Charlotte, Oh Charlotte!

If I ever have a girl-on-girl crush, my ideal crush would be Charlotte Rampling. Sexy, gorgeous, oh so photogenic. She's in her early 60s and her beauty has matured with her age. I saw her on a recent TV interview where she said she loves being photographed and being looked at.
She confessed she is (still) a bit vain(with a laugh). I think that's really sexy.

3 Women, 1977

Fashion is alot like movies. It tells a story and creates certain atmosphere. Late great director, Robert Altman's enigmatic movie "3 Women(1977)" is not only a gorgeous to look at, but it transports viewers to a dreamlike world where a "normal" lives of characters is far from normal. Shelley Duvall never looked so ethereal and lovely. With her meticulously coiffed hair, painted face, carefully decorated apartment and fluttery dresses, Duvall poignantly portrays young woman in desperate search for an identity more glamourous than her reality. Definately a movie for late 70s fashion lovers and Shelley Duvall fans.

The Housemaid, Korean arthouse movie.

I recently watched two movies, both titled "The Housemaid". The original movie was made in 1960, and the remake was made just last year. The remake is playing in theaters in New York.

It's a psychological thriller, suspense and horror movie with heavy dose of melodrama. I won't attempt to review it here, but the 60s version is pretty spectacular. One of the best Asian movies I have seen. Unfortunately some of the reels were lost, narrative may not be as smooth as the director originally intended. Nonetheless, it's a great movie. I also watched the 2010 version. It's gotten great reviews, notably from Roger Ebert. Although it's a respectable movie, I enjoyed the original version much more.

You can watch 1960's version, go to http://www.mubi.com/ for free and legal download.

I highly recommend it, but only if you have a strong stomach.

Follow below link for more in-depth and excellent review of the movie:

http://armchairc.blogspot.com/2011/01/housemaid-1960.html

Paper Dolls

So cute! I'm always amazed by the ingenuity of people on etsy. This morning I got a sweet surprise from Catrin in Berlin. She put together this paper doll page on Germany Etsy blog page with the denim shorts in my shop & she emailed me to let me know. It made remember how I LOVED to play with my paper dolls. Maybe that's where my passion for dressing up started? Thank you Catrin for such a great looking page. You can see more here:

http://www.etsy.de/blog/etsy-finds-zieh-mich-an

Coco Before Chanel

Last weekend, I went to see movie "Coco Before Chanel". I am not a big biopic fan, but I was curious to see how Chanel was depicted by director Anne Fontaine. Audrey Tautou did great job acting the part of driven, yet vulnerable main character. She was also great in movie, "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not", as obsessed young woman. I like the fact the movie focused more on the possible motive for Chanel's philosophy as a fashion designer, rather than just her clothes and career. With any biopics, one can never rely too much on the facts behind the story, but the movie reminded me once again that Chanel was definately ahead of her time. Her sense of elegance came not from the established idea of what "feminine" was, but how clothes can elevate woman to persue what she loves to do by liberating her from the unpractical and cumbersome clothing. If anyone's looking forward to see parade of gorgeous clothings in the movie might be disappointed, but this movie is definately worth seeing on big screen.