We are proud to introduce our Spring 2012 Ad Campaign with Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley. As the years have rolled by, the expectation rises each year when we chose the face for our ad campaigns. We’re always trying to outdo ourselves and we put a lot of thought into this one. We thought that these girls were the best candidates.

Here are the reasons why:

1. I’ve watched Absolutely Fabulous, my jaw dropped, and I watch it still when I’m in a bad mood just to cheer me up.

2. I love how they depict the chaos and frivolousness of fashion and I still want to be a part of it.

3. They’re completely politically incorrect!

4. This is their first endorsement and we feel honored to be a part of it.

5. They just re-launched the show and are about to do a movie so the timing is serendipitous.

6. I want Edina to adopt me!

7. I got to style them wearing my jewelry and did the art direction for it in the shoot.

As you all know, I’m a big fan of using a mature woman in our ads. For political fashion reasons, I think it’s important to never have enough images of mature women in the market place. As I look at advertising I’m amazed how so many advertisers use models between the ages of 18-24. But the consumer in higher luxury stores is 35-65.  I feel the message that’s being given to women is that they should try no matter what to try to look 18 It seems like a setup. The most impressive women I know have moved well beyond their teens. They are able to offer a faceted view of their lives and the accomplishments which contribute to their beauty.

The shoot was hysterical from the beginning. It was shot by John Swannell who does mostly portraits for the Royal Family, fashion photography in the 80’s, and is a master in his own right. It was amazing for me being such a fan of the show to see the ladies come in as Jennifer and Joanna and then transform into Edina and Patsy. I felt myself getting nervous and stage struck because I’ve been such a massive fan for so long.

We shot a short video of the making of the ad that is great fun, I hope you guys will enjoy it.

PS.  Don’t hate me when we use a younger model for one of our ads, because we probably will…

Two weeks ago I read in the Daily News that my favorite Chinese Restaurant was closed by the board of health. The news rocked lower Manhattan! It is THE BEST Chinese restaurant in the city. On Friday, my friends told me that they had reopened it and we all went down to give our support. To our surprise it was already packed. I know this sounds like an odd recommendation, but if you do come to NYC and you want Chinese, this is the best! Go to Grand Sichuan on 24th and 9th.

Hello Miss Drew!

I helped accessorize Miss Drew Barrymore for the recent cover of Instyle magazine. I remember Drew when she was 10 and I was 16 clubbing at Danceteria… scary, right?!

She has definitely landed on her feet. I adore her acting. She always makes me smile. Her ease at being humorous and self deprecating while remaining so attractive and adorable is pretty remarkable.

It looks like Michelle has taken a fancy to our lucite sapphire dust pin (this isn’t the first time she’s worn this pin). Yesterday she wore it to the State of the Union Address and it complimented this dress by Los Angeles designer Barbara Tfank. Looking good Mrs. Obama!

We are finally styling Meryl Streep! She just won the Golden Globe for her performance in The Iron Lady. It is pretty controversial since Margaret Thatcher is still alive. Nonetheless Meryl landed the part and she’s incredible in it!

Meryl loves putting on an accent and generally does it impeccably… well, except when she played a Rabbi in Angels In America. Her performance in The Iron Lady has made me forgive her for that. Go see this movie!

I was walking Habibi this morning and saw that the dogs on the street were perplexed by this stuffed elephant that someone had thrown out. They couldn’t make out if it was a real animal. Habibi took a few minutes to thoroughly check it out with a full smell test.

Mrs. Obama looked lovely on Monday wearing an Iris Pin.

Here are some antique jewelry pieces that I think are aesthetically interesting. (Click the photos for pricing and more information.)

1920s Depression-era Homestead Pin.  In all of my 30 years of looking at antique jewelry I have never seen a piece like this. It’s simplicity in the depiction of a house, the comfort of a home, and the time in which it was made, make this pin a real collectable art piece. The fact that during the Depression someone chose to romance a cottage home says a lot about what people were dreaming about during that time.

Hand Pin and Earring Set by Coro.   I’m always a fan of jewelry that uses hands as a motif. They’ve been used as a theme for centuries. It’s rare to get a complete set like this that has stayed together throughout time. Coro designed a lot of great costume jewelry in the late 1930s through the 1950s.

Indian Head Pin. Here is another great costume piece by Coro. I thought it was particularly rare because it glorifies an American Indian in the 1940s. In addition, the bright color of the enamel makes this super chic. This piece has been featured in vintage jewelry books.

Punk Cuff. This Mexican hinge bracelet is a great example of Mexican sterling from the 1950s. Mexico produced some of the most contemporary and forward sterling designs during the 1950s – 1970s. It is hollow but is backed and is very light weight. I thought the “punk” aspect of the design made it very cool.

Here’s part two of our Spring/Summer 2012 lookbook highlight.

Here are some highlights of our Spring 2012 lookbook. I’ve broken it down into two parts. This is part 1.

The overall theme was “good girls from the 1950s who run away from home and become jewel thieves”. A little too conceptual I know, but hopefully you can follow the story. I showed this collection in Paris in October but I didn’t want to put it online till now since I didn’t want it to get knocked off.

Lady Miss Havisham has been on a roll. This month in British Bazaar the line was featured on all 3 covers.

I barely made it to vacation… I felt like my eyes were hitting the floor the last week of work, but before I knew it, I was on a beach in Vieques, Puerto Rico. 80 degrees… Tropical Weather… Holy shit! What the sun does for the mind!!

Here are some highlights from my trip.

I got to bike in 85 degree weather and felt like I was going to have a sun stroke!

Vieques is an island off the main island of Puerto Rico and was used by the military to test bombs during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Weirdly enough, Ricky Martin was one of the advocates who began in 2003 to pressure the army to leave. It now has a huge natural preserve on half of the island and is one my favorite places to vacation.

Wild horses run everywhere!

Here, Jeff decided to bury himself on the beach outside of the hotel.

Here’s a sand sculpture of a Mayan woman with earrings that Jeff made on the beach. The location is beautiful!

A Christmas Decoration.

Jeff in old San Juan.   It’s an INCREDIBLE city!

Sculpture outside the fort in old San Juan.

Here is a great video that gives a quick summary of my business by Fashion TV ….Sweet!!!

Katy Perry looking lovely at the launch of her fragrance wearing the Leger Bow Tie Bracelet.

One of my FAVORITE stylists in the whole world is Patti Wilson. She is one of the godmothers of styling and has taught so many stylists, including George Cortina (who is now the head of Japanese Vogue).

For this shot (which Patti styled for Numero Magazine’s November issue) I hand sculpted a lucite mask.  I wanted it to look like a liquid mask.