Lilly Pulitzer on parties
"That's what life is all about. Let's have a party. Let's have it tonight."
-- from Essentially Lilly: A Guide To Colorful Entertaining, via AP's Lilly Pulitzer obituary
I have never been a big fan of Lilly Pulitzer's dresses (though many stylish women have sworn by them through the years. I think you may have to have gone to prep school or been in a sorority to really pull them off?) But after reading up about her since her passing this past weekend at the age of 81, I am definitely a fan of her snappy bon mots and laid-back approach to entertaining (and shoes, and underwear, and life in general.)
Recommended reading: Vanity Fair's July 2003 profile "Palm Beach's Barefoot Princess" and W Magazine's December 2008 profile "Lilly Land."
Recommended reading: Vanity Fair's July 2003 profile "Palm Beach's Barefoot Princess" and W Magazine's December 2008 profile "Lilly Land."
The freedom of a jaded world
"Maybe it’s not a good moment to shock people, because they won’t be shocked anyway. Maybe it’s not a good moment to please people, because they won’t be pleased all the way."
-- Raf Simons, who recently assumed the role of creative director at famed fashion house Dior, on his latest collection, which has been praised by critics for "clothes with exceptional beauty and calm, especially for today"
This specifically was said about fashion, but I think it can apply to a lot of different areas these days in our media-saturated and always-on society. Viewed from a pessimist's perspective it could seem like this would spur a "who cares" kind of apathy -- but with a glass half full approach, this kind of world can actually start to sound really freeing.
Hip to be uncool
"Sometimes I'm questioning my work, questioning today, questioning yesterday, wondering is it good, is it not good, is it too much, is it not enough? I take everything seriously, not like, 'Well, whatever, let's do it, and try to be cool.' I'm not a cool guy."
--Lanvin lead designer Alber Elbaz, in a good interview with C Magazine (which I bought yesterday on a whim to pass the time on a Wi-Fi-less flight and am now seriously considering subscribing to.)
On being impressionable
"Her nails are unmanicured, which on her looks like the last word in efficient chic, and I suddenly find myself wondering why I bother with a weekly polish."
--from a recent New York Times Magazine article about Cate Blanchett written by Daphne Merkin
I'm certainly a fan of the weekly polish, but I can totally relate to Daphne Merkin on this: When I come into close contact with a smart, compelling, put-together woman, I'm liable to call every single one of my current sartorial choices into question.
If I'm wearing flats and I meet a cool woman in towering heels, I instantly wish I were literally in her shoes. Suddenly I want to swap my trendy pastel polish for her understated beige manicure, or vice versa. This happened most recently while covering the Women in Tech panel at Facebook, which featured some really brilliant (and amazingly dressed) women.
I recently read a memoir by Carole Radziwill that focuses in part on her friendship with the late Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy. I was too young to really appreciate CBK's style in the early 90s, but reading about her personality, and looking at her photos now, is enough to make a girl want to remove all her nail polish and toss out 90% of her wardrobe, jewelry, hair products, and makeup.
