Dreamiest Decade Ever - No Question

I was telling Magic Man about how wonderfully, perfect the 90s were.  I said it was the last true creative decade and had a huge aesthetic impact on how we live today.  He replied, "Well, do you just think that because that was your heyday?"  I was incredulous!  This wasn't a question or debate, I was stating a fact.  

Then I had to really think this over.  I was in high school and college in the 90s; I was discovering music and there were still super models and designers were rock stars and magazines weren't about pandering to a digital generation - they were producing art.  Or so I always thought . . . I decided to go back and reexamine the decade and do you know what?  It's better than I imagined! 

We had Ellen Von Unwerth keeping American Vogue interesting! 

Anna Sui was making perfect vintage looking dresses.  And, NO ONE had eyebrows.

There were a new crop of photogs like David Sims making models look androgynous and sexy.

And, there were all these waif-y Super Models: Amber Valletta, Shalom Harlow and, of course, Kate Moss.  

 If there was no Kate Moss there would have been no 90s.  

It's a fact.

Magazine covers were actually interesting and not celebrity- driven snooze fests.

Steven Meisel was king - he basically shot every feature in Vogue and every advertisement.

Sofia Coppola went from 'It Girl' to 'Movie director who casts It Girls.'

And, did I mention Kate Moss?

I get so bored when I look at magazines today.  Occasionally I'll see a spread that looks beautiful and interesting but it's not how I felt in the 90s.  Except for one photographer who Never disappoints: Olivia Bee.  Part fairy, part wunderkind, she creates images that take me back to the glorious 90s.

And, I do love that Hermes hired her to shoot their 2012 their catalogue when she was 18.  It gives me hope for fashion.

Inspired by the Dreamiest Editor of All

When Magic Man and I first got married I was a new step-mom to four little kids and I didn't have anything kid related - toys, movies, etc.  One rainy day we were desperate to entertain the kiddies and that's when the Audrey Hepburn DVD set came in handy.  

I put on Funny Face and the girls 

(at the time aged 3, 5, and 7) were mesmerized. 

They were so captivated by the 'Think Pink' 

number they started to refer to the movie 

as 'Think Pink' and not 'Funny Face.'  

I loved that they loved Maggie Prescott, 

the Editor as much as Jo, the Model.

Also being obsessed with all things Diana Vreeland I loved how they'd repeat Maggie's catch phrases that were based on Diana, like 'Pizazz.' 

All girls need to learn about Diana Vreeland, right? 

"This world without a leopard . . .

I mean, who would want to be here?"  - DV

  

Argh! Such a genius!

Now that we are in Austin, I acquiesced to some of the local traditions, like decorating trees on the side of Capital of TX Hwy for Christmas. 

But I didn't want to just throw tinsel on a tree so I decided we would decorate a small tree inspired by Diane Vreeland: 

Meaning Red and Leopard and we could shout 'That's got pizazz!' as we dressed the tree. 

However, with four kids (the youngest being a 2 yr old boy), and with a very limited budget, things did not go as planned.  And I'm not just saying that because I ended up going in my pajamas.

First, we decided we would not even attempt to pull over on the highway, so we chose a tree close to the girl's school on a quiet street - so not the 360 Hwy where everyone can see. 

I was hoping we would concentrate all the beads, ribbon and faux red berries in a tight cluster for just a pop of 'pizazz,' but the girls wanted to string the beads and ribbon over a few trees, spreading out the limited decor and diluting the design.  

You could hardly see the end product, but we were doing this for them so I was not going to tell them 'no,' -- we were in it for the memories, not appearances. 

There were no shouts of 'Pizazz!' or singing''S Wonderful' or dancing around, but we did leave in one piece with no fights or meltdowns so I was pleased.

My Dreams of Bohemian Country Life Were A Bit Off

I had romantic notions that life near a forest would look like this:

But since moving to the South I have been apart of such activities and they actually look like this:

P.S. This is the county photo

And this photo is for the city-folk who might get upset when they saw a children so close to him:

(I really did re-take it for that reason.)

Anyway, comfy, not form fitting clothes that allow for maximum movement with nothing on your heads is actually how you do proper archery.  You'd think that a hat would be a useful item that everyone wears.  But unless it's a baseball hat, you will be teased.  I was shocked at all the comments from my new family-in-law when I wore this hat.

Totally pragmatic, right?

It was a hot and sunny day!

They reacted as if I was wearing this:

Yeah, I wish.

Anyway, so lesson learned.

What you see in magazines about country life does not translate to real life.  In Mississippi.  And you'd think this would be obvious but life in LA or NY really does look like editorials. 

But I haven't given up completely.  There are plenty of other rural photos I can try and recreate.  

Like basically everything from Vogue's 2008 Fashion Rocks issue staring Dhani Harrison and Sasha Pivovarova.

I'm almost positive my Mississippi Husband would wear a flower crown while playing chess in the woods.  Just as long we weren't in his father's camp (if you're Southern or a hunter you might know what this means).

Suite Dreams

Oh gosh.  I usually roll my eyes at puns but I couldn't help it.  Plus Kate Moss at the Ritz Paris in Vogue -- it's just screaming  for a magazine headline pun.

It's about time American Vogue started using Tim Walker properly.