a lady's sitting room

I came across this chic sitting room picture in Timeout NY last night. It's up and coming interior designer Gina Merulla's space and wouldn't you know, it's in one of my fave NY neighborhoods, Gramercy Park. Love it!! It's a pity I can't have my living room look like this even though I have that same sofa!! Pathetic!! I need to work harder at revving up my entire apt.







Kiss kiss.

VALENTINO PR INTERN POSITION IN NY!!

Hi Everyone,
I occasionally will get messages from readers asking my opinion or something like that, but here's an offering from a very kind and thoughtful reader with respect to an intern position at Valentino. I'd sent the message last night to the Chic Simplicity group members on the facebook group page. Here it is:

Hi, I was wondering if you could send a message to the group about this job opportunity at Valentino in NYC. I've had a wonderful time here but I have to head back home, to Tanzania, so I need someone to replace me. It would be great if it were a Chic Simplicity fan! The information is below.

Valentino Fashion Group USA is looking for a committed, driven PR intern to start work immediately. Internship responsibilities include:
-Sample trafficking using a computer database
-Assisting PR department with media tracking
-Liaise with entire PR department on media and celebrity outreach
-Coordinate shipments of samples to and from Milan and Paris

The best person for this position is first and foremost someone who loves fashion and is open to learning everything they can about the industry. This is a high-pressure position and it requires someone who is focused at all times. A good attitude is mandatory. The PR director, the PR managers, the PR coordinator and the PR assistant rely on the intern at all times. The ability to manage time and prioritize responsibilities will lead to success in this position.

This internship is full-time and unpaid. Compensation comes first in exposure to the top fashion talent in New York City, and second, in the constant possibility of promotion. Almost every single person in the PR department started in this position. This is a golden opportunity for anyone looking for entry to the fashion industry.

Please do not apply if you are not able to make a long-term commitment to Valentino.

E-mail *xxxx*@valentino.com with your resume and a short paragraph as to why you are interested.

I'm not sure what the conditions are for releasing the attached email publicly, so I've just taken it out, and if you are interested just send a quick one-line reply and I will send it to you!!

Ciao!!



Big kisses on each cheek!!

P.S. The annual Glam Network Awards is taking place now, until the 10th of April. You can vote once each day for in your fave categories. If you love reading my fashion memoirs, vote for me in the FASHION category.Thank you very much!! :)

hair necessities

I have a thing for headbands; especially — it seems — black headbands. It's bordering on obsessive *yikes* because I just realized I have at least seven!! (It's more when you figure in the other colors and textures, feathery options, etc.) But... seven black headbands!! Why does a gyrl with primarily black hair need seven black headbands. You can hardly see the contrast between the headband and my hair, so it's certainly not for decorative purposes!! Sadder yet, let me present to you one of my more recent objects of desire — Erin Fetherston's Satin Flower Headband.


You may remember a matching mini dress from her Holiday Collection. It was absolutely divine on Joy Bryant when she donned it for Glamour Magazine's 'Fashion Gives Back' Benefit for Malaria last September; having teamed up with the designer to design a collection of limited edition t-shirts. No??


Anyway, back to my present matter.
I w.a.n.t. that headband!!
I'll pass on the multi-colored one because I think it's a tad christmas-tree-decoration-like. But that black one... I've been eyeing it since the end of last year. Never mind that I have a similar black cotton/chiffon-y rosette piece by Phillip Lim, which I've never used!!! I've been waiting for this particular one to go on sale precisely for this rationale that I've a comparable piece and shouldn't spend so much on the frigging thing!! Alas, the christmas tree variety is sold out and I'm getting a bit fidgety. So you see...

Actually, why don't you do me a favor and graciously overlook the fact that I only use ONE of said black pieces??!! It's the one you see in my profile pic. I'd never appreciated the fact that headbands are actually labeled with the brand tags until last night as I was debating Erin's Satin headband. Well, that's not completely true — I adore pieces by Eugenia Kim and Stacey Lapidus (two words: Gossip Girl, so sad I've only seen three episodes, maybe) — but I'd never really given the concept much thought.

Here's a new piece from Ms. Kim's collection (left). Yes, they do have it in black; it'd just be wise to have it along with this chic magenta color, don't you think?? On the right is one by Stacey Lapidus I love but never wear!! At least it's in a light grey. ...Probably explains why I've not used it yet!!




Well, I went unto Barney's webbie, just because I know I'd gotten a number of these overpriced priceless accessories there. (I shouldn't complain, I was a willing victim of this highway robbery!!) This was when I noticed Jennifer Ouellette's delicate monopoly. Evidently, my fave headband — the one in my profile pic (shameless giggle) — is by Ms. Ouellette. It's akin to this piece pictured here:
I'd gotten some of her pieces without even knowing anything of her; but there's a clamourous rave for Ouellette's headbands, apparently. Ms Ouellette is a hat/hair accessories designer and connoisseur with an impressive resume. She's even patented her design techniques!! Recently, she designed all the head pieces for Tracey Reese's Spring and Fall '08 collections. Delish!!




While I admit my disturbing preoccupation with these black frou frou things, I'm positively salivating over this cutting edge, multipurpose hair accessory + mini-MRI scanner (designed by Armani for his Privé Spring '08 collection) I'm sure it can be used as a discreet radio wave transmitter as well. Just brilliant!!
Should I be on something??!!









Powdered sugar kisses.

P.S. To be honest, while I think headbands are utterly delectable, I'm usually really just trying to get the hair (not my bangs, but the rest) away from my face and/or hiding my uncompromising, unruly mess of a hair. *surrendering sigh*

P.P.S. Aren't headbands also referred to as "Alice bands" by the younger fraction of society who deign themselves 'tweens'?? Or was that just my sad self through the looking glass in the nineties??

beauty... in the eye of the beholder

Would you think me just beyond sad if I told you that...
I really must have these three bits — and, not for any utilitarian purposes whatsoever.
It's just... they're just so pretty to behold!!

L-R: Guerlain Le 2 Two Brush Mascara, Guerlain Terracotta Tajine Eyeshadow, NARS Yachiyo Brush 27








Pretty kisses.
P.S. The annual Glam Network Awards is taking place now, until the 10th of April. You can vote once each day for in your fave categories. If you love reading my fashion memoirs, vote for me in the FASHION category.Thank you very much!! :)

Africa: new haute (Deola Sagoe)

Having grown up in Lagos, Nigeria — laughably, with only an American passport as my legal form of ID (then) — I'm terribly biased about a few things Nigerian. I admire and cherish our ethnic mosaic; there are at least six hundred!! specific dialects and a myriad of cultural traditions. Yet we continue to thrive as a unified people; upholding our commonwealth while celebrating our rich diversity. I'm always amazed at new details I'm constantly discovering that distinguish our various ethnic groups. I love love 'skinny' fried (ripe) plantain — no, not exactly plantain chips — just fried plantain, which I can eat with tomato stew or corned beef stew — no, not corned beef hash!! oh so very, very different — for breakfast, lunch and dinner!! Yum!! I love our traditional styles, our ornately patterned fabrics, their inherent histories and their continuous evolutions. Every now and again, even as I continue to work on my 'international woman of mystery' persona (thanks Liza Minelli!! ["Role Play"] haha!!), I develop a feeling of nostalgia for my home. :)

Along with the bittersweetness of my longing, I've been dying to share with you a bit of the especially innovative essence of the Nigerian fashion scene. When I thought about it, I was sure my first feature of a Nigerian designer would be haute couture designer, Ms. Deola Sagoe. With a style inherently her own, she constructs garments that ennoble the rich diversity of the Nigerian — indeed the African heritage; revolutionizing the view of African fashion in a very modern way, and yet evoking a deep need to grasp the intimacies of a people constantly ignored or misrepresented. She regularly puts forth collections for her couture and prêt-à-porter line, and has a new denim line. Even as I procrastinated (naturally), researched her work — seeking Nigerian fashion savvy friends; debriefing, of sorts, the obliging Matthew Mensah, part creative director and PR Director of the design house — I was sure you would fall in love with her pieces, just as I had. Besides, I longed to write a piece that would portray her quintessentially; as the creative innovator she embodies. I looked through her designs, then I realized I could get away with saying absolutely nothing.
It's all there.
You see it.
You feel it.

Deola Sagoe has managed to design pieces that resonate with practically every aspect of a woman's personality. It highlights and nurtures our complexities, our intricacies, flaunting them in the most graceful manner for the world to behold. Our earthiness is displayed with a sense of pride. I mean Ms. Deola Sagoe's work is simply f.a.b!!!

Perhaps, her crowning moment came when she was nominated by the formidable god of fashion Andre Leon Talley for the MNET/AngloGold African Designs Awards (2000), which she won. Or even more recently, her triumph as the recipient of the Platinum Quality Award at the 10th International Star Awards in Paris (2006). It could easily have been a moment of deep appreciation from a fashion show attendee who fell in love with the first piece that came down the runway at one of her shows; an appreciation that resonates as mutual understanding between the designer and her new fan. It is an understanding of the fortunate coexistence of the ornate heritages of our generation; complex and continuously adapting, and yet coherent as a whole. Whenever it was, the world is set as Ms. Sagoe's runway!!

Indubitably, Deola Sagoe's career as a fashion designer in the past decade has transformed much of Africa's fashion industry. And yet, that's only a part of the story. Ms. Sagoe's philanthropic efforts are inspiring. Her struggles led to her appointment as the official Designer for the UN World Food Programme (WFP) & Health PR’s new Global campaign, "CatWALK THE WORLD-Fashion For Food" put forth by Matthew Mensah in Lagos (2006). The aim of the campaign is to create awareness and raise money to fight child hunger (thus, moving the WFP goal of ending child hunger by 2015), while highlighting the unique contributions of African designers in their home countries and around the world. This year the campaign will take place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In addition, her designs were highly sought after during the international fashion show, held as part of the POSITIVE campaign in Sun City, South Africa; a campaign created to foster the success of AIDS programmes in local South African districts.

Meanwhile, I'm so putting in a request for these pieces!! Yay!!
Yes, I will be sporting that pink chiffon caftan top (bottom right) as a dress (seeing that the model's at least 5'8 and I'm 5'1)... You know me so well daaahlings!! :)

Here are more pieces from her previous collections. I'll have to ask about her collection for '08
I need this outift!!! (4th row right)
Okay I couldn't pick four or five pieces. I just couldn't. I hope you enjoy them.

Lastly, you have to listen to my fave Nigerian songs. I just discovered them while I was home this past Christmas, even though I go back every year. I'm not exactly sure how old they are — not more than two years, I hope. *yikes* My knowledge of all forms of contemporary and pop music continues to dwindle!! If parts of the songs sound familiar, that's probably because they are. You've probably heard them in their original versions!! Nigerians are oh so good at remixing, very much without the consent of the original singers/songwriters. HA!! Enjoy!! And no, I don't understand half of what they are saying esp in the first song :) I just love it!!









Love you for reading!!
Fragrant kisses

nude attitude

Even as Spring hints at dewy, fresh-faced looks, I'm very excited about Fall '08's transcending bold faces. Across the board, from the seemingly haute milieu to brazen street chic, designers dictated a cultivated nudity for fall's face and I love it!! I'm especially taken by the nude lip. I can't tell you how much I detest searching for the right lip color, so this is just refreshing. Many designers played with the eyes very subtly, but the lips were generally nude; making for a very sophisticated look. A good tip for creating a complementing nude lip is to lightly dab the lips with one's face foundation before applying a very soft lip color or even just lip balm.
Top: L- Akris (Han Jin) R- Dries Van Noten (Jourdan Dunn)
Bottom: L- Matthew Williamson (Natasha Poly) R- Alexander McQueen (Ania Trublaska)

Chanel Iman at the Anna Sui show is my fave!! I love the hint of gold that highlights the inner corners of her eyes.


Meanwhile, voting for the annual Glam Network Awards is taking place now, until the 10th of April. You can vote once each day for in your fave categories. If you love reading my fashion memoirs, vote for me in the FASHION category.Thank you very much!! :)







Lip-smacking kisses on each cheek!!
Pics courtesy style.com

lingerie bag or not: Lanvin Papillote tote bag

You be the judge...
(Never mind that I think of lingerie bags in lavender and lace for some reason.)
As you can see this collection of shoppers comes in nude the universal color of women's unmentionables, and folds perfectly to fit in your suitcase!! When I first came across the show pieces in store in early February, I thought it was just a lazily misplaced item (by another customer); you know how you drop an intending purchase wherever because you can't be bothered to return it to its original place?? I simply thought it belonged in the lingerie department!! Of course, I went on to caress its satiny texture; that was when the price tag slipped into view. In shock I realized my mistake. This was supposed to be an actual bag!!
Yeah right!!

The printed styles are much more deceptive; but I'm unconvinced that that nude shopper should be hanging on my wrist and actually glimpse sunlight. If you've been dying for a really expensive lingerie bag, Lanvin has you covered!! (Check 'em out at Barneys. Sorry I'm not facilitating this transaction with the ease of linking to Barneys. LOL)







Sugar Kisses.

P.S. My stupid b.l.o.g.g.er (bleuch!! excuse me) didn't work yesterday and late Sunday. I was really trying to be diligent and my plans were thwarted.

spring bling

After a long, but exciting day playing a younger¹ Ms. Marple trying to decipher the dynamics of the NY fabric/leather district, I was happy to spend sometime with a lovely friend last evening. When we'd met to catch up in early February, we couldn't help gushing about our fave new (shoe) obsessions. It turned out we'd been ogling the exact same pair of shoes. Not only that, we were very particular about the color: it had to be the rose-gold pair!! This bewitching pair of thong sandals by Giuseppe Zanotti (online at Eluxe, silver color at Zappos; in-store at the usual: Saks, Neiman's, Barneys, BG... there's a yellow-gold color as well). With spring² hovering in the air, I can't help a feverish excitement that I — or, we both :) — will be sporting these gorgeous puppies soon!!

Now if you know anything about me, you'd know that one of my fave pieces of accessory is a pair of thongs!! No, not that kind. Oh well, actually, that kind³ too. *invisible blush on my brown skin :)* But I mean the thongs you wear on your feet!! Anyway, you'd think that (me) being short, I would be teetering on heels always, yeah?? Not really. I only pretend to be chic and sport four-inch heels on occasion.⁴ My friend, of whom I speak however, she wears heels very elegantly 24/7!!

For lack of a better excuse, it's just that I love love (flat) flipflops/thongs. It seems every spring/summer I'm looking for a new decadent pair. Last year, it was this oh so chic pair; along with two pairs of the same thin-strapped gold thongs from Nordstrom, for thirty bucks a pair. These shoes have since gone into hiding (= I can't find them) for a variety of reasons: stupid winter weather and more importantly, my cleaning lady's highly effective "cleaning" tactics.⁵ Natch, Nordstrom doesn't have them any more, but I'm determined to find some equally cheap and lovable pairs as soon as I can.
Or... dig up my old pairs.
Whichever comes first.
Actually, the pair I'm on about practically resemble this pair of Zanotti's (Saks online), but without the bling. I quite like this pair too. On the other hand, you wouldn't believe it, but the only thing standing between me and this Zanotti pair in particular is the larger crystal detail at the start of the thong strap. For some inexplicable reason, I find it just irritating. Well, there's also the small matter of my meager finances; but I'm pretty gifted at ignoring that fact. I think if I did buy a pair, I'd be looking for a cobbler to remove the irreverent stone :). Picky!! picky!! I know.

Lest, I fool you into thinking I've learnt to curb my insatiable greed, I also adore this Valentino pair (Neiman's online). In fact, I simply can't wait till the end of the month, when there'll be tons more sandals in the shoppes. Then I can plot which pairs I'll grab at the sales rack in July-August!!






Shimmery kisses.


Footnotes:
1. I'd say a younger and "chicer" version of Ms Marple :). Meanwhile, the idea that I'm equating myself with an old spinster is slightly troubling, but I won't make too big a deal of it. LOL.
2. I know I've jinxed it already. Expect the return of cold crappy weather in the northeast. *shame-faced*
3. I've had many a friend (sexes undisclosed) wonder at the extent of my thong undergarments collection, with a seeming lack of other forms of — ahem — knickers. "Isn't it just easier to do thongs??" I ask. In the first place, how do these said friends come into knowledge of my underwear habits?? *quizzical frown* I don't even know. I have to check my friends from now on...
4. Such auspicious occasions arising when I have to be in company of unforgiving fashion critics and when I'm kissing up to tall boyssss :)
5. I marvel at my cleaning lady's ability to force me into an unwilling game of hide-and-go-seek with her misplacement of every possible thing in my apt during cleaning!! I quite understand her strategy: Put everything in the wrong place, so I (myself) can mess everything up more quickly as I look for a dress or tube of lipstick, then she gets called back quicker for another "cleaning" session. Seriously!! But, I just can't seem to break the cycle.
Yet.
It's on now.

thank you

I've gotten lots of positive encouragement from lots of different people. After my treatment sessions — I suffer from diphthophobia (fear of actively responding to messages) LOL, I want to take time out to thank as many of you as possible, individually. I really do. While I seek help for this sadly incapacitating dysfunction, I'd like to thank you from the very bottom of my hollow heart. I really do appreciate that you take the time to send me such inspiring and occasionally, well thought-out notes. I can only imagine how busy some of you must be, so thank you very much indeed.



Big lip smacking kisses on each cheek.
Treat yourself to a sugar-dripping confection of your very own choice.

sugar, spice and chai lattes dresses

Is that title even funny/pun-ny??!!
No, not remotely.
Sitting alone in the deliciously heady warmth of one of my fave petit Boston restaurants, JER-NE, — its strong suit being, not in the least, its ideal location for my beloved solitary art of people-watching¹ whilst munching on the most perfect green salad — I was nostalgic for spring. It'd been a very cold February day; it was an even colder evening.

To be certain, while the scene for this post was building up in my head, I thought it not only pretty, but rather clever.
Now, not so much.
My brain concocted a seemingly charming play-on-words in which a beautiful woman is wearing a dress reminiscent of a piece from Richard Chai's Fall 2008 collection (NY)... The evening breeze ripples through her dress and occasionally lifts curly wisps of her thick black hair (if she were me, hair extensions LOL)... She swirls a glass of Cabernet sauvignon a cold Chai latte (ooh clever!!) in her (right) hand... Her bare feet trace the annuli of the wooden planks... She's happily immersed in her surroundings, but very much in her own world... on the veranda of a shabby chic bistro.
Really, it was a lovely scene... Ah, well.

[Back to reality]
Perhaps, 'twas the easy lightness of some of the pieces in his recent Fall collection — especially the latter dresses and blouses in the collection — but I couldn't help an intoxicating adoration for Richard Chai. With such airiness, it was as though life couldn't get any more perfect; that I couldn't possibly have anything to fear. A silly righteousness emanates from within, however: I'd need a wrap the thickness of ten blankets to go with my outfit in cold-wretch Boston!! Thank goodness he also showed lots of sweaters and coats. Still, I couldn't care less. I'm in love with Richard Chai's designs. Each piece offers an elegant simplicity that gives one rein to play it up or down. Additionally, the essence of femininity that every gyrl craves is cleverly crafted into each piece, it's stupidly irresponsible not to give it a second or fifth look (even as you debate the price-worthiness of said eye-catching piece). Yes, dear Richard belongs to that clique of new young twenty to thirty-something designers that think it just dandy to have four-digit price tags on their dresses!!

Appreciatively, Chai's designs are demurely sexy and classy: the prototype for a classic chic piece. Prior to launching his eponymous label in 2004 to great reviews, Chai worked for Geoffrey Beene, Marc Jacobs, Donna Karan and TSE. Indeed, he reportedly helped Marc Jacobs launch his celebrated line. His Asian/Korean heritage is earnestly epitomized in his work. There's a minimalist, unconventional aproach to his designs that upon closer inspection reveals intriguing detailing and intricacy in cut and construction lines: cartridge pleats, quilting, origami folds etc. Again, it's the understated refinement and sophistication for which I live everyday and love so much.

If you remain unmoved by Richie's clothes, perhaps, his handsomely boyish looks will melt your unwieldy ice-encrusted heart. I mean, isn't he just gorgeous??!! It's like an undeserved bonus: wearing a lovely dress made by such a cutey!! I read somewhere² that he was named one of People's Sexiest Men Alive in 2004.³ Yum!!
Richard Chai clothing is available at Barneys and Shop Jake.






Yummy kisses.



Footnotes:
1. Yes, I'm very much an observer. I quite enjoy sitting quietly on my own and especially musing over the fashion mishaps of common folk, even as I plot about righting such atrocities. *Laughter tinkle* Ahh... Thomas Hobbes was indeed correct, "Laughter is nothing else but sudden glory arising from sudden conception of some eminency in ourselves, by comparison with the infirmity of others." Okay I'm not just all awful. One of my facebook quotations also reads "Laughter is the closest distance between two people [before they kiss]. ~ Victor Borge revised by Yours truly. *Awww... how sweet*
2. I do not remember where, and I do not care to look it up. Ooops.
3. Sorry are there lists that enumerate the Sexiest People Not Alive... ummm Dead?? I don't mean to be dreary and unfeeling, but are there?? LOL.