The Gospel According to Coco Chanel

I'm soooo late telling you about Karen Karbo's terrific book, so here's a crash course.The table of contents nails it.Oh where would we be without our little black dresses?
And our pearls?
Merci Mille Chanel! All the marine looks and stripes. I never thought I was a Chanel fan but I have always loved marine stripes - Merci Mille Chanel.You will love this book, even if you think you don't own a single Chanel in your closet -- because in fact you do. We all do. Such a graphic, yet feminine touch -- the white camellia
Merci Coco. If you love simplicity and elegance... Then you love Coco. But something has happened to Coco's classics this season...I went looking at Chanel in New York downtown...

And uptown - Ouch!

Karl you are driving me to serious drink and cigarettes!

Where is the elegance?

Where are the classics?

Karl, please read Karen's book! You need a refresher course...ahem

I've never really longed to own a Chanel jacket until last summer, when I saw the Michael Jackson video where he sports this utterly simple, sparkly Chanelesque jacket at his 1983 first Moonwalk performance = it was instant love.

I found out he borrowed it from his mom's closet the night before!

Merci Karen for sharing your passion for Chanel.BONJOUR KAREN et COCO!

And merci Jeanette of Longears Manor for the link to Chanel's appartment.

I Still Love ABC

Santa waved his snow wand over New York City on late Saturday...
I heard there were big snow ball fights in Times Square.
Wanna come look in my favorite New York store, ABC Carpets?
They always do white for Xmas, so how a propos this year..
They favor the bear too...
The way I do...
Ah the old fashioned tinsel tree -- no trees were harmed...
And plenty of old fashioned vintage Santas to put under your tree...

Vaux vintage houses...

Well after all ABC is a home store --
we need shelter from the storm.

And home is where the heart is...tee hee
Home is where there should be plenty of gingerbread too...

BONJOUR ABC & NY SNOW!

Sherry-Lehmann

It's 3am hen in your closet you stumble on bits of your past you forgotten.

In one of my 9 or 10 past lives I used to illustrate wine catalogs for New York Sherry-LehmannI've always been influenced by Toulouse-Lautrec's drawings.

And for this Xmas catalog...
I did many direct take-offs from Lautrec's lithographs....

Lautrec was in fact influenced by the influx into France of Japanese woodblock prints. These too have long been a favorite of mine

Another take-off...

Last night I watched a favorite French farce -

Prete-Moi Ta Main / I Do - How To Get Married And stay Single

In it, the lead actress, Charlotte Gainsbourg (who I plan to come back as) while visiting her perspective inlaws impresses them...

By correctly identifing the wine as Bordeaux and from Chateau Latour. I might get the appelation but never the exact chateau even though I've sat in their vineyards and drawn the famous La Tour...

I've drawn onsite at Chateau Margaux too, but don't expect much from me at a blind tasting.

My pen is way better than my nose anyday of the week...

What will you be drinking this holiday?

No one draws animals like Lautrec
This Champagne hound is a distant relative of T-L's I hope

BON WEEK-END!

Bright Lights, Big City

Last night I went out to shoot the New York lights...
It was 30 degrees and I'd left my hat somewhere or other...
But hey this is the best time in New York!
Size is everything here...

Some things never change in New York...

And THANK GOODNESS for that!

Neon lights at Gucci...

I love Saks' giant snow flakes. Don't ever change Saks please.

Tiffany's sparkly doorway is always a welcome sight...

Ball park hot dog anyone?

New York's lite-up trees always please me no matter how cold it is....

Ah, the big star at the corners of 57th street & 5th Avenue...

Please always be there for us...

Do you have sparkly shoes to wear for the holidays..?

You'll need one of New York's special hot dogs after all that dancing...

BONJOUR NEW YORK LIGHTS!