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Monday, November 30, 2009

Vive la Vie

Vive la Vie -- With his unique talent for capturing emotions using lenses, colors and words, artist Francois-Marie Banier inspires both his subjects and viewers to conquerir le reve (conquer the dream). Vive la Vie is an intimate monograph resulting from a collaboration between Banier and fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg. Based on a series of sessions arranged by von Furstenberg with model Natalia Vodianova, the images are layered with visual and emotional complexity. By combining his various skills--photography, painting and writing--into individual artworks, Francois-Marie Banier creates narratives that compel both the eye and the mind. Vodianova exposes her true, unmasked self, creating a blank canvas on which raw womanhood is revealed, far from the stereotypes of fashion photography.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Madeleine Vionnet

Madeleine Vionnet -- Famous for the "bias cut," Madeleine Vionnet’s sophisticated approach to couture remains a pervasive influence today. Eschewing artificial and restrictive padding and stiffening, she liberated the female form with designs that integrated movement and comfort into women’s fashion. She also championed unusual fabrics that were luxurious and sensual yet simple and modern—chiffon, silk, crêpe de chine, gabardine, and satin. Her most revolutionary creations—the handkerchief dress, cowl neck, and halter top—cling to and seamlessly move with the wearer. Vionnet’s principles of elegance, movement, architectural form, and timeless style continue to inform contemporary fashion. This lavishly illustrated book showcases Vionnet’s daringly original designs worn by 80 internationally famous models photographed especially for this book alongside original patterns and archival images by such icons as Horst and Steichen.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

The Harry Benson Book

Immortalizing the people and moments that have defined the past 60 years, world-renowned photojournalist Harry Benson has becomes as much a part of history as the photographs themselves. The scope of his accomplishments as a photojournalist is nothing short of remarkable: he has photographed every US president since Eisenhower, as well as Robert F. Kennedy on the night he was assassinated, and Martin Luther King Jr. at his funeral; he has shot stars such as Elizabeth Taylor, Mick Jagger, Dolly Parton, Michael Jackson, Greta Garbo, and Truman Capote; he covered both the rise and fall of the Berlin wall, the IRA hunger strikes, the Freedom March through Mississippi, the Watts riots, 9/11, and conflicts in Kuwait, Bosnia, Somalia, Afghanistan, Israel, and the West Bank; and, on the eve of his eightieth birthday, Benson is still at it, crisscrossing the globe on assignment for Condé Nast.

The Harry Benson Book is a visual celebration of Benson's incomparable career. Organized into chapters on celebrity, art, fashion, sports, politics, and photojournalism, Harry Benson features a distinctive mix of iconic images alongside never-before-published photographs of Sir Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela, Queen Elizabeth, Princess Diana, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Billy Graham, Bobby Fischer, Muhammad Ali, the Beatles, Sonny Liston, Chuck Berry, O.J. Simpson, Yogi Berra, Sophia Loren, Kate Moss, Gloria Swanson, James Brown, Fred Astaire, Johnny Carson, Jack Nicholson, Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Clint Eastwood, Woody Allen, Spike Lee, Alfred Hitchcock, Federico Fellini, Joseph Papp, R. Crumb, Andy Warhol, Liza Minelli, Barbra Streisand, Halston, Giorgio Armani, Valentino, Diana Vreeland,and countless others. With incomparable access to the most elusive, alluring, and enduring legends of our time, Benson's magnum opus is unsurpassed masterpiece of contemporary photojournalism and portraiture.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Lists for Life

Saw this in B&N a couple months ago and thumbed through it. You may think it is overly simplistic but it could be really useful especially if you get overwhelmed really easily!
Sometimes the toughest part of tackling life's to-dos is figuring out how to get started. In Lists for Life: The Essential Guide to Getting Organized and Tackling Tough To-Dos, Rory Tahari explains how to deal with each challenge one step at a time.

Filled with more than 100 manageable, easily customizable checklists, resources, and suggestions, Lists for Life offers must-have road maps for staying organized through life's biggest transitions and most stressful situations, including:

• Planning a wedding
• Buying a house
• Becoming a parent
• Raising children
• Traveling abroad
• Selling a car
• Preparing for a hospital stay
• Navigating through a divorce
• Planning a funeral
• Handling an emergency

An easy-to-use reference and handy companion, Lists for Life is the ultimate guide to breaking big moments into small, simple tasks.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Charley Harper: An Illustrated Life

Charley Harper: An Illustrated Life - Charley Harper was an American original. For over six decades he painted colorful and graphic illustrations of nature, animals, insects and people alike, from his home studio in Cincinnati, Ohio until he passed away in 2007 at the age of 84. Renowned New York based designer Todd Oldham rediscovered Charley's work in 2001, and collaborated closely with him in the ensuing years; combing through his extensive archive to edit and design this stunning monograph. This coffee table tome is popularly priced, beautiful tribute to Charley Harper's singular style, which he referred to as Minimal Realism.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Kids Books: The Silver Spoon for Children

The Silver Spoon, the best selling bible of Italian cooking, these delicious, authentic and simple recipes written for children were adapted and thoroughly tested by an expert in children's nutrition. Each recipe is explained through clear step-by-step instructions accompanied by specially-commissioned illustrations and photographs. The Silver Spoon for Children features well-balanced recipes made with wholesome ingredients that are designed to teach key kitchen skills and encourage a passion for good food. This book provides an ideal way to learn how to cook popular favorites like Margherita pizza and lasagna.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Seven Days in the Art World

Seven Days in the Art World - The hot, hip contemporary art world, argues sociologist Thornton, is a cluster of intermingling subcultures unified by the belief, whether genuine or feigned, that nothing is more important than the art itself. It is a conviction, she asserts, that has transformed contemporary art into a kind of alternative religion for atheists. Thornton, a contributor to Artforum.com and the New Yorker, presents an astute and often entertaining ethnography of this status-driven world. Each of the seven chapters is a keenly observed profile of that world's highest echelons: a Christie's auction, a crit session at the California Institute of the Arts and the Art Basel art fair. The chapter on auctions (where one auction-goer explains, [I]t's dangerous to wear Prada.... You might get caught in the same outfit as three members of Christie's staff) is one of the book's strongest; the author's conversations about the role of the art critic with Artforum editor-in-chief Tim Griffin and the New Yorker's Peter Schjeldahl are edifying. Thornton offers an elegant, evocative, sardonic view into some of the art world's most prestigious institutions {via Publishers Weekly}.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Kids Books: 65 Years of Little Golden Books

65 Years of Little Golden Books -- The books that have enchanted millions of children and accompanied countless bedtimes; now brand-new editions of your favorite Little Golden Books are in one must-give set: The Poky Little Puppy, Tootle, The Saggy Baggy Elephant, Tawny Scrawny Lion, Scuffy the Tugboat and The Shy Little Kitten. Hardcover books are 24 pages each; commemorative box case.

Friday, November 20, 2009

American Fashion Menswear

American Fashion Menswear - In the same series as the bestselling American Fashion and American Fashion Accessories, Assouline and the Council of Fashion Designers of America present American Fashion Menswear, the most authoritative and exciting book to date on the evolution of menswear in our country over the past century. From the outset, America was settled by individualists and adventurers who severed ties with the old world to find their destiny in an unknown land, a separation that opened the way for change in a less stratified society. To survive the challenges of a new environment, the American man needed garments that were functional and well-designed, qualities that continue to endure at the very heart of American menswear. From Levi Strauss to the Ivy League, lounge suits to Zoot suits, cowboys to counterculture, American Fashion Menswear celebrates the quintessentially American themes that are emulated throughout the world of fashion, as well as the designers and style icons who have made lasting contributions to the way men dress.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky

Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky
Their love affair inspired their art.
Their art defined an era.

In 1913, at the premiere of Igor Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, the young couturiere Coco Chanel witnesses the birth of a musical revolution- one that, like her designs, rips down the artifice of the old regime and ushers in something profoundly modern. Seven years later, she invites Stravinsky and his family, now exiled from their Russian homeland, for a summer at her villa, and the powerful charge between them ignites into a deep love affair. As Stravinsky enjoys a new burst of creativity and Chanel brings forth her own revolutionary creation-the perfume Chanel No. 5-their love threatens to overtake work, family and life.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Gilded: How Newport Became America's Richest Resort

From the publisher: A beautifully written history of high society in Newport, Rhode Island, from the acclaimed author of Party of the Century: The Fabulous Story of Truman Capote and His Black and White Ball
Gilded -- Newport is the legendary and beautiful home of American aristocracy and the sheltered super-rich. Many of the country s most famous blueblood families—the closest thing we have to royalty—have lived and summered in Newport since the nineteenth century. The Astors, the Vanderbilts, Edith Wharton, JFK and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Doris Duke, and Klaus and Sunny von Bulow are just a few of the many names who have called the city home. Gilded takes you along as you explore the fascinating heritage of the Newport elite, from its first colonists to the newest of its new millennium millionaires, showing the evolution of a city intent on living in its own world. Through a narrative filled with engrossing characters and lively tales of untold extravagance, Davis brings the resort to life and uncovers the difference between rich and Newport rich along the way. Written with insight and dramatic flair, Gilded gives you a rare peek into the cloistered coastal playground of America's moneyed elite.

If you're in New Jersey this evening, the author Deborah Davis will be signing copies of her new book, Gilded: at Swift-Morris Interiors November 18. Cocktails and festive fare will be served. 6-9 p.m., 1208 Washington St., Hoboken, 201.656.5684 {thanks to New Jersey Life Magazine for the listing via Twitter.}

A Year in Fashion: A Look a Day

A Year in Fashion: A Look a Day - Following up on the success of A Year in Fashion and presenting a century of the best fashion in a dynamic format, this book includes 365 all new images sure to appeal to the inner fashionista in everyone. Featuring fashion icons and images culled from the Getty archives, this book presents brilliant photos of designers and their creations, top models and movie stars, royalty and rock n' roll legends. 365 spreads—one for each day of the year— feature full-page, four-color photographs along with fascinating fashion trivia. There is plenty of room for noting important dates, scribbling notes, or recording thoughts. The high quality reproductions and paper makes this book suitable for a well-dressed desk or a coffee table. Best of all it reminds us that the best fashion is ageless and timeless.

Note: When I decided to post this it had received one less than stellar review on Amazon.com but if you liked A Year in FashionI think you would like this one as well.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Glamorous Rooms



Glamorous Rooms showcases the elegant eclecticism of renowned designer Jan Showers's interiors, including many projects unpublished until now. Illustrated with dazzling photography, Showers's accessible and useful design tenets will inspire readers to create their own luxurious yet relaxed homes. Showers's attention to detail seamlessly blends Hollywood high style, midcentury modernism, and classic 18th-century French styles with the local flavors of St. Barth's, Paris, and Rome. Her modern and timeless interiors, never overdone, have earned her a dedicated fan base of top designers, celebrities, and power brokers from Palm Beach to Del Mar. A must-have addition to any design enthusiast's library, Glamorous Rooms is sure to be an instant classic.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

The Paris Quiz

Paris Quiz: How Well Do You Know Paris? -- This fun book is a perfect stocking stuffer, the perfect book to take to Paris to use for a scavenger hunt, and perfect for the armchair traveler who loves trivia. There are more than 400 multiple-choice questions, by arrondissement, ranging from obscure lore to facts about well-known buildings, streets, and statues with fascinating and often humorous histories.

Here’s a sample:

What color are all the illuminated signs on the Champs-Elysees?

A) Blue
B) Green
C) White

C: They are required to be white. Advertisers and merchants must conform to the decision of uniformity taken in the interest of aesthetics. Even McDonald’s had to swap its yellow M for a white one, making it the only exception in the world. Only pharmacies are allowed to break the rule.

In 1836 the Eglise Saint-Cosme was demolished to make room on the boulevard Saint-Michel. The construction unearthed remains from an old cemetery adjoining the church. What was peculiar about it?

A) It was an animal cemetery
B) It was a cemetery for clergy
C) It was a cemetery for hunchbacks

C: The church and its cemetery were located between the rue Racine and the rue des Ecoles, on the current site of the Gibert bookstore. Using the shape of the remains (most of the exhumed spinal columns were curved and presented malformations), it was deduced that it was a cemetery for hunchbacks.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Sweetness

Heard this gal on The Martha Stewart Channel on Sirius this morning on the way to work!

Sweetness: Delicious Baked Treats for Every Occasion - When 27-year-old Sarah Levy opened her own pastry shop in 2004, she was barely out of college. She hails from a noted Chicago-based restaurant dynasty, but the success she's achieved has been all hers, and she's since gone on to open a second location inside Macy's. Sweetness shows how anyone can make delicious desserts and sweet snacks regardless of cooking experience (or lack thereof) — especially younger women who may not have a lot of kitchen training, but want to have a few go-to recipes for events, gifts, or that special someone. This is the book for readers who want to learn how to make top-quality treats that will knock the socks off anyone who samples them. Levy’s warm personality, step-by-step instructions, and vibrant color photos make this the perfect addition to the bookshelf of both budding chefs and seasoned pros.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Gingerbread



Gingerbread - Who says gingerbread is just for the holidays? This unique cookbook shows how gingerbread can be enjoyed for breakfast or dessert year-round. Reflecting the wisdom and creativity of a professional pastry chef and dedicated home cook, Gingerbread collects 60 traditional and modern recipes. Start with simple, yummy treats like Gingerbread Rum Cake and Sticky Toffee Gingerbread, then graduate to building your own gingerbread house for the holidays. Any way you slice it, these gingery goodies are sure to be a hit on any day of the year!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

High Society: The Life of Grace Kelly

High Society: The Life of Grace Kelly--Noted film biographer Spoto (Spellbound by Beauty) gives readers a previously unseen glimpse into the life of Grace Kelly (1929–1982), who went from Academy Award–winning actress to princess of Monaco. Drawing on hours of personal interviews with Kelly as well as with her numerous co-stars including Cary Grant and James Stewart, Spoto traces the star's life from her childhood in a wealthy Philadelphia neighborhood through her brief but noteworthy career in Hollywood to her years as the wife of Monaco's Prince Rainer. Kelly attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Manhattan, where she developed a love of theater, nurtured by her uncle, the actor and playwright George Kelly. Though she spent less than seven years in Hollywood, Kelly became an icon of the era. Spoto, as an expert in the films of Alfred Hitchcock and one of the late director's few confidantes, spends considerable time revisiting the trio of films Kelly made with the master of suspense: Dial M for Murder (1953), Rear Window (1954) and To Catch a Thief (1955). Though she admitted to missing acting, Kelly settled into her life as a royal, raising three children until her death in a car crash. Cinephiles will love Spoto's insider look at Hollywood in the 1950s, and even those unfamiliar with Kelly's films will be drawn to the author's warm and generous portrayal of a woman who was more than a pretty face {via Publishers Weekly}.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Le Creuset Mini-Cocotte: 25 Sweet and Savory Recipes

Le Creuset Mini-Cocotte: 25 Sweet and Savory Recipes - The mini-cocotte is the perfect marriage of style and function. With these diminutive casseroles, home cooks can make individual servings of pot pies, stews, soups, appetizers, and even desserts in attractive cookware that moves easily from oven or stove to table. Le Creuset Mini-Cocotte offers 25 recipes for these compact casseroles, which range from traditional to innovative, savory to sweet, and can be served for everyday meals or special occasions.

Both easy and inventive, the recipes featured in the book include savory dishes like spinach soufflé, œufs cocottes with foie gras, sweet potato crumble with pecan and maple syrup, and fresh goat cheese ravioli with pistou and pine nuts. Chocolate cake with orange zest, rose and violet soufflé, and coconut flan are among the delicious desserts. The dishes appear throughout in Le Creuset’s mini-cocottes, enamel-coated cast-iron cookware with tight-fitting lids that seal in moisture and flavor.

Monday, November 9, 2009

All Cakes Considered

All Cakes Considered - Melissa Gray is National Public Radio's Cake Lady. Every Monday she brings a cake to the office for her colleagues at NPR to enjoy. Hundreds of Mondays (and cakes) later, Melissa has lots of cake-making tips to share. With more than 50 recipes for the cakes that have been dreamed of and drooled over for a lifetime including Brown Sugar Pound Cake, Peppermint and Chocolate Rum Marble Cake, Lord and Lady Baltimore Cakes, Dark-Chocolate Red Velvet Cake, and Honey Buttercream and Apricot Jam Cake All Cakes Considered is an essential addition to every baker's library.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Backstage Dior


Backstage Dior - Veteran New York photographer Roxanne Lowit has chronicled John Galliano's fashion shows for over a decade. With a rough-hewn, up-close approach she delves into the fascinating details behind the scenes. Her collection of snapshotstyle photographs convey the buzz of fashion's consistently most inspiring spectacle. A bold mixture of color and black-and-white, these images are by turns whimsical and awe-inspiring. As much a star as the celebrities she profiles, Lowit brings an insider perspective to this world of high glamour. This title will be released on November 15, 2009.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

What the Fabulous People Are Reading

From WWD.com:

The New York Public Library honored novelist Annie Proulx and “Eloise” illustrator Hilary Knight during its annual Library Lions benefit on Monday. While literati, celebrities and fashion folk climbed the marble staircase, WWD took the opportunity to find out what they’re reading now. 


“When You are Engulfed in Flames,” by David Sedaris. 
— Rachel Roy 

“The Seven Mountain-Travel Books,” by H.W. Tilman. “Tilman was an active mountain climber in the mid- to late-Twenties.”
— Honoree Annie Proulx

“The Paris Years of Thomas Jefferson,” by William Howard Adams.
— Charlotte Moss

“The Gathering Storm,” by Winston Churchill.
— Ray Kelly

“The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family,” by Annette Gordon-Reed. “It’s about the slave children fathered by Thomas Jefferson.”
— Susan Fales-Hill

“Imperial,” by William T. Vollmann. 
— Fran Lebowitz

“God Is a Bullet,” by Boston Teran.
— Bryant Gumbel

“The Lost Symbol,” by Dan Brown.
— Henry Louis Gates Jr.

“Free for All: Joe Papp, the Public and the Greatest Theater Story Ever Told,” by Kenneth Turan.
— Nora Ephron

“Labels.”
— Frank Langella

“The Trump Card,” by Ivanka Trump; “It’s Your Time,” by Joel Osteen and “Our Choice,” by Al Gore. “They’re all on ‘The View’ this week.”
— Barbara Walters

“Wolf Hall,” by Hilary Mantel. 
— Nancy Kissinger

“I’m, like, totally not reading anything right now, which I know sounds really stupid. I got ‘The Road Less Traveled’ for my birthday and loved it.”
— Leighton Meester

“The Search for Modern China,” by Jonathan Spence.
— Henry Kissinger

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

The Trench Book

The Trench Book - The trench is no mere raincoat. What began as a military staple in the mid 1800s has become a cornerstone of the 21st century wardrobe, striking an enviable balance between form and function. Its straight-forward, structured design captures the essence of the individual, from the mystique of a private investigator's coat, the sinister allure of a leather trench, or the seduction of a belted sheath with nothing underneath. The Trench Book explores the evolution of this outerwear icon through the pages of history, the legends of film, and the tastemakers of fashion. A richly illustrated tour through high society, old Hollywood, catwalks, and street cafes, The Trench Book serves as a unique timeline of one perfect coat.

Monday, November 2, 2009

The Yves Saint Laurent-Pierre Berge Collection: The Sale of the Century


The Yves Saint Laurent-Pierre Berge Collection: The Sale of the Century -- In February 2009, 733 pieces from Pierre Bergé’s and Yves Saint Laurent’s art collection—one of the world’s largest private collections—was auctioned off in a record-breaking sale of the century. Modern paintings, baroque bronzes, antique silverware, statues, cameos, and minerals comprise this diverse collection that furnished the pair’s two luxurious residences in Paris, and included major works by Picasso, Brancusi, Matisse, Mondrian, in addition to furniture by the Art Deco masters Eileen Gray and Jean Dunand. Many works sold for prices far exceeding the highest estimates.

The five-volume catalog published by Christie’s for the event sold out before the end of the auction, leaving collectors and art connoisseurs the world over empty-handed. This new book features one hundred of the most important pieces from the collection with detailed commentary by Christie’s experts.

An introduction by Christie’s vice president François de Ricqlès revisits the intense three-day auction at the Grand Palais. An appendix includes images of the works sold, accompanied by their estimated values and final auction prices. Publication coincides with the auction of the collection from their Château Gabriel property in November 2009.

This title will be released on November 17, 2009.