Girl Crush: Uma Thurman

I originally saw the incredible series of Polaroids by Hollywood casting director Bonnie Timmermann on Model's Own blog, and I was literally left breathless by this photo of Uma. This shot was taken at the very beginning of her career! I have always loved her -- lanky, sensual, and beautiful without being overly perfect. She is so sexy in her early films: The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Henry & June, and Dangerous Liaisons are some of my favorites {probably because I saw them when I was young and impressionable}. And Quentin Tarantino was certainly justified in making her his muse: Pulp Fiction is incredibly memorable, in part because of her quirky character; but, her role as "The Bride" in Kill Bill is just...well, killer. Have you heard there's a third Kill Bill in the works??

Enough gushing for now...

Current Obsession: Chris Benz's Circus Chic

One of my most surreal childhood memories took place at the circus. When I was 10 years old, I won a radio contest and the prize was a night in the circus {not at -- in}. I was declared "The Princess of Barnum & Bailey's Circus," and I was dressed up in a spangled, be-ribboned costume and paraded around the rings in a horse drawn carriage. It was truly like a dream {or like a weird Italian film from the 60's}. Ever since then, I've had a bit of a secret fascination with all things circus-related. This is undoubtedly why I am so drawn to Chris Benz's Spring 2010 collection: there is something vaguely "cotton candy-meets-sequined acrobat-meets-clown" about his pieces. Feel like a night under the big-top??

::For the circus-obsessed: gorgeous book; one of the best shows ever; creepy film.

{Find more Chris Benz at style.com}

Weekend Links.

{Film still from "Lay Down Lean" by The Belles of Black Diamond Field}

How has the week treated you? Any exciting holiday plans for the weekend? This is the first time in a long time that I don't have ANY plans for the weekend. I'm actually kind of excited about that...time to catch up on my DVD-watching! Speaking of movies, the main-man and I went to see "Fantastic Mr. Fox," and I really cannot recommend it enough! Do you have any must-see movie recommendations? I'm on the lookout for both new and old films to add to my repertoire. As always, I hope you enjoy the links --

::Finally! Two years of hard work digitizing Scribner's Magazine {from 1910-1921} has finally come to fruition. Come see what myself and the staff at the Modernist Journals Project have been up to!! You can search images, ads, and articles in Scribner's...and many other gorgeous magazines from the early 20th century. {Yes, this is my other-other job}.

::I love the digital collages by artist Julien Pacaud.

::Target is partnering with Liberty of London?? This could possibly be amazing...or not. It's always a bit of a crap-shoot with Target, isn't it?

::Utterly obsessed and fascinated with the short, 8 mm films of Maximilla Lucaks and Sophie Flicker {aka. The Belles of Black Diamond Field}.

::What combines fashion and crayons, you ask? The BEST coloring book ever!!

::Frontier-themed holiday decor and party ideas over at the always-original Hollister Hovey.

::Ladies holiday wish list from 1942, updated at Behind the Curtain.

::Fashion designers-turned-film-directors: Tom Ford's A Single Man and Lagerfeld's Paris-Shanghai.

::Screen Search Fashion archive is a thematic guide to fashion in films from the 20's and 30's -- with images and film clips!

Weekend Links

{Mind-boggling wallpaper from Tapeten Agentur}

I've spent most of the day so far catching up on blog-reading and staring at my prettily-wrapped packages. I finished all of my holiday shopping early this year, and now I can just sit back and enjoy! I tried to buy most of my gifts on Etsy, and it feels much more meaningful than the hustle and bustle of the mall and the big department stores. How is your list coming along?? If you're still stressing about finding something special for that someone special, be sure to check out my gift guide for those hard-to-buy for folks on your list. I truly hope you are all able to relax, breathe, and enjoy this time of year...

Here are some fun links for your spare time!

::You can certainly find memorable items on Etsy...the ones featured on the hilarious Regretsy are just memorable in a different way.

::Hey, local-yokels! Check out the tips and restaurant reviews on Tulsa Food Blog.

::Dandies and Quaintrelles is a club I would be honored to be a member of -- be sure to check out the images from their "Tweed Ride" on their Facebook page!

::A compelling talk on how technology enables intimacy.

::What I wouldn't give to be in NYC for Tim Burton's exhibition at MOMA.

::An Education: 60's era period piece film -- looks romantic, beautiful and inspiring!

::There is no rest for the wallpaper obsessed; awe-inspiring wall art at Decor8.

::My bar area is currently being taken over by Christmas gifts, but as soon as the holiday season is over, I'm going experiment some more with chic-ifying it...using these photos as inspiration!

Winter's Muse: Geraldine Chaplin

Today's guest post comes courtesy of the brilliant and funny lady behind Loose Leaf Tigers -- a blog dedicated to girl crushes, great art, and gasp-worthy fashion finds...

Bonjour! It is such an honor for me to be guest posting here at Nothing Elegant; one of the most stylish, eclectic and intelligent blogs i have come across. I visit here almost every day, and so should you!

With winter fast approaching, i thought i'd take this opportunity to celebrate two fabulous actresses (Julie Christie and Geraldine Chaplin) from one of the most wintery films ever made: Dr. Zhivago (1965). Let's begin with the elegant and fascinating Geraldine Chaplin, eldest child of Charlie and Oona.


Geraldine made a brief appearance in one of her father's films when she was eight years old, but her dreams were of the ballet rather than acting and it was while dancing in Paris that she was discovered by David Lean, who chose her for the role of Tonya in Doctor Zhivago.


Throughout the 1970s, Geraldine appeared in several of Robert Altman's films, as well as nine movies directed by Carlos Saura, with whom she has a son named Shane. While filming Welcome to L.A. in 1976, Geraldine was required to do a nude scene. Although she was perfectly comfortable doing the scene herself, director Alan Rudolph feared the loss of financing if the producers fell into disfavor with her world famous father, by embarrassing him prior to his death.


As such, the scene became one of the first experiments with digital compositing, positioning Chaplin's head on the body of a former Penthouse pet (!). Geraldine performed the scene in a nude body-stocking and it took almost an entire month, using antiquated production equipment, to digitally merge Chaplin's head with the body double.

Some of my favourite of Geraldine's performances can be found in Altman's Nashville (1975) and Pedro Almadovar's Talk to Her (2002), one of many foreign films in which Chaplin, who speaks fluent Spanish as well as French, has starred. In 1982, Geraldine played her real life grandmother Hannah in Chaplin, starring Robert Downey Jr., a role for which she received a best supporting actress Golden Globe.

In 2006, she married Chilean cinematographer Patricio Castilla, with whom she has a daughter, Oona. Geraldine now calls Miami, Florida home, where she has a house on the beach. The humble actress has been quoted as saying: "I thought it'd be easy to get into the movies as Charles Chaplin's daughter. And I suppose it was. Except I wasn't much good as an actress - really terrible at the beginning."

If you'd care to read the companion piece to this entry, please come visit Loose Leaf Tigers and celebrate the life and career of Dr. Zhivago's other star, the incomparable Julie Christie...

::Thank you so much to Tara and her wonderful readers for having me! xo

Weekend Links.

I can't even believe how quickly this week has flown by! I've actually been quite productive this week and hope the momentum will continue. What are your weekend plans? My mom postponed her trip to this Saturday, so I will be spending some time with her. I also have another round of wine-tasting to look forward to -- this time, the theme is Australian and New Zealand wines. Any recommendations??

I thought I would post this amazing video for you -- I was listening to Portishead's album Third today in the car, and remembered this eerie video I came across some time ago: a four-minute version of the 1960 horror film Les Yeux sans Visage set to Portishead's song Hunter. Chillingly beautiful.

Enjoy your weekend and enjoy the links!

::Just in time for November's political shenanigans, check out this fantastic {and funny} collection of political signs over at Yes and Yes.

::Blood Milk's JL Schnabel celebrates her one-year anniversary with her husband, and posts pictures from their ceremony at Philadelphia's Mutter Museum...yes, they were married at a museum of medical oddities. Coolest. Wedding. Ever.

::Sheaff Ephemera -- This endlessly addictive site houses image collections of everything from "extreme typography" to "people holding fish."

::I don't personally own...or even like...velvet paintings. But they do hold a tender place in my heart due to the fact that my grandmother had a giant velvet Last Supper of Christ painting hanging over her dining table when I was growing up. Needless to say, I'm pretty sure grandma would appreciate the velvet paintings at Velveteria.

:: One of the things on my "101 Things to Do before I Die List" happens to be to live in a house or apartment with a chandelier. I can't even begin to dissect the psychology behind my obsession with shiny, dangly things, so I will just say that this NotCot post featuring some of the gorgeous chandeliers at Versailles has me working overtime trying to figure out how to meet this goal...

Weekend Links.

Here I sit, a bit worse for wear and recovering from a rousing evening of chicken-dancing and hokey-pokey-ing! Oktoberfest started last night, and I'm lucky {or unlucky?} enough to live right next door to the festivities. After all of that beer and brat madness, I look forward to a low-key weekend. My boyfriend's parents are coming into town for a quick visit, so we're trying to think of yummy local restaurants to take them to...I hope they're not in the mood for German! I'm also looking forward to finally watching Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains -- a DVD that has been on my queue for ages. What are your weekend plans? Is Oktoberfest in full-force where you live??

Enjoy the links!

::Have you heard of the Museum of Everything? Outsider art is the focus of this fantastic new London museum.

::Super cute and vintage-y Holiday Cheat Sheets {free to download}.

::Bookshelf chairs on Oh, Joy! So freaking clever!

::B. Vikki Vintage shop and blog features advertising campaigns and fashion editorials from Black/African-American publications, video clips, found photographs, etc from the 1950s-1960s.

::I'm digging The X-X's new album! They are like New Order's sultrier, sweeter younger siblings. If you haven't had the pleasure yet, take a listen here and here.

::Mira Nair's new film Amelia {about the life of Amelia Earhart} is finally out! Three cheers for films about amazing women, directed by amazing women!

::Man Shops Globe is a new show on the Sundance channel about Keith Johnson -- the man who does the buying for Anthropologie stores. This is the kind of show that could persuade me to splurge on cable TV. Here is a lovely post on Poppy Talk about some of the artists featured on the show.

Strange Beauties: The Allure of the Unusual Leading Lady

Today's guest post comes from the talented artist and blogger, J.L. Schnabel! I hope she doesn't mind me saying so, but I think that Ms. Schnabel might be a kindred spirit -- we both share a similar attraction to the surreal and strange...and we're both slightly obsessed with Halloween. Her blog, Blood Milk is a constant source of inspiration, and she has introduced me to so many new artists and designers. Oh, did I mention she also makes incredible jewelry...?

As a worshipper of the surreal & unusual, I often like my leading ladies to have a touch of the strange. My favorite "horror movies" feature the lovely les femmes noires: Christina Ricci and Winona Ryder, for their turns in Bettlejuice, Dracula, The Addams Family and Sleepy Hollow. What I love most about these characters is the way they each own their 'weirdness.' They live, unafraid and comfortable, on the fringe of their respective societies; whether as a vampire lover or secret witch, their identities are firm and poignant. While both actresses have been severely underrated, both in their beauty and talent, they are forever immortalized as the characters they have helped shaped my aesthetic and art...

Being closer to Christina Ricci's age, I worshipped her as Wednesday Addams. I lopped off my Barbie's head, trained myself to sleep with my arms folded over my chest like the dead and wore my raven hair in two braids for months. As the princess of doom and gloom she's often been the inspiration to weird girls and artists alike. She is rendered here in a portrait by the amazing David Stoupakis:

Ricci's turn as blonde and witchy Katrina Van Tassel allowed her to work her magick on steampunk clad Johnny Depp/Ichabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow. One of my favorite details of the movie was the bird and cage optical illusion that Ichabod gives Katrina:

{Optical illusion spinner birdcage by The Social Cellar}

Although I didn't quite understand the full emotional depths of Dracula when I first saw it as a kid, it was the first time I remember being aware of Winona Ryder, who plays fated bride Mina Harker. At the heart of all the blood and vampire-hunting is a chilling love story. The exquisite costumes featured on the entire cast capture the detail and drama of Victorian life and elegance.

The decadence of Victorian style has been re-created in these lovely handmade hats by Etsy seller Topsy Turvy Design.

Bettlejuice is one of those films that has lingered and spilled over into several creative facets of my life. The dramatic and gloomy Lydia Deetz has a permanent rain cloud over her head until she meets a pair of unlikely ghosts. Even the cartoon series was great! Part of my wardrobe is inspired by the stripped patterns in the movie, which are easy to find in the vintage section of Etsy...

{Romper from Find MeVintage / Blouse from Etsy seller Marion kc}

What leading lady do you relate to most?

Happy Halloween!
x/x, jl schnabel x blood milk
::P.S. Please visit Bloodmilk to enter my October giveaway here!

Bright Star: John Keats

{This painting by Frank Cadogan Cowper is based on the poem La Belle Dame Sans Merci by John Keats}

My excitement about the upcoming film Bright Star is twofold: first, it was directed by Jane Campion, who is arguably one of the most talented filmmakers of our time {her other films -- The Piano, Portrait of a Lady -- are some of my favorites}; also, it is about the life and love of poet John Keats...who I have to blame/thank for my terrible romantic streak.


I discovered my love for poetry -- and for Keats -- when I was around twelve years old. As a gift, I received a copy of Penhaligon's beautifully-scented Language of Flowers book, which was filled with late Romantic and early Victorian poetry. I spent an unhealthy amount of time reading, memorizing {and sniffing!} that treasured little volume. The Keats poems were always my favorites -- they seemed to perfectly resonate with my vague, incomprehensible girlish longings {probably hormones in retrospect}. Some of my favorite Keats poems included: "Ode to a Nightingale," "La Belle Dame Sans Merci," and "When I Have Fears that I May Cease to Be." I love his poems because they teeter on the edge between despondent and utterly transcendent.


If you haven't read him in a while, or if you've never had the pleasure of reading him, he's worth falling in love with. You can find his collected works online here. I'll leave you with another favorite...any ideas on the strange final line?

"Modern Love"

AND what is love? It is a doll dress'd up
For idleness to cosset, nurse, and dandle;
A thing of soft misnomers, so divine
That silly youth doth think to make itself
Divine by loving, and so goes on
Yawning and doting a whole summer long,
Till Miss's comb is made a pearl tiara,
And common Wellingtons turn Romeo boots;
Then Cleopatra lives at number seven,
And Antony resides in Brunswick Square.
Fools! if some passions high have warm'd the world,
If Queens and Soldiers have play'd deep for hearts,
It is no reason why such agonies
Should be more common than the growth of weeds.
Fools! make me whole again that weighty pearl
The Queen of Egypt melted, and I'll say
That ye may love in spite of beaver hats.

Sally Potter: All the Rage

Sally Potter {director of Orlando, one of my favorite films of all time} releases her newest film today, entitled Rage. Here are two kooky facts about the endeavor: 1. The film will be released first on mobile phones {downloadable via Babelgum}. 2. It is a film about fashion shows {but features no actual fashion shows} and centers on a murder plot...intrigued? I know I am!

Weekend Links

{Beyond Limits features giant works of sculpture...all up for auction at Sotheby's for giant amounts of money!}

What are your weekend plans, my pretty peaches?? I feel as if I could sleep for 48 hours straight. The rain here has been incessant, and it is putting me in hibernation mode. Truly, I hope to get something fun/productive accomplished in lieu of my sleepiness. Tonight my boyfriend and I will try to catch a movie {maybe Zombieland?}. Tomorrow I am going to the Brady Heights neighborhood garage sale {if you are in the Tulsa area, come check it out!}. Brady Heights is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Tulsa, and my parents are lucky enough to live in a lovely old house there! I have a feeling they will have the best stuff at the sale ;)

Here are some of my favorite links of the week...enjoy!

::Morbid Anatomy blog is downright fascinating [and slightly disturbing].

::Gorgeous cuffs by the Glamourai -- I want!

::A beautiful, heartfelt reminder of why we do this crazy blog thing at On Dressing Up.

::Refinery 29 gives the low-down on some of the most exciting trends from NY Fashion week.

::An upcoming film about Charles Darwin's life and work {though apparently it will not be released in the U.S. because it is too controversial}.

::Yes and Yes asks: why can't women's mags can't be funny, too?

::Sotheby's "Beyond Limits" auction features breath-taking, monumental works of sculpture, all displayed on the grounds of a palatial manor in the English countryside.

Weekly Inspiration: House Beautiful Magazine

What an unexpected haitus from the digital realm I had last week!! So sorry, all my lovely readers...I'm plugged back in, rejuvenated, and ready for a great week. Keeping fingers crossed...

I randomly picked up a copy of House Beautiful at the supermarket this weekend {because I am on a constant quest to fill the void left behind by the closure of Domino Magazine} and I was quite pleasantly surprised! Just check out a few of the fantastic discoveries I made inside:

::A place to fulfill your fine art cravings {and almost everything is under $1000}: Lost Art Salon is an amazing resource for modernist, vintage, and antique art objects...and they have amazing fashion illustrations {see above}.

::Create your own fabric for sofas, chairs, or ottomans using an archive of historical images at Haute House. Flappers on my chaise lounge? Yes, please!

::An entire line of jewelry, housewares, and stationary inspired by the eccentric Edith Beale and Grey Gardens.

Three cheers for random inspiration!!!

Girl Crush: Marion Cotillard

There was a lovely post last week by Amanda over at Mockingbird {a gorgeous blog and a new favorite} about girl-crushes. I agreed completely with Amanda's choices, and I wondered who else I might add to my list?

I decided I would need to add Marion Cotillard to my girl-crush list. She is beautiful without being overly perfect, adorable without being girlish, and SO talented {La Vie en Rose and Public Enemies}. I only recently came across the pictures of her from the Public Enemies premiere, and was not only smitten by how lovely she looked, but was also drooling over her Elie Saab dress...

The cut and shape are so classic and elegant, and I'm a complete sucker for the cut of the neckline and the perfect mid-calf length. And the pattern/color is mesmerizing -- it reminds me of an ancient Roman mosaic.

C'est perfect!

Do you get girl-crushes, too?? If so, you will LOVE the new blog, Got a Girl Crush, dedicated to women with style, wit, and personality!

Current Obsession: Leather "Cabaret" Gloves

Long leather gloves made a major comeback on the runways in 2007 [Burberry Prorsum was a huge player in this resurgence], and they are still going strong...though I would argue they are timeless classics, anyway! I don't know why I didn't try the look out earlier -- I think it was because I was going through an uber-casual phase and felt they were a bit dramatic at the time. Well, that has passed and I'm completely enamored by the idea of wearing a 3/4 sleeve coat with a pair of these fabulous cabaret-inspired gloves, ala 1930's Berlin and Marlene Dietrich in Blonde Venus:

:: Long Patent Leather Gloves by Anedoti

:: Searle Side-Button Leather Gloves

Current Obsession: Red Eyeshadow

Inspired by my recent passion for Chan Wook-Park's violent but redemptive film Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, I am craving blood-red shadow like the beautiful protagonist Geum-ja wears...

This lovely French lady below pulls it off perfectly somehow, without looking over-the-top. I think fair skin and dark hair might be key!

From Easy Fashion Paris

I really like the idea of a bit of sparkle...

Siren Magic Dust

kryolan eyeshadow

Recent incarnations:



What do you think?? Is red shadow something you would consider trying?