The Womens Room

Coming soon: I Don't Know How she Does It and One Day

  

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When our kids were little and we were struggling with the every day juggling of small children, jobs and relationships, Allison Pearson's portrayal of modern day motherhood, I Don't Know How She Does  was a breath of fresh air. Published 2002, it provided a witty, astute and heartfelt view of the chaos of trying 'to have it all', and made us feel a little bit better about hand decorating shop bought cup cakes for the school fair. 

In my mind it was very much a British book written by and about an English woman. So when I read that the film due out in September this year, is set in New York and stars Sarah Jessica Parker, I was more than a little dissapointed. Not that I dont like SJP, (I love Sex and the City) but for me, she is definatley not Kate Reddy!

Allison Pearson argues " that doesn't matter as it seems to be a universal feeling of juggling being a mum, keeping everyone happy, fulfilling yourself and still loving your children properly."

Mmm, we're not so sure! Perhaps we will have to forget we ever read the book to enjoy the film! And don't get me started on Anne Hathaway as lead character Emma, in one of our favourite books of last summer, One Day by David Nicholls. Somehow fake accents are just not convincing! 

We love: Vivian Maier

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Historian John Maloof was researching a history book in 2007, when he came across a huge box full of negatives at an auction house. He bought them for $400 and when he finally got around to looking at them a year later, he discovered they were in fact beautiful images of people on the streets of New York and Chicago, during the 50's and 60's, taken by unknown photographer Vivian Maier. 

Maier had worked as a nanny and had taken the street shots of the poor, elderly and homeless on her days off. Most of the families Vivian worked for had no idea she took the pictures and remember her as a reclusive, eccentric individual, who spoke in a thick French accent and wore a heavy overcoat and hat, even in the height of summer.

She died in 2009, leaving behind around 100,000 negatives. Maloof became so fascinated with her, he devoted four years to finding out more about her life and work and created a blog to document and archive what he found. He is now in the process of making a film about her, which will be released sometime in 2012.

There will also be a book about her work published later this year, and she will be featured in the London Street Photography Festival in July, where John Maloof will be speaking.

 www.vivianmaier.com

Tea break treat: Tale of a Fairy

 

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Today Karl Lagerfled will show the Spring Summer Chanel cruise collection at the at Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, which recently underwent a massive 45 million Euro renovation. We can only imagine how glamorous it will be! 

Karl (like we know him!) has also made a 30 minute film called Tale of a fairy, to launch the collection. It features Kristen McMenamy (the fabulous and slighly mad, early 90's super model), Baptiste Giabiconi, Freja Beha, Mark Vanderloo and Karls muse, the eccentric Amanda Harlech

If like us, your invitation seems to have got lost in the post, you can watch the full length version on Chanel.com from 9pm tonight.

“It is a movie about an ill-advised use of money which begins with violence and ends with feeling” Karl Lagerfeld, May 2011.

We love: 1970's, TOTP and Chelsea Girl

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You may have noticed we have been enjoying rather a lot of 70's style nostalgia lately, perhaps it's all the 1970's inspired styling we have been seeing on the catwalks, but we just cant seem to get enough of the decade that brought us the Space Hopper, flares, Angel Delight and Brotherhood of Man!

Chelsea Girl was one of our favourite teenage clothes shops, offering all the essential denim A line midi skirts and cheese cloth shirts a girl could want. In 1988 it evolved into River Island and eventually became a little too high street for us budding fashionistas, but we still have fond memories of the heart shaped sign and 70's styling.

Now the iconic brand has been revived and a new 40 piece Chelsea Girl collection is available in a pop shop in Selfridges and selected River Island shops. Designed by young graduate Lucy Moller under the guidance of one of the original Chelsea girl designers, the range is a tribute to our 70's teenage years and if we are honest, probably more appealing to our teen daughters, but we do quite like the look of the denim skirt.

Another staple of our teenage years was the weekly episode of Top of The Pops. In the days when there few (make that no) opportunities to see our favourites bands, Thursday nights at 7.30pm were the highlight of the week, including the obligatory 'is that a boy or a girl' comments from our Dads'!

Now the BBC has decided to revive Thursday nights TOTP's and every week for at least a year, depending on its popularity BBC4 will show vintage episodes from the equivalent week, starting with April 1976 - when incidentally Brotherhood of Man were No 1. Having watched some of Saturday nights documentary on TOTP's, we cant wait, and may even wear a Chelsea Girl outfit in tribute!

And finally, if you fancy another trip down memory lane, go and see the lovely coming of age film Submarine. Set in 1970's Swansea, it follows the story of 15 year old Craig Roberts and his attempts to save his parents marriage and negotiate his first real relationship. It's both is funny and poignant and the perfect combination of contemporary nostalgia (the soundtrack is by Alex Turner). It reminded me in parts, of one of my favourite dark comedies Harold and Maude, and it really made me want a duffle coat!! 

We don't just love, we adore: Advanced Style and Nowness

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We have mentioned before, how much we love the fabulous stylish older women Ari Seth Cohen features on his Advanced Style blog. He recently collaborated with film maker Lina Plioplyte, to create a short film featuring some of his favourite fashionable older ladies, and it showcased yesterday on another of our favourite blogs Nowness.

Part of the luxury group LVMH, Nowness features inspiring daily posts on contemporary culture and fashion. Collaborating with the worlds most forward thinking designers and creatives, the blog is editorially independant and innovative, and a constant source of interesting ideas.

The amazing older women in the film are inspiring both for their unique sense of style and their refreshing attitude to aging. From now on our mantra is going to be 'every era builds character.

What we want to know is, where are the British versions of these fabulous women?

Tea break treat: Double Exposure

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Double Exposure is an innovative digital film project that encapsulates one of the world’s oldest image making techniques with contemporary on-line distribution. Created by Louis Vuitton, the first of the series of films features conceptual artist and filmmaker, Sam Taylor-Wood.

The films will reveal two facets of each subject. The first is a personal insight revealed through treasured possessions which stimulate memories and tell stories. The second is a photographic exposure brought to life in a uniquely sophisticated portrait.

"It's a beautifully slow, arduous and a painstaking process, and I like that," Taylor Wood said of the 19th Century collodion wet plate photographic process. "I like the difference between this and how speedy everything is today, including the way we take pictures."

Something to look forward to: Bill Cunningham New York

'We all get dressed for Bill' - Anna Wintour.

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We have talked before about how much we love the work of New York Times photographer Bill Cunningham. For decades the 80+ photographer has been documenting the street fashion trends of uptown society events, downtown eccentrics and anyone else interesting in between.

Bill Cunningham New York is a new film by Richard Press, due for release on March the 16th and perfectly captures the wit and flair of a truly talented and unassuming creative.

Unfortunately the film is only showing in America, but we have no doubt it will be available on dvd in the future. 

Style Icon: Wallis Simpson

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It may soon be time to hunt out that string of pearls you know you have somewhere in the attic, as the Wallis Simpson look is about to become big.

Our favourite (or not so favourite, depending on your view) aging pop star and would be movie star, Madonna, is in the process of directing and starring in a new film about Wallis Simpson's life. Whatever you think about the material girls acting abilities, you can guarantee this movie will have a huge effect on fashion. Just take a look at that fabulous outfit on the top right, woudn't you just love to wear that now - I know I would!

The Edwardians seem to be featuring heavily in the media lately, what with Downton Abbey, Upstairs Downstairs and now W.E (we can only assume that stands for Wallis and Edward?), which began filming in the UK in the spring of 2010. We are not sure when it's released, but will keep you updated.

For now, you might want to start looking for jewellery to complete the look. Apparently Wallis Simpson's famous panther bracelet recently sold at auction for a staggering £8 million and the buyer was rumoured to be Madonna! Do you think she may be slightly obsessed?

Something to look forward to: Black Swan

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We love ballet and we love a psychological thriller, so Black Swan, (released in the UK on Jan the 21st), ticks all our boxes. Set in the world of New York city Ballet, Natalie Portman stars as Nina, a prima ballerina who finds herself trapped in a web of intrigue and deceit.

It also looks like the film will have a big influence on fashion in 2011, as the ballet costumes have been designed by one of our favourite design duos, Laura and Kate Muleavy of Rodarte and look stunning.

Found 'em......Trinny and Susannah

Trinny Susannah

OK ladies, all very odd but we've had to go to the T&S website to see the last few episodes, I suspect this is to drive traffic to their site, so fair dues....We wont get the links until 16th July.

Click on the above link and you will see the next episode if you are desperate...... we'll post the four final episodes in our normal way in one big batch on the 16th for you.

Trinny & Susannah.......where are they?

For those of you waiting for the next instalment.....we don't have it yet, it hasn't appeared on the download website, so apologies for this, we're trying to find out when the next one is, should be soon. Hang on in there....

See this: Eat Pray Love

Sometimes we have to admit to feeling a little like running away. Maybe it's a mid life crisis or a need to escape the stresses of work/family life/relationships and parenting teens, or simply just a desire to remember what it's like to be selfish.
Imagine doing just that and then writing a best seller about it - it works on every level!!

Eat, Pray, Love; One Woman's Search for Everything is a best selling book documenting Elizabeth Gilbert's quest to find herself, on a trip around the world, after her divorce. She spent four months in Italy, eating and enjoying life, another four months in India, discovering her spiritual side, and the end of the trip in Bali, where she found love.

Her book has been branded 'Priv-lit' by feminist magazine Bitch, but still remained on the New York Times best seller list for months. Her website looks a bit too 'self help' for us, but the book is on our summer reading list. Or maybe we will just see the film, which is out on September the 24th. It does star Javier Bardem after all, one of our favourite middleaged crushes!

Or if you don't fancy the book or the film, you can always try the new range of perfumes from Fresh, based on the three themes. 

'Eat' allegedly captures the scents of Italy, with undertones of lemon, basil, bergamont, plum, caramel, meringue and vanilla. 'Pray' evokes spirituality with incense, patchouli, amber and musk, while 'Love' embodies the writers time in Bali, with notes of Jasmin, Sandalwood, and mango blossom. They will be available to buy next month.

Is this brand extension gone mad, or just a nice idea? We'll have to try out the fragrances and we'll let you know!

Something to look forward to: Mad Men and A Single Man

Series 3 of the truely fabulous Mad Men is set to start next Wednesday on BBC 4 and we feel more than ready to re-enter the world of 1960's advertising to drool over Don Draper and Joan Holloway. If you are not already a fan (have you been on a desert island?), we sugest you go out and buy the box sets of Series 1 and 2 right now and watch them back to back.

 Apart from the great characters and compelling story lines, one of the things we love about Mad Men is the way it manages to visually capture the aesthetic of the time. The costumes, the interiors and the colours are beautifully shot, with an almost obsessive attention to detail. Production designer Dan Bishop has worked on all three series of Mad Men and has recently worked with first time film director (and ex Gucci creative director) Tom Ford, on his debut film, A Single Man. 

Starring Colin Firth, Julianne Moore and Nicholas Hoult, the film tells the story of the day in the life of a middle aged college professor George (Colin Firth) and how after the death of his long time lover, he plans to end his life. Despite the potentially bleak subject matter, critics have praised the film for its humour and warmth and of course it is visually stunning.
A Single Man is out on the 12th of February. 

We love: a period drama

We are big fans of period dramas and think there really is nothing better than the combination of drama, romance and beautiful period costumes. Jane Campions new film Bright Star, opens this weekend, stars Abbie Cornish and Ben Wishaw and tells the true story of the poet John Keats and his first love Fanny Brawne.

There is also an exhibition featuring the films stunning costumes, by designer Janet Patterson, at Keats House in Hampstead, North London, which runs until November the 22nd. We can feel a Bonnet moment coming on!

We love: Herb and Dorothy

You know we have a passion for older eccentrics, especially from New york. We just love this film about Herb and Dorothy Vogel, true eccentrics who live in a one bedroom apartment in Manhattan with 19 turtles, lots of fish, one cat and an amazing art collection. 

This unassuming couple built up one of the most important contemporary art collections in history with hardly any money. In the 1960's they began collecting the works of unknown conceptual and minimalist artists, using all of Herbs salary as a postal clerk and living on Dorothy's earnings as a librarian. They had two rules, the art had to be affordable and had to be small enough to fit into their apartment.  A large portion of their collection now resides at the National Gallery of Art in Washington

Many of the creatives they supported went on to become renowned artists including, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Richard Tuttle, Chuck Close, Robert Mangold, Sylvia Plimack Mangold, Lynda Benglis, Pat Steir, Robert Barry, Lucio Pozzi, and Lawrence Weiner.

After thirty years of almost obsessive collecting and buying, Herb and Dorothy follows the story of how their collection came to be and is directed by first time filmmaker Megumi Sasaki. The Palm Springs International Film Festival named the film one of their "Best of Fest" films in 2009.

Herb and Dorothy

Anna Wintour: Stuck in a time warp?

We realise our current fascination with Anna Winter is starting to verge on obsessive, but having worked in the fashion industry for more years than we care to count, we have heard lots of stories about her, many of which have become fashion folklore. We have also worked for our fair share of nightmare female fashion bosses and find these sort of women spookily intriguing! 

Ok, so Anna Wintour might look fabulous and her magazine may be read by over 13 million Americans, but watching the trailer for the new film The September Issue, which follows Anna and her team as they put together the September issue of Vogue, we are in two minds about her management style. For a product to have a clearly defined handwriting there is no doubt there must be a vision and a passion from the people at the top. But when that vision blocks other people ideas, as it appears to in this film, does this become detrimental to things moving on? Listening to younger more inexperienced colleagues ideas can often be time consuming and sometimes fruitless, but equally they can come up with a new slant on something, which opens up whole new avenues of possibility.

Anna's management style is very much at odds with the current thinking being proposed by many futurologists. They think the pyramid structure will become obsolete as more and more small forward thinking (mainly internet companies) introduce a flat structure where everyone has their say and things become more democratic. If staff live in fear of saying what they think (as they appear to on this film) surely they become reactive rather than proactive, second guessing what they think the boss wants rather than what they instinctively believe, resulting in no-one reaching their potential.

We also have an issue with Anna seemingly emulating a male management style, unemotional, cold and competitive. We strongly believe that Michelle Obama's way of combining emotion and strength, is a far more modern, effective way to communicate with others. Isn't it about about opening up the conversation, inviting opinion and listening; something women are good at.

What do you think?

'The September Issue' opens on 11 September

Coming soon: Coco before Chanel

We are more than a little excited about Coco before Chanel, released in the UK on July the 31st.

Starring French actress Audrey Tautou as Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel, the film charts the designer's rise from humble beginnings to the heights of the fashion world. The film is loosely based on Edmonde Charles-Roux's book, L'Irrégulière: Ou, Mon Itinéraire Chanel.

Tautou plays a young Gabrielle Chanel, the illegitimate daughter of a traveling salesman who learns to sew in a Catholic orphanage. Chanel earns her pet name 'Coco' as a singer in a cabaret club, where she catches the eye of high society gentlemen who provide the opportunities she needs to launch her career.

Directed by Anne Fontaine, the film looks visually stunning and the outfits amazing and sums up the very essence of the woman who famously said, "Fashion fades, only style remains the same".

We feel a stripey top moment coming on !