SARTORIAL SANITY: Luxe Layering

Love the layering here--shot by who else other than Scott Schumann, aka The Sartorialist. I love the rich lodge palette of camels, burnt tweeds and forest green. This guy definitely raises the bar in terms of creating a luxe casual look for a simple afternoon stroll.

COCKTAIL CHATTER: Muffler Memories

I am absolutely smitten by this image shot by Scott Schuman aka "The Sartorialist." When I was little my sister and I loved to play dress up. Our favorite dress up accessory? A vintage cream, fur muffler. I have no idea where it came from but whether we were having tea with the queen or walking the red carpet, our little hands were always tucked inside the soft safety of the muffler--quite a sophisticated security blanket, no? Hah! Anyway, it's safe to say that you don't see mufflers too often anymore but, as with everything else, it appears that chic stops here, in Milano--hands safely tucked inside Chanel.

Image crush

One essential part of my daily routine is, of course, stalking The Sartorialist blog. Each one of Scott Schuman's photos is so carefully and expertly composed while simultaneously possessing this innate air of spontaneity and ephemeral envy as well as inspiration. A few weeks ago, I came across one photo that has been nestled in the corner of my desktop ever since. To me, this woman is the epitome of classic beauty - I love the way that her pose invokes this sense of timid grace. I had a chance to speak to Schuman about two years ago for an article I was writing for the Washington Square News and I fell so much more in love with his artistry when he explained that he's not trying to capture the person he is photographing or their "story" ('how selfish would that be to impose your constructed version of someone's story on a total stranger' he explained). But, rather, is trying to produce an image that could generate a multitude of stories or reactions, not particular to the subject of the image, but to the recipient of the images. So, for me, this photo becomes such a representation of Schuman's idea of placing the viewers reaction to the image on such a paramount pedestal. I think I am so drawn to this image in particular because the woman has such a resemblance to my grandmother - deep set eyes, tan skin, dark hair and the kind of chic style that is so effortlessly simple and elegant.