Showing posts with label Harpers Bazaar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Harpers Bazaar. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

What Is Daring? Tilda Swinton For Harpers Bazaar

This month's Harpers Bazaar magazine features a 
2015 Most Daring List, which looks at 15 trail blazing women each of whom who talk about their thoughts on what it means to dare.

Tilda-Swinton-Impossible-Wardrobes

Tilda Swinton who's book set Impossible Wardrobes will be published next month by Rizzoli (November 2015) has this to say about what daring means to her:

"The strange thing about daring is that it most ordinarily lies in the eye of the beholder. In each of our lives, there are brave deals made with the self that are deeply private and not for sharing, let alone for public consumption. But, on the whole, one woman's perceived bravery is often a simple matter of her following her instinct. I suppose what people call bravery in others corresponds pretty closely to what they find difficult themselves."

Impossible Wardrobes will be an incredible Christmas gift for lovers of fashion and lovers of the history of fashion.

Swinton and Olivier Saillard, director of the Palais Galliera, Paris' Museum of Fashion, conceived and created this luxurious three book set that documents three groundbreaking exhibitions, and explores some of the Palais Galliera's incredible collection of iconic clothing, elevating couture to an artform.

To see the other 14 women who made the Harpers Bazaar 
Daring List, click HERE

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

How To Buy Vintage Handbags


How-To-Buy-Vintage-Handbags

I love vintage handbags.
A great vintage bag, in a style you can no longer find, can be the most chic alternative to any season's "It" bag.
I often find them in village markets in Italy, taken from old estates that have changed hands. They don't have second hand stores in Italy, nor do they have Goodwill, so local markets are an amazing resource for finding incredible old furniture, collectibles and on a good day, vintage handbags.

Vintage-Chanel-HandbagOne time at an arts market in my Italian home town of 
San Gimignano I found a lady selling a cache of  Louis Vuitton bags from the 70's. The bags were well worn but still in enviable condition. I pored over them, looking for every conceivable sign of a fake, but they were indeed the real deal.

If you are a lover of vintage handbags, or if you are seeking out a second hand Louis Vuitton, Chanel or any other major designer handbag, it is important to know how to spot a fake and how to identify an authentic bag.

Here in the USA everywhere you look there are girls sporting fake Louis'. I don't think people realize how disgusting the trade in fake designer bags really is. It funds terrorism, involves child labor and human trafficking - it is deplorable. Before you even think about buying a knock off Louis or Hermes (or any other designer) make sure you read this article from Harpers Bazaar magazine about 
The Fight Against Fakes
One of the paragraphs that has haunted me for years, and that comes to mind every single time I see a girl cruising along with her counterfeit Louis is this:

Then I read the following passage from my book, Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster. "'I remember walking into an assembly plant in Thailand a couple of years ago and seeing six or seven little children, all under 10 years old, sitting on the floor assembling counterfeit leather handbags,' an investigator told me... 'The owners had broken the children's legs and tied the lower leg to the thigh so the bones wouldn't mend. [They] did it because the children said they wanted to go outside and play.'"

It's barbaric.

So now that we are clear on why we should never, ever buy counterfeit handbags, lets look at an article I found on The Zoe Report on how to buy an authentic vintage designer handbag.


How To Buy Vintage Handbags




Vintage-Chanel-Handbag


Red Flags To Look For

"Luxury brands will always use quality leather, so expect an even and consistent skin. Red flags include crooked stitching or lettering and gold flaking off the hardware. Dust bags, boxes, and authenticity cards aren't always included, but this doesn't mean the bag is a fake. A few examples of other authenticity markers are Chanel always has a hologram sticker listing the serial number, and for Hermès Birkin bags there is a special stamp embossed into the leather strap."



Vintage-Hermes-Handbag

Coveted Styles Will Get Top Dollar

"The rarest and most coveted bags are the Hermès Kelly and Birkin. For Birkin bags, styles made of exotic skins are the most sought after, while Kelly bags from the 1970s are also constantly in demand."
Vintage-Louis-Vuitton-Handbag

Only Consider Bags In Good, Excellent or Mint Condition

"Most reputable vintage dealers are highly selective. For example, at Resurrection we only carry bags that are in excellent-to-mint condition. When shopping, we recommend following our standard checklist: Make sure the bag has no stains, tears or rips; that the lining is unstained and intact; and that the hardware has no scratches or tarnishing. The corners can sometimes have slight wear, but that can always be easily fixed."
Vintage-Gucci-Handbag

Beware Of Deals That Are TOO Good

"Always buy from a reputable source and do your research to make sure the seller has an authenticity guarantee. A common mistake is someone buying a bag online for a price that is too good to be true. Usually, it turns out the deal was too good to be true. Most vintage bags will go for around the same price across the board. If you see a Chanel bag for $200, and it is in perfect condition, be wary."
All Images courtesy of The Zoe Report

Before purchasing a vintage designer handbag you can also google how to spot a fake for that brand.

If you are in Europe and are thinking about buying a knock off handbag from a street vendor (or anyone else) make sure you are aware of the penalties for doing so. They do look out for counterfeits at the airports.
A few years ago an acquaintence told me she was stopped at JFK
because traces of cocaine were found on her counterfeit Gucci handbag. She had a hard time explaining that she knowingly bought a counterfeit handbag from a street vendor in Florence, and found herself in a world of trouble.

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Cameron Diaz Covers Harpers Bazaar

One of my absolute favorite photographers, Camilla Akrans,
shot Cameron Diaz for Harpers Bazaar August 2014 issue.


The interview is well worth a read, with some interesting perspectives including this gem:

On the media’s speculation on her having an intimate relationship at one point with Drew Barrymore after telling a magazine 'all women have been sexually attracted to another woman at some point': "Literally I said, ‘That makes me want to vomit in my mouth.’ That’s like saying I am having sex with my sister. Are you crazy? I wouldn’t even menage with her!”





Friday, March 28, 2014

Couture's Flights Of Fancy ~ Harpers Bazaar

Model Lindsay Wixson teams up again
with Karl Largerfeld behind the lens
for a divine Marie Antoinette inspired story for 
the April 2014 issue of Harpers Bazaar.



Stylist Amanda Harlech dresses Wixson in spring selections from
Chanel Haute Couture, Atelier Versace, Armani Prive,
Schiaparelli Haute Couture, Valentino Haute Couture 
and Dior Haute Couture.

Couture's Flights Of Fancy







Sunday, March 23, 2014

Kim and Kanye Vogue Cover

I'm at a loss for words.
Except for one word.
Why??


Anna Wintour decided to put Kim Kardashian and Kanye West
on the cover of the April 2014 issue of Vogue.
Perhaps the most coveted cover of them all,
generally respected as a definitive moment in a model's career,
or a well earned moment in an actress's or a musician's career.

And now a new goal for reality TV peeps.
I don't watch the Kardashians, so maybe I have missed something here.
I don't watch reality TV.
I don't know Kanye's music.
Apparently they are one of the most talked about couples in the world?
Annie Liebovitz shot it.

One thing I do know, is don't question Anna Wintour's thinking.

On the other hand,
Harpers Bazaar chose model Lara Stone
for their April 2014 cover.
I absolutely love it.


Vogue Paris saw fit to put sex bomb model
Cameron Russell on their April 2014 cover,
lensed by the one and only Mario Testino.


Monday, October 14, 2013

Madonna Covers Harpers Bazaar November 2013

Madonna covers the November 2013 issue of Harpers Bazaar,
shot by Terry Richardson.
Apparently wearing a golden grill.
Madonna covers Harpers Bazaar November 2013


In the accompanying article she has some interesting things to say, and some catchy quotes


 "If you aren't willing to fight for what you believe in, then don't even enter the ring."





Ten years later, here I am, divorced and living in New York. I have been blessed with four amazing children. I try to teach them to think outside the box. To be daring. To choose to do things because they are the right thing to do, not because everybody else is doing them. I have started making films, which is probably the most challenging and rewarding thing I have ever done. I am building schools for girls in Islamic countries and studying the Qur'an. I think it is important to study all the holy books. As my friend Yaman always tells me, a good Muslim is a good Jew, and a good Jew is a good Christian, and so forth. I couldn't agree more. To some people this is a very daring thought.
Madonna4 Madonna Covers Harpers Bazaar November 2013 by Terry Richardson




Read the full story and see all the images in Harpers Bazaar,
 or click here

I still don't get the grill ....

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Snow Angel, Harpers Bazaar September 2013


Photographer Miguel Reveriego introduces us to winter,
draped in the most chic coats and capes
in this gorgeous, snow bound story of outerwear 
from the fall 2013 collections,
 for the September  issue of Harpers Bazaar.



Soo Joo Park, Snow Angel, Harpers Bazaar



South Korean model Soo Joo Park's beauty verges on otherworldly
in the hands of this fabulous creative team,
with styling by Joanna Hillman,
hair by Tamara McNaughton 
and hauntingly beautiful makeup by Alice Lane.


Snow Angel



Snow Angel, Harpers Bazaar


Snow Angel, Harpers Bazaar

Snow Angel, Harpers Bazaar

Snow Angel, Harpers Bazaar
Snow Angel, Harpers Bazaar

Snow Angel, Harpers Bazaar

Snow Angel, Harpers Bazaar

Snow Angel, Harpers Bazaar