Patchwork Iris

who else?

Iris Arpel

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why don't you say?

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"the most beautiful things since the gondola"

 photograph of Ulla Van Zeller of Model's Own from her site HERE.

why is it if anyone else said such a thing one might be tempted to scoff ?
However
since- Diana Vreeland uttered this-
about
BLUE JEANS-
it is chic
witty
and utterly true.
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JOLIE-LAIDE, SJP& DV by way of EEE

Jolie-Laide

Etymology: French

good-looking ugly woman : 

woman who is attractive though not conventionally pretty.

from mr. webster

I am a fan(a big one) of EMILY EVANS EERDMAN'S blog & this particular post stuck with me-JOLIE-LAIDE The Beauty of Imperfection. Read the entire post here.

I think SARAH JESSICA PARKER fits the bill, as you must know from my little augury quote:

There is no excellent beauty 

that hath not some strangeness in the proportion. 

Sir Francis Bacon(1561-1626)

I say Thank the gods for women like her in this day and age.

 SJP is on the cover of ELLE right now. see more here

excerpted here: all words are Emily Evans Eerdmans'
It is much more interesting to look at something that is slightly imperfect, slightly askew - whether it be a room (MC would purposely pull her curtains off one or two hooks) or a face. And who else but the French would come up with a term for this? "Jolie-laide" or "pretty-ugly" is hard to define, and perhaps, like many French expressions, isn't meant to be.

...the 1963 cover of Harper's Bazaar by Richard Avedon
model Danny Weil

"Mr. Worthington sent me the 1963 cover of Harper's Bazaar (top photo) which apparently caused quite a stir: "Only recently it occurred to me that there was an elaborate insider's joke going on~ Richard Avedon was channeling Diana Vreeland with this model's navy blue hair, makeup, cigarette holder (inside the magazine, the same model wore a snood). Then, Walter Winchell ran a squib which implied that the model was in fact not a real woman at all! It was never verified and has intrigued me ever since." (again from EEE)

Whether this be so- the resemblance is distinct- as are the gestures.

Of course! DV's world-always on our minds-was just reimagined in a recent HARPER'S BAZAAR featuring SJP as DIANA VREELAND. Read the story here.

Why don't you just dress up like DV? I am certain she would be highly diverted!

SJP channeling DV

Too bad Bazaar missed the opportunity to explore the DV-SJP likeness on its cover. Surprising? NO. Disappointing? YES.

SJP in a chintzly-lacking Garden In Hell.
&

The real DV divinely reclining in her own.

  Come now-Tell me what you think? JOLIE LAIDE? Who would you add to this beautiful LIST?
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Keep Calm & Carry On

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the inspiring calm of a David Hicks room

Some people- some rooms- Exude a spirit of CALM. Nobody does it better than the Brits. Whether it be their glossies, their artful dodger or tweedy fashion sense or their approach to comfortable, yet luxurious living- the Empire can turn out- COOL, CALM, LOW KEY STYLE with aplomb.

This now "everywhere" image has its roots in the Second World War-Britain. When in spring of 1939 war with Germany was all but declared- the British Government planned its strategy to maintain morale, inspire courage and provide reassurance to its people.

fashion Empire style

The KEEP CALM story begins with three posters created under the crown of King George V during WWII.The first two were widely released, appearing on billboards, train stations and shops in England.Production commenced in August 1939, with a print budget of £20,600 for five million posters. The first poster phrased by a civil servant named Waterfield- was simply the following-the crown of George VI, the bold red and white poster & the words‘Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution will Bring us Victory’. The second poster read ‘Freedom is in Peril’.

an original

the cool Vivien Leigh,1936

photograph by Madame Yevonde

The third design, read ‘Keep Calm and Carry On'- reserved for the ultimate crisis feared- Invasion. The poster remained uncirculated-

image from here 

The poster  resurfaced after about 60 years later in a box of books purchased at auction in 2000 by Stuart and Mary Manley of Barter Books in Northumberland.

The KEEP CALM poster was hung in the shop and the pair started to research their find. Requests to purchase led to the reproduction of the poster and the rest in HISTORY- as they say.

 A message that continues to resonate. Perhaps-we take ourselves a little to seriously, when reflecting on the original creation of the mantra. The clean crisp look of the words with the iconic image of the crown designwise could not be more current. In a time when making the message clear was ALL- it is a refreshing, nostalgic- but ultimately a powerful presentation our world today.

Think about this simple,powerful design when the blowouts and blow-ups of the Holiday Season blow in. Repeat-
Keep Calm & Carry ON. & Again- if necessary.

 cuff links with a white shirt

a rubber stamp would be great

oh wait-
they have that too, 
available here.

Perhaps an addition to my design proposals.

David Hicks lit a polonaise 

CARRYing ON

& in today's modern world-the ultimate Cool approach by Brit0Anya Hindmarch, handbag design darling, posing in her Living Room,as seen in VANITY FAIR 2009 here

 inspired-

image from here

all fashion images from Style.com here, Vivenne Westwood Red Label, Graeme Black, Aquascutum, Ossie Clark.

all things are available at the KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON website here 
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Barry Lyndon IV or More of A Rake's Progress.

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This spectacular image was presented to me by an aesthete reader. Though He has been reading for just a bit here at Little Augury- I sense a kindred spirit. This picture appeared with the note- I think you will appreciate this of all things-

Yes, and there will be others intrigued by the beauty of this ink drawing on paper. "There's a tiny signature on the pistol down below the primer, hard to make out in the last shot, but I think you should be able to see it ..Sadly I don't have many details-except that it’s by 'Hession,' ink on paper.The drawing was a graduation gift from a favourite Aunt & Beyond that I don't really know much. It seems to be a design that didn't end up being used for any of the promotional materials."

The beauty of the drawing-is unquestionable. The detail- & Yes, my dear reader is incredibly talented in the same area.Looking at the drawing, I am reminded that much of Barry's life revolves around war, violence, the gun- and it's conflict with his life long quest for beauty.

So much of Kubrick's film is a symphony played larghissimo, lamentando-the Duel between Redmond Barry and Lord Bullington is no different. The setting of the duel is a chapel- a "stage" as well. This is the moment where some of the dissatisfaction in Barry falls away. Bullingdon-Barry's stepson is such a failure, a disappointment and a waste- In contrast, Barry the soldier, the practised gentleman-is momentarily redeemed as the illusive better man.

"As the duel begins Bullingdon's second asks, "Mr. Lyndon, do you know the rules?" Barry abides by the highest ideals of the code of the society he has aspired to enter. He declines to fire at Bullingdon after his stepson's pistol accidentally discharges. Lord Bullingdon, a secure member of the dominant class, interprets the rules of the game from his own perspective, and declaring he has not "received satisfaction" refuses to waive his second shot and conclude the duel. He fires again and Barry is maimed and ousted.
The final moments of the film are underscored by the insistently sweet and forward-thrusting piano trio that accompanied Barry's romance with Lady Lyndon and his rise in fortune. The irony here is a source of pathos. Barry exits, maimed, lonely, and baffled. Lady Lyndon hesitates for a second (her gesture is doubled by a bass tremolo) before blankly signing a document that seals Barry's fate. The epilogue tells us that we are all equal in the grave."   Michael Klein on the Kubrick
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ANDY- BIG SHOTS

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"Big Shots: Andy Warhol Polaroids," a new exhibition at the NASHER, on the Duke campus  gives rare insight into the mind of the artist who wanted to capture the world like a camera.  Indeed HE was ahead of everyone- and wouldn't HE be impressed with his own more than 15 minutes?

"In the future, 
everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes." 
AW

The Big Shots show features about 250 Polaroids and 70 silver gelatin black & white prints taken Andy from 1969 to 1986. Many of them are on public view for the first time.

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"Big Shots: Andy Warhol Polaroids" is organized by the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University; the Ackland Art Museum, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and the Weatherspoon Art Museum, University of North Carolina at Greensboro. All three institutions received gifts of about 100 original Polaroid photographs and 50 gelatin silver black-and-white prints in 2008, in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Andy Warhol Photographic Legacy Program, a division of the Andy Warhol Foundation in New York.

 the exhibition will open from Nov 12 through Feb 21, 2010.

here some of his gorgeous blondes

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MAGNOLIA the New Work of Agnes de Bethune

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I am in awe of Agnes de Bethune, and not because of that fabulous name! It is her work that amazes, inspires-fills me with remembrance.

Her words:

"Realism" in painting, at this stage in history is practically meaningless. All paintings are realistic. Any references, however finely depicted, to objects, persons and places are completely incidental to the act of painting, and in my opinion, to the result of that act. As much as a painting may resemble a photograph, or be derived from photographic sources or informed by photographic references, it cannot be a photograph. Painting represents the distillation of emotional responses to the artist's experience of the universe both within and without. It is a physical act of love and of ambition, at once kinesthetic and spiritual.

 Her work:

Magnolia III

(30 x 22)

watercolour

 Magnolia IV

Her site here 
 another little augury post about Agnes here
..

calling all Chic Canine Lovers, SIT. WAIT.

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How could Little Brown have missed this book for US HOLIDAY consumption!

Shame,shame, shame.but do not despair-

It is the must have book-or as the Daily Mail says MUTT have-but I will not-(not nearly Chic enough!)

I know scads of Chic Canine Lovers who would go catch a frisbee for one of these-or maybe even wag their tail. Never know.

Go fetch!
Run, run, run really fast, race like a maniac round to-

Amazon UK- more than happy to oblige.

Read more from the Daily Mail here
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