EXTRAORDINARILY SACRED

Traditions of Pleasure

Most premodern cultures had a sense of the joyful, transitory, unique sense of being here and profoundly enjoying this embodiment. The Aztec called that perception “tlalticpacayotl”. For them, sensuous joy was a gift from the Lord to cope with the otherwise painful life on earth. In this tradition, sex was embodied in the Divine. Goddesses, Tlazolteotl and Xochiquetzal, were both incarnations and instigators of bodily pleasures. Sexual normativity never included total suppression of erotic satisfaction as an ideal.

CHARMING & GORGEOUS

Nathalie Lete

Nathalie Lete is a wondrously eclectic artist who lives and works in Paris. Her creations… which speak deeply to my soul… are inspired by travel, as well as the intermingling of vintage toys and old engravings of flowers and animals. Her work conjures up all things colourful, strange, naive and poetic… which is what Albertine & Odette are all about!

Whimsical Handmade Octopus Rug

... And A Sofa To Match!

Beautiful Blouse Reminiscent Of A 1940s Cookie Jar

The Intriguingly Beautiful Artist

ESOTERIC ESSAYAGES

Style Should Be Unique

The key to style and beauty is glamorous risk-taking. One should never be afraid to wear something outrageous. If you love it, wear it! Tap into your inner glamour-puss and people cannot help to respond accordingly… Nothing is sexier than confidence!

Pattie Boyd In Fur

A Show Stopping Bonnet

Elsie de Wolfe Made Lounging At Home Look Dramatic

Veruschka

The Legendary Kembra Pfahler

Isabella Blow... Eternal Style Icon

Even In Death... Isabella Blow Remained Utterly Flawless

CHARMING & GORGEOUS

When An Invitation Is Perfect

Invitations speak volumes. They are one of the most important components in planning a successful event. Invitations should be an eye-catching, unique and charming representation of the fête to come.

Yohji Yamamoto’s invitation for his Men’s Summer 2011 show is the perfect balance of creativity, simplicity, wittiness… It enticingly whispers… CHIC…

photo from Wallpaper Magazine

DEGREES OF HYSTERIA

Jean Royère

Paris born Jean Royère (1910-1984), whose career flourished as an international designer of luxury interiors in the 1940s to 1960s, created some of the most influential and sophisticated pieces and spaces for entertaining and recreation. In my opinion, the loveliest of all his creations, is the “polar bear” (referred to as “boule” and later, the whimsical “accurateurs”) suite, which was originally designed for the French Embassy in Finland.

Bear Chairs

Bear Sofa

SCHOLARLY MUSINGS

Henry Miller and the Smell of Fireworks

“One never thinks of China, but it is there all the time on the tips of your fingers and makes your nose itchy; and long afterward, when you have forgotten almost what a firecracker smells like, you wake up one day with gold leaf choking you and the broken pieces of punk waft back their pungent odor and the bright red wrappers give you nostalgia for a people and a soil you have never known, but which is in your blood, mysteriously there in your blood, like the sense of time or space, a fugitive, constant value to which you turn more and more as you get old, which you try to seize with your mind, but ineffectually, because in everything Chinese there is wisdom and mystery and you can never grasp it with two hands or with your mind but you must let it rub off, let it stick to your fingers, let it slowly infiltrate your veins.”

-Henry Miller, Tropic of Cancer (1934)

EXTRAORDINARILY SACRED

Everyone Has A Summer Of Love

The look I favor most for summer is “glamorous hippie” and nothing states that better than wearing feathers in your hair.

DEGREES OF HYSTERIA

Dolls To Play With

Venezuelan artist Mariana Monteagudo’s sculptural dolls are dense with texture that catches the eye… What holds it there is the deep emotion that the varied personalities emit forth. These dolls make one understand the madness of Bruce Chatwin’s, Utz.

***MarianaMonteagudo.com***.

ESOTERIC ESSAYAGES

Yves Saint Laurent Arty Rings

I feel naked without a monolithic ring or two, to dazzle the eye with every hand gesture I make. YSL’s Arty Rings are the perfect summer accessory. The 1970s-esque feel is just my cup of tea! These rings would look smashing whether you are in a bikini sunning yourself on a beach, or dressed to the nines for a night out on the town, making them a perfect gift for any important lady in your life that you would like to impress (or as a gift for yourself, for being an amazingly fabulous important lady)!

CHARMING & GORGEOUS

Taking In The Scenery

Emma Hack is a skin illustrator who creates jaw dropping works of art. She has recently done a series inspired by the iconic Florence Broadhurst. This would make for a fabulous theme party indeed!