Brooding Over You...

I had come in lower spirit than usual, recently...
The ebb was occasioned by a poignantly felt disappointments.

Perhaps you think I've forgotten him,

amidst these changes of places and time.

Not for a moment, his idea was still with me
Because it was not a vapor sunshine could disperse,
Nor a sand traced effigy storms could wash away.
It was a name graven on a tablet,
fated to last as long as the marble it inscribed.

The craving to know what had become of him followed me everywhere,

I sought my parlor each night to brood over it.

# City Girl, Olivia Palermo

Now, we don't really know Olivia Palermo. Maybe she's annoying. Maybe she stole your boyfriend. Maybe she's a rare gem who's been clawed and scratched at by the queen bees of the giant high-school cafeteria that is the New York social scene. We don't care, really.

Because at the end of the day, she had the stones to show up at an event -- the Dressed to Kilt fashion show -- that was chock full of the e-mail's recipients and the people who no doubt gobbled up every written word about her supposed ignominy, and she didn't flinch.

Here's the secret dreamworld of Olivia Palermo:

Age: 21

Who's the daddy?

Olivia's mother is an interior decorator

and her father is a real-estate developer.

Where does the money come from?

Family money meant that Olivia was a shoo-in

to the mercenary world of Manhattan society.

Interesting fabulousness:

Short-lived reign as New York's new It-girl,

now gets the sympathy vote

for having been the subject of so much bitching.

Key look: Italian-American princess.

Although Olivia Palermo is one of NYC's most photographed and most talked-about citizens as of late, super style web site Style.com failed to add her on the "people that matters" list. Oops, bad news for her...

Valentino's Sweet Dream

Look heaven-sent in a floaty frock with layers of transparency with Valentino's Spring 2010 ready to wear.

The Story

The collection Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli presented for Spring couldn't have been more different from their reverent ready-to-wear debut of just over six months ago. Continuing down a path they started on during Couture in July, the duo is now designing with a new Valentino generation in mind—one that likes its party dresses short and isn't afraid of sheer.

"We wanted to tell a new fairy tale," Piccioli said backstage. "We're proud of the house heritage, but we wanted to give a personal point of view." He wasn't kidding in one respect: There wasn't a red dress in sight. Instead, he and Chiuri romanced the soft tones of nude, rose, lavender, gold, and gray that have become the big color story of the season.

The Making of Sweet Dreams

Their methods included swirling organza around the body and tying it off with a flamboyant bow, embroidering tulle T-shirt dresses in antique laces and geometric metal paillettes, and printing chiffon with black orchids. A couple of fitted leather jackets and minis embellished with laser-cut rosettes provided a bit of edge.

Glass slippers didn't figure in this story, but the London-based milliner Philip Treacy did whip up some fanciful footwear with lace wings arcing upward from the heels.

In sum: This was a well-timed step forward for the new Valentino duo, one that put the brand at the center of some of Spring's key trends and started to give it a new relevance.

For complete runway photos, visit Style/Vogue.com

Dries Van Noten, Paris

Dries Van Noten
7, Quai Malaquais
75006 Paris
0033144270040

7 Quai Malaquais is not just a tonied shopping address. Perhaps one of the most beautiful stores in Europe, Dries Van Noten's boutique on the Seine shouldn't be missed.

It is a visual feast, and inspiring beyond belief. The interior is based around Dries's favourite colour - imperial yellow - and the sunny hue covers everything from the designer's lookbook to his curtains. Dries Van Noten himself transformed the 17th-century space into an elegant apartment to house his private art collection “as it would have naturally evolved from the 17th to the 21st centuries.”

The split-level store features works like an 18th-century Antwerp cabinet in ebony and tortoiseshell, a 19th-century Japanese black lacquer cabinet and a retro ‘50s sofa covered in Prelle fabric. This, all spread about in a library and balcony, a dressing room, a drawing room and a conservatory.

a Lil Reminder for Me

Never settle for anything less than love.
-Francois Fenelon

Because...

In the end, it’s still best to wait for the one you want,
rather than settle for what’s available.

It’s still best to wait for the one you love,
rather than to settle for the one who’s around.

It’s still best to wait for the right person,
because life’s too short to waste on the wrong one.

Love Remains the Same

Song Title Love Remains the Same
Singer Gavin Rosdale
Songwriters Martin H. Frederiksen, Gavin Rossdale
Album Gavin Rossdale

A thousand times I've seen you standing.

Gravity like lunar landing.

You make me wanna run till I find you.
I shut the world away from here.

I drift to you, you're all I hear.

As everything we know fades to black.
Half the time the world is ending. Truth is I am done pretending.

I never thought that I had anymore to give.
You're pushing me so far, here I am without you.
Drink to all that we have lost, mistakes we have made.
Everything will change, but love remains the same.

I find a place where we escape.

Take you with me for the space.

The city buzz sounds just like a fridge.
I walk the streets through 7 bars.

I have to find just where you are.

The faces seem to blur. They're all the same.

So much more to say, so much to be done.
Don't you trick me out. We shall overcome. It's all left still to play.
We could have had the sun, could have been inside. Instead we're over here.

Half the time the world is ending. Truth is I am done pretending.
Too much time too long defending. You and I are done pretending.
I wish this could last forever, as if this could last forever.
Love remains the same.

Finding Fashion...

Fashion

is not something that exists in dresses only.

Fashion is in the sky,

Fashion is in the street.

Fashion has to do with ideas,

The way we live,

What is happening.

-Coco Chanel

Don't you agree?
If fashion is simply about apparel, how dull and boring it would be.
So go out today, and get yourself an inspiration!

Pictures via Style/Vogue.com

Paint in Black

"Style Black

is a way of life,

a shadowy and mysterious figure

of fantasy,

even for just one dark and

dangerous night.

It's exploring

the darker side of beauty..."

The most elemental hue of all -BLACK, is back in vogue! Which is why I'm practically salivating at the thought of getting my hands on...

The limited-edition Collection Noirs Obscurs de Chanel.

Dark as Night, is reinterpreted from Gothic (never my style) to hyper-polished. Get ready to take a walk on the dark side!

The Spirit of October

Everybody's must read for this month. May I recommend a handy pocket book by Paul Arden. Simple and easy-to-digest it is, but the content is amazingly fully loaded.

IT'S NOT HOW
GOOD YOU ARE,
IT'S HOW GOOD
YOU WANT TO BE.

Your vision of where and who you want to be
is the greatest asset you have.
Without having a goal, it's difficult to score.
-Paul Arden

A Crush on Josh

“Hope is the most exciting thing in life and if you honestly believe that love is out there, it will come. And even if it doesn't come straight away there is still that chance all through your life that it will.”

-Josh Hartnett.

Picture via People Magazine