all along the tuileries.

Twice a year I spend a ridiculous amount of time at my computer watching, reading, and studying..... FASHION WEEK. I pick my favorite looks and compile them because I am seeing the shows an entire season early.

From N.Y.C. to L-O-N-D-O-N and then on to Milan & PARIS - I enjoy it all. Paris fashion week has always been my favorite because since it is last and brings a month of fashion to a close, I like to think of it as the grand finale.For those of you unfamiliar, the designers show Spring lines starting in September and Fall lines starting in February, before you have even gotten a chance to wear what you saw last time.

This begins my post of my favorites from Fashion Week Spring 2011. Some collections were so good they have been reserved for a post of their own, while some posts will have picks from multiple collections.

FYI : If you do not enjoy fashion as much as me, you'll want to skip this post and the 5 or so that will follow.

3.1 Philip Lim

3.1 Philip Lim


Alberta Ferretti


Herve Leger


Calvin Klein Collection


Alexander McQueen


Michael Kors


Michael Kors


Matthew Williamson


Proenza Schouler


MaxMara


Lanvin


Lanvin


Marchesa


Marchesa


Marchesa


Tory Burch


Tory Burch


Tory Burch


Peter Som


Peter Som


Peter Som


Talbot Runhof


Talbot Runhof


Talbot Runhof

princes kept the view
while all the women
came and went.
-bob dylan/jimi hendrix

boyfriends.

I have a slight obsession with the new Levi's campaign. In case you haven't seen it yet, here are the 4 different ads. The first and the last are my favorites.

We Hail Thee, Carolina.

. . . . . . . it's time for . . . . . . .

the sweet sound of
2001

a sea of B L A C K and G A R N E T

81,000 people yelling

GAME.....COCKS......GAME.....COCKS

family traditions

Williams Brice

Cocky
(& my favorite fellow gamecock, Wilksy)

true freshmen

Sir Big Spur

the head ball coach

C A R O L I N A F O O T B A L L


---------------

Here's a health, Carolina, forever to thee!

Jackie the Great.

Some days a girl wakes up & looks in her big closet full of clothes, shoes, and bags only to be plagued with the contradictory thought "I have nothing to wear". On days like those, I wish that I could have access to couture collections all over the world (hey - a girl can dream right?) There are a few celebrities that, in my opinion, have the best taste/wardrobe of anyone out there:

Lauren Santo Domingo

Kate Bosworth

Lauren Bush

Anna Dello Russo




Diane Kruger

Viviana Volpicella

Aurora Sansone

Blake Lively

Reese Witherspoon

The only person who, in my opinion, should be on a list all her own is Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. Her style & grace is one that cannot be matched.

I have read books and watched documentaries on her since I was 12. One of my favorite movies is Jackie, Ethel, & Joan : The Women of Camelot. (i know - im a pretty big dork) When I recently found out that the History Channel was creating an 8 episode mini-series titled "The Kennedys", I was so excited! I was imagining who would play the infamous Jackie O. Who could they find to match the flawless performance of Jill Hennessy in The Women of Camelot?

When I found out that Katie Holmes had been cast to play Jackie O I was horrified. To say that I was disappointed is an understatement. I might be singing a different tune when this mini-series debuts in 2011, but there is nothing in me that sees her in this role. Also - Greg Kinnear will be portraying JFK, also a choice that I am very skeptical of.

I am looking forward to the fact that the History Channel is putting this together because they have assembled a group of historians to develop it so that it is as accurate as possible. There is already buzz of Emmy nominations. I guess I will have to wait and see how the chosen fair in the portayl of one of America's most infamous families.

Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society. -Mark Twain

i dont like YouTube.

I don't like YouTube.

There, I said it.

I just don't enjoy sitting and watching stupid video after stupid video for hours on end. Maybe it has to do something with the fact that my brother, my boyfriend, & my guy friends could spend an entire day watching YouTube videos. I just dont ever think the videos are that funny. However - there are a few videos that I have seen recently (thanks to my brother) that I just can't get enough of. Maybe i am starting to actually like YouTube just a little bit.

So here are my 3 favorite YouTube videos of the moment:

give me a book & the beach.

Every year before the annual family beach trip, my attention drifts to one thing. While most (normal) girls would be getting new bathingsuits and sundresses, I am very carefully & pointedly picking out the most important thing to pack.....books. I agonize over my selections - Is it set in the summer? Will it be a page turner that I dont want to put down? The one problem in all of this tends to nag at me in the form of a question for weeks before i leave - Will I have enough books to last the entire week? To most this sounds ridiculous and silly, but to me it is a concern full of validity. I have always been a bookworm, whether sneaking them into restaurants as a child or sitting on the beach all day, I prefer to spend my free time reading. My record for most books read during one beach trip (which is usually saturday to saturday) is 6. Now do you understand why I am concerned I might not have enough!

This is what I have picked to take with me so far:

A novel of cheeky satire about a Chelsea art gallery that has a piece of art hanging in it that no one cares about until the artist suddenly dies. The painting's name is the same as the book - so no, I'm not reading a self-help book about doubting God.

This novel follows to college friends who have feelings that have yet to confess for the other. The story begins the day after they graduate and continues on from there. “One Day” checks in on their intersecting lives once a year, every July 15, from 1988 through 2007. I am under the impression that it will be a version of the movie guys and girls alone like, When Harry Met Sally.

I am finding it impossible to go any amount of time this summer without reading a novel by Pat Conroy. After reading South of Broad, Mr. Conroy's style of writing has poisoned me and I no longer enjoy reading anything else. I would even go as far to say that he is south carolina's father of fiction.

Everyone has buzzed about it for years, but I just assumed it was about carnies. Then i found out that Hollywood is putting it out on the big screen, staring Reese Witherspoon (my personal fave) & Robert Pattinson. Needless to say I bought the book immediately after hearing this.

A classic and one of my all time favorites. It never gets old.

"Books were this wonderful escape for me because I could open a book and disappear into it.

- Dean Koontz