Carnivore

Last week, I saw Paddington (truly a delight!) and was pleasantly amused by the ominous wardrobe choices chosen to portray Nicole Kidman’s villainy as the maniacal taxidermist. In every scene, she’s shown wearing some kind of animal print (with the implication that she made them herself from her defenseless prey) or colonial inspired safari attire. To introduce to you what I could only consider a chicken-wire netted hat (made with two joined mink tails), I thought I would draw on her sinister aesthetic.

While I remain conflicted on the subject of fur, I have only bought vintage pieces. Perhaps my rationale that “I am ensuring that the animal did not die in vain” does not carry appropriate weight, but it does give me some validation most of my pieces have not been commissioned since about the ’60s.

Outfit Details: Fascinator: Union Made | Jacket: Vintage Oscar De La Renta

Puttin’ on the Ritz

The Occasion: Last time I went to England, I didn’t have tea at the Ritz. Now, you’ll see in lots of the upscale touristy books that “tea at the Ritz is a simply a must;” what they neglect to mention is that “must” is nearly 100 dollars a head for the same high tea offered throughout London. So last time an emphasis on practicality, frugality, and poor planning prevented my dining in style. This time around, with most of the other big tourist attractions behind me, I decided to budget and see what the hubbub was about. For our group of five, I booked in September for an early December tea slot around noon. At the time, I didn’t account for the Christmas fever that would be spreading, but what a catching epidemic! Everything looked very snappy.

The Tea: I must declare everything was simply topping. Between the seven types of sandwiches, the luxurious ambiance, the smart tidbits of conversation, and the cake man bringing more delicious options to choose from, the Ritz was lovely! But to be honest, I think part of the reason I enjoyed it was because of the mounting anticipation and the planning and waiting that went into it. There’s a sense that if you’re going to spend every dime on the tea, it better be worth it, so you might try a bit harder at witty conversation, I picked a dress that I thought had a twenties vibe, and then I went all out with my fancy daycoat. If you are looking to just get high tea in London, don’t come to the Ritz, but if you want to feel like a million dollar trooper drinking the same tea, you’ve found your outlet (but book now).

The Outfit:

Coat: Tally Weijl | Fur: from estate sale (shown here and here)| Dress: BCBG | Tights: Primark | Shoes: Pour La Victoire | Shoe Clips: Vintage Clip-on earrings | Purse: Kate Spade | Leather Gloves: Vintage

Tips his hat just like an English chappie…

And for a bit of last minute tree-decorating inspiration, I’d recommend Mr. Astaire singing this little ditty.

Oh the Posh Posh Traveling Life, The Traveling Life for Me!

Say it with me: Newsh-von-schteen. You might want to try again, and a third time. To be honest, you might want to give up altogether and just gaze at the Bavarian view, or you could adopt my all-too-American approach and call it the “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang castle” (after being corrected by about a hundred Germans).

See those familiar headlights peaking into the picture?

Well, considering the fact that I couldn’t dress like a doll on a music box to visit, I decided to channel the Baron and Baroness Bomburst (of Vulgaria) and  Ludwig II’s outlook on glamour and drama, generally in epic proportion.

However, there’s a limit to personal pizazz when a 40-minute walk up a mountain is involved with a very full suitcase (the consequence of back-to-back overnight train/ bus rides). Still, the view surpassed any struggle involved. Bavaria is like the fantasy backdrop of any pastoral landscape. Blue skies, fields of green, mountain silhouettes, endearing chapels, and little red roofs dotting the area next to the water. It’s easy to see why land prices are so high. It’s a veritable paradise.

And at the top of the hill? A fairy tale castle surrounded by the terrible legend of the eccentric and reclusive prince who could not face the reality of his diminishing power. In its stead, he built himself an edifice, a makeshift temple to his majesty, ready to receive his subjects when they should come (or it would have been, to this day it remains unfinished). Unfortunately, we were strictly prohibited from taking any pictures of the actual inside of the castle, but here’s a promotional photo of the reception area:

Check out the view!Once outside, there was a path to a wooden bridge. Word to the wise, if you want a picture of the castle as a whole, this is the place to get it (you’ll just have to fight the rest of the tourists for it). I’ve included a helpful map

What I wore:
Headband: Primark (old)
Sunglasses: Chloe
Earrings: Vintage
Fur: estate sale boon (shown here)
Blazer: DKNY
Blouse: Yves Saint Laurent- Rive Gauche
Skirt: New Look
Tights: Wolford
Heels: Chloe
      For more information on Ludwig and Neuschwanstein, you can go here (or of course wikipedia). However, the more involved your research gets, be sure to look out for this guy:

–Shared to the lovely Patti’s Visible Monday (it’s good to be back).

Travel Street Style

The Sartorialist is in London this week, and as I’ve watched him post pictures of people here (as he travels), I’ve been inspired to stray from the regularly scheduled program (and what has begun to look like a sanctuary of vanity) to show you some of my favorite outfits I’ve come across in the past few months…
Enjoy!

Spotted at the MoMA, New York.

Scandalous socks near Piccadilly Circus, London.

This charming man was sitting at a café near Charing Cross Station, London.

This woman’s triumvirate of light blue tones matched with SEE THROUGH heels had me shaking with glee (hence the poor quality). Spotted in Stockholm’s Grand Hotel.

I loved this father/daughter duo wearing the same colors in Stockholm. Also — those pigtails <3.

Purse or hatbox? Vienna, Austria.

Cuffed trousers in Berlin.

Pink and Blue at Portobello Market, London. (Apologies again for the quality, but it was too good to  leave out!)

Fur Better or Fur Worse?

Last year Jacqueline Durran stunned the world with Kiera Knightley’s exquisite costumes in Joe Wright’s rendition of Anna Karenina. However, while absorbing the lush extravagance that was this fallen woman’s wardrobe, I was forced to ask myself: How many people actually still wear fur hats?

We should examine this fur-ther.

I mean, don’t get me wrong, I know this is Russia we were talking about. But, for real, how many people are out and about in fur hats? Have we as a society accepted use fur as inhumane more overall? Has global warming alleviated the need for these (the answer to that is NO in northern Indiana). Is fur just something few people can afford/ aren’t inclined to spend on? Does a fur hat just remind everyone of Julie Christie in Dr. Zhivago?

Be sure to let me know your thoughts. Personally, I say the fur hat is alive and well, especially since I wore one to my last class this morning. I was pretty excited about it and so in a fit of procrastination, I made an homage to our tragic Russian aristocrat.

WAITING FOR VRONSKY
(or failure… an ambition only slightly better than Godot)

For the occasion, I wore my mink hat, a black silk shirt, and a velvet jacket (that is probably my mother’s for nice occasions. Devon cream and a raison scone also went into the making of this photo set.)

Pictures brought to you by photobooth (yes I’m sorry, but the only other option was iphone selfies. Scylla and Charybdes, I know.)

This hat is mostly feathers.. but why stop good procrastination? Scone down.

And this one I call Bridget Jones at Thanksgiving. Leave it to our girl to wear the turkey on her head.

I realize this photo set was mostly me looking sad (I will spare you a lengthy justification on why this would fit Anna’s character and the spoilers that I would be sure to provide.), but I hope you got a bit of a kick out of it, and let me know if you have any in-fur-mation on Winter hats today.

Fancy: 10

Function: 6 (they keep Russian heads really warm)

Funky: 5

Fashion: ?