Vintage Value Venture - Peridot Print For Fall

Madeline's Vintage 1950's Green Print Silk Dress $395 Beladora's Peridot and Diamond ring $2850

You may not actually be spending your time smelling the thyme in the South of France, but you can imagine yourself sitting in a verdant garden in the early evening, at petit villa somewhere in the countyside near St. Remy, sipping on a pastis while wearing this lovely dress in a rich green print and this stunning peridot and diamond ring. Perfect for a fashionable Fall.

The French - The Kept Woman of the Global Economy

Here are some comments on France from one of my favorite authors, Michael Lewis.

I was wrong, obviously. The English have not merely embraced commercial values but have become so thoroughly imbued with them that London has displaced New York as the world's money hub. A nation of people once embarrassed to complain that their soup was cold is now among the first to demand to speak to the manager.

But that was England, and those were the English. This is France, and these are the French.

In case you missed it, Nicolas Sarkozy, the new French president, has decided that the French need to become more productive. He eliminated the law forbidding work weeks longer than 35 hours, and he's making noises about changing the rule that allows unemployed Frenchmen to turn down job offers that they feel are beneath them and remain on the dole instead.

No French person is likely to be required to work more than 35 hours a week -- that appears to be too much to ask for just yet -- but any French person who wishes to earn more money may, shockingly, work for it.

The thing is, the French don't want to work more.

Inflicting market values upon the British circa 1980 felt a bit cruel, but visiting it upon the French circa 2008 feels almost like an unnatural act, like forcing a cat to fetch.

But the French are different.

For one, they enjoy feeling alone in the world. Their problem isn't an incapacity for selfishness, or for individual initiative.

They want to take all those selfish impulses that might be directed into improving productivity and efficiency and wealth- accumulation and channel it into being ... French.

To the extent that the French enjoy a natural advantage, it is in their inefficiency: They are the world's most efficient producers of structured indolence. They are the kept women of the global economy; their status depends, in part, on their practical uselessness.

An engineer with Total SA named Michel Guyot told Helene Fouquet of Bloomberg News that he may no longer have time to travel to the south of France ``to smell the thyme and listen to the cicadas.'' Apparently, the engineer echoes the concern of a social class and, perhaps, a nation.

....actually, I think that there is some preferential style de vie that lies somewhere in between the focus on leisure with a 35 hour work week and some 6 weeks vacation per year a la Francais and the American emphasis of forgoing leisure for the sake of getting ahead....

Monday Morning Miscellany

The Fashioniste is not a fashion blogger but an Art-Fashion-and-Literature Synthesist


I'm fascinated with the way that his latest post highlights Dior's 1789 with commentary on women and revolution by leading intellectuals of the 19th Century, including these quotes from Nietzsche and Schopenhauer.

Ever since the French Revolution, women's influence in Europe has decreased to the same extent that their rights and ambitions have increased; and thus the “emancipation of women,” in so far as women themselves (and not only shallow males) are demanding and encouraging it, turns out to be a curious symptom of increasing weakness and dullness in the most womanly instincts. There is stupidity in this movement, an almost masculine stupidity, which a truly womanly woman (who is always a clever woman) would have to be utterly ashamed of. -Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil, Part Seven: “Our Virtues,” Section 239, (1886), translated by Walter Kaufmann (1967).

Was it not the case in France that the influence of women, which steadily increased from the time of Louis XIII, was to blame for that gradual corruption of the Court and the Government, and which brought about the Revolution of 1789, of which all subsequent disturbances have been the result? However that may be, the false position which women occupy nowadays, demonstrated as it is, in the most glaring way, by the institution of the “lady,” is a fundamental defect in our social scheme, and this defect, proceeding from the very heart of it, must, by its very nature, spread its irritating and burdensome influence in all directions.-The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer: Studies in Pessimism (1851), translated by T. Bailey Saunders (1891), and slightly modernized for clarity by me.

and if that wasn't enough Schopenhauer for you...

[The fact that] woman is by nature meant to obey may be seen by the fact that every woman who is placed in the unnatural position of complete independence, immediately attaches herself to some man, by whom she allows herself to be guided and ruled. It is because she needs a lord and master. If she is young, it will be a lover; if she is old, a priest.-The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer: Studies in Pessimism (1851), translated by T. Bailey Saunders (1891).

On one hand the 19th Century produced philosophers like Nietzsche and Schopenhauer and their ilk. On the other hand it produced a scientist of the caliber of Marie Curie who despite her study of mathematics, chemistry and physics at the Sorbonne, was denied a position as a professor at Krakow University because she was a woman.

Ultimately, whose work was more important...Schopenhauer's or Curie's...the answer is evident.

interesting, non?

Savvy Shopping - For Frugal Fashionistas

If you prefer dressing like a celebrity rather than a Royal
here's a great blog to read to get the look for less

Frugal Fashionista

VF-'s 2008 Best Dressed List - Radiant Royals

From Vanity Fair's 2008 Best Dressed List - The Royals

Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece -Distinguished Investment Banker Look

Brothers - Rafael, Duke of Feria and Don Luis Medina - Euro Cool

Crown Princess Mathilde of Belgium - Understated Elegance

Almost Royalty - La Renne Carla Bruni Sarkozy de France - Magnifique

What I don't understand is how can any Royal not be on the Best Dressed List....with their wealth and access to the world's finest designers.

American Fashion's New Guard - Favorite Fall Look

Great Photo of Fashion's New Guard

From Vanity Fair's September Style Issue

Favorite Fall Look

Doo-Ri Chang

Sculpted banded jersey dress

Brian Reyes

Electric-blue moire skirt, black and white taffeta blouse and black georgette blazer

Sari Gureon

Long black tulle tiered skirt with sleeveless silk embroidered top

Peter Som

The plum colored off the shoulder gown with layered organza

Alexander Wang

Black mesh tank with baggy wool pants

Georgina Chapman

Black lace high neck column dress with organza flower detail

Chris Benz

Three piece mauve Prince of Wales flannel suit and crumpled

Erin Featherston

A gown that's short in front and trains in the back with a vibrant photo real floral collage print

Richard Chai

Forest shearling cropped jacket with embroidered paillete waistcoat, winter white silk jacquard flared shirt and ebony brocade slouchy skinny trouser

Philip Lim

Longer length layering and the overall idea of covering up - it's more impactful

Zac Posen

That's like asking someone to choose amongst their children but I must say that Karen Elson's gown was delicious

Kate and Laura Mulleavy

Read and black mohair fringed jacket and skirt with hand knit shell and red and black silk tulle horror dress

Thakoon Panichgul

The sequined floral scarf tie dress

Lias Mayock and Sophie Buhai

Pistachio oil spill knotted tunic with gray suede riding pants

Competing Against Chinese Children

The Great Chinese Children's Olympic Team

Chinese officials can forge birth certificates and issue new travel documents, but they cannot hide the girls themselves.

The US Golden Girl Nastia Liukin Who Is Not Pre-Pubescent

I was just wondering why does there have to be an age requirement in the Olympics anyway? If a 14 or 15 year old girl can fence or shoot or whatever at an Olympic caliber why does it matter.

Well...in women's gymnastics two tricky physical characteristics, size and weight, actually do matter....especially when a little thing like gravity is an issue.


From Gordon Chang
Yet there is no mistaking what we can see with our own eyes. Chinese coaches tried to hide the ages of the girls with “enough makeup to shame a drag queen,” but no amount of lipstick and eyeliner can hide the fact that the American gymnasts have curves and breasts and the Chinese ones don’t. On average, the girls on the Chinese team are 3.5 inches shorter and 30 pounds lighter than their American counterparts. Bela Karolyi, the legendary coach of gold-medalists Nadia Comaneci of Romania and Mary Lou Retton of the United States, calls the members of China’s team “half-people.” They still have their baby teeth, he points out. Take a close look at the picture of the charming Ms. Deng, and you will find that she’s missing a tooth — her permanent ones have not all grown in. Yet she too is now listed in official records as — don’t be surprised — 16.

Fashion Comeback For Christian Francis Roth

The new Christian Francis Roth "Twill Seeker" dress

Early 1990's Christian Francis Roth "Op Art" inspired design

The Wall Street Journal has reported on the return of 1990's designer Christian Francis Roth to his eponymous line. Known for his line "Op Art" inspired designs in the early 1990's he later moved into fashion obscurity designing for Nordstrom Caslon and other brands.
While I wouldn't have worn his 1990's designs, I find them original and clever.
But....the new dress, while preppy and wearable, I find it uninspired.
And, I suspect that if this dress had been presented by a designer on Project Runway, Nina, Michael and Heidi would have wasted no time telling the designer "You're Out"!

VPOD - More Versatile Than An Olympic Medallion

Look who else has been going for the gold with precision timing worthy of an Olympic gymnast.

Another perfect Vintage Pick of the Day from Zuburbia.

Beladora Bling for the Brainiac Beauty

In spite of her life of exotic travel and erotic exploration...purely for the sake of her craft....of course...the brainiac beauty, Kristopher Dukes, still has time for a little Beladora bling!

Savvy Shopping - End of Summer Blues

Beladora Einar Modhal Blue Enamel Bracelet in Sterling for $495

Diane Von Furstenberg Dress on Sale at Nordstrom.com for $206.90

So it's August 15th already and I've already got the end of summer blues.
Is it just me or has the summer just flown by?

Do Rules Really Matter In The Olympics?

China's Child He Kexin

Do rules really matter in the Olympics?

In Olympic gymnastics, the rule is that athletes need to be 16 years old.

But....

Just nine months before the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese government's news agency, Xinhua, reported that gymnast He Kexin was 13, which would have made her ineligible to be on the team that won a gold medal this week.

The Olympics used to be so simple when all we had to worry about was the doping of the East German female athletes.

Now our athletes have to compete against 13 year olds!

Not to take anything away from the Chinese team. They are the best. But why does every other team need to comply to the age rule when the Chinese don't?

On the topic of Olympic gymnasts, this story about Nadia Comeneci is incredible. Just think about the fact that we live in an almost completely borderless existence where freedom of travel is a given and Nadia Comeneci had to escape from Romania in 1989 where she was basically a prisoner of the State.

Does anyone today even remember what East Germany or Romania were like in the 1980's?

Fashion Trends For Fall

According to the Times Online

The fashion trends for Fall and Autumn are:



Cocoon
Military
Trousers
Color with Color
Moderate Minimalism
Mellow Drama

Checklist: Autumn/Winter 2008
1. High-waisted, 7/8th-length trousers. Try: Whistles.
High waisted and 7/8ths length...horrendous unless you look like Kate Moss
2. Cropped jacket or blazer. Before buying, try it on with a pair of the above. You'll find that what complemented hipsters may not work with the new geometry. Try: Jigsaw.
Haven't we seen enough of these already?
3. Military or wrap coat or one with slit short sleeves for layering. Try: French Connection.
Wrap coat - chic, military coat - too much costume
4. Concealed platform shoes or ankle boots - we're over bondage - and a pair of flats. Try: Office and Kurt Geiger.
I love platforms, concealed or not...anything that can make me taller
5. Polo necks and other fine knits for layering and tucking into high waists. Try: Pure Cashmere and Hoss Intropia.
Cashmere polo necks...perfect with a scarf tied ascot style
6. A leather jacket - biker style. Wear it with classic, simple pieces for extra edge. Try:Topshop.
Been there done that, I'm over the look
7. A rococo-style necklace. Try: Mikey.
OK, but not with the a polo neck sweater...
8. A narrow belt to thread through the loops of those high-waisted trousers. Try: Gap.
Better yet, a narrow belt over a slim cashmere cardigan
9. Longer-length skirts - either pencil-shaped or slightly gathered at the waist are the newest. If you can't bear calf or ankle-length, don't worry, knee-length refuses to die and there are even some minis. Try: Zara.
A knee length pencil skirt...perfect, especially with that belted cashmere cardigan
10. A fitted or semi-fitted sleeveless dress: this winter's sophisticated antidote to the put-it-away or give-it-away smock dress. Try: M&S Limited and Jigsaw.
Finally...back to a slim silhouette. Enough already with the floaty frocks

Obsequious Accessories Editors

Marnie Floral Necklace

Tom Binn's Black Fringe Necklace

Etername Enamel Link Bracelet

Check out The Fall 2008 Accessories Report on Style.com where Candy Pratts Price picks the season's most revolutionary extras.

Some great shoes...some great handbags....some so-so costume jewelry.

But what was she thinking when she picked this monstrosity by Delfina Delettrez!

Disgusting.

So you ask yourself what's up with this Delefina Delettrez, a designer that you've never before heard of.

Apparently, Delefina Delettrez, age 20, is a 4th generation Fendi who just launched a jewelry line. Also featured in Vanity Fair where her jewelry designs were described as dazzling Goth romantic, Delettrez is getting plenty of press.

So, to all those jewelry designers who really know their craft and have invested years in GIA education and bench work, let me make a suggestion.

If you really want your work to be recognized by the main stream fashion media, just be a 20 year old scion of a famous fashion family with mediocre talent and editors will go out of their way to promote you and your designs.

I Blame The Pill

Plenty of Pills

Have you ever looked back over your life contemplating the men that you've had relationships with and said...

OMG what was I thinking?

Well we finally have a new scientific study that explains why we got involved with all of those men who were...just so wrong.

The findings, from a team at the University of Liverpool, add to growing evidence that the hormones in the Pill influence the way that women assess male sexual attractiveness.

Experts believe that women are naturally attracted to men with immune system genes different to their own because of their smell.
Commenting on the latest study, the researchers said that it could indicate that the Pill disrupts women’s ability to judge the genetic compatibility of men by means of their smell.
They said that this might not only impact on fertility and miscarriage risk, but could even contribute to the end of relationships as women who stop or start taking the Pill no longer find their boyfriend or husband so attractive.

So now we know....it wasn't really our deep seated insecurities causing us to make bad decisions when it came to choosing men....it was the birth control pills altering our sense of smell and leading us astray from the men who should be our true genetically compatible mates.

Around Town - Great Exhibits At The Getty

When I need a weekend get-away and I don't have time to drive down to Laguna Beach, I like to go to the Getty Center.
High on the hill, above all the traffic and congestion of the city. it's lovely to just wander around outside amid the stately Richard Meier architecture and enjoy the magnificent view of the coastline.
But this weekend it is all about what's going on inside the Getty Center with the Bernini and Maria Sibylla exhibits.



And while I typically don't drive to Malibu during the summer because of the seasonal traffic, I'm definitely going to make the trek up to the Getty Villa for the Dilettanti exhibit.

Fifty Dollar Flip Flops or Some People Will Buy Anything

$50 FitFlops

And...by some people I mean me of course

While Style Spy is modeling her Manolos,

I'm trying to justify spending $50 on a pair of (As seen on Oprah!!) flip flops.

According to the FitFlop spin,

FitFlops are engineered with a multi-density midsole that stimulates your muscles more while you're wearing them. In independent University testing, FitFlops have been shown to trigger increased gluteal muscle response, increased hamstring response, increased rectus femoris (thigh) response and increased calf muscle response.

Now...if only Ferragamo could engineer muscle stimulating technology into their shoes....

All Togas All The Time

Hideously Cut and Unflattering

You know I like one shouldered toga dresses as much as the next fashionista, especially when they are finely draped in goddess style a la Madame Grey, the queen of the drape.
But haven't we gone over the top this season with the one shouldered look.
First it was all over the red carpet with major celebs sporting the look beautifully at the oscars. Now, months later the b-list is still in the toga trend.

Either do it right or don't do it at all.

(for a great vintage one shouldered look, check out the Emma Domb on Zuburbia.com)

Image is Everything

Seriously, no one knows how to fake it like the China. We've known this for ages from the bootlegging or software and films to the production of counterfeit goods.

Is there any reason to be surprised by the fake fireworks digitally inserted into the footage at the Olympic Opening Ceremonies or the using an image appropriate (read beautiful) child to lip sync the Hymn to the Motherland or whatever song.

Officials have already admitted that the pictures of giant firework footprints which marched across Beijing towards the stadium on Friday night were prerecorded, digitally enhanced and inserted into footage beamed across the world.

At the last moment a member of the Chinese politburo who was watching a rehearsal pronounced that the winner, a girl called Yang Peiyi, might have a perfect voice but was unsuited to the lead role because of her buck teeth.

Mr Chen said the initial hopefuls to sing the anthem had been reduced to ten, and one, a ten-year-old, had originally been chosen for the quality of her voice. But she, too, had fallen by the wayside because she was not "cute" enough.

"We used her to sing in all the rehearsals," Mr Chen said. "But in the end the director thought her image was not the most appropriate, because she was a little too old. Regrettably, we had to let her go."

"The main consideration was the national interest," he said. "The child on the screen should be flawless in image, in her internal feelings, and in her expression. In the matter of her voice, Yang Peiyi was flawless, in the unanimous opinion of all the members of the team."

As always image is everything when promoting national interests.

And the need to project beauty is universal.

The Russian Riviera

Villefrance sur Mer

Are Russian Oligarchs the New Saudi Princes?

From the 19th Century through the early 20th Century Russian Royalty flocked to the French Riviera. And why not, what better place was there for a social season in the sun away from the dreary cold of Russian Court.

And now, the Oligarchs want their place in the sun too.

An unnamed Russian Oligarch just purchased Lilly Safra's Villefrance villa L:a Leopolda, once owned by King Leopold of Belgium, for 500 million Euro ($750 million) !!

From the Times Online

Jean Pierre, a high-end agent, said: “It's completely surreal and we are really uneasy. We don't dare any more to propose any price below €100 million for these clients. Anything below and they throw you out...and you should see how they do it,” he told Le Parisien. The Nice Matin newspaper said: “At this price tag, we are beyond luxury and even reality.”

Russian excess is feeding discontent among poorer people. Pierrette, a housekeeper for one Russian, said: “I attended a party where the guests had fun throwing burning €500 notes into the air while everyone split their sides laughing. The domestic staff were later told to collect the ashes. It was sickening.”

Until the Revolution there was a Russian Aristocracy, a small percentage of the population who controlled all the wealth in Russian and was served by a huge Russian peasantry of serfs. In the long decades of the Soviet Union there was the Nomenklatura, an aristocracy of sorts, that controlled access and assets. Now we have the Oligarchs, a small group who controls the massive wealth from the ownership and distribution of natural resources, particularly in diamonds and oil.

So as the the ostentatious Oligarchs buy up the best and Vladamir Putin cheers on the team at the Olympics, Russia attacks Georgia over control of oil distribution leaving thousands wounded.

Move on...nothing to see here.....just more oil wealth for the few.....

Bling Biz -Damiani Earnings Down 80%

Damiani Diamond Necklace with 0.77 carats in Rose Gold $6,690.

Beladora Diamond Pendant with 2.00 carats in Platinum $4,250

WWD has reported that Italian Jeweler Damiani has had an 80% drop in earnings.

Ouch!

Somehow I'm not surprised when a firm like Damiani expects to sell nonsense jewelry like this pendant for the ridiculous price of $6,690. Who buys this stuff?

Especially when you can buy a classic diamond pendant with 2.00 carats in platinum for $4,250.

Bling Biz- The Lovely Lesotho

The Lesotho Promise

From WWD.

MONTE CARLO, Monaco — British jewelry firm Graff on Thursday unveiled what it’s billing as one of the most important diamond necklaces ever assembled.

The Lesotho Promise, a 223.35-carat necklace, is made up of 26 white D-flawless diamonds, the most valuable on the grading system. All 26 were extracted from the 15th largest rough diamond ever found, a 603-carat stone discovered in a mine in Lesotho, South Africa, last year.

The Promise is the culmination of 18 months of painstaking work in the company’s diamond-cutting facility in Antwerp, Belgium, a process Graff is retelling in a documentary and a book.

While the 26 stones forming the necklace had an estimated value of $50 million, executives wouldn’t disclose the asking price for the finished piece, revealing only that several buyers had already been turned down before it was officially unveiled. “We’re still waiting,” said Laurence Graff, Graff’s chairman and founder. One client’s offer was too low, while another had proposed buying half. “We’ll never split the stones,” Graff insisted.

If you have to ask the price...you can't afford it.

Olympians of a Certain Age

The Indomitable Dana Torres

Dana Torres - Just Another Day at the Pool

Mark Foster - The Silver Fox Flag Bearer

Fierce Foster

From the Daily Mail Online

This article about the oldest swimmers in the Beijing Olympics

For anyone who thinks that Mark Foster is a little on the old side for swimming, three months beyond his 38th birthday, meet American Dana Torres.
She won't see 40 again. Olympic swimming pools used to be where adolescents splashed up and down before they went out into the real world to find themselves a job.
The average age was 18 and it was a rare one who swam at more than two Olympics. Not now. Foster retired at 35 but could not stay away. Torres, at 41, is making her third comeback.

Both are competing at their fifth Olympics, a swimming record for a British man and, in Torres' case, a record for a woman of any nationality. Foster was not selected for Athens four years ago and Torres was in 'retirement' when the 1996 and 2004 Games took place.
When she won the first of her nine Olympic medals in 1984 the Games were in Los Angeles, close to her home in Beverly Hills. Carl Lewis and Seb Coe were the heroes and Michael Phelps, who competes here for eight gold medals, was not even born.

And now Dana Torres has helped the US team win a silver in the 400 freestyle Relay.

To compete in the Olympics at any age is an amazing achievement. To compete in swimming after the age of 40 is one step away from being super human.

Anyone up for a Swim?

Zoe - As If You Didn't Know

On The Go With Zoe

As if we didn't already know enough about Rachel Zoe...she now is going to have her own reality show.

The background on the image maker is