Friday, July 27, 2012

Let the Games begin!



Vintage Olympic Poster

1948 Olympic Games - London

Friday, July 20, 2012

Chanel Jewelry

I absolutely love Coco Chanel. I admire her personality and work, her style, her elegance.

Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel revolutionized the '20s, releasing women from the uncomfortable and rigid clothes of the 19th century. She reproduced her own image, the woman of the 20th century, independent, successful, with personality and style.

History of many sources credit Coco Chanel  as being the first to introduce costume jewelry as an acceptable accessory. She brought the world Chanel No. 5 in 1922 (still the world's best selling perfume), the Chanel style suit in 1924, the cardigan jacket in 1925 and the "little black dress" in 1926, and introduced a line of costume jewelry in 1932.

Originally inspired by the opulent, costly jewels and pearls gifted to her by her aristocratic lovers, Chanel raided her own jewel vault and partnered with Duke Fulco di Verdura to launch a House of Chanel jewelry line.


Coco made “chic” to wear fake jewelry. Also she wore jewelry that was meant for the evening, with her daytime outfits, like her long string of pearls.  In her own words:

To ask a woman to wear real jewelry only
is like asking her to cover herself with real
flowers instead of flowery silk prints.
She’d look faded in a few hours.
I love fakes because I find such jewelry provocative,
and I find it disgraceful to walk around with millions
around your neck just because you’re rich.
The point of jewelry isn’t to make a woman look rich
but to adorn her; not the same thing. “


Source: flickr.com via Fer on Pinterest
        Coco Chanel, 1938

 

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Pearls always look great!

Girls in the Window by Ormond Gigli, 1960




Girls in the Window by Ormond Gigli, 1960.


The day before this brownstone on East 58th was razed, Gigli posed 43 women in formal dress in the windows, some daring to step out onto the crumbling sills while Gigli directed with a bullhorn. Read more here



ORMOND GIGLI was born in New York City in 1925. He became famous early on during the 1950s for his photographs of theatre, celebrities, dance, exotic persons & places. His work appeared prominently on covers & editorial pages of LIFE, TIME, PARIS MATCH, SATURDAY EVENING POST, COLLIERS, and other major international publications. Gigli's groundbreaking portraits include Sophia Loren (at age 21), Anita Ekberg, Marcel Duchamp, John F. Kennedy, Halston, Gina Lollobrigida, Diana Vreeland, Giancarlo Giannini, Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland, Sir Laurence Olivier, Alan Bates, Richard Burton, & many more. Most of these images have not been widely seen since they first appeared over four decades ago. 


Gigli worked more like a film director than a photojournalist. His ability to earn his subjects' trust in his vision - - often during complicated, uncomfortable, even dangerous setups - - was as important to the photos as his technical finesse with the camera. His disarming way with his subjects is evident in the revealing anecdotes of the people and times he so vividly recalls. He was welcomed backstage on Broadway as readily as he was in the private lives of celebrities. Some of Gigli's favorite photographs were self-assigned, international award-winners, such as "Girls in the Windows" photographed in 1960.



During the 70s and 80s Gigli turned to advertising photography, while continuing his editorial work. His assignments took him around the world many times.  Today, his photographs appear in prominent Galleries throughout the world.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Daphne Guinness, a fashion icon


"Fashion is not just about trends. It’s about political history. You can trace it from the ancient Romans to probably until the ’80s, and you can see defining moments that were due either to revolutions or changes in politics. At the end of the Roman era, there was this whole move against togas, because that was the signifier of the Roman Empire. In the same way, the ’60s were a reaction against the ’50s and so on. But now we’ve been feeding on a sort of cadaver. At the moment, we’re just endlessly recycling the past."




Maybe Daphne Guinness  has an eccentric style, maybe she seems Lady Gaga most of the times.  But I think she´s fabulous! Bold, crazy, amazing, funny...  And she is always wearing something vintage!


Fantastic video where Daphne talks about herself and the reason she wears what she wears.


Friday, July 13, 2012