Chic in Shades

I wanted to buy myself a new pair of sunglasses before my trip but ran out of time. I have a pair of Tom Ford gold aviator sunglasses that still look good but I feel like it's time for a change.  I have been debating on a pair of large Jackie O style shades or the new cat eye style.  There are so many chic sunglasses on the people in this post that I now want to buy one of everything!  Enjoy!

Aerin Lauder in China

Cary Grant

Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's

Olivia Palermo

Jackie Kennedy Onassis

Grace Kelly

Harper's Bazaar editor Joanna Hillman

Catherine Deneuve in Manon 70

Photo by Vanessa Jackman

Francoise Hardy

GQ editor Madeline Weeks

Jackie Kennedy Onassis

Sofia Coppola in Paris

Robert Redford in Three Days of the Condor

Giovanni Battaglia

Bianca Jagger

Viviana Volpicella

Anna Dello Russo

Catherine Deneuve in Belle du Jour

Photo by Vanessa Jackman

Faye Dunaway and Peter Wolf

Photo by Vanessa Jackman

Charlotte Rampling and Jean Michel Jarre

unknown

Steve McQueen in Persol

Kate Lanphear by The Sartorialist

Yves Saint Laurent and Betty Catroux

Tom Ford

Anna Wintour in her famous Chanel sunglasses. That's all.

Don't Call it a Comeback

Those who were not lucky enough to be invited to the presentation of Tom Ford's spring 2011 women's collection can finally see what we missed thanks to Vogue.  The ensembles were presented by a coterie of Mr. Ford's friends who included models, singers, actresses and others.  Their ages, 22-67, and body types varied from bootylicious Beyonce to lithe Lauren Hutton.  That was the first clue that these will be  wearable "real clothes for real women."  

“I want this to be somewhere a woman knows she can go when she wants a great jacket—not a fake expensive jacket, something that has intrinsic value. I don’t think fashion has to change every five minutes. I’d like these to be clothes you can wear for a long time—ten, 20 years; pass on to your daughter. Why buy vintage when you can open your own closet!”

According to Vogue, "his collection will be small and exclusive, and sold only in his sixteen menswear stores, until next season."  The men's stores are so chic, that I don't think that will be a problem.  I also hope that he hasn't given up making movies now that he's back to creating fashion.  How about A Single Woman this time?

Photos by Steven Meisel for Vogue

Black Orchid

Tom Ford could design a garbage bag and it would be the chicest garbage bag ever.  I trust him to design the best of everything so I can already tell that his Black Orchid lipstick, nail polish, and solid perfume trio will be perfection. This is definitely going on my Christmas list!   I hope he's working on another film too!

A Single Man Sofa

I had a reader email me a few days ago after seeing Tom Ford's new movie A Single Man asking if I knew where to find the sofa seen in the film. I hadn't even had a chance to try to find out before the answer came to me! (I love when I don't have to do any work!) I was chatting with Steven Stolman, the Creative Director of Jack Rogers, when he sent me an image of the sofa from the lobby of his famous apartment building, The Reef, in Palm Beach which has the exact same sofa, or at least one that looks just like it!

Steven describes The Reef as "one of Palm Beach's mid century modern treasures" and it is home to lots of notable people including Simon Doonan and Jonathan Adler, Richard Lambertson and John Truex and Stockard Channing. Above is a photo of the sofa in the lobby designed by Palm Beach interior designer Jack Young. Steven's apartment in The Reef was featured in the May 2004 issue of Elle Decor and you can see photos of it on the Studio Annetta blog here.
The sofa is the Eero sectional by Rowe Fine Furniture and would be a fun sofa for someone who liked to entertain. I have a feeling that A Single Man is going to bring back the sixties style in decorating and if you want a similar look, you now know where to find it! You can check out Cinema Style's blog for more on the film decor too!

A Single Man

Everyone scoffed when Tom Ford announced that he was going to make movies after he left fashion but now that his new film, A Single Man, is garnering Oscar buzz, the critics are sitting up and taking notice. I've already taken notice of the chic 1960's interiors and think the design world may have a new favorite source of inspiration. It's clear that Ford is one of those creative types whose talent and vision translates into perfection no matter what the medium. The film is based on the Christopher Isherwood's 1964 novel of the same name stars Colin Firth and Julianne Moore and opens on December 10th. Bon Weekend!

Studio Sofield

Did you know that William Sofield and Thomas O'Brien opened Aero together? It was there that William Sofield met Tom Ford who tapped the interior designer to help revamp the Gucci boutiques and later designed the Tom Ford boutique on Madison Avenue after opening his own firm, Studio Sofield. Sofield and O'Brien used to both work at Ralph Lauren so it's interesting that Thomas O'Brien's aesthetic remained very American while Sofield's style became much more glamorous and luxurious.

I don't think there is anything wrong with a designer changing or evolving their style. It can happen as one expands their horizons and travels to other countries or is exposed to more expensive materials which is what I assume happened when William Sofield began working with Tom Ford. (I think a person could become more glamorous just by being in the same vicinity as Tom Ford!) I really wish there were more examples of the work on Studio Sofield online. There is a website where I am crossing my fingers they will post their design portfolio because I know there is much more to see!