Christian Dior

Christian Dior ( 1905 – 1957), was an influential French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses. He was responsible for the "New Look" in fashion in the 1940s (volumous ballerina skirts) and dressed stars such as Marlene Dietrich and royalty such as the Duchess of Windsor.

This is a beautiful A-line dress from Christian Dior, late 1960's. The dress has cut-away armholes, a shaped bodice front and back with a v-neckline and back zipper

What to Wear to the Inauguration

I wasn't invited to an inauguration ball, but having to choose something out of my wardrobe of patterns, this could possibly be the dress. Not white. Maybe black. A little daring in red. ( I would have to begin sewing it tonight if someone would only invite me.) This gorgeous pattern is a Badgley Mischka design. Mark Badgley and James Mischka have been hailed by Vogue magazine as one of the top ten American design teams for their glamorous, wearable and stylish evening wear and accessories. Their designs have been worn by Madonna, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jennifer Lopez, Sharon Stone, Jennifer Garner, Julia Roberts, Kate Winslet, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ashley Judd, Terri Hatcher and moi.

Oh So Fabulous Schiaparelli

The Italian designer, Elsa Schiaparelli 1890-1973, had a love of rich fabrics and her designs frequently had a surreal twist. ( Which means no staid flowers in her designs.) She mixed with the famous cubist and surrealist artists Man Ray, Salvador Dali, Marcel Duchamp and Francis Picabia. Fabric and accessories were often designed for her by Dali, Jean Cocteau and Christian Berard.

The scarf pictured is a beautiful twenty-three inch signature square scarf with sold rust border with brown, rust, cream, silver blue squares in the inset made in Japan by Glentex. Hand-rolled, 100% silk. The design is superb. The tiny squares are outlined in varying colors and make the scarf truly come to life with texture and depth.

Elephant Girl Loves My Virginia Johnson Scarf

Elephant Girl loves my scarf. I was performing another random search on Google when I discovered her blog and she mentioned my scarf made using lovely Virginia Johnson merino wool (which since has found a home in Copenhagen with a lady who has great taste!) I've made another one with the material that I have left. You can see the first one on http://allthingselephant.blogspot.com/.

Now You Can Twitter Me

I just signed up for a twitter account. Looks like fun (when and if I can figure it out). How do I send messages and how do I reply? Well, I'll have to devote some more time to the technical aspects after I devote more time to resolving some issues with my google analytics account. Technology is supposed to make your life easier, but honestly today I opened my e-mail account to discover 521 messages. At least I'll never be lonely. And when all my chores of daily living are done (like the eternal pile of laundry) I can always answer my e-mail.

Emilio Pucci

Emilio Pucci ~~ Heir to a Florentine family, Pucci was famous for his designs distinguished by marvelous cut and construction and his Pucci prints. Marilyn Monroe was buried with one of his dresses, and his designs were worn by everyone from Sophia Loren to Jackie Kennedy. After Emilio's death in 1992 his daughter, Laudomia Pucci, continued to design under the Pucci name. Other designers who have worked for the label include Stephan Janson and Julio Espada. This dress and coat combination is a wonderful example of his tailored, streamlined designs. The coat is set-off with large buttons and is cut to emphasize the neckline. A seven-eighth sleeve length serves to highlight the arm-line and make the figure seem longer and leaner than it really is. Up swept dart lines in the coat and dress add to this illusion. A beautiful design from a master designer.

Lanvin

This is a late 1960's design from Lanvin. The House of Lanvin continues to produce beautiful designs and is the oldest design house still in operation. For me, Lanvin reminds me of my Grandmother. Her favorite scent was Arpege (also worn by the late Princess Diana, among others). It is a luxurious, gentle, floral fragrance with notes of honeysuckle, jasmine, roses and orange blossoms with accents of vanilla and sandalwood. It was reorchestrated in 1993 and doesn't smell quite exactly the same. Definitely not as sweet, but a lovely reminder of a person who played an important role in my life.