Source Information

A request has been made for me to include information about where the items on my inspiration board can be found.  Here you go:

Kitchen

Kitchenaid Mixer in Almond Cream

Le Creuset Dutch Oven in Dune

Savant flatware from Pottery Barn

Juliska Berry and Thread Dinnerware

All Clad Stainless Steel Cookware

Tava Round Charger from Pottery Barn

Living Room

Reata Counter Stool from Anthropologie

Illusorio Cabinet from Anthropologie

Open House Coffee Table from Anthropologie

Tolix Barstool from Pottery Barn

Burlap Deep Pocket Drapes from Pottery Barn

PB Comfort Square Slipcovered Sofa from Pottery Barn

Moroccan Pouf from Serena &Lily

"Victorian Oushak" Rug from Horchow

1900s Boulangerie Table from Restoration Hardware

Inspiration for the kitchen can be found in High Gloss a new online magazine.  Check it out!

Home Decorating Follow Up

The home decorating continues.  I recently purchased a dresser from IKEA, which has been assembled and placed inside my bedroom.  It's certainly not what I would call an investment piece--if I keep it for five years I will be beyond happy--but it solves a major storage problem, looks good with the other furniture and was in my budget (read: cost less than $250).  As soon as I can get the clothes off my floor and into the drawers, I will take a picture and post to the blog.

In the meantime, I've created a few inspiration boards for the living room and kitchen.  Over the next few years, as I slowly purchase pieces for my apartment, I will use this boards to help guide my purchases.  The kitchen is very much a "future" goal, because I obviously can't paint the cabinets in my rental apartment.  And while they sold me on granite counter tops, the Home Depot special that was installed is no where close to resembling the beautiful marble in the picture.  But some of the other pieces--the Le Creuset Dutch Oven in Dune and the Kitchenaid Mixer in Almond Cream--fit right in to the apartment as is.

Met Gala

The annual Met gala was last night in New York City.  I "went" to my first Met gala almost 6 years ago.  I was walking home from work on one of those "the weather is so amazing I love living in NYC" nights when I had a "stumble across major celebrity event" NYC moment.  Camped out at 83rd Street and 5th Avenue were hordes of paparazzi.  I stopped to ask what was going on and realized it was a major celebrity event.  Cool.

The Met gala celebrates the opening of an annual exhibit at the Costume Institute, which is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  The gala also raises money for the Institute.  Each year, the event gets bigger and bigger.  Vogue has been on board as a sponsor for the last few years. Anna Wintour controls almost every aspect of the event from the selection of the exhibit to the guest list to personally pairing designers with celebrities.  And Anna always wears Chanel couture.  This year was no different.

In fashion terms, it's been called the Oscars of the east coast.  And since no actual awards are given, I thought I'd hand out my own to the attendees.  Here goes....

Stella McCartney was a co-host of the event and many stars arrived wearing her designs.  The best is Gwyneth Paltrow.  I don't know what she's been doing lately, but sign me up.

And the worst is the designer herself.  I guess she saved all the good dresses for the celebrities.

The next award goes to the best dressed male editor from Vogue.  This is Vogue after all people, even the men have fun.  This is a tie between Andre Leon Talley and Hamish Bowles. 

Many siblings attended the event.  I have a sister and we grew up fighting over clothes, so I can appreciate the fact that these girls may have had to duke it out for their outfits.  Of course, only one person can win.  So here are the winners.

Olsen twins.  The win goes to Ashley.  Mary Kate has always had funkier taste, but even I can't get behind the red and green mess she has going on.

Best Fanning sister.  Not nearly as interesting as the Olsen twins, but their fashion choices, at least Elle's choice, are pretty crazy.  The win--by default--goes to Dakota.

There were several native Texans at the event--Beyonce and Solange Knowles for example--but only one can win the award for Best Dressed Texan and that honor goes to Tom Ford.  So.  Good.  Looking.

The ladies of Gossip Girl were also at the event.  The show is known for it's wardrobe, so it makes sense that the actresses are into high fashion.  Here they are in all their glory.  (Do you think Leighton Meester is jealous of the fact that Blake Lively is besties with Karl Lagerfeld?)

 

Sadly, only one can be Best Dressed Gossip Girl Star and that honor goes to Chace Crawford.

Not all awards are for the best.  The next award is for Worst Bridal Interpretation.  Perhaps they were inspired by the royal wedding?  This one is a tie between Fergie and Miranda Kerr.

Best Way to Make Everyone Forget About Kate Middleton's Alexander McQueen Dress goes to Gisele in Alexander McQueen.

Cutest Couple goes to Victor & Rolf.

Just kidding!  It goes to Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard.  Love them.

This is only a small portion of the dresses that graced the red carpet.  You can check out all the looks from the gala here.

Royal Wedding: The Dress

They said it was all about the dress, right?  Well, the dress sort of disappointed.

Kate Middleton looked very pretty.  As I said in my post yesterday she could have worn a sack and looked good.  Has she been eating the last few months?  Because her waist could not be any smaller.  But there was something about the dress and the hair that didn't quite cut it for me.  Where was the drama?  The silhouette was reminiscent of Grace Kelly's dress, which I love, but for some reason on Kate it seemed dated.  I had always thought of them as this great "modern couple" who eschewed tradition and formality and while the dress is less formal than some royal wedding dresses, it has a very 1950s Stepford wife quality to it.

I was right in guessing that she had chosen Sarah Burton as her designer.  We knew she would chose someone British.  Burton took over as the head of the British label Alexander McQueen after the designer committed suicide last year.  In selecting McQueen though (over less well known British designers who do lots of work with the royal family), I had expected that Kate Middleton would use the wedding as her launch pad into serious fashion icon status.  Of all the designers in the world and even all the couture designers in the world, McQueen is the most high fashion.  His shows were known for their theatrics.  This is what you expect of a typical McQueen dress:

This is what you can expect from a McQueen wedding dress.

The craftsmanship that goes into making these dresses is amazing.  Every detail is hand sewn.  The embroidery alone can takes months to complete.  You have to imagine that money was no object when designing her dress.  Couldn't she have done something a little more dramatic?  Something like this:

 

Or this:

Even if you tone it down I would have liked to have seen her in something like this:

Or this:

Other royal brides have stayed conservative yet dramatic:

Best dressed at the wedding goes to Kate's sister and maid of honor Pippa who looked gorgeous and also wore McQueen.

Honorable Mention goes to Princess Beatrice for even daring to wearing that hat.

Iconic Wedding Dresses

The royal wedding is upon us!  I will be watching at home with my sister Erin.  We're going to drink tea and eat scones to celebrate the special occasion.  The whole thing--from the fairly tale story of the commoner who meets a prince, falls in love and becomes a princess--is very exciting, but to be honest, the thing I (and I would wager most girls) are most excited about is Kate's dress.  What will she wear?  Who is the designer?  Tiara or no tiara?  These are all such important, pressing questions, no? 

I'm even participating in a contest to see who can sketch a dress that is most similar to the actual dress Kate wears.  I'll be sure to include the sketch when it is complete.

But really when you think about it, what Kate chooses to wear has the possibility to change the way brides dress for years to come.  Her day-to-day attire is fairly conservative, but stylish.  And she has a great figure.  They could put a sack on her and it would look good.  But I have high hopes that she will choose something stunning.  Other royal brides and celebrities have made choices that became what we would consider iconic.  Will Kate's choice?  In anticipation of the potential iconic status of Kate Middleton's wedding dress, I thought I'd take a look at some other iconic dresses in history.

Queen Victoria: The one that started it all.  After she chose white for her wedding, brides everywhere started wearing the now symbolic color.

Princess Diana: Not what I would have chosen, but definitely fit for a princess.  I'm pretty sure Cinderella's dress was based on it.

Princess Grace of Monaco:  It doesn't get any better than this one.  Almost 60 years later, it still looks gorgeous.

 
Carolyn Bessette Kennedy: She proved that simplicity can be best.  And put Narciso Rodriguez on the map.