Some of you may remember Tama Blough, who blogged at CaFleureBon. She also commented here as Tama and was a regular member of the Now Smell This community for quite some time (the image above was her gravatar).
Tama now has terminal cancer. Nina Zolotow, who comments here as SuddenlyInexplicably, is coordinating a fundraiser to help cover Tama's living and health care expenses so she can remain at home as long as possible. If you can help, the details are at GiveForward.
Never, ever confuse what happens on a runway with fashion. A runway is spectacle. It’s only fashion when a woman puts it on. Being well dressed hasn’t much to do with having good clothes. It’s a question of good balance and good common sense.
— Oscar de la Renta, who passed away yesterday after a long battle with cancer. Quoted in Oscar de la Renta, Who Clothed Stars and Became One, Dies at 82 at the New York Times.
Dior or Die, the sequel to The Lanvin Murders,1 is out! It’s on Kindle for $3.99 and will be available in paperback for $13.95 in about three weeks. If you need something to peruse in the bathtub — a novel that won’t sprain any brain cells — you might want to give Dior or Die a try.
Here’s an excerpt, so you can see if Dior or Die is your thing. (Note: the “tiki bar” refers to an old bar the heroine, Joanna Hayworth, uses as her cashier’s table in her vintage clothing store. “Vivienne’s clothes” are three trunks of vintage haute couture Joanna won at an auction, but which were seized when Vivienne was found poisoned to death that night. You should be able to figure out the rest.) This is from Chapter Fourteen:
That night, hours after the store closed, Joanna leaned over the tiki bar to tally receipts. The student had come back for the lemon chiffon prom dress, but otherwise the day’s sales were pathetic…
Next week I’ll have a review of Guerlain Shalimar Souffle de Parfum for you, but I’m not ready to review anything today. Although I’m spending a few weeks in perfume’s heartland, Paris, I’m still getting my feet on the ground.
When I told people I’d be in Paris in August, I got a lot of “no one’s there in August except tourists,” and “isn’t everything shut down then?” Sour grapes, my friends. The truth is that Paris is wonderful in August. Sure, every street corner holds a few people unfolding maps, and a glance down the Champ de Mars shows dozens of tourists lined up for the camera pretending to pick up the Eiffel Tower while the diesel engines of rows of tour buses rumble in the background. But the mood is relaxed. People are here to enjoy themselves…
A little bit of silly, from Mr Sketch Scented Markers. The ad was made by BBH New York.