Category: Style & Fashion

Prehistoric Pinterest

Before the virtual version, there was actually the real deal: the pin board.

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Before “cut and paste” were key strokes on your computer there was actually CUT AND PASTE, or in the case of your pin board: cut and pin!

CartoonHow current is this McNelly cartoon from 1990 today!

There is Pinterest, that “pins” for you without allowing you to arrange your board the way you want it…and then there is the real thing where you are the master of your universe!

Cartoon2Cartoon from the New Yorker, when the book “Why French women don’t get fat” was all the rage.

I have always had large mood boards or even whole walls with newspaper cuttings, fashion photos, cartoons and all things that capture my attention and I want to preserve.

BricoloThe now closed “Bricolo Café” at the BHV department store in Paris, decorated as an old workshop.

This is just one of my walls and most of the things up there are already quite old, but have not lost any of their significance to me.

ArtSonia Delaunay and Gerhard Richter

It is my very tangible and private diary of everything that inspires or interests me, and I love sharing it with insiders, but not necessarily with the world…

FeauBeautiful “boiseries” by Féau in Paris at the Biennale a few years ago, I will paint my new library like this!

I could tell you a whole story about each item, why it is there, what it means to me and how it is still significant today…

Cartoon3Peanuts, by the great philosopher Charles Schultz

It is an insight into my psyche and probably fodder for a psychiatrist, an eclectic mixture of humor, deadly serious subjects, photographs of all sorts, frivolous subjects and personal memento’s, a bit what I want my blog to be like!

GulfWarFantastic cover of Mad Magazine about Gulf War II: how true!

Fashion, politics, critical journalism, documentary film, cartoons, postcards, personal photographs, badges of events I attended, invitations, notes…

BoardDetailDetail of my board: Schiele, Peanuts, Avadon, my horoscope for 2014 that I still want to believe in…

It records my life in a mosaic of images and words, in no particular order or chronology.

PhotoMy sister and I, we are still this close today.

There is Pinterest, that “pins” for you without allowing you to arrange your board the way you want it…and then there is the real thing where you are the master of your universe!

ChristInvitation to René Stoeltie’s “Visions of Christ” exhibit in Majorca

It is here that all these ideas, inspirations and images come together and form a “smorgasbord” of my life…

Fine and Dandy

Dapper dressers of the world show how to stand out in a crowd through elegance and posture

walkerevans1Citizen in  Havana, Cuba, 1933 – Photographer Walker Evans

Some men really stand out in a crowd with a mixture of style and most importantly: posture. I don’t much care for the meaning of the word ‘Dandy’ as defined in the dictionary: “a man who cares too much about his clothing and personal appearance.” It sound quite judgmental! A truly elegant man evokes an air of nonchalance as if his style is a mere casual expression of his inner refinement and something that comes naturally to him…

sape4A “Sapeur” in Brazzaville, Congo – talk about standing out in a crowd…

I much prefer Charles Baudelaire’s definition: “Dandyism in certain respects comes close to spirituality and to stoicism” and “These beings have no other status, but that of cultivating the idea of beauty in their own persons, of satisfying their passions, of feeling and thinking …. Dandyism is a form of Romanticism. Contrary to what many thoughtless people seem to believe, dandyism is not even an excessive delight in clothes and material elegance. For the perfect dandy, these things are no more than the symbol of the aristocratic superiority of mind.” Take that, sloppy dressers!

Sape5A trio of young “Sapeurs”

An exceptionally active group of Dandy’s today live in Brazzaville, Congo and are known as “Sapeurs”. They  belong to ‘La SAPE’ (Societe des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Elegantes) – one of the world’s most exclusive clubs. Members have their own code of honour, codes of professional conduct and strict notions of morality.

sape1Elegant “Sapeurs”

Dandies are never stiff or contrived, their posture self assured without a whiff of arrogance and mostly good company, who does not want to be seen with such a man? In my world Dandy wins over Hipster every time!

ralph_lauren001An ever perfect Ralph Lauren suit

 

The Bare Minimum


 Zoran, the most “unknown” famous fashion designer

ZoranAmerican Vogue – Photographer Arthur Elgort – 1983

Few fashion designers can boast a cult following while being practically unknown to the wider public as New York based Zoran. Mysterious, secretive and completely disregarding “fashion”, Zoran has endured as a fashion designer of mythic reputation. So secret are his collections, one can only buy from his showroom by appointment…that is; if you have his unlisted number! (I do give some “Create the Look” tips at the end of the post.)

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Tender is the Button!

Clothes might make the man but the right button makes the statement!

TB-2 2

As my mantra is “A fabulous life on a shoestring”, the RIGHT buttons play a BIG role in this. The most ordinary cardigan, coat or blouse can be turned into something fabulous by putting on great buttons. The large French Army button above adorns the peacoat of a stylish friend to great effect!

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I am love…

The timeless elegance of Tilda Swinton & a magnificent 1930’s mansion.

TS2

“Io sono l’amore” is the title of the 2009 Italian film starring Tilda Swinton as a “haute bourgeoise” in Milan who lives with her wealthy husband and family in a grand modernist mansion.

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