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Want to whisk yourself away to a destination of your choosing? Now is your chance! Our friends over at Assouline have recently launched their new tome South Pole: The British Antarctic Expedition 1910-1913 by Christine Dell’Amore. To celebrate, the company has partnered with Small Luxury Hotels of the World for a contest of amazing proportions. [...]
This week has been a busy one for the book business, with two style-related tomes celebrated with cocktail-fueled signings and parties all over town.
First up was a Wednesday evening cocktail party at Decades to celebrate InStyle fashion director Hal Rubenstein’s 100 Unforgettable Dresses, a clever coffee table book that showcases 100 dresses that have made modern fashion history. The round up features a selection of both mainstream and not quite so gowns, shifts, slips and cocktail stunners — including Elizabeth Hurley’s safety pinned Versace from 1994, Michael Travis’s psychedelic sequined gowns worn by the Supremes in the late ’60s and Diane Von Furstenberg’s iconic wrap dress. Not only are the pictures beautiful and the history of each piece quite fascinating, but there is sage style wisdom to be learned from Rubenstein (duh, the man worked at the New York Times Magazine under legendary fashion editor Carrie Donovan, after all), too.
Our favorite lesson comes courtesy of a Christina Stambolian sweetheart neck number that Princess Diana almost didn’t buy, as she feared she’d have no place to wear it. Turns out it was the perfect sexy dress to be snapped in — smiling, none the less — after news came out of Prince Charles’s 1991 affair.
“Buy it and the where and when will come.”
Amen.
And last night, Christian Louboutin — the master of sole himself — was at Barneys in Beverly Hills signing copies of his just-released, namesake tome, which celebrates his 20th year in the shoe business. Published by Rizolli, the massive, 304-page pink book — which comes with an equally-as-large $150 retail price tag — chronicles the legendary French cobbler’s career through photos by David Lynch, a foreword by John Malkovich and personal glimpses into Louboutin’s beginnings and rise to one of the most recognizable names in the world of fashion and way beyond.
The signing itself brought out boldfaced fans including Lea Michelle, Dita Von Teese, who wore a pair of spiked leather Louboutin platforms, and actress/model Rosie Huntington Whitely, who sported pair of killer leather pants and sat in a corner, looking pretty.
Both books are deserving of a spot on your coffee table, not only because they look good but to prove that color, depth and history do in fact exist within glamourous items that are otherwise though of as completely frivolous.
Photos: From top, 100 Unforgettable Dresses by Hal Rubenstein; Rosie Huntington Whitely at Christian Louboutin’s Barneys-hosted signing soiree (courtesy of FilmMagic); Christian Louboutin’s self-titled monograph.
File this under fantasy gift we would kill to have. Assouline is releasing The Impossible Collection of Fashion this month by Valerie Steele, director and chief curator of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology. A gorgeous pink tome, the book contains one hundred of the most iconic dresses from the last century selected [...]
Mayday! Mayday! Pregnancy Awareness month starts, well, this May Day, Sunday, May 1st with an event hosted by local mega-mommies Anna Getty, Ali Larter, Brenda Strong and Amy Smart. And it is rumored that some of the chicest pregnant bellies in town with gather at Bergamot Station Arts Center in Santa Monica to be pampered, styled, fed and educated.
Organizers have designed a lineup jam-packed with entertainment, panel discussions with renowned pediatricians and doulas and a Pea in the Pod fashion show MC-ed by pregnancy style expert and ‘Bump It Up’ author Amy Tara Koch (read more about Koch’s ‘Bump It Up’ book party here).
Make sure to stop by Koch’s pregnancy style lounge, where she will outline fashion tips for pregnant figures. Expecting moms can expect to be treated to one-on-one styling sessions from Koch, but everyone can treat themselves to DC Cupcakes — made popular by the namesake show on TLC.
Another hot spot will be the Mommy Spa area. GreenBliss Eco Spa and Freshology will provide manicures, pedicures, facials and massages.
With all the expected excitement and stimulation, we hope no ones’ water breaks! If so, avoid saying “Mayday!” One would have better luck with Juno’s catch phrase, “Thunder cat’s a go!”
Pregnancy Awareness Month’s Fourth Annual Flagship Event is on Sunday, May 1st from 12pm – 4pm at the Writer’s Boot Camp building located in the Bergamot Station Arts Center (2525 Michigan Ave., Santa Monica). Admission is free.
With the holidays fast approaching, gift giving season is in full swing. And friends keep asking for our opinion on meaningful gifts that won’t break the bank. But in all honesty, we’re less-than-confident in our gift-giving skills (though we pride ourselves on our tour guide abilities) and have been majorly scratching our heads.
But last evening we wandered into Franklin Village’s Counterpoint Records and Books and the conundrum conclusion finally came to us in the form of some pretty fantastic used coffee table books.
Some may equate books-as-gifts to getting a disgusting Christmas sweater and a fruit cake. But we think they’re genius because when purchased correctly, they show the recipient that you really know them and their interests. Used books are even better because you either have to dig for the perfect one or wait for a certain title to jump out and remind you of your intended present-ee. Either way, totally thoughtful coming from friends and family; Magically romantic from a significant other.
And we found some totally giftable options at Counterpoint for only $25 each that would likely be well-received by any stylish gift-getter. Among them:
Retail Design by Otto Riewoldt: This impressive-looking hardcover showcases global shops including Herman Miller’s glass-walled furniture showroom in Chicago, Gorgio Armani’s sleek, minimalist Parisian boutique and Selfridge’s Buckingham Palace-esque, Manchester masterpiece. The title is currently selling for over $67 on Amazon.com.
Taschen’s Logo Design Volume 1: Taschen’s visual feast is a must-read for graphic design gurus with over 2,000 logos from 30 countries — many of which come with in-depth analysis. This baby retails for $39.99 on the publisher’s website.
Women’s Hats of the 20th Century by Maureen Reilly and Mary Beth Detrich: For the true fashion history buff, this photo-filled encyclopedia breaks down awe-inspiring headgear by era. Flipping through for only a moment made us seriously wish we would have asked more questions of our milliner grandmother when she was still around to answer them. This book is $12 more on barnesandnoble.com.
All books available (as of Tuesday night, at least) at Counterpoint Records and Books, 5911 Franklin Ave., Los Angeles. Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Monday 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. (323) 957-7965. counterpointrecordsandbooks.com.
[mappress]
She’s baaack. Shannen Doherty, a.k.a. Brenda Walsh from “90210,” has released a book called Badass: A Hard-Earned Guide to Living Life with Style and (the Right) Attitude. Honestly speaking, we have zero desire to read the book but we did find her top 10 badass lipstick shades excerpt rather useful among the 256-pages of…well, we have no idea.
Badass Lipstick Shades à la Brenda Walsh:
1. MAC Russian Red
2. Chanel Provocative
3. Bobbi Brown Silver Haze
4. Revlon Black
5. MAC Bombshell
6. Chanel Crazed
7. Chanel Mystery
8. L’Oréal Divine Wine
9. MAC Dare You
10. Nars Orgasm
“Roughing it is a standard room at the Hyatt,” is a quote oft used by my mother. So yeah, coming from that, you could say I’m a bit of a hotel snob.
I appreciate 800 thread-count sheets, a ridiculously overpriced breakfast and get grossed out if there is so much as a single stray hair that doesn’t belong to me on the bathroom floor. Which is why I’ve always loved staying at Luxury Collection properties (that is, back in the days when my father footed the bill. These days I’m more of a Comfort Suites/pull out bed/sleep in the car kind of gal. But ah, sweet memories never fade). And last night, Luxury Collection Hotels and Resorts hosted an intimate dinner at the SLS (one of their 75 properties) to fete a new Assouline-published collection of international destination guides.
The guides feature the best of the best in far-off locales such as Greece, Argentina and India. Think wineries worth checking out, museums that won’t bore you to death and local boutiques selling more than T-shirts and fanny packs. Each guide also comes with a destination-inspired cocktail recipe created by mixologist Greg Seider, who owns NYC hotspot Summit (his California cocktail creation, the Market Gimlit, features cucumber vodka and taragon-infused agave. Um, is it happy hour yet?).
And the Spanish booklet features an L.A. spin, too, in the form of recipes and some insidery-information by native Spaniard and SLS superstar chef, José Andrés — who stopped by last evening’s celebration to shoot the shit with guests wearing a Polo shirt and casual khakis.
Quite the salud, indeed.
The Luxury Collection destination guides, $140 for set of six. assouline.com
Makeup artist Riku Campo, who has painted famous faces including Anne Hathaway, Lauren Hutton and done major fashion spreads in Harper’s Bazaar, just launched his first beauty book: Best in Beauty, An Ultimate Guide to Makeup and Skin Care Techniques, Tools and Products.
The soft-cover tome is 287 pages of inspiration for everything from specific events (cocktail hour) to times of day (dusk) along with tips on choosing a bronzer, applying fake eyelashes and everything in between. There are even excerpts from dermatologists and local renowned face fixer Ole Henriksen on getting and maintaining that porcelain canvas we all covet.
In addition to Campo’s words of wisdom, his book contains some seriously stunning photography that will make you want to sit in your bathroom and play makeup for hours on end (and we aren’t just saying that because the work of frequent SSLA shutterbug Kiino Villand is included).
$24.99, simonandschuster.com
Dust off a space on your bookshelves, readers. Grace Coddington, Creative Director of Vogue and the lovable luminary of last year’s documentary The September Issue has just confirmed to WWD that she is working on a memoir. Coddington has procured former EIC of Men’s Vogue Jay Fielden to help write her book. This will be the second collaboration between the two, as Fielden helped with the writing and editing of Coddington’s 2002 book Grace: Thirty Years of Fashion at Vogue.
Coddington tells WWD that, “We’re just starting, and I think it’s going to be a really fun project. I’m hoping it’s going to be very rich in fashion history. It’s more than just about me.”
We eagerly await on pins and needles.
hidden;”>Must Have: Keel’s Simple Diary
I bought mine in lime green. Apparently choosing this color means that I A. Like moss; B. Am a snake; or C. Dislike golf. I am definitely not a snake. And I do like golf (mini-golf counts, yes?). So I guess that means I like moss. Well…okay.
Welcome to the Keel’s Simple Diary, Taschen’s entertaining twist on the everyday journal. Sold in lime green, brown, royal blue, red, orange, and yellow, the $15 diary is like journaling meets Mad Libs for adults. Each page has a multiple choice question on how your day was (A. A freakshow; B. A no-show; or C. A showdown), asks out of the ordinary questions including, “Something wicked you find awkwardly appealing?”; and contains interesting quotes such as, “Imagination is the foundation of reality.”
Invented by Philipp Keel — an artist, part-time L.A. resident and creator of the All About Us books I see every time I peruse Urban Outfitters’, uh, literary section — the Simple Diary was the author’s response to “having too much information and not enough meaning, and needing to remember what made him smile.” Keel felt the need for a diary that took users away from the technology and information overload of today’s society and prompted big thoughts like, what makes you happy and what would you say to the world (road rage incidents excepted), as well as some smaller stuff such as, are you at peace with your hair? (Present company says no…firm no.)
Admittedly, keeping a journal can be a difficult task to maintain — everyday reality can be uneventful, free time is hard to come by and, let’s be honest,it isn’t always easy to find something to write about. But the Keel’s Simple Diary makes it easy to write when you want and where you want—whether in bed or laying on a beach. It’s a great method for keeping track of your days and, if you’re lucky, learning some things about yourself along the way. — Rakhee Bhatt
Get one at a discount on amazon.com, and find out more about Keel’s Simple Diary here: simplediary.com.
