{runway inspiration: bally, new york}

. . . skinny belts and elegant high-waisted pencil skirts, toggle coats and long leather opera gloves -- graeme fidler and michael herz for bally's pre-fall 2011 collection is pure lady-like perfection . . .

{p.s.} yellow & grey in the home

{style.com}

{colour inspiration: overcast skies}

. . . early monday evening and the skies have already fallen dark, and earlier, brilliant leaves of orange and crimson, floating in the autumn breezes and fluttering along sidewalks, everything cast in utterly romantic shades of overcast skies . . .

{p.s.} a few updates:
* features & favourites
* fashion & photography

{images: 1 - linen & lavender; 2 - scan, photography by laura sewry for victoria magazine march/april 2009; 3, 4, 5, 8 - matteo; 6 - linen & lavender; 7 - .la doleur exquise.}

{décor inspiration: a sense of grandeur}

. . . adore the idea of enveloping the walls of a small space in deep charcoal hues and positively filling every corner with perfectly ornate and beautifully embellished details -- chandeliers and velvet, walk-in closets and wine cellars, silk curtains and tufted headboards and wonderful french antiques -- to create a certain romance, an old-world charm with a luxurious sense of grandeur . . .

{1,000 square foot bungalow of designer & stylist lizzie carney; photography by bjorn wallander for country living, scans by shelter}

{hello & a few things . . .}

. . . hello! a quiet evening after a busy late-summer day, a little exhausted and beautifully so, after an amazingly productive start to the week and already it feels as if time is slipping away . . . and drowning, drowning in e-mails and a little overwhelmed -- if you have written and have not received a response, please take no offense, and click here . . .

hope you're having a perfectly wonderful week so far,
xo

{photography by tommy ton for jak&jil via apartment 34}

{blog inspiration: linen + lavender}

. . . completely over heels for this stunning room -- the incredibly elegant chandelier, the soft greys and crisp linens . . .

. . . and always exciting to discover new & wonderful blogs positively filled with beautiful things, such as linen + lavender, {here & here} a place that have been visiting nearly obsessively for the past little while and a place absolutely made for wandering about, getting hopelessly caught up and utterly lost in . . .

{p.s.} previous blog inspiration: bardot in blue

{also new today:}
* summertime, summertime
* happy monday

{this image, linen+lavender via beautiful things to share}

{photographer: patrick demarchelier}

. . . a very longtime fan of photographer patrick demarchelier's work and was absolutely delighted to happen upon this shoot with emma watson, who took a few moments off from studying from exams to strike a few elegantly windblown poses; adore the soft, painterly quality of the shots, contrasted with the stark regality of the black & white portrait, and most of all, the ruffles paired with french grey in shades of blush and champagne . . .

{p.s.} the second dress is chanel

* more patrick demarchelier here & here
* more emma here & a fun video of the shoot here

{images: patrick demarchelier exclusively for vanity fair june 2010}

{colour inspiration: petal pink + french grey}

. . . charming florals paired with elegant mirrored side tables and delicate lilac petals on bright windowsills, tea cups and cakestands and beribboned shoes; alongside marble and mother-of-pearl and bits of gold and whether in shades of champagne, taupe or tea rose, shall always and forever adore perfectly pretty pink . . .

{images: 1 - unstitched.; 2 - romantic homes; 3 - apartment therapy; 4 - rosie tupper via a glamorous little side project; 5 - sunday suppers; 6 - everything fabulous; 7 - a previous post; 8 - mitica illustrations; 9 - tumblr; 10 - stylist kate morris via 79 ideas; 11 - krisatomic; 12 - jamo associates for laura ashley; 13 - trouvais; 14 - a previous post; 15 - rachelle vance}

{two lovely things: same room, different light}

. . . happened across these photographs quite by accident and weeks apart, drawn to the striking combination of grand chandelier and gilt mirror, only to discover they were of the same room, in different light -- the first, warm rays and soft greys with a glimmer of gold, and the second, a more casual, rustic elegance, in deeper shades of slate and cobalt -- the difference is like spring and autumn . . .

{p.s.} more two lovely things

{images: 1 - red ticking; 2 - scan by haute design, photography by h. del olmo for côté sud, june/july 2008 via sacramento street}

{colour inspiration: driftwood}

. . . soft summer skies and the nostalgia of worn floorboards, quiet glimmers of crystals on a chandelier, a sequined wrap or a mirror -- on this early may afternoon, daydreams are filled with the warm, seaside shades of driftwood . . .

{images: 1 & 3 - scans by this is glamorous, photography by polly wreford for at home with white by atlanta bartlett; 2 - gemma comas; 4 - new farmhouse style via the city sage; 5 - a previous post; 6 - photography by andrew hayes-watkins; 7 - 1st option via sanctuary; 8 - tumblr; 9 - brabourne farm; 10 - dreamy whites via felicity; 11 - thread social}