A Beautiful Poem for Hermès

This is a song of poetry

to the kings & queens 

that are Hermès.

Not the owners,

not the creators,

but the makers...

...the makers themselves.

Some may call them the little elves

that are enchanted by moonlight

to make their perfect rings

and their purses sing

with the sewing that breaks the shadows of my mind.

Why?

Pourquoi?

The simple answer is the perfect piece

called

Hearts and Crafts.

It is a ghastly name.

It is the worst sin against

a perfect porcelain piece of a poem.

I say poem because

movies, documentaries, entries

on the cinema stages of our lives...

just aren't completed this masterfully.

this perfectly.

this well.

I shall blame it on the writer.

The name glares like a cheap replica of a 

Michaels craft store sign, unhinged

and orange red against a sad woman's

old draperies... 'Hearts and Crafts' indeed.

So do not let this name fool you.

Do not.

The filmmaker is silk.

The subjects refined

and

handsome, artistic,

eloquent and knowledgeable.

I do not own a scarf, a book, a label,

nothing from this name of Hermès.

But I own their soul.

They stay with me always
in my mind
refreshing and repeating
time after time after time.

So stay.
Watch.
Watch with me.

Just for a moment.

Give your mind a refreshing drink

of spring and of right and of rain

and let yourself be doused in the magic

and the mystery that is...

hiring the masters

of the young

and of the old.

and see a timeless classic,

hidden in the folds

of webpages and webbrowsers.

A little piece, a little leaf that is,
was and always will be
gold

just hidden

in the folds

Hidden.

Right Here.

xoxo,

Katherine

To see this short film about the history and craftsmen behind Hermès in France, Click here: Hearts and Crafts (Les Mains d'Hermes).
Note: The original French title of the film is called Les Mains d'Hermes. Better, yet not close enough. Enjoy.

We Will Never Forget

I know we're in the middle of all the hubbub of Fashion Week.

Maybe it's because I'm over here on the West Coast

where it seems easier to forget everything and anything

that is reality based...

but I haven't forgotten 9/11.

It seems like most have.

I don't hear about it on the news,

I don't hear about it even IN the news ever - never

ever at all anymore.

It's not referenced.

It's not remembered.

It's just documented.

Documentaries are all that is left. Oh, they are 

good ones - so good we feel we can set them aside

and alone. Without re-living it.

Well. I remember.

And I think you do too.

So let us not allow Fashion Week to slide right

by without a shake of the head.

Let's shake it, stay quiet,

still

and

listen.

Because they are still out there.

Their voices still call.

The muffled room that

became New York that day

still exists. Underneath the new structures and the old.

The grey dust still lingers, if you hold still enough to taste it.

Let's remember.

No matter where we are.

xoxo,

K

Photo credit:
Tobias Everke

Olympic Torch Strikes Gold

Thomas Heatherwick's 2012 Olympic "Cauldron"

Yes. 

I know about the controversy surrounding the Olympic Torch for this year's Summer Olympics in London. 

Since I do have a thing for fire and flames, I suppose if I was there I'd be massively disappointed to have it hidden... 

even dismantled at times... too. 

But still.

C'mon.

It's brilliant.

First of all, this picture is just a model of the actual torch, or "cauldron," as they are calling it. It's a bit too much of a Harry Potter term for me, especially considering the UK connection, so I'm sticking with 'torch.' 

Or 'Magnificent Torch.' Maybe 'Torch of Kings'? Ah. I have it:

'Olympian Torch.'

'Natch. 

Model of Actual Petal - to Scale

The brilliance of this Olympian Torch design lies in its petals.

Thomas Heatherwick took on an enormous task with this design.

As a major in Brit Lit,

let me just say...

I know.

But with these petals, 204 of them, mind you,

he transcended the normal Olympic torch experience.

In a world of ever-increasing global connectivity and "one-ness," 

this design not only fulfills its usual purpose of representing the ongoing centuries of Olympic Spirit and Tradition, but it also, 

at the same time, shows the other side of the coin... 

the lines that do make us different, 

the borders that do separate us, 

the differences that make us each a nation of one people.

This picture, showing the torch from within its stems, illustrates my point perfectly. 

It was devoutly taken by a British Blogger by freezing her BBC channel and snapping this shot with her iPhone. I love my iPhone too... that 'connectivity' I mentioned.

The stems and petals at all times represent each competing team's unique spirit, while the flame above is that power which only develops, grows and emanates when we all come together.

Powerful, isn't it?

My many thanks to London.

My many thanks to Heatherwick.

And my congratulations to all the teams.

May your inspiration create a fire that is not easily quenched.

xoxo,

Katherine

Sources:

DEZEEN.COM

THEVIBES.ME

Going for Gold

Thank you Flare.com for bringing these cuties to my attention.

Okay.

So they really aren't "cute."

But dang, they are gold perfection.

I don't know how Mr. Louboutin managed to avoid any 70's retro flavor with these...

...but he most certainly did. 

Well done, Christian. Well done.

Who needs a gold medal? Okay, I wouldn't pass one up...

but yeah. These'll get me through instead just fine.

Just fine indeed :)

xoxo,

Katherine

Downton Hits Downtown

2012 Met Gala Favorites Series

"Elegance is refusal."

-Coco Chanel

This look has a special kind of brilliance.

Editing, for any artist, in any field,

is the one thing that stands between a good artist...

and a great artist.

The gloves.

The length.

The gold.

Her skin.

Her brows.

Her hair.

"Elegance is refusal."

If this look can only be summed up with a quote

from Coco Chanel,

then perhaps I saved the best look for last.

To my dearest Met Gala, Au Revoire!  

I'll see you next year...

xoxo,

Katherine

Actress: Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey)

Designer: Ralph Lauren (I know, right?)

Ricci Royalty in Thakoon

2012 Met Gala's Favorites Series

I'm so glad Christina Ricci snapped up

the opportunity to pose with her designer, Thakoon.

Because it's one heck of a look.

Dang.

And doesn't she know it!

Just look at that smile.

But the dress gets better.

Now, yesterday I said I wished Kirsten Dunst's dress

was shorter. Or at least tailored or structured a bit more.

Here, I wish the dress dropped to her heels.

Then it would be perfection like we haven't seen since...

Marilyn.

That's right. I said Marilyn.

But it was short and so, for me, it looked awkward

everywhere between here knees to her ankles.

But she's still on here because...

Enough said.

xoxo,
Katherine

Hollywood Glamour Hits NYC

2012 Met Gala Favorites Series

Surely I'm not the only one that thought of

Lauren Bacall when I saw this photo, right?

Kudos to Kirsten Dunst.

Perhaps the all-knowing smirk comes

from her recent transition into her 30's,

which, as any woman will tell you,

is the decade we usually come into our true power,

but this Rodarte moment makes me want to stammer.

I rarely see true "old Hollywood" glamour, 

even when it's styled on purpose.

But somehow I don't think Kirsten was going for that.

She just went there.

Internally.

And the Rodarte was there waiting to make it all fit.

I love it.
She is truly smart, witty and somehow daring in this.

I wish the skirt was shorter, but that's just me.
And it's not "Met Gala" dramatic,
but then again,
every photo of her that night convinces you that
she is smack in the middle of Hollywood,
and that Cary Grant is getting out of his limo behind her.

How can you be more dramatic than that?

And may I just say,
congrats to her courage to not fall into the dramatic plastic surgery traps
that are enveloping anyone over the age of 18.

Because of it, she looks better than them all.

xoxo,
Katherine