Lux Lotus

The New You Project

My current project is getting out the word about Jonathan Baumbach's novel YOU or The Invention of Memory, praised by The Los Angeles Times as “beguiling… like any gesture of love, deserves your regard.” The campaign is called The New You Project, and today Daily Candy calls it "honorable" and "uber-modern."  (See also: The Morning News, Flavorwire). I am so touched, and continually inspired, by this experience and, needless to say, having a lot of fun with it. So far on the blog I've written about The Wire, high-end fragrance customer relations, teenage vampires, buzzworthy music, Reality Bites, interesting cats and much more. My favorite feedback lately came from my sister, who has shockingly good taste but doesn't really like fiction (her latest literary favorite is Luc Sante's Low Life, and before that it was Belle de Jour): "Thank you for YOU, I already finished it, it was wildly captivating and I literally had to peel it out of my hands to go to sleep at night. Totally trippy." 'Tis.

Windowlicker

"monte carlo, dinner party in d.c., i love the way it moves as you walk in, probably just a little late." -- M.

[Gown, Monique Lhuillier Spring 2009 Collection]

Windowlicker - from the French for window shopping: faire du lèche-vitrine - often appears on Tuesday and Thursdays at 10am EST-ish.

The Cutest Boy in New York

Would have to be Jeffrey Teuton, Jen Bekman Gallery associate director, at the 20x200 collectors confab last night (I bought the Pixy Liao print today!). Here he is in his tux talking to Paddy Johnson of Art Fag City and yours truly.

Previously: Interview: Jeffrey Teuton.

I Remember That Streetcar

Ben and Me, Somewhere on St. Charles Avenue, 1998.

I just had the most charming evening! Last week my friend Ben emailed me to say that he'd be in New York for business and could we get together? I have not seen him except maybe one or twice since we met freshman year at Loyola University in New Orleans. I left at the end of the year and my memories of my life there are relatively few but intense: the heat-induced languor under outside ceiling fans, the constant party atmosphere, the rickety creaking of the streetcar as it went around the bend, the layer upon layer of unique cultural history in the city, and all the fun we had together. I came straight from a stint in Manhattan after graduating high school a semester early and was a touch jaded. He was in a fraternity albeit at least the interesting one that had been banned from campus. I often think of the time we spent studying at the since-departed Kaldi's, a coffeehouse in a former brothel on the edge of the French Quarter. I always put the same three songs on the jukebox for a dollar: Thelonius Monk's "Around Midnight," Patsy Cline's "Crazy," and one other one that escapes me now. Anyway, I hadn't seen him in years and years or even talked, really, until tonight. We met for drinks and then we had dinner -- barbeque and saketinis in Koreatown -- and walked around and admired the city at night and it was divine. I told him how I still carry the Prada makeup bag he so sweetly bought me as a going away present. And I don't even really wear makeup.

Gems for GEMS

My friend Patti Provance Binder of Girls Education and Mentoring Services just sent out this note and I wanted to share it. First, I'd like to note that last week I watched the documentary Very Young Girls with a friend and we cried our eyes out and then pledged to change the world. It's like that. You can see the film at Bluestockings on February 19th or on Showtime through March 3. There are young women who are legally children being exploited today in America. You can save lives with your support. Patti says,

"We're excited to announce that New York jewelry designer Kimmeron has joined forces with GEMS in its mission to help commercially sexually exploited and domestically trafficked girls and young women. GEMS supporters will now receive a 20% discount on all jewelry sold on kimmeron.com  Simply shop Kimmeron's complete selection of beautiful, hand-crafted jewelry, then enter the online code GEMS at checkout. In addition to saving you 20%, Kimmeron will generously donate to GEMS 15% of each purchase made with this code. Every time you shop, you can make a difference for the girls and young women at GEMS. Order by Feb 11th to receive in time for Valentine's Day!"

Windowlicker

Miss Mardi Gras has found some more things that she likes, so she's guestediting Windowlicker again this week...

Today's pick is Austrian-made quilted waterproof boots from Pendleton, now on sale for $250. However, she says, "for another time, keep in mind the most beautiful sapphire and diamond hoops on thistle and bee."

And since Windowlicker (and being fond of Pendleton) is something of a family affair, my stylish sister sent me an article from Women's Wear Daily about the new collection for Opening Ceremony, including a blanket skirt she has her eye on.

Windowlicker - from the French for window shopping: faire du lèche-vitrine - often appears on Tuesday and Thursdays at 10am EST-ish.

If you're looking for me

I'll be off listening to Devendra Banhart covering "Doo Wop (That Thing) Live in Paris," until further notice...

Previously: On a Western Wind.

The Lux Look: Late Winter 2009

I had this great, really social weekend. It was extraordinary because I am not all that social. Or at least, I like to balance what is required of me in my professional life. I like my job and I like people and when I'm not throwing parties or going to them for work, I love nothing more than to sit up at Maison de Lux a few stories above the city and enjoy the quietude. Lately I've been on a space-clearing jag in every facet of my life. Maybe it's the new austerity. Or perhaps it's that I need less now. Once I had the means, it was imperative that I get on a plane and disappear every time I got angry or felt jittery or in some sense thought the world was getting too close to me, in my guarded way. And last year, especially, that's exactly what I did. Over and over again and at one point, for an entire season. And life now is different in every sense of the word. Last night I was talking to my oldest friend and he said something like, it occurred to me that I'm going to be friends with an entirely different person this year. Well, yes sir. I used to be a girl who wanted indiscriminately; my motto was "e cosio desio me mena" (and so desire carries me along). But I don't long for much now, and when I do, I'm a woman who knows exactly what she requires. And so my look is evolving, too. What next? I'm not sure, but I have some ideas that have me feeling inspired... perhaps I could write at length about the transformative power of hats, red lipstick, crimped hair and smoky eyeshadow. But enough talk for now; here's a picture instead (scanned from the Polish magazine, A'Cztery).

A Fun Day for the Mail

Things are not always so exciting around here at Maison de Lux and today is a notable exception judging by the post. In the first envelope, I found the almost unfathomably exquisite silver-and-lapis necklace I bought from HINT by Beth Hemmila that is even more beautiful in person than it was in the photograph. I was going to buy it anyway at some point in the future and then last Friday night at about a quarter of midnight I remembered that she was going to donate a portion of her January profits to Dharma Rain Zen Center's school and prison ministry program in Portland. And I am into that. From the second, out fell the Lashfood as part of my Hello Dollface winnings! And last but not least, the third envelope held a copy of Mirabilis by Susann Cokal, which my friend Fred Ramey at Unbridled Books sent me as part of our occasional book exchange. It looks so good I might eat it. All of these things bode well for the weekend.

Windowlicker

"I went to Bell'ochio and I'm going with the straw hat or maybe the black hats that would've made Napoleon 7 inches taller ha."

-- M.

[French Chapeaux, $140 each at Bell'occhio]

Windowlicker - from the French for window shopping: faire du lèche-vitrine - often appears on Tuesday and Thursdays at 10am EST-ish.