ALEXANDER THE GREAT

Resort 2011 = love.

Although Spring 2010 was my favorite show EVER.

I don't think there is a single twenty-something girl that doesn't wish Alexander Wang was her best friend and that she truly was an M.O.D. 

PHOTOGRAPH

You know those still frame pictures in your mind that you keep forever? Something that happened to you, something you saw, something you felt, that was so great it will stay with you always, like a photo reel of all the best things you were given while you were on Earth? When I saw this editorial of Barbora Pracharova by Waldemar Hansson for Kurv Magazine, the memory of one of mine came rushing back.

I was in Austria for the first time. We had driven there from Budapest (rough) arriving late (exhausted). I assumed my boyfriend would be in no mood for anything but sleep, but when I stepped out of the shower, he was gone and my phone was ringing. I answered to his voice telling me to throw on a dress and hurry down to the lobby. A mystery metro ride later, we were literally running as fast as we could across a rainy foreign street. I couldn't read the traffic signs and was nearly killed by a speeding car until he yanked me off of my stilettos onto the sidewalk in front of...

The Vienna State Opera House.

I had never been to the opera, and had been dying, absolutely dying, to go ever since I was a little girl... especially in Vienna. But it was opening night of Onegin, the show had begun, and tickets were sold out.  Not to be deterred, my boyfriend hurriedly negotiated with every slightly English-speaking staff member until we were shown to box seats. When the usher's white glove peeled away the velvet curtain, and I had tippy-toed far enough to see over the gilded railing of the balcony... 

that was my - click - photo forever.

Every precious moment I had since childhood of dancing across a spotlit stage, playing a concert on my Parisian violin, stitching a bead onto a Broadway costume, attending the theatre with my now-gone aunt, traveling to see the beauty I had only read of in books, welled up in my throat and stung at my eyes. 

And I will never, ever forget that as long as I live.

Photo: Taken by me from our box at the Vienna State Opera House

Hansson's photographs were taken in a beautiful opera house like the one where I first watched Onegin.

Especially poignant is that the series is entitled "The Heart Is a Rebel", as mine very much is. 

But it doesn't matter, because it will still always remember the way it felt in my chest when I first peered over that balcony in Vienna, and click... forever.

Photographer – Waldemar Hansson

Stylist – Kawa H Pour
Hair – Robert Preston

Make Up – Helen Borg

Stylist Assistant – Alexandra Alexi

Photographer Assistants – Peter Edqvist and Idha Lindhag

GYPSY SOUL

Because we all want to be free, we all want to dance, and we all want Humphrey Bogart.

More gypsy inspiration:

So I'm back to the velvet underground, back to the floor that I love
To a room with some lace and paper flowers, back to the gypsy that I was
And it all comes down to you, well you know that it does, well
Lightning strikes, maybe once, maybe twice
Oh and it lights up the night and you see your gypsy
You see your gypsy, to the gypsy that remains
She faces freedom with a little fear
I have no fear, I have only love
And if I was a child, and the child was enough for me to love
She is dancing away from you now, she was just a wish
She was just....a wish
And her memory is all that is left for you now, you see your gypsy
Oh, you see your gypsy, oh, lightning strikes
Maybe once, maybe twice
Oh and it all comes down to you
Oh I still see your, your bright eyes... bright eyes...
And it all comes down to you.

- Fleetwood Mac

... and of course the most famous gypsy of all, Victor Hugo's Esmeralda:

I have been in a very gypsy mood lately, perhaps because it is summer and I am (finally) on holiday. 
Even under normal circumstances, I am unreasonably obsessed with gold upper-arm bracelets, cuffs, and bangles, but the summer heat has taken it to a whole new level. I have been searching for not only the perfect maxi dress, but also long skirts like Shakira's... ahhh to walk around in her black ensemble everyday, barefoot in the sand dripping with ropes of exotic gold!

Oh and her man isn't bad, either.

GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY

Now that I am on holiday from work, I am back home in Northern California helping my mother plan my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary party. The photos above are of them on their wedding day, August 20, 1960. The party is going to be held in the backyard of my parents' house, and we have been having a great time getting inspiration for the decor! Here are some of our favorite finds from Everything Fabulous :

We hope it will be a beautiful way to celebrate Nonie and Papa's 50 years together.

♥

EXCLUSIVE SKETCHES FROM THE VERSACE ATELIER

I have always loved fashion illustrations, so working with them as part of my job is particularly special. The below are examples from the Versace Atelier. The sketches are always extremely confidential before a look is worn, but once a gown hits the red carpet, they can be released (and used as art in your apartment)! Here is a peek at recently worn sketches:

Recognize these?

ROCK STEADY

On her twenty-third birthday, she was partying as usual when

the last call came at the bar and she wanted another bottle of champagne.... 

Naturally, he obliged... she said hello and then went dancing back... 

That was the first time they met.

He saw her on the dance floor, 
dancing absolutely exquisitely with her wild hair, 

and I saw this expression on his face. 

It was just a very beautiful glimmer in his eye. 

I know him so well, and for some reason 

I got this bee in my bonnet at that moment and thought, 

That's the woman.

- adapted from Jonathan van Meter's story in Vogue 

on how Patti Hansen met Rolling Stone Keith Richards, her husband of 27 years

SUMMER

sparkle. sizzle. sweat. swim. smile. 

SUMMER.