Dress Whites - Rota Command Change 2008

How To Handle the Recession - Riga Style

Global rebound anemic: Roubini
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Advanced economies face years of anemic growth and the risk of a double-dip recession as their citizens cope with sluggish employment and highly indebted governments, economist Nouriel Roubini said on Monday.
A sovereign debt crisis in the euro zone has rattled financial markets in recent weeks as investors worry that fiscal austerity measures dictated by a $1 trillion European Union-International Monetary Fund rescue plan could stifle already hobbled global growth.

So what can you do when the news is bad and it is just so ugly out there...well in true European fashion you can always take to the streets as these luscious Latvian blonde barbies did.
Latvia blondes hold festival to beat recession blues

Hundreds of blonde Latvian women have been marching through the capital Riga to try to bolster the national spirit in time of recession.
Most of the participants dressed in pink and wore high heels.
The blonde parade began last year and was planned as a one-off but it is back by popular demand and is now a two-day festival.
Latvia has been hit badly by recession. Its economy shrank by 18% in 2009 and it has Europe's highest unemployment.

Yeah, those blonde babes really know how to rip it up in Riga!

Marika Gederte, president of the Latvian Association of Blondes, told the BBC the idea came out of the economic gloom.
"I was so tired, you know, every day opening the computer and reading the newspapers and just reading about problems. We decided... let's do something nice. And I asked myself the question: what can I do for my country? And this is what I did... We are very proud to be blonde."

Proud to be blonde? She's got to be kidding.
Obviously she has having a 'blonde moment" when she said that.
No wonder we have so many blonde jokes.

On a plane flight from Seattle to Chicago, a blonde was sitting in economy class. About half way through the flight, she got up and moved to an empty seat in first class. A flight attendant who observed this, went over to her and politely explained that she had to move back to economy class because that was what her ticket was for. The blonde replied, "I'm blonde, I'm beautiful, I'm going to Chicago and I'm staying right here."

After several attempts to explain to the blonde why she had to return to economy class, the flight attendant gave up. She went to the cockpit and explained the situation to the pilot and co-pilot. The co-pilot said, "Let me try." He went up to the blonde and politely tried to explain to her why she needed to return to her seat in economy class.

But the blonde only replied, "I'm blonde, I'm beautiful, I'm going to Chicago and I'm staying right here." Frustrated, the co-pilot returned to the cockpit. He suggested that perhaps they should have the airline call the police and have her arrested when they land.

"Wait a minute," said the pilot. "Did you say she's blonde? I can handle this. My wife is a blonde. I speak Blonde." So he went up to the woman sitting in first class and whispered something in her ear.
"I'm sorry," said the blonde, and she promptly got up and returned to her seat in economy class.

"What did you say to her?" ask the astonished flight attendant and co-pilot.
To which the pilot replied, "I just told her that first class isn't going to Chicago."

Happy Monday

In Memoriam For The British, Canadian and US Troops

Saturday Night Music - Jack Johnson Gone

Sex And The City 2 vs Ab Fab

Not being a fan of chic flicks in general and Sex And The City in particular, I won't be rushing out to see this film. Even with the 1970s vibe clothes and Wendy's fabulous Cleopatra earrings, I will probably wait till this comes out on netflix.

The whole idea of the SATC women off to Morocco reminds of one of my favorite episodes of AB FAB when Patsy and Eddie go off to Morocco and Saffy gets left behind or sold into the white slave trade or something like that.



I kind of wish that the SATC women would just get left in Morocco and never come back.
Don't hate me.

Appropriate Appreciation For The Preppy Princess

My thanks to the Princess of Pink and Green for linking to Beladora.com

Like all my blogging friends who link to Beladora, the Preppy Princess will get a permanent backlink from Beladora.com.

So, if you've linked please let me know so that I can do the same for your blog or website!

Vintage Value Venture - Hot Colors For Cold Spring Nights

After looking at Tish's town & country photos I'm pretty sure that it is colder here in Los Angeles than it is in Paris....and not just because it is raining outside. For the last week or two I've noticed the temperatures at 64 degrees...in the sun at mid day! Unheard of for this time of year here. And of course the nights are downright cold.

So...if I had anywhere to go...on a cold spring night...I'd mix it up with hot colors like cherry red and fuchsia pink. Probably too matchy-matchy for all all of you but I'd totally wear this ensemble.

Vintage 1960's Magenta Satin Dress from Couture Allure $125

Pink and Yellow Sapphire Ring in 18K from Beladora.com $4350

Garrard Lotus Earrings from Beladora.com $2850 (retail price $4700)

Group of Bangle Bracelets in 18K from Beladora.com $4500

(gold weight people, gold weight!)

Vintage Snakeskin Jeweled Clutch from Vintage Skins $195
(I love this website)

Your basic satin shoes from Zappos for $80

Yeah, I know that it is a little over the top in a SATC way

but as Wendy says, wear what you want.

It's All About US...Sort Of

Just showing you a little "look for less" love from US Magazine print edition.
The ring on the left side of the page,
the "less" look Sapphire and Diamond Ring in Platinum from Beladora
for a ridiculously low price of $3650
is shown as an alternative to Penelope Cruz's sapphire $40,000 sapphire and diamond ring.

Our thanks to Niki Ostin of PRlab

Business Development At Windsor Inc.

If I was the ex-wife of Prince Andrew, I would settle down in a little manor house in the countrywith my children
and my horses and dogs
and my country kitchen with an aga
and my cozy library with a fireplace
and my afternoon tea on the terrace
and my garden full of flowers and long lawns

I would live a happy life worthy of a James Herriot novel
except for the addition of a really hot polo playing lover

But what I wouldn't be doing is selling access to my children's father

which makes me wonder

why did she need the money so badly that she had to stoop to such deplorable behavior?

Don't get me wrong, the royal family is really Windsor Inc and certainly money passes hands all the time, perhaps in the form of donations to certain charities, or investments in certain funds.

But her blatant selling out was just in such bad form.

She should retire to the Falklands.

Wherever You Go - There You Are

Yesterday, a happy Sunday
Racing down the 405 freeway in the morning to get to Laguna Beach where the sky was blue and the tide was crazy high
Cafe creme and croissants at Jean Paul's bakery
Later lunch with an ocean view at the Coyote Grill
And then a quiet afternoon, sitting in the sun in my mother's spring garden

admiring her rosesand her blackberries

and her lavender

My mother had just returned from her vacation in Europe and she had a bunch of French magazines that she had bought for the flight home from Paris.

You know the usual Marie Claire, Vogue etc.

But in the group was a magazine that I had never seen before

Envy

with the tag line

Toutes Vos Envies Sont dans Envy

Sadly, it was frenchified version of OK or US magazine, complete with the usual celebrity nonsense....Kim Kardashian, Rachel Bilson, Victoria Beckham, Jessica Simpson, Beyonce, Jennifer Aniston,Tori Spelling, Lindsey Lohan, Jessica Alba...et al.

Kate Hudson & Cameron Diaz

La guerre est déclarée!
Belles et célibattantes: elles ont beaucoup en commun. Sûrement même un peu trop! Car depuis que Cameron sort avec l’ex de Kate, rien ne va plus...

So even France is polluted with B and C list American celebrities.

Wherever you to...there you are. You can't escape the cult of celebrity worship.

Sad, non?

First Lady Fashion Schizophrenia

Does Michelle Obama have fashion schizophrenia?

God knows she can get it really right as she did with the one shouldered white gown that she wore to the inaugural ball.

But she can also get it really, really wrong.

This woman has hundreds of gowns to choose from...not to mention the benefit of bespoke from the top designers in this county, and she decides to wear this gown to a state dinner????

The color may be becoming but the fit and the fabric are terrible.

Here's what Tom and Lorenzo have to say about Mrs O.

We don't know, kittens. We go back and forth on this Peter Soronen dress. In the Silhouette Sweepstakes (which she often loses) this is a winner for her. She looks tall and elegant. The color is beautiful. The problem is that it's so shinyshiny that it looks, well, a little cheap. In fact, it looks a bit like a Project Runway entry. "Designers, you must design a dress for the First Lady to wear to dinner. You have 15 dollars and 3 hours to complete it. Carry on!"As for the hair, well we go back and forth on that one too. Perhaps we need more coffee to be the opinionated bitches you all love. On the one hand, changing up her sleek bob for a little curl sounds like a good idea in theory. On the other hand, all she needs is a little dog and the sheet music to "The Sun'll Come Out Tomorrow" and she's good to go.

Sorry, but Mrs Obama needs a new stylist.

Lusting After Lower Heels

From the Wall Street Journal

Stilettos—So Two Years Ago
The return of the 'kitten' coincides with shaky economic times

so do serious times call for serious shoes?

That leads some to speculate whether there's a relationship between a sinking heel and the stock market. Gary Loveman, CEO of Harrah's Entertainment Inc., was reported saying earlier this year that he likes seeing women wearing stilettos in his casinos because he believes it means guests are more likely to spend more.

on the other hand

But not everyone thinks the kitten heel means bad times. Shorter shoes might be "an indication of the recession we've just been through," suggests Jeffrey Hirsch, editor of the Stock Trader's Almanac, adding that such correlations have "not so much" validity anymore.

Good market, bad market, I don't care. But enough already with the 6 inch stilettos.

These Days Who Isn't Going Hollywood?

There is such an odd feeling from being at your regular sushi restaurant on a Friday night, nursing a Martini, and having your son and his girlfriend stop by your table to say hello and then to invite you over to their table.
On one hand you ask yourself "Am I really that old?" and on the other hand you calmly think "Ah, how lucky I am to have this incredible adult son, who's responsible, intelligent, diligent and getting on with life.".

When my son was young I wondered if by being raised in Los Angeles he would choose to go into the entertainment industry, which is by far the dominant business here. He had been exposed to a lot of people in that business, especially given that he was classmates with the son of a president of a television network, the son of the head of a major production company, the grandson of an owner of a movie studio, and the daughter of an agent who was reputed to be, at that time, "the most powerful man in Hollywood".
Happily, he had little interest in entertainment and chose to pursue a different professional path entirely.

What is it about the entertainment industry that causes people to "Go Hollywood"?
Recently, one of my European clients, who had absolutely no background in the movie business, has now become a film producer. And a few weeks ago I met with a young-ish French man, a former investment banker, who is now developing scripts and looking for backing for his film projects.
The lure to be in the business, especially for people who didn't grow up in this city, is certainly strong.

And now I just read that Saadi Gaddafi, the son of fashion plate dictator Muammar Gaddafi, is now going Hollywood.
From The Wrap
Gadhafi Goes Hollywood: Dictator’s Son Gets In With $100M
Hollywood’s latest financial backer is the middle son of the Libyan dictator, Saadi Gadhafi, who is backing a movie production fund called Natural Selection to the tune of $100 million.

Certainly like his father, Saadi is a man of many talents, especially given that Saadi's previous career was in professional soccer
From Ask Men
Sure he’s located a little outside the Gulf and he isn’t officially a Sheikh, but if you had to pick a “K-Fed of Arabia,” Saadi Gaddafi would be a pretty good choice. Not only did this “fortunate son” get to feed his own visions of grandeur by playing professional soccer in Italy (where he played two games in three years before being suspended for doping), but Saadi also routinely parties with celebrities who have made their way on talent rather than last names, such as Nicole Kidman, 50 Cent and Anna Kournikova.

And what playboy lifestyle would be complete without yacht crashes and disorderly conduct? Certainly not Saadi’s, who crashed his 130-foot yacht into a wharf and has been ejected from the illustrious Billionaire’s Club.


Well, from this photo he sure looks worthy to have played with the pros.

But moving on, he certainly has qualities that will get him far in Hollywood.

He has a sharp sense of style...come on, you've got to love a man dressed head to toe in light blue.

He loves movies

“He loves movies,” explained Beckerman in an interview in his suite on the seventh floor of the Carlton Hotel at the Cannes Film Festival, where he’d come to look for new projects. “He’s seen ‘Lost’ 30 times. He has stacks of DVDs of American films.”

He's cool

He’s 35, gracious, nice – and really cool,” said Beckerman

And of course he has the big buck$

or at least $100 million or so to play around with

It's good to know that Saadi is spending his time and money productively, especially after his brother Hannibal's little issue with Switzerland last year

The kerfuffle began a year ago, when Hannibal, Gadhafi’s youngest son, and his pregnant wife were arrested in a Geneva luxury hotel for beating two servants with a belt and a coat hanger (he’d been busted in both France and Italy for beating a woman, fighting a cop and driving drunk down the Champs Elysee at 90 mph -- the wrong way).

Libya retaliated to the arrest in Switzerland by recalling some diplomats, suspending visas for Swiss citizens, withdrawing funds from Swiss banks, shuttering the Tripoli office of Nestle and threatening to cut off oil deliveries to Switzerland. Two Swiss businessmen were barred from leaving the country until Libya received an apology for Hannibal's arrest.

I for one welcome Saadi to the western way of doing business, and am wondering when the sons of Kim Jong Il, Robert Mugabe and Ahmadinejad are going to "Go Hollywood" too.

Happy Saturday!

If Only - En Vacance à Villeneuve-les-Avignon

Something strange always happens at this time of year...my personal space-time continuum seems to go into warp speed.
I have so much to do to get ready for the Antique and Estate Jewelry Show in Las Vegas, which is coming up in a matter of days, yet my mind keeps lingering on the idea of getting away from it all and relaxing in a peaceful pretty place.

And then there is the matter of the Euro. Will it finally fall enough against the dollar so that I can start planning a summer vacation in France?


Because I would like to visit the Fort Saint Andre in Villeneuve-les-Avignon

Because the history of Avignon is fascinating

and because Vicky Archer posted these enticing photos on her beautiful blog French Essence

which of course I have shamelessly stolen and posted here

Yes I know that wisteria and iris season will be long over by summer, but the green in this garden will still evoke a serene oasis, the perfect antidote to a busy business life.

OK...enough of the dream...Vicky has already monopolized it at her Mas de Berard which I enjoy vicariously through her blog...and back to the reality of current projects at Beladora.

My Weekend Indian Wells Fantasy

It has been such a long cold winter and spring that I just want to jump start summer
with a little weekend getaway to Indian Wells
where I would lay by the pool with a good book
and wear something like this.

Milly Floral Bikini at Neiman Marcus
(is it just me or didn't we all have a bikini like this at summer camp when we were 11?)

Milly Floral Tunic at Neiman Marcus

Multi-gemstone Ring at Beladora2.com

Multi-gemstone Hoop Earrings at Beladora2.com

Anyone care to join me on a little desert jaunt?

The Scam Of The Century

If you haven't already read this book, I highly recommend that you do. Go now and order it from Amazon or download it onto your ipod. No one, and I really mean no one, could tell this story like Michel Lewis.

You don't need to know all the details about collateralized debt obligations and credit default swaps to understand that something was indeed very, very wrong. From the ratings agencies such as Moody's to the whales on Wall Street, only a handful of people truly understood the underlying risk of the sub-prime backed debt and its shockingly wrong AAA rating, and how to hedge against it.
Until Solomon Brothers led the way for the big firms to go public, effectively transferring the risk from the firm's partners to the shareholders, these kind of prop trading debacles couldn't have happened. Finally, when the whole system broke down, the cost of Wall Street's bad bets, and they were indeed bets, in fact pure speculation, not reasoned investments, the taxpayer had to foot the bill with TARP funding. OK, so there was a little shuffling. Bear Stearns was sold to JP Morgan for $2 a share. Bank of America was forced to take over Merrill Lynch. Lehman Brothers went all the way under. Morgan Stanley got absorbed into Citigroup.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street whales still got their huge bonuses at the expense of the taxpayer.

Was fraud committed, well that depends on how you define "fraud". Surely CDSs weren't being marked to market by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley in an equitable way and CDOs were purposefully overvalued. Did Goldman Sachs take trading positions against their clients, well that depends on your definition of "trading positions" and "risk management". Goldman's smart guys clearly acquitted the firm in their Senate testimony.

By the way, if all of these financial scams are reminding you of the 1920s, we all have Sandy Weill and Robert Rubin to thank for the repeal of the Glass-Steagall act. Thanks guys for enriching your posse and leaving the little people to pick up the bill.

Desperately Seeking Sunshine

Why is it cold, dark, damp and gloomy in mid May in LA?
I'm trying hard to figure out how justify a business retreat for Team Beladora to a spa in Indian Wells.

Road Trip - Stanford Style

It's rare that I would take a weekend road trip, because there is so much to do here in LA. But last weekend I had the opportunity to attend an event in Nor Cal in the Palo Alto area, an area which I haven't visited since I was a sophomore in college, decades ago. I was curious to see how much it had changed, especially after the rise of tech power in Silicon Valley and the uber wealth of Sand Hill Road. Surprisingly, Palo Alto hasn't changed much. It is still a charming little town nestled against the foothills and dominated by the amazing Stanford campus.

Is Stanford the most beautiful school in California? Probably. Planned by the great Frederick Law Olmstead, the Italianate architecture with it's open colonnades, carved arches, balustrades and tiled roofs, makes you think more of Renaissance Italy, than post gold rush California.

And, unlike Southern California which is infected with urban sprawl, pretty much wherever you look you find a verdant view. It's a little hard to imagine the enormous advances in science and technology that have come out of such a peaceful pastoral place.

I'm still not sure what's up with the the need to put a giant bell tower on what seems, every college and university campus in Northern California.

Mills has its elegantly simple campanile designed by the brilliant Julia Morgan in 1904.

Berkeley has its beautiful Beaux-Art Sather Tower constructed in 1914.

So of course Stanford has its "mine is bigger and better than yours" fabulously phallic Hoover Tower built in 1941.

(Yes, I could make some inappropriate architectural double entendre remarks here but I'm just going to let it go)

From the architectural to the political, has anyone besides me wondered what happens to all that brain power that emanates from Stanford? Why are the highest offices in our federal government disproportionately stocked with Harvard and Yale grads? Is there something specific about Stanford that sends graduates off to do, or to create, rather than to govern? I'm just curious.

Always Classy - Cary Grant

For a classic Cary Grant story that will make you smile take a gander at Reggie Darling's blog

And be sure to check out the photos of his gorgeous house and garden.

Happy Friday

Around Town - More Capital Than Venture

Last night another event that I was excited to attend

but not because it was a gathering of venture capitalists

I just really wanted to see the venue because the party was held here

The CAA building in Century City aka The Death Star

And what do you wear to hang out with the money guys...I figured big gold and diamond jewelry the size of Texas.

Diamond Necklace with Doorknocker Pendant in 18K

Diamond Doorknocker Earrings in 18K

Diamond Dome Ring in 14K and Platinum

Ruser Diamond Ring in 18K and Platinum

The gold group

The bling rings

OK, so I looked like more Capital than Venture in all this gold

but right now I'd rather invest in gold than a start up tech business.

Film: Coming & Going & Getting Some Play

You know that I support all the projects of my peeps,
So here's latest film project by Alfredo Gilardini
which was shown in Cannes this week.

It looks like an unabashedly silly and very possibly politically incorrect summer movie.
The details (borrowed from another blog)
Coming & Going is an irreverent romantic comedy that poses the question: How far would you go to capture the heart of the one you love? Lee is a young, skilled OBGYN who lacks confidence when it comes to talking to women outside his successful medical practice. A freak injury temporarily lands him in a wheelchair and it is at that precise time that he meets his dream girl. Convinced she's only paid attention to him because he's in that chair, he stays in it to win her affections well after his injury has healed. Coming & Going is about love and the extreme things people do for it.The film is directed by Edoardo Ponti (Between Strangers) and stars Rhys Darby (Flight of the Conchords), Sasha Alexander (NCIS) and Fionula Flanagan (Waking Ned.)



Here's the facebook link
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Coming-Going/114914741878682?ref=ts
Why don't you share this link with your facebook friends.