Lectura de sambata dimineata

„Happiness is more than the absence of pain; it is a radical shift from one state into another. It is a subtle transference of energy from darkness into light. It’s a smell like jasmine or burnt sugar on the crust of a pie. It’s the sound of a zipper on a new dress or the wet sandpaper tongue of a cat: anything that jolts introspection and forces you up and out.

When you want to feel happy, try to change your context – move into a beam of sunlight, thrust through the air on a swing until your toes reach clouds, listen to a whole CD in bed, go to a movie in the middle of the day, draw a picture of a place you’d rather be. If all else fails, reach for a stack of children’s books and let them provide transport to a realm of lighter spirits. A good picture book makes you laugh and think and smile. They give you good impulses: to chase invisible dragons, laugh at your own bad jokes, invent your own rhyming slanguage, paint autumnal leaves lime green, wear cowboy boots and tangerine lipstick to the supermarket, or treat a pebble beach like a jewelry store and select faux diamonds for your moonstone tiara.”

Asadar, here’s to happiness! Pentru ca primavara e aici, cu soare si miros de iarba cruda; pentru lalele si zambile si narcise si frezii; pentru oua de ciocolata si seri prelungite de culoare indigo; pentru unghii pictate in verde si picnicuri insorite; pentru muzica noua si copilasi care danseaza „The Chicken Song” in parc; pentru  promisiunea unui an fantastic si a unei veri de poveste…

When a pouf skirt said it all – „Every era has a designer who perfectly embodies its ethos. Halston defined the disco days of the late ’70s with velvet hip-huggers and slinky silk shirts. In the early ’80s, Giorgio Armani draped working women in beige power suits. […] The next moment belonged unmistakably to Christian Lacroix […] His pouf dresses and embroidered jackets became status items for a new generation of luxury shoppers.” In NY Times.

20 odd questions for Mario Testino – „Name a celebrity, any celebrity: Madonna, Kate Moss, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Bruce Willis. Chances are they’ve stood in front of photographer Mario Testino. „I spend my life looking and choosing and approving and changing,” says the 58-year-old Peruvian, whose work regularly appears in Vanity Fair and Vogue the world over.” In Wall Street Journal.

Fashion names make TIME 100 list – „Michael Kors, J. Crew’s Jenna Lyons and Uniqlo’s Tadashi Yanai have all been included in TIME magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world – and the Duchess of Cambridge gets a nod too.” In The Telegraph.

The pencil skirt sheds its serious side – The strict, knee-length skirt now comes in look-at-me prints, with vibrant versions by Prabal Gurung and Proenza Schouler.” In Wall Street Journal.

Ad about women’s self-image creates a sensation – „A video focusing on Dove’s findings that only 4 percent of women consider themselves beautiful has been viewed more than seven million times on YouTube.” In NY Times.

Margaret King: Maggies’ power dresser – „The other Margaret at No 10 was instrumental in creating the image that put the prime minister on the world’s best-dressed lists. This is the woman responsible for streamlining Margaret Thatcher, dispensing with the fussiness, lowering heels and coaxing her into Ferragamos, which made for a more elegant prime-ministerial gait, raising hems a smidgeon- and „ironing” out her silhouette.” In The Telegraph.

Flamenco fiesta – „The costume designers behind TV dance-offs have nothing on fashion this season, thanks to a burst of flamenco flourishes. Stamp your feet and clap your hands; these clothes are made for movement.” In Financial Times.

The modern blouse strikes out on its own – „How fitting, that 30 years after Margaret Thatcher feminized her work wardrobe with a pussycat bow blouse — following an Yves Saint Laurent fashion trend — the blouse is back in style. ” In International Herald Tribune.

Prime Time – The natural look of TV’s brightest stars is stealing the show—and reshaping our ideas of beauty.” In Wall Street Journal.