Ramadan Style Inspiration

Ramadan is my favorite month of the year. I recharge my faith, I detox my mind as well as my body from all the toxins that have built up physically and emotionaly through out the year by fasting. It brought me so much joy growing up,  it was something my siblings and I always looked forward to as kids.

I always look forward to family and friends gatherings in Ramadan … most of which last very late at night!  … We normaly wear caftans in Ramadan which I’m loving at the moment and am having fun creating new looks!

Today I thought I’d share those 2 images below from a photo shoot taken for vogue in the 70s. It is my insperation for my Ramadan waredrope this year! I love her hair and make up and although I wouldn’t nessesarily wear her outfit,  I do love it! Those images always remind me of Ramadan for some reason and I just find them so insrpiring!  

Talitha Getty, Patrick Lichfield, Vogue, January 15, 1970 … classic!

 

Life Lessons From The Halloween Queen Morticia Addams

 

Some may know the classic television program The Addams Family from the 60s, while others may know the movies based on the show that came out in the 90s. Whichever one you may remember or prefer ( I love the 60s version) you have to admit that this family was nothing less than iconic! However my favorite character in that show is Morticia Addams! I Love that she marched to the beat of her own drum. She thought that others were weird when they abided by the social rules. She lived her life exactly how she wanted to.

She was very intelligent and in my opinion the mastermind of her family. She may have been different, but I think that there are many ” life lessons” to be learned from her zany character:

 Surround yourself with what makes you happy:

Morticia didn’t feel the need to sacrifice her happiness and put herself in                 situations where she was out of her element. She surrounded her self with the people who she most loved and created a home for her self that was her kingdom! She was so secure in who she was and did her own thing while just letting everyone else do their own thing including the kids. She constantly worked on new hobbies and interests in that spooky mansion of hers, made her own potions and spells, always improved on them and never settled for anything less than what she was satisfied with!

 

 

Never loose your cool in any situation:

I love that Morticia sounded a bit of a snob in many funny situations! She always controlled her temper and was always classy and put-together even in the most difficult situations. She exuded self confidence and ruled almost quietly in the background. Everyone turned to her when things went out of control (which they normally did) because she always kept her cool! She ruled her family with grace and careful tact. She always knew exactly what to say and what unorthodox advice to give!

Because of that calm and collected and self-control manner she was the glue that held her family together. She was the strongest and most intelligent member of that household and ruled just like a wise and regal queen!

 

It is ok to be different, belive in your own beauty:  

Morticia was confident in her own skin. She was beautiful, and intelligent. She never changed who she was for anyone. She embraced her looks and never questioned her them. She didn’t put herself or her appearance down. She did’t seem to see other women as ‘prettier’ – only ‘different-looking’. She believed in her self, she believed that she is beautiful inside and out. Gomez fell for Morticia because she had a beauty inside her that she nurtured so it shone out. She didn’t look to Gomez to validate her beauty or intellect. She validated it herself. She was always quietly self-assured and although she so obviously loved and wanted Gomez, she didn’t need him. And that’s what made her so irresistible to him.

 

Family comes first:

Morticia valued her family. She loved her family very much and prioritized them. She always took the time to ensure that her children knew and respected their older. She encouraged the shared interests of the family. You never felt that her brother-in-law or mother were imposing on her life even though they were living in her house.. She was always loving and accepting of her eccentric kids. She raised them to be unique, creative, and honest individuals.

Morticia also made her husband a priority. They’ve been married for years yet still incredibly in love. They always made sure that they spent quality time together, from the occasional waltz to extravagant dinners and romantic evening strolls through the family tombs. She was devoted to him and supported him in all of his crazy ideas and didn’t mind cleaning up his messes. As a result of her loyalty and love to all her family members they learned to love and take care of one another. They always had each others backs specially when faced with outside forces.

 

Happy Halloween In advance 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book of the Week: Missoni Family Cookbook

Francesco Maccapani Missoni, the son of Missoni’s creative director, Angela Missoni, has been collecting family recipes for some time. In The Missoni Family Cookbook, he shares those delicious, well-guarded family recipes. This book invites you right into their dinner parties which they are known for through the fashion circles especilly during fashion week!… I havent recieved mine yet… I cant wait to try a few recipies especially the Gnocci verde!

Via Assouline

 

Wanna Run In Those Heelz

 

Those Knife stretch-knit thigh boots and the Knife spandex sock boots from Balanciaga both make me feel like the wicked witch of the west! Yet I love them and can’t help but think ” I wanna run in those heelz!”

 

Carolyn in the Fall

Fall always reminds me of Carolyn in New York… Remembering her always makes me sad … you see Carolyn shaped the way I dressed from a young age! I remember looking at those photos in some tabloid magazine and thinking I just love her style… I feel lucky that I found my style icon or someone to look up to style wise from a young age…. Her style made more sense to me and reflected my style. She never followed trends yet always was up to date fashion wise! I loved how creative she was with classics … how strict  she was with adding new items to her wardrobe! Her style looks easy but is actually very hard to do because you could very easily look out dated or old which she never did! Her style might be boring for so many (most people I know) but I always got exited seeing her wear her black coast in a new ways!

 

I also loved it when she wore something more daring like that red Prada coat That she’s been photographed in so many times or even the leopard one that she got at a vintage shop in Paris!… They were daring and modern coats yet so classic because they would still look great today!

I still love her fall looks, no one till today does fall better than Carolyn! Here is one of my favorite looks that to me defines her style! A black turtle neck, tan corduroys and a black birkin! I remember that she used to carry her gym clothes in that bag! How extravagant yet chic and simple is that?

I must say that John didn’t look so bad either! .. They looked so good together…

New York + Carolyn + John always made the perfect match!

Photos via Rememberingcbk

The Classy Daphne

Daphne Guinness in Vogue Italia
October 2009

Was going through my archives and found a bunch of pictures I saved … This is one of my favorite editorials … They titled it The Classy Daphne … I loved that she looked classy and timeless yet still had that edginess that only Daphne would have! Thought that it was very creative.

Photography: Steven Klein
Styling: Patti Wilson

 

Max Mara Spring Summer 2019

Max Mara is known for their beautiful Classic coats and sets. For this summer collection they reinterpreted thier own designs from the 80s, reworking styles with padded shoulders and asymmetric drapes and made it more contemporary. This collection reminds me of Caroline Bessette Kennedy for some reason…Maybe its the clean cuts or maybe it’s those sheer gloves… I remember she wore sheer gloves on her wedding and I loved them then… still love them now! … Need to get myself a pair!

 

The Catroux Style

One of my main inspirations for my personal style as well as my home style has been this single picture you see above of Betty Catroux taken in her home in Paris in the 70’s.  The apartment was designed by her husband François…. That picture to me is everything. It could have easily been taken in the 70s, 80s, 90s or even today…. Catroux’s interiors from the 70s remain timeless because he knew how to mix the modern classics with warm or rustic pieces of furniture in a modern yet eclectic way.

Recently Catroux redid their apartment … I am not sure whether it was a full renovation or he just added on to the apartment because I recognize a lot of art work and furniture pieces from their 70s pictures that I came across on the net!.. I love that I can’t tell exactly what he did and where he did it… the revamped apartment feels like its continuing their story rather than trying to make a new one!

Here’s the living room, do you see what I mean? It looks so eclectic and modern. Again this could easily be a Catroux apartment from the 70s, 80s, 90s or even today!…

As always he not only mixed styles and periods but layered them in a way only he could do!  There are pieces that the couple had for decades, such as the rustic colossal African mask and the 1995 portrait of Betty by Philippe de Lustrac.

I just love Betty’s office. François designed the built-in cabinetry all around the room. I love that she put a casual photograph of her late best friend Yves Saint Laurent in front of another photograph.

The painting above the sofa is by Emmanuel Gondouin from the 1930s. That Noguchi coffee table is one of my favorite tables. It’s so timeless and so fit for this beautiful library. 

Even though that first picture will still be closer to my style than the current apartment, this is still my favorite home. It’s my favorite home for many reasons ( which I stated above) but mainly because it’s simply a home of a couple who have been married for 50 years (1968) who with the new renovations seems to be looking forward to living together for many years to come!

 

 

Book of The Week: Dior

In celebration of the seventieth anniversary of the founding of the house of Dior
Assoline has puplished a series devoted to each designer of the couture house.  The book above is the first of series. Its Dior by Christian Dior it is just beautiful and has pictures of the most iconic haute couture designs conceived by Christian Dior. Each book in this series is devoted to a designer of a couture house. The gowns have been carefully conserved in museums and institutions around the world, they have been photographed and exclusively compiled for this indispensable book collection.

I just cant wait to get my hands on this collection… I can imagine my self being lost for hours going through the details of each look with my eldest daughter!

 

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Yves Saint Laurent museum opens in Marrakech Today

In 1966 designer Yves Saint Laurent and his lifetime partner, Pierre Bergé, discovered Marrakech. They were mesmerized by its charm that on their flight back from their first trip there, they already had the paperwork for a house they wanted to buy. They went back regularly, and it was in Marrakech that Saint Laurent imagined his collections.  Now a museum dedicated to the fashion house is opening in the city that had such a strong influence on him. In the words of Pierre Bergé, who had passed away on 8 September (just a month before the opening) “It feels perfectly natural, 50 years later, to build a museum dedicated to his oeuvre, which was so inspired by this country.”

Yves Saint Laurent started archiving his work since his first couture show in 1962. Thanks to this early vision, his collections consists of 5,000 haute couture garments, including the famous Mondrian dress and Van Gogh-embroidered jackets, 15,000 accessories, such as hats, jewelry, and shoes, as well as thousands of sketches, collection boards, photographs, and objects.

Located on Rue Yves Saint Laurent, the museum will open its doors to the public today! The opening actually coincides with the inauguration of another museum dedicated to the designer in Paris. The one in Paris will be housed in the historical couture house at 5 avenue Marceau, a hôtel particulier where the designer worked for almost 30 years.

The museum in Marrakech is designed by Studio KO, an architectural firm established by Olivier Marty and Karl Fournier. The outside of the building is intended to evoke the “weft and warp of fabric” while the interior is designed to evoke the lining of a couture jacket, “velvety, smooth and radiant.”

The museum which is 4,000 square meters, will provide a storage space for around 4,000 pieces. The permanent exhibition space will be 400 square meters.

It’s actually far more than just a museum, it has a research library with more than 6,000 books, a bookshop, an auditorium, and a cafe which will offer a fusion of traditional Moroccan and French dishes. The 150-seat auditorium, named after Pierre Berge, will be used for performances and recitals, as well as conferences, film screenings, and lectures. Below is a picture of the beautifully designed auditorium.

For more info visit the museum’s page.

Most photos via