Trend {Spot}ting...

The beautifully quirky Kate Spade image of the black balloon in a recent post has started me thinking about polka dots and their classic charm. I've always loved polka dots – almost as much as I love stripes. There's something so cheery about their cheeky playfulness. And if you think polka dots are just for  girls, well, Miss Sarah Jessica Parker shows that they can be downright sexy too. Spots have been huge in fashion and interiors this season, and although the trend may be waning, I think there's still room for some polka dot glamour this coming Australian summer.

Polka de résistance: SJP in a black-and-white polka dot ballgown. How beautiful does she look with her slicked-back hair and her tuxedoed husband standing handsomely beside her? {Image via Ivy and Piper and Gild and Grace}

Going dotty: A page dedicated to polkas from Vogue Australia.

Spot-on style: Sumptuous spots in a sumptuous salon. {Image by Tim Walker for Vogue Italia via This is Glamorous blog}

Coming out in spots: A birthday party setting for Cassandra Lavalle of Coco & Kelly Blogspot.

Doing the polka: British model Jacquetta Wheeler in a sweet Jigsaw frock from the 2011 collection.

Oh my: Michael Kors' memorably sophisticated version of spots.

Join the dots: Tommy Smythe's chic living room, featuring Kelly Wearstler's confetti-printed KWID fabric. {Image via Style Redux blog}

Hitting the spot: A page from Harper's highlighting the playful polka.

Seeing spots: Kate Spade's iconic iPhone cover.

Dot to dot: Kate Spade dinnerwear.

Spots are the new stripes: Playfully spotty sun loungers – the perfect place to spend all day in the sun. {Image via cococozy.com}

{More} Iconic Ad Campaigns

As a little addendum to the last post, here are few more beautiful ad campaigns from the archive files. I collect these because they're often great inspiration for photographing books, or for writing briefs and shot lists for other photographers when you're commissioning them to shoot books. The Bruno Cucinelli (below) is one of my all-time favourite ad campaigns. I often refer to this when I'm looking for ways to shoot people, particularly families. It's so original, so fresh and fun and full of laughter and life. You could almost believe it was an authentic Italian family getting together for a reunion at their Tuscan villa.

Bruno Cucinelli ad campaign for the cashmere collection (top).

A Ralph Lauren campaign from 2001, featuring Penelope Cruz. This was an inside front cover for Town and Country magazine. Such a beautiful collage of glamorous images. It doesn't even looked staged, thanks to the delightfully haphazard way the images have been placed in the design. It looks more like Penelope's summer photo album.

A GANT by Michael Bastion ad campaign from S/S 2011 (above). GANT never fail to do fabulous ads. I always try and grab a copy of the GANT magazine whenever I'm near one of the stores. They're full of inspiring photography and great articles. It's marketing dressed up as a magazine!

A Chanel ad campaign from S/S 2011. Love the flirty pink dress, the setting and the delicacy of the table set for high tea. This ad was a change for Chanel. Normally Karl likes his ads darker, moodier, more Gothic in tone. {Image via ministryoffashion.co.uk}

A Chanel ad campaign from 1958. © Lillian Bassman: Anne-Saint Marie, NY. {Image via theculturalist.com}

One of the ads for Louis Vuitton’s spectacular celebrity-focused ad campaign. This one features filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola and his daughter Sofia sitting in the sun-kissed countryside of Buenos Aires. The image was shot by Annie Leibovitz. The Louis Vuitton bag is almost overshadowed by this father-and-daughter duo. (NB I'm not sure why Annie Leibovitz and Louis Vuitton took them to Argentina? To me, the Coppolas are always associated with the Napa Valley and Paris, where they have a second home. I think LV should have shot them in Paris or Napa. But that's just my humble little opinion.)

Six Places Not To Miss In Paris

The Design Quartier centred around Place Furstemberg in the 6th (pictured below). Not only is this square one of the most charming in Paris (and the subject of countless tourist photographs), it's also the centre of a great little design neighbourhood. There's three of the best fabric and homewares companies in the world here – Flamant, Pierre Frey and Manuel Canovas – plus a great gardening bookstore on Rue Jacob and Assouline's bookstore on Rue Bonaparte (a company known for great design titles and great interior design). The lovely Delacroix Museum is also here. (Don't miss his studio and garden). And when you need refreshment from design overload you can stop in Ladurée's ornate tea salon and shop for some of their fabulous interior design. And, okay, their macarons.

The northern part of the Marais (pictured below). The main part of the Marais has suffered from over-exposure in the last few years and has lost much of its character. The northern part, however (which is technically the 3rd arrondissement), is still full of charm and loveliness. There's Cafe Charlot on Rue de Bretagne, one of the most atmospheric and liveliest cafes in Paris (Such sexy clientele! What DO they put in the coffee?), the great furniture and vintage stores of Rue Charlot, the gorgeous, whimsically decorated Lacroix-designed Hotel du Petit Moulin, which was created fro an old boulangerie (pictured directly below) and the fabulous taxidermied exhibitions of the Hunting and Nature Museum (Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature), which are more intriguing than you'd think. 

The Musée Carnavalet (pictured below). Perhaps my favourite place in Paris. If you haven't yet been here, put in on The List. It's a museum that chronicles the history of Paris through fascinating architecture models, maps, images and replica interiors. The interior exhibitions are truly fascinating if you're into interior design. And there's an idyllic parterre garden behind it, which is perfect to have your picnic lunch in. Oh – and the museum is also free: what more incentive do you need?

Au Petit Fer a Cheval While you're idling around the Marais, drop by here for a coffee and a peek at Parisians at play. It's loved by locals, and you couldn't get a more quintessential Parisian cafe. The absinthe green colour is a classic Parisian green. You can't help but love it.

The new design department of Le Bon Marché department store (pictured below). You may come here for the architecture, the incredible interior design, the extraordinary ceiling detail or just the sublime fashion and style. But there's one thing you shouldn't miss in this, the world's first department store, and that's the new La Maison d'Edition department. Inspired by books and publishing, this sleek new section features the best new architecture and design titles, plus gorgeous journals, pens and stationery, great furniture and accessories, and lots of lovely things to furnish your Parisian-style salon with.

Catherine B (pictured below). If you want discount Chanel, Hermés and other classic French labels, don't go to Didier Ludot, who is so expensive that only Hollywood actresses and Arabian royalty can afford him. Go to Catherine B instead. Loved by Left Bank stylistas, Catherine B is a beautiful little boutique near the St Sulpice cathedral that stocks top-quality Chanel, Hermés and other luxury labels for very little. Last time I was here I found an almost-new black Chanel suit for so cheap, I was tempted to buy it! (I will go back and buy another one day.) The owner is a delight to deal with, and the stock is superb.

{More Paris posts in coming weeks}

Six Places Not To Miss in New York City

Night Hotel

I’ve been staying here for years. It’s a sexy little hideaway (pictured above) that's perfectly located mid-way between the cool oasis of Bryant Park, the high-end stores of Fifth Ave and the lovely greenery of Central Park. It’s decorated entirely in black and white and can look a little like a Vogue shoot, but I love it. It’s very New York. The rooms are small but surprisingly luxurious, and I can often get a rate of $150/night. 132 West 45th Street. www.nighthotelny.com

The Strand Bookstore
Most New Yorkers know about this literary treasure trove but many out-of-towners and overseas visitors don't. It's where many stylists, designers, architects and indeed anyone who loves books browses for both new and second-hand titles. I know stylists who come here when they need to 'dress' a store, window, or even an apartment interior with piles and piles of books. It's spread over several enormous floors but despite the cavernous proportions and no-frills approach to interior design it's surprisingly welcoming. There are tables piled with the latest releases, entire sections devoted to architecture, interiors, gardening, fashion and of course classics, and even a mezzanine stocked with all the newest releases from high-end publishers such as Assouline and Taschen. It's not as inexpensive as Amazon, of course, but it still draws people in – and entices them to buy! Once you start browsing the shelves you won't stop, trust me. (Last time I was here I bought 72 kilos of architecture books, and then had to somehow get them back to Australia. In the end, United Airlines didn't even charge: what a lovely carrier.) There are also shelves where you can buy books for only $1. I bought Cecil Beaton, Somerset Maugham, Diana Vreeland, and a book on Vogue, all for $1 each. Well worth a visit. But leave a few hours – you'll lose yourself among the shelves. 828 Broadway, New York, NY. www.strandbooks.com

Paula Rubenstein
Stylist Sibella Court cites it as her all-time favourite store in NY and it’s one of mine too. It’s a little Cabinet of Curiosities with all kinds of lovely vintage things. It’s also just around the corner from The Crosby Street Hotel and Balthazar, so you can have lunch in one or the other afterwards. 65 Prince Street, New York.

Mood Fabrics.
I've mentioned this place before in this blog, so I won't go into detail here, other than say if you want to pick up Ralph Lauren upholstery fabrics for a mere $12/yard (as opposed to the normal $200/yard), then include this address on your next schedule. I'm always buying fabric here – great Ralph Lauren pinstripes, beautiful houndstooths in flamboyant colours, and gorgeous summer silks in shades that would look perfect on vacation in Mexico, or Sydney, or St Tropez... There are three floors of fabrics (the size of the store will astonish you), and the endless aisles are filled with top-end, designer stuff. It's also the kind of fabric you could use for either dressmaking or interior design. Just too, too fab for words. (Pun intended.) 225 West 37th Street  New York. www.moodfabrics.com

Anthropologie 
Another favourite go-to place for a lot of New Yorkers, this store constantly surprises. The window merchandising alone (pictured below) is worth the trek uptown. It stocks fashion and accessories but I prefer the homewares, furniture and books section in the back. Unlike the fashion, which can be a bit bohemian for some tastes, the homewares are beautiful, whimsical, unusual and timelessly stylish. I always buy things here, from cute black-and-white ceramic doorknobs with "In" on them to gorgeous ruffled shower curtains and great books to give friends for Christmas. There's also a 'Sale' section downstairs where they throw all the mostly-sold-out stock, so wander down there for a flick through the bestseller items. 50 Rockefeller Centre, New York. www.anthropologie.com

Fishs Eddys

This store, which is located in that extraordinarily creative neighbourhood surrounding the Flatiron Building, is classic New York. Crazy name. Crazier interior. And filled with Fish fans all hours of the day and night. (And, like them, I never fail to pop in whenever I'm in New York!) It's a back-to-basics kinda store that specialises in dinnerware and other kitchen accoutrements. But it's not fancy breakable plates or the kind you'd be too nervous to bring out. It's simple, whimsical, slightly humorous and entirely memorable stuff. Like these witty Floor Plan plates, which I've fallen utterly in love with and buy whenever I'm Manhattan – very fitting dinnerware for an design journalist! There are also dinner sets with the New York Times crossword, the New York and Brooklyn skylines and dozens of other fabulous iconic images and illustrations. Great for gifts. 889 Broadway, New York. www.fishseddy.com

Next week: Paris.

Style Insights: Fabric Stores

Journalists are often asked where the best places in the world are, be they boutiques, bars, bistros, hotels, hideaways, activities, unusual museums and galleries or just great little neighbourhoods to get lost in. I think this is because we're often the first to know of such places, thanks to the helpful PR companies that keep us up to date. But we also hear about these places from bloggers - who are surprisingly quick to find out about them - as well as those industry contacts who trawl the world in search of these aesthetic treasures, such as photographers, editors, architects, designers, stylists and store owners.

I believe it's important to share these insider's tips, because what goes around soon comes back, as the old Creative Karma rule advocates. If we share our favourite finds, then others will share in the pleasure of them, and may even return a few style secrets of their own. So, every Thursday, I'll post some of my favourite 'Style Sites'; places in the world I love visiting for their inspiration, insights, great products and gorgeous design. Here, to begin with, are my favourite fabric stores.


1. MOOD FABRICS, NEW YORK  This store is so big I always have to persuade my partner to come with me so he can kindly hold the bolts while I browse the aisles! (Such a gentleman. Nothing says love like a man holding a houndstooth for his girlfriend.) It’s the most extraordinary space; three enormous levels filled to the roof with fabrics of every kind, and most are discounted. I often buy Ralph Lauren linens here, marked down from $200/yard to $12/yard. There are chiffons, shirt fabrics, pin stripes, upholstery fabrics and an entire row of linings. It’s so popular, the owner is opening an outpost in London in 2012. 225 West 37th Street, New York.

2. TISSUS REINE, PARIS  Where else in the world can you buy gorgeous silk-taffeta for this cheap? Last time, I picked up six metres of Pompadour-pink silk for a handful of Euros, which was then swiftly sewn into Parisian-style curtains for our guest bedroom. Very French. (It was just a pity we didn’t have the parquetry floors, high ceilings and a balconied view of the Eiffel Tower to go with it.) Filled to the rafters with inspiring bolts and bits (or passementerie, as the French call it. Just lovely. 3-5 Place Saint Pierre, Montmartre, Paris.

3. ULTRAMOD  This store, or mercerie as the French call it, is too marvellous for words. Apparently Jean-Paul Gaultier shops here and that’s credibility enough for me. If JP’s here mooching through the millinery, then I’m here too. The store dates from 1890 and is like stepping back in time to an old-fashioned haberdashery. Sweetly atmospheric. 14 Rue Monsigny, Paris.

4. CLOTH HOUSE, LONDON   I found this place by accident one day while wandering through Soho and now try to visit whenever I’m in London. It’s a pretty little place with cute window displays and several rooms full of lovely linens, cottons and woollens. Just try to resist. 47 Berwick Street, Soho, London.