Tory On: São Paulo
As the Paulistanos would say, “Bem-vindo!” This week, we’re celebrating all things São Paulo, as Tory and the team just returned from the Southern Hemisphere. They were there to celebrate our first boutiques in Brazil and present the Spring 2013 collection to customers and friends. Here, Tory talks about highlights from her trip, and all this week we’ll be featuring São Paulo tastemakers and entrepreneurs on the Tory Blog.
Word of Mouth: Aperture at Sixty
Photo-philes, you’re going to love this. To celebrate its 60th anniversary, nonprofit publisher and photo organization Aperture Foundation is holding a major auction Tuesday evening at Gotham Hall in New York, from 6-9:30 PM. There are 60 lots in all, everything from Chuck Close’s famous portrait of Kate Moss to a breathtaking shot of Grace Kelly by Elliott Erwitt. Also going under the gavel: works by Robert Mapplethorpe, Diane Arbus, Sally Mann, Paul Strand, Dawoud Bey and Aperture co-founders Ansel Adams and Dorothea Lange. Not in town? No problem; absentee bidding is available.
A Boy in Front of the Loew’s 125th Street Movie Theater, 1976. Courtesy and © Dawoud Bey and Stephen Daiter Gallery, Chicago.
To See: Mario Testino
Photographer Mario Testino counts Gisele and Kate Moss among his closest friends, is a confidante of Gwyneth Paltrow and was chosen by the Royal Family to capture the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge for their first official portrait as a couple. Just imagine what a day in his shoes is like.
Starting this week at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, you can be the voyeur with the first-ever U.S. exhibit to cover his impressive 30-year career. Consider it your front-row seat to glamour, beauty and star-studded decadence — with plenty of elusive Red Carpet Royalty in action, from Lady Gaga to Lady Di.
Kate Moss, London, 2006. Photograph by Mario Testino. Courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Jordana Brewster On: Holiday Style
With the Holiday season around the corner, we asked the ever-chic Jordana Brewster to give us a few tips on cocktail dressing. But the Dallas star also opened up about destination getaways — and why instant oatmeal is a travel must — as well as her childhood growing up in her mother’s native Rio de Janeiro.
What’s Your Sign? Scorpio
Curious about what this month has in store for you? Then keep reading. As we move into the air sign of Scorpio (October 22nd – November 21st), astrology expert Susie Cox reveals all.
Dr. Sam On: Pioneers of the Breast Cancer Fight,
As we celebrate National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Dr. Samantha Boardman tips her hat to women who pioneered the cause — Evelyn Lauder, Betty Ford and countless women across the country and world who are doing something extraordinary this October.
Ask Barbara: Work-Life Balance
Q: I love my job. I love my friends. What’s the secret to a work-life balance? — Anjelica, Phoenix
A: As best as possible, try to focus on work while at work and your friends during social situations. Texting and emailing friends while at work or texting work issues during dinner with loved ones can throw everyone off balance.
Insider’s Guide: Imran Amed’s Calgary
Canada’s more than hockey and maple leaves. To fete our new outpost in Calgary, The Business of Fashion’s Imran Amed clued us in on what makes the country tick. Expect a few surprises, like the world’s biggest rodeo and a spicy something called the Bloody Caesar.
Tory’s Playlist: Cocktails, Anyone?
Shaken or stirred? These tunes are for holiday evenings with friends, starting with a bowl of cherries courtesy of The Mills Brothers and ending with Regina Spektor’s Ne Me Quitte Pas.
Best Dressed: Francesca DiMattio
Rising art star Francesca DiMattio is a deft mix master both in the studio — she’s famous for her coolly spliced sculptures and paintings — and the dressing room. She’s not afraid of playing with proportions (as in this version of Tory’s Elise dress) or going super-tailored one day and dressing “like a six-year-old girl in striped leggings, clogs and short cotton dresses” another. Though busy with shows in London, Manhattan and Clinton, New York, the artist took some time off to talk inspiration and her go-to gallery style.
Spotlight On: Nate Berkus
Rather than serve up another book about decorating how-tos, Nate Berkus shares a more intimate story in The Things That Matter. In it, he reveals his backstory and spotlights his favorite interiors that echo with the owner’s personality, whether it’s Fabiola Beracasa or Dr. Ruth. “There’s so much out there — in shelter magazines, on television — that it gets confusing,” he says. “The goal of the book is to clear that up. People’s homes should tell the story of who they are.” Here, Nate continues the tale — and shares his advice on home entertaining and décor.
Expert Guide: Christopher & Heather Tierney
Siblings Heather and Christopher Tierney consider themselves “experience makers.” Mission accomplished. Their bar Apotheke is a throwback to Old Europe absinthe dens while restaurant Pulqueria (handily, right next door) is a virtual slice of Mexico City. To celebrate the start of holiday season and all things cocktail hour, the duo share secrets from behind the bar, including how turn kale into a sexy-sounding drink.
Holiday 2012: Lookbook
If Fall was about a ladylike sophistication, then this Holiday season ups the ante in the most glamorous and refined way. It’s festive, yes — there’s plenty of sparkle throughout; just check out the crystal-covered heels — but the look is still coolly feminine and elegant. Think classic LBDs with subtle beading, lightly ruffled blouses paired with lace pencil skirts and louche print pajamas meant for nights on the town. All simple, striking and sexy.
Shop the lookbook and discover why, this time of year, quiet refinement speaks volumes.
Tory On: The Little Black Dress
Gearing up for rounds of holiday revelry? No doubt, the Little Black Dress will (and should) be in rotation. We asked Tory why she loves the look and why it works for so many different style tribes. Here, she’s wearing our Bovary dress and Pixie pump.
Trend: Lace Time
Lace is the new…lace. Truly a timeless trend, it looks especially right when the holiday season rolls around. We find the combination of covered up, yet coy — now you see a little skin, now you don’t — so much sexier than something overtly showy. Done in dramatic blacks and teals, these not-so-straight-laced styles are dressed-up but effortless: some slightly tousled hair and a glittering earring or clutch completes the look (and proves that lace is definitely more.). Shop the looks.
Ruthanna Hopper Brill On: Marin County
Tempted by the idea of a California getaway complete with hippie vibes, fall foliage, sand castles and wine tastings? Then consider heading to Marin County, just north of San Francisco. Here, L.A.-based author Ruthanna Hopper Brill — who counts Marin as her childhood home — tells us all about its leisure life and why she keeps going back.
Spotlight On: Pools: Reflections
Pools: Reflections is author and photographer Kelly Klein’s follow-up to her massive 1992 tome on the subject. This time, she introduces us to a whole new series of pools, each tempting us to jump right in. To say they’re breathtaking is an understatement — the one in Peru’s Equis House, for example, is practically suspended in the air. Here, Klein reveals her favorite and why she’s long been fascinated by what she calls these “sculptures in the earth.”
Book of the Week: Rebel Chic
As a new book Rebel Chic shows, Katharine Hepburn was the anti-fashion fashion icon. Starting in the 30s, she ignored prevailing Hollywood notions of beauty (read: ultra-feminine) and trademarked a certain kind of nonchalant glamour. Throwing a long fur over jeans (in itself a revolutionary move) and flats? Genius. There’s an accompanying exhibit at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Here, our favorite Hepburn quotes.
Word of Mouth: Julian Opie
Artist Julian Opie is putting a whole new spin on the term “window dressing.” You can check out his current exhibit at Manhattan’s National Academy Museum & School just by rounding the corner of Fifth Avenue and 89th Street. No entrance necessary. A few selects from his famous Walking Series videos — where tech meets classic figure drawing meets everyday traffic sign — are on display in the museum’s windows. Not in New York? Watch one of his films here.
Verity Walking in Dress (2), 2011 by Julian Opie
Spotlight On: Creel & Gow
Consider Jamie Creel and Christopher Gow the ultimate collectors of curiosities. In their new NYC boutique Creel & Gow, you’ll find everything from whale tusks and malachite obelisks to vintage furnishings by Pierre Giraudon. Here, the co-owners give advice on gifts and collecting 101.
Video: Look We Love — Tweed On Tweed
Just as Bob Dylan had Blonde on Blonde, we can apply that theory to some of our favorite style pairings: Color on color. Print on print. Texture on texture. It all works. Here, we took a traditional fabric (tweed) and multiplied it by itself. Layering on texture feels especially right for fall. The only trick is to keep the colors similar so they don’t compete — and you’ve mastered the mix. Get this look, or shop all tweed.
Meet the Photographer: Penny Ashford
There’s always an element of the unexpected in Penny Ashford’s photographs. A simple shot underwater turns into a dreamy abstract of pigments and light while landscapes, with her curvy horizon lines, toe the line between the real and imagined. We talked to the Boston native about her inspirations, obsessions and how to get the perfect […]
Dr. Clifford A. Hudis On: Breast Cancer Awareness
As part of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we spoke to Dr. Clifford A. Hudis, who’s Chief of Breast Cancer Medicine Service at New York’s Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He talked about the newest updates in breast cancer research and treatment and helped us separate fact from fiction.
Three things you want everyone to know…
The most important things to understand about breast cancer are that it is usually curable (about four out of five women diagnosed with it will not die from it), that treatment and its toxicities are increasingly limited and targeted so that the price for cure is reduced, and that prevention is possible.
Sally Wu On: Shanghai Art Scene
By trade Sally Wu’s a fashion designer who does knitwear for a host of New York brands. But she’s also an art aficionado, who’s done her own exhibits (e.g. 2008’s “Shanghai Kaleidoscope” at Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum). So when she told us she was heading home to Shanghai for a month to check out the art scene with close friend and ICP curator Christopher Phillips, we asked for a full report. Here, Sally on the recent SHContemporary and current Shanghai Biennale shows.
Skull sculpture by Zhang Wei Ran at SHContemporary