While for a good long time Yoko Ono has been known mainly as the woman who broke up The Beatles, lately the petite radical has been remembered more for her contributions to avant garde art and the peace movement.
Ono and her 1964 performance Cut Piece was the inspiration for and earned an homage from the threeasfour runway show.
I can't sit here and pretend that I am thrilled with the direction of Vogue. I turned off when I kept finding Kate Hudson, Renee Zellweger, Sandy Bullock and Jennifer Aniston staring back at me week after week in one tired old bias cut dress after another. Even this year's September issue features Charlize Theron on the cover, when it really should have had a stunning photo of Miss Wintour herself!
After all, with the movie September Issue coming out, for better or worse the somewhat enigmatic icon will be center stage. Few women working in the industry have made such an impact in popular culture. Her bob hair and large sunglasses are known and often feared by all – it will be interesting to see what lies beneath them.
Maxine de la Falaise's obituary reads like a dream: she grew up in a family that “were the highest of haute bohemia”, as a child in school, “her clothes – Rhoda's (her mother's) discarded Schiaparellis or bespoke oriental ensembles – were awesome”. Later, shipped off to the US to find a wealthy husband, “She hung around Vogue in New York, was introduced to Elsa Schiaparelli, whose couture house had reopened… as perfect in her lanky loucheness to wear and sell for the house in its last years, and she was also photographed as a model for Dior, whose rise finally eclipsed Schiaparelli.”
She counted Louis Malle and Max Ernst among her lovers before becoming “an influential hostess among the Manhattan creatives” and a food columnist for Vogue. She was great friends with Andy Warhol and I know her well from his camp classic Blood for Dracula. Yves Saint Laurent, who claimed her daughter Loulou as a muse, was also enamored with Maxine and she both modeled for him and acted as his licensing consultant.
She was a gorgeous and fascinating woman who left her own, unique stamp on the world.
Every quote attributed to (“I take a teaspoon of brandy when I feel spacey. It makes me come alive.” and?”I'd sell myself for a hat,”) or about (“Facts are not my mother's strong point”) adds to the charm of the willowy actress and style icon, Mimi Weddell.
While her old lady stylish eccentricities might call to mind the antics of the Beales, she never seems to teeter into such decrepit derangement. Instead with a motto of “Rise above it!” she's an inspirational wonder with hundreds of hats (she and her millinery obsession are the subject of a 2008 documentary Hats Off that I am excited to see and wish would come to Netflix – check out the Algonquin release party photos here).
Here are some excellent photos of her and her adorably disorganized apartment taken by Brix Picks fave Tim Walker.
Pin Up QueenBettie Page became a star decades after the photos were taken that made her famous. Generations recognized her charm, effervescence and beauty once the times caught up to her racy career. She and her signature cute bangs were certainly an influence on me as a teen around the time that she was becoming a pop style icon dug up from the past.
She was 85 when she passed away this last Thursday.
A First Lady to be Proud OfIn a political environment where wasteful spending on appearances is common, it’s refreshing to have a (soon to be) first lady that is not only fashionable but frugal too (ok, those earrings are an exception, but at least a classy sparkly exception). In the face of the public, she’s been stunning in J Crew (the easy flattering yellow number she wore on Leno), Narciso Rodriguez (the red and black acceptance speech number, that I happened to adore despite a general uproar from some people), the $150 dress from White House, Black Market, and Thakoon – that’s right, move over and wedding suits for aunts! Our new fist lady wears Thakoon!
I think it’s safe to say not only will our generation finally have a leader that we can believe in but an articulate, strong and stylish woman with a great smile (don’t they always seem to be genuinely be enjoying each other’s company?) right next to him.
Elizabeth SweetheartIf you are lucky you have seen Elizabeth Sweetheart, aka the Green Lady walking around New York, delighting everyone with her shocking green presence. She wears green head to toe, including her hair -?all day, every day. A friend at work is one of those lucky ones and has even had the pleasure of perusing Sweethearts textile collection.
NY Magazine featured the eccentric in an article with other monochromatically inclined New Yorkers like Stephin Merrit and Rebecca Turbow who wear brown and gray exclusively. While the concept may seem monotonous and drab, Sweetheart and her vibrant hue of choice are instead a breath of fresh air. Her personality seems just as bright as her overalls.
…and Miss McGraw in Love Story. Now put on a hat and scarf.
And look better than you do right now.