Double Vision for Spring

Every fashion season brings trends and themes, but often, I'll notice one small "mini-trend" where a few designers seem to have hit upon strikingly similar ideas. It's not copying so much as accidental group-think (and the ubiquitous influence of Pantone's magic color wheel). One year the mini-trend was a pink, gray, and white tweed cloth that followed me EVERYWHERE. I found a skirt of it in a department store, a jacket in another, and finally, a coat in a third (that I eventually broke down and bought - it was a fabulous look). This season, it's abstract patterns rendered in red, pink, and purple cropping up in dresses from DVF to Trina Turk. What do you think? Great look, or too much color?

DVF

Tory Burch

Trina Turk

Emilio Pucci

Prefiguring them all:  a Missoni knit dress and Kate Spade coat from the 2009 winter season.

All images, as attributed. Emilio Pucci at Saks. Missoni dress at Yoox.

xoxo, Sanity Fair 

Resort at Anthropologie

Anthropologie is beginning to dip a toe into spring and summer pieces, and I'm loving the lighthearted mix of neutrals, 40s nostalgia, and quirky patterns. Try out a bathing suit worthy of Monte Carlo, a fishnet wrap, or a bone necklace so large Tory Burch would think twice.

The Magic 8 Ball

Picture me living here!

I am continually surprised and pleased by the things I discover and the people I meet through this blog. So I shouldn't have been shocked that my most recent post, on a lovely model home by a designer I couldn't identify, turned out not to be so anonymous. Shawn contacted me to let me know that his firm, P Four, was responsible for the home (and its ensuing award for Best Interior Merchandising). As it turns out, P Four has a number of trophies for the mantel, with model interiors luring discerning home buyers all over the DC metro area. But here's what I wanted to know after visiting their luxed out pink and gray pad: are the decorations extra? To visit some of the communities P Four works with, visit pfour.com or owner Shawn's blog here.

Image, pfour.com

A Capital Home

Recently, I toured some of the models for EYA Homes in Washington, D.C., a company that has been re-imagining capital living as "life within walking distance." EYA constructs new housing around loosely linked street and park settings that provide a lovely community feel in a larger metropolis. Several of my friends rent or own EYA homes, and I'm a fan of the houses because they pull off what so many builders don't: updated buildings that still carry the charm and spirit of their surroundings. Their developments on Capitol Hill blend seamlessly with the historic rowhouses there, right down to the patterned brick and bright colors. Here is one of my favorite home models - yet, while the molding and floor plan is traditional, the decor, by interior merchandising firm P Four, isn't. It's very fun!

The walls in the cozy living room and dining area are softened with cloth hangings, and the large lamps and "base" are actually one bold piece.

Very fitting for DC, where the traditional Roman motif of wheat shares

is everywhere - here, it's subtly repeated as candelabras flanking the mantel.

The dining room adjoining the living room - mirror

surfaces carry the light from adjacent windows through the center,

keeping it from the "tunnel" feel townhouses can have.

The master suite carries the theme of cream, silver, and pink upstairs.

The mix of furniture in this room is really appealing, but my favorite

by far are the studded suede chairs with "handles."

Detail of the master bedroom. Aren't the side tables fabulous?

Very Dorothy Draper. The lamps looked wonderful in the room,

but all I could think was"shower curtain rings." A project to try at home? :)

The dresser, a classic chocolate brown holding its

own with black, gray, and white.

Chanel in the bathroom. Sold.

A guest bedroom with graphic patterns breaks up the girly feel of pink.

L-o-v-e this shelf with white stripe trim!

The kitchen was, with classic unrealism, spotless and mostly pink.

But I fell in love with the gray and white ticking stripe roman shade.

The breakfast area goes gothic.

All images, my own. Design by EYA Homes.

Light and Lovely

An Alexis Bittar statement ring, available at Nordstrom.

As I mentioned last week, I'm in love with resort wear (this year, every year). For Southern gals, resort wear just makes a lot of sense. We're always trying to dress like it's 70 degrees outside (whether or not we're in the South. It's a mental thing). And as Averill over at Odi et Amo pointed out, winter sweaters are pretty much useless in some parts of the country! September to March can thus be a very dull shopping season. Over the next few weeks I'm going to do several posts on my favorite parts of the resort collections, and other fun, bright new things arriving in stores. In this current weather deep freeze, we'll try to prove that cold is just a state of mind! (With the heat on high, of course.)

Today, it's lucite jewelry and bright beach pieces - orange and navy at Kate Spade, nautical at Urban Outfitters, lucite at Alexis Bittar, and ocean inspiration available from Vivre!

Images, sourced as listed above.

The Right Frame of Mind - Eddie Ross in Atlanta

On my calendar of fun new things in the new year? Designer Eddie Ross' visit next week to Atlanta. Eddie is becoming an Atlanta regular, popping in every now and then to soak up some Southern hospitality and, in exchange, leave us all with wonderful design ideas. I enjoyed shopping with him at the famous Scott's flea market last June, and Eddie will be doing a similar shopping event this trip (Sunday the 10th). And, to add fun to the mix, Eddie is joining Steve McKenzie of Larson-Juhl Frames for an exciting framing workshop (Saturday the 9th, $10 - and free for bloggers!). I'm really excited about the workshop because I have almost as many questions about framing as I do prints and art languishing in drawers and cabinets awaiting a frame. So don't miss out! Details here.

Eddie shopping at Scott's, and later, the product of his creativity:

a whimsical framed set of silver spoons.

Image, EddieRoss.com.

Resorting to Style

Ralph Lauren Resort 2009.

My favorite collection each year - every year - is Resort. It's psychological: mere moments after the last exhausted glitter-cardigan has been pulled from the Christmas shelves, the bright candy colors of Resort are on hand to cheer. Even if you're trapped in the drab grays of January, St. Bart's is no farther away than the nearest store. Spring can't be far behind!

Photo, polo.com.