Weekend Eye Candy - Helena Rubinstein Wears Schiaparelli

Madame Helena Rubinstein owned this evening jacket from Elsa Schiaparelli's 1938 Circus collection.  The bolero jacket is completely covered in embroidery with elephants and acrobats set against swirls of pink.  As always, Rubinstein adds dramatic jewelry from her vast collection.  For more photos of Rubinstein and her singular style, see my recent blog post about her.

Helena Rubinstein, Style Icon

"There are no ugly women, just lazy ones."  ~ Helena Rubinstein

These photos of Rubinstein illustrate her belief.  She was a woman of great style with incredible taste in jewelry.  In fact, her collection of jewelry included pieces once owned by Catherine the Great.  The collection was said to have been worth $1 million in 1943.  That's about $13 million in today's dollar.  How I wish we could go back in time to the 1960s, when Rubinstein's estate was auctioned off.  I'd love to have seen that auction catalog!

{inspiration: a walk on the wild side}

Lately have been considering adventurous animal prints such as leopard and cheetah as accents, such as throw cushions and especially when mixed with crisp whites and feminine florals . . .

. . . or on the floor, perfectly paired with white trim and seagrass walls

. . . perhaps even a few fun Fall fashion accessories:
1 - fendi marshmallow leopard-print shoulder bag; 2 - topshop leopard tie belt; 3 - very privé peep-toe platforms; 4 - christian louboutin leopard loubiday clutch; 5 - miss clichy 140 boots; 6 - helena rubinstein lash queen feline blacks mascara; 7 - toss designs leopard flask by art effect

{images: 1 - photography by james waddell for domino magazine november 2008; 2 - kate moss via tfs}