Goodbye Oscar de la Renta

Just last week I wrote a blogpost archiving some of designer Oscar de la Renta's magnificent moments in Vogue Magazine.(linked here)

"My job as a designer is to make a woman feel her very best"
Oscar de la Renta

Yesterday I was terribly saddened to hear of his passing at age 82.


Dominican born Oscar de la Renta spent half a century dressing the most glamorous women in the world.
De la Renta apprenticed for Cristobal Balenciage in Spain, and then Lanvin and Balmain in Paris before launching his own line in 1965.

An arbiter of style and timeless elegance, de la Renta's gowns were both a fixture on the red carpet, and also at the White House. He  was the only designer to have dressed every first lady from Jacqueline Kennedy to Michelle Obama.

More recently he designed the wedding dress of George Clooney's bride, Amal Alamuddin.

Never one to fall into the extremism of the fashion industry, 
De la Renta famously said "I'm not interested in shock tactics. I just want to make beautiful clothes".

And how incredibly beautiful his clothes always were.

Recently he helped Vogue editor Anna Wintour in her efforts to rehabilitate the career of fashion genius John Galliano. ( read about it here)

The passing of Oscar de la Renta is a major loss to the fashion industry, and to women all over the world who love beautiful clothes.

Christmas Shopping Coffee Table Books

Looking for an elegant and fashionable

gift for Christmas?

Check out these fabulous coffee table books,

which make both a sartorial statement in your own 

living room, or a stylish gift where it counts.

No one shoots Dior quite like Demarchelier.

Dior Couture may just be the ultimate tome on the fashion house.

Valentino Themes And Variations is a celebration

of the designer's 45 year career.

Based in Rome, Valentino was one of only 2 couture houses outside of Paris to be recognized by the French government.

Chanel, The Vocabulary Of Style explores the key elements

that have defined perhaps the most influential fashion house of all time, photographed by the world's leading photographers.

Balenciaga by Pierre Arizzoli-Clemental was published to mark the inauguration

of the Balenciage museum in Getaria, Spain. Described by Coco Chanel as "the only true couturier among us" Balenciage made his name in the world of haute couture during the 1940s and 1950s. 

This book celebrates some of the most significant pieces from the museum's permanent collection.

Lanvin by Dean Merceron looks at the oldest surviving couture house,tracing a path from Jeanne Lanvin's 56 year career through today's Lanvin with Alber Elbaz at the helm.