Archive for the ‘Fashion’ Category

7/10/17, Fabulous Again!!

Posted on July 10, 2017

Hi Everyone,

I hope you had a great Fourth of July, and did something really fun!!!

I didn’t get to celebrate the fourth, but I had a fun time going to the Chanel Haute Couture Fashion Show, with one of my daughters (who works in fashion herself, and had just put on a beautiful fashion show two days before.) As I’ve mentioned before, the stage setting at the Chanel shows are just AMAZING!! Not just the fashions. For one of his recent shows, they had a rocket ship center stage—a life size model of one, which was cleverly built to look like it was taking off. It was incredible. This time, they had built a replica of the Eiffel Tower inside the Grand Palais, where they hold their shows. And the top of it was enveloped in fog (smoke blowing at the top of it). I am always mesmerized by the scenery as much as the fashions. I can’t even imagine what goes into building those sets!!!

The show was very beautiful, and the clothes were just lovely—-for the fall/winter season. It’s always a special treat to go to their fashion shows, and I am always in awe of the genius and talent of the designer, Karl Lagerfeld, who is well into his 80’s now and still going strong, and a powerhouse and legend in fashion. It’s wonderful to see someone so full of talent, still creating, still innovative and still inspired—it’s inspiring just to see what he does. Time has not dimmed his talent or slowed down his creative genius!!!

Other than that, I have a new book that came out last week, “The Duchess”, it’s a historical novel set in the 19th century in England and Paris, about a young woman who, according to the laws of the times, inherits nothing when her father dies, and is turned away by her nasty half-brothers (Only men could inherit then, in England). From a privileged protected life, with an adoring father, she finds herself alone in the world, with no skills, no allies, no one to protect her. She goes to Paris, and through a series of unexpected events, she opens a brothel at the age of 20 or 21, and runs the most glittering, glamourous brothel in Paris, and finds herself at the center of power, surrounded by the most important men of the times. She eventually goes to America, and has a whole new life there, and the book is about how she turns adversity into a quite remarkable life, and what happens after that. It’s a different theme for me, and I hope you love it!!! A fun summer read for the beach or wherever you spend time this summer!!!

Have a great week!!
lots and lots of love, Danielle

7/3/17, Happy 4th

Posted on July 3, 2017

Hi Everyone,

I hope you’re enjoying a long weekend, and in the midst of barbecues, picnics, lots of celebrations, some down time, and time off work!!!

I had a really exciting experience yesterday. As you know, three of my daughters work in fashion, and regularly put on fashion shows for the designers they work for, to show the next season’s collection. Ready to wear fashion shows are a big deal these days, a lot of money is spent on them, and they really are spectacular and exciting to go to. I’ve never been able to see the shows done by one of my daughters. I’m never in the right city at the right time. And yesterday, I had a fabulous treat and saw her show for the first time. She is the collection consultant, which means she does the research before the collection is designed, coming up with ideas, suggestions, and directions for the next season’s collection. Then there are lots of design meetings, as the ideas take shape, fabric meetings, more research, and at the very end of all that, the samples of the collection are made, meticulous fittings, the models are hired, and on the day of the show, my daughter is back stage watching every look, every accessory, and watching the girls go out on the runway to wow the audience. I know what kind of work goes into it, she works till all hours at night preparing the show, and the night before the show, she is up all night, watching the sewers finish, and checking every detail till the very last minute. It is meticulous, grueling, exacting work—-exciting for us to see, but a HUGE amount goes into it behind the scenes. And after the show, they are involved in how it’s sold, the look book, photography, etc.

Just as a spectator, people worry for weeks about what they will wear just to SEE a show—there’s lots of press there from all over the world, usually famous people, and all the important editors from fashion magazines. Dame Anna Wintour (recently knighted by Queen Elizabeth II), the publisher in chief of Vogue, goes to all the shows, and was there yesterday, looking very glamourous as always.

The weather played tricks on us all. A week ago it was 100 degrees in Paris. For the past few days it was in the 50’s….brrrr…..freezing for July. And the day of the show it was pouring rain. The Proenza Schouler show was held in the courtyard of a beautiful old school in Pigalle, under the overhang of the stone building, so we were dry. And the clothes were absolutely spectacular!! I want all of it!!! Glamourous, beautiful, feminine, just gorgeous clothes. It was a very special event, because it was a ready to wear show during the Haute Couture week (of all handmade clothes). There was lots of embroidery and handmade details, a gorgeous evening jacket made all of feathers. Even the shoes were fun!! They make beautiful clothes. I was sooo proud as a mother to be there, knowing that my daughter was part of the whole creative team that put it together. It was a beautiful event—-and a HUGE treat for me!!! And right after the show, the whole creative team went off for a meeting, after being up all night!!! They work VERY hard in fashion!!!

And now tomorrow is the 4th of July. Have a fantastic one!! I will be spending it with 2 of my daughters. I hope you have a fabulous day, and see fireworks at night!!! Happy 4th, and please be careful on the roads, it’s a busy holiday!!!

lots of love, Danielle

5/22/17, Reese!!

Posted on May 22, 2017

Hi Everyone,

I hope you’ve had a great week. I’ve had a fun, varied, busy one. A wonderful Mother’s Day with my kids a week ago, and busy days since then. I’m in a frenzy of spring cleaning, cleaning out closets, getting rid of clothes I don’t wear (some very entertaining—-and embarrassing—-fashion mistakes, where I manage to forget both my height (5 feet 1 and a half inches!!) and my age, or some trendy things I never should have bought.) When I clean out my closets, I give the best of what I find to my five daughters, give a choice piece now and then to a friend, and sometimes donate or sell the rest. Every May, I spend a couple days with one of my daughters cleaning and scrubbing and refreshing the country house that five of my children share, which they own now, and where we spent summers when they were growing up. The place is 160 years old, and its hard work keeping it in good order, but I always enjoy projects like that. A book takes me more than two years to write, sometimes three, from my first notes on the concept, to outline, first draft, to the many re-writes I do, before the book is finally printed and then published at last. It’s a long process of honing, cleaning, building, editing—–but you take a messy, or tired, or dusty house, or a pile of things to get rid of and repair, or clean out a closet, and presto magic, within hours or a few days, you see the shining results right before your eyes. It’s so gratifying to get results on a project with a rapid beginning and an end. So I’ve been busy with that, found time to read a book I enjoyed, while I take a little break from my own writing (I never read other books while I’m working on my own), went to a dance recital and a school play.

But the highlight of my week was a very special visit. A few weeks ago, while in New York, I went to a birthday party with two of my daughters. The birthday boy was a good friend, a talented young fashion journalist, who knows and has interviewed some major stars. His birthday party was a fun event, at a bar that was taken over for the event. And there was a wonderful mix of young, talented, writers, actors, artists, business people, and some very famous people who were exciting to meet. Among them, I was thrilled to meet Reese Witherspoon, and have always been a big fan of hers. I love her romantic comedies, and also this week, I ‘binge-watched’ her recent TV series “Big Little Lies” and LOVED it!!! It’s a terrific series of 7 episodes, which has been a big hit, with some great surprises in it, and some wonderful actors and actresses (Nicole Kidman) in the cast. Reese is both acting and producing now, with enormous talent at both. I loved chatting with her at the birthday party, and decided to be brave (I’m normally pretty shy, and don’t like to intrude on people), and emailed her after we met, and told her how much I enjoyed meeting her, and how much I enjoy her work. A lively, friendly email exchange ensued in the past few weeks, and we discovered that we were both going to be in the same city this week, and agreed to get together—–and we did!!! What a treat!! She’s a beautiful woman, incredibly bright, enterprising, creative, talented, and full of exciting ideas. She was busy in the midst of a trip, and I had no idea if she could only spare half an hour or more. We wound up spending three hours together, talked incessantly, about her work and mine. I would love to do a project with her, and we kicked around some ideas. We both talked a mile a minute, about life, our work, our families, our plans, and our wish list of what we want to do next. In the 90’s, a meeting at a dinner party led to my 21 TV movies, and it would be a dream come true if our meeting at that birthday party led to our working together one day. And if not, I am thrilled to just know her as a friend. The time we spent together was a gift. She is warm, lively, vivacious, gracious to everyone who approaches her, she is an absolutely delightful woman, and I loved every minute of the time we spent together. And it is soooo invigorating to talk to someone full of energy and ideas. The time flew by. I could have talked to her for another ten hours, and look forward to seeing her again!!

It’s not every day I get to meet a movie star, and get to spend hours with her, talking about our lives and work. I spend most of my time locked up in my office, writing my books—or with my kids, when I’m lucky enough to spend time with them. So meeting Reese Witherspoon was a great big fabulous treat, like a super duper fantastic chocolate cake with whipped cream on top!!! Spending time with her made it a very special week!!!

I hope you have a wonderful week!! I don’t see how this coming week can possibly be as exciting as the last one was for me—-unless I get to see Reese again—-and I hope I will soon!!! Have a great week!!!

love, Danielle

PS. In response to some of your questions at the end of last week’s blog.

The little book I mentioned, with the house story, of the woman who hated her house, and then made it beautiful and she came to love it once she embraced it: The book is called “Gratitude: Affirming the Good things in Life”, by Melody Beattie, published by Ballantine. It may be out of print, I’ve had it for a long time, but it’s a wonderful little book.

In response to your asking if I’ve written a sequel to one of my books—-No, I haven’t. I have never written a sequel to any of my books. I don’t like comparisons, where people may prefer the first book, and might be disappointed by the sequel, so I never write them. Or at least I haven’t yet.

And one of you referred to my ‘flip phone’, because I admitted to using a VERY old cell phone that I love—–mine PRE-dates the flip phone, and is a tiny little Nokia, that has fallen on the floor a million times and doesn’t break. It lights up when a call comes in, or when there’s a message on it. I just love that little phone. I’ve heard that Nokia is going to make a modern version that looks the same, and I don’t know if that’s true. It is definitely a dinosaur but a beloved one. My kids and friends make fun of it—-but I just love that little phone, and I’m sticking with it, as long as there is life in it!!! love, Danielle

3/6/17, Paris in the Spring

Posted on March 6, 2017

Hi Everyone,

I hope all is well with you. I have been writing nonstop lately, working on a new book, so I’m sorry if I was uncommunicative for a week or two as the writing got intense and the book heated up. When I’m writing, I can’t concentrate on anything else!!

Well, as the song says, I love Paris in the Spring…but it is pouring rain, and today there was even a hail storm, this is ridiculous!!! We need some flowers and sunshine by now after the winter!!!

I took a break from writing when I finished a big chunk of writing on Thursday—just in time for one of my daughters to spend three days with me, on her way to do a freelance fashion job in Greece, and it was wonderful to have time alone with one of my kids. We went shopping, had lunch and dinner out, stayed up late talking, and watched a favorite TV series (the new English one about Queen Victoria, which is a knockout, beautifully done!! I had seen it and love it, but watched part of it again with her.)

She’s one of my daughters who works in fashion, so we went to the Celine ready to wear fashion show today, —-in the pouring rain. It was held indoors at a tennis club. And as usual, the characters and ultra fashion-y outfits were in evidence in the audience. Also, the important power figures were very much present: Anna Wintour, the editor of Vogue, Hamish Bowles and Grace Coddington (who is a legend) also from Vogue, there were editors and buyers, some clients, Suzy Menkes, famous fashion journalist and a legend too. It was a great opportunity for people watching, as well as seeing what was on the runway. The show itself was very serious, with clothes for the fall, subdued colors, simple clothes, and many things my daughters loved (one of them saw it on the Internet in New York). It was, as always, a fun way to spend a rainy afternoon. And I’ll be seeing two more shows this week. I guess fashion is just a fun way for me to relax for a minute between books, and with three daughters in the business, I’m always interested in what’s happening in that world, and what the new styles are for the next season. Since I went to design school, for fashion design, I still love to keep up with it.

I had a great time writing for the last few weeks, I love it when I get plunged deep in the story, and forget everything else that’s going on—the way you feel when you read a book, and can totally escape whatever is happening in your life. I’m editing another book now, and working on the outline for the next one.

I hope that all is going well for you, and that you’re getting at least a hint of spring wherever you are. Have a great week!!

love, Danielle

1/25/17, “Magic”

Posted on January 25, 2017

Hi Everyone,

I apologize for being two days late. I have been plunged in my writing for about ten days, and have done nothing else, glued to my typewriter day and night, with no break and no days off. But it’s Haute Couture fashion week in Paris, and I have seen three great shows. Really interesting contrasts, the three shows I saw were totally different, and I waited until today to write to you so I could tell you about them (I saw the last one four hours ago as I write this).. I had a ball seeing them, and wanted to share them with you.

As you remember, ‘Haute Couture’ is different because you have to order the clothes, can’t just buy them off a rack, and EVERY single stitch in them is hand made. They are made to the client’s exact measurements, and you have two fittings, so they fit perfectly, whatever shape you are. Twice a year, in January and July, they show a fashion show of the samples for the next season, so people go to the fashion shows, and pick what they want to order. Very, very, very few women actually buy them, most people go to the shows for the glamour and excitement. The fashion industry is a BIG deal in Paris, and is kind of an art form. And there are few haute couture clients, and very, very few designers who still do haute couture, and have the trained staff and ability to make those clothes. Working in an haute couture workshop takes a 12 year apprenticeship, before you actually get to make the clothes—–as long as it takes to become a doctor. The main dress houses who still make haute couture are Chanel and Dior. Dior has a new designer, and Chanel is designed by Karl Lagerfeld, a truly brilliant designer.

The Chanel haute couture fashion show is a ‘scene’, as chock full of exciting things happening in the audience as on the stage. It is a major spectacle, a huge show, with about 70 outfits shown, worn by beautiful models. The show this time (for next summer—-all summer clothes) was very lady like, in pale pastel colors, kind of ice cream colors, with tailored belted suits in pale tweeds. The models wore high heeled silver shoes, they could barely walk in them, and each model wore a pearl anklet. (I loved them!! I want one!!!). Each model wore the same hairdo, with their hair smoothed back in a wide flat bun, and the evening dresses had a LOT of sparkle to them. And even when the clothes look simple, they’re not, with embroidery and tiny stiches, beading, and delicate details. The women in the audience wore amazing outfits, VERY extreme. Many of them wore Chanel from previous seasons. One woman wore a floor length white fur coat, huge fur hat, and gold boots. Others wore hats, veils, tons of accessories, it was almost an overload of fashion addicts going wild, and vying for attention, with techno music at the Grand Palais, an antique glass structure. The decor was all mirrored screens and shiny black mirrored floors, people with wild hair does, and men and woman all dressed up for the show. It was very traditional Chanel, nothing startling or unexpected, and the most beautiful dress in the collection was the Grand Finale, a an absolutely gorgeous pale pink wedding dress with huge balloon sleeves, a tiny waist, and an enormous ball gown skirt and train. A knockout for any bride and gorgeous in pink!!!

The second show I saw was DAZZLING!!! It was fashion as art at its finest, designed by an extremely talented designer, John Galliano. He previously designed for Dior, left the fashion scene for a while, and returned to work for Martin Margela. He was previously an haute couture designer, and this was his first couture show for Margela!! It was a MEGA WOW!!! Mr. Galliano is a supremely talented and innovative designer and no one knew what to expect for this first collection for this new house for him. It took my breath away, and in an artistic sense was everything a fashion show should be as an art form. Different, exciting, beautiful, special, creative, fashion forward. Not easy for everyone to wear, but the models were truly beautiful, their hair and makeup was all different and perfect for each outfit. The accessories were just right, the music was touching, the setting was gorgeous. The show was held at The Invalides, an old military fort, and Napoleon’s tomb, an important monument. The show was in a small narrow room, with an exquisitely painted ceiling, and I think that only about 100 people attended, fashion magazine editors, buyers, and international press. ALL of the people who showed up to see it were stylish, interestingly dressed, and wore fabulous shoes (enormous platforms, men in gold shoes, women in very trendy outfits. It was a show for the fashion experts, the select, and people in the know. It was REALLY exciting being there. It felt like history being made. I have rarely seen a show I loved so much.

And the last show was different in its own way too. Shown in a rented hall off the Champs Elysees, when we got there, five models were performing what looked like modern Dance. They came onstage wearing short floaty brown patterned dresses, with enormous brown paper coverings over them and brown paper hats, and they began by stripping the paper way. Eventually, they were only wearing the chiffon dresses, with the paper stripped on the floor. And then they began tearing the paper, and continued dancing. I had another engagement then and had to leave. But it was fun seeing it before I did.

It was a varied and exciting experience. Haute Couture is always special to me because it is such a statement to me about fashion, and such an incredible expression of beauty and art. I had a fantastic time, and now I’m back to writing again. Talk to you next week!!!! Have a great week!

much love, Danielle

12/12/16, Wow!!!

Posted on December 12, 2016

Hi Everyone,

Less than two weeks til Christmas, I hope you’re enjoying it, and not dreading it, as some people do. I think I’ve almost finished my Christmas shopping. I’ve been seeing friends, a little shopping, and had an amazing invitation this week. I most enjoy seeing good friends around the holidays, and spending Christmas with my family, but as you know I go to fashion shows occasionally. They’re mostly in and out affairs, you dash in by invitation, sit down, the fashion show begins, and then half an hour later, after seeing some very pretty clothes, you leave. The locations and decor can be exciting and beautiful (like the year Chanel had flown in an iceberg from Sweden and placed it center stage for the models to walk around—-and then they flew the iceberg back to Sweden after the show. But this week I went to the fashion show to end all fashion shows, a MAJOR event. It took me by surprise, and was a real show stopper.

Once a year, Chanel does a special collection of ready to wear clothes (as opposed to Haute Couture, which is made to order and all hand made. Ready to wear is what you find in stores and can buy off the rack). They do the once a year special collection in an exotic location: Beijing, Dubai, Venice, Dallas, Cuba last year—-and the influence and style of the clothes is influenced by the location. They are called Metier d’Art shows, and are then referred to as the Paris/Cuba show, or the Paris/Dubai show or Paris/Dallas a few years ago, with a kind of cowboy theme. The fashion show introducing the collection is held in the location being honored. And although I’ve been to a lot of fashion shows, I’ve never been to one of these, and had no idea what a massive undertaking it is. They invite well known people in the city where it’s held, and their good customers, and they also fly in hundreds of glamourous women from around the world. So there are women there from South America, Asia, India, Hong Kong, Dubai, all over Europe, the USA, some famous, others just fashionable women. And I discovered that they pick up all the expenses for the women they fly in, airfare, hotel, etc. In this case, the fashion show was held at the famous Ritz Hotel in Paris, and the women invited stayed there too, for four days of related fashion events, all hosted by Chanel. They were given limousines, several of them borrowed clothes to wear to the show, and many of them were also all decked out in fabulous jewelry also by Chanel. Not knowing how elaborate this was going to be, I dressed in ‘grown up clothes’ (black slacks and a sweater, my uniform) wore a pale pink coat, and black suede high heels—-all my own not borrowed. The show was at noon, and I was stunned when I got to the Ritz Hotel to find that there were about 800 women there, at tables all over the lobby floor and restaurants of the hotel, for a noon lunch, followed by the show at 2pm. (There is normally no food served at fashion shows). The luncheon was very elegant, and the women (no men invited that I could see) were dressed to the nines, some even wore evening gowns, and floor length fur coats at lunch time, and tons of jewelry. I felt like a bumpkin from the country in my lunchtime clothes. Several movie stars were there, and the singer Farrell Williams. Lunch was elaborately served and very diet conscious, since probably all of those women were on diets!!! And champagne flowed. I don’t drink, so it was wasted on me. And finally, the fashion show started, it had a jubilant exciting feeling to it, and the theme was “Cosmopolitan Paris” this time, so they were mostly dressy city clothes, and some very glamorous creations—-and the usual beautiful models. It was definitely “A scene”, and not at all what I expected. There was a breakfast the next day, which I didn’t go to, where people could try on the clothes the models had worn the day before, as they threaded through the tables to bouncy music, and looked like they were having fun. Apparently, Chanel spends millions on those events, for publicity. It was dripping glamour, and I had fun, even though I didn’t know anyone there, except a friend of one of my daughters, and I was happy to see her. I was seated at lunch with four very nice Parisian women, and an Italian woman, wearing a gold evening gown, floor length sable coat and a ton of jewels. I looked a lot more subdued in my pale pink coat. It was definitely an experience, and I felt a little (or a lot) like Cinderella after the ball, when I went home to my dogs and my typewriter. And yes, one could think that there are more important ways to spend money, for charity, but in reality this is business for Chanel, great publicity for them, and I’m sure they donate to charitable causes during the year as well. So I had my moment of glamour, and had to share it with you.

Have a great week!!!

love, Danielle

5/23/16, Shoe Confessions

Posted on May 23, 2016

Hi Everyone,

I was packing for the summer, surrounded by tee shirts, bathing suits, light clothes, and mostly shoes, when I decided to make a confession to you. I’m not addicted to gambling, and have never been interested in it. Not addicted to any special past times, and never fooled around with booze or drugs…..but SHOES!!! I am confessing: I am totally addicted to shoes. Nothing makes me happy or cheers me up like a pair of pretty new shoes. I know this is not an area of great fascination to men, and their comment to any shoe purchase is usually, “but you already have a pair of black shoes”. Yeah, so??? That has never stopped me!!!! A girl can’t have too many shoes. Or I guess we can, but if it makes me happy, it’s not hurting anybody. I’m always finding some pair of shoes I love, and sometimes, some really crazy ones!!  My father always said that my first word was “shoe”, so apparently I started early!!

In the past, when the world was more formal and people dressed up more, I wore suits and dresses, but as the world got more informal, and we all live in jeans and people wear running shoes and flip flops even to work, I have settled into a sort of uniform: black pants and a black sweater (or black tee shirt in the summer), and I wear a lot of black loafers, or flats in the daytime. If I go out to dinner, I wear black pants and a nicer sweater. A coat, a bag, and a great pair of shoes I love. For me, shoes make the outfit. I love the black jeans at Zara, for about $20, I live in them almost daily, and reasonable black slacks that I find in Paris, but I go all out on shoes. I can’t resist!!!And I have much smaller feet than all 5 of my daughters, so my shoe wardrobe is safe!! I keep some shoes for years and years, and some of them still look great. I can wander through a store and not go crazy buying clothes….but the shoes snag me every time!!! I wear super high heels sometimes when I go out at night, am grateful for the little kitten heels that are in fashion right now, and most of the time I wear flats in the daytime, to run around in. And I am scared to death of platform shoes, terrified I will fall and break a leg or fall flat on my face. And there are still a lot of cobble stoned streets in Paris, even right outside my house, which don’t seem like a good mix with platforms!!

Anyway, as I packed this morning, I decided to share my shoe addiction with you, a lot of women seem to love shoes, and I thought you might get a good laugh out of some of my shoes!!!

The brands I seem to wear most are Chanel (some very classic, and their ‘ballerina flats’ are super comfortable!! And they do some very modern looking shoes too), Stubbs and Wootton (from Palm Beach and New York), and Charlotte Olympia (from England) are THE MOST comfortable. Their sizing is so consistent, you can buy them online and know they will always fit in your size. You can wear them for 18 hours of running around on the first day. Manolo Blahnik, are my most elegant, Gianvito Rossi the sexiest.

The Craziest:
-These are by Balenciaga, they are an architectural wonder. I bought them as a work of art, not to wear them. I can’t walk across the room in them, and have never worn them. But they are ‘cool’ to look at. I have another crazy pair too, in brown leather with wooden soles and orange laces, with antique buttons on them, they’re very exotic and strange, by Manolo Blahnik, they were a sample and were never produced. I couldn’t resist them at a sample sale. I wore them once, and felt like I should be riding a yak when I wore them. But I’ve kept them, because they’re unique!! (my children screamed at me when I bought them.)

Craziest

The Most Comfortable:
– Stubbs and Wootton: The “I love U” shoes one of my daughters gave me for Valentine’s Day, I wear them all the time.  The black velvet ones with my initials on them. I love them!!! Also incredibly comfortable. And their fancy ones for this past Christmas, with big rhinestones on them.

 

mostcomfortable mostcomfortable_2

 

The Cutest, ‘Fun’-est:
– Charlotte Olympia: They do a lot of very high platform shoes that I don’t wear, and some pretty evening shoes. But what I love are their “Kitty shoes” I have a lot of them, and I think they’re soooo cute. AND so comfy. Great running around fun shoes.

 

Funest:Ctest

 

The Silliest:
-These are by Celine, silly but fun!

Silliest

 

The Highest/Tallest:
– A pair of beautiful Chanel platforms, the only ones I own. REALLY tall!! I wear them at home.

Highest

The Sexiest:

– by Gianvito Rossi, classic shapes, high heels. Really pretty to wear in the evening or to go out to dinner.

Sexiest

The Newest (that I couldn’t resist):
– in the middle, a multi colored pair of Prada, on a low heel, that I’ve already worn a lot.
-The other four are all Chanel, my favorites are the pearl sandals. I can’t wait to wear them, and will wear them this summer in the evening, soooo cool!!

Newest

The Most Elegant:
-Manolo Blahnik are always my most elegant shoes, comfortable even in a high heel. They look so pretty. I wear some of their flats in the daytime, which are always very feminine looking, and their evening shoes are gorgeous.

Manolo

The Most Classic:
– Hermes: they make some ‘hot’ sexy shoes, but they also make wonderful loafers, and pretty flats and sandals, and some evening shoes. Beautiful quality. And I wear them forever, year after year. They never go out of style.

 

Classic

most_classic

 

 

My Oldest:
– Chanel sometimes makes beautiful classics. The little flat denim pumps, I have worn for about 25 years, and I just love them, and still wear them all the time with jeans. The combat boots are also Chanel. I wear them whenever I have some ‘mission’ that requires solid shoes. I wore them for 11 years on the streets when I worked on a homeless outreach team. So comfy, solid and sturdy. I’ve had them for about 25 years too and still wear them a lot. And the denim loafers are by a company I loved in Paris that is no longer in business, Harel. I’ve worn them with jeans for at least 20 years and still love them.

oldest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So now you know one of my worst vices and indulgences. Superficial and naughty, and sometimes expensive, but shoes just make me happy!!!

love, Danielle

Filed Under Fashion, Shopping | 7 Comments

4/25/16, “Pretty Minnie in Hollywood” & “The Apartment”

Posted on April 25, 2016

Hi Everyone,

I hope everyone is fine and doing well. I have Book News for you today—–two new books!!!! Both are coming out next Tuesday, on May 3rd.

I have a new hardcover coming out, “The Apartment”, about four young women who meet each other when they become room mates, sharing an apartment in Hell’s Kitchen in New York. Many, many years ago, Hell’s Kitchen was one of the most dangerous neighbourhoods in New York, home to several conflicting gangs who clashed regularly. It was an area no one respectable wanted to live in, or even walk through, on the West Side of New York, and deserving of its name. Today, all those once bad neighbourhoods, Hell’s Kitchen, the Bowery, parts of the lower East Side, have become gentrified, even fashionable, rents and sale prices have skyrocketed and they are highly desirable. Today, Hell’s Kitchen is an interesting mix of renovated old buildings, some of which were warehouses, and some beautiful newer buildings. It’s near the theater district, ballet schools, and some of the more creative areas in New York. So the apartment in the book is there, there is even a terrific produce market and flea market there on the weekends to add local color. The four young women in the book meet when they get together to share the apartment, and most of them didn’t know each other before. One is a young writer/playwright, involved with a much older Off Off Broadway theatrical producer, who is clearly taking advantage of her naiveté and her talent, and she is foolishly and madly in love with him. She grew up in LA, and is the daughter of successful TV producers. The other room-mate is a young shoe designer from San Francisco, with lots of talent and ambition and a horrible boss in a shoe company going nowhere. Her mother scrimped and saved to put her through design school, the young designer has very little money, and needs to share the apartment, a loft in an old building. The third room mate has a very successful job in the financial world, and a very dashing, handsome boss. And the fourth room mate is a Resident/medical student, who has no time for anything except her shifts at the hospital, and she has an identical twin who is a very successful and daring top model, with a slew of bad, dangerous boyfriends. The mischievous twin loves to show up with her own key, and fool the other room mates, as to which twin she is, often masquerading as her medical student sister. One twin naughty and one nice, which adds some spice to the group in the apartment. The room mate who works on Wall Street has a really great boyfriend who owns a restaurant in the neighbourhood, and keeps them well fed, and they host a family style dinner at the apartment every Sunday night for their friends. The book is really about the relationships that form among friends once they leave home and set out on their adult lives and careers. The four women are in their twenties and early thirties. All are from other cities. The young woman in finance grew up in Boston in a fairly broken family (her brother also moved to New York and works in PR). And the medical student/Resident moved to New York from Atlanta (Her parents hate each other after a bad divorce, and her father is remarried to a very young woman). The book is about the room mates’ hopes, dreams, and lives in New York, and who they become as they grow up, in the same apartment, and become good friends. It talks also about their families at home, and how their families affected them growing up, as is the case for all of us. Our original families leave their mark on us, both good and bad. The book is exciting and fun, warm and real as they face victories and disappointments, and some shocks as they learn more about the men they date, the people they meet, and those in their immediate circle, and at their jobs. It is a time in life which is important and forms us all as we become independent and grow up, often far from our original homes. I really hope you love the book, and reading about the four women in it and all that happens to them.

The other book coming out on May Third is my second ‘Pretty Minnie’ book, an illustrated children’s book, inspired by my white long haired teacup Chihuahua Minnie. The illustrations are just adorable, by a talented illustrator, Kristi Valiant. This second Minnie book is “Pretty Minnie in Hollywood”. Minnie lives in Paris, goes to Hollywood, and stars in a movie. She gets to wear lots of pretty clothes, stay at a fancy hotel, and wear a sparkly gold dress in the movie. Little girls will love this book and Minnie’s adventures. I LOVE writing children’s books. This is a huge splash of happiness, and fun, watching Minnie on all her adventures, in her adorable clothes. Lots of glitter, and the cutest illustrations ever. If you have a little girl in your life, she will love it—-I even give the Minnie books to my grown up friends who love clothes or dogs or know my Minnie. I really hope you love it!!!

KODAK Digital Still Camera

KODAK Digital Still Camera

KODAK Digital Still Camera

KODAK Digital Still Camera

So I hope you enjoy my new books as much as I did writing them. I am thrilled to share them with you.

Lots and lots of love, Danielle

theApartment

Preorder: http://bit.ly/1XqGf0x

Pretty Minnie in Hollywood

Preorder: http://bit.ly/1Sc1fdm

Filed Under Dogs, Fashion, Friends | 6 Comments

3/14/16, Hermes/Chanel

Posted on March 14, 2016

Hi Everyone,

I hope everyone is fine, doing well, and enjoying some decent weather somewhere. I am ready for some warmer spring weather, but not finding it in any of the cities where I live. When is winter going to be over? (I’ve seen snow in Paris twice recently, some big gorgeous lacy snowflakes. And several days of hail!!). Spring soon please!!!

In the meantime, this is the time of year, when I get to indulge my frivolous side with the ready to wear fashion shows. And they are fun!! I reported on the Celine show last week, which was very ‘fashion’, as the French say, much of it oversized and avant garde, which makes it not so easy to wear, but looks great on the right people.

The next fashion show I went to was the Hermes show, a distinguished, very elegant brand, best known for its leather goods: handbags and shoes (they even make gorgeous saddles for horses, and are also famous for their elegant riding gear and equipment). Their handbags are the most coveted and desirable in the world, with their 2 most famous styles of handbags being the Kelly, made famous by Grace Kelly, Princess Grace of Monaco, and the Birkin bag, made famous by the model Jane Birkin. Those two bags are the most desired in the world, sometimes with a very long waiting list to obtain them, and with astounding resale value at auction. Hermes limits the number of bags sold, and people sometimes wait several years for either of those styles in the size or color they want them. They are an enormous status symbol worldwide in the world of luxury goods. An Hermes bag is a sure way to a woman’s heart!!! In addition to their famous bags, they make beautiful silk scarves, men’s and women’s clothing (some incredible alligator coats and jackets). They make household objects as well. And they have had a new women’s clothing designer for the past year. Their fashion show was at the stables of the police cavalry, in a beautiful old building, with the inner space decorated with lacquer stages, with the models walking around them, in simple wool clothing for the most part, in soft neutral colors. It was a very pretty show, attended mostly by the fashion press, and store buyers. Only twenty major clients were invited, among them Kris (Kardashian) Jenner, whom I sat next to, and enjoyed meeting immensely. She is a lovely, warm, very appealing person, and I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with her during the show. » read more »

3/7/16, Paris Fashion

Posted on March 7, 2016

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for your patience with me, after weeks of writing, (and a few days off for a bad cold), I’ve surfaced and am back in the human race, although not for long. I’m just taking a short break, and then will go back to writing again. But in the meantime, I’ve had some time to enjoy some of my children visiting me. I always feel lucky to share time with them!!!

I got my nose out of my typewriter just in time for Paris Fashion Week: the big ready to wear shows in Paris that highlight fashions for next fall/winter. And the fashion world is buzzing with gossip these days, after a number of recent changes. The House of Dior parted company with their designer recently, and is looking for a new one to design ready to wear and haute couture, that’s a mammoth job, doing both, with several collections a year. Lanvin parted company with their designer too and are also looking for a new one. The designer at Saint Laurent is also leaving. There are rumors that Karl Lagerfeld might retire from Chanel next summer, which will be major fashion news if that happens (I hope it doesn’t!! I want Karl to stay where he is forever. He’s too good to lose!!). And there are always rumors about the other houses and designers, trying to guess who might be leaving. So fashion is a game of musical chairs these days. So this is a slightly unsettled season. It was also the first fashion week since the attacks in Paris last November, and I think many Americans were afraid to come to Paris, because the crowds were a little thinner than usual. But the city put their best foot forward, and there is a great deal of security everywhere in Paris now, at every fashion show, and in every store, bags are opened and the contents checked, wands to check for metal or weapons are in use, and there are a lot of security guards in evidence, which is all a good thing and reassuring.

I began my fashion week at the Celine fashion show in a tennis club in the park, at lunchtime on Sunday. Their show is always held there, and we sat in bleacher rows as all the notables of fashion walked in. The Queen herself: Anna Wintour, the Editor in Chief of Vogue, with her signature bobbed hair, and dark glasses—-looking glamourous and beautifully put together on Sunday morning with sparkles on what she was wearing., Grace Coddington, also an editor of Vogue with her signature mane of flaming red hair, sat down in the same row as Anna Wintour and the American Ambassador to Paris, Jane Hartley, sat a few seats down, with Wendy Murdoch between them. People are there to see what’s coming up in fashion for next season—-the stores then order the clothes in advance and we’ll see them in stores next fall. But first, all the fanfare of the fashion show. The show began with the usual beautiful models (mostly in their late teens) pounding down the runway in flowing but clinging dresses, cocoon shaped jackets and coats, comfortable looking sandals and footwear, some belted coats, some very fluid looking dresses, everything beautifully made, and exciting to see coming down the runway. I will admit that I felt most of it would look great on my daughters, but less so on me. It really wasn’t my look, and was a little more fashion forward than what I can get away with. I tend to wear more classic clothes, and less avant garde. But Phoebe Philo the designer at Celine has a fantastic eye and sense of fashion, and it’s exciting to see what she produces. My daughters went to the show with me and loved it. Lots of whites and earth tones, some gold, and some striking pieces in black. And everyone was talking about how great the collection was when they left. We really enjoyed it, and it’s always an honor to be there, since the event is invitation only, and mostly attended by buyers and the fashion press. With a smattering of celebrities and movie stars thrown in for good measure.

It was all very fun to see, and fashion week isn’t over yet. There will be lots more shows to see and comments to make, and guesses about which designers will be going to work where, and which designer had the best show. The hubbub was tremendous as always, and we all left having gotten a bird’s eye view of what lay ahead. Stay tuned…..more shows to come!!!

love, Danielle

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