If I Were A Girl: Modern Beauty Shop

If I were a girl I would insist on having my hair done at the most modern of beauty shops and if that shop happened to be owned by a pair of gals named Sophie and Moxie.... well, my inner girl would be good to go.

From here.

Covet: Raoul Textiles

Indigo on Belgian linen... yes, yes and yes.

From here.

Wishful Wandering: Neue Galerie

I confess that there are times when I allow the boundaries of my daily life to shrink to a rather alarming radius... this happens most often when I am ensconced in my lower west side existence on the pulsating isle of Manhattan and I am reminded that I have not ventured above 23rd Street in weeks...these are the times when a visit to the upper east side might as well be a trip to Nova Scotia.  Fortunately, there are a multitude of temptations beckoning from up north so I will grab my passport and head uptown...first stop, the beautiful Neue Galerie to see Vienna 1900: Style and Identity.

See more here. 

Distraction: Kevin Bauman

Beautiful and heart-breaking. 

From the 100 Abandoned Houses Project by the photographer Kevin Bauman.

See more here.

Rhyme nor Reason: Float

Half-naked, golden-tan men and beautiful women in floor length evening wear...just a hunch but perhaps there was a talented homosexual behind the art direction of this 1938 float?  

From here.

If I Were A Girl: Mary Katrantzou SS11

My inner girl and I are fed up with waiting for the weather to warm so we give Mother Nature the you-know-what by wearing our new spring frocks even though snow continues to fall outside.  We are particularly smitten with the designs of Mary Katrantzou who used images of interior spaces from Architectural Digest and World of Interiors to create her fanciful prints... now one can take a bit of home sweet home with them wherever they go..... ideal for days when my inner girl suffers a touch of agoraphobia.

See more here.

Covet: Jacomijn van der Donk

Accessory and objet d'art....jewelry by Jacomijn van der Donk.

Yes, please.

See more here.

Covet: Vintage Shears

True these vintage shears may be as dull as some people I know but they're so lovely to look at that I wouldn't mind having them around...form before function here at DoaWE.

From here.

My Future Home: Pyramid

Just what I needed!  Beautiful marquetry in the form of a pyramid of drawers ideal for stowing anything green and perfect for the malachite room in my future home!

From here.

Covet: Marble Busts

How can I resist such fetching head gear and lovely profiles?  

Yes times two.

Available here.

Distraction: Blue

In a bit of a mood indigo today....true blue if you will.  Who knew algae was so photogenic?  Cyanotypes from Anna Atkins' Photographs of British Algae (1843), the first photographic work by a woman.

See more here.

If I Were A Girl: Gary Graham F2011

Blame it on formative years spent sneaking into 18 and over clubs in Los Angeles....slipping past distracted doormen, dancing for hours crushed in a mass of revelers then stumbling out into the wee hours of the morning ears ringing and eyes glazed from the spectacle of it all...but I have a soft spot for a certain big-hair, small skirt, pointy pump kinda look and (not surprisingly) my inner girl feels the exact same way which explains why we like these looks from Gary Graham's Fall 2011 collection....mis-matched socks anyone?

See more here.

Distraction: Three Photographs

A perfect distraction for a grey morning: beautiful sepia tone photographs showing wonderful clothing and three incredible faces.  I can stare for hours.

From here.

Covet: Fornasetti Rug

Appealingly graphic with just the right amount of whimsy and all on a beautiful shade of green.  I'll take it!

Available here.

Still Life: Spike Heart

Even when love is spiky and rusty and unwieldy as a six foot cast iron chain, we three at DoaWE continue to run headlong into the uncharted wilds of romance....always forgetting to watch our step... and even though we have plenty of bruises and scrapes to show for such recklessness, we wouldn't have it any other way.  To all the romantics out in the blogosphere: Happy Valentines Day!  

Now, run along!

Rhyme nor Reason: Diner Decor

Sometimes something as simple as painted decorations on a diner window can make one feel a little bit warmer even when standing on an icy sidewalk with snow soaked feet and freezing wind whipping about... 

If I Were A Girl: Clements Ribeiro SS11

If I were a girl I would be just as fed up with all this snow as I am as a boy... even more so because, if I were a girl, I would have shapely gams and a trim figure (of course) perfect for this nautical meets floral dress by one of my favorite design duos Suzanne Clements and Inacio Ribeiro who have returned to the runway after five long years.

See more here.

Covet: Atelier 154

Sometimes a Wandering Eye has a hankering for a touch of industrial and utilitarian factory furnishings.... a light touch mind you as a little goes a long way.... after all here at DoaWE we advocate mixing and matching.... a mash-up of decorative styles... a mouth-watering smorgasbord of decor... and these pieces from Atelier 154 would definitely play well with others.

From here.

If I Were A Girl: Roberta di Camerino

I am such a fan of trompe l'oeil that, if I were a girl, I would have to carry a handbag by Roberta di Camerino.  I am especially fond of the unexpected color combinations found in the labels vintage bags although the multiple buckle grid in this newer satchel would suit my girlish self just fine.  Heck, my inner girl would even be happy with this paper cut out pattern piece for one of Roberta di Camerino's  trompe l'oeil dresses.

Top bag available here.

Vintage bag available here.

Paper dress pattern from here.

Rhyme nor Reason: Happy

Growing up with a DIY father, I spent many a Saturday morning gathering supplies at the neighborhood hardware store.... a meeting place of fathers from up and down my street... the air filled with deep voices, loud laughs and the scent of English Leather aftershave.  I remember following my father down aisle after aisle as he searched for the right sized washer or drill bit or electrical component... his weekend cardigan dotted with paint,  a cigarette perched on his lower lip and a yellow number two pencil tucked behind his ear.

There are times when the smallest thing can make one happy.... and there are times when that happiness-inducing thing needs to be substantially larger and heavier and should it rotate with the smooth grace of a ballerina....well, the happiness soars.

Covet: Antique Scientifica

Yes, yes and yes again!

From here.

Still Life: Frozen

After ten days of travel I returned home to find the house trimmed with a row of very long, glistening icicles... drips from the dagger-like tips adding an icy sheen to my back steps and encasing what remains of this poor plant in a thick layer of frozen gloss... the spectacle so welcoming that I was tempted to turn the car around and head due south.

Favorites: French Bowls

In honor of the big game, here are two bowls that I think are, in a word, super.

Available here.

Distraction: Rudolf Nureyev + John Galliano

When it comes to the dancer Rudolf Nureyev I am not unlike a twelve year old girl with an irrational crush.... professing eternal love to a wall of collaged magazine clippings, a tear-stained issue of Tiger Beat clutched to a pre-pubescent chest... I admitted to my infatuation many moons ago (see August 19) so imagine my irrational happiness when I learned that my favorite dancer had inspired the fall 2011 menswear collection by the always inspiring John Galliano.  While I'm not sure I can pull off the bound-conical-triple beard, I'm willing to give it a go in the name of Nureyev.

See more here.

Rhyme nor Reason: The Art of Listening

Many apologies for the lapse in posts here at Wandering Eye.  Yours truly was sucked into a vortex of travel and business... a whirlwind of meetings and greetings... having endured some rather lengthy and tiresome monologues I have come to the (unfortunate) conclusion that while a number of people are most adept at the art of talking, very few seem skilled in the fine art of listening.