Inspiration/Interpration

When I was a teenager I loved old, classic movies. Bringing Up Baby, Breakfast at Tiffany's, How to Marry a Millionaire and, especially, Roman Holiday were a few of my favorites. And I loved that larger-than-life style and the gorgeous clothes and hair.

I'd watch them over and over again just trying to soak in some of the glamour and the ease in their beauty. As if seeing Audrey Hepburn wake up in her pretty little eye mask over and over again could somehow make my bedroom that apartment in New York and make my hair look like that when I woke up.

And every morning (or afternoon) I painstakingly drew dramatic cat-eye lines on my eyes and wore my oversized sunglasses and headscarves and large swooping skirts and heels. I imitated these women as closely as I could, and I swayed between loving my Marilyn curves and pining for an Audrey stick figure.

Now, I am simultaneously more and less like my idols than I was as a yearning kid. I don't wear that distinctive eye makeup everyday and I don't always look like I stepped out of a McCall's 1950s catalogue. But I do have a funny eyemask and cat of my own. And I have quirky little phrases and pet names for everyone. I've stepped into my own and developed what I think is a distinct, constantly evolving sense of style that no longer imitates anyone. And that's what I so admired about these women and their characters.

Of course, I'm still heavily influenced, and so is the fashion world. But I'm learning to toe the line between imitation and interpretation. Where I imitated as a teenager I'm trying to interpret and make my own now. Here are a few examples:
      

How much do I love that dress with those heels?

I've been shy about monochromatic outfits but may order some white converse to learn...

I love the big watch with the ladylike coat...

What are some habits you've kept but toned down since high school?

I'm Back...

I'm back! For a week, and then it's off to Nuremburg for a quick catalog shoot. I'm like...a jetsetter or something.

In the meantime, I have loads to catch up on and take care of. I should have gotten a head start this weekend but instead I played in the dirt. I find hours of gardening is a great cure for jetlag. At the end of the day I just fell into bed I was so exhausted. We also had an old friend of The Boy's over, and we had wine and risotto with asparagus and Swiss cheese (not Swiss cheese, rather cheese from Switzerland) and all in all it was an amazing weekend. 

The only dark spot is this: my beloved scooter has been fucking stolen. Who steals a scooter?! So, if anyone sees a red Fiddler LX50, tackle the driver, smack them over the head and drive it to me. If you have a spare moment, that is.

So, while the police look for it (I assume it will be their utmost priority, right? Murders and drug deals can wait. THIS IS A SCOOTER FOR GOD'S SAKE) I will be catching up on emails, drinking lots of coffee and rage cleaning the house.

Not sure yet how to organize my thoughts/pictures/etc. from the trip. We crammed so much into those 6 days that I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the information. If anyone has any input on what you'd like to see, let me know!

Birthday Eve-ning

See what I did there? Because it's the eve of my birthday and the word 'eve' is part of the word 'evening'?

It was fucking clever, ok?

Anyways, the point is this:

TOMORROW IS MY BIRTHDAY!

Celebrations actually commenced this morning, when my life suddenly turned into a perfume commercial. I mean, I rolled out of bed

hopped on my scooter

and picked up ingredients for champagne strawberry cupcakes. 

Tonight at midnight the boy and I will pop some champagne and have some grocery store cake (my favorite). To top it all off, I have a flippy new haircut and a pretty new dress. 

Life is good.

This week proved rather long and trying for a lot of people, so I hope you all have a wonderful, relaxing weekend.

Weekend Recap. Sort of.

Ah, internet. How I missed you. I spent the weekend in the far reaches of MA, where internet is hard to come by. Hence the lack of posts.


So, I don't actually feel like recapping my weekend, because, in the immortal words of Dooce*, it sucked and then I cried**.

But I will say this: my grandmother died. Again, it sucked and then I cried. And I thought I wanted to talk about it but I don't. So, instead, here are some pretty pictures that make me happy.

Elie Saab's latest collection, courtesy of Style.com

Ramon Novarro & Norma Shearer, couresy of Old Hollywood

 

Edita Vilkeviciute by Sølve Sundsbø for Vogue China Collections S/S 2011, courtesy of 7 Deadly Sins

Grace Kelly, courtesy of This is Glamorous

Me, in the Colleen Quen runway show

Hope your weekend was better than mine. Hope we all have spectacular weeks. Hope I don't get buried alive under the mountain of emails, texts, whatevers that built up while I was gone.

P.S. Ugh, Japan. What can I say? Click here for a good article on how to help, and here for an organization that I like.

*Buy her book if you are smart. You can do so here.
** Full disclosure: some of the crying was from laughing so hard. I was with my mother and we deal with grief by laughing at innapropriate moments. Like when we come across a gas medication called Titravan. "Farting? Get some tit...tit...tit.. titleban? Titramac? Tit-something!"