Weekend Reading - The Complete Claudine

For some reason, I'm not sure why, I've never seemed to get around to reading anything by Colette.
So, I recently started reading Claudine at School, the first book in The Complete Claudine.
Unfortunately I find every character in the book, and most importantly the main character Claudine,  totally unsympathetic.  In spite of the fact that I'm not enjoying the read, I will slog through the book because I find 19th Century and Belle Epoque history interesting.
As for Colette herself, I would like to read a well written biography. Can anyone suggest one?  Ms. Cavendish perhaps? Forget the lesbian affairs, what I would really like to know is why she seduced her 16 year old step son when she was 40 and continued the affair for 5 years.  Yes I know, how very French.

Sharing the LOVE

And what's not to love?

Go over to Fashion's Most Wanted and share the love with Christina for Love Magazine

Mid-Summer Musings About Travel

Since it is mid-summer and I have this on my mind

I thought that I would share with you this article from the WSJ

A Hotel Executive on How to Get Good Service

When Mr. James is checking into a hotel, he always makes sure he's nicely dressed. Typically he'll show up in a suit or slacks and a jacket. "If you look the part, you'll tend to get looked after a little bit better," he says.

I tend to agree with this advice as I've found from many years of travelling.  Certainly the better I am dressed, the better I am treated. So for me no shorts, t-shirts or flip flops for travel attire.

This summer I can't get my act together for a trip to the south of France but the gorgeous (and talented in a DIY way) Tabitha has posted about her swanky sojourn at the Eden Roc, Hotel du Cap and more. 

Check out her Bourbon and Pearls blog.

And as for travel attire, do not miss James Andrew's posts about his recent trip through Italy.  I particularly love what he wore to La Sireneuse. He must get incredible service. But I wonder, with all his fabulous clothes, how many suitcases does he travel with. Check out his What is James Wearing blog.

What do you wear when you travel and do you think that it makes any difference at all in how you are treated?

LVMH - Why Is This Man Smiling?

I've always thought that we lived in a world with an oversupply of luxury goods and that in the event of a deep recession a strong correction was bound to hit the large luxury goods conglomerates. Apparently I was wrong.  But I do wonder, where does all the growth come from? China?

Yes, I'd be smiling too if I were Bernard Arnault

From the WSJ
LVMH First-Half Profit Soars, Showing Luxury's Return
PARIS–French luxury goods behemoth LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Tuesday reported a 53% jump in first half net profit, heralding a strong return of high-end consumption and, in a departure from cautiousness seen in previous quarters, expressed confidence in the rest of the year.
All divisions, from perfume to wine posted double digit sales growth with the highest increase coming from watches and jewelry, up 28%... 
not that you asked but

The Christian Dior Group (Paris:CDI) recorded revenue of 9.5 billion euros in the first half of 2010, an increase of 16%. Organic growth (at comparable structure and exchange rates) stood at 14% compared to the same period in 2009. The Group performed particularly well in Asia, the United States and Europe.

Profit from recurring operations in the first half of 2010 increased by 33% to 1,812 million euros.

Group share of net profit increased by 68% to 422 million euros. 

Jewelry Biz- Stephen Webster Will Open 1st US Store on Rodeo Drive

 Jewellery brand Stephen Webster is opening a flagship US store on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.
From Retail Jeweller
The retail space design will mirror the London and European mono-brand boutiques, which incorporate Stephen Webster’s signature style of glamour with a rock and roll edge. The space will combine Webster’s love for traditional craftsmanship with his passion for contemporary music, fashion and art to produce a modern, unconventional retail aesthetic for showcasing his collections.

“The store on Rodeo Drive will be our first flagship in the US,” said founder and creative director Stephen Webster. “Over the past 10 years we have built strong ties with the LA community including the world of entertainment based there. The opening of this store is set to be extremely significant in our development.”

He added: “This project is very exciting to me and my team who feel that the Stephen Webster brand is shifting to become an all encompassing lifestyle experience”.

Well, I'm not going to make my usual snarky 'well there goes the neighborhood' comment about this.  We welcome all retail jewelers to the neighborhood.  The more jewelers on the street, the better for our business.

Besides, I love Stephen Webster's whole glam rock vibe and his crystal haze jewelry.  God knows that Loree Rodkin needs some local competition.
Plus...now that we have the new Tom Ford store about to open a couple of doors away, we might as well have Stephen Webster on the block too. 
And just think, soon we will all be able to go up and down  Rodeo Drive and experience, boutique by boutique, each all encompassing lifestyle experience!

Stephen Webster Tsavorite and Tahitian Pearl Earrings $1450

Or, we could skip all the retail 'lifestyle' hype and just buy our jewelry online from Beladora.com.

How to Wear Vintage Animal Brooches

A couple of days ago I wrote a post about blogger Jane Aldridge and her menagerie of vintage animal brooches.  It's one thing to wear a discreet little grouping of bee brooches on your lapel, it's another thing entirely to wear an entire zoo on your jacket. 
So here is how I like to action (verb totally stolen from FF) a vintage animal brooch. 
Wear one quality statement piece, like this gemstone fish, for impact
and leave the menagerie at home.

Right now I'm loving this beautiful brooch in mother of pearl, pink tourmaline and diamonds in 18K. This is one of the prettiest animal brooches that I have seen in a long time with each piece of mother of pearl and pink tourmaline cleanly cut to fit the design.
(Not to mention that I like wearing a tropical fish on my on my summer LBD because it is the closest I've gotten to a beach vacation in ages....and I'm desperate for one.)

Not too big...not too small, but certainly impressive with 3 plus carats of bright white diamonds.
So what do you think, would you wear this vintage brooch?

Twisted Prep or How to Wear Your Hilfiger Duck Boots

Tommy Hilfiger's tailgating ad campaign is continuing to get play in the blogosphere, with Look Muffy An Ad Campaign For Us! at Habitually Chic.  Perhaps for me there is more nostalgia for the vintage 1980's Jeep Wagoneer than excitement about the actual clothes themselves.  Still, now that I see Hilfiger's OTK duck boots in action in this photo, I'm becoming more partial to them.

Christy Turlington by Steven Meisel and Karl Templar - Modern and Classic Indeed

If you haven't already picked up the latest edition of Italian Vogue...go out and spend $18 to buy it right now!

The Christy Turlington cover story photographed by Steven Meisel and styled by Karl Templar is one of the most beautiful fashion editorials that I have ever seen.  (and I'm not just saying that because Beladora was asked to provide jewlery for the shoot, which they didn't use but was fine with us because the jewlery was barely noticable)  Each of Turlington's looks were wonderful, from the big hair to the fabulous frocks to the gorgeous gloves to the stylish shoes, and she has never looked more beautiful.

Vintage Brooches - When Too Much Actually Is Too Much

Usually when I get dressed up I pile on the jewelry.  In fact when it comes to estate jewlery our office motto is "too much is never enough".  But sometimes wearing it all at one time is better as an idea than a reality.
My case in point Jane Aldridge of Sea of Shoes
the society/vintage/her mother has a huge closet/debutante blogger

I've blogged before about how much I love vintage brooches...especially animal brooches
but really, this is out of control.
Now, if you can get beyond the over-brooched photos of Miss Aldridge she links to the incredible website of photographer Douglas Friedman who shoots portraits, interiors,celebrity homes and architecture.
Here's an example of his work

I have no idea where this celebrity home is...but I want to live there

And I'm just loving this pool in the middle of what looks like an olive grove.  Very nice.
Check out his website.

Milan's Master Hatter

From the WSJ an interesting article on the demise of craftsmanship

Milan's master hat maker Lorenzo Borghi tells his tale; a slowly dying art

Today, Mr. Borghi is 70 years old, but he can still be found working in the shop from dawn to dusk at least six days a week.

He mostly works alone, relying on his wife and a friend for help when the orders pile up. He has no apprentice, and past attempts to teach younger generations have proved unsuccessful. "The first thing they ask is 'How much are you gonna pay me?'" says Mr. Borghi. "Then they ask 'Do I have to work weekends, too?'"

He doesn't say it, but the contempt is clear in his voice and expression. While it is tempting to dismiss Mr. Borghi's critiques as simple intergenerational mistrust, it is equally difficult to imagine the young, iPhone-equipped Italians lounging around in the piazza nearby spending their days as the septuagenarian maestro does, hunched over an ancient wooden desk, struggling to get this fold just right or adjust that feather to the correct height. "The hardest part is finding talented hands," he says. "I could teach the rest."

I find it interesting that in a high fashion city like Milan, a master craftsman can't find good help.  Aren't there fashion students who want to learn the skill of bespoke hat making and maybe be the next Philip Treacy?

Luckily, his and other Italian master craftsman's skills are being documented on film.

Recently an Italian company called Valore Italiano, or "Italian Quality," began filming Mr. Borghi and other artisans like him as part of an initiative to create a visual documentary of their skills that can be used to teach future generations. "These master craftsmen are national treasures," says Mario Pirolli, president of Valore Italiano and artificer of the initiative. "We have to try and salvage what we can before their knowledge and experience are lost for good."

Excellent, because fashion wouldn't be as much fun without great hats

Don't you agree?

Billionaires Behaving Badly or Those Pesky Problems With Yachts

Oh those yachts....they can be such headaches!

First we have John (taxes are for the little people) Kerry and his brand new $7,000,000 yacht 'Isabel' which he chose to dock in Rhode Island instead of his home state of Massachusetts in order to save $500K in taxes.
If the Isabel were kept at the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee's summer vacation home on Nantucket or in Boston Harbor near his city residence, he would be liable for $437,500 in one-time sales tax. He would also have to pay $70,000 in annual excise taxes.

Pretty little sloop, isn't she?
I do love this quote from Boston.com
"While we can fault the senator for his hypocrisy on taxes or having his boat built halfway around the world instead of here in the USA, John Kerry proves an important point that taxes in Massachusetts are too high. If they are too high for someone as rich as Senator Kerry, they are absolutely too high for working-class taxpayers who are being squeezed at every turn," said a statement issued by party Chairwoman Jennifer Nassour.

And then we have billionaire US Democratic Senate Candidate, Jeff Greene and his yacht 'Summerwind'.

From Tampabay.com
Summerwind — like a 14-story building turned on its side — accommodates about 10 guests in five suites. Greene boasted to Forbes in 2008 that he practically stole it for $6 million in 2002. It may have been a bargain purchase, but it costs about $100,000 to fill up the tank on Summerwind, which burns about 50 gallons of fuel an hour.
Apparently tax savvy Jeff Greene registered his yacht in the tax haven Marshall Islands instead of in his home state of Florida.

God, I so hate hypocrisy and the 'Do as I say, not as I do' politicians who vote for taxes for everyone else, yet avoid paying their own.
And...while I'm on a rant...as if the US House isn't already enough of an embarrassment
WASHINGTON – House Democrats and Republicans have put aside their differences this year to honor the likes of golfer Phil Mickelson, the Chicago Blackhawks hockey team, NASCAR driver Jimmy Johnson and the Penn State women's volleyball team.

But when it came time this week to memorialize the start of the 142nd season of the Saratoga race course in New York, one freshman lawmaker decided he'd had enough.
"It's an absolute embarrassment," said Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah, announcing on the House floor a vow to vote against all future sports resolutions.
Why is it the business of the US House of Representatives to honor or memorialize any sports related person or event?  Is that was they were voted into office to do?
Apparently last year in the House there was a vote to commemorate the 2560th anniversary of the birth of Confucius...why is that deemed worthy of the time of our elected leaders?

Wouldn't you think that they would be more concerned with dealing with the $1.47 trillion deficit  or the fact that The median duration of unemployment is higher today than any time in the last 50 years. That's an understatement. It is more than twice as high today than any time in the last 50 years.

And don't even get me started on the $604K spent on bottled water or the $563K spent on new carpets, the $317K spent on new drapes and the $2.5 million spent on new furniture for the US House...during a recession
What Congress Bought Itself With Your $1 Billion
 
OK, rant over....I'm going to go read fashion blogs now and think happy thoughts

Music - The Bravery - Believe

Jewelry Biz - Chopard's New Collection At The Frick

From the WSJ

The Celebration for Chopard's 150 year anniversary at the Frick Museum in New York 

with lots of sparkling stuff from their new animal themed collection

Although I'm not quite sure what I think about this diamond kitten necklace in the $700,000 range

or this diamond parrot necklace for $1,000,000 or so.

A couple of years ago it was all about sea themed collections
Now it's all about animals
go figure

Sharing The Love - In Appreciation Of Baltic Beauty

I bet that you thought that I meant this kind of beauty

Well no actually, as much as I appreciate Live Ullman and Bibi Andersson, I meant the beauty of the landscape and seascape of Ingmarso Sweden

and the art and design of Finland. 

There is wonderful post at Privilege with lovely photos from her vacation in Sweden.
And, please don't miss Metscan blog for fabulous art and interior design from Finland

Getting Out The Vote and Sharing The Love With The UK Blogger Babes

If you haven't done this already, please click over to Kate Battrick's Make Do Style and congratulate her on her well deserved master's degree.
And then go over here to vote for Kate's film "Dress Up".
She needs your vote today.

How To Wear Estate Jewelry - Mad Men Premier Party - Beladora Style

Keeping with our Mid-Century meme

Here is Mad Men's ravishing red head, Christina Hendricks, wearing jewelry from Beladora.com

at the LA Premier Party

Christina Hendricks at LA Mad Men Premier in Beladora diamond earrings

(photo Huffington Post)

and jadeite and diamond cocktail ring

Vintage Late Retro Diamond Earrings in Platinum $17,550

 Mid-Century Jadeite and Diamond Ring in Platinum $29,550

We couldn't be happier

Jewelry Biz- Bahia Emerald In Play

There is plenty of news out there in jewelry land this week.

The conflict gold provision in the new Wall Street bill,

The Dodd-Frank gold provision would require that companies using gold as well as the minerals coltan, cassiterite and solframite file annual reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding the source of those materials. According to JA, compliance with the gold provision would likely require that companies hire a third-party firm to audit and validate their gold-sourcing reports.

If a company's gold or minerals did originate from one of the 10 African countries included in the bill, then that company would have to show what steps they took to trace their materials back to their source. The provision also dictates that materials information be placed on a company's Web site for public review.
Jeweler to the Stars, Neil Lane is partnering with Kay Jewelers for a collection of bridal jewelry
The US Federal Court rejected an anti-trust deal for De Beers
In a drive to end antitrust and monopoly claims brought against it, De Beers reached a $250 million settlement over price fixing of gem quality diamonds and in 2005 established a $272.5 million fund for indirect purchasers of its diamonds.
and the story that I'm all over right now is

Tussel over 840 pound emerald back in court
Los Angeles--The long-running dispute over who owns the 840-pound Bahia Emerald rough that was unearthed back in 2001 could be resolved by the end of the month.
Multiple people claim ownership of the gemstone. According to an Associated Press report, it was discovered in Brazil and valued at $400 million and then traveled through New Orleans, Idaho and Las Vegas before being seized by authorities.
Thomas, a gem trader, claimed he is the rightful owner of the emerald because he purchased it for $60,000 from the Brazilians after it was first discovered back in 2001, media reports said.
Can someone please tell me how an object that sold for $60,000 can be valued at $400,000,000 a mere nine years later?
And finally,
Gold Coin Sellers Angry By New Tax Law
Amendment slipped into Health Care Legislation would track, tax coin and bullion transactions
So every time a member of the public sells more than $600 worth of gold to a dealer, Piret said, the transaction will have to be reported to the government by the buyer.

Pat Heller, who owns Liberty Coin Service in Lansing, Mich., deals with around 1,000 customers every week. Many are individuals looking to protect wealth in an uncertain economy, he said, while others are dealers like him.
With spot market prices for gold at nearly $1,200 an ounce, Heller estimates that he'll be filling out between 10,000 and 20,000 tax forms per year after the new law takes effect.
Well it's certainly good to know that the Federal Government is getting their hands on yet another thing to tax!

Channelling Mid-Century Style or A Brooch In The Hand

LA fashion blogger Deja Pseu at her Une Femme D'un Certain Age blog wrote a lovely post on channelling
Mid-Century...in a good way...you know what I mean....by adding some Mid-Century elements to your look.  She also discusses some of the drawbacks of that period which most of you are waaay too young to remember, such as a whole world of careers that were not open to women.
Luckily, female Trads like me can appreciate the style of the Mid-Century and still be thankful to have come of age after feminism opened many of the doors that were closed to my mother.
Well, back to the fashion angle.  Pseu points out some of the elements of this style that you can incorporate into your look including wearing vintage pearl brooches.  She chose these three from Beladora2.com and I thought that since the photos from the website don't always show the scale of the jewelry, that I would give you another look.
Anyhoo...her post is great so go take a gander.
Hint:  we will see more of this look coming up in Fall fashion magazines because someone has been sending this type of jewelry to fashion shoots...
PS:  guess who, at this very moment, is provinding jewelry for one of the Mad Men stars for tonight's Mad Men premier...

Playing With Polyvore - Fantasy Vacation in Cabo San Lucas

Guess what's on my mind...

Beladora 2 offers fine vintage estate, antique, diamond and gemstone...
$595 - beladora2.com
More jewelry »

Turquoise Dangle Earrings in 20K
$295 - beladora2.com
More earrings »

Just Another Reason To Love Men

Because they do crazy ass things like base jumping off of mountains in wing suits.
Happy Monday

Santi Torres - The Polo Outlier

Riding horses since the age of 3 and playing polo since the age of 4
no wonder he is a rising star

From the Palm Beach Post
Wellington's Polo-Playing Kid Documents His Coming of Age Story

Although the sport and its trappings often call to mind Prince Charles and socialites in shade-giving hats, many players and their families don't fit the trust-fund stereotype.


"Not everybody in polo has the easy route," says Kelita Torres. "It's a very good life, and everybody sees it as glamorous, but Santi works very hard - the extra horses he rides, the extra hours he puts in, that will help him get to where he wants to go."
Most people don't understand the hours and hours of work that go into polo behind the scenes, Santi says. The Torres family and their grooms, for example, care for roughly 30 horses.
"It helps if you're rich, but there's a lot of people just trying to make a living or they love the sport," he says.

Isn't this the perfect example of an Outlier in the Malcome Gladwell sense.  A kid born into a polo family (a working one not an Argentinian polo dynasty like the Zavaletas...his father started as a groom/player at the Santa Barbara Polo Club) taught the game early and close to reaching his 10,0000 hours of practice and play. 

Hilfiger Style - Twisted American Preppy

I'm all for classic American style like these boots from LL Bean

But I was wondering if Tommy Hilfiger was taking the style a step too far with these boots

Check out Couture Carrie for these over the knee boots and more

Also, the Preppy Princess has given us her take on Tommy Hilfiger's new Fall 2010 ad campaign featuring his all American twisted preppy faux family

Tailgating with a twist.  I like it.

Around Town - A Summer Dinner at Osteria Mozza

For month's I have been wanting to try Mario Batali's restaurant Osteria Mozza but because it is located in Hancock Park, which is basically mid-town Los Angeles, I haven't bothered to go.  I don't mind the drive, it's the traffic that I can't take...and I typically won't drive east of Beverly Hills unless there is special reason for it.  Well, I  finally decided that my son's birthday dinner merited a trip to Mozza, so off we went.
Osteria Mozza and Pizzaria Mozza are both pretty casual, in design and ambiance, so I opted to wear a summer dress and some casual jewelry, citrine dangle earrings, a citrine ring, a peridot ring and a bunch of skinny gold bangle bracelets.

Mozza was busy, in fact we had to take a 6:15 reservation just to get a table. Luckily we all get up early in the morning so we didn't really mind the early dinner. 

One thing that the restaurant does well is offer a large bar that serves food as well, so that if you can't get a table, you can always have dinner at the bar.  While waiting for my son's girlfriend, the lovely Laura, we waited at the bar which was fine.  But I'd love to know why is it that restaurants won't seat you at your table until every one has arrived?

Luckily, in spite of traffic we all arrived within a few minutes of each other and were seated a nice table tucked away in a corner amid the wine bottles.  Here is my pretty girl and my handsome son. (I'm not sure what's up with his glow in the dark RayBans...)

I would love to report that the food was stupendous...but it wasn't. It was certainly good, but not awesome.   Perhaps I ordered incorrectly.  I opted for the mussels on the waiter's recommendation for a first course, but I probably should have stayed with the burrata.  Then the sea bass for the main course was just OK.  Stephanie and Laura had meat dishes, grilled lamb and grilled hanger steak, and those dishes were certainly better than the fish.  The four of us shared a pasta dish that was also competent but not incredible.
Luckily the sommelier suggested a very good wine that was appropriately priced (for my budget) below $100....because I was totally lost when looking at the wine list where many wines were $600 and above.  I wonder, who goes to Mozza and orders a $975 bottle of wine?

Overall, we had a lot of fun celebrating Alex's 27th birthday in style.

Busy With Blogging and Beladora Business

Thanks to Jill, I clicked on the Bochic Vintage jewelry sale on Gilt Group and was totally blown away by the prices.  If there is something that is actual 'vintage' about this jewelry, please do enlighten me because it looks to me like it was all manufactured in India yesterday.

These turquoise and diamond earrings, for example, were priced at $4,629 with an original retail price of $14,000.  Yeah, you read that number correctly.  These earrings are described as 14K with a total diamond weight of 3.87 carats.  (people: note here that these are Indian rose cut diamonds...not D flawless goods and perhaps the color is enhanced in the photo because these diamonds are not high color)

How they justify these prices I just don't know but plenty of Bochic Vintage items have sold on Gilt.

Here is the Beladora alternative:  Turquoise and Diamond (Indian rose cut diamond) earrings in 14K for $2950. Obviously, on these types of earrings the diamond weight is estimated so we conservatively estimate 2.00 carats, there's probably more in actual carat weight. 
All of this makes me wonder, is it the point of sale that matters, rather than the actual merchandise?  Do sites like Gilt merit premium prices?  Anybody have an opinion?

BTW, just to clarify. I am not an affiliate of Beladora.  In other words, I don't earn commissions on Beladora jewelry sales.  If you click through BHB and purchase something using the BHB discount code, I won't earn anything on that sale.

But you can be an affiliate.  You could put a link on your blog with your own individual discount code, for example Jill's code could be Stella or Pseu's code could be Femme.  Then, if any item from Beladora or Beladora2 is sold with your specific discount code, you will get paid a commission on that sale.  All of this could be done without going through Commission Junction or Linkshare.

Do you have friends and contacts who buy estate jewelry? Why don't we put together a trunk show, in your city and invite those lovely people. Belador brings the jewelry and picks up expenses. Do you support a particular non-profit group? Maybe a portion of the proceeds from a trunk show could be donated to the group?  The client would be happy, the non-profit would benefit,  It would be a win-win all around.
Anyone interested?

Oh...and if you aren't already, please become a fan of Beladora on Facebook.

Checking In On The Czechs

After last week's blog discussion on  the wardrobe of Australia's new female Prime Minister, Julia Gillard  I thought that we should check into what's going on with these Czech politicians

And all this time I thought that it was only in America that people voted for politicians for their glamour rather than for their ideas or their capabilities.

From the Telegraph UK

Female Czech MPs pose for Calendar

On one hand I think that it is great to bring attention to women in the Czech government

On the other hand I'm not so enthusiastic about this
As further evidence that few in the Czech Republic have qualms over spicing the world of politics with touch of glamour and sex appeal, in the days after the election the glossy women's magazine "Ona" (She in English) encouraged readers to vote for "Miss Parliament", asking them to choose their favourite female MP.

I guess that anything goes when you need to get elected
Public Affairs has previously used glamour to highlight its strong female presence. During the election campaign four of the women who appear in the calendar posed for a billboard poster wearing black swim suits.
Years ago people used to "vote with their feet", not it seems that they are voting with something else entirely.