Bikini Lust

Sydney has had some beautiful weather over the last week. It well and truly looks, smells and tastes like spring. But as much as I love this season summer is what I well and truly crave and what I want is a bikini just like one of these.
This photograph - 1958, Cannes - is from famous American celebrity photographer Slim Aarons. He loved photos of beautiful people lounging by the sea or the pool. There is even a whole book - Poolside with Slim Aarons - devoted to such summery shots.
As Liz Lemon would say, I want to go to there.

Transformers

I'm enamoured of this editorial from the September issue of W Magazine, shot by Steven Meisel and styled by Edward Enninful. The models have been styled in barely there make-up as 'themselves' in clothes that they'd be comfortable wearing in their day to day lives. Then their entire looks have been completely transformed to help them channel style icons from the past including Gala Dali, Babe Paley, Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland and Dovima. This editorial, entitled 'Transformers' is as good a demonstration as any of the transforming powers of fashion and the art form that is getting dressed. Love.

A Bit of Winter, A Bit of Spring

Here's one of the outfits I've been living in this winter, sans the usual stockings and boots. I mentioned this vintage skirt before when I first picked it up from Twig Vintage on Etsy. It matches perfectly with the cropped periwinkle blue jumper I bought from John Macarthur at Purl Harbour in Bondi. There are some things I really miss about not living in Bondi anymore, and John's shop is one of them; he really does create the most divine knits, worth the investment. Plus this particular jumper I had imagined in my own mind before I event met it, and so when I did I was ecstatic. There are lots of over sized knits doing the rounds this winter but, for outside of the house wear, I much prefer something that doesn't disguise the waist.
In a nod to spring, which I'm willing on with all my might, yesterday I decided to pair this outfit with my new aqua blue Gorman clogs. Gorman always has some interesting pieces and I love the label's experiments with colour. How cute is this spotty outfit from their new Spring collection? Perfect with flats for a chic weekend away.

Late 60s Goldie

The other night I watched Goldie Hawn's first starring movie role in 1969's Cactus Flower, co-starring Walter Matthau and Ingrid Bergman. Goldie won an Academy Award for her turn as the ingenue Toni Simmons who attempts suicide in the opening scene. It's interesting that her daughter Kate Hudson's breakout role in Almost Famous wasn't dissimilar.

It's quite funny watching comedies from this flower power era as some of them are so self-consciously groovy. The scene where Goldie and Ingrid are dancing in the nightclub is hilarious. Having said that, this is a really cute film, with great performances by the three main leads. And Goldie looks as cute as a button. The costume designer on the film was Moss Mabry, who was also responsible for Barbra Streisand's gorgeous looks in The Way We Were. Goldie wears lots of block colours, super mini mini skirts and long gold beads in a nod to hippie culture. There's a fabulous scene where Walter and Goldie are in the Guggenheim and Goldie is wearing a gorgeous navy suit with a red scarf. Love it.

And here's the original trailer.

Louise Dahl-Wolfe

All those old Harper's Bazaar covers got me thinking about the photographs of the immensely influential Louise Dahl-Wolfe. One of my favourites Louise was a staff fashion photographer for US Harper's Bazaar from the late 30s to the late 50s. Here are a couple of eher arlier shots that are both tremendously evocative and thoroughly modern. And both those dresses are to die for.

Skorver1 has a great set of Louise's photographs on her Flickr page. Worth checking out.

Vintage Covers

It's a lazy Sunday night of TV ahead of my last week at Pan Macmillan, and my last author tour for them. What a better way to wile away some time than a trip down magazine cover lane. I'm loving these Harper's Bazaar covers from the 40s, 50s and 60s. I'm intrigued by covers where the model is facing away from the camera, they are playing with props or even when there is no model at all. The cover at the top is all about that glamorous earring. And there are so many gorgeous ways to photograph hats.
The covers of the 70s and early to mid 80s became very commercial and samey, until picking up again in the supermodel era of the late 80s. I might revisit those next, but in the meantime how cute does Audrey look in top to toe floral?