Elivnoe: April 2011

Saturday, April 30, 2011

{the royal wedding: with this kiss}

. . . must confess, still a little caught up in the romance of it all, the stolen glances and secret smiles, the horse-drawn carriages and chantilly lace, the balcony kisses and moments so breathtakingly lovely, can barely stand it . . .

prince william & catherine, the duke & duchess of cambridge

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detail of the exquisite wedding gown, put together by hand by sarah burton of alexander mcqueen, it is a perfect intermingling of tradition and modernity, with a bodice of ivory satin made of hand-cut english lace and french chantilly lace, over ivory and white satin gazar {a sheer, lightweight silk organza with a glaze-like sheen and moderate stiffness}; individual flowers were hand cut from lace and hand-engineered onto the ivory silk tulle to create the design, which features rose, thistle, daffodil, and shamrocks, the national flowers of england, ireland, scotland, and wales; 58 gazar & organza covered buttons ran up the back

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the eight-tiered royal wedding cake was decorated with 900 delicate sugar-paste flowers, including 17 different blooms and foliage for their meaning and symbolism, known as the language of flowers

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the veil was made of layers of ivory silk tulle and trimmed with hand-embroidered flowers, sewn on by the royal school of needlework at hampton court palace

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the bridal bouquet included myrtle, lily-of-the-valley, hyacinth and sweet william blooms; in keeping with royal tradition, stems from a myrtle planted by queen victoria in 1845 were also added; according to tradition, the bouquet of a royal bride will be left on the tomb of the unknown solider in westminster abbey; the late queen mother began the ritual by leaving her wedding bouquet at the grave in 1923 in memory of her brother, fergus, who was killed in the first world war

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. . . and of course, with all of this week's talk of tiaras . . . kate's 'something borrowed' was the cartier halo tiara, made in 1936 and purchased by king george VI for his wife queen elizabeth {the queen mother} three weeks before he succeeded his brother as king; the tiara was presented to princess elizabeth, now the queen, by her mother on the occasion of her 18th birthday; the new princess catherine matched the tiara with earrings by robinson pelham, a gift from her parents inspired by the new middleton coat of arms

{p.s.} for the royal wedding reception, catherine changed into a second alexander mcqueen gown, and her sister pippa changed out of the stunning mcqueen into temperley london

{credits: one | two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight | nine | ten | eleven}

Friday, April 29, 2011

{décor inspiration: tufted pink & carrera}

". . . chests draped in cloth served as dressing tables until early in the eighteenth century, when tables de toilette, known also as poudreuses, made their debut" . . . dressing tables seem to be a recurring theme lately, especially mirrored ones {also here}, but elegantly draped and ruffled is also lovely {and really quite wonderfully romantic}, especially when surrounded by floor-to-ceiling carrera, alongside grand archways, and beneath a nineteenth-century silvered french chandelier . . . also quite adore the pink rhinestone-tufted vanity stool in luxurious dusky pink fabric from lelièvre, paris, and spectacularly trimmed in rhinestones . . .

{p.s.} the rhinestone trim is from m&j trimmings, nyc & the art déco lamps are from a paris flea market

{photography by dan piassick, scan by this is glamorous from french impressions by betty lou phillips; quote also from french impressions}

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Analysis of The Scene Queen

I've been analyzing this Scene Queen Pedophilia thing all day, and I think I've uncovered a genius marketing scheme that exploits young girls' need for attention and a feeling of cultural relevance. Applying my understanding of evolutionary biology, psychology, pornography, and marketing, I feel like I may have some solid answers to the formerly perplexing question of "What the f*ck is this sh*t??".

I will begin by tackling the question of why these girls' appearances are so, seemingly, conflicted (i.e. the infantilizing accessories and clothing, carrying around stuffed animals and playing with Hello Kitty crap, but in harsh contrast, wearing loads of eye make-up and often having facial piercings).

To start with; whether they understand it in it's entirety or not, these Scene Queens are conforming to the known ideal associated with males' biological desire to mate with healthy and fertile females. Men are sexually attracted to younger females, because they are more likely to be healthy and fertile. This brings me to a concept known as "babyfaceness".

Studies at universities in both Germany and the US found that when given a range of digitally altered images of the same face, males preferred the faces that had more childlike features (a large rounded forehead, large round eyes, a small nose, and small chin). These findings simply support the theory that males are evolutionarily inclined to be more attracted to younger females. For the full story of The Science Of Attraction, follow the link: http://deliciouspumpkin.blogspot.com/2010/12/science-of-attraction.html?zx=ffc078eb2b0f5e40

This explains both the reason for the over sized quaff, and the heavy eye make up. The large head of hair gives the illusion of a smaller chin. By covering their foreheads with thick bangs, and teasing the hell out of their hair, it makes the upper region of their head appear much larger than the lower portion, simply by contrast (i.e. mimicking the symptoms of "babyfaceness"). The reason for the heavy eye make-up is that it helps to give the appearance of larger eyes. Additionally, it obscures most of the eye area, which is where young women begin to show signs of aging first (dark circles, bags, wrinkles).

Next we will assess the Hello Kitty and stuffed animal crap... The bright colors, obviously, draw the eye, but are also associated with the way that we culturally dress our children. In pornographic films and images (the ones geared towards male who are looking for "hot petite teens xxx") you will often find that the females will be wearing brightly colored plastic bead jewelry, or cute brightly colored socks. This part is simple. They wear childrens' clothing and accessories in order to appear more similar to what we, culturally, consider to be a child.

The reason for the facial piercings only serves to say, "I am a naughty girl, and I do naughty things". It gives the onlooker permission to view them in an "adult" manner. Its that simple.

Well, I still feel 100% uncomfortable with this creepy Scene Queen thing, but kudos to the horny old bastard who thought it up, and somehow got it to become trendy to appeal to pedophiles.

{favourite five: photographer garance doré}

The New York Times refers to her as “the guardian of all style”, her beau calls her the “Illustratoriste” for her commended work as a fashion illustrator, Vogue.com named her one of the 40 women of the decade . . . clearly, French fashion blogger and photographer Garance Doré’s ultra-stylish influence has been felt by not only the fashion world, but the world at large.

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Whether she is covering fashion week in Milan, snapping portraits of fashionistas in New York, posting personal chatty, witty -- yet simply charming -- monologues, sharing her photographs from the latest French Vogue editorial she shot, or displaying her collages and fashion illustrations, the street-style photographer & fashion illustrator's blog evokes a style that goes far beyond trends: the scope of her work is timeless and chic; it is for this reason, the fashion world is at her feet.

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above: snaps of doré & a feature in interview magazine

Garance’s musings give us a rare glimpse into the thoughts of a fabulously stylish Parisian woman, and even though her posts imply French women are the masters when it comes to effortless style, they still have a few tricks up their sleeves, and this week, she lets us in on some of her style secrets . . .

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{the top five things french women never leave home without:}

1. Baume Crème de Rose from Dior, for the pot & the perfectly pouty lips.

2. A pair of sunglasses -- to provide mystery!

3. A book by Françoise Sagan because she has an incredible perspective on life and was so rock'n roll -- in the French way, of course.

4. A pair of Repetto ballet flats (the real dancer ones with very soft soles) -- great after long hours in heels.

5. A pen. To write, of course, but also to put your hair up when you're tired of having it in your face. I don't know why, but every French girl does that!

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{p.s.} previous favourite fives:
* interior designer: tricia foley
* jeweler: camille eddera
* artist: kimia kline
* actress & fashion muse: chloë sevigny
* floral stylist: denise porcaro
* entrepreneurs: rent the runway
* designer: rachel ashwell

~ laily

{images: from garance doré's blog, as well as previous posts, here & here; all collages compiled by this is glamorous}

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