Silent Film Fashion Moment

Bottom: Still from "Salome", 1923, starring Alla Nazimova.

Costume Design and Art Direction by Natacha Rambova - clearly an undervalued talent in Hollywood, since I bet you've never heard of her. Did you know she was the neice of Elsie de Wolfe and was at one time married to Monsignor-Hollywood himself, Rudolph Valentino (top photo)? She is credited for bringing Art Deco to Hollywood, and obviously some Art Nouveau influences as well. Bravo, Ms. Rambova!

J'adore Paris Vogue Collections

I was devoted to the first two issues of Elle Collections - and then I saw Paris Vogue Collections for Fall/Winter '08 and fell in love all over again.

You see, when I was still in high school I used to cut and paste my favorite images from magazines and catalogs to create a book that showcased the trends for each season. It was my dream magazine - images only, very little print, and certainly no celebrity interviews or book reviews to distract from the fashion at hand. Now I see my dreams realized in these two publications.

Nevermind the fact that they must be imported from Europe and cost $12 (Elle) and $30 (Paris Vogue) - these are magnificent documents of the seasons' shows and invaluable in this day and age of movie-stars-on-the-cover-of-Vogue and the over-stylized fashion sections in every other magazine. Genius layouts, slick editing, and a complete lack of advertising or discussion of other topics are the hallmarks of these fantastic publications. Kudos to each and every person involved in making my dream a reality - you have a loyal customer for years to come.

Elsa Schiaparelli's "Shocking Life" Available NOW!

FINALLY! It took me almost ten years to track down a fair copy of 1954's "Shocking Life," the autobiography of Italy's surrealist-designer and "rival" of Coco Chanel. That was with the help of the Internet. Now we can all partake of a brand new edition, published to coincide with this month's "Surreal Things" exhibition at London's Victoria & Albert Museum.

Purchase it at the V&A website for 9 pounds or pre-order at Amazon for $14.78 (how exact). God bless the V&A! You Londoners are so bloody lucky.