99th Post!

A picture of some really rather nice shoes. Fendi, from Net-a-Porter.

WFP: Belle du Jour

Weekend Flick Pick

Being a blogger can be a very indecisive occupation. Par exemple, yesterday my mind was made up to write up a WFP on À bout de souffle. Today, however, after having an intense (and unexpectedly nice) dream last night (about kissing one of my ex-boyfriend's friends, and yes it was just a kiss), I decided to change it to Belle de Jour. Unfortunately my ex-boyfriend's friend, despite having his own unique charm, doesn't exactly look like Pierre Clémenti - as pictured below (who plays the gorgeous and youthfully over-enthusiastic gangster Marcel), but I'm sure the director of the film, Luis Buñuel, would have approved of my over indulgent psychoanalysis for this post anyway!

Belle is one of those giants of cinema that is luckily still very fresh today, and is much easier to sit through than Citizen Kane or Battleship Potemkin. Its subject matter is still incredibly shocking even by today's standards. Belle de Jour, is a pun on the French phrase,  Belle du Nuit, which literally means "Woman of the Night". You can guess then what the occupation of the leading character of Belle (Severin) is. The film inspired the song Venus in Furs by The Velvet Underground, and is referenced as the name of the lead character in British TV programme Secret Diary of a Call Girl, starring Billie Piper.

The plot is virtually impossible to describe as it doesn't follow a strict narrative sequence; plus there's lots of symbolism and dream sequences (or are they dreams?) They all follow the sexploits of Severin as she gives up the life of a bored rich housewife (these art house films are full of them!) and embarks upon a day job that most of us would find a tad weird. The Director Luis Buñuel has a great sense of humour and there are some hilarious laugh out loud moments. The film has a genuine feel of absurdity to it.

And then there's Catherine Deneuve; who is incredible in this film (and so is her wardrobe). It is  the ultimate guide in how to do 60's chic; I can't think of anything that betters it!

So if you are a bit of a prude/ or have never had an unsettling dream about kissing the friend of an ex, then this probably isn't for you, instead, I'd check out the post on the 65th birthday of The Moomins that I'm writing in a couple of days time!

60's French thug chic

Tord Boontje: The Lacemaker

Tord Boontje is one of those designers who creates objects which leave you speechless. The light shades which he designed for Habitat in the late 90's, changed the way in which people in this country shopped for their home furniture. Previously, interiors were all modernist design-by-numbers minimalism. Boontje broke the mould. His work is inspired by fairytale glades and nature gone wild. It is both cutting edge cool, and also a bit Arts & Craftsy. There is a new exhibition of his take on modern lace making at the Marsden Woo Gallery which looks incredible. Check out the below exhibits!

The e-shoe.

This is apparently the world's first wireless-guitar shoe, and is a collaboration between Chicks On Speed and shoe designer Max Kibardin. No, I don't know how I've managed to live without a pair of these until now either!

Water Sylph

As much as I adore all the colourful trends that have been happening recently in the world of jewellery, the clear simplicity of these items from Saks Fifth Avenue, really stands out. This is pure jewellery detox! First piece from Stephen Dweck, second and third, Kenneth Jay Lane.

WFP: Scarface

Weekend Flick Pick

Scarface has to be one of my favourite 8o's films. It has everything you could possible want from a flick: Style, glamour, violence, thrilling nail-biting moments, potential incest (OK well possibly not quite everything). Al Pacino is the fire-rocket that is Tony Montana, and Michelle Pfieffer plays Elvira Hancock, the glamourpuss wife of his drug dealing business partner Frank Lopez (who Tony incidentally bumps off as he's rather taken a shine to Elvira himself!)

The violence in this film is full throttle. I would warn you that if you are averse to grisly scenes, then you might want to go and make a cup of tea at the beginning of the film when the shower scene is on - Clue: think shower curtain rails, handcuffs, a chainsaw and lots of fake blood, and no, I still can't watch it either!

In terms of ideology, Scarface is hardly likely to win the  "lets-paint-the-Latino-community-in-a-really-positive-light award", but if you can get beyond that, then the storyline is very compelling. In fact it's so sit on the edge of your seat nerve-racking that you might actually end up eating your full body weight in popcorn before you even get to the bit where Tony decides that actually he doesn't fancy his murdered business partner's wife anymore - he fancies his sister!

...and then there's that fantastic gun totting end scenario, which gives even Rambo, or Bonnie and Clyde a run for its money! This film is a must see, but either buy in some Calms tablets or nerve tonic first!

Michelle Pfieffer;  rich bored housewife chic

Colette, Paris...

...no, not the Sapphic-scibbler of great novels such as Gigi and Cheri. Rather, I'm talking about Colette the mindbendingly-cool shop on the Rue Saint-Honore, Paris, that is more like a stockpile of pop objects d'art than a boring old shop. Anyways, today, thanks to the bang-on-the-money girls over at Throw a Tantrum Magazine, I stumbled across this awesome collaboration that Colette have done with Warner Brothers to celebrate 75 years of DC Comics! Top Frenchie-fashion honchos have been commissioned to create the pieces, and according to Collette's website, this is who's responsible for what: "Alexis Mabille for The Joker, Balmain and Lanvin for Batman, Karl Lagerfeld for The Green Lantern, Sonia Rykiel and Maison Michel for Wonderwoman, Pierre Hardy and Julien David for Superman, Thierry Lasry for Plastic Man, Repetto for Flash, and Roger Vivier for Catwoman." Definitely my fashion-superhero dream team! Have a look at some of the below and try to guess which item of clothing belong what super hero!