vintage bowles

It’s no secret that Hamish Bowles is a knowledgeable and avid collector of vintage couture. Thus, I think Vogue’s latest move to film him on the hunt for new acquisitions is brilliant. Vintage Bowles follows the international editor-at-large around the globe on the kind of clothing expeditions you could only dream of: episode one, for example, shows HB perusing the digs of Eunice Johnson; episode two features the work of Charles James (whose work appears in my facebook cover photo). I can already tell that this is going to be awesome... cannot wait for episode three!

P.S. How great are Hamish's outfits? I love him!

chez oberto gili

Believe it or not, I discovered interior photographer Oberto Gili through Anthropologie. I was trolling their site (as usual) and saw Oberto’s new book for sale – I had to find out who this man was. A quick google search led me to this lovely tour of his West Village apartment on NYSD. I can’t say that I would want to adopt the entire space as my own, but I find inspiration in the details. Those beautiful steel shelves, a gift from Hamish Bowles, make me want to kick my penchant for ikea bookcases to the curb. I love Oberto's ability to effortlessly mix different patterns and textures and the fact that he’s OK with stacks and stacks of books and little knick knacks scattered about (so long as they’re arranged to please). Home Sweet Home is on my wish list, but I guess these photos will have to do for now. Which really isn’t all too bad... there’s so much to look it, I don’t think I’ll tire of it for awhile :)

P.S. Is it just me, or does his apartment have
the same feel as Ms. Chloe Sevigny's old pad..?

ephemera, etc.

There's something about personal ephemera tucked in expected places that I find incredibly charming. A step beyond the bulletin board, it gives a home a sense of instant cheeky humor and ease (at least to someone like myself who revels in beautiful chaos). Here, anything can be turned into a canvas... the possibilities are endless! Both Miles Redd and Herve Pierre extend their artistic eye to the lampshade, turning a plain jane shade into a mesmorizing work of art. Rita Konig, as I've written before, dresses up her mantel with personal polaroids. Similarly, Hamish Bowles and Jenna Lyons use photos to dress down fancy mirrors. The best part about this look? It's 100% budget-friendly! We all have photos laying around that need a home, and I'm betting that everyone has a lampshade and/or a mirror that could use a little sprucing up. So there you have it: Instant chic on the cheap. What could be better? 

hamish bowles: the home front

I know I posted about Hamish Bowles last week, but I just can’t keep this editorial to myself! Titled “The Home Front,” it appeared in the November 1992 issue of Vogue - Hamish was it’s fashion editor. Previously, I had not seen a fashion spread edited by this man! From the velvet embroidered slippers to Osa Johnson’s I Married Adventure, the editorial undeniably has his touch. And I love it. Though he does a phenomenal job as Vogue’s European editor-at-large, I selfishly wish he were still on the fashion side of things. Don’t you?! 

ten favorite things: hamish bowles

I'm lucky enough to own the issue of Australian Vogue Living featuring Hamish Bowles' gorgeously pink New York apartment. The publication also features Mr. Bowles' 10 favorite things on the last page of the issue. They read as follows: 1. Charvet silk ties and pocket squares. I love the finishing flourish on them, and the experience of shopping in that wonderfully evocative shop in Paris. 2. Oum Kalsoum. Kalsoum gave voice to the middle east in the 20th century - her iconic persona, and her extraorinarily powerful voice delivering poignant songs of lament and lost love are captivating. 3. My René Bouché portrait of Truman Capote. It was used on the dust jacket of the original Breakfast At Tiffany's and was my first serious purchase after I moved to Manhattan in 1992. Truman has been my talisman. 4. Patmos, Greece. It's the Greek island that has it all; Magical hidden bays and coves, one horse lovelier and more stylish than the next, and the mythicism of its monastery, monks and nuns. 5. Clarence House. Naturally I adored the Queen Mother, and what joy when the current incumbents of her London Manse, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, are in Scotland for the Summer and the mansion is opened up to the ticket-wielding great unwashed. 6. Sitio Roberto Burle Marx Garden in Brazil. I experienced an epiphany in this extraordinary landscape, the love child of the great and revolutionary Brazilian garden designer. 7. Chintz, especially all the the Rose Cumming patterns (‘Delphinium’, pictured). 8. My library, which is absurdly extensive. I have endless style, fashion and decorating books and everything Cecil Beaton ever published or Rex Whistler, Oliver Messel and Philipe Jullian ever illustrated. 9. Film director Luchino Visconti’s oeuvre, with special emphasis on Ossessione, Senso, The Damned, Death in Venice (pictured), Ludwig, Conversation Piece, and L’Innocente. 10. Tangier. Dusty, fly blown, all that was magical systematically disappearing - this remains, against all odds, one of my most beloved places on the planet.