Spanx

The Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles blog just brought the girlie-glam offices at Atlanta-based Spanx to my attention. Now, if only the product packaging was as cool. LOVE Spanx, but I always feel like a bit of a rube buying any undergarments featuring a winking cartoon on the cover.

Related Interior Design article and photos here.

Flowers and Candlight

A friend asked me about the little wood "vase" I used to hold roses earlier last week. Funny they should ask, because it's actually candle packaging that I thought was too pretty to toss. There's a watertight vase tucked inside, but I thought the grainy wood gave my yellow roses a more autumnal feel than the usual glass or silver.

The candle is by Voluspa's James Boyce Collection. I bought mine at Gramercy Fine Linens & Furnishings. In case you are not in Atlanta, they are also available here.

While it is generally considered a faux pas to burn fragrant candles while cooking or eating, this line was designed specifically for that purpose by chef James Boyce. (Sounds like a good Thanksgiving host gift to me!)

And if it makes you feel any better, the boxes are made from sustainable Palownia wood without the use of stain or lacquer. My scent of choice is "Herb Garden", which is very fresh and subtle.

Happy November!

Feng Shui & Tory Burch

"Organize your shoes on racks lower than three feet to prevent being the target of gossip" - A tip from Yung Siu, Feng Shui Master.

Who knew? This is just another helpful tidbit from the Style Guide on the Tory Burch Website. Apparently, she is giving Kate Spade's interactive site a run for its money.



From this photograph of her dressing room, I can't tell whether or not she is taking her own advice. Whatever the case, (and despite her growing ubiquity) she is obviously doing something right.

Happy closet organization this fall!

Closet Lust, Part 12

Rachel Zoe's studio as seen on The Huffington Post.

Holy bananas--there are a lot of shoes in this room. I know it's a workspace and all, but couldn't we send Jeff Lewis over there to design a decent dressing room with some stylish cabinetry?

Don't forget, it's the best week ever on Bravo, with premiers of the new seasons of Flipping Out and The Rachel Zoe Project. My DVR is feeling loved right now.

Haberdashery

When I told the guys at Sid Mashburn I was "just looking", I was telling the truth--it's just that I was looking at the decor and not the suits. (Though I am sure the intentionally preppy, intentionally hip clothing and accessories for gentlemen are terrific too).

Attention Shoppers

It's a good thing that the new ShopAD does not have a "buy it now" button, or I would be in trouble.


The same goes for ShopAD Fabrics. (All of the printed linens above are from George Smith).

Great idea brought to you by the creators of 1st Dibs.

Beyond the Garden

Speaking of having such a style-conscience neighborhood, I recognized this home front while perusing my latest issue of Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles. I have often walked past and admired this house as one of the prettiest on the street, but who would have guessed that such a classic exterior would encase this modern mix of texture and light...

Of course, it makes sense upon learning that this home belongs to Kay Douglass, creator of the South of Market mini-empire. For those unfamiliar with SOM, the shops in Charleston and Atlanta are known for their unique collection of contemporary upholstery paired with rustic, repurposed accessories.

An example: a collection of salvaged french hangers at South of Market, framed for a modern effect.

More photos of her home and the story behind the renovation here.

Top three photographs by Mali Azima for Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles, Last photograph is from the South of Market website.

Snakeskin in the Grass

Cute. Wait a second--when did J. Crew start charging $450.00 for shoes? Grrr.

On The Other Hand

There were a quite a few things I liked in the December Pottery Barn catalog (even if they are knock-offs)...

Banyan Leaf Bowls

Cloisonné Ornaments

Mercury-Glass Votives

Bulldog Bottle Opener (of course, this could just be a Georgia thing).

Leather-Bound Journals and Pencil Boxes

Oh, how I love catalog season. I must add that the HUGE new store at Lenox Square that opened this summer is worth a visit if you are in Atlanta.

Give or Take

One Magazine.
Two ads.
Which stylist are you going with?

(Estee Lauder left, Tod's right.)

Eva Lorenzotti

Our favorite purveyor of lavish accessories, Eva Lorenzotti, shows off her home in this month's Global Guide. (Click on any photo to see the details).

Reflected in the mirrored doors of her famed dressing room are some of her global finds. What a life.

For many more photos, I recommend picking up a Global Guide. (This one came from Borders). I have never read this magazine before, but it is definitely worthy of it's $7.00 price tag--and it has the thick, glossy paper.

Sex, Drugs and Textile Design

Fashion designer Ossie Clark and wife Celia Birtwell photographed in London, 1971.

Celia Birtwell first became famous in late 60's London after her lending her hand-printed fabrics to husband Ossie Clark's fashion designs. What resulted was the birth of the modern catwalk show and an impressive rock star following. Clients of the partnership included the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Mick and Bianca Jagger, Paloma Picasso and David Hockney, to whom she would serve as a muse for years following.

The swinging, hedonistic lifestyle eventually caught up with pair and they divorced in the mid-seventies. After the tumultuous marriage ended, Birtwell turned away from fashion and focused on the "less manic" world of interior fabrics, opening her home design shop in Notting Hill in 1984. This past fall, the Celia Birtwell's line of 60's inspired textiles and home furnishings became available at the L.A. showroom of Suzan Fellman.

An older and wiser Celia Birtwell at the the Suzan Fellman Showroom in Los Angeles. Wingback chairs upholstered in Birtwell's "Howard" linen. (Photographed for Vanity Fair).

Pillows in Celia Birtwell's "Imagine" pattern

David Hockney poses with his muse in front of his 1971 painting, "Mr. and Mrs. Clark and Percy", a portrait of Celia Birtwell with her former husband Ossie Clark. The painting, rich with symbolism, is one of the most visited at the Tate Gallery in London.

As Beach Bungalow 8 posted back in September, Birtwell designed a line of vintage garments for Topshop. The collection of roughly 1,000 pieces sold out of the English chain store in a record 6 minutes.

To view Celia Birtwell's complete home textile collection, visit her website.

Shoe Subscriptions

Looking for a gift for the girl who has everything? Enter J.Crew's "Shoe of the Month Club" at a mere $1800.

"Each month, our designers will handpick their favorite shoes and send them straight to the doorstep of someone who has been very good this year."

A nice idea, but I have a hard enough time waiting for my Domino Magazine to arrive each month. Shoes, like shelter mags, are best when available for instant gratification.  Happy Cyber Monday!

The New Downtown

From the real jungle, to the concrete one...


I love this recent ad campaign for Tiffany & Co.'s new Wall Street store for a couple of reasons; One is the swinging, 1960's-style illustrations that harken back to the golden stride of Tiffany, years before we were subjected to the spoiled brats on MTV's  "My Super Sweet Sixteen", waving their clunky tag bracelets in our faces. Thanks to some good old fashioned marketing/nostalgia/damage control, we are reminded that Tiffany was once posh, exclusive, and all things New York. Just imagine how many Wall Street wives (and mistresses) will be getting a little blue box this year--and perhaps an orange one from around the corner, as well.

The other reason I love this ad is that I used to live on Wall Street. Back then it was a residential Siberia, and I lived on the 21st floor of the tall, tiered building featured in the illustration above. I shared a  three-bedroom apartment with five girls. We barely made it a year before fleeing to real neighborhoods. Still, it's fun to flip through a magazine and see the headline: "Downtown Is The Next Big Thing" for the umpteenth time and finally believe it.

Rachel Zoe, Working Waif

Ever since Jane Magazine went belly-up, I have been receiving Glamour Magazine in it's place. While it is not quite the same thing (less snark, more articles about loving your extra 20 pounds, etc.), I am actually enjoying this unsolicited, unpretentious magazine. The paper quality is also much higher than that of Jane, which I suspect had something to do with lagging subscription sales.

Anyway, this month's Glamour shows us the "real" work spaces of high-powered women, one of which is the Beverly Hills home office of our favorite Bravo stylist, Rachel Zoe.

Click on photo to enlarge.

The stack of purses in the bottom right corner are the Medusa Bag, a collaboration between Zoe and Judith Leiber.

For a more detailed look into her workday, check out the New York Times article, Being Rachel Zoe. Zoe also has a new book out this month, Style A to Zoe: The Art of Fashion, Beauty, and Everything Glamour.

(Top photo by Andrew Durham).

The Darjeeling Limited

The Darjeeling Limited opens this weekend, introducing us to another fantastic world created by Wes Anderson, and promising to be a movie with style.

The story is of three brothers (played by Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman) traveling through India by train.
The film's arguable fourth character is the custom designed, Louis Vuitton luggage once belonging to their father.

Known for an obsessive attention to detail, Anderson commissioned Marc Jacobs to design the velvet lined, monogrammed suitcases. The jungle motif is based on drawings by Anderson's brother Eric, who illustrates many details in these films--including the wallpaper design for Richie's room in The Royal Tenenbaums.

From a recent article in New York Magazine, David Amsden says, "You need only watch a few frames of one of his movies to spot it as an Anderson production. Though he is originally from Texas, there is something distinctively European in his obsession with aesthetics: a belief that the way something looks is what dictates how it will make you feel."

The travel ensemble, which is currently on display at the Louis Vuitton store in New York, will be auctioned with proceeds benefitting UNICEF and the Rawal Mallinathji Foundation, a medical charity in India.

(Photos from Elle).