Vintage Vogue

I was reading the UK magazine, the World of Interiors, this week when I spotted an ad (above) for the new compilation book of Vogue covers. I thought about my mother and the afternoons we spent flipping through her Vogue magazines and listening to Frank Sinatra records on the stereo. As a child growing up in New Mexico (long before Hollywood discovered Santa Fe), magazines became my window into the larger world. It surprises me now how the old covers take me back. 

Private Internet Sales

My best friend Elaine, who lives in Paris, is always on the lookout for stories in Le Figaro that her friends in America would find interesting. This week, she recommends the magazine piece "Bien dans sa vie en 2009" about living well and smartly in a time of recession. There's also an interesting story posted on the paper's website detailing France's growing love for Internet designer discount clothing.  Some of the sites French women click on for private sales? Brand Alley, Vente-Privée, EspaceMax and Bazar Chic. There. The secret is out. 

(Illustration by Ivan Soldo, Le Figaro.)

January Favorites

✒Pink Moleskine: It's the legendary notebook of Hemingway, although I'm sure this was not his color. Moleskine seems to confirm it: Pink is the new black.

✒Lucy Barlow Hand-knit Cloche: From Barneys New York.

✒Jonathan Wright Beauty & Friendship Medallion: From my favorite stationery shop in Los Angeles. Wright makes beautiful valentines too.

✒Jeweled Pouch: By Eventide. For opera glasses, lipstick and 2€ coins.

✒Christopher Elbow Chocolates: Made by the artisan chocolatier from Kansas City. (He ships!)

✒Chantecaille Glamour on the Go: Lipgloss, blush stick and other goodies from French beauty alchemist Olivia Chantecaille.

✒Snakeskin-embossed Ballerina Flats: Silvery leather with rouge lining. And under $100.

✒Complete Works of Oscar Wilde: Re-read the Picture of Dorian Gray before the movie comes out, starring Colin Firth as Lord Henry Wotton.

✒Kate Spade Rain Boots: Also in red!

Garance Doré

I adore street fashion blogs. Bill Cunningham.  The Sartorialist.  But Garance Doré-- named after its creator, an impossibly chic Parisian fashion illustrator  -- is my favorite of all.  "A friend of mine won't look at Garance Doré because he says it fills him with a longing he can't bear," Virginia Heffernan wrote recently on the Satorialist. "I feel nearly the same way, though I don't stay away; I'm pleasurably overwhelmed." A reminder of the dazzling power of fashion. 

(Illustration by Garance Doré.)

The Road Ahead

Author and blogger Mary Pols  took this beautiful picture while hiking today in Marin County.  It offers the perfect perspective for the new year. Mary sums it up this way on her blog: "Focus on the sun setting on the old and the road ahead in 2009." Well put. 

Barking Christmas Gifts

Kali, black house cat, with no patience for the obnoxious barking pink plastic contraption.  (Although I love the color!)

The Violet Hour

There's a certain time in Paris in the early evening that my friend Elaine calls "the violet hour."  It's when the sky gives way to twilight and the lights of the city start to flicker on.  The beautiful white buildings turn bluish-purple.  Elaine's husband, Jean-Loup, teases her about this "violet hour."  He jokes: "Elaine is the only one who has ever heard of it." But I think Elaine has it aptly described. Recently on the Rue Violet, pictured above, Paris' violet magic was at work. 

Spiral Staircase

There's something wonderful and even a little mysterious about spiral staircases. This one was in the apartment building where I rented a little flat recently in Paris. The morning light was coming in through the windows above. Later, in the evening, I climbed all the flights to see what the view was like from the top looking down. Beautiful. (more photos on my Flicker page.)

Marseille

The bathroom in the Paris apartment I rented for a week recently had a large salmon-colored tub from the 20s. On a nearby glass shelf, the landlord had left a bottle of citrus-scented Le Petit Marseillais, the French version of liquid Dove soap. (Only better.) Nothing fights jet lag like a morning bubble bath.

Vintage Viewfinder

My very large black cat, Coco, as seen through a Brownie viewfinder at our home in LA. (I had to take the Brownie apart and clean it to get a clear image.) I was thrilled that this one worked out.

Umbrella Bouquet

I'm always misplacing umbrellas and buying new ones. Finally, in an attempt to get organized, I gathered them all together. I was impressed by how colorful they were, like flowers.

What we found in the teapot...

My daughter and I were about to make hot chocolate in the white teapot. We were very surprised when we took off the lid...

Pink Cape

Vintage Jacques Fath pink cape, complete with leopard print lining. Found at a Paris secondhand store.

Green Velvet Settee

Leave it to the French to design such a perfect piece of furniture. This was in the apartment I rented in Paris for a week recently....I keep thinking about that trip, my little escape from reality. So many of my longtime colleagues are losing their jobs at work and now I feel like a refugee -- still employed but brokenhearted. Somehow posting these pictures here helps me cope, although I know no one but me and three of my friends are reading this. (Hi Elaine darling, I love you.)

I know English Muse is a weird name for a blog by a girl in Los Angeles. But I think it captures my European sensibility. (I hope!) So now I'm going to post more pictures from Paris.

Happy New Year everyone! I wonder what the year will bring.

Hello out there...

This is my first post here on Blogspot!