a litttttttle on the ralph lauren side but what am i saying…i mean. awesome. and that smiling model gets me every time.
All images from Style.com.
catherine howard was henry vii’s fifth wife, but who’s counting? you can’t help but pity any of henry’s wives, none of them fared very well in his company. catherine is perhaps the saddest of all. she was very young when she came to court to serve as a lady in waiting for henry’s beloved jane seymour and was just seventeen when she married henry. her family were impoverished aristocrats and she had something of a wild past behind her. as she climbed her way to being queen, her history began to catch up with her and eventually her affair with a music teacher and the blackmailing of her peers earned catherine the axe. legend has it she escaped from the tower and banged on the doors of a chapel where his majesty was hearing mass to beg forgiveness. her ghost is said to re-enact this every night. too bad, so sad, you’d think the well to do laides of england would have learned not to cross henry viii by then.
1: lady in waiting: dress by reem acra, shoes by christian dior, bag by dries van noten
2: all hail queen catherine: dress by nina ricci, shoes by lanvin, fur by elie saab
3: catherine’s ghost: christian dior
i’ve always had an interest in greek mythology. i found the olympian belief system really enthralling and the stories that came with it were the best part. major gods that come to mind are zeus, hera, athena, ares, hermes, hephestus, apollo and of course aphrodite. goddess of love and beauty. despite all the tales of read about her over the years, my most vivid image of her comes from boticelli’s the birth of venus. the painting illustrates her being born from the sea in all her crazy beautiful glory. and in keeping with olympian fashion she’d opt for the grecian drapery we all know and love. when doing this post i thought about punching it up with some accessories, but let’s be serious…when you’re wearing these pieces you don’t need much else. enjoy.
1: hiiii i’m aphrodite: dress and shoes by reem acra
2: i looove love: dress and shoes by chanel haute couture
3: i’m sooo pretty: dress and shoes by lela rose
editor’s note: i wouldn’t be surprised if more olympians start popping up soon.
maria louise of savoy is more commonly referred to as the princesse de lamballe. as was customary she was married at a young age to one of the greatest heirs in france. the match was arranged by his father who thought it wise to pair his debaucherous son with the beautiful and pious princess. despite his wishes, lamballe’s husband quickly returned to his ways and soon after marriage died of an STD. too bad so sad. widowed, lamballe traveled to the court at versailles where she became a close friend of queen marie anotoinette. we all know how that ended. lamballe met perhaps the worst end of all, after agreeing with the revolutionaries on the rights of man but refusing to renounce her friend and queen she was brutally (like bruuutallly) given up to a mob. her head was paraded around on a pike in front of marie’s windows and that’s not nearly the worst of it. oh well, she probably had some kick-ass refined style.
1: let’s be best friends, marie: dress by oscar de la renta, coat by reem acra, shoes and tights by ralph lauren
2: i feel like we should be working on something: dress by marc jacobs, fur by dennis basso, bag by marc jacobs, shoes by zac posen
3: party at versailles: dress by donna karan, coat by brian reyes, shoes and tights by ralph lauren
i feel most people don’t know the true telling of sleeping beauty and we can thank walt disney for that. the original story is far more gruesome and intriguing. true, the princess wanders to the spinning wheel and falls asleep for 100 years only to be woken by true love’s kiss. perrault (who penned the first version) has the valiant prince john (awesome) come and wake the princess with a kiss and they marry in secret and have two children. the family remains anonymous until prince john becomes king and they return to his kingdom which he leaves in the care of his mother…who happens to be an ogre, yah how glamorous. the ogress hates the new queen and banishes her to the woods where she instructs the cooks to prepare the children in a special sauce (no joke). the cook, taking pity upon the family (as servants often do in fairy tales, see snow white) hides the children and serves lamb and goat instead. the ogress then orders up a helping of the young queen who willingly offers her life, believing her beloved children have been killed but the cook re-unites them all. unfortunately for the royal family the ogress gets wise and sentences them all to die together in a pit of vipers. ouch. but what luck! prince john arrives at the sentencing and rescues the fair family and the ogress throws herself into the pit! hooray! and then all live happily ever after…in reem acra i’m sure.
1: the young princess, pre spindle: sweater by milly, shirt by marni, skirt by reem acra, bag by luella, shoes by givenchy
2: okay, so i used to live in a castle now i live in a hut in the woods: dress and fanny pack thing by rachel comey, cape by chloe, shoes by missoni
3: befitting of my queenship: dress, jewels and shoes by reem acra
apologies i completely forgot about blogger friend monday, i will double up next monday!
