Thursday 24 September 2009

gone fishing


my husband and i are off to Nova Scotia tommorow and i won't be blogging again until Saturday October 3rd (at which point i'll have tonnes of photos and tales of the sea). please don't forget me while i'm gone, and do come and visit when i return! i hope you all have a wonderful week filled with humour and heart. love love love... xo

video vendredi on thursday ('cause i'm on vacation tomorra)



this advertisement is amazing, and my husband is a big jimmy dean fan, so this one's for him xo

Wednesday 23 September 2009

red dawn

a massive red dust cloud painted Sydney, Australia red this morning and is expected to linger throughout the day. these incredible photos are from ABC News Australia, where you can read more about this powerful dust storm.


models in civilian clothes


these images are from Elle's photo gallery of top models in their street wear at New York fashion week. while i've an undeniable urge to cook for these lanky lovelies, i love the seemingly effortless yet edgy looks they've created. i'm particular enamoured with the photo above. i could use a pinch more motorcycle chic in my wardrobe this fall.



Tuesday 22 September 2009

fashion 'extremes'



these photos are from a 1949 Life Magazine editorial entitled 'Fashion Extremes'. most all of the fashions showcased would be considered perfectly normal now [and also fabulous]. in fact, i had to read the captions for some just to see what was so extreme about them. fascinating, wouldn't you say?

'extreme' glove height


'extreme' amount of material


'extreme' foot nakedness :)


"extreme sleeve"


'extreme' due to exposed sequined bra

ivy league


behold the Ivy Chair, by Tokyo’s h220430 design studio. its purpose is to bring nature into the urban living space and sitting on it has been likened to sitting upon soft leaves. it does have a certain serenity about it, don't you think? read more here.

Monday 21 September 2009

nova scotia dreamin'


in four short days my husband and i are heading to Nova Scotia for a week long vacation. i've never been to Eastern Canada before and i couldn't be more excited! i look forward to seeing the ocean again, to fresh lobster, whale watching and to a slower pace of life. we'll be staying with a great friend as well, and i look forward to all the laughing and sh*t shooting! i promise to take lots of photos, which i'll post here when i return. these photos are from novascotia.com. anyone out there have any Nova Scotia recommendations for me? i'd love to hear some!




Sunday 20 September 2009

all the king's women #9 - hope lange




born in 1933, Hope Lange acted on television and Broadway before making her film debut alongside Marilyn Monroe and Don Murray in Bus Stop (1956). she married Murray in April of that year, and the couple had two children together, before divorcing in 1961. favourable reviews led to a major role in the then 'risque' film Peyton Place with Lana Turner. the film, which was nominated for 9 Oscars, was almost a box office bomb, performing poorly in its first few weeks of release. it wasn't until news broke of star Lana Turner's infamous scandal [her affair with mobster Johnny Stompanato, and his death at the hands of her daughter] and national coverage of the subsequent murder trial, that the film's box office began to soar. this steamy film is often hailed as the spark that led to television soap operas.




in the next few years, Lange made films with Robert Wagner, Montgomery Clift and Joan Crawford, among others. in 1961, she starred in Wild in the Country, Elvis' seventh film, and one of my personal favourites (for its melodrama and its unforgettable moments - both good and bad). Lange plays Irene Sperry, a psychologist who councels the young and troubled Glenn Tyler (Elvis), encouraging him to pursue a literary career.



Hope's next project was Pocketful of Miracles alongside Glenn Ford, for whom she left her first husband. the two had a very public long term relationship, but never married. Hope would marry twice more - in 1963 to producer-director Alan J. Pakula, whom she divorced in 1971, and again in 1986, to theatrical producer Charles Hollerith, with whom she would remain for the rest of her life. her career would take her back to television and Broadway, with highlights including 3 years on the tv series The Ghost & Mrs. Muir, 3 seasons on The New Dick Van Dyke Show, and 12 television movies. Lange's later career included roles in Blue Velvet(1986) and Clear and Present Danger (1994).


Hope died in December 2003 in Santa Monica, California of an ischemic colitis infection, at the age of 70.

Friday 18 September 2009

video vendredi - pencil test

not sure if you're interested in animation, but i find the pencil tests over at the Pencil Test Depot blog to be absolutely fascinating. go have a peek! and have a wonderful weekend!

portrait of a ziegfeld girl


i found this magnificent photo collection of women who performed in Ziegfeld Follies in the 1910s and 20s. there are many more at the link above. definitely worth a visit.

Thursday 17 September 2009

cornel lucas


Joan Collins



British photographer Cornel Lucas has been at the forefront of portrait photography for over forty years. he began working in a film-processing lab when he was just 15 years old, while studying photography at the Regent Street Polytechnic and would eventually become a portraitist for British film studios. he was so successful in this endeavour, that a specially equipped studio at Pinewood was set up for him to photograph the major stars they had under contract. during the 1940s and 1950s he took thousands of photographs, creating many iconic images of the leading players of the era. in 1959 he opened his own studio on Flood Street, Chelsea, working in advertising and fashion photography as well as portraiture. these are some of my favourites of his photographs.

Yvonne DeCarlo

Susan Travers

Marlene Dietrich


Leslie Caron

Brigitte Bardot

Anne Heywood

Belinda Lee

R.I.P. Mary Travers (November 9, 1936 – September 16, 2009)

Wednesday 16 September 2009

it's almost cape season!


though my childhood fantasies of trudging through the Scottish moors in a long velvet hooded cloak, charlotte-bronte-styles, have since been tempered, i remain enamoured with capes and capelets of all sorts. so the fact that they are prevalent on the coming season's runways has me all giddy. here are some of my favourites from the fall/winter 2009-2010 collections...
[all images from fashionising.com]