Out and About--Cocktails at Tiffany's

Last night I was invited to a benefit at no other than Tiffany's on Rodeo Drive.  It was a fantastic event complete with a VIP champagne reception inside the store so you could sip and shop.  Even better, the benefit was for a great cause--the Amanda Foundation.  This organization helps homeless animals find loving homes and it is a cause close to my heart.  My dog, Daisy, came from a shelter and is the best dog in the world.  She means everything to me, so I couldn't have been happier to be there supporting the Amanda Foundation's work.

But before things kicked off, I took a stroll down Rodeo Drive on the warm summer-like evening to take in all the wonderful stores...

Via Rodeo, which was blocked off for the event

The Regent Beverly Wilshire, made famous in the movie Pretty Woman, sits at the very top of Rodeo Drive.  This hotel has a long history of housing the stars including Cary Grant, Elvis, and John Lennon, who lived there the months he was estranged from Yoko Ono because he knew Elvis lived there while making movies.  Also, one of my favorite writers and contributors to film noir, Dashiell Hammett, actually wrote The Thin Man here.

Steps at the top of Rodeo Drive leading to the party at Tiffany's

Walking into Tiffany's makes you catch your excited breath, so it was lovely to find my favorite Veuve-Clicquot champagne waiting for me there

Tiffany's is famous for its diamonds, but particularly the Tiffany setting which has remained unchanged since 1837.  Why mess with perfection?

Joking with friends that we needed to swap my cocktail ring for the one from Tiffany & Co.

My favorites besides those classic rings?  More classics.  I adore their solitaire pendant necklace (on top)...

...and the diamond choker (on top)...

...and their pearl choker (above).  My favorite fantasy item was the 160 carat pendant necklace (below)...for millions of dollars.

Tiffany's makes fantastic purses now, too!  Very vintage-inspired.

On the Red Carpet:  Late 1960s hot pink silk shantung shortsleeve shift, 1960s pink croco-embossed leather clutch,
Moda snakeskin slingback pumps, silver and emerald-cut CZ earrings with matching cocktail ring

Joining me on the carpet? Kristin Bauer van Straten (Pam from HBO's True Blood) and Jane Graves (of Ladybug Jane), who are both passionately committed to environmental causes.  The ladies loved my GlamAmor style, especially because buying and wearing vintage is a great way to Go Green!

Teri Austin, president of the Amanda Foundation

Pauley Perrette from the CBS show, NCIS

Teri with my friend and co-sponsor of the evening, Walt Morton

Nigel and Jenna Briand, editor of Take Part, an astute online community that connects causes to action

This event was so great to take part in and filled with people who genuinely care about improving the world.  I loved meeting everyone!

The Thrill of the Hunt--Sunday's Vintage Clothing & Textile Show

Don't forget...

GlamAmor will be in Sunday's spectacular Vintage Clothing & Textile Show!

Sunday, October 31st

The Pickwick Gardens

1001 Riverside Drive

Burbank, CA

9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

8:00 AM Early Admission

$6.00 Regular Admission

$20.00 Early Admission

Hosted by Caskey Lees

For more information, call

310.455.2886

If you've never been to a vintage clothing show, this is a great one to check out because of its high quality.  I liken these kinds of shows to museums where you can actually touch everything and purchase a treasure to take home with you.  They're fantastic if you're on a budget, too--such a wide range of items and prices that you're guaranteed to find something you that you love and can afford.  They're especially great during this time of year when you might be looking for gifts for the holidays.  And even if for some reason you decide not to buy, the experience of seeing all that history is inspirational and well worth the time.

Just a couple weeks ago, I took my girlfriend to the Santa Monica Vintage Expo to meet up with some colleagues who were exhibiting there.  The show truly offers what most of us know as the thrill of the hunt, and I know a couple of the most talented hunters out there--Mary Kincaid of Zurburbia and Richard Wainwright, co-host of the high-end vintage show A Current Affair and also an exhibitor at this Sunday's show.

The Santa Monica Vintage Expo spans over two days because there is so much to see.  Even I didn't know where to look at times since it's such an absolute dreamworld.  You just never know what clothes or accessories you're going to find.  Call it chance, call it fate...it's a lot like falling in love. Here's my girlfriend, Molly, falling in love more than once...

...first pairing her GlamAmor dress with a navy Chloe high-waisted jacket from Richard's collection (above) and then with a trim 1960s fitted wool coat with satin trim and detachable fur collar and cuffs (below)

Still not convinced?  Check out this video from Elle magazine.  It opens with Elle's Fashion News Director, Anne Slowey, talking to Jason Wu about his inspiration from vintage and how references to vintage manifest in his current collections.  I love his aesthetic because he respects the classics and really embraces color.  You probably recognize his name from Michelle Obama, who put him on the map for regularly wearing his dresses.  She, too, is wildly inspired by vintage in her wardrobe.

The video then segues into a top stylist walking us around the giant Manhattan vintage show and offering her top tips for shopping.  This can be helpful for if and when you might feel slightly overwhelmed.  Hope to see you putting those tips into action and shopping the Vintage Clothing & Textile Show on Sunday!

The Style Essentials--Ali MacGraw's Classic Preppy Style in 1970's LOVE STORY

There are a few movies that I think of every time the weather begins to turn cold.  One is Dr. Zhivago, which is very nearly three hours of David Lean photographing the Russian snow and Julie Christie looking so radiant in it.  Another is director Arthur Hiller's 1970 classic Love Story and the iconic style of Ali MacGraw.  

Shot mostly in the fall and winter months of Boston, Love Story is a tragic romance set against of the sophisticated backdrop of the Ivy League.  The film exploded in the public's consciousness when it was released as audiences responded to both its story and its style.  Costume designers Pearl Somner and Alice Manougian Martin capture the essence of preppy style through the seasons, and no one was more beautiful in it than Ali MacGraw.  While playing poor but brilliant Jenny Cavaleri, Ali became an instant style star for wearing school girl prep so well.  The costumes are an incredible achievement, especially considering that Somner and Martin only had a handful of credits between them at this point in their careers and much of it from the stage.  Their choices for Love Story are so classic, so timeless, that they continue to influence fashion today.  Modern fashion designers--like Michael Kors and Tommy Hilfiger--regularly make references to Ali's outfits from this film as well as her own offscreen Boho Chic style.

Ali and Ryan O'Neal (who plays "Preppy" Oliver Barrett IV) are so perfect in the movie and have such natural chemistry, yet it is the clothes that often stand out as the stars.  And so, in honor of our turn into the colder months of the year, I give you the coats, hats, and skirts of Love Story.

Walking on campus in a belted camel coat with patch pockets and hint of a red sweater underneath

Hot chocolate, creamy cashmere coat and sweater, and an amazing fur hat

This black wool pea coat is probably the star of the wardrobe since it's included in so many looks--

here it's paired with accessories in Harvard colors for Oliver's hockey game

This knit hat--Ali's own that she just happened to wear to the set one day--
became an instant trend after the movie and copies sold out everywhere

1970's miniskirts worn in winter are made warmer with turtlenecks and tights...

costume designers Somner and Martin made sure to incorporate preppy plaids in both red and yellow

The same red plaid skirt is paired with black turtleneck and tights in the beginning of the movie

and red turtleneck and tights once the couple is married

Yellow plaid also makes an appearance in coordinated skirt and scarf

and once again paired with the black pea coat, turtleneck, and tights

Here she black belts a brown tweed miniskirt with her black turtleneck and flats

Though the focus on the movie is on cold weather clothing, a few dresses add to Jenny's wardrobe--  

the standout is the red silk cocktail dress that she wears to meet Oliver's parents

She also wears a lavender silk belted shirtdress to Oliver's Harvard graduation

Jenny keeps it to classic black and white for her musical performance

Denim is another American classic that makes it into Love Story...

Jenny studies with Oliver in blue denim with her black turtleneck and slippers

 One of my favorite looks of Love Story is from its summer scenes (though it can be worn year-round)--
a classic navy crewneck t-shirt with white denim