{late spring + a new month}

"The world's favorite season is the spring.
All things seem possible in May."

~ edwin may teale

. . . bright mornings and starlit nights, shades of green and lily of the valley, breakfast on the terrace and afternoons in lacy dresses . . . the month of may is filled with promise and drifts closer each day to summertime . . .

happy may! wishing you a month lost in happiness & beautiful things,
~ roséline xo

{p.s.} more spring greens: here & here

......................................................................................................

{images: country home via greige; mocking bird; martha stewart via snippet & ink; valentina zelyaeva and andreea diaconu by david burton for elle russia, may 2011 via oh fashion models}

Perfect Pair: Winter Florals + Tweed

One of my favorite trends right now is florals for winter.  When the snow covers all forms of plant life and the skies are dark and bleak, it's a nice pick-me-up to wear a pretty floral.  Now, these aren't your Easter Sunday type florals.  These are dark, moody, Jacobean florals.  And when they are mixed with a handsome menswear, like tweed, they become the perfect pair!

Ralph Lauren RTW Fall 2010



via Ralph Lauren Home



Ralph Lauren RTW Fall 2010



William Van Aelst Vanitas Still Life via MyStudios.com



Ralph Lauren RTW Fall 2010

Jacobean Needlepoint via Bassett

Ralph Lauren RTW Fall 2010

via Martha Stewart Magazine Oct. '07

Ralph Lauren RTW Fall 2010





Jacobean Hand Hooked Rug

 

Ralph Lauren RTW Fall 2010
(LOVE this look.  I wish I would have been brave enough to have a
uber collar like this for my wedding. So Glam.)

Love Me Some Leopard

Michael Kors RTW Fall 2009

Open up any fashion or design magazine lately and you'll see leopard print is all the rage.  My question is, was leopard print ever out?  I don't think there is another print more well adjusted to luxurious living and from the pictures you'll find below, it's been style maker's favorite for decades.  

1960s Vogue via My Vintage Vogue

1960s Vogue via My Vintage Vogue

Metropolitan Home

I told my husband before we married that he must be willing to have at least one room of our home with wall-to-wall leopard print carpet. I still remind him of this about every 6 months and his reply: "Whatever you want, dear."  He knows how to keep a girl happy!

Diana Vreeland Office at Vogue

1970s Trench via This Is Glamorous

Vogue

Unknown

Elle Decor

Miles Redd

via This Is Glamorous





Ralph Lauren Paris 2010
(notice the beyond gorgeous parquet floor, another must for my future home)

My absolute favorite, Christina Hendricks for London Fog 2010

One word of warning, a little leopard goes a long way, so use with restraint or you could look like this:

Thom Filicia's Tacky House 'before' shot

 OK, I just threw up a little in my mouth.  I can't leave you with such an atrocious image, so I'll leave you with dreams of Michael Kors...

Michael Kors RTW Fall 2009

Design Legend: Ralph Lauren

One of the greatest legends of design is Ralph Lauren.

No one designs inspiring spaces quite like Mr. Lauren. While most designers spend years, decades, and even an entire lifetime pursuing a signature "look," Ralph Lauren reinvents himself quite regularly.  Style genres he has visited include:

English Country

Equestrian

Hampton

Rocky Mountain Rustic

Tropical

Parisian

And my personal favorite, Chic Contemporary

Audrey Hepburn said "Ralph has given American design a distinctive point of view and dignity.  He has given us the romance of the West, the glamour of Hollywood, the adventure of a safari, the purity of New England, the ease of a modern beach house, the richness of an English manor, only better than we imagined them."

This is what I aspire to be as a designer.   With world full of diverse beauty, why stick with one aesthetic?  Now this doesn't mean I encourage one to have every room of their house a different style (this could get a little schizo), but one should try to find beauty where ever they are or whatever their personal style is.

What is your favorite Ralph Lauren look? 

{at the shops: ralph lauren, paris}

. . . there has been much talk about ralph lauren's new flagship store in the quartier latin on the left bank in paris: housed in an 18th-century city mansion across the boulevard saint-germain from the café de flore, it was built on the foundations of an old monastery and completed in 1754; over the centuries, it has been a private home, the dutch embassy, the carnegie foundation for international peace, and, most recently, a government office building

through the carriage entrance and cobblestone courtyard is where you will find ralph's, the shop's polo-chic restaurant with tables in the old stables, {in the summertime, the courtyard}; there is a bar in the old tack room, and the place is enveloped in warm wood and leather chairs; here, you will find a menu of american classics -- new england clam chowder and maryland style lump crab cakes, crispy southern fried chicken, and, of course, seared double RL ranch steak . . .

{p.s.} previous at the shops:
* neology by mina, brooklyn
* mrs. press, australia
* rothschild & bickers, uk
* billy bride, australia
* satomi kawakita, new york

{all images by alix at the cherry blossom girl; some background from newsweek}

{new: kevin o'brien studio}

A chance e-mail lead to the discovery of Kevin O'Brien Studio + a lovely line of devore velvet, which begins with plain white velvet and is transformed into a colorful pattern of silk chiffon and glowing velvet . . .

The original patterns are still designed by Kevin, whose career began in fashion creating textiles for designers including Isaac Mizrahi, Donna Karan and Ralph Lauren.

He would later venture into home furnishings, creating beautiful hand-made, hand-painted fabrics including devore velvet and printed linen, and expanding his use of color and texture to create a home accessories line.

{the crested blazer}

The crested blazer had been adapted from its traditional English schoolboy and well-bred, aristocratic origins to become a part of the season’s preppy, collegiate look, along with wellies, tartan and plaid, and elements of the Equestrian Style.

Paired with jeans and a silk blouse and worn with a casual elegance, the sharp, blue-blooded tailoring of the crested blazer is no longer quaint and Old World, but stylish and thoroughly modern.

{Balenciaga F2007RTW}

{Charles Anastase S2008RTW}

{above and below: Gwynne Blazer with velvet trim by Joules}


{Balenciaga F2007RTW}

{Ralph Lauren Wool Crested Blazer}

{Welland Blazer by Joules}

{Ralph Lauren Wool Crested Blazer}

{Gwynne Blazer with velvet trim by Joules}

{via the sartorialist}