a modern past
vargas on flickr.com
Renée Perle by Jacques Henri Lartigue
bonjour mes amis, i hope you’re having a fabu sunday. it’s pretty great around here cause it’s officially a day off! we’ve already been for a stroll, swim and shower, made brunch at home and have the rest of the day to play! funny that for the first itme in a long while my choice of activities is the computer. i’d been avoiding it like the plage for the past few weeks. after working full days i couldn’t even take the light of it by night.
jean henri lartigue
but with things finally straightening out, it feels a lot lighter and my little silver box can be used for fun again, not just the grind. whew! so today’s new and fresh but my obsession with the 20s for the past few days continues. since i’m not one to censor myself, i’m just letting it free flow, saving and posting pics i hadn’t seem before from a time that still intrigues me.
is it the glamour, the sleek and modern look that still seems so new?
it’s funny cause you can really see a shift from the teens and early 20s into what we see from ’25 on.
JacquesHenri-Lartigue bibi and dani in nice
bibi in cannes
changes in dress, attitude, a defiance of society and convention.
josephine baker
i’m really getting into the subtleties of the decade. i love how you can see changes year by year just by the silhouette.
i
i love to go back in time thru ads. this one from louis vuitton shows the way we traveled.
it was so all about the well dressed woman.
the era seems surreal but somehow the ads for hermes and chanel, et al, make it more tangible. people really did life this elegant and cutting edge life we romanticize. (or i do).
chanel 1929
details de la mode Henry_Fournier_1928
ways to tie scarves
Sonia Delaunay patternpulp.com
and the people were real. it’s so easy to create a caricature of the era with flapper costumes and dances.
but these were muses who ran paris and the planet!
it’s still just the surface but it was fun to dig a little deeper into some of the legends that are still household names today.
i
but who i know so little about!
i have to admit i had no idea kiki posed for man ray.
well that’s my lil’ indulgence for today. it’s a lot later than when i started and we have a party to get to.
hope you have a summery sunday night and enjoy whatever you’re up to!
pink vs blue
hi guys, happy saturday! i spent the past hour surfing and now and am late getting ready to go out. but it was almost worth giving up prep time for the eye candy on this delicious web. well, almost! i have to run but these pics were calling to come out and play (credits on my boards at pinterest).
i’m having a love affair with both pink and blue at the moment, kind of feeling like they balance each other out and are the perfect complements.
here’s wishing you a wonderful, playful, restful, joyful and love filled weekend filled with pretty pinks and baby blues.
there seems to be some magic in the air as our country gears up to celebrate an entire day devoted to LoVe.
you gotta love that. let’s enjoy it! have a great night!
beauty now and then
via trouvais.com
bonsoir mes darlings! it’s officially almost friday and i hope you had a great week. liz has been working with me the past few days and it’s made a world of difference. i’ve always done the business stuff myself but lately it’s taking up most of my time and there’s not much of it left for being creative.
via umla.tumblr.com/post/724872237/evies-what-i-love-love-via-my-ear-trumpet
but, then, that’s why pinterest.com was invented! it’s the fast track to shed the serious and step into the infinite world of gorgeous images collected from all over the web. i’ve mentioned it a few hundred times, but it’s truly my go to place when i just want to reboot my mind and am hungry for beauty and soul food. i have a few boards, you can see them here: pinterest.com/parisapartment. sorry, the link thing isn’t working on my laptop tonite for some reason and i’m too tired to fight with it.
via everythingstyle.com
so these are just a smattering of pretty pics that flashed by today.
via etsy.com/listing/53297706/glorious-wardrobe-4-x-6
via suchprettythings.typepad.com/my_weblog
via vogue-blog.com/?p=599
i couldn’t resist this last one cause everything we’re fascinated with seems to start with these gals: the flappers, grandmas and old school marie antoinette lovers who were beyond over the top, they were legends, icons and trendsetters in fashion, dance and decor. long forgotten but they wore these pretty dresses accented with feathers and fans, they imported antique beds and weren’t afraid to stand up for what they believed in whether it was to flash an ankle or fight to vote.
well that’s it for tonite. it’s after midnight and this turned into a seinfeld post! bonne nuit chere cheries!
parisian powder puff party at my place
bonsoir tout le monde! i hope you’re warm and cozy this winter night. i kind of took it easy today, feeling a little rundown and not terribly productive. but then, as they say at tara, tomorrow’s another day.
for now i just wanted to share a bit of fluff. nothing could be more insignificant in this day and age than powder puffs, but they’re something i happen to love and collect. the other day i was messing around at home, shooting my antique flapper’s fluffy powder puff and compact from a paris flea market. it’s tiny, the size of a 50 cent piece if that. it’s got a well worn leather cover, a mirror and little screen, an entire world on a key chain. the cherry on top is the goosedown puff that was still with it. i often wonder who she was and where she went in her doubtlessly fabulous life en paris in the 20′s when it was new.
i’m sure my pics of the puff would have ended up in a folder if this shipment hadn’t come in today. it started with house beautiful’s march issue which hails the power of all things pink. (you can imagine the color i was tickled when they called to include my powder puffs from paris).
look hard, squint if need be.
so i made an order to the tiny factory in france where they’ve been making these for many years. coincidentally, the shipment came in today. it was the first time to see them all together and it made my kind of crabby day a little lighter. (powder puffs cancel out negativity, apparently).
funny how puffs were de rigueur on any self respecting vamp’s vanity for decades. now they’re nostalgic but still so much fun, there’s something inherently playful about them. they bring out the diva and child in everyone.
of course it’s a great issue cause it’s loaded with pretty pink things. i indulged and shot these totally blatantly and probably completely illegally hey who’s watching?
pink just lights up a room, even if it’s just flowers.
even one pink piece adds a freshness
yum~
the issue has lots of great little images tucked throughout.
ticking!
ok well i’ve been messing with this for way too long. i’m going to cut out while there’s still some enchantment left to the evening. have a great nuit and think pink!
have we come a long way, baby?
do you feel like you were born in the wrong era? have you ever wanted to travel back in time? thank god for the invention of the time machine. (aka you tube)!
the twenties have always been my favorite time period of the last century, there just seemed to be so many artists, writers, designers, singers and talents that it’s almost surreal. since there’s so much interest in the era lately i thought i’d share some of the marvelous youtube videos from my collection of favorites.
kind of makes me wonder if our grandparents knew some things we didn’t. they never hesitated to roll up the rug and let ‘er rip! the charleston, the fox trot, they really knew how to get down! supper clubs, dinner and dancing, dressing up and enjoying life was their m.o.
of course life was hard but they sure made the best of it.
always with a sense of humor and a lot of style. but then they had some major muses.
i couldn’t let the era slip by without mentioning my favorite lady, josephine.
talk about throwing down and breaking the rules! well that’s what the 20s were all about. i kind of wish we could have the abandon that great gran and gramps had. to throw yourself wholeheartedly into a night on the town with all the glitter and glamour that it takes for an unforgettable evening. well, it’s saturday and i hope you’ve got a little of that going on yourself. me, i’m home and have spent way too much time digging these up but i do hope you enjoy them. have a great rest of the weekend!
flappers, dames & golddiggers of 42nd street
as a kid, one of my favorite things about weekends was watching old movies on sunday afternoons. my parents have a love of film and my first intro was around age 5 with my first busby berkeley film, 42nd street. the glamor, the era, the city! a new world came beaming through the screen and i was a little sponge.
today i’m watching golddiggers of 1939, another of his masterpieces i just found on my tivo. it’s so much fun to see how much we’ve changed yet are exactly the same. our grandma’s were so hot and so cool!
maybe it’s the economy but for the last few months the number one search term coming to my blog is ‘flappers’.
so for those who’d like a little slice of the life, check out his gorgeous films with classic songs and dances, brilliant dialogue and gorgeous fashion.
not to mention plenty of vamps and vanities :)
what a guy! quel vision!
as i was searching around i came across the film forum’s upcoming schedule. it’s almost worth moving back to the city for! maybe i’ll just use it as a guide. well this has taken a bit longer than expected cause i fell into a deep abyss but it was fun. hope you enjoy it too!
i cracked the lid
steven miesel via fabulousfindsandco.blogspot.com
yes, i took a quick peek into the abyss, i couldn’t resist before digging into the nightshift. you know how blogging makes me all happy and stuff. well, i clicked on a random day and just two links pulled onto just the ride i needed to recharge. this universe never disappointsl!
so this just a non sequitur from a free fall. hope you have fun where ever you’re headed!
Ziegfeld Girl
loveyourplace.blogspot.com/2009/08/vintage-vanities-old-hollywood-glamour_24.html
starletshowcase.blogspot.com/search/label/mirrors
flickr.com/photos/gatochy/400136275/in/set-72157594356254349/
flickr.com/photos/gatochy/sets/72157594356254349
flickr.com/photos/gatochy/3526176732/in/set-72157594356254349
it’s funny how this trail of breadcrumbs was all about flappers.
anyway, duty calls. i’m starting to see the light, sort of. the details never seem to end, i can’t wait to say, fini!
ok enough talk, work!
one heavenly night
hi everyone! i hope you’re having a splendid afternoon! i’ve been watching taped tcm films while i’m working, can you tell? two from the 30s and the flapper fashions are to die for! not sure about the story line, i’m barely paying attention but it’s set in budapest and a she’s queen for a day who gets to be wild and free!
imdb.com/one heavenly night (1931)
i’m home tonight working on a newsletter, logo and pr stuff for the launch…i can’t believe how much work has gone into ‘it’ but the tunnel is definitely lit and i’ll be blabbing about it soon. in fact if anyone wants to host a giveaway on their site, let me know, i need all the help i can get. and i promise to stop being annoyingly clandestine as soon as i can!
so since i’m home alone i can indulge in the ridiculous and take stills with my new iphone! (the most fabulous indulgence ever)! i thought i’d share a scene from the movie that just ended, born to dance (1936). this film was beyond surreal in that it had songs like ‘you’d be so easy to love’ and ‘i’ve got you under my skin’, but also a couple of buddy epsen numbers that border on disturbing! still, i can’t turn off an old film if i haven’t seen it (or even if i have), and it was worth it. as you can see, the fabulous broadway star has a dream apartment. but you really don’t know how it’s laid out till she takes this enormous glass teardrop and lobs it into the mirror surrounding the mantle!
it was actually aimed at him
mmmm mmmm mmm, i do love the 30s sets! even those built to be destroyed!
anyway i just wanted to say hi and thank you for checking in. i really appreciate your friendship and love knowing you’re there for me. me too you!
have a great sat nuit!
just when you think you’ve seen it all
there’s always someone and something new to discover. these adorable illustrations are by Leo Fontan, 1883-1965. i found them on flickr searching ‘risque french’ and just fell for them. It’s a set 6 that owner frank long found in a secret compartment of his grandfather’s desk. he believes they’re souvenirs of the Great War. i think they’re early flappers.
well, i have to a deadline but saw them knew you’d love them! do you know the artist? i didn’t. gonna google him now. ok, bonne nuit!
in the thick of it
a little flapper love for no reason at all~
hey guys, hope you’re home and chillin’ tonight! i actually have to have a report ready by tomorrow (i feel like i’m in high school), so i have to make this short and sweet. i have to thank fifi flowers for sending me this painting she made from one of my photos of paris last spring. fifi, you always put a little more color in the world!
parisapartment.wordpress.com/2009/05/05/the-flowerbox-project
(you can see the original post above)
ok well sorry to cut it short but a call is coming in…i better go! have a great nuit!
xoc
