{favourite five: artist photographer romina shama}

It is true that a picture can convey a thousand words through just one still image -- but what if that image is so divine it simply takes your breath away and there are no words?

Romina Shama is a Swiss-born, Egyptian-Italian fashion photographer and film director whose works will leave you utterly speechless, for she does not merely photograph her subjects, but rather, it would almost seem that she is illuminating their thoughts. Romina, who lives and works in Paris, combines the raw beauty of natural light along with the classic style of an analog camera to produce a strikingly delicate and cinematic effect in her photos. Her photography leaves us wondering about the romantic daydreams of her subjects and makes us long for the heavenly, dream-like escapes portrayed therein.



Having studied film in addition to photography at Central St. Martin's School in London, Romina and the work she produces have undoubtedly been impacted by aspects of cinema. This week, we asked her:

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{what are the five most intriguing ways the study of film has influenced your photography?}

1. Roland Barthes wrote: "... an image produces death while trying to preserve life". This very feeling is exactly what attracted me to photography. I started thinking that in avoiding life, I may be able to portray it. I started focusing on capturing "absence", or the "let go" feeling in all my subjects and landscapes. I decided I wouldn't "take" them.

2. There's a cinematographic feel to my photographs and a very photographic feel to my films. They are linked. Together they help me avoid the fact that we perceive time as linear.

3. Films that are made for the sole purpose of creation inspire me very much. To me, they make time feel dimensional. Sometimes, they make me want to capture every frame of them.

4. The timelessness of great films.

5. The fact that I always wished I could pause life and rewind it at times.

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{p.s.} previous favourite fives:
* interior designer: tricia foley
* jeweler: camille eddera
* artist: kimia kline
* actress & fashion muse: chloë sevigny
* floral stylist: denise porcaro
* entrepreneurs: rent the runway
* designer: rachel ashwell
* fashion photographer & illustrator: garance doré

~ laily

{images: all photography by romina shama}

{favourite five: photographer garance doré}

The New York Times refers to her as “the guardian of all style”, her beau calls her the “Illustratoriste” for her commended work as a fashion illustrator, Vogue.com named her one of the 40 women of the decade . . . clearly, French fashion blogger and photographer Garance Doré’s ultra-stylish influence has been felt by not only the fashion world, but the world at large.



Whether she is covering fashion week in Milan, snapping portraits of fashionistas in New York, posting personal chatty, witty -- yet simply charming -- monologues, sharing her photographs from the latest French Vogue editorial she shot, or displaying her collages and fashion illustrations, the street-style photographer & fashion illustrator's blog evokes a style that goes far beyond trends: the scope of her work is timeless and chic; it is for this reason, the fashion world is at her feet.


above: snaps of doré & a feature in interview magazine

Garance’s musings give us a rare glimpse into the thoughts of a fabulously stylish Parisian woman, and even though her posts imply French women are the masters when it comes to effortless style, they still have a few tricks up their sleeves, and this week, she lets us in on some of her style secrets . . .

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{the top five things french women never leave home without:}

1. Baume Crème de Rose from Dior, for the pot & the perfectly pouty lips.

2. A pair of sunglasses -- to provide mystery!

3. A book by Françoise Sagan because she has an incredible perspective on life and was so rock'n roll -- in the French way, of course.

4. A pair of Repetto ballet flats (the real dancer ones with very soft soles) -- great after long hours in heels.

5. A pen. To write, of course, but also to put your hair up when you're tired of having it in your face. I don't know why, but every French girl does that!

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{p.s.} previous favourite fives:
* interior designer: tricia foley
* jeweler: camille eddera
* artist: kimia kline
* actress & fashion muse: chloë sevigny
* floral stylist: denise porcaro
* entrepreneurs: rent the runway
* designer: rachel ashwell

~ laily

{images: from garance doré's blog, as well as previous posts, here & here; all collages compiled by this is glamorous}

{countdown to the royal wedding: high tea}

. . . and with the royal wedding merely days away, there is talk of duchesse satin gowns and horse-drawn carriages and happily ever after, and if you're hosting a tea party to mark the momentous occasion, be certain to serve vanilla bean buttercream cake, scones and profiteroles, and vanilla & coconut macarons, of course . . .











{photography by natalie hunfalvay for hello naomi, here & here via 79 ideas}

{photographer: patric shaw}

. . . positivity enchanted with these photographs by fashion photographer, patric shaw . . . the softness of light with its dreamy cast on every billowy pleat and ruche of delicate tulle, turning bare shoulders and cheekbones into gold, the insanely lovely pinkish lavender walls and the utterly perfect play of light and shadow . . .

{p.s.} the first dress is j.mendel & the second is chloé


{roza gough by patric shaw for vogue russia brides, S/S 2011 via oh fashion models}

{hello & thursday musings}

". . . il n'est jamais trop tard pour être ce que tu veux être | it is never too late to be what you want to be . . ."

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. . . somewhere, a diary holds all of these things -- the secrets of happiness, and of love, of dreams and plans and the awaiting adventures of far-off places . . .

{image: photography by alicia bock, quote from here}

{have a lovely winter weekend & links}

. . . the midst of another winter weekend after a wonderfully whirling week, and it has been coffee & croissants in the morning and whisked away out of town for dinner in the evening, a glittering set of antique cut crystal stemware sent as a surprise from p's grandmother, and now, cozy on a saturday night with languid dreams of a late morning and sunday brunch, flower markets and the heady sent of luxurious bouquets, mohair blankets and the utter romance of watching the world fall away . . .

hope you're having a stunningly lovely weekend wherever you may be & that it's beautiful where you are,

~ roséline xo

{a few lovely links:}
* interiors: new england & calypso blue
* colour inspiration: frosty mint
* for dreary winter days: arts & culture
* for the new year: dreams and thoughts
* at home: pretty scent candles {via tea for joy}
* weathering winter: january blues
* fashion inspiration: sunglasses & leopard print
* at home: paperwhites
* at the market: gold lamps & ysl silk scarves

{as always, a few things you may have missed:}
* office inspiration: light & bright
* hello & pink azaleas on a winter's afternoon
* new year's resolution: less work & more play
* décor inspiration: gracefully gilded
* on display: artful arrangements
* colour inspiration: cerise & hermès orange
* two lovely things: beautiful details
* at home: pale & pretty pink

{new for the weekend:}
* plans & dreams: ce matin la

{images: the coveted via moodboard}