Merci Mandy!

Bonjour Mes Amis!

I have been in a blogging  "rut" as of late and have been needing something or someone to inspire me and bring me back to these moments in front of the computer that preserve my sanity and keep me connected to you~ It is in reading your posts and seeing the incredible talent and creativity you share with us that I too get inspired and refreshed.

Well, I decided to change the look and feel of my site to aid me in this task and could think of no better person to ask for help than Mandy at A la Parisienne ~ Une Ville Romantique Un Style Romantique ~

In keeping with the spirit of gratitude this week I have to extend a huge, resounding, heartfelt, THANK YOU to Mandy. She did an absolutely incredible job with Paris Atelier and brought such lux beauty and grandeur to the blog. I adore it and I hope you do as well. If you are planning a blog or Etsy overhaul, I encourage you to check out the other beautiful sites that Mandy has created and head over to Mandy's Etsy shop here. She is true talent and her creativity astounds me.

I am so lucky that Mandy accepted the challenge of revamping Paris Atelier for me, I'm afraid I was a tough customer. I could not come up with anything, I knew what I wanted but had no clear vision of the final outcome. In other words...I wasn't much help!

Mandy produced the most exquisite and glamorous site I have ever seen and I adore it! It is more than I could have imagined. I love my old banner so much but I needed a change after so long.

Mandy is such an amazing Blogging Friend, she is kind, helpful, honest, and pure. A soul so kind and genuine. I feel lucky to be able to call her a friend. I am so grateful for all of the beauty she has brought into my life.

This is just a taste of the exquisite beauty you will find in Mandy's shop

I hope you love the new blog as much as I do, it is everything I want Paris Atelier to be and more, glamour, sophistication, inspiration, and luxury all wrapped up in a perfect little package by Mandy for me!

Mandy has also started creating the most beautiful accessories for her Etsy shop. The brooches that she has created are breathtaking and decadent. Her blooms are so glamorous and versatile. She uses the finest materials and the quality is evident. Take a look at some of her feminine and gorgeous brooches here.

All Images are from A la Parisienne

Thank you Mandy for all that you have done for me and for your remarkable friendship. Your talent astounds me and your creativity is boundless.

And to you, my friends, I am so grateful for you and the inspiration and friendship we share with each other in this virtual world. It's a beautiful place to escape to, a wonderful place to recharge and get ideas to make my life more beautiful. I am a better mother, wife, friend, and interior decorator because of all of you!!! :) It sounds crazy but it's true!

Thank you and have a beautiful weekend. Happy Thanksgiving to my friends celebrating stateside

Xoxo

~Judith~

More Modern Marie

Lee Junghyun

Bonjour Mes Amis!

I have been poking around some old images I have on the desktop and just wanted to share a little bit more "Modern Marie" inspired images with you. You can see the first Modern Marie post here if you would like.

Enjoy!!!

This is a gorgeous Marie worthy room from Loft Life Magazine. I can't get past that enormous dripping chandelier (my ultimate weakness)!

Dior dresses on the steps of Versailles. Could you just imagine Marie and her companions the Duchesse de Polignac and the Princesse de Lamballe lazing away the days in these couture confections!?! Oh my!

This image from La La Lovely is just too pretty for words. The soft Pink bound books, the simple stark colors, the clean glass bottles, it's perfect.

Source Unknown

This image via Simply Seductive blog is breathtaking! I could waste the day away on this
canapé while tasting a macaron or two. Could you think of a prettier place to rest your gorgiously coiffed head?

Finally, my favorite part...the Louboutins! These are chic and Marie all at once. They are the Lady Page Loubou's and they are delicious!

Have a great weekend my friends. Please visit again as I have a special post demain about a special friend who has made my blog somptueux!!!

à bientôt!

Vintage: The Way Only Paris Can Do It!

Free'P'Star another great stop on your hunt for vintage fashion

Image from store website

Bonjour Friends! I have been aching to shop in Paris and I have been dreaming of a classic Chanel piece of jewelry. One from the time when Chanel herself ran things. *sigh*

For now it is a only a dream but someday! For now I am content visiting some amazing vintage shops in Paris. I hope you enjoy then as much as I have.

Mamz'Elle Swing Image from Allure.blogspot.com

Mamz'Elle Swing on the rue du Roi de Sicile is a favorite. I love the storefront and the owner is a wonderful lady. If you get lucky you may run into vintage Hermes, Dior, and Chanel here. A definite stop for any vintage gal.

Wochdom Image from ParisNY.com

Wochdom is one of the coolest stores I've been in. It has a dark club kind of atmosphere with dark walls and boutique merchandising. It a gorgeous place to shop. It really sets the mood for finding clothes with a history. the downstairs is amazing and huge!!! This shop is great you can find vintage Lanvin (one of my faves) mixed with ready to wear vintage, fabulous!!! Across the street you can find another Wochdom that specializes in shoes and accessories...heaven!!!

Quidam de Revel Image via Lucky magazine

Quidam de Revel is an incredible by appointment only vintage shop specializing in clothing from Roger Vivier, Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel, Hermes, Pucci, Dior, Lanvin, Biba, and Ossie Clarck. If you can get in the door you are in for a sublime treat!

Yukiko is an absolutely incredible shop. I saved the best for last. The owner Yukiko selects only the finest vintage for her beautiful shop. The place is dreamy, girly and sophisticated all at once. Making you think Grace Kelly is about to walk in at any moment. I didn't want to leave, seriously, I was forced by my companion to leave! Yukiko also produces her own line of very feminine furs and slinky pieces. The owner/designer has started an Eshop called Vintage Paris and it is fantastic! I drool every time I stop in for a peek! I'm about to go look now, I might just find my dream Chanel piece.

All Yukiko Images from Yukiko site

Have a lovely weekend my friends! à bientôt!

XOXO

Halloween...Old Hollywood Style

Frank Sinatra and Mia Farrow at Truman Capote's famous Black and White Masked Ball

Image via Berkley Library

Hello Friends!!! With Halloween (it is one of my very favorite holidays) swiftly approaching I thought it would be fitting to do a post on some of the glamorous stars of Hollywood dressed up in costume.

I adore this image of Cary Grant, Mary Pickford, Countess de Frasso, and Trullio Carminati at the Vendome Cafe in Hollywood for a costume party

Image via Corbis Images

I would imagine that after dressing in costume all day long for a movie the last thing I would want to do is dress up for a party, well not these fabulous stars! Here are some great images of some of Hollywood's brightest stars in disguise, enjoy!

Clark Gable, Carol Lombard, and WR Hearst

Image via Friends of 415

It seems as though Marion Davies (lover to WR Hearst, that is another post altogether!) threw some of Hollywood's most lavish and exquisite parties! Oh to be a fly on the wall at one of those extravaganzas! Only the most elite and powerful in Hollywood and the publishing business were allowed access to these amazing (often costume) events.

Gloria Swanson, Marion Davies, Constance Bennett, and Jean Harlow at a party at the Marion Davies Beach House in the early 1930's

Image via Robin Chapman News

They say that Marion threw over 100 of these lavish parties over the course of her famous relationship with the newspaper magnate.

Janet Gaynor decked out at a costume fete
Image via Give me the Good Old Days




One of my faves, Lucille Ball at a costume gala
Source unknown

The adorable Claudette Colbert dressed as Scarlett O'Hara!

Image via Classic Movie Favorites



Could you just imagine getting a gorgeous invitation to a fabulous Hollywood costume party and then prancing over to your favorite wardrobe department to request an outfit! Heaven!

My all time favorite "Tramp" Charlie Chaplin dressed as Napoleon for a WR Hearst party
Via Wikipedia



I am so in the mood for Halloween now! I can't wait to don my 40's glamour girl costume (seriously that's my costume this year) and paint the town Red, after I take my little Prince Trick-or-Treating that is. I have my vintage jewelry, vintage shoes, a satin evening gown, vintage opera gloves, and instructions for a fabulous hair do ready to go!

Joan Crawford all gussied up for a party

Source Unknown

For those of you celebrating Halloween this year Be safe and Be Glamorous!

Thank you so much for the always too sweet comments, and support, you are the best!!!!

XOXO

Judith~

The Rose Bowl

Bonjour Friends!!! Here is my (long overdue) follow up to my previous Rose Bowl post. Last month I went to the Rose Bowl as a vendor for the very first time! It was so fun and exciting. I had an amazing time and I just wanted to say thank you for all of the support and well wishes from you all!!! Thank you!


I have never done anything like this before! I have gone many, many times as a consumer but never as a vendor. I had no idea what was in store for me! Everybody repeatedly told me it was so hard and the day drags on but I found it to be exciting and fun!


My Mother~In~Law went with me to lend me a hand (thank goodness for her) and lots of friends stopped in to say hello! It was all so exciting. The day started very early (ahem, 3:30am) and off we went with our truck loads of antiques and vintage furniture. My Mother~In~Law didn't wake up and I thought "Oh no, I hope we make it". Then on the way there we were stopped on the freeway for quite some time because the freeway was shut down due to an accident, I thought again "Oh no"! We finally arrived a little later than I had anticipated and maneuvering through the crowds of people and the trucks and vans unloading was a nightmare! It was so crazy! It was dark and crowded and tons of people were walking around with their flashlights looking for deals! So fun!



Well, we finally got situated and unloaded and set up the canopy and I had so much fun trying to make everything look pretty! I couldn't help to wonder, maybe I should own a shop!?! I have to tell you I had an amazing time! I met some of the most fabulous people and had a blast doing it!


I didn't have a ton of luck getting rid of some of my bigger pieces but secretly I didn't want to let them go either! How terrible of me!!! I have some beautiful things left like the gorgeous White Iron daybed with Rosebud fabric covered pillows, if anybody is interested :) But I learned a lot from the experience and I can't wait to go out and do it again!!!

All of these pics are from my booth. I am not the best photographer but I think the idea comes across. I had/have gorgeous market baskets, steamer trunks, coat racks, a beautiful old fireplace mantle, and antique window rescued from a church in Paris and hand carried all the way home!
I really enjoyed seeing how much people liked looking at everything and I made so many new friends. What a wonderful experience! I will definitely be back!!!

Xoxo,

Judith~

Beyond Excited!!!

Bonjour Friends! I am beyond excited right now! Tomorrow morning I am going to be a vendor at the Pasadena Rose Bowl Flea Market!!! I can't contain myself! It is my first time as a vendor and I have been prepping for quite some time now.

I have gone faithfully to the Rose Bowl for years now but only as a consumer, and now I get to see the other side of it all!!

I would LOVE to get a chance to meet some of you if you will be there tomorrow, come on by!

Photos via Flickr

Of course, I may still find some time to do some shopping of my own ;)

Wish me luck! I will post the pics as soon as I get home!

XOXO
~Judith~

Hello Friends! As promised the fabulous Annie Leibovitz images from the infamous "Killers Kill, Dead Men Die". movie that Leibovitz captured for the 2007 Vanity Fair Hollywood issue. They may have already been around the blog world and they may be a few years old, but I believe they are so beautiful and relevant that I had to share them again. Enjoy! I added some great print from the Vanity Fair issue about the original idea and film below...P.S. I am dying over the gorgeous wallpaper in the above photo!

*Sigh* a smokey nightclub filled with gorgeous and mysterious characters. The slinky gowns and a cigarette girl, and men in tuxs! What more could you ask for!?!

"A clean print of the lost film noir classic Killers Kill, Dead Men Die was miraculously discovered at a Mulholland Drive lawn sale last month, resolving a mystery that has transfixed noir fans for decades. Little was known about the film for certain, though it has been the subject of wild rumors ever since the screenplay was written, probably in 1942, by Raymond Chandler (based on “The Big Blood,” a story by James M. Cain, and later revised, as No Orchids for Oscar, by Dashiell Hammett and William Faulkner).

It is believed that Humphrey Bogart and Robert Mitchum were originally cast in the roles of private detectives Oscar Slade and Dan O’Bannion, only to be replaced, several years later, by Sterling Hayden and Glenn Ford, and then—most intriguingly—by Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet. We know that Lauren Bacall loved the original script. But she passed her troubled-heiress role to Barbara Stanwyck when Fritz Lang replaced John Huston as director. (Lang later ceded to Stanley Kubrick, who let Joseph Losey take over when RKO sold the project to Republic Studios.) It is suspected that additional scenes were shot with Joan Crawford, Richard Widmark, Gene Tierney, Lee Marvin, Gloria Grahame, Ida Lupino, and Jimmy Stewart throughout the 1950s, when the picture was known by its two shooting titles, Dame Danger and He Died by Murder. After acquiring the Republic library in the 1980s, Ted Turner reportedly planned a colorized version of the film, which, curiously, is one of the few noirs actually shot in color. In this period certain scenes are also thought to have been reshot with Kathleen Turner, William Hurt, Melanie Griffith, and Michael Paré, under the direction of Brian De Palma. Based on a close examination of the newly discovered film stock (and the movie’s credit sequence, opposite), several noir scholars have even gone as far as to suggest that the picture was not completed until this year.It’s too bad, since this delay has deprived us of viewing an undeniable film noir classic. Every element of the genre is here: The Femme Fatale, sultry, scheming, and doped up on tranquilizers; The Private Dick, crawling through the gutter in search of a diamond garter; The Chanteuse and The Champ; The Doll and The Aristocrat; The Spy who knows too little and The Moll who knows too much; mistaken identity and double indemnity; high life and low society; shocking—though possibly nonsensical—plot turns; despair, lust, blood violence, and the cruel fist of fate. Finally, lurking in the shadows behind all this is the menacing figure of The Killer. And what does he do? Why, he does what all killers do: he kills.

~Excerpt from Vanity Fair

The Dressing Room

Alleycatscratch.com Publicity stills for the King Kong Movie

Hello Friends!

I've been catching up on all of your blog posts and I am overwhelmed with the creativity and beauty you bring into my life!

Joan Crawford preparing for a scene

I have been so inspired and I am now obsessing over glamorous dressing rooms and the fabulous backstage life in theatre, Opera, Ballet, and movies.

I stumbled upon a picture of Marilyn Monroe getting ready in her dressing room, and I fell into the rabbit hole searching for more backstage images. So here are some of my favorites to share with you...Enjoy!

Penelope Cruz in part of an incredible photo shoot by Annie Leibovitz. I will do a post on the entire Film Noir shoot tomorrow...stay tuned!

The beautiful Betty Grable and her famous legs Backstage in her dressing room photographed by LIFE magazine.

A ballerina in her dressing room by William K Daby. Just breath taking!

Artisticcostumes.com

Backstage at the Phantom

New Glamour! the dressing room of Kylie Minogue on her world tour. Fabulous!!!

TheWinger.com

A gorgeous ballerina backstage on the final night of the Nutcracker Ballet.

That's all for today! I want to set my powder room up to look like a glamorous Old Hollywood dressing room now! I can't wait for tomorrow's film Noir post. Have a fantastic day and a great week!!!