SHOE ME THURSDAY ♥ TERRY DE HAVILLAND

AMAZING NEWS! The much loved and long-adored Terry de Havilland is about to release a new ready-to-wear collection! Prices will range from £150 to £280. I cannot wait to see how all the other fashion shoe lines change with the imminent success of this new venture. Who is Terry de Havilland? And why don't you know about him the way you would a Manolo or a Louboutin? Well, you should...

Suzi platform wedge retailing for £488...

how much more Glam Rock can you get than these winged ladies?

Terry de Havilland was THE premiere cobbler (his shop on Kings Road was actually called "Cobblers") for the most iconic of the Glam Rock era. Have you heard of Bowie? Elton John?  De Havilland designed most of the shoes for these rockers, especially their outrageous cartoon-esque show shoes. Some other glamour giants who donned his wares were  Pattie Boyd, Bianca Jagger and hotties like Rudolph Nureyev.  That's who Terry de Havilland is.

Vintage Geisha Platforms...amazing amazing amazing

The platform master did start up a couture-based shoe service last year. Prices to have him cobble up a pair for you? They start at £600. Not to bad for an original and a definite iconic piece.

Some of the new Terry de Havilland ready-to-wear collection!

One of the best things about the ready-to-wear line is that he is re-introducing, i.e. bringing back, some of his best sellers from back in the 70s! Someone pinch me! Now all that has to happen for my dream to come true is for everyone to start turning Glam Rock just because, even to go to the grocery store to pick up some eggs and milk.

A few years ago, I was in a friend's awesome vintage boutique in San Francisco called Ver Unica. (They have some of the best pieces there in that shop! Stop by!) And a friend I was with held up the most amazing pair of platforms...black with silver reptile leather slivered here and there. She told me they didn't fit her BUT she might buy them just because they were Terry de Havilland. I couldn't believe what I was seeing and of course I tried them on. (There is a joke with my friends that every good vintage shoe fits me because I have smallish feet. I think I have average feet. But who knows.) THEY FIT! And as I as doing some consulting for barter with Ver Unica, I took them home with me. And here they are. I cannot even believe I own them. (I always wonder who these belonged to and what they were doing in them!) ♡

more shoe me thursday ♥ candy flats

images from
tdhcouture.com 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk
www.shoeperwoman.com
images of black platforms my own

WEDNESDAY BAG ♥ PINK LADY

To each his own, but I couldn't imagine living in conservative dress every day of my life. Ever since I was little, even if the entire outfit was a tee and jeans, there was something screaming dream. I worked for a designer company for 3 years where we had to wear his clothes and everything in my closet ended up gray and black and cream. Needless to say, I sold everything as soon as the gig was over. I'm not saying all black and simple isn't absolutely chic. Or that I dress like Piaggi or anything. But I'll never live a life where there isn't a bit of fantasy tucked in the seams.  I'd be forever lost in a pink pink dream. Especially if I was wearing the below Victor and Rolf heels that look like they're made of cream frosting. ♡

 Victor and Rolf

 

Dolce & Gabbana

 

Dress 33

 

Marni

 

Miu Miu

 

Miu Miu

Miu Miu

more wednesday wonder ♥ roger vivier

images from 
Vogue Nippon and
Vogue Italia

TUESDAY TAILOR ♥ IVANA HELSINKI

A few years ago when I was living in the Lower East Side in New York (on the corner of Orchard and Rivington, to be exact), I (like everyone else in the LES) used to hang out in my neighborhood, frequently visiting the boutiques and bars, to gossip and see and check out the new goods. There was a shop on the corner of Stanton and Ludlow and I can't remember the name, but a lot of cool celeb girls would be in there trying on clothes, like Liv Tyler, for example. I'm not even sure the shop is still there because the LES isn't the LES anymore. But that's where I got introduced to Ivana Helsinki . They carried the line there and quite often featured a piece in the windows. Usually it was a short printed dress with birds all over it. The pieces were hypnotizing (probably because they are from Finland. Those Scandies have their own take on the world). Amazing and gorgeous and very very LES girl. I pitched stories on the line and the designer, Paola Ivana Suhonen, a dozen times as I was an editor and writer for at least 5 magazines at the time (including Oyster, Dazed, Tokion, and Anthem), but none of the editors were interested in covering the line. I continued to stay in touch with her sister, Pirjo, who handles the PR and marketing, working it in on styling gigs I got with cool It Girls for West Coast red carpet moments. So I'm really stoked to be able to cover them at any moment I like on Nancy Girl. You'll see them on here whenever they have something I feel you need to see. Their casting is usually really interesting (if you read NG a lot, you'll notice how often I talk about casting. Casting is EVERYTHING. It can make or break a shoot. It can define a line or a fashion editorial story. It's EVERYTHING.) And their makeup choices and themes are usually enchanting. I'd love to have something from every collection if i could. And, last I heard, Paola was headed for LA, "the La -La", to set up pop-up shops and events. So I'm excited to see what she has in store. 

The current collection is titled "Copper Chain" and it has some really fun pieces I know you'll love. The one thing I love about Ivana Helsinki is that every collection is a bit of a grab bag...in that, they design for the IH girl, BUT they mix it up so you're surprised when the next show opens. A lot like MJ. Here are some pieces I chose from the current collection. The Copper Chain idea stems from the idea of true love and passing ships in the night which led to Paola Suhonen on the Brooklyn Bridge noticing an aging couple holding hands on a bench. They had matching chains around their wrists that were obviously from back when they first united. Now aging in the salty sun, they turn a shimmery shade of copper light.

My favorite dress of the collection... the "Norma" dress

A chain dress with chain upper..interesting

The chain suit...I love the giant "chain" necklace!

The "Elsa" dress...lovely simple little shiny number

 I think this is kind of like a "hardcore" librarian look

...maybe that's why it's called "Ethel"

"Velma" is a really super cute dress I'd love to wear on the way to Sunday brunch

 a chic chain pant outfit. 

Maybe one day they'll make a Nancy dress! But I'll settle for these amazing pieces until then. Keep your eye peeled for future Ivana Helsinki posts and check out their site. There's always a little film or surprise waiting online. ♡


more tuesday tailor ♥ mcqueen not lee

images courtesy of Ivana Helsinki

(thanks, pirjo! xx)

MAKEUP MONDAY ♥ SHU UEMURA

Shu Uemura was such a pioneer. He fell into makeup and hair as a teenager, after being so sick he was bedridden. And soon after enrolled in and attended the Tokyo Beauty Academy, where he was the only male. Later, he had his HUGE break in Hollywood. He was working as a beautician, the story goes, when the makeup artist for the film My Geisha fell ill and couldn't carry on with the film. I wonder what exactly happened, but all I've been able to pull up is he was called in to fill in, much to the surprise and delight and amazement of the crew and the cast, including Shirley MacLaine, for turning her into a Japanese Geisha...superbly. 

Master Shu

In the 60s he launched his makeup line (which included a facial cleansing oil that  is still popular today) and returned to Tokyo to open his Shu Uemura Makeup School. He believed that product should not only look good, but it should be healthy for your skin.

How amazing is a talent to transform Shirley MacLaine into this?!

Shu Uemura has a dozen things I love, especially the Neo Sparkle Lashes, but I wanted to feature an older product...the Victor and Rolf Lashes for Shu Uemura! The packaging is even divine. In high school and just thereafter, I alway had a pair of faux lashes in my glove box...just in case I was headed out to dance and couldn't get home and wanted a little drama. But they were never as amazing as these.

GORGEOUS.

I love people who embrace their passion this way. Such artists. No different than a Picasso. Sadly, he passed away in 2007. But his brilliance continues on. For more about My Geisha check out my post. ♡

more makeup monday ♥ the bare brow

images from 
sephora.com
cosmetic-candy.com
pingmag.jp 
www.nitrolicious.com