $500 pet groomer that's only sold online.

2. Upgrades: Don't be afraid to go off the registry. I know, I know. Please brides, don't hurt me. But if the bride is someone you know well enough to match her taste, and you LOVE antiquing but would rather perish than enter a Bed Bath and Beyond, then go and get her something fabulous. Better yet, get her an upgrade of something on the registry - you will know that you're fulfilling a need, and she'll cherish that antique silver salad server years after the Crate and Barrel plastic ones have gone to the kitchen in the sky. If she registered for 400 count sheets, but you saw a sale for 600 count sheets in the same color - buy the 600 count!

3.  Gift Wrap:  Buy wrapping products in advance.  Places like Target or Kate's Paperie have beautiful bags, tissues, and bows in bridal themes.  If your friends are all sporting something glittery on their ring finger come January, then get thee to a store and buy up a variety of bags and papers.  When you purchase gifts later there won't be extra trips to find ways to wrap them, and the pinch on your wallet will feel like a little less too.  

4.  Calling 911:  If you've already blown it or you're scared you're going to, then leave the gifting to someone else (no, not your hapless spouse or friend).  There are professionals with good taste and the ability to take Mastercard to see you through this trial.  One of my all time favorites is Oooh La La Cadeau (hand wrapped frame, above), for her exquisitely wrapped gifts. After peeling away layers of fine french paper, silk ribbons, and rustling tissue, no bride will remember that the beautiful picture frame or set of fine linen napkins wasn't on the registry - and your thank you note will include a lot of exclamation points. 

With a little planning, we can ALL live happily ever after. 

Wedding images, marthastewart.com. Blue and White China, victoriamag.com. Wrapped gift image: ooohlalacadeau.com.