What’s funny about ski-wear is that most of the time it’s terribly ugly. I dunno, it’s like even the most elegant women, after a certain altitude, throw up their arms and say, “Send in the colors!!! Mirrored Sunglasses for all!!! More Fluorescent visors!!! Wooooohhhooo let’s go schuuuuussssssing!!!!”

And you know what? I’m exactly the same way. In the peak of my life as a snowboarder, you could have given me a golden jumpsuit and I would have been as proud as a peacock. Because one must, I found the craziest Arnette sunglasses that reflect the entire ski station. I had a wool headband around my ears that I clipped to my hair to defy all laws of gravity. Thank god I never quite got my hands on any white lipstick. I would have loved it.

That’s what I get for spending my days flying headfirst into the snow.

When I got to Aspen, known for being ultra-chic, I was half-expecting to see people wearing Moncler, fur, and getting to the top of the mountains jumping out of helicopters, but no, not actually how it is.

It’s totally relaxed in terms of style. Tech-wear, comfort above all and flashy colors optional. Well, maybe I should add that you can still go shopping for a Rick Owens jacket after your hot apple cider.

So even though I’m not the nostalgic type, I gotta say, in terms of ski-style, IT WAS BETTER BEFORE. I’m sure all these people were completely freezing in their non-polar wool sweaters. But at least they suffered with distinction. And on top of that, the photos were in black & white. Makes it too easy to coordinate colors. Pffff no fair.

I wanted to get a closer look so I went to the Aspen Historical Society. And I found this delightful dish, Lana Turner. Oh man, so great.

And then tons other anonymous faces covered in jumpsuits… Oh my…. Ultra sexy!

Okay, so I’m exaggerating a little. It seems like there are a few young brands that are ahead of the game. If one day you are looking for good snow clothes, go walk around Aether,  Kjus, or Authier. Super classy.

Now that we’ve hit a stopping point, I’ll stop talking to you about the snow, seeing as I got to NYC yesterday looking amazing in my ski-lodge clothes seeing that outside, IT WAS SPRINGTIME.

I’ll leave you with the smiling Lana Turner, total YSL S-S 2010 with her strawberry sweater. She’s so cute I wanted to paint my nails nice and red. Okay, off we go! Goodbye factory worker hands! Hello elegance of women from yesteryear!!! BONJOUR SPRINGTIME!!!

Translation : Tim Sullivan

During my time in LA, I went to visit Jessica and brought you back a few photos. Can you believe they call this winter in California?…

To see more of her work, go check Jessica’s website, here. Bisou !

Translation : Tim Sullivan.

Aaaaaaaand… Happy New Year!!!

I really missed you guys, and I’m super excited to get back to you with:

- Lots of new resolutions from the 31st that I wasted no time breaking on the first. Don’t ask me why I still go for the resolutions, the whole New Years thing has a huge effect on me.

And this is the only time when I read horoscopes – ALL the horoscopes. I read ‘em all until I find a good one. (This year, it was Elle’s)(Looks like Jupiter is sending me some luck this year, and is pushing me to change my job (?) (—> Wait, but what exactly is my job to start with?!!), to let my personality bloom and to travel. Wait wait, while we’re on traveling, here’s my first resolution:

Sleep. Jet Lag + too short nights + a life pace that’ll drive you nuts + no physical activity (No, walking in heels doesn’t count and it looks like flats are making their comeback.)(so not cool/so not cool)(take out whichever doesn’t work) = no joke, it’ll put 10 years on you right away and no quantity of botox can change that (… or so I’d like to think). So, SLEEP. Which hopefully will lead to me hearing things like…

When Scott got to the airport in Ajaccio, he said to me, “Whoooaaaa, I forgot how beautiful you are!!!” Hmmmm. “Thank you, but it’s just that I’ve had 4 days where I’ve gotten to sleep as much as I’d like. I came back to human form. THAT’S IT. Really though.”

To let you all in on my reflections on fashion, develop my critical thinking, analyze trends and give you my opinion on Anna Wintour the world around us. Ha!  I’m just joking here!

Be more present for my friends and read my mail instead of Twittering nothingness.

To let you in on my profound mind-wanderings about the craziness that is Twitter. Twitter is stupid. Follow me.

Continue writing in bold. Hmmm, another broken resolution.

Giving. My true resolution is to learn how to give. I’m serious here, no joke. So now I have to put together plan of attack.

Find the perfect hair products and have the hair of my dreams. (Ok. I’m a little ashamed of this one.)

Quit chocolate. My eternal resolution. It never works, but I think the guilt that this resolution inevitably leads to gives you better tasting chocolate. Yes, you can go ahead and read that sentence again. And there you go, this (the taste of chocolate) explains that (my taste for chocolate! Haha!).

Get some exercise. Give my opinion. Cook. Stop (still!) smoking. Get organized. Work more. Stop with the BS. Buy better.

Write shorter posts.

Okay.

Seeing the inconsistencies in my NYPs (Yes, of course it’s necessary, the New Years Post, it’s a main-stay here on the Doré. I told you that the new year is important to me), so seeing the inconsistencies, I went back and read my NYPs from 2009 and 2008 (Seriously? 3 years?)(DON’T EVEN DREAM ABOUT GOING BACK TO 2007. I’m not that crazy. And I’d like to leave my archives alone out of respect for the minx I was back then and just let me keep thinking that they don’t exist, PLEASE! And I realize that it’s pretty much the same kind of nonsensical and messy post but it’ll nag at me for the next few months of 2010.)

Oh man, I’ve gotta stop or else Tim is going to be translating until the wee small hours (Happy New Year Tim!) (Sorry for the lengthiness!) and on top of that NEVER do I succeed in keeping any of my resolutions.

But I’m happy that the decade has switched over, even if it makes me feel like a T-Rex being born in the 70s (and right now, seeing as I want to keep this human form, I really have to get some SLEEP, or else I’ll REALLY start looking like a T-Rex), but I do think we live in exciting times. The world is changing and I’m really excited to see what the future holds… What I’m trying to get to… The ever-present existential question:

High-heels or flats?

Ooookay. I’ll stop with the drivel. Thank you all for being here, and big big big hugs and I’ll see you tomorrow!!!

LAST MINUTE NOTE! Tim just sent me the translation and here’s what he said, “I just got back from the holidays and I’m totally excited about all the people like you who made resolutions (because that means that my yoga classes (Yep, Tim is a yoga teacher AS WELL) are full full full!”

Translation : Tim Sullivan

A new recipe page for you to tear out, ahah! Okay, off we go, I’ll be back soon with a million things tell you about. Big hugs!

Yasmin, one of the coolest girls on earth, am I right? While I was in London this past trip, I made a stop at her place to take some photos for Vogue.com.

I spent a long and magic afternoon there talking about fashion, trips, spirituality (you really have to read the article in British Elle where Yasmin talked about her spirtual life)(You want me to scan it in for you?) all while devouring a bowl of hummus.

To me, Yasmin is a true model of a woman, independent, creative, spirtual, beautiful, funny and happy, and at the end of this Une fille, Un Style, she might even let out the secret of her amazing hair-cut…

You can click on the images to make them bigger. And now, I’m off to Balmain, yaaaaaaahhh… Bonne journee!

Translation : Tim Sullivan

Woooohooooo!!! The new Vogue.com is live! And to inaugurate the site’s renaissance, I had the chance to follow around Carine Roitfeld during the fashion weeks.

First off, I’m so excited about this new collaboration with Paris Vogue. Because I’ll be working closely with the magazine team and will take you with me behind the scenes that always keep me dreaming. But also because the new Vogue.com gives me all the freedom in the world to express myself with larger images, sounds, and a lot of new things I’ll be playing with over the next year. And then because I can share everything with you, thanks to Tim who will be translating my articles with his legendary talent. (Tim, I love you.)

Pamela Love is a New Yorker. I don’t know a whole lot about her, except for the fact the she lives in Brooklyn, where I saw her riding her bike, that girls scream when they see her jewelry, and that everybody really wants me to meet her.

I wanted to make a quick visit to her presentation before meeting a friend for dinner. Everything was so crazy and super trendy that I almost stopped right there, but I decided to brave it and check out Pamela’s creations.

In a tiny room, little tents were put up. Inside each one, the jewelry was presented like in a cabinet of curiosities. Each one seemed to have its own story. In front, some hairy hippi kids I mistook for Devendra Banhart like four times, were playing in an awesomely messy music space. Some of Pamela’s other friends had some stuff up as well, some drawings, jewelry… Actually, it was total peace and love.

Simply awesome.

So here’s what I learned at Pamela Love’s presentation :

- Creating an atmosphere is an art. I don’t know how much time it took to put everything together and make all the little scenes, but the result of it all was just too cool.

- Olivier Zahm gets out of bed at 8 p.m. This guy is simply fascinating. Oh, and I love his watch.

- A simple presentation can be a party. As long as it makes people happy and brings them together, it’ll give a feeling… And then you’ll always come back to the jewelry.

- Genevieve Jones was a little afraid her top looks too much like a drape, and that gave her a good laugh. This is a Viktor & Rolf top. I remember that collection was weird, in a way. But it totally goes with the atmosphere, am I right?

- This I already knew: You can never have too many people at a party. Sometimes it gets way too hot, but you can never have too many people. Come on Monday 5PM to drink some champagne with me in London.

- If you don’t know what to wear to a party, don’t hesitate to go fishing in a friend’s closet, especially when that friend is Pamela Love.

- If you look super cute, quietly having a drink with friends and then suddenly a Garance comes and tells you to pretend like you’re reading a book on a big chair just because she thinks it a great idea, you have every right to say no. But you also have every right to think the concept is wonderful and, like Sarah, cry out : awesome!

- There is a real science that exists today of the torn-up t-shirt.

- Having a dog that looks like a wet Gremlin can bring out some of your prodigious beauty.

- It’s awesome to surround yourself. Surround yourself with people you love, you admire and share. Pamela isn’t afraid that her friends’ creations will over shadow her own, nor to create some synergies, and to mix everything together. So even if I still don’t really know her, I already really like Pamela.

And with that, I’m off to bed. Big hugs! Bonne journée!

Translation : Tim Sullivan

It was a good three years ago now. Like everyday, I was looking at his photos. I’d never met him. That day though, looking at one of the shots, I wanted to be behind his shoulder.

He communicated something about fashion that no one had to me before. For me, his photos were like a dream made out of reality. With him, fashion was an affair of grace and moment, then with something hidden in the bright light, the gaze of a child.

Then one day we met. I could care less about meeting people I admire. Often enough, I like to keep my dreams as dreams and not have them come into contact with reality. You have to protect your dreams.

But this time, it was different. We laughed so much. In three minutes, I forgot just how much his photos transportated me and that I was supposed to be impressed here. We talked about anything and everything. And yes, of course, about photography, fashion and all the little marvelous things that inspire us and nourish our imaginations.

Scott has a great gift. He knows how to see beauty in every walk of life. He doesn’t focus necessarily on context. He knows how to recognize a detail, the little thing that makes magic. The complexity of an adolescent, the vulnerability of a man, the strength of a child. The fragility in the determined stride of a woman.

It’s the same with photography. Who cares about perfection when you can caputure a moment saturated with life?

People made tons of propositions for his first book. All the big publishing houses. There were propositions for thick and heavy books, for manual-style books, and even some for something really exclusive. Every time we would talk about it and then… It was never quite right.

One of his dreams was to one day come across a young fashion student with his book in hand, dog-eared and tattered pages, notes in the margins, lots of ideas and lots of life.

And then one day he called me, and I could feel there was something in his voice. Someone finally came to him with the perfect project: a simple and beautiful book. Easy to have with you. Reasonably priced. Finally, something that seemed like the right project and one that suits him well.

A few months later, he showed up on my doorstep, put the book in my hands and left.

I found myself alone to look through these photos I knew so well. All together now in paper, collected together, it seemed like it touched the sublime.

I felt my heart swell with joy, fill with beauty. I felt so proud.

—–

Scott will be at Colette tomorrow to sign his book. He would love to meet you all. I surely won’t be far!!! You should come!

Translation : Tim Sullivan