The story of Marilyn Monroes makeup look

Bill Cunningham ... must watch the documentary...

Bill Cunningham New York Trailer from Gavin McWait on Vimeo.

Bill Cunningham has been photographing street style since 1978. He is the main style photographer for the New York Ttimes and is, in fact, a legend. He got his big break when he luckily snapped a shot of Greta Garbo on the street, showed it to her, she loved it and thus started a new means of distributing fashion photography. Here is a scan of the image that started it all.

This week a documentary will be released about Bill entitled, “Bill Cunningham New York” - all about his life as a street style photographer (trailer above - so stoked).

“The main thing I love about street photography is that you find the answers you don’t see at the fashion shows. This was something I realized early on: if you just cover the designers in the shows, that’s only one facet. You also need the street and the evening hours. if you cover the three things, you have the full picture of what people are wearing.” - Bill Cunningham

Nobody captivated the world like Marilyn Monroe...

For me she was not just legendarry blonde woman, she was a wise woman and the world never saw that. Here are some of her quotes, which are my favorite….

"I've never fooled anyone. I've let people fool themselves. They didn't bother to find out who and what I was. Instead they would invent a character for me. I wouldn't argue with them. They were obviously loving somebody I wasn't."
"I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go. Things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they go right. You believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart, so that better things can fall together."
"I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best."
"Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring."
"A wise girl kisses but doesn't love, listens but doesn't believe, and leaves before she is left."
"I’m pretty, but I’m not beautiful,I am good, but not an angel. I do sin, but I am not the devil. I am just a small girl in a big world trying to find someone to love."
"Men are so willing to respect anything that bores them."
"Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition"
"Dogs never bite me. Just humans."

Malene Birger

By Malene Birger

Danish fashion house, By Malene Birger, was born from the singular vision of its eponymous designer. Launched in 2003, in just 5 years its signature mix of crisp Scandinavian design and cool references to 50s and 60s styling has seen it climb the fashion charts. Instantly desirable and ever-enduring. By Malene Birger is no longer Denmark's best kept secret.

If you love to dress with ladylike panache then By Malene Birger answers your call. Striking silhouettes, sensual sophistication, clever contrasts, exquisite tailoring from menswear and attention to details inside and outside define Ms. Birger's edgy and artistic angle on allure. Wonderfully cool classics designed with iconic elegance. For a look that transcends time.

Malene's accessories collection features shoes, bags, belts, jewelry, eyewear and other adornments. A brand concerned with beauty on every level. By Malene Birger benefits from incredible attention to detail while never losing sight of the fact that each piece must perform for our day-to-day lives. Every piece is a must-have purchase.

Millicent Rogers

Standard Oil heiress Millicent Rogers was "a woman who didn't just consume style, but created it." She often graced the pages of Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, topping international Best Dressed Lists and above all else, she was determined to be an original by designing and wearing Native American-inspired jewelry. Very Bohemmian!
In 1947, she made a bold move, quite literally. She packed up her things and moved to Taos, Mexico. In addition to her Balmains, Balenciagas and Verduras, Millicent added Southwestern jewelry, Navajo weavings, and Native American pottery and artifacts to her collection. Later her son Paul created the Millicent Rogers Museum as a legacy to his mother to house the vast collection she collected over the years. When she died the entire Pueblo community (Native American) turned out and entered for the first time a white man's cathedral to pay their respects to a woman who had understood, appreciated and helped them.While she was a legend in the fashion industry, she was a compassionate and tireless humanitarian as well. She assembled influential friends with the purpose of addressing the rights and cultural value of Native Americans.

The Duke of Vendura

The Duke of Verdura is the most talented jeweler of the 20th century and it all started when Coco Chanel invited Verdura to design jewellery. At Chanel, Verdura’s most notable creation was a Maltese-cross bracelet.
Chanel’s point of view was that a woman should wear both fake and real gems. “I find it disgraceful to walk around with millions around your neck just because you are rich, “ she said, “The point of jewellery isn’t to make a woman look rich but to adorn her; not the same thing.”
For Landrigan, who bought the Verdura business in 1985, seven years after the designer's death, one of the most appealing facets of his work was its rejection of mass-production and commercialism.
"Verdura was not interested in publicity," he said. "Unlike most jewelers he had no commercial bent and created very personal jewelry for his friends, a list of whom read like a 'Who's Who' of the Western world.
"Most of his work was not done to impress people, but rather to flatter the woman wearing it. He made brooches in the form of pomegranates, eggplants, onions, pinecones, camels, mice, and all manner of things not associated with jewelry."
"The great thing about Verdura is that there simply is less of it, which should, officially, make it more valuable," she said. "Owning a piece of Verdura is a little like having an elite club membership: Once bitten, forever smitten." "You're not just buying stones, you're buying taste."

His designs were worn by iconic women of taste from the 30s to the 70s including Joan Crawford; Princess Diana; Doris Duke; Katharine Hepburn; Nan Kempner and Greta Garbo.
From The New York Times

To my Book List :
Verdura: The Life and Work of a Master Jeweler
by Patricia Corbett, Amy Fine Collins

The Wang Factor

On how it all began for Alexander Wang:

"I think I was subconsciously influenced by fashion. I started reading about designers and looking at magazines. And then at a certain age I said that this is what I wanted to do. I moved to New York and went straight to Parsons. Before I started at Parsons I had an internship at Marc Jacobs the opportunity came a long and it was drop all. It was one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had, coming from San Francisco and being dropped in Fashion Week. It was a four-year programme but I finished after two years. I decided to take leave of absence as I was learning a lot on my internships. I took the summer off and made a small knitwear collection."

On making mistakes:

"Luckily mistakes were early before they were too public. Everyone does [make mistakes] you learn from them, its the only way to move on."

On the creative process:

“Usually we look at everything we’ve done so far. It’s always about evolving what we’ve done – where does she need to go next? I believe in pieces that are timeless.”

On designer influences:

“Tom Ford at Gucci and Marc Jacobs – it’s more about their careers that has inspired me. It’s remarkable to see how each person has done it individually.”

On the difference between NY and Paris houses:

“New York’s reputation is driven on the commercial aspect and what sells. French houses are about building an identity and then they sell bags and shoes.”

On the Alexander Wang DNA:

“I don’t think there is a specific DNA. I think it’s more of a sensibility – which is found in New York but also in a lot of different places. This idea is definitely shared.”

On Erin Wasson:

“I really consider Erin a friend rather than a muse – I think that term is so outdated. Really it’s the people around me that inspire me – my friends and people I have close relationships with.”

On social networking:

“You have t be aware of how times are changing. We invited a couple of bloggers who we felt were appropriate to the show. Tavi, the way she reviews a show is fascinating.”

On getting into the industry:

“Have a clear idea of what you want to do. You need to be determined and ambitious to achieve the end result. It’s scary but if you know exactly what your point of view is, it makes it much easier.”

Givenchy / Audrey Hepburn

The 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s is my favourite movie, I watched it when I was small and I fell in love with Audrey Hepburn in the classic gown created by Hubert de Givenchy in the beginning of the movie where Hepburn as Holly Golightly is looking into the window of Tiffany & Co while eating a croissant early in the morning. Everything looked so perfect. For me the incredible effect of that magical scene has never been matched.
Hubert de Givenchy retired from fashion design in 1995. His current successor to head the label is Riccardo Tisci. Even though, at least for me, there will never be second Hubert de Givenchy but Tisci’s gothic glamour influence that he brought for the label makes it one of the must see shows in my list.