Photo by The Style Crone Henri Bendel's Holiday 2009 display of Selima hats. The Style Crone is preparing for a short weekend visit to NYC. I fell in love with New York City during my first visit in 1977, and every experience since that time has only added to my deep affection for this intense and glorious metropolis. Our daughter Camille is moving back to Denver in December after living in New York for 12 years. We are very grateful at the thought of having her near, with her kind and generous approach to life. I will surely visit the
Photo by The Style Crone A closer view of the fluttering feathers.
Photo by Nelson Knit hat with feathers-xeino, long off-white wool sweater made in Holland-estate sale. I fell in love with this hat because the marabou feathers act as a veil on one side of The SC's face, flirting with my cheek, and are always dancing with the smallest amount of movement in the air. And add long knit fingerless gloves? Excuse me, but what could be more efficient than fingerless gloves? There is no need to take gloves off in the food market or any other market, for that matter. They also expose another important accessory - the nail color
Photo by The Style Crone This taupe fur felt hat has so many great details that I wanted to feature it in a close up. The SC found this beauty at an estate sale this summer, so it's a new resident in the hat room.. The label is missing, but its structure is complex and well put together, and the felt is of the highest quality. It has a mysterious cloche quality and is so much fun to wear. One of the many reasons that I love hats is that the "choice of the day" resonates with how I feel
Photo by Scott Vintage 60's leopard print heels and bag-gifted, taupe felt hat and vintage navy jacket-estate sales, vintage necklace and earrings-vintage shop. The Style Crone received an email over a month ago from a friend of a friend who inquired about my shoe size. When I informed her of my size, she said that she had two pairs of vintage shoes with matching bags and was eager to show them to me. Now there's an offer I would never refuse and I was more than enthusiastic in my response! We met for tea and I tried on the shoes,
Photo by The Style Crone After wearing the star pin to chemo this week, I realized that I had a small collection. This was not a big surprise! The astonishing fact was that I didn't have a larger array! Nothing like a brooch collage to provide focus and brighten my day.
Photo by The Style Crone These Michael Kors boots have been in my shoe inventory for several years. Leather flaps embrace the ankle and calf and the flaps are then secured with leather straps. And on second thought, maybe I do need a shoe room!
Photo by Nelson Makins burgundy hat from deep within the hat room inventory, Michael Kors boots-department store sale several years ago, Marc Jacobs black cropped pants-Buffalo Exchange, vintage burgundy jacket-gifted by a friend who found this beauty at an Amsterdam flea market in the '70's, multicolored silk scarf, belt and star pin-estate sales. From "Sparkle-A-Plenty" to "Zone Chemo", life turns on a dime. The news is not good today with significant lab value indicators flying up with abandon, leaving us shaken in response. Time slows down and a surreal quality fills the air. The "fight or flight response" has been
Photo by Total Stranger A friend captured me for an evening of frivolity, and The Style Crone wore her vintage rhinestone jacket purchased at a thrift store during a "hit & run" lunch hour at work years ago. I could hardly believe my good fortune! The label is Stavropoulos (New York and Athens) with another label Martha (New York, Bal Harbour, Palm Beach). Every rhinestone is perfectly in place and when the sun hits the jacket, brilliant rainbows dance playfully across every surface in sight! A disco ball jacket! We attended a benefit where I had the honor of meeting
Debra Rapoport, a frequent star on Advanced Style, a blog by Ari Seth Cohen about stylish older people, is an avid hat designer and wearer. I love what she so elegantly and eloquently states about my favorite accessory in this video. Beautiful hat! Spectacular outfit!
Photo by Scott The Style Crone is wearing the Picasso scarf with a vintage myrtle green jacket, creating a versatile outfit which I plan to wear to work later this week. If it's cold and I think it might be, I'll switch it up with short navy boots. The yellow suede shoes might need to be put on hold until spring! Leaves as yellow as my shoes are flying off the trees, announcing that winter is just around the corner.
Photo by Scott Silk Picasso scarf, green vintage jacket, yellow beads and yellow vintage shoes - estate sales, yellow cap - Nordstrom's. Sometimes a large square scarf is too beautiful to tie around the neck or drape across the shoulders; much of the detail is lost in the process. The Style Crone solved that problem by wearing the scarf as a skirt with jeans and a turtleneck. The scarf doesn't completely cover the jeans on one side, but it didn't matter in the least. Even though the "foundation " for this outfit appears black in the photo, the true color
Photo by Nelson Who wore this hat???? I would love to meet her. What was her story ? Today, just for fun I have the privilege of wearing this very soft, very bright orange "helmet" hat from the 60's gifted by a friend who knows that I am fearless in my hat expression. I'm sure that I won't be noticed in the grocery store! After all, I adore the style of Isabella Blow and Anna Piaggi. I couldn't let just one photo represent the creative expression of these colorful and inspirational icons.
I love this video tutorial by Deja Pseu of Une femme d'un certain age, one of my favorite fashion blogs. I have a huge scarf inventory, so it's always helpful for The Style Crone to come upon new and clever ideas for scarf tying. Now that I have this video to rely upon, I can refer back to it and practice until these new techniques are integrated into my "ties for long scarves repertoire." Another dementia prevention strategy!
Photo by Nelson The autumn afternoon sun casts shadows on the latest orange vintage hat in the revue, accompanied by an estate sale vintage 60's navy jacket (also mottled by shadows) and estate sale silk tie-dyed scarf. So the 60's era has a commanding influence on this ensemble! And to think that this is one of the hats that the SC almost sold at the yard sale this summer. Very close call as this snappy chapeau would have missed the autumn hat revue and that would have been tragic.
Photo by The Style Crone Happy Birthday Nelson!!! And many more! Today Nelson is amidst fall berries, with the late morning autumn sun creating interesting, generous, playful and artistic shadows on his face and shirt, as though those very adjectives were describing his character. Nelson wears leather caps better than anyone I know, and today his smile beneath the brim brightens the day of everyone we meet along the path of our celebratory travels. Barely emerging from the fog of chemo, I can tell you that he brightened mine.
Photos by Nelson I am most grateful for the "hatification" of this vintage orange velvet pumpkin hat with jeweled top cascading delicate ostrich feathers by a friend with a spectacular hat collection. How fortunate that this regal piece of art joined forces with The Style Crone's orange velvet fringed scarf for a trip to the mountains for a festive dinner with friends. There's a hat for every occasion, and this season screams for orange.
Photo by The Style Crone Pink vintage pin on chartreuse chenille.
Photo by The Style Crone I found these boots at an estate sale this summer; it was one of those sales where all the shoes were my size, so a very dangerous place to be. It was also half price day, so I was very selective and chose only the very best of a wide selection. There is always the storage issue to think about. After all, I don't have the space for a "shoe room."
Photo by Nelson The autumn hat revue continues with the orange/plum hat-Wardrobe Works, tangelo orange jacket-Nordstrom's rack a decade ago, tall black boots-estate sale. Nelson's participating in "What to Wear to Chemo" with his burgundy shirt and leather newsboy cap as he appears in the mirror photographing The Style Crone. I've always said that he can make any outfit shine! He's back to the mysterious minimal reveal. Lab values continue to rise, but based on a stable PET scan and a physician to physician consult with the expert on Nelson's disease in Nashville (there's another story), the chemo cocktail remains