Despite the fact he was married at least thrice and mostly sounds like a old womanizing trout, Hugh Grosvenor – 2nd Duke of Westminster, was one of the biggest romantics ever. In 1925, he was introduced to Coco Chanel after a party in Monte Carlo and passionately pursued her. It is said that once he hid a huge uncut emerald at the bottom of a crate of vegetables for her. Another story says that he showed up at Chanel’s apartment with an enormous bouquet of flowers and was only recognized after Coco’s assistant tried to hand “the delivery boy” a tip.

His most extravagant display of affection?

The dear Duke had her entwined initials placed on lampposts on the Grosvenor estate in Central London.  (This story is denied by the Grosvenor estate even today, but the lampposts still stand, whispering the truth.)  He was Chanel’s lover until 1930, however marriage was not on the cards for Gabrielle. She apparently declined, reasoning: “There have been several Duchesses of Westminster. There is only one Chanel.”

For the last three years or so, the fashion world has been braid crazy. Now, plaits have just gotten even wilder, with this concept from French hair stylists Studio Marisol, in conjunction with the Spanish creative agency CuldeSac.

Hair bonnets, obviously the next step up from Lady Gaga’s hair bows. I like them a lot! The images are part of a promotion for ‘Crazy Hair’, a styling workshop to be held at Domaine de Boisbuchet in August.

[via dezeen]

María Félix (1914 – 2002) was a Mexican actress, one of the icons of Mexico’s golden age of movies. Known as La Doña after her 1943 role in Doña Bárbara, Félix was ultra-flamboyant, elegant and universally loved in her home country. She loved serpents, collecting art and jewellery, and in her later years became a racehorse owner. Here’s 5 fancy facts about “the most beautiful face in the history of Mexican cinema”:

1. She made 18 films during the 1940s, and continued working in the Mexican film industry until 1970. By then she had completed 47 movies – including  She also worked in Spain, Italy and France – but not the States as she wasn’t interested in learning English.

2. A fantastic example of Félix’s flamboyancy and love of reptilian style:

One day in 1975 she walked it to Cartier unannounced with a live ‘gator on a leash (or two babies in a bowl, depending on the source you believe) – for the jewellers to copy from. The necklace that resulted was in the shape of two crocodiles. Each body made from 524.9 grams of gold, one covered with 1,023 fancy yellow diamonds, while the other was adorned with 1,060 circular cut emeralds.

3. Out of her 4 marriages, she was made a window twice. She had one son, Enrique, with her first husband. Upon their divorce, Enrique was kidnapped by his father – and then rescued by a feisty Félix and her second husband.

4. In 1949, María’s one time lover Diego Rivera painted a portrait of her, which she hated. She did kept it for years, until selling it to the Mexican singer Juan Gabriel. Note the serpent bracelet – just like the one in the picture above.

5. She hobnobbed in wealthy and influential circles her entire life, and enjoyed the finer points of fashion. In1984 she was nominated in France and Italy as one of the world’s best-dressed women; and was wooed by men all over the world, including King Farouk of Egypt. My kingdom for an evening?

Two recent street style faves:

Gorgeous Natalie was snapped in her pea green coat by Vanessa Jackman, while the lad in the purple was captured by Glamcanyon. I’m hooked on the ‘Uniqlo’ aesthetic – simplicity, cheeky block colours and confidence.

Hej! If you think about it for a couple of minutes, I’m sure you’ll agree with me that when it comes to the finer things in life, Sweden often pulls it off better than most. Design, pop music, meatballs and typography for starters!

To boot, some of the best blogs published today originate from Scandinavia, especially in the realm of fashion, interiors and object design. Below are my Swedish bloggy picks – most of them are written in English (oh you multilingual dreams) but if not, the Google translator is helpful.

ANNE’S FOOD: Swedish cooking-eating-enjoying blog written by Anne from Stockholm. There are a lot of recipes on the site but I really enjoy the “Traditional-ish Swedish Recipes” category – populated by exciting  edibles such as Daim Cookies and Dammsugare.

CAMILLA ENGMAN: Since 2007 Engman has been sharing her witty illustrations & artwork, thoughtful photography and adventures with her little dog. Simply charming.

EMMA’S DESIGNBLOGG: A blog with an emphasis on stylists and photographers (concepts = good), rather than shopping and products (stuff = not sustainable). I can’t wait to visit Stockholm and use her comprehensive city guide.

FASHIONSQUAD: A nice blog which does what it says on the box – fashion, fun, inspiration, big time dreams.

HELLO TIGER!: Tiger shares her recent decor and design finds and posts great DIY tutorials (she also writes for Swedish ELLE Interiör). I liken her blog to a really excellent pick n’ mix lolly section – bright and sugary favourites and a few new treats to try.

KONSTBOK: I adore Emilie Björk’s blog for its captivating photography, music recommendations and the ‘everyday-moments-in-Gothenburg’ style narrative.

KARIN ERIKSSON: Erikkson is a noted designer/maker of ceramics. Here she blogs her “inspirations and my thoughts on topics such as beauty, patterns and things”. This is one of her gorgeous Signe beakers, crafted for tea, which will no doubt leave you wanting to know where she gets her ideas from:

SANDRA JUTO: Sandra is an illustrator, photographer and knitter. She shares her life through beautifully composed daily photographs: coffee, sign-writing, snow, lamps. Reading her blog makes you appreciate the simple things in life.

SWEDES PLEASE: Swedes Please is the definitive Swedish music blog! Definitely worth a browse because Swedish indie is some of the best in the world. As an aside, my favourite Swedish bands are Loney, Dear, I’m From Barcelona, The Hives, and Air France.

Are there any sneaky Swedish favourites that you think I should add to the list? I’d especially like to read some written by men. Or perhaps there is another country that seems to crop up in your RSS reader time and time again? Please share with the class.

Happy Chinese New Year everybody! Hopefully you celebrated with a load of fireworks and copious helpings of steamed buns. Celebrate some more if you’re in Auckland - the annual Lantern Festival is on in Albert Park next weekend. It’s always magical.

As you all know it’s now the year of the Tiger. Raowr!

In the case that we (hello, me), have become complacent in the last 6 weeks with our goals, the lovely Tiger has given us a fresh start, yippee! It’s a chance to reenergize and remember what you want to do this year. Whether or not le tigre is the animal of your birth year, can you please do me a favour? That is, remember it is YOUR year. Get out there and take it all on, even if it mean getting up every morning and playing Eye Of The Tiger by Survivor really really loudly to pump some energy into your system before skipping off to school or work.

Risin’ up, straight to the top
Have the guts, got the glory
Went the distance, now I’m not gonna stop
Just a man and his will to survive

It’s the eye of the tiger, it’s the cream of the fight
Risin’ up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night
And he’s watchin’ us all in the eye of the tiger.

Okay? Okay!

A couple of shots from a video shoot I worked on (styling and assisting) with this gorgeous girl! Can’t wait to see everything minus the green screen of death, and share the finished product.

Way back when I was 6-years-old, I received this Babar The Elephant diary as a gift. An any year diary, it appears that I have been waiting almost 20 years to find the perfect one. There’s not even a single pen mark in the book! I guess it goes to show I have always had the fear of ‘ruining’ beautiful notebooks with silly scribbles.

While I want-want-wanted a pack of 12 colourful Moleskines, I can’t really justify spending that much on stationery when I have so many blank books lying around the house – plus Babar is mighty cute.

Any year? Now is good!

This sums up my aim for 2010 – more conscious consumerism, more reuse/recycling and of course, more charm. It’s important that we all think about how we can impact the world less, by reexamining discarded objects and previously loved good, but at the same time BRING THE CUTE.

Some of the nice things I've worn/bought this year. Highlights included going wild in Urban Outfitters & Uniqlo(!), the world's most expensive headband from Mimco in Melbourne, a beautiful vintage dress I bought in Manchester and THE JACKET, from Beacon's Closet in NYC.

A new year often triggers a desire to start new habits, try fresh looks and generally buck trends!

Because of the perceived demarcation of time, it’s a good time to set goals and resolve to do thing differently. In particular I like the New Year for reassessing my style for the year ahead – it’s mid season too, so you have a wee bit of thinking and preparation time.

In 2009 my personal fashion resolutions were:

- To wear lipstick more often… VICTORY.

It’s fair to say I met my cosmetic soul-mate this year. ChiChi’s range of lipsticks are infallible and can withstand all the making out and wineglasses you care to subject your lips to. On the colour front I favoured a bright cherry red and a shade of watermelon for the evening; and a neutral pink shade called Blonde Bombshell for the day.

- To buy a pair of Frye boots… FAIL.

I tried, I really did. Something about selling out in my size. However I did buy the boots of my dreams – those chestnut Progetto riding style boots.

- To wear my Chucks less (to work)… SEMI-SUCCESS.

Well,  let’s see the first half I was away a lot, hence no work. I acutally recall wearing Chucks on the Great Wall of China! After I went freelance there was a lot more jandal/barefoot/slipper time.

- To go to the gym more often (3x a week)… FAIL.

Turns out I don’t enjoy going to the gym if it’s more than 10 minutes walk from my house. I’ve also travelled a ton this year – 2 months away. Ah! Excuses!

- To wear more hats… VICTORY.

Berets, sunhats and more… I even bought one at Urban Outfitters.

Did you keep your style resolutions or goals for 2009? Are you making any for the new decade?

Vogue’s More Dash Than Cash by Kate Hogg was first published in 1982. Despite a vintage of almost 30 years, it’s an incredibly relevant and straightforward guide to looking good on a budget.

“Making the effort to look striking costs very little – a fresh attitude and energy are more vital than money”.

After a chipper and suitably stirring introduction, the book covers the following areas:

• An Individual Style
• Wardrobe Tactics
• The Classics
• Outside Inspirations
• The Alternatives
• Reading Fashion Pictures
• Inside Style
• Characters In Fashion

Here’s some of my favourite spreads:

Intriguingly, a lot of the looks feel like they could have been shot yesterday – think bloggers in high waisted denim cut offs and Doc Martins; or the latest  lStolen Girlfriends-esque Prairie girl look. And oh! Are those some moccasins I spy? (Above in the last shot). New York was going mad for those when I was there last month. Ah, isn’t it funny how the wheels of fashion turn.

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