Miroslava Duma

Here are some of Russia's "it" girl Miroslava Duma's finest fashion moments:

Photographs courtesy of The Purse Forum, Stockholm Street Style, Randomness Darling, Pics Digger, Just Like Neon

Nature's Necklace by Martha Stewart

So it's a beautiful and extremely hot (33 degrees) Tuesday afternoon in Montreal and I've been tanning all day long and now I'm in the shade drinking iced water and eating vanilla yogurt with blueberries and strawberries, watching the sailboats go by on the water and reading my mother's new Martha Stewart Living magazine when I came upon this image I posted above!!! How summery and pretty is that?? I need to make this as soon as possible. You can wear it with anything! A pretty flowy summer dress or ripped light denim shorts with a bohemian top paired with a thick braid in your hair, maybe spray in some Surf Spray by Bumble and Bumble to give your hair that beach-y summer feel, maybe put on some Candy Apple Mint nail polish by Essie; basically anything that has a laid back summer bohemian look.

Anyway, I will type out the "How-To" description in the magazine for all of you:

Note: True daisies are in season, but they're quite fragile. We used daisy chrysanthemums, which are found year-round at most florists (and even supermarkets) and hold up better out of water.

HOW-TO
1. Pinch flower stems to about 4 inches. Make a small slit in the bottom half of each stem with your nails.
2. Thread 1 stem through the slit in another. Continue, adding flowers to reach desired length. To finish, make a second slit in the stem of the first flower, and slip the last flower through it.

Information taken from Martha Stewart Living June 2010 issue, page 58. Number 199.

Conde Nast Store

I mentioned a while back that I will be redecorating my bedroom in the near future (now in one month) and I have been trying to find some good quality prints of both photographs and famous artworks, but it's been pretty difficult finding GOOD quality ones. It dawned on me the other day that Conde Nast has an online store that has thousands and thousands of images from their magazines dating back to Vogue images from the 1920's!! Because you're buying a print from Conde Nast, you know it is the best of the best in terms of quality (paper, ink, color, etc.). The smallest print you can purchase is approximately 12 by 18 inches and costs 150$. I was on the website for at least 2 hours going through all of their images...it is sooooo hard to choose, too many gorgeous images!

Now that I have found a website that carries incredible photographic images, I now need to find a website that carries good quality art prints. Help!!

Here is a link to the Conde Nast Store website: www.condenaststore.com

Painting of the Day: Lady With Hat and Feather Boa

Lady With Hat and Feather Boa, 1898. Gustav Klimt

Wanted: Lula Magazine

I am DYING to get my hands on this magazine, but apparently it is extremely hard to find and it sells out like crazy because only 2 issues come out every 12 months (crazy!). I can't give you my own personal description of the magazine yet because I haven't bought an issue (issue #10 is out now), but here is the description given on the magazine's facebook page:

Created for people of the world who love fashion, music, art, & make believe. Lula is gentle, whimsical and ethereal in tone, mixing high fashion to fall in love with and interviews that feel like late night chats with people you wish you knew.

Sounds right up my alley...so ME! I sent them an email asking where they sell this magazine in Montreal, so the second I get a response I will inform all of you for sure. Here is their website: http://www.lulamag.com/ and here are some images from previous issues of the mag:

*****Little update...you can find them easily on ebay, just bought issue #10 for 44$...sounds like a lot, but apparently that's the norm. I saw issue #2 being sold on ebay for like 240$ (not joking)!!

Portfolio

Here are a couple of things I've created/helped create in the past. I've included images of just a few of some of the styling boards I did at FIT a while back where I had to style a look in relation to a celebrity. I chose Kate Bosworth because I think she has amazing style and so I had to make a styling board reflecting her style using fabrics from Mood fabrics in NYC and I had to make another styling board reflecting Kate's home. I used a lot of textures and prints and layered images and used different thicknesses of boards to create a 3-D effect.

The other images are photo shoots I helped out at for Women's Wear Daily last summer. I seriously never knew just how tedious photo shoots are! They take ALL day long and require a lot of patience. The photo shoot for the products was actually really hard to do because we (the photographer, art stylist, and myself) had to create that cracked cement look which was extremely difficult to create. That day was hilarious though because I had no clue what kind of a photo shoot I was going to be helping out for, the M&D department at Conde Nast just sent me there for the day, and so I was wearing all black and I arrived at WWD and was then informed that I was going to be working with baby powder and cement all day! Seriously people from the WWD office would come up to me and be like "Ohhhh hahaha so you're the intern who's wearing all black!"...let me just say that by the end of the day I was COVERED in white, I was beyond embarrassed when walking back to Bryant Park to catch the bus back home in Staten Island. The other two photo shoots were with models and and it was so much fun seeing how the hairstylist, makeup artist, stylist, model(s) and photographer all collaborated with each other to create a look.

Everything I have learned from doing these projects will definitely benefit me when creating a look book this summer at Parsons Paris. The class I'm taking is all about styling, projecting an image that would gear towards a specific market, creating photographs at professional photo shoots, and finally creating an entire look book. Should be fun!!

(By the way...I know these pictures came out a bit on the blue-ish side, but it was really sunny out today!)











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Gaia Repossi

Heiress to the Repossi fine jewelry house, 24-year-old Gaia Repossi is the best of the best in the jewelry industry. She has impeccable taste that is greatly acknowledged in the high society world and is an extremely successful entrepreneur. Since becoming artistic director of Repossi she has expanded her great-grandfathers company by designing Ere by Repossi and later Nérée by Repossi with childhood friend and socialite Euegenie Niarchos. Her intentions were to create a line under the Repossi house that would appeal to a younger generation. She is also the official jewelry supplier for the royal family of Monaco, which makes me love her even more since I am a huge fashion admirer of Charlotte. Not only do I love Gaia for her jewelry designs, but also for her sense in fashion as well; she has this effortless cool style oozing glamor and sophistication. She is also now collaborating with Alexander Wang to create jewelry pieces for his next runway show in New York.

Earrings from the Ere line:

Rings from the Nérée line:




Repossi pictured here with her friend and business partner Euegenie

Photographs courtesy of Elle, ModelView.com, Zimbio.com, Harper's Bazaar, rdujour.com

Simple Chic

Her chic-ness is out of this world; she barely has any makeup on, if any at all, and I'm loving the simple French straight cut, long bob. The camel leather blazer with the striped top and black scarf with that gold watch and quilted bag is so simple and so classic, yet so fashionable. It's obvious that everything she is wearing (especially the blazer) are all well made. Her quality-conscious simplicity is such a breath of fresh air in a world where people tend to try wayyyyy too hard.

Photograph courtesy of Hanneli (http://www.hanneli.com/)

California Dreamin

I have this obsession with California (and I've never even been there before); what comes to mind when thinking of California style is: beach hair, athletic, bohemian, surfing, blond, tanned, sun, heat, sand, ocean, palm trees, nature, pure, raw, easy-going, beer, fruit, fish. I could go on and on with things that come to mind when thinking of the California lifestyle, but I won't bore you. Instead, I will post some awesome pictures by Hedi Slimane that I think really represent California.

Photographs courtesy of Hedi Slimane Diary

Remember Now: Chanel

French Inspiration

This is extremely long overdue, but I have failed to mention in previous posts that along with jewelry, fashion, photography, and art I have a love for home decor. I have always wanted to work in the fashion industry, but I would be more than satisfied if I ever ended up working for Martha Stewart Living or House & Home. My mother is my inspiration when it comes to home decor and interior design, she has impeccable taste and has designed our entire home. I have been reading her monthly subscriptions to House & Home since I was a little girl and she has taught me so much over the years perfecting my eye for design. She is a stay-at-home mom, but now that my brothers and I have grown up I think she should become an independent interior designer. My mother and I have very similar taste when it comes to interior design, our favorite style being elegant Parisian/French style. However, she enjoys designing the basics like flooring, shelving, molding, etc., whereas I love the accessories like fabrics, chandeliers, furniture, etc.

I also really enjoy when reading through House & Home creating a "look"...a sort of lifestyle. For example, if I have been encountered with an image of a Parisian foyer with black and white tile, floor to ceiling French windows that open up, ridiculously thick molding, and crystal chandeliers I will automatically envision an entire lifestyle. I would be channeling the image of the foyer to an image of what an elegant Parisian woman would be wearing in this foyer, definitely a Chanel suit with lots of jewels. Her daughter would be gorgeous with an edgier Parisian style, but still refined and simplistic wearing mostly black. Therefore, I have posted some images of French styled rooms paired with editorial images of fashions that emulate this French look.

Photographs courtesy of House & Home and Dustjacket Attic

The Armani Hotel in Dubai

Giorgio Armani opened the doors to his first hotel a little less than 2 weeks ago, which he has been planning for the past 5 years in Dubai. It occupies eight floors of the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa and includes 160 rooms, 8 restaurants, a spa, and 3 retail outlets. The decor, layout, and atmosphere are quintessential Armani; "The idea is that you should feel as if you are coming to my home," said the designer. I can't even imagine how much it would cost to stay there per night...

Photographs courtesy of Women's Wear Daily