TEMPLE OF TARGET

The great fall Target designer rush is on! Temple St. Clair is first out the gate, with lovely baubles ranging from $29.99 to $39.99. Temple is an apt name - I'm seeing a lot of Greco-Roman inspiration here. One thing's certain - gold, real or fake, is just as popular as it was 2,000 years ago.

Images, Target.

FUN WITH ADVERTISING - VINTAGE EDITION

Cast your cares (and work) to the wind - and get ready to spend some seriously wasted time over at the Vintage Ad Browser.

Ads from the 1850s promise exciting clothing options such as "English sacks." Or a few other ensembles that are downright dangerous:

Massive dehydration! Well gee kids! That just looks so fun!

The clothes aren't half as wonderful as the excellent instructions these ads provide to women on how to be good, like this ad for pathetic wives who don't make the dining experience thrilling. Quelle horreur!

Not and live to tell about it.

Of course, let's be fair. Some women were allowed to leave the house and pursue highly respected, fulfilling careers.

 You hold out your hand, and stuff automatically appears! Isn't sexism FUN?

An insanely high number of ads deal with body odor and frequently imply that if women - married or not - receive little attention it's their own smelly fault. This one takes an even wilder tact. 

Uh... um, well, gee... uh...

Talk about melodrama. These people look like their puppy just got run over by a semi.

Getting married was the end-all, be-all, and there wasn't a single advertiser who didn't exploit women's fears of dying single and alone, being eaten by cats. But advertisers would put your mind at ease. Not being married just meant that you hadn't used their products. Who could fail?!

She's engaged! She's lovely! She uses Ponds!

Are you one of the 5 million women who want to get married? If you look like a celebrity AND use breath mints AND piroette around in a cloud of minty goodness like some ditz escaped from an asylum for models, you will get your man.

THE END

Now I would like an ad that says: "thank heavens I'm a 21st century woman."

All images, Vintage Ad Browser.

DESIGN STAR: THE RECAP

Finalist Emily's room design from a previous episode.

Did you catch tonight's season finale of Design Star?! It's like the WWE of the design world. Except, you know, the sparkle is on wallpaper instead of biceps. For what was shaping up as a lousy season (WAY too many team projects with a lot of people who spelled "team" with an "i"), actually had a pretty exciting ending. Here's the recap:

Alert! Major spoilers ahead!

CLIENT CHOICES. Finalists Emily and Michael each had to choose a former competitor as their "dream" client.
Michael: Chose Nina. WHO WANTS TO WORK WITH NINA AS A CLIENT? This was an insane move. Mostly because she's tried and true - as a horrible client. Remember the first episode when the designers had to design spaces for each other? She completely threw her partner under the bus. True, the room Courtland designed for her wasn't great, but the rest of the designers just settled for pushing their rivals into the street. She dragged him right out to the center line, tied him up, and waited for a big red double decker. Not to mention, she's just really annoying to listen to. Fail.

Emily: Chose Tom, and went for a new look with urban sleek based on his suit. Her vintage mix is a style we all love, but the judges have definitely seen it before. Win.

THE SHOW CONCEPTS FOR HGTV
Michael's show proposal: Younglings in transition (grad students, first job, etc.) and helping them make sense of their first space. A nice twist on the "My First Place" real estate show that HGTV already has - and a welcome change, I think, from a ream of shows that focus on cheap without including style. Win.

Emily's show proposal: Style to lifestyle (outfits as room decor). Can we all say it together please: "Domino's Outfit Into a Room series!!!!" It's an idea that's shown up on and off in magazines, but not in TV shows. It's taking a popular concept, and putting it in a new format in a really successful way. But is it too stylish for HGTV? Win.

Finalist Michael's room design in a previous episode.

SKEEZ FACTOR
What was up with Michael coaching Nina on her reaction to the room? NG, flyboy. It should have been genuine genuine. As in, not faked for the judges. Fail.

UNEXPECTED SURPRISES
Candice Olsen's PLEATED GREY SPLIT SKIRT OUTFIT. Holy knife pleats Batman! What WAS that? Candice is by far one of the best designers on HGTV, which requires having well developed taste in everything - except clothes. Oh well. She made up for it with moxy (and if anyone picks on her, I'll bet Chico will take 'em down). So a draw. Um, is that a Win/Fail? A Wail?

Nina did not kill Michael and bury him in the reno skiff. Who knew? Like a blender, the collaboration with Nina started out rocky and very loud, but by the end, her attitude was smooth puree. Was her inspiration good for the space though? Another Wail.

HOSTING
Michael: killed it. His intro was spot on. I WANTED to watch his show, and his analysis of the space and how he could use materials was very creative. BONUS: acknowledging (and participating in) the "borrowing" of items from the parents. What young design aficionado hasn't done that? Win.

Emily: engaging, great ideas, and a clear story from the outfit to the room. Downside: too much step-by-step. Ironically, the judges have been harassing her about not "showing" how she does her work all season - so this is the result. Darn judges! Over all, still a great job - and several of her ideas were really inspired. Win.

Courtland begs for mercy while Nina prepares for the kill. Toot, Toot! Is that a bus coming?

THE ROOMS
Michael: Great use of varied materials for an ultimately cohesive look. It was a really livable space, despite being incredibly tiny. But what was up with that red wall? I'm looking at you, Nina. Yet, a Win.

Emily: Sleek and chic! She broke out of her feminine box and created a fabulous suite with marvelous details (suiting pinstripes on the wall, a very sophisticated lacquered bar area). Win.

SO... WHO WON?
Emily! And we here at Sanity Fair (me) are thrilled - GREAT choice, HGTV. She really stood out from the pack as a designer. We can't WAIT to see the results - and luckily, we don't have to!!! Unlike past years where HGTV has delayed winner's shows, Emily's first new show will be out on August 29th. AND, it's doing the Hollywood home of one of Glee's co-creators!!! Style AND cultural relevance on HGTV? Now THAT is a show I will be here to see.

MISSED IT? 
You can watch the entire finale episode HERE.

FINAL NOTES
The next series on HGTV is The All American Handyman competition, to find an efficient, honest, creative, talented, handsome handyman. So - Fail. The reality factor is right up there with Lord of the Rings. Next they'll be trying to find honest CONTRACTORS. Or unicorns.

Images, HGTV.

COME ON IN

I have to admit, I'm not a big fan of Home and Garden Television these days. In fact, if the network just wanted to go ahead and rename itself Real Estate and Garden Television, I wouldn't bat an eye (at least it would be fair advertising). Most of the shows are about buying houses. Or selling houses. Or buying or selling houses for the first time. Or competing with other real estate agents to buy or sell houses. Or buying and selling houses overseas. Or domestically. Or for all I know, on Mars. I suppose in these lean times, this makes financial sense: what could be cheaper than running a few agents (who need the face time anyway) through a house, throwing out a few verbal bombs (criticism is always cheap), and calling it a show? Nothing, except that a) NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO BUY HOUSES RIGHT NOW, and b) this is incredibly BORING. So boring. Watching real estate agents for hours on end is about as exciting as watching paint dry, which frankly, I'd prefer, since this really is supposed to be a channel about designing and decorating.

Going for the Gold (and Blue) on HGTV show Curb Appeal.

Anywho, I inadvertently clicked over to HGTV the other day anyway, and couldn't stop watching Curb Appeal: The Block. Nothing earth-shattering, but it's an entertaining show, and a lot of us spend so much time focusing on our ikat pillows with fringe that we forget to attend to the landscaping. Curb Appeal does great doors and entrances - and the only other thing you need is a great foyer to bridge the gap between public and private space. The foyer or entrance hall is the prologue to your home's story, since it introduces the guest to the mood and style of your house. A great entrance way makes you want to keep walking - to see what's inside.

Meg Braff

Miles Redd

Jonathan Berger

J. Randall Powers

Ned Marshall

Images 1, Curb Appeal via HGTV.com. Image 2, MegBraff.com. All other images, Housebeautiful.com.

THE COLOR OF THE FUTURE

The latest issue of House Beautiful is on newsstands...

Makes my heart go pitter patter:  The issue is on color!

Makes my heart sink: The first article is on... whitewash? Huh?

But it's still a lovely issue - especially these daring greens.

Posting these pictures as the issue is on newsstands brings me to another subject:  the survival of magazines. I posted just these two pictures - as many conscientious bloggers do - as a teaser. Why? I love magazines, and I want them to survive. That means not undermining them by making something costly available for free. I'm not sure if House Beautiful would appreciate this thoughtful approach though - mostly since they don't employ it themselves. I didn't purchase House Beautiful, rip out the pages, scan them into a computer, and then post them here. I just visited the website. Because all of those beautiful pictures you have to pay good money for in a store are posted for free on their website. 

Why would this make sense? It's not clear - perhaps HB believes that the articles will be enough to compel people to purchase. Perhaps they believe that online won't compete with paper. Perhaps they've just given up. 

Web guru Clay Shirky has a marvelous and deeply insightful article on why print is - and will for the foreseeable future continue - failing. Essentially, not much has changed since the 1500s and the Gutenberg Bible. It's all been ink, paper, and printing. And those cost money - until they don't. The web is free or mostly free, instant, and completely eliminates the middle man. As Shirky points out: "it makes increasingly less sense even to talk about a publishing industry, because the core problem publishing solves — the incredible difficulty, complexity, and expense of making something available to the public — has stopped being a problem." So what will the future look like? Nobody knows. We're going through the same revolutionary upheaval in information that the first printing press brought upon Europe. I just hope that whatever the end result is, House Beautiful - and her sister publications - are still with us.

Images, House Beautiful Magazine.

THE VELVETEEN COUCH

Velvet - it is 100 degrees Fahrenheit outside and all I can think about is velvet. Fashion suicide. If I follow this urge to its logical conclusion, I'll likely be the first victim of heat stroke induced by style. I wouldn't be thinking about anything except swimming pools and ice cream of course, if it weren't for the fashion industry reminding me that - any minute! - I'll be shivering in an arctic chill while wrapped in a leopard coat.

At least Bazaar has some decor options, that with a little air conditioning, we can all live with. I loved the spread on Giorgio Guidotti's Manhattan apartment - and its juicy, chartreuse velvet couch. Mmmm...

More great views of his stylish pad - as always, I'm SUPER excited by anything that involves books. This is a stunning way to display, if you're not compelled to purchase every single book you see (me). If I spread books out like this, my house would need 20 libraries.

In the powder room, many faces in the mirror - paper by Fornasetti. It looks great in the daytime, but at night with a nightlight after a recent viewing of Sixth Sense? Maybe not...

Do try this at home! There's loads of inspiration here.

Velvet couch by Nate Berkus at HSN, $499 (Living Room)

Stylist book, Amazon, $50.62 (Library)

John Derian plate, John Derian for Target - coming Sept. 5! (Derian tray mentioned in article)

Lack bookcase, IKEA, $129 (Library)

Jonathan Adler letter pillow, $98 (Living Room)

Red chinese garden stool, InsideAvenue.com, $160 (Library)

All images, Harper's Bazaar or companies as attributed. John Derian image, Target via nitrolicious.

STUFFISM IS IN

(A few of former Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos' nearly 3,000 pairs of shoes. She would have had to change shoes three times a day for two and a half years to wear them all - but American celebrities are giving her a run for her money.)

Today I have a column out on American's obsession with stuff. I didn't bother to ask if we ARE obsessed with stuff (this very blog is proof positive), but it remains to be seen if we can buy happiness too. Is it OK to have copious amounts of stuff, as long as you take care of it, use it, or derive happiness from it? How much is too much? 

Below, a few clebrities lead the pack in conspicuous consumption, posing next to their shoe trophies.

Mariah Carey

Christina Aguilera

Miley Cyrus

Nicky Hilton

50 Cent

Images: Marcos: manilagateway.com. Christina Aguilera: home-design-network.ning.com. Mariah Carey: pumpsicle.com. Miley Cyrus: decorpad.com. Nicky Hilton: fashionolic.blogspot.com. 50 Cent: celebrity-shoes.com

THE BEST FOR LESS

Two luxury heavy weights are hitting Target stores this fall:  Temple St. Clair jewelry and Mulberry. Fantastic! Both are known for high-end design, so I'm very interested to see how that will translate to low, low prices.

Sneak peaks already on Temple St. Clair, which will debut in stores this month (all pieces are under $50).

And for reference, here are a few baubles from their regular line.

Mulberry for Target releases in October, so it's a bit too soon for the publicity photos. We'll just pretend/hope/dream that this is EXACTLY what they're going to look like. The prices are still top secret, but based on past collaborations, they're unlikely to break $50 as well (a far cry from price points that can typically pass $2,000). Cheap is chic - as long as the look isn't. (And here's hoping there's no reprise of the Carlos Falchi disaster.)

Temple St. Clair for Target images, shefinds.com. Others, companies as attributed.

THE WELL READ GIRL

Kate Spade sure knows her books AND her pocket books - Spade stores have almost as many vintage display books as they do bags. Which gave her an idea...

Books that are purses!!!

Notice that these clutches are a numbered series from "Kate Spade Publishing." Try to collect every "volume!"

Now you can "read" ...even if you're not in the library!

Or anywhere in particular...

If you'd like to find your own great vintage book covers to decorate with, visit the Database of Vintage Book Covers.

Or just throw down some cash at Anthropologie...

Book covers in spades - these are Andy Spade's displays. Do try this at home:  just print out some of the covers from the Database (above) and frame them! Your walls will be well read.

And, if you'd like to pretend your laptop is a vintage bookstore, visit Kate Spade's special online section "Arguments for Looking at Books Instead of Reading Them," to download wallpapers/book covers with vintage designs.
Images:  Database of Vintage Book Covers, Andy Spade images, Kate Spade ads, more Kate Spade ads.

WHY DO WE WATCH?

Americans are mad about Mad Men - it's slick, chic, and darn fun to watch. But as I plowed through episode after episode (yep, I finally watched it!), I began to wonder:  why do we all love this show? As beautiful as it is visually, it can be tough to watch - sexism is alive and well in the imaginary 1960s. I try to answer that question in my latest article here, at Human Events.

BONUS:  the Mad Men website has a special fashion section!

THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES...

Red! A little Monday morning joy - sorry there's no coffee to go with it! Rely on the color to give you a jolt...

These Chippendale chairs are haunting me; I'd love to have a set in such a vibrant color, available at Pieces Inc. 

My all-time favorite use of these is in Michelle Adam's home (M.A. Belle). She's the founder of the fabric line Rubie Green, and creator of the fabulous zebra stripe on the seat cushion below. From any angle, it's a winner!

A similar look from Elle Decor:

Actually, they look great in ANY color...

What color would you pick?
Images:  red chairs, Pieces. M.A.'s rooms via M.A. Belle Blog. Green chairs: Art and Copy Blog. 
Blue chair:  Feedstick.com. Single Red Chippendale:  Elle Decor via the Daily Uptown Country Blog.