Thursday, April 29, 2010

Book of the Month!


Lunch in Paris by Elizabeth Bard
This infectious book is the story of how the author Elizabeth, an American student living in London, fell in love with her French husband and his country's cuisine. While she writes a good bit about her experiences with food, there are plenty of life's other aspects. Love, in-laws, the health care system, making friends, and politics are among the topics Bard covers in her memoir. If you enjoy food and have either been to Paris or fantasize what it's like, this is a book for you. Such a great read and the recipes are mouthwatering.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Current Chanel Obsession - Le Suit Jacket




".....only i can fit a Chanel suit....."
- Coco Chanel

The Jacket that started it all, replacing the corset with comfort and casual elegance, her fashion themes included simple suits and dresses, women's trousers, costume jewelry, perfume and textiles. Coco Chanel introduced her signature jacket in 1925 and signature "little black dress" in 1926. Most of her fashions had a staying power, and didn't change much from year to year -- or even generation to generation. It is still here and can be yours for less then 100 bucks, a fake though, from Sportsgirl, classic chic...

I LOVE PARIS



Images by COCO LOCO

strolling through the powerhouse museum shop, i came across this plastic coated paper bag calling my name, a clever spin on eco friendly baggage its available in different sizes and prints, but i just had to have this one, its light and can carry a fair bit, good for uni or markets shopping

“PARIS-SHANGHAI: A FANTASY” THE TRIP THAT COCO CHANEL ONLY MADE IN HER DREAMS A SHORT MOVIE BY KARL LAGERFELD


1950’s, Paris: Coco Chanel is having tea with her friend, the Duchess of Windsor, who tells her about her adventures in China, a country Coco has never visited. Once her friend has left, Coco falls asleep on her sofa. She dreams of China, a fantastic and surreal place, blending her friend’s souvenirs with memorable scenes from Classics of the 30s where she encounters their protagonists.

watch the short film on the Chanel website

http://www.chanel-news.com/en/by-karl/paris-shanghai-a-fantasy-the-trip-that-coco%C2%A0chanel-only-made-in-her-dreams-a-short-movie-by-karl%C2%A0lagerfeld/

it is such a clever spin on Cocos life and really paints the picture of what she was like as a character

Bon Apetit!


Caramelized Vanilla Creme Brulee:

Creme Brulée Caramélisée à la Vanille… Melts in your mouth with a little caramel crunch! Here is the traditional, authentic classic… Enjoy!

Preparation Time: 5 - 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 35 minutes
Refrigeration Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients (4 people):

1 Vanilla Bean, Seeds Scraped (or few drops of extract)
4 Egg Yolks
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
7 oz. Milk
9 oz. Crème Fraîche (or heavy cream)
1/4 Additional Granulated Sugar (to caramelize with)

How to Make It:

Preheat Oven to 300°F
1. Beat eggs yolks with sugar.
2. Stir in vanilla seeds (or extract).
3. Add milk and stir until homogenous.
4. Add cream while stirring.
5. Pour batter into individual ramekins or flan dishes, and bake for 30 minutes.
6. Let cool off completely and then refrigerate for 30 minutes.
7. Powder tops with granulated sugar. Put back in oven (on broil, best if right under the grill) and let caramelize.
8. Serve warm or cold.
Voilà!

Variations:

You can add 1 tbsp. of Orange Liqueur or 1 tbsp. of Orange Flower Water (Fleur d'Orangier) if you want additional flavoring. One or the other, not both.
If you want to experiment with other flavors, such as Rose Water or Almond extract, etc., I would say, let your creative juices flow! But, remember that this classic creme brulee recipe is best when the aroma remains subtle and delicate. So, only one extra idea at a time.

i made this delicious, heavenly sweet over the weekend, and it was divine so i had to share. all it needs is a sweet dinner party or tea party with the sweetest of friends....

Quote of the day....

".....French women have been made beautiful by the French people, they're very aware of their bodies, the way they move and speak, they're very confident of their sexuality. French society's made them like that....."
- charlotte rampling

Monday, April 12, 2010

Love Letters of Great Men.


David Hume was a philosopher, economist and historian. He lived an exemplary scholarly life until 1763, when he visited Paris for the first time and stayed for more than 2 years. He seems during his period to have suffered some kind of mid-life crisis; celebrated in the salons of the great Parisian ladies, he became particularly enamored of one Madame de Boufflers, already the mistress of the prince de Conti. But the lady was a great deal more experienced that the philosopher in such flirtations and the smitten Hume grew more and more confused. When her husband died it became clear that she hoped to marry the prince, and Hume ultimately found himself in the rather unsatisfactory role of confidant to both.
Here is a letter to her...

To Madame de Boufflers, 3 April 1766.

It is impossible for me dear madame, to express the difficulty which i have to bear your absence, and the continual want which i feel of your society. I had accustomed myself, of a long time, to think of you as a friend from whom i was never to be separated during any considerable time; and i had flattered myself that we were fitted to pass our lives in intimacy and cordiality with each other. Age and natural equality of temper were in danger of reducing my heart to too great indifference about everything, it was enlivened by the charms of your conversation, and the vivacity of your character. Your mind more agitated both by unhappy circumstances in your situation and by your natural disposition, could repose itself in the more calm sympathy which you found with me.

But behold! 3 months are elapsed since i left you;and it is impossible for me to assign a time when i can hope to join you. I still return to my wish, that i never left Paris, and that i had kept out of the reach of all other duties, except that which was so sweet, and agreeable, to fulfil, the cultivating your friendship and enjoying your society. Your obliging expressions revive this regret in the strongest degree; especially where you mention the wounds which, though skinned over, still fester at the bottom.

OH! my dear friend, how i dread that it may still be long ere you reach a state of tranquility, in a distress which so little admits of any remedy, and which the natural elevation of your character, instead of putting you above it, makes you feel with great sensibility. I could only wish to administer the temporary consolation, which the presence of a friend never fails to afford... I kiss your hands with all the devotion possible.
Hume.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Masterpieces from Paris


Masterpieces from Paris: Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne and beyond features 112 of some of the best-known works of modern art from the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, one of the great museums of 19th-century art. I was lucky enough to go there on my trip to Paris in 2008, however this would be a totally fresh experience. Famous works include Van Gogh’s Bedroom at Arles 1889, Cézanne’s beloved Mount Saint-Victoire c 1890, Gauguin’s Tahitian women 1891, as well as many other great examples of Post-Impressionist art. a collaboration between the Musée d’Orsay and the National Gallery of Australia, this extraordinary exhibition is one of the most spectacular to come to Australia.

Masterpieces from Paris explores the dramatic changes in late 19th century European art through some of the best-known and much-reproduced paintings. Post-Impressionism announces a break from Impressionism, the revolutionary movement which occurred in France in the second half of the 19th century. By the mid 1880s, artists were experimenting with even more radical ideas. Van Gogh’s intense, richly coloured surfaces communicate emotionally through the artist’s expressive manipulation of paint. Gauguin’s monumental, decorative and often exotic works stand for a new and at times brutal aesthetic directness.

i have always been a lover of post-impressionist art, it began upon discovering Degas paintings of dancers. i was fascinated, i have never been a good dancer myself however i felt myself moving across the room as i looked through his archives and books. they were the objects for many of my paintings throughout high school as i tried to recreate the graceful poses and delicate clothing on the figures. this is an exhibition i would love to see....


Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky

Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky is a 2009 French film based on the 2002 novel Coco and Igor by Chris Greenhalgh. Director Jan Kounen traces the love affair between Coco and Igor in Paris in 1920, shortly after her love Arthur Boy Capel was killed and the year Chanel no 5 was created.
Current chief designer of Chanel Karl Lagerfield lent his support to the production, which was the closing movie of the Cannes French Film Festival, he granted access to the companies archives and to Coco Chanel's apartment at 31, rue Cambon, Paris.
Movie is set to be released April 15th in selected cinemas.

A dedication to my beautiful Grandmother.....

".....Mothers are not always impeccably behaved. Mothers leave, they suffer and they work too. Mothers are not always patient. Sometimes at bath time they feel like striking out for the open sea. Sometimes - just sometimes- when its time for hugs, they find the stocks are low. Some celebrate their smiles always, but there are mothers who never smile at all. And some whose smiles flash sporadically, among the moments of impatience, or preoccupation, almost lost among the myriad demands of daily life. There are mothers who love joyfully, passionately, unreservedly, and there are mothers who love distantly, who perhaps dont know how to love. There are mothers who love so much they suffocate....."
- Marie Darrieussecq

as my delicate grandmother, rests in bed, living the last moments of her life, frail yet ultimately graceful, i watch and think, i close my eyes and begin to remember...my grandmother was every kind of mother, a mother to mothers, a mother to children, solid. watching a loved one slip away is never easy but living in some of the most beautiful memories can shine light on some of the darkest days. sometimes life does imitate art, and it is these moments and memories that are the masterpieces of our lives. as you lay there beautiful and serene, i hope you are not in pain, and your mind is at ease, and if you can hear me as i hold your hand and pray for you i want you to know - i love you.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Quote of the day....

".....i dont understand how a woman can leave the house without fixing herself up a little, if only out of politeness. And then, you never know, maybe thats the day she has a date with destiny. And its best to be as pretty as possible for destiny....."
- Coco Chanel

my earlier research idea confirmed

Burberry did the coat!


2006 almost 3 centuries after the coat first appeared for women, Burberry has adapted the idea of the coat adding to it a new layer of status, power, desire and lust. still overpowering in size, it comes together at the waist and is defined by lace trim around the hem and cuffs. the signature check of Burberry has also been adapted in colour, however never failing to reinstate the original message of the garment.

Schiaparelli does the coat!


for my design work i am taking inspiration from the COAT and the re-contextualization of such an epic garment throughout history and particularly throughout the war. how was the coat worn, what did it resemble, what did it symbolize?

The Power of the Coat

The French Lieutenants Woman



"....She be no lady,
She be a French Lieutenants Whore....."

a much younger Meryl Streep, in 1969 film The French Lieutenants Woman, explores the life of a disgraced woman who was supposedly abandoned by a French naval officer who she was having an affair with. it is quite an ambiguous film, it deals with the notion of gender as perceived by upper middle class people of the 19th century. the use of the coat, in the costuming of the film is interesting in the way the character of Meryl Streep dresses in her coat, the coat is over powering and dominating, similar to the society in which she lives in, ironically she is wrapped and hidden amongst the thickness of this coat, and although it is almost controlling her it is protecting her from the violent wind...

Parisian Elegance


Provincial ladies are slaves to Fashion, but Parisian ladies dictate it, and each knows how to bend it to her advantage. Parisian women dress so well, or at least their reputation in this is such that they serve as models to the rest of the world, as in all else.....jean-jacques rousseau......

this is but a point of my research, French women, Parisian women and their dedication to style and elegance as a way of life rather than a mood or feeling, it is this diligence that fuelled the couture houses of Paris, and ultimately triumphed France through the second world war.........

Quote of the day....



".....a legally permitted kiss will never equal a stolen kiss....."
- Guy De Maupassant.