Perfect Pair: Winter Florals + Tweed

One of my favorite trends right now is florals for winter.  When the snow covers all forms of plant life and the skies are dark and bleak, it's a nice pick-me-up to wear a pretty floral.  Now, these aren't your Easter Sunday type florals.  These are dark, moody, Jacobean florals.  And when they are mixed with a handsome menswear, like tweed, they become the perfect pair!

Ralph Lauren RTW Fall 2010



via Ralph Lauren Home



Ralph Lauren RTW Fall 2010



William Van Aelst Vanitas Still Life via MyStudios.com



Ralph Lauren RTW Fall 2010

Jacobean Needlepoint via Bassett

Ralph Lauren RTW Fall 2010

via Martha Stewart Magazine Oct. '07

Ralph Lauren RTW Fall 2010





Jacobean Hand Hooked Rug

 

Ralph Lauren RTW Fall 2010
(LOVE this look.  I wish I would have been brave enough to have a
uber collar like this for my wedding. So Glam.)

Love Me Some Leopard

Michael Kors RTW Fall 2009

Open up any fashion or design magazine lately and you'll see leopard print is all the rage.  My question is, was leopard print ever out?  I don't think there is another print more well adjusted to luxurious living and from the pictures you'll find below, it's been style maker's favorite for decades.  

1960s Vogue via My Vintage Vogue

1960s Vogue via My Vintage Vogue

Metropolitan Home

I told my husband before we married that he must be willing to have at least one room of our home with wall-to-wall leopard print carpet. I still remind him of this about every 6 months and his reply: "Whatever you want, dear."  He knows how to keep a girl happy!

Diana Vreeland Office at Vogue

1970s Trench via This Is Glamorous

Vogue

Unknown

Elle Decor

Miles Redd

via This Is Glamorous





Ralph Lauren Paris 2010
(notice the beyond gorgeous parquet floor, another must for my future home)

My absolute favorite, Christina Hendricks for London Fog 2010

One word of warning, a little leopard goes a long way, so use with restraint or you could look like this:

Thom Filicia's Tacky House 'before' shot

 OK, I just threw up a little in my mouth.  I can't leave you with such an atrocious image, so I'll leave you with dreams of Michael Kors...

Michael Kors RTW Fall 2009

Design Legend: Ralph Lauren

One of the greatest legends of design is Ralph Lauren.

No one designs inspiring spaces quite like Mr. Lauren. While most designers spend years, decades, and even an entire lifetime pursuing a signature "look," Ralph Lauren reinvents himself quite regularly.  Style genres he has visited include:

English Country

Equestrian

Hampton

Rocky Mountain Rustic

Tropical

Parisian

And my personal favorite, Chic Contemporary

Audrey Hepburn said "Ralph has given American design a distinctive point of view and dignity.  He has given us the romance of the West, the glamour of Hollywood, the adventure of a safari, the purity of New England, the ease of a modern beach house, the richness of an English manor, only better than we imagined them."

This is what I aspire to be as a designer.   With world full of diverse beauty, why stick with one aesthetic?  Now this doesn't mean I encourage one to have every room of their house a different style (this could get a little schizo), but one should try to find beauty where ever they are or whatever their personal style is.

What is your favorite Ralph Lauren look?