Happy Thanksgiving!

DAHLINGS -

It is that time of the year in which we pay tribute to all we are grateful for. I am not above that sort of thing, so here are some of the things I am grateful for:

1. Bucky the Wonderdog
2. My striking beauty
3. My gorgeous blonde hair
4. My plush figure and lovely legs
5. My high intelligence and keen perception
6. House, MD
7. Fashion and Fashion History
8. Red dresses
9. Oscar de la Renta
10. Silk chiffon
11. Croissants
12. Mojitos
13. Caviar
14. An assistant who doesn't balk at signing a confidentiality agreement
15. A staff that can actually do their jobs with a smidgen of competence (a pipe dream, I'm afraid)
16. My hordes of friends
17. My hordes of enemies (keeps life interesting)
18. Hats
19. All food except green beans

May you all have a wonderful holiday weekend, surrounded by as few relatives as possible. Personally, your faithful correspondent is going to stuff herself until she's ready to explode, and NEVER say, "Oh dear Lord, I need to go on a diet!"

Ciao,
Elisa & Bucky the Wonderdog

Metropolitan Museum Costume Gala Best Dressed 2009

DAHLINGS -

It took a bit of doing to find women who were neither excessive nor simply idiotic in their choice of garb at Monday's Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute gala opening for "The Model As Muse: Embodying Fashion." However, there were some absolutely stunning choices. And while mine may not agree with everyone, I'm certain that my first pick is one of the winners across the board:



Imam, who always displays the most amazing good taste, in a satin gown by Donna Karan.



Anne Grauso--so nice to see a real woman amongst the stick figures, in such a beautiful dress. If anyone knows who created it, please do let me know! (Although I am not a fan of skimmed back hair on high foreheads, but let's not quibble.)

Speaking of stick figures, I know that jaws will drop all over the world at my next selection.



Anne Hathaway covers up her gaunt figure in a wonderful purple dress by Marc Jacobs, with a 60s inspired bouffant hairdo that transforms her from princess to wild thing. In my opinion, it's a welcome change for her usual red carpet needing a glucose IV look.



And how gorgeous was model Oluchi Onweagba in her (of course) Oscar de la Renta black and white ballgown? I MUST own this one ASAP.



Here is Liv Tyler working a Jane Russell look in a dark blue Stella McCartney gown with smoky makeup to match.

Speaking of old Hollywood...



Special kudos to Marisa Tomei for wearing vintage ADRIAN!! She looks beyond beautiful, every inch the movie star. The designer would be so proud.

Sorry if there were fewer than expected, particularly at a fashion gala, but the truth is, there was less to choose from than I would have expected. For one thing, the Omnipresent Silhouette from the recent Fashion Week was everywhere: a tight waisted short dress with a bouffant skirt and overstated shoulders. Oh, there were variations...strapless, or one-shouldered...but not much inspiration, IMO. And yes, it looks beautiful on beautiful women, but how much effort does that take?

I also think I'm starting to suffer from Pose Fatigue. All of those hundreds of women standing in variations of two or three poses...hands on hips, hips forward, one leg forward, one hand on one hip...eventually they all start to blur together, dahlings.

Oh, dear, I really think I must lie down. Coming soon: entries about a new salon on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Isaac Mizhari, and anything else I feel like writing about. It is my blog-thing, after all.

Ciao,
Elisa & Bucky the Wonderdog

Dateline Washington DC: Michelle Obama's Inauguration Gown

DAHLINGS -

So, Michelle Obama is wearing a glorious ivory one shoulder gown by Jason Wu. (Jason Who? No matter, the entire world will know his name tomorrow.)


Photo by Damon Winter/The New York Times

The only problem with it is that she cannot dance in it, because the new President keeps stepping on the train. But it is so much more beautiful than some of the horrors other designers came up with. For instance, this strange concoction by Betsey Johnson:



The gown is crafted of ivory silk chiffon, embroidered with silver thread and Swarovski crystal rhinestones, with organza accents. The shoulder treatment is rather like a sash, exquisitely feminine and regal. One's only criticism is that it is a tad fussy, but why not on a night like this?



Our new President Barack Obama looks so handsome in his white tie. It suits him ever so much better than those stuffy business suits! Who would have thought we had elected Fred Astaire to the White House, sartorially speaking? Too bad he didn't go the whole route and wear tails, but during this terrible recession, it would have sent the wrong message.



FYI, I'm in a gown by my favorite designer, Oscar de la Renta, in blue and gold silk dupioni, and I am carrying Bucky in a custom-designed matching carrier (lined in absorbent and waterproof material inside. Your faithful correspondent has been around this particular block many times before). My feet are still cold--the Secret Service confiscated the space heater I stole from Dick Cheney at the Inauguration. How could I have slept with that man back in the day? What was I thinking? Oh, well, it was une folie de la jeunesse, and he didn't look quite so evil a few decades ago.

Must dash--I'm here at the Creative Coalition Ball at the Harmon Cultural Center and my nose is most definitely shiny! Actually, Anne Hathaway is bearing down on me with a look in her eye that tells me she read my blogs about the Golden Globes.

Ciao,
Elisa & Bucky the Wonderdog

Black Friday & The Vintage Blow Out Sale On Ebay

DAHLINGS -

It's Black Friday, and this week the vintage sellers on (ugh) Ebay are having a Vintage Blow Out Sale. Everything--clothes, jewels, accessories--is on sale for $19.99 or less, mostly less.



I myself have listed some things in my little shop. Do go have a look, won't you? Remember, it's cheaper and safer to shop online!

For example, this fascinating estate ceramic earring and brooch set, probably Japanese in origin:



Or this pretty sheer printed rayon 1940s dress with a gathered skirt and large pockets:



Happy shopping! Just type "VBO" into the search subject line and use "ending soonest" in the drop-down menu instead of the diabolical "Best Match". You'll be up to your eyes in bargains before you know it.

And if you are looking for a truly MASSIVE bargain, I'm selling over 100 pieces of men's and women's vintage clothing and accessories for less than $4.00 a piece. Hard to believe, I know, but there are Oscar de la Rentas, mint condition thigh-high stockings, and men's suits by Hart, Schaffner & Marx in these lovely brand new cardboard boxes:


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=390012275554

Ciao,
Elisa & Bucky The Wonderdog

Designers For You, Dahlings...

DAHLINGS –

Whilst in hiding until my hair grows out, I have hardly been idle. In these entries I often mention Fashion In The True Sense, and today it is time to show a few of the designer items I have in stock! Many vintage designers are unknown to the great unwashed, such as Paul Parnes, Helen Whiting, Leslie Pomer and others. But then there are the Big Names. Most of them I keep for myself, but I don’t mind sharing these three.

On Ebay currently I have listed this beautiful
ST. JOHN SANTANA FOR SAKS FIFTH AVENUE RED KNIT DRESS, XL:



SOLD!

On Specialist Auctions I have listed this marvelous, color-saturated

STEVE FABRIKANT FOR BERGDORF GOODMAN KNIT DRESS L:

So vibrant! So Sienna Miller!

VINTAGE 80s LIANCARLO SILK DRESS, S:



Entirely handmade, and 100% silk.

And soon, dahlings, I will listing some stunning Oscar de la Renta and Christian Dior!

Ciao,
Elisa & Bucky the Wonderdog

Fashion Week - Coco Rocha, Why??

DAHLINGS –

I had to take a break to Blackberry my assistant to send you word of the shows…I only hope no mistakes are made in translation.

Since Saturday I admit, I have been looking at the collections with an even more jaundiced eye than before, if such a thing were possible. I was refused entrance at the Marc Jacobs for show for my unflattering remarks about his Venice party a few weeks ago. I say, if you can’t take the heat, stay out of the atelier.

Speaking of heat, we are having some of the coldest weather in donkeys years here in New York City. I jump into my limo as soon as I’m finished with one show to go to the next (and to change my outfit and my chocolate box--each have to match!). But all the same, those five seconds on the sidewalk make me quite sympathetic to the less privileged. As long as they don’t try to touch me.

Carolina Herrera’s collection spoke to moi the most. So elegant, so classic, a little flat, but after some of the ordure I have seen on the models’ backs I was grateful for some dullness. There was some lovely dresses, in sophisticated purples and the ever-present gray (too much like the weather for my taste). Including a strapless number I will be ordering for myself that will show off my creamy shoulders perfectly.

Jill Stuart showed her collection at the New York Public Library. If there is a worse setting for a show than a huge, frigid marble cavern in winter, I’d like to know where it is. She claimed to be “inspired by vintage,” and yes, most of the outfits were copies of Swinging Sixties styles. Inspiration, my foot. I see the same things on Ebay—A-line dresses, peacoats (although Stuart had a lovely shade of blue for many of her things), fur toppers—for a fraction of the cost. For a change, the models were dressed more warmly than the crowd, which included many shivering interns in thin blouses and short skirts.

If Stuart’s inspiration seemed a little thin, perhaps it is because she is busy launching more product lines than Halston did when he was desperate for drugs. Not that I imply a thing, mind you. Just musing.

Lara Stone receives my vote for Model Who Looks Most Like She Was Just Hit By A Two By Four Before Her Entrance
The ubiquitous Coco Rocha for Model That Makes You Ask, Why?

Tanya Dziahileva for Most Starved Model (A Ferocious Competition, but Tanya tried to snatch a truffle from my hand at the Luca Luca show!)

The Oscar de la Renta show was wonderfully luxe. Furs, checks, so much to buy! I'm wondering who has had the tightest brow lift...Barbara Walters or Diane Von Furstenberg? Feel free to write in with your vote.

I am simply mad for his beautiful evening gowns. This was my personal favorite:



Of course the ubiquitous Coco Rocha was modeling, as was Tanya Dziahileva, who can look staggeringly gaunt in anything:


Off to see more…I’ve heard that Rod Stewart is in attendance. Did you know that he looks remarkably like my dear Mama did in her dotage?

I did have a lovely time at the Marchesa party (banned from the Marc Jacobs party, of course, and I know better than to try to get in). Harvey Weinstein is such fun, and we played "find the almond" in my decolletage.

A few more days of this and Rosie O’Donnell is going to seem like a breath of fresh air.

Ciao,
Elisa and Bucky the Wonderdog