j'adore dior

have you ever had your fortune told? in some parts of the world, fortune-telling is considered a sin…against the law even. this didn't stop christian dior from having his fortune told by a wise reader who urged him to accept an offer that launched the house of dior in 1946.

the war had ended the year before, so clothes were still scarce. women wore square-shouldered suits that had likely been mended once or twice. they wanted to feel young and beautiful again.

now imagine nipped waists, full skirts and yards and yards of fabric and frothy tulle embroidered with lace, sequin and rhinestones. a stark contrast to the horrors of the occupation that restricted the amount of fabric to less than 3 yards for a dress.

 "bar" suit, 1947

"aladin" dinner dress, 1947
left: belted; right: unbelted

 

"venus" ball gown, 1949

"junon" ball gown, 1949
19th century made modern with a strapless neckline

above: "priscilla" evening dress, 1954; below: details of the underpinnings

left: "nuit de reve" evening dress, 1954; right: a completely finished underdress in identical fabric

above: "compiegne" ball gown, 1954; below: detail

 "chambord" ball gown, 1954

rather suddenly, dior died ten years later. what he achieved in this short time is an amazing feat given the brevity that coincided with one of humanity's grimmest points in history.

the pink and grey house he grew up in is now a museum in granville, france.


image credits–1: world of interiors, july 2000; 2: fashion-era; 3-15: christian dior by richard martin and harold koda; 16: shelterpop

favorites {bamboo}

i won't even try to make this humble little blog into a quest for unique finds culled from internet searches, for gratefully there are numerous blogs, who do this so well. instead i'll have different features that i hope to post on a regular-ish, self-imposed schedule…like this series where i'll cover some of my favorite people, places and things.

today's favorite is bamboo in all its many beautiful forms. there are many reasons i love this plant. it's often seen in chinoiserie – another love of mine. it's also a symbol of endurance and longevity.

i admire it too for its usefulness as a building material and source of food, and its resemblance to grille motifs in paintings by gaughin, klimt, monet, and vuillard. 

gustav klimt, the beech wood, c. 1902

if nothing more, what i admire are the bolt-upright shafts and closely spaced trunks of a bamboo grove. to hear the wind pass through the leaves and between the creaking woody stems would be sweet music to my ears. 

"land of the lost" sans dinosaurs

whenever i see it used for interiors, like furniture, wallpaper and fabric, i find myself instantly drawn to it.

examples of carved, turned and faux painted furniture made to resemble bamboo

some splendid variations of bamboo finishes

a sensational bamboo desk

florence broadhurst wallpaper and fabric

robsjohn-gibbings high back chairs with original ceruse finish on the faux bamboo frames

fabrics by china seas – martinique

the iconic chinese chippendale chair

billy baldwin for scalamandre

bamboo spindle-backed chair by josef frank

a farrow and ball wallpaper

bamboo wallpaper in a roomset featuring a kim parker rug for the rug company

stenciled floor for a chinoiserie bedroom

 

zega & dams' architectural alphabet

and this...this about took my breath away.

***

i could go on, but i better stop here (and catch my breath).

{image 1: vintage printables; image 2: japonisme by siegfried wichmann; image 3: kyoto official travel guide; image 4: anthropologie march 2010 catalog; images 5, 6 : art of the painted finish by isabel o'neil; image 7: british homes & gardens april 2000; images 8, 9: woodson and rummerfield house of design; image 10: quadrille fabrics; image 11: house beautiful; image 12: beach bungalow 8; image 13: bonluxat; image 14: farrow and ball; image 15: the rug company; image 16: the stencil library; image 17: an architectural alphabet by zega and dams; image 18: de gournay}

the dirt(y) truth

i first became obsessed with gardening and the latin names of plants when we lived in seattle. we lived at the back of the building on the first floor and could crawl out our window whenever we pleased. 

when we moved in, there was green astro turf on the ground and a raised bed of  noxious weeds along with a weed tree that although from a volunteer tree, had sited itself perfectly, so i left it to grow and planted around it.

what raised the bed above ground were broken bits of cement.  if it were't for a lack of funds, i would've replaced them with a proper stone wall. instead i planted moss and vines. elsewhere, i planted daffodils, a katsura tree (a wedding present from co-workers), hydrangeas, and trillium. 

if anyone is actually reading this, and happens to also live in seattle, and feels like getting out for a drive, the address is the chelsea on queen anne @ 620 w. olympic place. i'd love to know if the katsura is still there.

 

here's another garden we planted in san francisco. we covered the wood fence with rolls of reed fencing, and planted it with vines like creeping fig and cobea.

fast forward to present day and a garden that is the biggest we've ever had, and one that we oftentimes don't know what to do with. this is partly due to spending years living in cramped 500 sf apartments and growing sunflowers in 5" terracotta pots.

here i'll share our horticultural triumphs, future plans, and blunders…like planting four lombardy poplars in a row within inches of the city sidewalk. i cringe every time i see someone walking by and being attacked by their already wide-spreading branches. naturally, it wasn't until after we planted them and saw how quickly they grew that i decided to learn a little more about this proliferous plant. a google search turned up an about.com link titled – "reconsider planting lombardy poplar in your yard". there are four more in the backyard.

blunder  no. 1 or make that 8.

 

this is last year's stand of amaranthus or love-lies-bleeding. so many people ask about this one. i keep a bag of seeds to give to those who do. it's a  beautiful rogue that will return year after year, just like the morning glories on the side of the house.

{image 1 above: smithsonian institution on flickr}

make believe {lafaille cabinet de curiosites}

keeping with the idea of whimsy and fancy (as in the noun), this series of posts called make believe will further allow me to engage in my predilection for fantasy.

today, i shall pretend that i just returned from the lafaille cabinet de curiosites in la rochelle, france.

***

les musees d'histoires naturelle de la rochelle
28, rue albert 1er
17000 la rochelle, france

the cabinet lafaille is a very rococo 19th century curiosity cabinet in a louis XV style room lined with ivory and saffron colored cases stuffed with coral, reptiles and birds perched on branches.

toward the center of the room is an elegant walnut chest of drawers and tables topped with powder-blue silk lined glass cases brimming with seashells and crystal.

magique! 

for further information: http://www.museum-larochelle.fr/


{image 1: smithsonian institution on flickr; images 2, 5: les musees d'histoires naturelle de la rochelle; images 3, 4: world of interiors, 2000}

artifact {philip treacy's cork hat}

this series, which i'll call artifact, will allow me to create an imaginary room (or part of a room when i'm feeling less ambitious) inspired by an object, a passage in literature, a film, a song or a work of art.

i already know that some rooms are bound to be complete fantasy, and that the things i choose will likely cost more than i'm bound to make in a lifetime, but that's not the point of this self-indulgent series. i'm a fantasist, so i won't worry about how to fill a room whose plan i have't seen, and whose measurements i do not know.

this first room will be created around philip treacy's "chinese garden" cork hat for alexander mcqueen's spring/summer 2005 collection.

i had many to choose from, but elected this one due to the news of mcqueen's death. i noticed the met hadn't yet updated their site, as it still reads: Alexander McQueen (British, b. 1969). so young…and i think it's absolutely tragic that he felt emotions so powerful as to take his own life–one that achieved such greatness. 

this exquisite hat was designed by philip treacy. the inspiration for it came from a trip he took to kyoto. the intricately cut-worked cork pagoda, birds and trees were purchased in asia and assembled into the fantasy you see here. to me, it's sculpture…a work of art.

instead of displaying it on a mannequin head, i'd find a glass case or museum dome, then display it on this paul mccobb two door credenza with 18 karat gold plated hardware.

add one or more of trinka 5 designs' sea life sculptures from horchow…and a vicente wolf  indian marble vase with a single purple orchid stem…

perched atop this mirrored gold tray from plantation.

***
now onto lighting. there's this quartz lamp from john rosselli…

or this black lacquer and brass lamp with pagoda shade with piping in the style of jansen…

OR this pair of asian lacquered resin lamps, also in the style of jansen (can't get enough!)…

though we already have enough cork in the room, i spotted this pair of cream pagoda shaped ceramic lamps with cork shades.

i think an intervention is in order now.

but wait! overhead is a dorothy draper chandelier.

***

moving on. i'd get these out on approval…

and this french style bench.

i feel like we need a shot of color. the form of this bamboo red lacquer box resembles that of a hatbox. an allusion to the source of inspiration for this room.

it is now quite apparent this room will need some more tables to have a place to put all these objects…and a drink or two, but before we do this, i couldn't resist showing you this indian wire bowl…

and this exquisite eduardo garza creation.

now for a place to put all these accessories. this five tier obelisk etagere may be just what this room needs. the milk glass shelves pick up the color of the credenza and the pearly velvet x bench.

 

and we'll need one of these.

left: dessinfournir side table; right: john rosselli martini table 

so at this point, it may seem like the wheels have come off, but rather than have everything be one style, i.e. eastern (taking a cue from the hat) adding a little english, french and contemporary keeps it fresh and interesting, don't you think?

***
on that note, i think this calls for a part 2, because we still have flooring, wall treatments,  and windows to look at. we may also need some more tables.

stay tuned and thank you for visiting!

{image credits – 1: smithsonian institution on flickr; 2: the metropolitan museum of art; 3: blog.mode: addressing fashion}