Florida inspiration

BRB - sun tanning it!
My mom and I are traveling to Palm Beach and Naples for a few days. When I was in college we did a couple of these "testosterone free" spring breaks and I am giddy that we're treating ourselves to a little spring adventure again! This was my mom's birthday present to me and while we were determining where to go, we couldn't pass up all of our great memories from our trips to Florida a few years ago, so we're jet setting with the rest of Lilly clad royalty down to the sunshine state.
We'll be spending the first half of the trip in Palm Beach - expect a trip to Taboo, Worth Avenue and who knows, we might even have to give a police report if we witness any PB crazy antics like Tinsley Mortimer going all crazy ex-girlfriend on the picturesque lawns of Ocean Boulevard.
On our way to Naples, we'll be stopping in the Everglades' Shark Valley for a little exploration. It'll be a fitting early nod to Earth Day with what's bound to be a peace, green, gators & bugs experience - and yes, this was my request 100%; it's the 100 year anniversary of the National Parks Service, everyone should make it to at least one National Park this year!
We'll be in Naples the remainder of the trip and I can't wait for poolside lounging, shopping, dining and beachside strolls with all of the Midwest snow birds. And while I am hoping to come back with a golden glow, I purchased a rash guard swim suit. Clearly I am in a state of sun exposure crisis.
While I've been slightly paranoid about leaving work - this is my first "vacation" (outside of seeing family in D.C. and a long weekend to New York) in nearly two and a half years - it'll be so nice to take a break from the office and enjoy some R&R. I am really thrilled and so blessed that my mom treated me to this little getaway, it'll be such a special treat to spend time with her!
Keep you posted with pics on Insta, I can't promise Slim Aarons quality, but they'll be pretty fab.  

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Cecil Beaton Illustrations

I am starting a new art class tonight, water coloring. This past summer I took a beginning drawing class and it was a great experience, so I am excited to try my hand at another course and another art form! I've been able to keep up my sketches a bit since my class ended; I try to do a piece about once a month - you can see some of my drawings on Instagram. Charcoal has been my favorite drawing medium - I love the "messiness" of it. 

I am looking forward to the new adventure and exploring water coloring. I am sure it'll be enjoyable and I hope I'll be able to share some of my projects with you!

See below illustrations from the impressively talented Cecil Beaton who was renown for his photography, portraits, paintings, interior design & costume design. 

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Jacqueline de Ribes

On the evening of December 5, 1969, the beau mode was assembling for dinners at the most elegant tables in Paris, pre-gaming for the fancy-dress part of the year, if not the decade - Baron Alexis de Rede's "Bal Oriental." Among the most impenetrable of these preparatory gatherings was that of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, the international jet set's de facto king and queen. Dining with the elect at the Windsors' that night was couturier Oscar de la Renta. "The first course, the second course, the third course and finally the dessert arrived," de la Renta recalls, "and still Jacqueline de Ribes had not appeared. The Duke was furious!" Suddenly, the dining-room doors opened and in glided the Vicomtesse de Ribes. An exotic vision, the aristocratic beauty was swaddled from the pinnacle of her tasseled hat to the tips of her pointed slippers in a fantastically opulent Turkish disguise, ingeniously cobbled together by the Vicomtesse herself from three of her old haute couture dresses; organza lame from a remnant market; and a sable cape, acquired from an impoverished ballerina. Recalls de la Renta, "It was a show. And she was the star. No one knew like Jacqueline the power of an entrance."

Read more in this divine article from Vanity Fair about "The Last Queen of Paris."

Jacqueline de Ribes: The Art of Style

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

November 19, 2015 - February 21, 2016

The Costume Institute exhibition will focus on the internationally renowned style icon Countess Jacqueline de Ribes, whose originality and elegance established her as one of the most celebrated fashion personas of the twentieth century. The thematic show will feature about sixty ensembles of haute couture and ready-to-wear primarily form de Ribes's personal archive, dating from 1959 to the present. Also included will be her creations for fancy-dress balls, which she often made by cutting and cannibalizing her haute couture gowns to create nuanced expressions of her aesthetic. These, along with photographs and ephemera, will tell the story of how her interest in fashion developed over decades, from childhood "dress-up" to the epitome of international style. 

A muse to haute couture designers, de Ribes had at her disposal their drapers, cutters and fitters in acknowledgement of their esteem for their taste and originality. Ultimately, she used this talent and experience to create her own successful design business, which she directed from 1982 to 1995. While the exhibition will focus on her taste and style, extensive documentation from her personal archives will illustrate the range of her professional life, including her roles as theatrical impresario, television producer, interior design and director and organizer of international charity events. 

Read more here. 

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charlotte rampling

Alexa Chung on Charlotte Rampling for Harper's Bazaar:

Charlotte Rampling utterly captivates me. I've never met her, and I must confess to seeing only a handful of her performances, but I still hold her dear as a personal-style icon. There is something inherently strong about her face. She looks intelligent, commanding, and perpetually elegant...I scoured the Internet for quotes she had given, and while I found numerous examples of her dissecting the art of acting or waxing lyrical about grief, dreams, pain, and beauty, this is the one that really stood out for me: "I did that film [Spy Game, 2001] just so I could kiss Robert Redford." 

Charlotte, I salute you.

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