Monica's Blog
Book Review: Drawn In, A Peek At Inspiring Sketchbooks
BOOK REVIEW: I’ve written in this forum about creating sketchbooks and scrapbooks as ways to collect the images and ideas that inspire you. I love tangible, old-fashioned archives like these, so I was excited to come across the new book, Drawn In: A Peek into the Inspiring Sketchbooks of 44 Fine Artists, Illustrators, Graphic Designers, and Cartoonists.
Vintage Finds As Emotional Treasures
JEWELRY: “One woman’s ‘trash’ is another’s treasure”: It’s a cliche saying, but so true. Last week at a panel discussion for the CFDA, I had the opportunity to speak afterward with Mad Men’s costume designer and creative whiz, Janie Bryant. Janie has a passion for the find: flea markets and vintage boutiques are a huge source of inspiration for her and a source, period, when it comes to dreaming up the wardrobes of the characters she is charged with helping to bring to live on TV.
Create Personal Style With Jewelry Building Blocks
MONICA’S BLOG: Recently, I came across an article in an old issue of British Harpers Bazaar on the subject of wardrobe building blocks. The premise of the piece was that a for a woman to create her own individual style, having good classic pieces is key. No matter what her lifestyle is, a stylish woman should always ensure her closet is properly stocked with those basics upon which she can layer key fashion pieces. Adding a great bag or shoe can instantly transform the outfit. It is in fact these building blocks that will allow you to show your true individuality.
I Wear It This Way, My Daughter Wears It That Way
MONICA’S BLOG: A love of style knows not the limits of generation or age–and it stays with you throughout your life. I’m so proud of the way my two daughters have cultivated their own personal styles. And, in celebration of Mother’s Day, I’d like to share two personal photos that reflect how an heirloom can be shared and reinvented between mother and daughter.
Vienna Style at the Neue Gallerie
MONICA’S BLOG: Currently at the Neue Gallerie is a can’t miss show Vienna 1900: Style and Identity, focusing on the decorative arts, Wiener Werkstätte furniture, clothing, jewelry and paintings of turn of the century Vienna, and comprising works by the era’s most influential creatives including Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokaschka.
Highlights from My Recent Trip to Paris
MONICA’S BLOG: I just got back from a whirlwind trip to Paris, which also coincided with Paris Fashion Week. While I wasn’t there to go to shows, I couldn’t help but feel the buzz while I was there. As fashion week traipsed on, I scoured the city, looking for those rare vintage pieces that do stay in our world forever.
Women’s Photography at the Museum of Modern Art
MONICA’S BLOG: This past week I went to see “Pictures by Women: A History of Modern Photography,” at the Museum of Modern Art. It’s always a treat to spend any portion of time amid works of photography created with old-fashioned film. Walking through the show, you can small the aroma of the darkroom lingering on the prints. The fact is, I still love to use film. Digital prints just do not match the depth and the soul of a silver gelatin print that comes alive in the alchemy of the darkroom.
A Recipe for the Exquisite: The Van Cleef & Arpels Exhibit at the Cooper Hewitt Museum
MONICA’S BLOG: This week I had the opportunity to go check out “Set in Style: The Jewelry of Van Cleef & Arpels” at the Cooper Hewitt Museum. First, a word about the venue: It’s perfect. Thanks to the Cooper’s grand architecture, at every turn you feel like a well-dressed woman dripping in Van Cleef finery can and will suddenly emerge.
What Goes Around Comes Around
MONICA’S BLOG: Like any woman who loves to shop, I’m always looking for that next treasure, whether it be a perfectly proportioned handbag or a gorgeous coat. And while attending New York’s Fall 2011 Fashion Week these past few days, I brought with me my usual heirloom- hunting agenda. Ironically, I realized my favorite looks were borrowed from the past.
History Repeats Itself in Paris
MONICA’S BLOG As a college junior, I spent five months in Paris, where I studied French, art and photography. I lived in a little room in the home of an older single Parisian woman and her dog. This May, I experienced deja vu when I picked up my youngest daughter, Laura, at the airport. She had just returned from a semester abroad in Paris, where she studied French, art and …
About Monica & MRKStyle.com
While there are many sites today dedicated to the pursuit of fashion and style, here at MRK Style we approach these subjects through a collector’s lens. Through exploring how people relate to Art, Family, Fashion, Food, Film and Travel—essentially life’s various, everyday obsessions—we reflect on how we all live with the things we love. Learn More
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