And You Thought Diana At 50 Was Bad

I love Vanity Fair magazine...have I told you that before?
They wasted no time on one-upping Tina Brown's tacky Newsweek cover

with their own take on dead royalty

This made my week.

Around Town - Larry Crowne Premiere in Hollywood

Julia Roberts on the red carpet for the Larry Crowne premiere last night in Hollywood.
She wore a beautifully tailored Gucci suit with in navy blue, a vintage Jean Mahie triple strand emerald bead necklace and diamond stud earrings from Beladora.com and a megawatt smile.
Totally simple and non-fussy but totally chic,
don't you think?

Jean Mahie Triple Strand Emerald Bead Necklace

Is this film on your must see list for this summer?

Looking For Our 15 Minutes Of Fame

I have been waiting for months to see these photos of Penelope Cruz in the UK edition of GQ magazine
and here they are

Ms Cruz, or should I say Senora Bardem,
was styled by the amazing George Cortina and photographed by Mario Sorrenti.
We were hoping to see some Beladora jewelry in the photos, as we provided some goods for the shoot,
but, as you can tell by the images, her beauty was enough and no additional adornment was needed.
That's how these things go sometimes.

At any given time (like tonight) we will have jewelry out on loan for an A list star event or for a magazine shoot but we never know if the goods will will actually make it into a photo. 
That is just the nature of these things.

Next time, perhaps.
Fingers and Toes!

Playing With Polyvore - Portofino Summer Style

Portofino Summer by belle de ville featuring glass shades

H M flared dress
£25 - hm.com

Turquoise shoes
£12 - office.co.uk

Marc by Marc Jacobs leather clutch
£175 - net-a-porter.com

Emilio Pucci straw hat
€70 - lindestore.com

Juicy Couture glass shades
$98 - endless.com

Ring
beladora.com

Ippolita 18k jewelry
beladora.com

Saturday Morning Miscellany

Earlier this year I started planning a summer vacation in Italy.  and you know what they say about the best laid plans....
So instead of traipsing around the Italian countryside and islands
I'm reading (and vastly enjoying) the Gervais de Bédée blog written by garden designer Paul Gervais
With posts about villas of Perugia, small hotels of Sardinia and gardens of Chianti
I'm getting my little fix of the beauty of Italy
just look at the photos

Luscious, aren't they?

Have a great weekend!

A Random Walk Down Rodeo Drive

Yesterday, while taking a random walk down Rodeo Drive,
this is what I saw.

LOOKING

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A woman in the back of a foil wrapped pickup truck with a weird red, white and blue dress constructed out of foil.
Yes, there goes the neighborhood.

Note:  Tish gives us street photography of lovely Parisiennes
BHB gives you the local fashion fringe freaks...just because we can.
Happy Friday

How To Wear Estate Jewelry - Shades of Gray For Summer

I'm not ignoring you...really I'm not.
It's just that I've been busy, really busy.

For some reason it's been a celebrity filled week
and...I'm still waiting for Lady Gaga's people to get back to my people...
you know how those things go.

I had wanted to post about the new Chanel collection
a Byzantine beauty if I ever saw one

but Tabitha beat me to it...and added poetry!
So go read her post.

Here at the HQ, we love to see jewelry worn on the head
so the diadems in these ads are especially appealing.
Also, have you noticed the recent Harry Winston and Van Cleef ads for diamond barrettes?
That is the trend in jewelry
along with vintage brooches
You heard it here first.

Summer may have officially started but it is still gray, foggy and cold every morning
and while I'd love to whip out the summer whites and pastels,
I'm still wearing winter colors like this charcoal gray

Luckily, it matches my Beladora pearl jewelry

 Mikimoto Tahitian and Akoya "Pearls in Motion" Earrings in 18K $1250

 Mikimoto Tahitian and Akoya "Pearls in Motion" Necklace in 18K $2250

Van Cleef & Arpels Mother of Pearl and Diamond Butterfly Brooch $4250

God I look old and tired in this shot

Hopefully botox and a beach vacation will be coming up in my near future!

Catching Up With The Kennedys

I know, I'm kinda slow about these things but I finally got around to watching The Kennedys miniseries.
Have you seen it?
I thought that the production value was excellent and that the acting was superb. 


I was particularly impressed with Tom Wilkinson as Joe Kennedy Sr. and Barry Pepper as Bobby Kennedy.
And who knew that Katie Holmes would make such a great Jackie.


Appreciate the Kennedys as a political dynasty or not
you can't help but be impressed with Jackie.
That woman was a study in grace under pressure.
In spite of putting up with a lot of tawdry nonsense from her husband,
she always kept up appearances and was an excellent First Lady.

It's no wonder that 50 years after Camelot, Jackie remains a style icon.

And on the topic of tawdry
I rather enjoy these Marilyn vs Jackie videos

The Evolution of Style - Another Reason For Optimism

Last week I blogged about Interior Desecrations, James Likeks book about hideous interior decoration from the 1970s.  We've evolved from that time and thank god for that.
This week Maxminimus, natty gent and writer extraordinaire,
has brought us a great post First Car - First Girl,
a reminiscence of his 1970s youth, a time when printed nik-nik shirts and platformed famolare shoes were all the rage for trendy men.  Even the Allman Brothers looked bad in nik-nik shirts.
Be sure to read his post.

And today designer/blogger Scott Wood brings us Patrick Grant getting dressed
and proving that at least when it comes to men's fashion,
things have evolved from the sartorially shamefull 70s.


Note Mr. Grant's attention to detail even with the color of his cufflinks and the way that he coordinates the color of his watch strap, belt and shoes.

When it comes to men's fashion I'm unabashedly a trad. 
I appreciate well tailored clothes, quality shoes and coordinated colors.
I'm a trad when it comes to men's jewelry too.  A watch, wedding ring and cufflinks are all the jewelry, in my opinion, that a man should wear.  Even with this limited range there can be plenty of opportunities for a man to show his individualism.

So here are some cufflinks
have at it

And have a Happy Father's!

Too Good Not To Share

I'm sure that most of you have seen this already
but for those who haven't,  I just have to share

Lost in Cyberspace

Can someone please explain to me why on certain blogs
*cough Bourbon & Pearls cough*
my profile name, email address and blog URL disappears. 
I'm having a blogger identity crisis and I'm lost in cyberspace.

Why blogger why????

Lately Tabitha has been channelling more Carolina Herrera than Highland Lass,
but I'm still dedicating this Polyvore set to her.

Highland Haute Couture by lifeinthefashlane featuring lace up boots

Boat neck sweater, $396
Chloé short mini skirt, £1,235
All Saints lace up boots, $315
Balenciaga leather bag, $1,895
Brooch
Cuff bracelet
18k ring

Angela Bassett Rocking The Red Carpet In Baubles From Beladora

Just look who was looking gorgeous last night...
yep, it was the lovely Angela Bassett on the red carpet at the Green Lantern premier.

 She was rocking a custom made gown by Mandalay

check out the detail on the back

 

and she was wearing estate jewelry from Beladora.com
which made me very happy

 

Diamond Vine Earrings $3550

 Pave Diamond Bangle Bracelet in 18K $3450

Diamond Link Bracelet in 18K $3250

I loved working with Angela's stylist who was super professional and unbelievably nice

I hope that we can do more with her in the future

It's been a really great week all around
in spite of the gray fog that I see as I look out the window
I celebrated my daughter's birthday with a family dinner at Wolfgang's in Beverly Hills
(steak, lobster macaroni and cheese and cakebread cellars cabernet...yum)
all kinds of great stuff happened at the Beladora HQ
and I'm looking forward to seeing my father this weekend on Father's Day
and maybe even the sun will come out.

What's on your agenda for this weekend?

My Daughter The Blogger

I suppose that it was only a matter of time before the beautiful Miss de Ville started her own blog chronicling her impressions of life in LA with irreverent commentary and arty photography.

3 Guides and a Girl
Armed with a selection of guide books, good shoes, a collection of cameras and a terrible sense of direction, a single girl decides to see everything worth seeing in Southern California. 
From the bizarre to the beautiful, the quaint to the quackery, no sight is safe.

I love her photography
 

and of course I enjoy reading about Los Angeles from her perspective

The Spadena house on Carmelita in BH is a really superb example of storybook architecture. Also known as the witch’s house, this spooky building is smack dab in the middle of a bunch of colonial and neoclassical monstrosities. I drive by on my way to work and it always makes me smile. As a kid, I lived a few blocks away and I distinctly remember that you couldn’t trick or treat there (they had cops outside the gates) which, frankly, is bullshit. Fun fact: this is the house Alicia Silverstone walks by in her pouty, epiphany scene in “Clueless”.

My beautiful girl turned 26 today....where did the time go....

The Beautiful Angela Bassett in Beladora - OMG!

This week has started out well
especially because the lovely and talented Angela Bassett has been hitting the New York daytime talk show circuit to promote her new film, The Green Hornet.

Don't you think that Ms. Bassett is looking awesome in our drop dead gorgeous gemstone cuff bracelet and diamond dangle earrings from Beladora.com?

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Sapphire, Diamond, Mother of Pearl and Black Onyx Cuff Bracelet in 18K

Diamond Dangle Earrings in Platinum

 

Around Town - Artspace Warehouse

I finally made it to the Artspace Warehouse
the gallery for fine art at a reasonable price
and you know how much I appreciate quality at an affordable price

With galleries in Cologne, Zurich and Los Angeles

the galleries showcase works by emerging European and US artists

There were several pieces that I liked
and I might have purchased a painting... or three
by the Swiss artist Zanre

I told you that I was going to rock the vintage 1970s jewelry from Beladora.com
and I did!

Happy Monday

Boys Behaving Badly - Here...There...Everywhere

I know that you've been waiting for me to weigh in on Weiner
but he is just so pathetic that it's almost not worth commenting on

I do feel bad for his anorexic and now pregnant wife Huma
She didn't deserve a sexting scumbag for a husband

I'm so very tired of the ruling elite,
Republicans and Democrats both
with their 'do as I say, not as I do'  behavior
How do these elected officials have time for the sophomoric silliness of sexting, online flirting with underage girls and posting their photos on twitter and craigslist...
to the even more serious impregnating their of housekeepers and then keeping them under the same roof as their wife?

Unemployment is at Depression Era levels, the dollar is crashing, the deficit is exploding and the economy is imploding and yet these men seem to have all the time in the world to frolic around like overgrown frat boys while picking up a generous paycheck (and benefits) care of the US taxpayers.

Government boys behaving badly isn't just just an American issue
as we all know from Dominique Strauss Kahn.
And once again, it isn't a Left-Right issue
it's all about getting away with it
Take Italy's Silvio Berlusconi

He makes Dominique Strauss Kahn look like a light weight!
Do not miss Vanity Fair's All Broads Lead To Rome
Not only does the ancient Berlusconi have a posse of women who pander for him
providing a nonstop carousel of young (and some underage) hookers,
he then places these women in positions of political power.

here is a photo of one of the women Berlusconi nominated to the European Parliament

she certainly looks qualified doesn't she?


I believe in karma so I can sleep easier knowing that there is a special place in hell for such detritus
but I do feel sad for the citizens of Italy who don't deserve such a leader.

Saturday Morning Miscellany And Some 1970s Style

I suspect that you read all the major shelter magazines

Architectural Digest, Veranda, Elle Decor, etc.

And I'm pretty sure that you too have noticed the creeping trend towards 1970s style

big prints, color block palates, graphic and metallic wallpaper, low slung furniture and more

As one who appreciates a vintage vibe in clothes, accessories and design 

I rather like the return of 1970's decorative details

like the metallic wallpaper, shiny tubes and mirrored walls 

used in Daphne Guinness's NY apartment

and god knows if anyone can pull off groovy it is la Guinness

 Daphne's NY apartment

But 1970s style can go wrong, very wrong.
Are you familiar with author, blogger, humorist James Lileks?
If not you should be

 Interior Desecrations - Hideous Homes From The Horrible '70s

Lileks, in his clever book sprinkled with images taken from actual 1970s interior design magazines,

shows us the horror which was 1970s decor.

And sorry but I just have to quote

no really I have to

from his book introduction

This is what happens when Dad drinks, Mom floats in a Valium haze, the kids slump down in the den with the bong, and the decorator has such a desperate coke habit he simply must convince half the town to put reflective wallpaper or he's going to lose his kneecaps to his supplier's enforcer.  Just say no?  They couldn't.  They didn't know why they should.

No, I am not saying your mom was hopped up on goofballs.  But all it takes is a few trendsetters who fall for this stuff and set the styles for the rest of Middle America.  Soon the rest of the nation finds out it has no choice - it's rotten-avocado-colored fabrics and shiny-foil wallpaper or nothing.

from his website

Sweet smokin’ Judas, what were they thinking?
Welcome back to Interior Desecrations, a brutal examination of the unlovely, unattractive, unlivable and unforgivable homes of the 1970s. All eras have some bad taste, of course – but it took the 70s to make bad taste triumphant and universal. It took the 70s to convince everyone to stick foil wallpaper on the wall, paint the bathtub purple, smother the floors in shag so deep it tickled the tops of your ankles, and hang art that managed to clash with everything, including itself. I mean, look at this picture – what is that? A dissected Rubiks’s Cube attempts to threaten a potted plant and his child, I guess.
Love the rug, too. They didn’t even make AMC cars in those color combinations. They didn’t dare.

and more from his book

If you lived here, you'd be laid by now.  If it was 1973, anyway.  It's the lair of the Tasteful Swinging Batch - the mezzanine lined with unread books, the guitar to indicate your sensitive troubadour side, the TEAC reel-to-reel to show off your collection of progressive jazz, the TV sized just right for watching Kojac while you blow a number of primo Colombian (hey, Kojak man be the Man, but he's solid cool). There's even a recessed ladder in case you're upstairs and your date catches on fire and you have to get down quick.
Her lost the house in the divorce in '79.  Oh, she said it was because of his quaalude "problem" but she'd been planning this way before he ever took some Vitamin Q.
What do you mean paranoid?  Now you're sounding like her.

and

For the Bond Supervillian on a budget.

It has a ledge, so your minions can topple off when shot.  It has a ladder down which you can escape. It has fussy furniture whose old-world charms contrast with your Nehru-jacketed sense of icy-cool nihilism.  It's not the sort of lair you'd be proud to show 007.  But one of the lessor double-oughts?  002? 003? They'd hardly notice that the paintings are actually lithographs. And for that alone they deserve to die!

Well anyhoo, I find Lileks amusing
and I was sporting a little 1970s fashion vibe myself yesterday at Beladora HQ

 Note: earth toned hippy-ish dress and big jewelry

Lapis and Gold Coin Pendant on Long Chain in 21K and 14K $3950

Gold Double Hoop Earrings in 18K $1850

 

I like this big bold gold jewelry so much that I might even adopt it as my signature style for the summer.

If Marc Jacobs could bring back the Jody Foster Taxi Driver look with flared pants and floppy hats,

I can rock the big gold pendant can't I?

Have a great weekend.