Quotable Grace

Hello and Happy Friday!

Before I bid you a "Happy Weekend", let me share a few memorable quotes from "Grace".

On dealing with difficult people:

On seizing a life-changing opportunity:

That dreaming never stops:

I hope these words of wisdom turn your day from blah to TADA!

Have an enjoyable weekend!

Make-up Please!

Putting together a magazine is truly a collaborative effort. 

That's one of the lessons we learn from Grace Coddington's book, "Grace: A Memoir". An editor's vision comes to life with the help of photographers, designers, stylists, models and all of their assistants. 

Grace Coddington's sketches of her favorite hairdressers and
make-up artists, page 298, "Grace:A Memoir"

Together with these important people are hairdressers and make-up artists.

In her book, Grace shines the spotlight on them: "And I learned early on, as far back as the seventies in London, when everything was based on silver-screen glamour, that a great hairdresser or makeup artist can make a picture better, even when it looks as though they have done very little."

via Dandy Bohemian
Make-up artist Pat McGrath, and Grace Coddington
with hair sytlist Guido Palau

One of her favorite make-up artists is Pat McGrath because of her topnotch talent, thorough organization and cheerful personality. 

I love this anecdote about Pat that she writes in the book: "Pat did an amazing job. Even Helmut {Newton, photographer} was impressed. Nadja {Auermann, model} had never looked more dewy and luminous. From then on, I worked with her whenever I could. Soon afterward she began collaborating with Steven Meisel {photographer}. It was love at first sight, and they ended up working together virtually everyday. Pat is very loyal to him. Once, in the middle of the international collections (she does practically every single show), she flew from London to New York to work with Steven and me for the day, then flew back the same night, the instant she finished. She would do anything for him. If he cant get her for the make-up, I know he often doesn't take the job."  

Isn't that TADA!?

Here are samples of Pat's work:

via Models.com

via Models.com

via Models.com

via Models.com

via Models.com

via Models.com

Another inspiring woman -- Pat McGrath.

via New York Times.com

 Her work is indeed blah to TADA!

Grace, Annie and Alice

Today's blog post is about three women: Grace Coddington {creative director of Vogue and author of "Grace"}, Annie Leibovitz {famous photographer}, and Alice {of the storybook "Alice in Wonderland"} -- and how they created one of Vogue's most memorable fashion spreads:

via Trendland

This was published in December 2003, and boy, do I still remember it to this day. A real live version of Alice, dressed in couture, cavorting in Wonderland -- such a great concept! In her book, Grace discusses its genesis:

Anna {Wintour, Vogue's editor-in-chief} had just seen the award-winning musical version of Mary Poppins on the London stage, loved it, and returned to New York eager to base our seasonal special on that children's story. But when I sat down, I thought, "Mary Poppins wears black throughout, which really isn't going to work for Anna in the end," and so I said, "What about Alice in Wonderland instead? It could be just as much fun, and I can then ask the designers to make up all the dresses in blue, like the illustrations in the book." Anna thought about it overnight and the next morning, said, "Yes. We'll do  Alice and cast all the designers as characters from the book," which was the most brilliant idea.

via Trendland

Russian model Natalia Vodianova was cast as Alice. Everything was shot in Paris and in the surrounding area of the Chateau de Corbeil-Cerf.

via Trendland

Tom Ford played the White Rabbit {a role originally 

meant for Karl Lagerfeld}.

via Trendland

Nicholas Ghesquiere, who designed this ruffle dress, 
makes a cameo.

via Trendland

John Galliano, dressed in drag, as the Red Queen;
his boyfriend Alexis portrays the King.

via Trendland

Marc Jacobs as the hookah-smoking Caterpillar.

via Trendland

John Paul Gaultier as Cheshire Cat.

via Trendland

Viktor and Rolf as Tweedledum and Tweedledee.

via Trendland

Christian Lacroix as the March Hare and Stephen Jones {milliner}
as the Mad Hatter. 

via Trendland

Donatella Versace and her friend Rupert Everett as the
Gryphon and Mock Turtle.

What a production! Clearly we see in these images that a photographer is not just one who clicks the camera, but has a creative vision that improves the overall look of the photos and the stories that they tell.

You can read more about the drama {and who was a diva} in Chapter 15 of "Grace: A Memoir." Also, you can watch this little clip for a few more stories behind this fashion editorial.

Graceful Sketches

Yesterday, I told you about the memoir, Grace, written by Vogue's Creative Director, Grace Coddington.

One of the many things I loved about the book are her quirky personal sketches:

She has an old school approach of drawing the looks she sees on the runway instead of using a camera or depending on a look book. She says in the book, "I always sketch at fashion shows. Drawings jog my memory more than any photograph."

via Vogue.com

She also says, "Each ready-to-wear season, I usually fill on sketchbook per city -- Paris, Milan, New York -- plus one for each season's couture, resort, and cruise. So that makes 12 sketchbooks a year, and they can all get pretty full. My system at the shows is to draw, sketch, put down everything -- every single outfit -- and worry later whether I liked it or not. Occasionally, I will put a star next to a favorite. Because I don't write about fashion, I don't take notes. I find it faster and easier to draw a dolman sleeve, for example, than to describe it. It was simpler in the old days, when there weren't so many collections and most people showed a maximum of thirty outfits." 

Wouldn't it be TADA! to see and go through all these sketchbooks?

She admits to being more adept with images than words ever since she was young: "Seeing a story visually rather than in words was what I was responding to."

In fact, one of the items she values is also something very visual: "As a memento, Bruce made me a beautiful scrapbook of photographs from the shoot. It was probably my most treasures possession." {On working with photographer Bruce Weber}

Grace is also a cat lover. This part of the book shows the many cats she owned. Prior to writing her memoir, she already came out with the book The Catwalk Cats.

via Styleite

She even came out with a special edition bag and scarves with her cat drawings, a collaboration with Balenciaga! 

via Vogue.com

I was also impressed that she made this sketch, a gift to Jimmy Fallon, when she appeared on his show to talk about "Grace: A Memoir". Isn't she so nice? You can watch the segment here. 

A book with pictures! It's blah to TADA!

State of Grace

Hi everyone! New books are one of life's pleasures that are simply TADA! 

Let me tell you about a book I just finished reading.

        It's called GRACE.

via Gawker

It's a memoir by Grace Coddington.

If her name's not familiar, she's the creative director of 

American Vogue.

via pjmedia.com

Miss Coddington was "introduced" to the public in the documentary, "The September Issue", a behind the scenes look on how the year's biggest issue is put together. Here, the camera-shy yet strong-willed creative director is seen battling it out with editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour.

via Guardian UK

Before watching the film, I had the expectation of seeing Anna Wintour {right}, the so called "ice queen", in a different light. Maybe as a more gentle soul beneath the cold exterior? Instead, I got to know Miss Coddington. Then and there, I wanted to have "Team Grace" t-shirts made.

When she came out with this book late last year, I put it on my reading list ASAP -- I wanted to get to know this fascinating lady. You see, I'm drawn to strong women. They don't have to be soul-less individuals even if they've achieved a good amount of success and power. I saw that in Grace -- strong but she still had heart. 

The book chronicles her life in fashion, first as a model, and moving on to becoming an editor in both British and American Vogue. It's the colorful life of a woman dealing with love, family, friendship, loss and success.

I think the book is TADA! because:

It's inspiring.

She was a quiet little girl who grew up in rural Wales. The pages of Vogue consumed her as a teenager {"I bought it for the fantasy of looking at beautiful clothes, and I liked getting lost in its pages"}, then grew up to work for the magazine, making her an influential force in fashion.

via The Frisky

We can live vicariously through her.

Imagine her life: meeting designers, going to parties, traveling to dreamy destinations to shoot fashion stories, visiting the fashion capitals of the world to view pretty dresses, among other things.

via Pop Sugar

There's a lot of inside dish.

Like what does she really think of Anna Wintour? Or what her relationship is like with fashion designers like Yves Saint Laurent or photographers like Annie Leibovitz. Also, if, like the "September Issue", you're a fan of what happens behind the glitz and glamour {ex. making of a Vogue issue or the Costume Institute's annual exhibit at The Met}, it's all in this book.

via Off Glass

It provides a back story on Andre' Leon Talley.

{Vogue's toga-wearing, over the top creative director before Grace inherited the position.}

"Grace" is an easy read that shows how one's blah life can turn into TADA!, and will leave you with a greater appreciation for fashion and fashion magazines.

Vintage Perfume Bottles

What a scent-sational week it's been! I hope you enjoyed my stroll down memory lane through fragrance and all our scented craft projects this week. 

This got me thinking about a new blah to TADA! collection I might want to start. Vintage perfume bottles, perhaps? 

I found these pictures on Pinterest. They made me all excited about perfume bottles, whilst empty, to build a thought-provoking vignette on a dressing table:

via Pinterest

via Pinterest

via Pinterest

Questions like "Who owned them?" or "When and where was the scent made?" are begging to be asked. 

Maybe I will begin hunting for them on my next trip to the flea market. Wish me luck. And, oh, have a happy weekend!

Scented Surprise

Happy Thursday!

When you open a magazine and find a page with a perfume strip, do you have the urge to open it and sniff? I do!

Same with those inserts that tumble out from a catalog,

which I think are pricey to produce.

Here's how I give them the blah to TADA! make-over:

I turn them into scented confetti using a craft punch.

I make sure to punch where the perfume is strongest.

Then I put the confetti inside cards and letters ready to be mailed. That way, it's a scented surprise to the person opening it, with a shower of hearts as a bonus!