Details make all the difference

I have recently updated my shop with lots of new little treasures! From paper airplane pins to cat sequin sweaters to bows, you will find something to add a little whimsy to your outfit!

After 10 years of courtship, we got married this June!

These photos were taken in Florence by the uber-talented Lelia Scarfiotti.

...Looking forward to many years of laughter, love, challenges, throwing parties and planning adventures together.

No shoes, no shirt, no problem!

These shoes are by Alexander McQueen, and I'm drooling over them!

The second photo is from an Italian magazine from the 1970's. Trompe l'oeil at it's finest. The story attached to the photo explains that designer Ruben Torres started this idea in a moment of panic at the inauguration of the pret-a-porter salon in Paris. None of his clothes had arrived at the stand, so he quickly thought up to design the collection on the model's skin. He declared, "no more problems with fabric and sizes!" He decided to offer this genius to his clients. It would have cost you 1000 francs for a design from Ruben himself, or a reduced price for a design from an assistant.

On a related note, when faced with the strike of her seamstress two weeks before a fashion show, Elsa schiaparelli and her head designer, salesgirl, and one tailor pulled together to put out a show despite the seemingly impossible task. They worked together day and night and refused to move the date of the show. On the day of the fashion show, they sent down the runway jackets with one sleeve, or none, sketches pinned to muslins, evening gowns cut in muslin with the color fabric swatches pinned onto the gown and handwritten instructions of the finalized garments written down the sides of the samples. And you know what, it sold very well.

A little creativity can go a long way.

Cannes photoshoot

While at Cannes, Kellyn had a small impromptu photoshoot on the beautiful French Riviera.
(Kellyn with the producers of the film "Where are you Sophia?"-the director, Nagendra Karri, is to the right of Kellyn)

Kellyn Lindsay in Suite at Cannes 2009!

have been lucky that Kellyn being the sweet girl that she is, has sent me lots of photos of her in the dress. She was supposed to wear the dress last wednesday, but due to less than spectacular weather in France, she wore the dress to the showing on friday. The dress looks absolutely stunning on her!
More pictures to come later this week!

Schiaparelli

Those people who know me, know that I have an affinity, slightly leaning towards obsession, for Elsa Schiaparelli. Elsa was an italian fashion designer who opened a fashion house is Paris and spent time in New York and California, among other various places. She was inspired by surrealist artists, who were also her friends.
If you are not familiar with her work, look it up. You will not be disappointed that you did. trust me.
At the age of fourteen, Schiaparelli was already a published writer. So it is not surprising that she also wrote an autobiography about her truly intriguing life, as an adult.

So my birthday is coming up soon, which means that my grandmother and mom have been on the hunt for treasures for me. Lucky me because they have very good taste.
Well this present left me speechless...

Inside the always beautifully wrapped package, I first found a petite bottle of "Shocking" a perfume by Schiaparelli. I was like, awww, how sweet!

Next came a first edition (pictured above) of the autobiography of Schiaparelli I mentioned before, Shocking Life. I was so excited.
Further examining the book, I found the inscription, "Property of Reginald MacFarland xmas 1954". Oh, how personal!

Then I revealed the last gift in the box. It was a letter that was found in the book addressed to Mr. MacFarland----from Elsa herself.

BEST present ever.

Well, you might not be as excited as I am, but holding something from Elsa herself just about left me speechless. The letter says this: (there are some parts I have trouble reading, but here is my best try)

April 23, 1960

Dear Mr. MacFarland,

Thank you so much for your nice letter. I am glad you liked the fragrance (?). It was great fun to talk to American (?).

Sincerely yours,

Elsa Schiaparelli

Oh, and as fate may have it, the letter was sent from France on my birthday, April 25. Don't you just love coincidences?
I have such a respect and love for Schiaparelli, that this gift was truly special for me.

Practically perfect in every way

Help the Cedar Rapids Public Library

I was on fredflare.com (which has the cutest gifts ever!), and I read that the fred flare team is helping the Cedar Rapids Public Library, which was flooded earlier this year, to rebuild it's stock of books.
check out the details here:
http://www1.fredflare.com/blog/?p=3128#comments

You can help by purchasing a book for the library through their amazon.com wishlist.
(click here for link to wishlist)

I just donated a book about purse embroidery techniques. When I was little, I was like a tiny sponge soaking up all the information and images from books in the local public library. I still enjoy the sense of discovery and possibility when I walk into a library and all the knowledge and stories that await silently in the wooden shelves. I get all this from my mom, who is an avid readers (the fastest I know) and library aficionado. One day she hopes to build a small personal library in our house (card catalogue and all!), but until then, we can help rebuild this little public library in need.
So if you can, find a book on the list that speaks to you in some way, and share it with generations to come!

"Most Fashionable Gifts"

I usually don't head out to shop the Friday after Thanksgiving for the following reasons:

1) I live in Italy where Thanksgiving doesn't exsist, therefore neither does "Black Friday"

and

2) I prefer to shop in peace without the crowds

While I am crazy enough to camp out for things I like {ie. Saturday Night Live tickets and even at one time Nsync, which is quite embarrasing to admit seeing that I was a freshman in college at the time} I probably would not sleep outside the mall after eating Thanksgiving dinner in order to save a buck. I really enjoy making and giving presents, and I like the charm of a leisure stroll through the city to find the perfect treasure for a friend.


Anyway, I saw this commercial this morning for H&M, and I wanted to share it. It's fashionable, surreal and a true gift for the eyes!

Sketchbook Sketches

I wanted to share some of my sketches from the Suite Spring/Summer 2009 Collection. Brainstorming and sketching are some of my favorite parts of the design process. My "girls" tend to resemble a Bridget Bardot character, with teased hair and thick black eyeliner.

Backstage

Suite fashion show

A photo of my models and makeup artist from the Syracuse Stage fashion show last night. It was amazing!! Everybody looked great. I will be posting more photos as I get them.

Yankees, Southern Belles and Junkin'

This past labor day weekend I packed a suitcase and headed down south to visit my aunt, uncle and cousins in Greensboro, North Carolina.



I know I didn't pack my passport, but I think I may have ended up in another country....


My mom and I practiced our "ya'll's" on the plane, and I finalized a design for a very cute tote bag I am making, which will be available on my website next Wednesday! (keep your eyes open for that one!) Anyway, my adorable cousin, Carlee came to pick us up at airport and took us over to my aunt Michelle and uncle Don's beautiful southern home. I come from a long line of antique fiends with stylish tastes, including my grandmother, mother and aunts.

There was a treat waiting for me at the house. My aunt had purchased episode 1's paper towel dress, so there it was hanging up in the bedroom. Touching the {surprisingly} sturdy paper construction once again brought back great memories of good times at project runway. My cousin modeled the dress and we agreed that I need to make a dress out of fabric like it for her homecoming.

Then, I was told we were going bumpin' butts and junkin' in Virginia the next morning.
I needed a translation, so I included one here for you:

{Southern belle : Yankee translations}

junkin' : antique shopping

bumpin' butts : there will be some big crowds where we are going


OH, we are going antiquing at a big antique show. ok, ok. I love shopping.

Now that it was clear what we were doing, we headed out early Sunday morning for some treasure hunting. It was a great time and I got a couple cute things, including quirky salt and pepper shakers from the '50s and a trifari necklace.

Later that night we went to dinner and then watched some tv together.
Guess which show my very sharp 6 year old cousin, Jack, wanted to watch?
Project runway, of course! He told me he loves to see me on the old episodes. Then he proceeds to tell me that he couldn't remember who was the designer, but for the Olympic challenge, he thought the "design with the gold sequins at the top of the sweater was the worst in his opinion"-FYI, mine. Apparently he agreed with the judges. But I bribed him to change his vote by telling him I would bring him the finale in New York next week if he did.

He was totally pulling my leg. He has watched the episodes several times and knew exactly which garment went with each designer. So at this point, I was curious, what would Jack design for the grocery store challenge?

After a momentary pause, Jack said he would use utensils and bend and glue them onto a tablecloth. Once tablecloth left his mouth, he quickly changed his mind-"no, no tablecloth, I would glue them on paper towels."

Good plan Jack.

On Monday, we did a little more shopping. We were in a very cute store in Greensboro called Scout & Molly's (http://www.scoutandmollysofgreensboro.com/) where the salesgirl was a little surprised to see me at the store. She did the "you look like that girl from proj--" thing. I was like, "oh, I haven't been recognized much during this trip here in the Carolinas." She responded, "I'm not southern."

As we headed back to the airport, I thought about my southern experience. My new southern friends are very friendly and welcoming.

They are also fast thinkers. I asked for a medium latte at the airport and got a small (in possibly the smallest cup in the world).

"excuse me miss, I asked for a medium."

She quickly comes up with this crafty line: "our sizes are medium, large and extra large, ya'll."

I guess you can't argue with that.

Project Runway Season 5!

So it's no secret by now, I've made it onto project runway as a designer for the fifth season. After I found out I was on the show, it was perhaps the hardest secret I've had to keep in my 27 years. (Well, of course after the secret about my brother getting engaged-but I pretty much leaked that one to his future bride-sorry again sarah!)



Anyway, last wednesday was the first episode, and I have to say that watching myself greet Tim Gunn in a towel was possibly MORE embarrassing than actually greeting him that way.



I can't wait for tomorrow's episode!

Who knew that children in Italy in 1954 practiced yoga?

While poking around a flea market in Lucca, Italy on Sunday afternoon, I found a few italian "ladies" magazines from the 1950's. I mainly like checking out the fashions, but I also peruse the articles. They are ridiculous, and I LOVE them.

There are some wonderful articles from GRAZIA, July 4th, 1954 including tips on how to clean your house before leaving for an extended vacation, a romantic story entitled "Un marito si trova cosi" (This is how we find a husband) and a lovely quiz to find out: "Siete una donna ordinata?" (Are you an organized woman?)
I learned things I never knew before reading these magazines. For example, did you know that according to "american doctors" the body doesn't digest "white foods," but the same foods in the color red are digestable! Note to readers with sensitive stomachs: GRAZIA reccommends you eat red tomato sauce. (Does it even exist in white?) Oh, and are you looking for a suitcase to carry your baby to and from your beachouse? Get one in GRAZIA.

Anyway, can you believe that there is an article on yoga poses for children? Although it is not explained as yoga, there is clearly some child's pose going on there. I know yoga has existed for a long time, but in Italy? My gym only got it a few years ago.

Cocktails and Party Hats

I spent my new years at a cocktail-dinner party at a nearly 100 year old country club in a black cocktail dress and diamonds. As you can see from the photo, I got more blinged out as the night went on. The fete was as close to my dream of attending one of Holly Golightly's get togethers as you could get. There were huge crystal punch bowls of shrimp cocktails, flowing champagne, sing-a-longs at the piano, and feathered tiaras. I celebrated the new year with people who actually celebrated it in the 60's, but I got a taste of a more old-fashioned glamour. I hope your night was as fun as mine, Darh-ling!

A take-out girl at heart

This is a photo of me and my grandma (before she went blond).

Fisher Price Sink Set for Christmas 1983: $10

Seasonal wrapping paper and scotch tape: $3.00

Seeing the expression of a girl who just realized

her unfortunate dish washing fate: priceless

Once upon a vanilla latte....

As you may have read previously, I am an american fashion designer living in Italy. I used to live in New York when I was attending the Fashion Institute of Technology, and now 6 years later, I find myself in a small town in tuscany. It may sound like a dream to you, it may not. I would fall into the latter category. I can't say that I SHOULD be complaining, seeing that live in a place where the sun greets me almost every morning, and where I can arrive either at the beach for a swim, or in the snow capped mountains for a cup of hot chocolate in less than an hour. I quite frequently DO complain.


Well, not so much complaining, but comparing.


Yes, I COMPARE a lot.


While, neither America or Italy are perfect utopias, I quite often feel a nostalgia for my home country. Which is ironic because if I think back to when I was younger, I probably secretly wished I was european. There is an elegance and style that is connected to europe, which I have always admired. How is it possible that now I long for the over-the-top comforts of America?

Soon I will be returning home for a visit, and it is always around this time that I have the most wonderful dream. I dream that I am in New York City and I grab a grande vanilla latte from Starbucks and head over to the Anthropologie store in Soho, where I literally pass hours looking at all the clothes and home accessories. I usually hem and haw about choosing one object to buy, and then purchase it. That's the whole dream. But I wake up feeling like the happiest person the world. I live in a country where I can get a cappuccino for .90 cents made by a barman that actually studied at a "coffee university", and yet I long for a passable coffee in a to-go cup made by a high school student.

Ahhh, just one more week.

The Plaza