(My) Fashion Trendsetters: GRACE KELLY

I don’t want to dress up a picture with just my face.
Grace Kelly

(This video has lovely pictures of Grace but i do not like the music so just do like i do: turn the sound off and enjoy the most fabulous photos of her!!)

“We all knew from the beginning there was something about Grace”
– Mum Margaret Kelly, from Princess Grace: A Biography, 1976 (Quoted in Hello Magazine online tribute to her).

”Her Serene Highness Princess Grace of Monaco, née Grace Patricia Kelly, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on November 12, 1929. She was the third child of a family of four. Her father, John Brendan Kelly, was a businessman and an Olympic rowing champion ; her mother’s maiden name was Margaret Majer. She was the niece of American playwright, George Kelly, a Pulitzer prize winner.

Miss Grace Kelly’s scholastic studies took place at Raven Hill Academy Philadelphia, a convent run by the Sisters of the Assumption, and later at Stevens School, also in Philadelphia. Strongly attracted to the theatre, she attended the American Academy of Dramatic Art in New York, and graduated after two years. Her debut as a stage actress took place in New York, where she played the role of Raymond Massey’s daughter in Strindberg’s play, « The Father ».

After several parts in the theatre and on television, Grace Kelly went to Hollywood. There she experienced a dramatic rise towards the heights of the artistic career. Among her films were « High Noon » – « Mogambo » – « Dial M for Murder » – « High Society » – « To Catch a Thief » – « The Swan » – and « Country Girl », for which she received an Oscar in 1954, the highest American Cinema Award.’’ (Prince’s Palace of Monaco site online)

“Grace Kelly was ”characterized by an innate sense of style, classic beauty and inherent good taste. Always atop the “world’s most beautiful” lists, admired as a fashion leader and setter of trends, She “graced” the pages of many a glossy magazine with a dazzling smile, warm, enigmatic eyes and vivacious expression. “Grace Kelly style” is a well-known, well-used phrase in the English lexicon signifying incomparable beauty and all that is chic, natural and lady-like.” (Fashion Era.com)

Grace’s wholesome yet sophisticated look — neat twin sets, full skirts, and pearls — was perfect for the 1950s. It even caught the eye of fashion designer Oleg Cassini, to whom she was unofficially engaged before she met Prince Rainier. Kelly bag was born out of Grace’s desire to hide her pregnancy!* First produced in 1935, it was not until 1956 that the bag’s reputation became positively stratospheric when the newlywed Princess Grace of Monaco was famously photographed for the cover of Time magazine trying to shield her pregnant belly with a classic Hermes bag. The bag in question thereafter became known as the Kelly in her honour, and shot to global bestseller status, where it remains today. Fashion commentators at the time were quite clear about the association of bag and star: carrying a Kelly bag screamed class and old money, both then thought to be highly desirable. (Daily Mail online)

CELEBRATION of GRACE on October 15-26 in 2007 was 25 years since her death at the age of 52 in 1982. ”To commemorate the 25th anniversary of Grace’s tragic death at 52, the principality of Monaco is staging a major retrospective starting at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco (July 12 through September 23) and culminating in a special Sotheby’s exhibition in New York City titled “Grace, Princess of Monaco: The Life and Legacy of Grace Kelly” (October 15 through 25). Sotheby’s also will be conducting an auction during the Princess Grace Foundation-USA Awards Gala on October 25” (Harper’s Bazaar online)

According to the Newscom Australia her son Prince Albert said: “For my sisters and myself, this exhibition will revive happy memories we shared with our mother, who was a peerless woman.”

In the 1920’s, Somerset Maugham wrote: “Monaco is a sunny place for shady people”. That was all to change the day Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier of Monaco on April 19,1956.

“I’d like to be remembered as a decent human being and a caring one” Princess Grace, 1982

I have compiled a selection of these fashion trendsetters of mine and here are the others in that link plus an entry on The Little Black Dress in this link here.

Keep so well and swell. Rii xx

Sources:
* http://www.visitmonaco.com/mtny/style_icon.html
* http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/10_01/gracekelly0710_468x390.jpg
http://www.harpersbazaar.com/magazine/feature-articles/princess-grace-0807
http://www.visitmonaco.com/mtny/life.html
http://www.visitmonaco.com/mtny/home.htm
Wikipedia on Grace Kelly http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Kelly
http://www.who2.com/princessgrace.html

‘Funny Pictures’ …

I saw this picture at Aneta’s blog on Y360 months ago and took note of it for it caused me to ponder, wonder and I left this comment on the same:

Looking at that gob with the tags in it makes one wonder:

‘How does the poor thing manage to eat at all, at all?!!’

Maybe tearing the chunks of raw meat would be just the ticket,
or only plain liquids poured down past the metal work in there!!

Not to mention: Airport security could be very noisy for ‘im, i say!!

How could one kiss somebody like that and not be shred to pieces in the process?!!
Very romantic. NOT.

Puzzled so am I…

What springs to your mind?

Keep so grand. Rii xx

LIPSTICK …

…a woman’s first job is to choose the right shade of lipstick.
Carole Lombard

Would you believe that In 1770, the British Parliament passed a law condemning lipstick, stating that “women found guilty of seducing men into matrimony by a cosmetic means could be tried for witchcraft.” (Chemical & Engineering News online)

Lipstick is known to have been used around 5000 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia, when semi-precious jewels were crushed and applied to the lips and occasionally around the eyes. Women in the ancient Indus Valley Civilization applied lipstick to their lips for face decoration. Ancient Egyptians extracted purplish-red dye from fucus-algin, 0.01% iodine, and some bromine mannite, which resulted in serious illness.

Cleopatra had her lipstick made from crushed carmine beetles, which gave a deep red pigment, and ants for a base. Lipsticks with shimmering effects were initially made using a substance found in fish scales called coalescence.

Lipstick started to gain popularity in the 16th century, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, who made blood-red lips and stark white faces a fashion statement. By that time, lipstick was made from a blend of beeswax and red stains from plants. During the Second World War, lipstick gained popularity as a result of its use in the movie industry, and it became commonplace for women to apply makeup, or “put their face on”. Wikipedia
“Did you know that we can ingest up to 20kg of lipstick in a lifetime – those synthetic dyes, with lead & aluminum are absorbed into our bodies and sit in our organs and fatty tissue? They cause nausea, headaches, skin problems, fatigue, mood swings, drying and cracking lips, and a condition called cheilitis, dermatitis of the lips, states the Be Well Stay Well site online.

In our factory, we make lipstick.
In our advertising, we sell hope.
Peter Nivio Zarlenga

Choosing lipstick colours — some helpful hints on the Beauty i love india site and here are some handy tips and and how to make lipstick last long on the same site:

• Store lipstick in the fridge, it will last longer.
• While buying lipstick never use the tester on your lips. It is very unhygienic.
• Apply the tester on fingertips. This is a better option than the back of your hand as it closer than your lips.
• Lipstick can be used as blush, but do not use blush as lipstick.
• When you are to the last bit of your favorite lipstick scrape out the last bits with an orange stick and mix it with lip-gloss or vaseline and use it.
• To prevent lipstick from sticking to the glass you are drinking from, discreetly lick the edge of the glass before touching your lips to it.
• If your lipstick has broken, the just light a match under the broken part of a while, when the lipstick melts a little then put it back on the base. Then swivel down the lipstick and put it in the fridge, uncovered for about 5 minutes.

Beauty is being in harmony with what you are.
Peter Nivio Zarlenga

Tis for now and a grand week for ye. Rii

The photo — taken by Rii — is me lipstick, by the way.

This site has a very comprehensive database on cosmetics where one can do a search to see what-is-what on any particular product and make: Skin Deep: Cosmetics Safety Database.

Here is Connie Francis with the ‘Lipstick On Your Collar’

Knitting or Stitch ‘n Bitch

“Those of you who feel knitting has changed your life, welcome to the club. I can think of no better occupation to reveal your own creativity.”

Kaffe Fassett

Wikipedia defines knitting as “a method by which thread or yarn may be turned into cloth. Knitting consists of loops called stitches pulled through each other. The active stitches are held on a needle until another loop can be passed through them.”

We had to learn knitting at schools in Finland from very early ages it being compulsory; I do have to admit that my ’products’ at that time were the most sorry sights ever! Really. What I managed to produce after much sweat ’n toil was one mitten, one sock instead of pairs of the same as required, a whirly-twirly scarf that looked like waves, and so on; you get the picture, for I absolutely disliked handicrafts then. That we had a sour teacher on the subject who did not like me, did not help either, it must be said.

Then years later I moved to Sweden where the girls were very partial to knitting and sewing — surprise, surprise!! as the reputation of the Swedish females would bring to one’s mind something totally different interests, eh?! — I learned to love the knitting, sewing et al. And from then on I have been doing my own patterns and whatnot, I absolutely love knitting nowadays.

Ireland, had I in my mind’s eye painted as, THE land of great yarns with the numbers of sheep the land has grazing in the fields, but when I reached the shores of the Emerald Isle, the selection was minuscule and pitiful to the ultimate as far as a variety of yarn was concerned. Sure, the meat of the mutton et al was and is ab fab over there, but as I said…The Irish, of course, are spectacularly gifted at spinning the verbal yarn, that is well-known world over.

It is funny as in ha-ha! to see that when the males want to ‘beat’ the women in females’ own games aka in cooking, etc., and even knitting — even though, Ezer Weizman said this: ‘Honey, have you ever seen a man knitting socks? ’ — they quickly become super celebrities as is Kaffe Fassett. What a brilliant name for kaffe in Swedish means coffee, by the way, and the beverage of choice in knitting sessions many a time. Here is what I found about KF on the net:

”Kaffe Fassett is known as the U.K’s King of Colour and Design – for interior and garden decoration, needlepoint, knitting and mosaic designs; also for his award-winning 1998 Chelsea Flower Show garden. Now he is designing sets and costumes for the Royal Shakespeare Company. His books include magnificent examples of tapestry, knitwear, painting, patchwork, fabrics and the latest mosaics, but the emphasis has to be on his original and daring use of colour.
Born in San Francisco, Kaffe Fassett’s earliest influences were the beauty and colour of his mother’s garden. In 1964 he moved to England and gardens are still what he loves most.” (Radio National Australia)

Great chefs carry their sets of knives, able artists carry their brush sets, and serious knitters have their knitting needle cases!

Stitch ‘n Bitch is a brilliant book of 258 pages on all things as per title; seriously, it seems like a handy guide to everybody who wants to have a fun and comprehensive reference on this grand pastime.

This is an absolutely hysterically funny video about knitting made by sharp-witted Finns:

”No longer shall I paint interiors with men reading and women knitting. I will paint living people who breathe and feel and suffer and love.”
Edvard Munch

Tis for now, Rii — who finds that knitting eases the frazzled nerves very much indeed!!

Fabulously in-vogue pages of knitting et al on Vogue online:
http://www.vogueknitting.com/vkm/?q=node/79
http://www.vogueknitting.com/vkm/

Victoria and Albert Museum great links:
http://www.vam.ac.uk/index.html

Other handy links:
http://www.knittinghelp.com/
http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/learn-to-knit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knitting

(My) Fashion Trendsetters: JACKIE O

Those of you who have been following my blogs know that I was/am rather lively of myself like jumping off moving trains, jumping off a ski jump and such things; in other words not so ladylike, eh?!! Well, let me tell you that, when I was in my early to mid-teens I started to collect pictures off the magazines with styles of fashions, clothes and so on for many years. Then in my late teens I went through my vast collection of pictures and put aside the ones which still appealed to me at that stage. And guess what, my preferred style in fashion was LADYLIKE!! I remember saying to my Mum: “Ooh if I only was older so that I could wear it!” Mum’s reaction: rolling her eyes, actually!

Audrey Hepburn has been one my trendsetters that I did an entry some while back and now I’m going to write a few things on Jackie O, who has been on my list of fashion trendsetters for a very long time, and I still think that her style is elegance and chic personified. Here is a link to Jackie O-style jacket that is high fashion even this season.

Some background on JACKIE O (1929-1994): She was born Jacqueline Lee Bouvier, daughter of John Vernon Bouvier III and his wife, Janet Lee. Her early years were divided between New York City and East Hampton, Long Island, where she learned to ride almost as soon as she could walk. She was educated at the best of private schools; she wrote poems and stories, drew illustrations for them, and studied ballet.

To the role of First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy brought beauty, intelligence, and cultivated taste. Her interest in the arts, publicized by press and television, inspired an attention to culture never before evident at a national level. She devoted much time and study to making the White House a museum of American history and decorative arts as well as a family residence of elegance and charm. But she defined her major role as “to take care of the President” and added that “if you bungle raising your children, I don’t think whatever else you do well matters very much.” A quote of hers that I have used a lot on my entries, for I think that it sums it all up so very well, actually. Source: The White House: First Ladies

She was First Lady for only a thousand days, but Jackie Kennedy will always hold a special place in our hearts. It all began with her 1953 marriage to the dashing senator from Massachusetts, John F. Kennedy. As a couple they epitomized the arrival of a new generation of American leadership; their years in the White House have been immortalized as “Camelot.”

As First Lady, Jackie organized receptions and dinners notable for their elegance. Her streamlined gowns and suits sent fashion spinning. She created a Fine Arts Committee to assist her in documenting and renovating the décor of the White House. Her television tour introduced 80 million Americans to the White House and won her an Emmy Award. Source: Womenshistory.about.com.

From the moment she set off on the campaign trail in 1960 as a young senator’s wife, Jacqueline Kennedy had a rapt audience in American women. The pillbox, worn despite the fact that she abhorred hats, was only the beginning: Plastic surgeons reported that many women were visiting them in search of the Jackie “nose bob”; college girls everywhere affected Jackie’s breathy voice and patrician accent: There was something about Jackie. Source: Style.com

To mark the 40th anniversary in 2001 of her emergence as America’s first lady and explore her enduring global influence on style, the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute celebrated Jacqueline Kennedy with an unprecedented special exhibition of her iconic fashions. Some 80 original costumes and accessories from the collection. Here are some images on show of her stunning outfits of the timeless impact of her extraordinary, unforgettable grace and style. Here is the link to the exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum. And here is the link to the special Travels section at the exhibition that Jackie travelled as the First Lady.

Jackie was a beautiful and elegant young woman, and when she made her social debut the Hearst newspaper gossip columnist named her Debutante of 1947. Jackie Kennedy was only 31 years old when she became First Lady . She was a popular First Lady, known for her elegant sophistication and her historical interest in the White House. Source: Answers.com

Jackie O was so very young when she became the First Lady for only a thousand days that is until her husband was assassinated in Dallas that fateful day in November 22, 1963. I remember reading about her and how she was cast into the mould of widow for life – like a German magazine put it, translated into English: ‘The Widow of the World’ (Das Witwe Der Welt) When she married Aristotle Onassis in 1968, the goodwill that she had gained over the years was nigh lost for good, and I think that she never quite managed to regain it ever again.

Here is a You Tube tribute to Jackie O with the most haunting Celtic tune sung by Enya in ‘May It Be’:

“I am a woman above everything else.”
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

And why she had to underline this fact, I think is, that she first and foremost was a real person and not an icon above any other title or status she had ever had in life.

What thoughts come to your mind reading this entry today?

Tis for now. Riihele xx

Further links on Jackie O:
Who2.com on Jackie

I read several extracts on the life of Jackie O online of the book that is called ’America’s Queen: A Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis,’ by Sarah Bradford, published by Viking (The Times online)

And I came to understand the ‘what was what’ in her life so much better. I will be getting this book for I want to read it all; it is that excellent. I have also read other books on Jackie O over the years but this one seems to sum them all up in a beautiful way, methinks.

(My) Fashion Trendsetters: AUDREY HEPBURN

“My look is attainable. Women can look like Audrey Hepburn
by flipping out their hair, buying the large sunglasses,
and the little sleeveless dresses.”

Audrey Hepburn quote

Here is a You Tube Tribute to Audrey Hepburn:

“There was something in her smile, in her eyes, in her timeless and natural elegance…” Here is such fabulous photos of her in Retro Hairstyles has this fabulous photo of Audrey Hepburn

Those of you who have been following my blogs know that I was/am rather lively of myself like jumping off moving trains, jumping off a ski jump and such things; in other words not so ladylike, eh?!! Well, let me tell you that, when I was in my early to mid-teens I started to collect pictures off the magazines with styles of fashions, clothes and so on for many years. Then in my late teens I went through my collection of pics and put aside the ones which still appealed to me at that stage. And guess what, my preferred style in fashion was LADYLIKE!! I remember saying to my Mum: “Ooh if I only was older so that I could wear it!” Mom’s reaction: rolling her eyes, actually!

Audrey Hepburn has been on my list of fashion trendsetters always and I still think that she is elegance and chic personified. Remember the entry I did some weeks ago called “The Little Black Dress @ 81” where I mentioned about that famous dress designed by Givenchy specially for Audrey Hepburn and which was worn by Audrey on the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s? Apparently, the Fashion House of Givenchy bought it back ‘home’ so to say, I read in an article. Interesting.

The article ”Going Lightly For Pearls” states that ‘Coco Chanel made pearls chic in the 1920’s and Audrey made them glamorous again four decades later. Pearls have been worn in both jewelry and clothing since antiquity, but until recently they were the province of the very rich. Sumptuary laws in ancient Rome as well as certain kingdoms of Europe into the 17th century prevented the lower social classes from wearing pearls. It wasn’t until the modern pearl cultivation industry took off in the 1900s that the lovely orbs became an affordable luxury.’

”Hepburn is famous for the poem “Time Tested Beauty Tips”, which she used to recite to her sons. The poem includes verses such as, “For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day”, and, “For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.” The poem is popularly attributed to her, but it was in fact written by Sam Levenson. (Wikipedia)

Audrey Hepburn to this day is a beauty and fashion icon. She has often been called one of the most beautiful women of all time. Her fashion styles also continue to be popular among women.Contrary to her recent image, although Hepburn did enjoy fashion, she did not place much importance on it. She preferred casual, comfortable clothes. In addition, she never considered herself to be very attractive.(Wikipedia)

She said in a 1959 interview, “you can even say that I hated myself at certain periods. I was too fat, or maybe too tall, or maybe just plain too ugly… you can say my definiteness stems from underlying feelings of insecurity and inferiority. I couldn’t conquer these feelings by acting indecisive. I found the only way to get the better of them was by adopting a forceful, concentrated drive.”(Wikipedia)

Despite her stardom, Hepburn retained her humility. She preferred a more quiet living with family and nature. She lived in houses, not mansions, and she loved to garden.

“You can always tell what kind of a person a man really thinks you are by the earrings he gives you”

Audrey Hepburn quote

Tis for now. Riihele xx

SABRINA THE MOVIE (1954)
AUDREY HEPBURN CHILDREN’S FUND
A WONDERFUL PHOTO OF AUDREY HEPBURN AND GRACE KELLY IN THIS SITE
http://www.monroegallery.com/detail.cfm?id=616.
TRENDS FOR 2007/2008

LBD – The Little Black Dress @ 81

Black outfits are being paired with a single embellishment
such as the fabulous Little Black Dress
with a pearl detail at the neck

— very Audrey Hepburn.”

(Betsy Thompson quote)

The “little black dress” is considered by many women to be an essential part of a complete wardrobe. It is a well-known “rule of fashion” that every woman should own a simple, elegant black dress that can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion. For example, a simple black cocktail dress could be made into an evening dress with diamond accessories, stilettos and long gloves; or, when combined with a black suit jacket, demure accessories and simple pumps, the same dress could be worn to a daytime business meeting. The key to its importance is that because it is simple, it is classic and can be worn for many years. A short black dress that is too clearly part of a trend would not qualify because it would soon appear dated. (Wikipedia)

”When it comes to designers, Coco Chanel (1883-1971) did more than any other to popularise the dress. 2006 marked the 80th anniversary of her first LBD, a slash-necked, short silk dress with only diagonal pin-tucks as decoration, American Vogue dubbed it the “Ford”, for it was as ubiquitous as that brand.

Radically simple, it nevertheless typified Chanel’s chic, languid style. First introduced in 1926, black was previously considered to be a colour reserved for funerals and periods of mourning. Truly simple and sexy, Chanel’s design was a sleeveless sheath cut just above the knee. She could have never predicted the immediate and lasting love women would have with her simple, chic black dress. (Telegraph.co.uk online)

Chanel encouraged and inspired the style we typically envision when we think of flappers. She was fond of working with neutral colours and soft easy-to-wear jersey fabrics that were simple in shape and cut. Chanel was able to infuse comfort and sophistication into fashion, and this combination was considered revolutionary. It was during her early work, that Chanel designed and introduced the first little black dress to the world. (Fashion Schools.org)

Harper’s Bazaar celebrated the dress, this time worn by the gamine and beautiful actress Natalie Portman,and it looked as of-the-moment then as it did on Hepburn more than four decades ago.

A smiling Portman — often called the modern-day Hepburn — channels the spritely Holly Golightly by showing off the back of the dress, which was designed by Givenchy. Pearls are draped around her neck. Her hair, set with a black headband, is swept into a stylish updo in an update of Golightly’s signature beehive.

“I did feel very elegant suddenly,” Portman tells the magazine. “I mean, you can’t possibly measure up to Audrey Hepburn; there’s no comparison. But the elegance that she exuded was transmitted to the dress, you know, the feeling, the emotion of it.”

 

The dress, one of three versions made for the 1961 movie, was sold to the highest bidder on Dec. 5 2006 at Christie’s auction house in London. It was expected to fetch as much as $130,000.* “The “little black dress” was glorified in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), especially in the opening sequence, where Audrey Hepburn walks down the street wearing one.

Audrey Hepburn’s iconic black dress designed by Hubert de Givenchy from the much-loved 1961 classic film, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, sold for £467,200/$923,187/€692,390 at Christie’s South Kensington in the Film and Entertainment Sale on 5 December 2006. The price establishes a new world auction record for a dress made for a film.

Sarah Hodgson, Head of Christie’s Popular Entertainment said of the sale: “This was the biggest Entertainment Sale we have had in London since sales began in the 1980s. We are particularly thrilled with the price achieved for Audrey Hepburn’s dress, and the amount it has raised for a charity.”

This is the beauty of the little black dress: it is utterly timeless. Its contemporary appeal, however, grows and grows. You can now exercise to the Little Black Dress workout or whittle down your waist with the Little Black Dress diet – which will be crucial if you want to squeeze into one of Chanel’s severely corseted satin ribbon mini-dresses this winter.

The LBD has never been out of fashion. From simple shifts and dramatic tunics to flirty baby-dolls and vampy bustier dresses, it comes in every style imaginable and, unlike most other truly fashionable pieces of clothing, there is a variation to suit almost everyone. How many times are we told that a piece of clothing is a “wardrobe essential”? The LBD is one of the few things that truly deserves the accolade; it certainly makes dressing for any kind of party a whole lot less stressful.”

I used have a most elegantly chic LBD made of the most beautiful black silk and it had the classic sheath cut for years and years. It was just so perfect for any occasion formal or informal when one wanted to look smart and stylish. But alas – our ways parted and do not know where my LBD is these days…

Need another LBD, I think.

Ladies – Did you ever own one these Little Black Dresses?

Gentlemen – What is your valued thought on this timeless garb on the ladies?

Tis for now. Rii xx

* Did you notice that the price expected was $130,000 and they got $923,187!!
That is a pretty penny, I say.

Chanel Fashion House –Official site

Let’s Talk Fashion blog