inspiration is where you find it

i am in full tilt interior design mode with my ongoing design quest for our condo. i have the great joy (and sometimes stress) of being able to start from scratch. a condo is very very different from doing the interior of a house - it's open concept for one thing - so every piece is pretty much in full view at all times and everything is close to each other so you are trying to fill separate rooms that are not separate - they all have to work together.

it's like the ultimate dress-up - you choose the dress (the couch and dining table) then you add the shoes (chairs & small furniture) and then the jewels and baubles (lighting and accessories)

I am only halfway in pulling on my dress.

The couch was found almost immediately but the table has been an elusive search for almost a year. we think we have finally found it but we will see - for such a solid item it's damn slippery to pin down. (and i will post pictures but have promised to let it be photoed by a publication - eventually and if they don't tire of waiting for me to finish - so until then can only offer a glimpse here and there as I go)

even though i am completely table focused i still keep a keen eye out for all things glamorous that might work down the road. i have been hunting for a desk chair to go behind my 1970s horn table for a while and have been fixated on this one  (it's gone by the way - judy, of the atlantis home blog and current featured closet collaborator on shrimpton couture, who originally posted the picture of this chair, helped me, via her designer friend, to track down the store it came from - but to no avail - long snatched up it was). i still love it and have been on the hunt for its twin ever since.

however i happened across this picture today of penelope cruz from the movie 'blow', and was memorized.

first - this to me is the epitome of the elusive look i would like to achieve for just one day before i die - its that 'i just swept up my hair in a bun and slicked on gloss and look effortlessly beautiful in that 70s diva kind of way'. (ok so she is doing drugs and is an addict in this scene and those fingernails are horrid - just horrid horrid horrid, but damn the girl looks good still)

second - i think i have the twin of this dress' (1970s dior) so i automatically feel like its a sign from the universe that i was meant to see this picture and know that i need to own this chair!

do you die? is it not a gilded, engraved, shell backed, dragon armed, over the top, completely non-essential, ridiculously unnecessary piece of golden gloriouseness?

if i could find this chair, i could wear my dior twin of this dress and sit in that chair and pretend that i am, just for one moment a

'i just swept up my hair in a bun and slicked on gloss and look effortlessly beautiful in that 70s diva kind of way' goddess of a girl

drug free of course - though i could look fervently over my shoulder for a moment just to feel the full drama of the moment ......

come on you know you would too - how could you resist not doing that??

boy what a chair

its a sign don't you think?

when jil sanders vicariously met garance dore, stacey kimel & anna dello russo

this photo was shot by garance dore for the feb vogue nippon. there is such an old world, sixties feel to it (with a modern twist) that i had to share with you

the dress is jil sanders spring 2011.

on the runway it was shown with a cropped jacket on top - it's an interesting play on proportions. it's a classic example of how much hair and make-up and styling can affect the look of a piece. it's an important thing to keep in mind for girls new to vintage. its easy to underestimate what an impact taking a vintage piece and pairing it with your own modern girl look and accessories will make. and how much your own styling instincts can change the look of a piece - even a strong piece like this dress gets a totally different feel by changing where the balance and emphasis of where you look is - hair and earrings in garance's version, through the bodice and hips on the runway look. small tweaks with a big impact on the feel of the piece.

jil sanders knocked it out of the park this year. making that full, voluminous silhouette work, and managing to make it be attractive to a modern girl takes some doing and she killed it. i see tons of young girls working this silhouette now in the blogosphere and expect that it will trickle down to the more fashion forward of the masses this season (fingers crossed). i am a full on, full length, love me a maxi dress kind of girl anyway so my fingers are crossed that perhaps people won't act like i am from mars when i stroll into the grocery store in mine for a change.

and you can bet that i will be posting tons of vintage versions over the next few weeks too.

in the meantime - check out some of my other favorites from the spring jil sanders runway..........

update:

i can't resist showing you one of the runway pieces in action. i came across this photo of one of my favorite girls - one of toronto's most stunning fashionista and a shrimpton couture client too-  stacey kimel. she stepped out at a recent fete wearing this jil sanders skirt from the runway

stacey kept true to the runway feel but subbed the simple T for a slightly lighter feeling tank. i like it and it is another great example of how a small change around one base piece - that tangerine floor length skirt in this case - makes for a lot of punch

stacey was at the recent party held at the room at the bay for the when tommy met anna event so i would be remiss not to post a shot of her with anna dello russo. it also gives you a chance to see the whole ensemble. i love love love that women are wearing full length dresses again.

isn't that a gorgeous shot? I love anna's over the top full 50s inspired skirt contrasted with stacey's trailing, sleek maxi. the colors work perfectly - i love when a quick snapshot at an event looks one step away from a styled shot, don't you? The man in the shot looking debonair while doing tux-in-the-city is the room's creative director, nicholas mellamphy.

photos: style.com & toronto life fashion

Flashback

Spotted in this month Harper's Bazaar Espana -  a fantastic shot c.1978 Chanel

We (vicariously) made the Net-A-Porter Magazine!

An eagle eye client sent me the link to a recent Net-A-Porter magazine and there in the pages is one of our favorite vintage loving girls - Susie, the print mixing mistress herself and author of the uber blog Style Bubble. The spotted her and used her as an example of print mixing and there she is looking gorgeous in her Shrimpton Couture vintage kimono!

Here is the full page from their magazine! Link here if you want to see the rest of this issue!

I just blogged about spotting her in this piece a few days ago here and had blogged about it way back when it was sent to her here. Love seeing the different ways you can mix it up!

Update:

Another eagle eyed reader spotted Susie in another spot of the magazine! Here she is again layering her look with a jacket over the kimono!

And if I can brag a little on her behalf she is in this issue for deserved accolades on being one of the best dressed girls out there!

Then vs Now

Every once in awhile I spot a piece in a recent collection whose reference is so completely drawn on an earlier version I do a double take. Normally this happens cross designer - a modern day designer uses a reference from the past ......we have all seen this happen right?

I get frequent updates from all the big sites out there - I firmly believe knowing what is happening now as well as knowing the past is important to doing what I do. Plus I like to shop - hell the very best outfits are almost always a mix of old and new! That's just fab girl closet rule number one!

This morning I was browsing through the new pretties for spring on Net-a-Porter and happened to click on today's Now

This is Spring 2011 Calvin Klein:

It immediately brought to mind today's Then
 
Spring circa 1980's Calvin Klein:

Sans sleeve and a color change - these are remarkably inspired by the same theme no? Except my version probably was produced in quantity a tenth less then the above and is the original. Love them both, but can't say I am not feeling a little "green" today

xoxoCherie

Need one or both? Spring 2011 can be found here for $2,395 or here for $2,009 or at your local Neiman Marcus or Saks, and Luisaviaroma will probably have it in stock any day as well. (OK so I am milking this just a little - I am biased duh)

The green one?

Only one place for that - go here, and it's priced at $400!

Beautiful Client Spot

Way back when, I helped Susie (of Style Bubble fame) find a bright and colorful vintage kimono. She posted a picture of herself in it on her blog and I posted that picture here, and was pleased as punch that she loved it!

I am even MORE pleased to know that she really does wear it as part of her ongoing wardrobe, and continues to do so. I found this gorgeous picture of that same Shrimpton Couture vintage kimono as part of a feature story on her and her style!

Doesn't she look fantastic?

She can put prints together with the ease of a master painter, that girl can. Susie is a serious print pro!

She is one of my favorite girls to watch style -wise. She is entirely original and mixes high with low, new with old, and established designer with the latest you-have-not-even-heard-of-yet upcoming, young designers.

AND if you do take the moment to jump to the first time I posted the picture of this kimono on Susie you get the bonus of having two styling examples on how to wear a vintage kimono.

Makes for a triple does of happiness for my beautiful client post today!

xoxocherie

PS the picture is from a new blog discovery - Tales of Endearment,  run by Natalie Joos. You should go peek. The full story that this picture appeared in has lots more of Susie and her style too - jump here.

more more more

if you live here in canada, go pick up a copy of this month's more magazine - there is a huge fashion spread shot entirely with vintage pieces and i am super happy to say that shrimpton couture pieces are part of it! once i have the official ok to post the editorial itself I will share the whole story xoxcherie

strolling through time

judy, jane and I are going through old blog posts to try to hunt out pictures of some of the items they sent to me for their upcoming featured closet event on shrimpton couture (mark your calendars - we are working towards launching it this saturday). i love being able to share some of the items in action with you but even with two girls with such well published lives this is not an easy task. both are avid bloggers which means there are pages and pages and pages and pages of posts to go through in each of their blogs - time consuming yes, but serious fun at the same time!

you forget just how fantastic these blogs are until you dedicate a block of time and skim back through them. jane often posts pictures that inspire her and while going through her back-posts i found these pictures and was inspired to share them with you! (btw can i just tell you that switching to a mac has changed my blogging life? that feature to pull a pic off a web page and be able to re-size and crop pics in two seconds in their preview - love!)

i have been hunting for a chair for my "office" in the condo to go with my 1970s elephant tusk & glass maison janson table. a chair like this done is a high gloss lacquered black would be perfect. (or maybe pull a color from my insanely colorful lana gomez painting that is slated for that room - pink maybe?) 

you can bet i will be hunting some of the asian type furniture stores in the next couple of weeks and then making a trip to a home depot for a diy project.

i love love love this tiger stripe sequin jacket - it's like the jungle version of my own sequin halston piece and anyone who knows me, knows there is not a sequin that i have met and that i have been able to resist. 

apparently this is one of the most wanted pieces they have ever posted. i am already campaigning to be given first dibs on it should it ever be weeded out of their collection. i will use any force necessary and i am cunning and ruthless and abide by the all's fair in fashion and war mandate,
so back off bitches

back off

see sequin comment above

is this not the most insanely cool one piece jumper, like - ever?

never have i lusted for a man's outfit like i lust for this

so wrong and yet so right

one of my holy grails 

i have a ton of hanae mori but this butterfly caftan is the one that would be the pinnacle of my collection. if you have one do not even whisper, hint, or imply that you do, unless you are offering to send it to me in which case why have you not already sent the email meanie?

last, verushka, one of my favorite models ever. i had not seen this particulr shot of her before and it's not only stunning and romantic and sexy all at the same time, but it perfectly captures my mood today -  joy and contentment that spring seems to be finally here.

have a lovely, lovely vintage filled day

xxocherie

when one thing remids you of another

An eagle eyed follower of Shrimpton Couture sent me this picture from a post on the infamous The Sartorialist blog. She said it reminded her of the the pretty fur cuffed 1960s jacket recently posted and I agree! I wanted to share because I think this is also a great example of how you can style a piece that was originally meant for the evening and wear it for day!

 

Dare to Compare

we are flattered to be compared as a style option to buying this season's Gucci!

Take a peak at the bottom of this page from the National Post's Weekend Style section!

Morning Eye Candy