Brown paper packages tied up with string...

Just quickly a few of my favorite things, which, of course, mostly have to do with fashion :)

1. Rayban Aviators! 2. Paris... 3. Motorcycle boots to go with my girly dresses 4. Masks! 5. Audrey Hepburn everything 6. Red Lipstick 7. My Camera 8. Pretty Lingerie 9. Books! 10. Beautiful Heels!

& Fortune

Is it worth it?

Batty for Banhart and Dotty for Dukoff...Oh Yeah, I Said It

All photos care of LA Times, copyright Lauren Dukoff

I saw these photos in the LA Times this morning and I went nuts. They're amazing, and that's coming from someone who was never a big fan of Devendra Banhart. It's not that I didn't like his music, it was just that it didn't really move me in either direction. But that was before I new about how stylish he was. Eeeevvvverrything's different now. 

These photos remind me of the Avedon portraits of Andy Warhol's Factory Family, in a way. They represent a group of artists creating a world for themselves, a community. With as much style as possible. I love the way these photos look, as if from another time, and I love the clothes, and the ideas, and the crazy people. I love that they've all known each other for years. Dukoff, the photographer, went to high school with Devendra.

I don't know. It's hard to explain. But don't these pictures speak for themselves?

PS: Go check out Banhart's website - I just did and it's so much fun! (Just to give you an idea, there is a Devendra Banhart interactive paper doll.)

*NB: Again, the photos have been cropped to fit the post, which is very irritating and I can't figure out how to fix it other than tedious resizing in photoshop before hand, which I don't have time for. Just click on 'em. If anyone can tell me how to make them stop cropping, please let me know!

Dreamboat

Source: The Sartorialist

Augh. He's so beautiful. LOOK at him! Bah...there is no God. I should be back in Italy right now.

Bon Voyage, et Bon Chance

I love to travel. Driving to the bookstore, road trips, 13 hour flights - I love getting somewhere new and exiting. 

Well, I don't actually love the traveling part - I love the new places part. And the accessories. 

Because people, who doesn't love a good old-fashioned solid, dependable, lovely suitcase? 

They're aesthetically pleasing and practical!

(I'm really exited about this point because usually I only ever find things that match the 'aesthetically pleasing' point. Which doesn't bother me at all, but still, its nice to have both sometimes)

Suitcases fascinate me. I couldn't really tell you why, something about the orderliness of fitting a life into a small space, finding a spot for each and every item. (Another thing I love are pockets - which are plentiful on suitcases) I love older ones, with their hard cases and satin linings, and new ones with beautiful patterns or supple leather... small vanity cases, hat boxes, steamer trunks (God I love steamer trunks) but not duffel bags. Sorry, but those things are just...giant lumpy cloth slugs. Ew.

Here are some of my favorites I've found sprinkled around the internet. Some are being used for their original purpose, some have been given new lives. Some are ancient, some are brand spankin' new. Some have a story, some haven't started theirs yet. All of them are wonderful :)

*NB: Some of the photos, even at their smallest, are cut off when the post is published. Please click on them for a full image, its worth it for all of them!

1. Suitcase vanity mirror via weheartit * My absolute FAVORITE of all of these - I wish I knew how she did this!!!  2. Photo via Elen Usdin 3. Pink suitcase via Miss Kris 4. Solar powered entertainment trunk by Louis Vuitton 5. Vintage numbered suitcases via Yimmy's Yayo  6. Vintage Samsonite vanity case  7. Limited Edition Goyard steamer trunk showcasing Visionaire Magazine 8. Steamer Trunk - inspired coffee table by Sundance, via CasaSugar 9. Snapshot of a stack of Goyard Trunks, viaBlog Sorbeta  10, 11, &  12. Paper Source suitcases  13.  Skeleton Collection by Alexander McQueen for Samsonite

P.S. {Pink Secret}

I was listening to music while I wrote the Pink Post, and thought it would be nice to add a soundtrack to my favorite pink things (can you tell I really like this topic?) 

The idea is that you choose a song, hit play, and scroll down to my first (below this one) post of the day titled Prettier than Pink.

So here are a couple of songs to listen to while perusing my list- enjoy!

Prettier than Pink

Good morning!

 

So, I read an article on Plum Sykes in the July issue of Vogue UK, and while I'm not really a big fan of her work per se, I like her style. Even if it's completely different from mine. Especially. 

The article was nothing. I lied actually. I didn't even read it. What caught my attention was the spread on some of Sykes' favorite things. She is famously obsessed with all things pink, which I find fascinating - I mean, this woman has designed her entire life completely around the colour pink. Her poor husband ;) 

Anyway, I loved so many of the items chosen (I even bought a few, like the pink moleskine volant notebooks) that I wanted to try to make a list of my own favorite pink things. I'm really more of a red girl, but pink gives me this feeling of being ultra-feminine which I adore - something like living in a cross between Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day and Breakfast at Tiffany's. Which really isn't much of a cross at all, its more of an extra layer of femme... but I'm digressing.

Alors, without further ado, here are ten of my favorite things in that delectable tint of rosé:

From top:

1. Illustration of Louis Vuitton f/w 2009 collection by Tanya Ling 2. Photo from French blogger The Cherry Blossom Girl's bedroom series 3. Vintage dress tags from PapierValise.com 4. The cover of 77 Love Sonnets by Garrison Keillor *I've been collecting pink books lately, and in addition to the beautiful cover of this collection, the works themselves are lovely... 5. Nars nail varnish in Schiap Shocking Pink *So named after Coco Chanel's equally talented rival, Elsa Schiaparelli; pioneer of surrealist fashion 6. The Glamourai's exquisite Marie Antoinette necklace *unfortunately, sold out, but I believe orders can still be placed for the next batch ** Go check out The Glamourai's blog, totally amazing! This girl has more style in her pinky finger than I do in my entire body. 7. Beautiful fashion illustration by Bill Donovan - 'Anett' left a link to his profile for me in a comment on my post "You Take My Breath Away". I would love to know if she has a blog of her own - sadly, her profile is private and inaccessible. Thank you all the same, they're a treasure! 8. Love Poems by Pablo Neruda, Nobel Laureate. * This is now one of my favorite books I own - aside from being lovely (admittedly, my original motive for purchasing it) it is also powerfully moving. The original spanish is printed on the left pages, with an English translation printed on the right. His poetry takes my breath away, literally. 9. Cadillac El Dorado Beach Cruiser * I would ride it in a big floppy straw hat, my hair down, in a completely impractical white cotton and lace sundress and sandals...with a wicker basket maybe? 10. Peonies! These are some of my favorite flowers, and I think pink suits them very well, don't you? Incidentally, I took this photo from a food blog that I read, called Cannelle et Vanille which I LOVE its amazing...it's by a chef and food photographer, and in addition to being visually stunning, she gives the full recipes for everything she posts. I love this woman, she makes me happy.

Let the light shine through

Source: Via {This Is Glamourous}

I am preoccupied with interior design. I need my own space. I have two other girls sleeping in my bedroom with me and what's worse, the whole room is purple - down to the lilac wall paint. Its not hideous, by any means; its just incredibly undeniably NOT ME. 

I love this room, yellow and white is a favorite combination for me. Especially this pale yellow. It just calms me down...makes me happy. 

I wish I wasn't living at home. This is ridiculous.

The Sea Gypsy

Source: Lenaah's Flickr

A friend of mine came across this poem by Richard Hovey ,originally published sometime in the late 19th century, in a book of children's poetry from the forties, and she wrote it down. She read it aloud to me and I immediately had to write it down. There's something about it that catches me, and enthralls me. Its supposed to be about the ocean, but its lustful, passionate, more like a love poem, and I understand.

I am fevered with the sunset,

I am fretful with the bay,

for the wander thirst is on me

and my soul is in Cathay.

*

There's a schooner in the offing,

with her topsails shot with fire,

and my heart has gone aboard her

for the Islands of Desire.

*

I must forth again tomorrow! 

With the sunset I must be,

hull down on the trail of rapture

in the wander of the Sea.

You Take My Breath Away

...That's what my dad used to say to me when I was little. And I was so embarrassed by it that I made him stop. I really regret that now.

Just a few of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. Loveliness is everywhere.

From top:

• Rachel Weisz
• Kate Moss
• Audrey Hepburn
• Natalie Portman
• Liv Tyler
• Kaya Scodelario

Welcome to the OC, Bitch

Lately, all I want to do is read. I want to find a nice cafe somewhere, and sit there all day and read a stack of books, just switch to a different one whenever I feel like it. No one calling me, no distractions, no people I need to see, just happily flipping through page after page of a towering stack of books on every imaginable subject.

I have the books, and I have the cafe, but then things start going downhill. Back in San Francisco, there was always someone who wanted to see me, or something I had to take care of before I moved back home (yeah, its pitiful) or work at 5 in the morning or or or...and I never really did get to read all those books I'd collected.

Now I'm back in Newport (cue tears and ululating) and I have EIGHT people in my house, with a two year old in the mix who seems to have a radar for people who don't want to play with her, parents who are dead set on harassing me "for my own good" so I don't "stagnate", and four other children. Oh, and my uncle is coming to stay for a week in a few days. Kill me now. 

I just want to READ damn it. Can't everyone just leave me ALONE? I promise, I'll do everything else, just give me a few days to myself. There's so much happening all the time. 

At least Kate Moss is serene, although I'd quite like to change her choice of reading material.