Inspiration

Prints Charming

June 4, 2015

Antimo is wearing a shirt today made from hand blocked Indian cotton given to him by his school friend, Aryaman. India produces some of the most exquisite textiles in the world, a tradition which goes back more than 3,000 years. What an adventure it would be to travel the country collecting fabrics from each of its 28-states. I would make cushions, curtains and culottes out of the material (well, not me personally –– I’m no Maria) and snap up kanthas a plenty. In the meantime, I’ll have to ask Aryaman to sneak a few into his backpack when he visits this summer.

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Happy Thoughts

May 29, 2015

Iole is playing Wendy in her drama club’s production of Peter Pan, with a final performance at the Passe Muraille Theatre in downtown Toronto. She knows her lines by heart, but it’s very possible that she’ll forget every word once the big velvet curtain goes up. “I’m scared of all the grown-ups,” she said to me last night. “Of course you are,” I said. And then I told her what my friend Polly said to me just before I spoke in front of hundreds of people at our friend Zelmira’s wedding. “Just remember, everyone in this room is on your side. Everyone in this room wants you to succeed.”

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40 Love

May 28, 2015

I’m not one for watching sports on the tele, but few things beat a wicked Wimbledon final. This year, if the weather holds, I’ll be feting the finalists on my front porch with flutes of champagne and piles of strawberries. Feel free to join me. Dress code: Tennis whites.

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Sunny Side Up

May 27, 2015

I lost my sunglasses last week, and of all the sunnies I have ever worn, those black and white graphic Illestevas suited me the most. I loved how they made me look and feel just the right amount of eccentric, and how they could take an outfit as mundane as joggers and a tshirt and give it attitude. The problem with the ones I’m wearing now –– a pair of pink gold glittery miu mius –– is that they are a smidgen too extravagant. They’re conversation starters, and I’m not always in the mood to talk. And I’m definitely not always in the mood to disco. So, I’m on the lookout for a wicked pair of sunnies, that like my Illestevas, sit on the ride side of ridiculous. If you see something that hits the mark, please holler.

p.s. I found them! Moments after writing this post, wrapped in a pair of Luma’s bloomers! But a girl can never have enough sunglasses, can she?

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Alice

May 26, 2015

I like gardens to be wild, imperfect and bursting with whimsy. It’s this time of year that our own garden is most enchanting, when the neighbour’s wisteria spills over our fence to mingle with our fabulously unusual fringe tree and when the path that leads from the house to the garage is covered in tiny white blossoms from the sky high trees above. The rickety Ikea table and chairs that we abandon in the snow year after year looks just fine, considering, but I would like to see something more charming there. Yes, a chaise or a table that looks like it leapt from the pages of Alice in Wonderland would be lovely, thank-you.

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Hotel Tonight

May 21, 2015

It’s a dream of mine to live in a hotel. Not for long, mind you. Three-months or so of room service, frette sheets and fresh daily towels is all I need. I wouldn’t choose Coco’s Ritz or Eloise’s Plaza though. My hotel is chic and bohemian, with chamber maids that call me, “Honey,” and a concierge that walks around with a rare bird or a Persian Chinchilla in his arms. My favourite hotels have always been the small, eccentric ones with views that take your breath away. These days, we’re a three ringed circus, so we need a place that won’t fret over spills on the frettes, and a place that will take Iole, Antimo & Luma on room service rounds while Jason and I play rummy on the terrazza. Any ideas?

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A Dress

May 12, 2015

You know those people that you meet at a cocktail party, the ones that seem quite pleasant, who then laugh so hard that champagne shoots out of their nostrils? Well, that’s how I feel about a fabulous dress. I love it when people turn out to be sillier, funnier and more eccentric than I thought, and I love a dress that surprises me with imagination, humour or whimsy.

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Neck And Neck

May 6, 2015

I’m not one to shy away from a maximalist approach of beads and baubles set against print on print, but sometimes the day calls for one punchy juxtaposition instead of a mishmash of many. Few things support a statement necklace better than a simple white t-shirt. Think of it as a clean canvas for an artist’s work. Because that’s what these are –– eye-popping works of art.

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Fancy Dress

May 5, 2015

If you’re at the Met Gala –– the single most important event on the fashion calendar –– wearing a red column, (Reese, I’m looking at you) then perhaps you shouldn’t be there. This is the night for flamboyant and frivolous, for daring and audacious. Yes, this is the night for a canary yellow dress with a fur trimmed train that chugs on for miles. Bravo Rihana. Bravo SJP. And bravo to anyone with chtuzpah enough to be ridiculed and revered, from here to Shanghai.

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Witch Way

May 5, 2015

Sometimes my children ask me if I know any witches. “Yes. Your Yiayia.” My mother and her girlfriends are these brilliantly eccentric, bonkers mad women that would have totally been burned at a stake were they living in medieval England. They’ve known each other for decades, cackle like crazy and share a loyalty that is fierce. We, their daughters, are sadly nowhere near as weird. But with 25-years on us, we’ve time to cultivate it.

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