Catch of the Day: Lobsters

After posting yesterday about Elsa Schiaparelli's Shocking Pink perfume, I got to thinking about that famous Lobster Dress she designed using fabric designed by Salvador Dali ...

... and while I'm not a huge fan of Wallis Simpson for a litany list of reasons, she did have a way with couture. Here she is shot in 1937 by Cecil Beaton in the Lobster Dress...

That Wallis. She knew how to create an image, didn't she?

So with crustaceans on the brain, what should I find in this month's House Beautiful from my favorite interior designer, Miles Redd? A carved bone lobster, which he placed in a New York apartment. These can be found on 1st Dibs, naturally. 

I'm feeling a lobster brooch pinned onto a straw bag would be cute for the beach. At Retro Alice on Etsy.com.

Or how about a sparkly one for evening? Only $11.99 from Pugster on Amazon.com.

For the preppiest canine in Kennebunkport, there's this fetching seersucker collar from The Southern Dog on Etsy. (Now, if only I could find a cat version for Flynn & Bunny).

Feeling Pink with Marcel Vertes

Hungarian painter, printmaker and illustrator Marcel Vertes (1895-1961) was full of whimsy, as evidenced in the gorgeous series of ads he concocted for Elsa Schiaparelli's 1937 scent Shocking Pink.  

Vertes and Schiaparelli not only worked on this campaign together, they also collaborated on the 1952 film Moulin Rouge, about artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.

Another ad for Schiaparelli's Shocking Pink. 

Here is an original bottle of the perfume. The curvy torso was inspired by Schiaparelli's client, Mae West. 

Vertes hits the bottle of pink paint again for this portrait of Coco Chanel. 

For this buff pink room in designer Penelope Bianchi's Santa Barbara home, she hung Vertes' work from floor to ceiling. Photo from House Beautiful. Gorgeous. 

Happy Friday, Spring's Here!

Happy Friday! The weather’s gorgeous, which once again puts happy, springtime images in my mind …

I am positively head-over-heels, madly in love with all of the swimmer paintings from Kiki and Polly artist Lisa Golightly. They remind me of my childhood summers spent swimming in the Tennessee River. This one’s called “Girl in the Yellow Suit” …

… and this one’s called “All Together.” Darling, right? Available at www.etsy.com/shop/kikiandpolly.

This is the Guest House at Hibiscus Hill on the Bahamian Harbour Island. It was designed by India Hicks, the daughter of famed British interior designer David Hicks. The Hicks clan has been congregating each Easter on Harbour Island since the late 1960s. I want to Easter egg hunt there. Rental info at www.hibiscushillharbourisland.com.

Oh, I so want to sleep in this bedroom at the Guest House.

Which Kate Spade bag best fits my mood for spring? I simply cannot decide. It’s either this one, “Hello Sunshine Willow” …

… or this one, “A DAY AWAY GEMINA.”

I love this photo of Truman Capote. It just makes me giddy. And on that note, I’m headed out to catch some rays at a softball game starring a cutie named Caroline, with her mom, my friend Dede. Have a fabulous weekend!!! XO – Karen

Metallic Wallpaper

I've been a fan of metallic wallpaper for years, but have yet to try it out. Now I'm on the prowl for some, for just one wall of a room ... 

I love this "All Star" paper in gunmetal, from British wallpaper firm Barneby Gates. We will eventually paint our living room gunmetal, and I would love this on the interior wall leading up the staircase. Just a whisper of whimsy, that's all. 

If I was still single and living in my pre-war apartment in New York City, this one would be top of the list. Gold metallic is so sexy, and it is the perfect fit for the moldings in pre-war digs. From decorpad.com. 

How exorbitant is this "Addison Damask" wallpaper from Thibaut's "River Road" collection? Silver metallic on turquoise, pretty glam. 

This flocked wallpaper from British firm Romo takes the classic flock print, "Lasari Floral Trail," and puts it on a soft metallic background, subtle and warm, like brushed platinum.

This white-on-silver flocked paper looks so fresh and clean, perfect for a bathroom. Oh, I am so feeling a project coming on ...