Covet: Boots by Francois Pinet, 1870s-1880s

BATA SHOE MUSEUM - New Exhibition at Bata Shoe Museum

I didn’t know about the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto until recently, when a friend sent me a link to the Bata’s current exhibition, Fashion Victims: The Pleasures and Perils of Dress in the 19th Century. (I definitely need to make a special trip to Toronto to see this show. Fortunately, it runs through June 2016.)

In perusing the Bata Shoe Museum’s website, I came across these beauties. They were made in the late 1870s or 1880s by the luxury footwear firm of François Pinet. Just look at the perfect heel and curvy lines, not to mention the intricate floral hand-embroidery.

I would wear these boots in a second, if someone could reproduce them in a present-day size 8.

Here’s a video of the Bata’s senior curator, Elizabeth Semmelhack, discussing the Pinet boots.

Collection of the Bata Shoe Museum.
Photo credit: Image © 2014 Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto, Canada

Perfume Review: Maison Martin Margiela Replica Lazy Sunday Morning & Promenade in the Gardens

Screen Shot 2014-06-22 at 11.13.16 AM

My latest post on Now Smell This is a perfume review of Lazy Sunday Morning and Promenade in the Gardens from the Maison Martin Margiela Replica collection. You can read it here.

Covet: Jean-Michel Basquiat Candles from Ligne Blanche Paris

basquiat candle

I’ve been an admirer of Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988) ever since I saw a retrospective of his work at the Whitney Museum in 1992. (I have to confess that I even enjoyed the 1996 biopic Basquiat, directed by Julian Schnabel.)

If Basquiat were still alive, he’d surely be collaborating with designers, musicians, filmmakers, and so on—after all, he did all that in his lifetime, long before Takashi Murakami ever thought of teaming up with Louis Vuitton. Maybe that’s why I don’t mind when I see (authorized) Basquiat merchandise for sale.

This high-end candle is one of six in a series produced by Ligne Blanche Paris, with fragrances by Givaudan. The porcelain holder is printed with a reproduction of Basquiat’s Trumpet (1984, below), and the scent is a blend of almond and cherry.

trumpet.jpg!Blog