Category: Inspiring Women & Men

February 16, 2015

The Legacy of Miss Bacall

Screen goddess, legendary wife of… & art collector!

Preview of Lauren Bacall’s estate to be auctioned at Bonhams in New York.

LaurenBacall

Admirers of the late stage and screen actress Lauren Bacall can view highlights from her estate at Bonhams in London from 15-19 February. Around 50 choice lots of art and jewellery, just a fraction of The Lauren Bacall Collection, are on view at the New Bond Street headquarters of Bonhams, just one stop on an international tour taking in Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Paris and New York – where the collection will be auctioned on March 31 and April 1. Browse the Bonhams on-line catalogue.

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February 12, 2015

My Personal Top 10 Female Singers – No 4

…in no particular order & with my favorite recordings…

Number Four: Nina Simone

“To be Young, Gifted & Black” 

NinaInterview and performance of Young, Gifted and Black (click)

Nina Simone (1933 – 2003) was so multi talented, it is hard to choose what to highlight. Despite being black, poor, one of eight children, her musical talent from a very young age onward culminated in her well- earned status of the “High Priestess of Soul”.

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February 9, 2015

Beeb! Beeb!

What would we do without the “BEEB”, i.e. short for the BBC?

broadcastinghousecompleteThe original Broadcasting House in London

Don’t get me wrong, the other Brit channels are great too, and some “foreign” channels also, but the Power House of quality television is in my opinion the British Broadcasting Company…

Hurray for the BBC Iplayer app for your Ipad, a wealth of quality TV for a few dollars per month…

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February 8, 2015

“Fabuloso” Fortuny

A Pleated Silk Gown & the Making of the Modern Women

Delphos dress, Mariano Fortuny, 1909. Purple silk satin.Detail of a Fortuny “Delphos” Gown, probably around 1920

At the beginning of the 20th century, when most women’s fashion was still dictated by the corset, Mariano Fortuny created the “Delphos” gown – described by Marcel Proust as “faithfully antique and markedly original.”  Inspired by, and named after, a classical Greek statue, the Charioteer of Delphi,  the unstructured dress clung sensuously to the body, daringly revealing the wearer’s shape…These dresses became all the rage! Below on this post you will find “create the look for less”.

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February 6, 2015

Feline Elegance

The Lady & her Cat…

“The term “Cat Lady” can evoke the image of an unfashionable, unkempt, and slightly unhinged spinster hoarding multiple cats. The book “Cat Lady Chic” by Diane Lovejoy serves as the antidote to this unflattering point of view, celebrating the Cat Lady with a compilation of artful, playful, and sophisticated images of some of the most renowned, beautiful, and accomplished women in modern history with the cats they love”.

BlackCatModel Mary Jane Russel with black cat – photograph by Louise Dahl-Wolf

This is the amusing description of the book “Cat Lady Chic“. Much is written about the attraction between women and cats, a subject often looked upon with great suspicion by those who do not understand it.

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