Good bye, Michael!

Well, I must say I am a bit late with my post in some respect. I woke up on Friday and heard the news while reading a message from my friend. I thought I was a bad joke. I couldn't believe it and for a moment there the world felt quite shaky. But I had to get ready and go. I didn't have time to write anything at all.

I still find it hard to believe that Michael Jackson is gone. Forever. I've never been what I call a true fan, but his music was always a part of my life, which made that particular moments of life rather special. I'd say a lot more, but I think I'll keep my opinion to myself now because here it's all about fashion and my opinion is not going to bring him back to life anyway. Instead I am going to put some of my favourite videos here featuring Naomi, Iman and very young Tyra. And share a moment of melting cloudy sadness that fills heart and soul and turns into tears as it slowly comes out... R.I.P.

TOOL OF THE WEEK

hunka hunka burnin' love

Beck's mile-stone (or is that millstone?) birthday last week provided many highlights: a magnificent 'choc'embouche cake mountain, some top drawer OPC embroidery,a bevy of floral tributes and a choice browny-orange West German ceramic vase. However the pick of the day was this most excellent wood burning tool she received from Ramona. Every ready to doodle, she's already started illustrating the teak salad bowls at hml headquarters with all manner of dumbstruck animalia. And hey, call us crazy, but it seemed important to talk up another 'tool of the week' so soon after Ramona's interview with 'Stubbsy'.

See you soon!

I was going to write a quick note tomorrow morning, but I am not sure if I will have time for it because, just as any woman, I plan things that would never fit into certain time frames (usually set by men, including my husband). Not like I am disorganised or anything - I just exist in a different dimension when it comes to getting ready and having plenty of beauty sleep.

Tomorrow we will be going away until Monday. Nothing too exciting, it's work/study related stuff. The good news is that we are staying in a lovely little cottage that's got a beautiful garden and the weather is meant to be nice, so I do hope we will get a chance to spend a few relaxing moments outside.

Anyway... What I am trying to say here, without being too boring, is that I will be back on Monday. Please miss me because I am going to miss you a lot.

xxx

Photo source: anthropologie

Award and 6 things that made me happy

Today I received this adorable award from Rocaille - thanks a lot, darling! It was such a nice surprise! So now all I have to do is to pick up 6 things that made me happy today. It's 1pm, so my day is still in its full glory, but as life is pretty busy at the moment (good busy, actually) it's filling up with little happy moments like there is no tomorrow.

1. It's a warm and sunny day and even early morning that's usually borderline gloomy was gorgeously dewy and refreshing

2. Charlie, the neighbours' cat came to be fed (it was her second breakfast, I believe) and played with (love this little fatty!)

3. I had a morning consultation with a client who is a real pleasure to talk to and I was also very happy with the progress she made so far.

4. I received a parcel from the outnet. Something very beautiful I am going to blog about later.

5. Delicious berries are in season, so for lunch I had an indulgent fruit salad made with strawberries, blueberries and raspberries (plus bananas, apples and grapes) - such a burst of flavours!

6. We are going out tonight and I will have a chance to dress up (can't wait!)

Now here is a list of nominees I would like to pass this award (and the happy things rule) to:

Carrie @ Couture Carrie because I can't wait to read her answers and see a beautiful photo collage she'll most likely to create

Anna @ The Style Diet because I adore her

Evi @ Absolutely Lady Like because she is such a sweet person and I love her blog (Darling, I know you are busy, so whenever you have time)

Hanh @ Life in Travel because I enjoy reading her blog and because she's got an amazing style and the most beautiful shoe collection I'd love to borrow (and keep... :) )

Ocean @ Ocean Dreams for seeing beauty in every moment

Nata @ Natalya's Beauty Blog because she is very creative and talented girl (and yes, VERY beautiful)

Love you, girls.
x

INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK

This afternoon Ramona will be chewing the fat with Stubbsy on ABC radio 774. Talking up craft, newfashiontodayblog, making stuff and, knowing local radio, giving a traffic report and taking calls from listeners. crikey!

Karl Lagerfeld designs for the National Ballet

"The Dying Swan" has always been one of my most favourite ballet performance. I first saw it when I was four or five in a movie about Anna Pavlova who worked with Mikhail Fokine who created the solo ballet dance in 1907. Accompanied by Camille Saint-Saens's The Swan (the thirteen movement of the Carnival of the Animals) it was incredibly moving, beautiful and very sad.

Anna Pavlova

Since then I saw this magical dance many times as it was always performed after "The Swan Lake". Should I also mention that as a little girl I always dreamed of having this costume? I even created something out of what was available (probably, my grandma's curtains) and vividly remember attaching a finishing touch to the top bit - a big ruby brooch, which was also borrowed from my grandma (I don't think she ever found out though).

This year Karl Lagerfeld designed a dream costume for Senior Principal Dancer Elena Glurdjidze who performed the Dying Swan as a part of the English National Ballet's season of Ballet Russes at Sadler's Wells in London in June. The costume took 3 women and 100 hours to make and is a work of art, a true masterpiece. As a part of her final fitting, Elena danced The Dying Swan for Lagerfeld in his Chanel studio. The video of the beautiful dance was made by Karl Lagerfeld himself and you can watch it here.

"As a child I was already impressed by old images of Anna Pavlova dancing the ballet," Lagerfeld said in his interview, adding that, "the Ballet Russes were an influence for me". It looks like the history is repeating itself as Lagerfeld seems to be following the steps of Coco Chanel herself, who supported Sergey Dyagilev while he was staging The Dying Swan in 1919.

Here I also include videos of Anna Pavlova and Maya Plisetskaya (I adore her and think that her Swan is the most beautiful ever).

Translation: ....the Dying Swan became famous. This short 2-minute dance was choreographed for a young ballerina Anna Pavlova in 1907. The Dying Swan was an impromptu idea and is considered to be one of the most inspirational Fokine's works, a dramatic symbol of rebellion against death.

Sources: youtube.com, chanel.com, vogue.co.uk, bloomacious.com

I MADE IT MYSELF

Somehow, amidst the chaos Ramona managed to get these little fellas done this past week. She should have been packing boxes for Beck and The Architect, not to mention the mountain of work for Design Made Trade...

Instead she found herself spending some quality time with these furry people. They are now on the wall of the Brunswick Street Gallery - along with 3 million other paintings - as part of the Small Works Prize show.

Big opening on Friday night if you want to say hello. She promises not to talk in the third person.

Q and A

Lovely Couture Carrie posted this questionnaire on her beautiful blog yesterday and I was one of the lucky people she tagged!

So this is my turn to do Q&A and if you feel like doing the same, then consider yourself tagged.

What are your current obsessions?
My puppy (who will be joining us on 5 June), Kevin Murphy hair care products

Marni bracelets

and Bottega Veneta sandals.

What are you wearing today?
Pretty low key today as spent most day at home studying and only popped out for a few minutes to a local grocery shop. Old favourite dark blue Diesel Zinc jeans, Armand Basi silk top (with an abstract print of white, dark chocolate and turquoise petals), Zinco dark chocolate cashmere & silk shrug and Keds trainers in chocolate brown with white flowers.

What's for dinner?
Roasted chicken breast and a massive leafy green salad with tomatoes, cucumber and peppers and balsamic dressing. Oh, yes! And a Bendicks minty chocolate.

Originally I planned to have prawns, but then our neighbour’s cat Charlie came to visit. Twice. Last night and this morning. After she left most of the prawns were gone.

Which countries would you like to travel to?
Italy, France and Belgium. I have visited Paris and Bruges several times now and am in love with these places. I would love to visit Florence and then – Venice.

What language would you like to learn?
French. Then – Italian.

What is your dream job?
I am doing it right now working as a nutritional advisor and studying to become a nutritional therapist.

What is your favourite magazine?
Vogue, US, Russian or Paris. Not crazy about UK Vogue at all. I also buy InStyle US occasionally and can be tempted by ELLE US or France.

If you had £100 now, what would you spend it on?
A set of Aubade Fleurs De Pommier lingerie.

What is your favourite fruit?
Persimmon.

What's the last thing you bought?
That Armand Basi silk blouse I mentioned above as it was on sale, so I couldn’t resist the temptation.

What are you listening to right now?
Carla Bruni’s Comme si de rien n'était

What is your favourite ice cream flavour these days?
Pistachio. And I prefer gelato to ice-cream.

What do you think about the person who tagged you?
Oh, I adore Carrie. I think she is gorgeous, has a great sense of style and is a very warm and kind person.

What’s your must-have piece for summer?
Tulip shaped chocolate brown dress that I bought last winter or in early spring.

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
Paris, of course!

What’s your favourite quote these days?
Style is primarily a matter of instinct.
-Bill Blass

Who do you want to meet right now?
My mum and dad who live in Russia and my best friend, who is in the States.

What's your favourite piece of clothing in your own closet?
My Taffy dress by Diane von Furstenberg. I fell in love with it as soon as it first appeared and then was lucky enough to buy it. It makes me feel beautiful.

Favourite designer at the moment?
As far as the summer 2009 is concerned I love Versace.

What do you consider a fashion faux pas?
Wearing clothes that don’t fit properly or are too small. Buying clothes because of the labels.

Do you admire anyone's style?
I like Inès de la Fressange, Tasha De Vasconcelos and Victoria Beckham.

Describe your personal style.
It’s very classic and feminine. I choose clothes that would last several seasons, well-cut and made with good quality fabrics and buy them because I LOVE them, not because something is in fashion or has a designer name on it. I can live with very few dresses, skirts, trousers, tops and coats, but I am a true collector when it comes to lingerie, scarves and shoes.

What are you going to do after this?
Sit in a garden with my laptop and have a cup of Lady Grey tea.

Sources: net-a-porter, style.com, amazon.co.uk, kevinmurphystore.com, vogue, aubade.fr

SHOW OF THE WEEK

Dear readers, our apologies for the lack of posts last week. It's not that we don't love you. We have been beset, besieged and beleaguered by illness, exhaustion and general malaise from work, babies, moving house, bad weather, lack of funds and looming deadlines.
But this week promises to be better. We'll be ticking things off the to do list like there is not tomorrow! Including busting our way into Craft Victoria to see these amazing knitted forms by Alana Clifton Cunningham.
there is nothing we can do to improve the weather. sorry. 16 and showers all week.

Style Fairy Award

I will be very brief this time (although it seems like I've kept my posts short for a while anyway).

Today I would like to award the following girls with my Style Fairy award:

Carrie @ Couture Carrie

Evi @ Absolutely Ladylike

Anna @ The Style Diet

Mademoiselle Frou-Frou @ Frou Frou Fashionista

Little Miss Chic @ Fashion Moment

Dear girls, it was a real pleasure to discover your blogs, so beautiful, stylish and inspirational. And I'd also like to thank you for your attention and kind comments you left for me. I hope you like my little award. You are my true STYLE FAIRIES. xxx

Lets eat!

Continuing the gastronomical theme... Bon Appétit!

Sources: Vogue, jedroot.com, tfs

Christian Louboutin ad campaign

If I had to choose three things that are close to my heart, my feminine self and my professional background, I’d pick art, shoes and food. This, my darlings, as I feel at the moment, makes me have something common with Christian Louboutin. Oh, yes, I know this is quite a bold statement, but let me just feel special for a few brief minutes of my ordinary life.

I fell in love with this spring-summer 2009 campaign that features iconic red-soled shoes surrounded by exotic fruits, sweets and flowers. My favourite ads are the “paintings” of Miss Fortune sandals and Mount Street bag and nude stiletto. Stunning images created by talented Peter Lippman look like old nature mortes from Louvre. To me, this is timeless, elegant, unforgettable and very unique.

Photo source: tfs