Tripping the Light Fantastic

photo the style bar 2011

Transeasonal travel is a peculiar animal. One the one hand you still need some kind of jacket, scarf and covered shoes to keep your extremities warm – but not too warm – but on the other you don’t want to find yourself sweltering in jumpers by day or shivering in sundresses by night.

When travel is added to the mix that’s when it really gets interesting. You can’t just throw in a few extra ‘in-case-of-emergency’ items because you simply don’t have the space, but at the same time you don’t want to rely on good weather to get by with a few light tops & the famous – yet highly optimistic – sundress & strappy sandals combination. After all, when the sun goes down you want to be shivering with delight at the company & surrounds, not because you haven’t brought enough to wear.

So as I strolled the European high streets recently (with enough buds on trees and sea air wafting by on the breeze to lull one into a completely false sense of spring security), I was quite pleased to see that my picks for spring started to form themselves quite nicely into exactly the sort of smart, stylish, practical yet fun capsule wardrobe that would be perfect for a weekend away.

photo the style bar 2012

Herewith my choices for the perfect spring overnight bag:

1. BRIGHTLY COLOURED AMERICANO – no, not a long black coffee (although that is actually what it’s called in Spain!) but Spanish fashion-speak for a single-breasted blazer. This old favourite has made a comeback this year in fun, look-at-me colours like red, turquoise, fuschia pink, white – even spots and pin-striped! Okay, and the ubiquitous black or navy for the colour or pattern-shy…

Travel-worthy because: A smart option for in-between temperatures and equally at home by day or night. And because it’s not bulky you can take it on and off with ease as the need dictates – stick it into your overhead locker en route to your destination or pop it on if it gets cool in the car/train/cabin. Then, once at your destination, you can sling it over your arm or the back of your chair as you walk around or enjoy an alfresco lunch, or pop it over your shoulders when you feel a chill in the air…

2. WEDGES – of course no wishlist of mine would be complete without a pair of new season wedges! But they are well and truly with us for the long-haul, and there are tons of options about in everything from pastel suedes to primary patents. For me, I am going for a raffia-trimmed slingback  in colour-blocked cream, navy and orangey-red.

Travel-worthy because: Totally comfortable, easy to slip on and off, and perfect for an afternoon spent walking about on cobblestoned streets or for strolling along the beachfront at sunset…

3. SOMETHING SPOTTY, FLORAL or STRIPED – to add some pop to your weekend outfit that will work for day or night, go for big or small polka-dots in a blouse, a striped tee or floral dress. Whatever works for your style and shape and colouring – but make it colourful!

Travel-worthy because: you are only away for a day or two so won’t get sick of something with a pattern, and this smartens up a plain blazer/pant or skirt combo nicely whilst boosting the spirits at the same time…

4. PENCIL SKIRT – Mad Men is back & these sexy babies from winter have luckily not gone away. Great for just about any shape, by day they work really well with flats or wedges, and at night you simply swap the more casual shoe option for a pair of pumps or high-heeled boots – smart and stylish!

Travel-worthy because: very smart & figure-flattering and the perfect ‘what-the-hell’ item – & just because you are away from home doesn’t mean you have to be sensible or casual! And surprisingly easy to mix & match…

5. METALLIC BANDOLERA – this is simply Spanish for a small shoulder bag with a strap that fits across your body. The new season metallics, python and croc prints and studded leather mean there is something out there for just about every taste and budget.

Travel-worthy because: not only stylish and compact but pretty much mugger-proof! And leaves your hands free for almost any short-break activity eg. rummaging through market stalls, balancing a drink and some cheese in each hand in a local bar or whilst wine-tasting, or should you decide to hit the dance floor at night!!

photo the style bar 2012

So there you have it – the perfect transeasonal travel capsule wardrobe. Add to this a few trusty basics – a plain tee, a singlet top, your favourite pair of jeans (coloured denim is HUGE this season too!) or denim skirt, a pair of ballet flats or lace-up sneakers (Bensimon-style) & a trusty scarf et voila!!! – baggage handler proof! Will all fit into carry-on or on your person or into the boot of the car…

Happy (travel) styling!

Rubi

I Dream of Deco

photo www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr

Ladies and gentleman, I have found my dream apartment.

Well, okay, it’s not just any apartment, but the show-stopping private apartments of super stylish French couturier Jeanne Lanvin.

It was designed for her at the height of the Art Deco period in 1924-25 by French designer & architect Armand-Albert Rateau, and presently sits lock, stock and magnificent barrel in the Musée de les Arts Décoratifs in Paris.

It all happened quite by accident (or not, depending on your philosophical view of the world) one sunny winter’s day in Paris.

photo the style bar 2012

I had just taken in the delightful ‘Les Histoires de Babar’ (the super cute elephant) exhibition at the Museum (on until Sept 2012!), and had some time to kill before meeting a friend for lunch.

I decided to use the time to peruse some of the other floors where the permanent exhibitions are housed – after all, it’s the fine arts museum and well known for its Art Deco and Art Nouveau furniture and homewares – as it happens, my favourite design periods.

photo www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr

Little did I know the wonderful surprise in store for me until I arrived at the level where the rooms are currently ‘housed’.

photo www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr

And there they were, in all their glory. The colour palette is breathtakingly simple: gold, white and black with touches of white and sand, all underpinned by the famous shade of ‘Lanvin Blue’, chosen by the designer after being inspired by the ‘quattrocento’ blue of Italian art and nature.

photo www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr

Everything has been chosen and executed with exquisite, spare but incredibly complex detail – the bird, animal and marine life motifs that finish off the black lamps, mirrors and bathroom fittings; the silk drapes that fall silently but sumptuously to the floor; the tiles and rolling screens that speak volumes about the sheer decadence – but at the same time spectacular simplicity – of the Art Deco period.

photo www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr

The rooms used to reside in all their glory in Lanvin’s hotel particulier on the Rue de Barbet-de Jouy. When the building was sold by her descendants they were donated to the Museum and moved to the Art Deco floor where they remain today, testament to the talent and vision of both the designer and the couturier.

photo www.victorianweb.org

I can honestly say that for me it was one of those rare occasions that changes you forever, blowing your mind and leaving you with a fresh perspective on all the creative possibilities out there, just waiting to be unleashed and experienced.

I don’t know how long I spent peering through the glass windows, going from one room to the next and back again, each time picking up some new gorgeous detail I had not spotted before, a grin from ear to ear at the thought that I had found such joy by chance in a yet another small but fabulous corner of the world.

photo www.coletterie.com

Needless to say I came away totally inspired to learn how to create spaces like that myself as soon as possible, and almost ended up being late for lunch! But well worth the excited rush that followed (and I made it on time )

Happy (interior) styling!!

Rubi

Big Dreams, Small Pleasures

photo the style bar 2011

If you think that the modern day department stores have lost their magic, think again. Or at least, take a trip to Paris before you decide once and for all*.

For whilst many modern versions are far removed from Aristide Boucicaut’s original vision of a place for the city’s bourgeois women to indulge their fantasies (and run up store expense accounts) with goods available to them from all over the world under one glamorous roof, in ‘les grands magasins’ the dream is very much alive and well.

photo the style bar 2011

I don’t know what it is that sets them apart as such. For me it’s the combination of a number of things: the quiet hush that greets me as I open the heavy door, sealing off the noise and bustle of the busy street behind me as the doorman says ‘Bonsoir Madame’; the sparkle & scents that cocoon me as I wander down the aisles past the makeup counters (always placed on the ground floor as one enters to make you feel reassured & excited by the promise of affordable luxury) before heading for the escalators to the floors above.

photo the style bar 2011

I never really spend up big on one of these visits. In fact, I rarely buy anything at all. I am simply content to spend a quiet hour or two lost amongst beautiful things, taking in the atmosphere and peculiar hush that only truly beautiful department stores (or museums!) seem to possess. I am hardly the ideal customer I’ll grant you, but I am a loyal one if that should count for anything.

photo the style bar 2011

I find this sense of refuge to be especially true in a big foreign city like Paris: for whatever adventures and encounters that have taken me out of my comfort zone in the hours preceding, I find ‘les grands magasins’ the ideal place to find my centre again, regain some semblance of calm and poise and then emerge, nose freshly powdered, ready to face the world again.

photo the style bar 2011

If you find this all totally over-the-top delusional and romantic, fine. You may prefer the spectacle of the annual Christmas windows taking place on the outside of the store.

This year in Paris, Printemps enlisted the talents of Karl Lagerfeld to create ‘Noël Rêves d’Évasion’. Absolutely living up to its name (‘Christmas, Dreams of Escape’) it is an indulgent, festive exercise in pure escapism if ever I saw one.

photo the style bar 2011

All done in that elegant – yet somehow hilarious style – for which we love Karl so much! I love the way he is taking shots of us taking shots of him – who is watching whom?

photo the style bar 2011

I never know if he is making fun of the audience or himself (although I suspect I can guess)

photo the style bar 2011

Or, if still none of that interests you, it is worth it just to take a trip to the rooftop terrace to take in the view…

photo the style bar 2011

I am sure we can agree on this last point at least

photo the style bar 2011

Happy (grands magasins) styling!!!

Rubi

*Or New York, London, or even David Jones in Sydney for that matter

**Credited with opening the world’s first department store, Le Bon Marché, in 1838.

The Rain in Spain

photo the style bar

Believe it or not, I am actually looking forward to the rainy season this year. Of course, once you find out the reason for this uncharacteristic pronouncement, you will not be at all surprised – as it would clearly have to be something style related to make me say such foolish things.

You see, I have a new rain hat – my first grown up rain hat even (thank you to the ever stylish Spanish duo behind Bimba y Lola) – and I can’t wait to wear it.

photo courtesy www.bimbaylola.es

How cute is this?!! And practical too – you can see why I could not resist…

I am sure rain hats were de rigueur fashion items in Australia even into the 70s, but when I was at school the only rain hat I ever wore was fluorescent yellow and had an elastic band that fitted tightly under my chin. Not cool under any circumstances. Ever.

But now I find – and for me this concept is rather uniquely European (although having said that they would SO do it in Japan!) – it is possible to take an item born of necessity and turn it into one of style.

photo the style bar 2010

(Mind you, how could you not be inspired to wear a rain hat if this was outside waiting for you?!)

And why the hell not? If it means the wearer does not have to skulk around the streets fearing derisive looks, or risk catching a cold because they would rather go bare-headed than wear something that will protect their coiffure and maquillage et al from pesky raindrops.

And so at long last I can hold my rain-hatted head up high, and even be complimented in the street as I wear it!! So you can see why I am kinda keen to get it out for a road test asap

Happy (wet weather) styling!

Besos

Rubi

Wishful Thinking

photo the style bar 2011

If my recent forays up and down the high streets of Barcelona in the name of fashion research are anything to go by, this is shaping up to be one of those rare seasons where I think I already have the basics covered. Because pretty much all the key pieces I am seeing in stores I find I already have a version of in my wardrobe.

I have to say the accessories are proving to be the most interesting thing so far…

photo the style bar 2011

Rather than drawing attention to the fact that I may possibly have too many clothes if I have already got it sorted, I would prefer to think it of it as a happy confirmation of a combination of serendipity and savvy wardrobe building over past few seasons. Either that or retailers are playing it so GFC-safe right now that one can hardly tell the difference between this year’s racks and the last…

So, what are the things I have already got under my belt (or, hanging up, as it were)? Well, interestingly, some things are quite classic and others the kinds of things that come and go:

• Ballet flats
• Trenches
• Metallic/lurex tops
• Sequins
• Lace up shoes with chunky wooden heels
• Tailored pants
• Clutches
• Stripes
• Knits with elbow patches
• Long, loop around the neck scarves

photo the style bar 2011

Things that I don’t have but are very tempting*:

• Polka dots on bigger pieces like dresses & blazers
• Flat lace up shoes & loafers – or (my preferred) wedged or high-heeled versions…
• Python print  – on boots, pumps, clutches, everything! Too funky
• 40s-style dresses
• Huge rose prints
• Brown
• Tangerine

*the theory here is that these items will ‘inject some freshness into your wardrobe’ as they like to say in the fashion mags – aka things you can waste your money on because they need you to buy at least something new this season!!

Crazy things I am NOT going to be taken in by this year, having resisted them last season – or am I…?? This may refresh your memory:

Mango Pdg Nov 2010 - photo the style bar 2010

• Shaggy jackets & vests – the rock chick within never dies *rolls eyes*
• Triangular shaped (read: shapeless) mini tunics with big sleeves – in that Mary Quant/Pierre Cardin/Mondrian-inspired vein
• Feather plumed dresses & skirts – sounds crazy I know, but this year the irony factor is amped up in lol Elmo pink & Cookie Monster blue – so much fun!!

So go on and have a look out there for yourself and see how you fare in the got it covered vs. still so many gaps to fill stakes – and remember: if you have to think about it, then you probably don’t need it!! But it’s always fun to look…

photo the style bar 2011

Happy styling,

Rubi