". . . Mrs. Bingley’s is exactly like herself, size, shaped face, features & sweetness; there never was a greater likeness. She is dressed in a white gown, with green ornaments, which convinces me of what I had always supposed, that green was a favorite colour with her. I dare say Mrs. Darcy will be in Yellow.”
Unimpressive, almost oppressive.
It is the hottest of days, so hot that I'm reminded of that summer I was in Madrid and spent the entire trip lying in the hideous 'designer' room and wishing I was back at the the Ritz (just round the corner) instead; I hate trendy design hotels with a vengeance and this one had dance music in the lifts, and the staff were all too good-looking to just give you service without a huge dose of attitude. But it was just too stiflingly hot to even think of going out; I was sure that just lifting my hand to hail a cab would undo me. I was reading, and am now re-reading The God of Small Things (1997 Booker Prize) an old favourite. Arundhati Roy's first book (and her only novel!) is a shimmering feast, ravishing and transporting and a perfect escape when you can't go anywhere. (Aside: Once upon a time, an irritating sub editor was named The Goddess of Small Things by me for picking on up on the smallest things and behaving as if it was her moral triumph. Yes, it was her job, but she took it rather personally, if you know what I mean.)
“I am very much afraid of definitions, and yet one is almost forced to make them. One must take care, too, not to be inhibited by them.” - Robert Delaunay
Exit 1 looks like an Alaia, doesn't it?
I really like the print, don't you?
The collection is accomplished and very much in line with the womanly story of the house that Miuccia Prada built. Mrs Prada said: "It's normal clothes. Classics. Revising the things I did in the nineties." Indeed the retro shapes recall her first fashion collections for the house almost completely. I would be completely happy of there was a great fur thrown in there somewhere, instead of those cannot-understand patent-plastic (?) skirtts and things? And the odd petrol blue knit collars? Otherwise a pretty gorgeous winter wardrobe both 'fashion' and wearable. 
In Fortuny.
In Chanel.
Poor Simon Nessman...
This is quite Joan Crawford at the ski lodge in a way... Check out the ghastly bag.
Fake racoon tails... lovely!
Wonderful sense of proportion...
Denim and a towel... wow!
GQ on this collection: "Solemn majesty of being a man." Egad.
GQ called Mr Browne's shows "artistic events". I almost fell of my chair laughing, and this is one of the unadulterated joys of New Yuck fashion week. They do take themselves sooo seriously (I think encouraged by their sooo serious journalists). In truth, this isn't Mr Browne at his most foolish, but it will suffice for this droll season. Enjoy!
Rose Cordero shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott for the cover of the March issue of Vogue Paris; I love that Mama Roitfeld is so proud of her work (picture from TerrysDiary).
Another March cover by Mert and Marcus is Interview. It's Lara Stone: Inside, she chats with Marc Jacobs.
I wonder what led PH, a movie enthusiast, to pick this book, one out of hundreds on his gleaming new shelves groaning with books, to press on me? As I read it, I'm left wondering what it says about me. But PH is right: I'm reading it with relish - the book is Bette & Joan The Divine Feud by Shaun Considine (1989). It's quite a romp, a camp, juicy (it's not a scholarly work but salacious and entertaining) and well-paced 'history' of the bitter rivalry between Hollywood Queens Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, set against the backdrop of the Golden Age of Cinema. It's not a pretty picture, and neither the leading ladies turn out sympathetic. Although parts of it is Laugh Out Loud, a given with the salty material, I felt that it wasn't entirely milked. But still, deliciously drag. PH gave me another gorgeous book, this one also related to Bette Davis in a way: The 1937 Agatha Christie classic Death On The Nile, which was made into a 1978 movie that featured Ms Davis as part of an ensemble cast. 
It's a yummy Hercule Poirot mystery and I'm looking forward to reading this, once I finish One, Two Buckle My Shoe (1941) also by Agatha Christie (this one a tattered National Library loan). For a change of pace, I'm rediscovering The Viceroy Of Ouida (1982) by Bruce Chatwin. It's like drinking pu-er tea after stuffing oneself with pineapple tarts. This slim novel is wonderfully restrained, and elegantly comic and tragic, with touches of the macabre and the lyrical, a unique and inspiring piece of writing.
Robert Polet, the president and chief executive of Gucci Group, announced that the Alexander McQueen label will continue after the designer’s death last week. The fall 2010 McQueen collection will be shown during Paris Fashion Week in March as scheduled. Gucci Group plans to continue to finance the brand.
Christy Turlington became a model at 14...
She instantly became a Vogue face for all its editions... This Vogue Paris cover could be from today! The YSL outfit (plus gloves) still looks so fresh.
Became the Audrey Hepburn of the 1990s...! The Meisel reign when she became CHRISTY!
The objects include: Hand-cut Edo Kiriko glasses from a third-generation craftsman Yasunori Kimura for Taburo; Hand-cut Shippo Kiriko glasses from the Tokyo-based atelier Glass Forest; Akita cedar wood pitchers by renowned artisan Yasutaka Shimizu; A box featuring Hakone Yosegi-Zaiku, a traditional Japanese marquetry technique, by the award-winning craftsman Katsuhiro Kanazashi. 
