Images from West Elm and Anthropologie
31 January 2008
Who did it better?
Images from West Elm and Anthropologie
Labels: decor, home, shopping, trend spotting
30 January 2008
I apologize for not ACTUALLY providing you with a list of the fifty richest men under fifty on this blog. Instead I would like to provide you with the following quote from one of my favorite movies:
You're much to young to be trading yourself like a stock on the Nasdaq to a man who will not be remembering your name... or his in the morning, is still married, and recently developed a very suspicious rash. Now go home, finish high school and reach your potential!
Kisses,
Sophia
Labels: babble
29 January 2008
Side ponytails? Really?
Images on flickr
Labels: chic and stylish, trend spotting
28 January 2008
My love/hate relationship with Miuccia Prada
Miuccia Prada has been said to have a love/hate relationship with fashion. She grew up thinking that as an intelligent women she was above fashion, this is a common thought among intelligent women. Mrs. Prada later came to realize that design is what she loves, and now steers a highly successful fashion empire. It seems she still has a bit of internal conflict that is sometimes apparent in her work and in her reticence to engage in some areas of the fashionable life. I can respect her conflict, and admire the fact that she did realize that very intelligent women can still care about fashion.
My problem with Mrs. Prada lies in the fact that sometimes her anti-fashion roots come out as fashionably ugly designs, fashion that is purposely unattractive and meant to provoke. Turbans? Have those EVER worked? Knee high footless color block socks? Utilitarian black nylon bags? Why are these things popular? If these things showed up Bergdorf Goodman without the Prada tag they would be on 70% clearance and then on to the outlet malls. These designs often become the darlings of the season and the pages of all the glossies are flooded with ugly brown shoes and purses covered in leather robots. In the fashion media the ugly or odd designs are touted as thought provoking and evidence of Prada’s status as the thinking woman’s clothing designer. Ugly fashion does not equal smart fashion!
This title of "thinking woman's designer" is the real crux of my dislike for Prada. It is the media’s portrayal of Miuccia Prada as the patron saint of intelligent fashionistas that irks me most, something that is actually hot her fault. I resent the idea that a single designer should be “the thinking woman’s designer.” I also don't really understand what makes Miuccia Prada a thinking woman's designer. Is it because she herself spurns fashion in favor of a uniform that his been called "school marm" in the past?
That said, Prada and Miu Miu do turn out some stunning designs, but I don’t feel they are any more remarkable that the interesting and beautiful things turned out by every other major fashion designer. For me, the Marc Jacob’s Spring 2008 show was design for the thinking woman. The Jacobs show had fascinating psychological and surrealist references and was even staged in a though provoking manner. It was thought provoking, it stirred controversy and discussion and not because his designs were ugly.
I do on occasion love the Mrs. Prada's work, for example the florals of the Spring 2008 collection and the 1950s silhouettes that so often pop up in Prada designs. I just wish the media would drop the “intelligent woman’s designer” moniker and concentrate on Prada’s wearable designs.
Images from forbes.com, frillr.com, raffaello-network.com and style.comLabels: chic and stylish
25 January 2008
Sophia Started an Online Store!
Recently, The Coveted got a face lift and added a book store. I thought this was such a brilliant idea! So, I investigated further and discovered that Amazon allows you to set up your own "shop" using their products. They host the shop for free and you get a small portion of any sale from your website. I feel this is absolutely perfect for Chic and Charming! I often post my favorite products and interesting finds on Chic and Charming, and now I will also post them in my shop to perhaps get a little return for making the recommendations. I promise not to change the variety of products that I share. I will continue to feature finds from independent artists along side more commercialized items that love for find interesting.
My shop will be updated pretty frequently over the next few days, and after that I will update every few weeks with new interesting products. I've started out with the following categories:
- Sophia's Recommendations: products Sophia uses on a regular basis and loves
- Chic and Stylish: fun accessories to make your life and your look even more fabulous!
- Charm School: Etiquette books, home keeping, cooking, stationary and more
- Chic Decor: Items to make your home more beautiful
- Buy to Be Audrey Hepburn: a section dedicated to accessories, clothing and home decor that Audrey or her most famous characters might have loved. There is also a curated selection of her movies!
- Buy to Be Marilyn Monroe: similar to the above category, but for Marilyn
- Chic and Charitable: chock full of items that support charity
- Chic and Green: leave a small carbon footprint and lead a healthy life with style
- The Charming Dandy: goodies for the guys
Labels: blog life, charm school, chic and stylish, decor, shopping, store, styling
24 January 2008
FeedBurner must have been constipated
Apparently my frustration post pushed my original post through to the readers that were not getting my feed this morning.
I feel much better now.
Frustration
Has anyone else ever had this problem?
Image from perfectlydysfunctional.lab-24.com
Nominees for Sophia's Superstars
I have accumulated a large folder of starred items since I started using Google Reader at the beginning of the month, which begs the question, what does one do with a folder full of favorite blog posts? So, I thought I would share a few of my favorites from around the blogosphere with the Chic and Charming Community and add a "Walk of Fame" feature on my sidebar. Help me decide which post deserves to be the first star on Chic and Charming's Walk of Fame by leaving a comment!
- Carolina Herrera's Romantic Vision from the Budget Babe
- Afford-a-Glam -- Pink Valentine's Day Dresses from The Glam Guide
- Dress with an Agenda a la Blair Waldorf from Miss Couturable
- Registry Bliss, a series of guest blogs on Perfect Bound
Images from the blogs listed above
23 January 2008
Fabuless: DwellStudio at Target
The Target DwellStudio Baby Collection is the most diverse, offering cribs, changing tables, baby clothes and other baby accessories. Furniture for the DwellStudio Baby line at Target runs about $290 a piece, and it is rumored that it will only be available online. Overall, the Baby collection is full of cheerful graphic prints in calming pastel pallets. Any of these products would be an excellent baby shower gift! To give you an idea of what a fabulous deal the new DwellStudio Target line is: a crib set form the Target line will run you $80, while a cribset from the DwellStudio label is $384!
The Target DwellStudio Bedding Collection is fabulous and simple! These duvet and comforter sets would look at home in any bedroom, and manage to be both traditional and modern. I think what I like best about these sets is their equal appeal to both sexes. There is no need to make your husband sleep on a frilly, girly pink bed: you can outfit your bed with DwellStudio Bedding Collection's Baroque duvet set and both be happy (only $80 for a queen set!). I have not seen any details about thread counts or fabric content, but I will check it out after the release of this collection next month and give you an update.
Finally, the Target DwellStudio Kitchen Collection offers potholders, place mats, napkins and towels in designs similar to the bedding collection (might be perfect for a loft, where you can see both sets at once). I was a little disappointed with the lack of variety compared to the Bedding Collection and Baby Collection, but perhaps they have not released pictures of many pieces of the collection yet. I really prefer table clothes to place mats, so I wish Target would offer more cute table clothes and less place mats in these seasonal and designer collections!
Images from Apartment Therapy
Labels: decor, design, entertaining, home, shopping
22 January 2008
Labels: babble
This cannot possibly be for real
Labels: babble, eccentricities, humor
Williams-Sonoma Spring Table Linens
Similarly brilliant, the Magenta and bright green toile table cloth and matching napkins are probably at the top of my wish list. Is the set a little loud? Well, yes. But, it combines my favorite colors in a fun table cloth that matches my apple green kitchen. I love it! I decided to round things out with a conservative piece...every girl needs monogrammed cocktail napkins and Williams-Sonoma makes a great set.
Images from Williams-Sonoma
Labels: decor, entertaining
20 January 2008
Fiona Apple, inspiration for American Apparel
While I am not a fan of American Apparel, I have been a fan of Ms. Apple since forever. When this album came it, I think it was all I listened to for months. Her songs are great to belt out in the shower, especially after an awful day!
Images from snap2objects
Labels: babble
18 January 2008
Charming Blogs: News from Fashion Illustrations

But, there are a handful of things that still maintain all of their charm, including my favorite French fashion blogs. News from Fashion Illustration allows me to get my French fashion fix through one of my favorite mediums, fashion illustration. I can often get a rough idea of what is going on in the text, but mostly I just admire the fabulous cartoons. Check it out, I'm sure you'll love it too!
Image from News from Fashion Illustration
Labels: charming blogs, chic and stylish
17 January 2008
Reason #432 I am not a Supermodel...
P.S.: Tyson, I think any female contestant with less cleavage than you should be automatically eliminated. Let's face it, these days you have to be a Victoria Secret underwear model to be a REAL supermodel...and you are at least a C cup.
Images from Bravo
16 January 2008
Bumble Bumble Brilliantine
Sadly, I was mistaken. Upon addition to freshly washed hair, Brilliantine did basically nothing for my hair. Upon addition to slightly dirty, very frizzy bead head there was some improvement, but not enough that I would actually leave the house without more extensive styling. What is somewhat more distressing is that Brilliantine is recommended for thick, curly hair or frizzy hair (check, check and check!). So, if it doesn't work for me, who does it work for?
I will be the first to admit that products work very differently in different hair types. For example, those with hair less curly than mine have ended up looking like they washed their hair in an oil slick after using Bumble Bumble Curl Conscious. I, on the other hand, would buy the product five gallons at a time if given the choice. Curl Conscious makes my hair look fab, it makes my sister's hair look fab, it makes my cousin's hair look fab...you get the point!
So, has anyone used Brilliantine to achieve the "languid, sexy, slept-in look?" If so, how did you use it and what kind of hair do you have?
Image from amazon.com
Labels: beauty, chic and stylish, hair, styling
15 January 2008
Is Johnny Depp Katie's Stylist?
- Red jacket--check
- Sleek modern bob--check
- Bug eye sunnies--check
- Pale, creamy skin--check
- Pale pink lip--check
Images from x17online and lovefilm.com
Labels: chic and stylish, humor, styling
13 January 2008
Lost that Loving Feeling: Bijoux
Don't you simply j'adore when people throw random expressions françaises into their writing and speech? Don't you find such people to have a certain je ne se quoi? Far from charming, I find this practice pretentious yet increasingly common. No one really cares that you know enough random French to pepper your English with elementary foreign phrases. The hip French word of the moment, at least amongst fashion journalists, seems to be "bijoux" which translates to jewels. Is it really that much more fabulous to say "bijoux" instead of jewels?
Kisses,
Sophia
11 January 2008
Trivia
Labels: chic and stylish, trivia
Ten ways to be Fabulous
One of my favorite bloggers, Ashe Mischief over at dramatis personae, has put the following question out to her readers:
"What do you think makes someone fabulous? Who are those you admire and find fabulous traits and inspiration in?"I've decided to answer her call Chic and Charming style with one of my top ten posts (originally inspired by flickr's 10things group and Ms. P&C). Here are a few of my tips on how to be fabulous:
- Laugh at yourself, especially if other people are going to anyway. You might as well lead the charge.
- Know when to be selfless and when to be selfish. Be selfless: volunteer your time with local charities, listen to your heartbroken friend rehash her breakup for the sixtieth time, always help your friends move, skip lunch and give your sandwich to the homeless man on the street. Be selfish: eat the last cupcake, sleep until noon, spend the extra money on a silk nightgown, refuse to wash the dishes for two days because you don't want to chip your manicure.
- Read: Colette, Coetzee, Capote, Wilde, etc.
- If your girlfriend says "Her-meees" instead of "'ermesz" when talking about a Birkin, correct her once the two of you are alone. While a fabulous girl never lets another fabulous girl embarrass herself, she would never want to point out a mistake in front of other people.
- Don't be a label whore. It has been years since anyone looked fabulous carrying a Louis Vuitton Speedy.
- Vote.
- Plan to eat healthy, but don't be too hard on yourself when you slip up and eat four mini burgers topped with truffled mayo and roasted garlic, washed down with a makers mark old fashioned with extra cherries.
- Entertain often and with style. Know how to mix classic cocktails. Use cocktail napkins and real martini glasses. Decorate your house with fresh flowers. Spritz your guest bed sheets with lavendar spray.
- Send thank you notes for dinner parties, gifts and favors on bespoke letterpress stationary with lined envelopes. Shun evite in favor of the paper invite.
- Don't follow the rules ;)
Labels: charm school, eccentricities, how to
10 January 2008
Kisses,
Sophia
Images from seattleweekly.com
09 January 2008
Bandit?
So, if you were walking by one of your favorite local retail stores and noticed that they had put all their holiday merchandise out in the trash... | ||
Labels: babble, eccentricities
08 January 2008
The dressy toga: Who did it better?
Images from justjared and bbc
Labels: chic and stylish, chic women, fashion, film, styling
07 January 2008
The Met blogs fashion

The Metropolitan Museum of Art started a fashion blog on December 17th, 2007. The museum is posting one blog entry for each piece currently on display as part of the blog.mode: addressing fashion exhibition. The history of each piece is meticulously detailed in the blog post, along with a picture or two.
One would think the Met might have attempted to engage the fashion blogging community as part of this exhibit, they are after all jumping in our swimming pool. Perhaps I am being a blog snob, but frankly I get a little turned off reading some of the comments on each post. I am guessing that there is some sort of console at the Met as part of the exhibition, as several comments are from 6 or 7 year old girls talking about how they would enjoy wearing Vivienne Westwood's platform pink heels. In stark contrast there are some comments that veer off in an entirely different direction with a pretentious faux academic assessment of the posted article. Finally, there are a smattering of individuals posting their opinion that fashion is stupid or a waste. If it is so stupid, why did they waste their time looking at and commenting on the fashion blog??
I'm ambivalent about the whole project. I think the idea is intriguing...I have not been that impressed with the execution or marketing.
Image from the Met
Labels: art, chic and stylish, current events, fashion
06 January 2008
How to be like Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany
Holly Golightly's Home:
- A homeless Cat
- Twin metal bed fame
- Champaign saucers
- Bath tub sofa
- Liters of perfume and cake mascara on your vanity
- Pinata smoking a cigar
- a very large mirror leaning against the wall
- Green stuffed parrot in cage
- Zebra rug
- Old fashioned black telephone to be kept in a suitcase
- White rocking chair for those days when you are feeling domestic
- Three piece white vintage luggage set
- Old crate coffee table (obtain from your local grocer)
- Pink pillows
- Weather vane?
- White cherub lamp
- Vintage Brazil Poster
- Wall mounted bull head
- Red fleece blanket with Harvard written on it over a golden bread spread
Holly Golightly's Accessories:
- Tortoise shell Rayban Waferers (or knockoffs)
- Pearl chocker with broach pinned on, in fact you might want to buy matched broaches and wear the second in your hair.
- Holly has loads of jewelry for all the fabulous parties she attends. You should invest in several pieces for large costume jewelry, such as these earrings.
- Consider wearing a watch on your ankle with your cocktail dress
- Black crystal and pearl bib necklace that looks something like this.
- A guitar or failing that the soundtrack from Breakfast at Tiffany
- Over the elbow black gloves
- Pink ballet slippers, to be kept in your refrigerator
- Inexpensive ring engraved with your initials
- Carpet bag
- Black coin purse, money is stored wadded up inside
- White pearl studs
- Black kitten heels
- A handful of fabulous hats, including a large black one, a modish brown shaved mink one and a cute black pillbox hat with large white marabou puff decoration
- Black patent leather bag with embossed croc pattern and chain handle, kind of Chanel-esqe
- Knitting needles and yards of red yarn to knit your own ranch house
- Cigarette holder
- Audio Portuguese lessons
Holly Golightly's Nightclothes (well, actually just what one wears to answer the door as Holly sleeps nude):
- Generic white bath robe, rolled up to your elbows
- Eye Mask
- Men's Tux Shit
- Orange robe
- Tassel Earplugs
Holly Golightly's Clothing:
- A simply fabulous little black dress and perhaps a long black dress as well
- Grey sweatshirt and demin capris with black flats for those days when you wash your hair
- Classic Trench
- Grey jersey full size flat bed sheet, to be worn as toga at the opening of your next party
- Grey cowl neck sweater and black capris
- Redish orange wool bouche jacket with a mock turtle neck type collar
- Black tweed skirt with black t-shirt style shirt with buttons down the front
- Black tweed sheath
- Khaki sweater with black trim
- Matching pink dress, cape and shoes to be worn with pink tiaraand white clutch
- Or, you could be lazy and just get the costume
Holly Golightly's Associates:
- Charming latin millionaires with political aspirations
- Pudgy playboys from wealthy families
- Drug lords and their cronies
- Rats and Super Rats, all of whom shell out $50 for the powder room
- Southern belle models
- Hollywood moguls
- Washed up writers with a taste for married women
- Hillbillie ex-husbands
Holly Golightly's Hangouts:
- Twenty-one
- Burlesque shows
- Tiffany
- Five and Dime stores
- Public library
- Sing Sing
Holly Golightly's Wisdom:
- Don't accept drinks from disapproving men
- Keep extra perfume and lipstick in your mailbox for last minute touch ups
- Combat the mean reds with a trip to Tiffany
- Operate on a cash only basis
- Steal things from the five and dime on occasion, to keep your hand in
- Have a cookie jar, ie a man who pays for the pleasure of your company with out expecting anything physical...this generally only works if that man is in jail and using you to send messages to his drug cartel
- Always know who the ten richest men under 50 are in your area
- A trip to the powder room is an excellent exit strategy
- Marry for money
- People don't belong to people
Image sources listed in the description of each picture on flickr
Labels: chic and stylish, chic women, decor, film, how to, jewels, shopping, styling
05 January 2008
Lazy Martha: Trader Joe's Chocolate Croissants
Image from heateatreview.com
Labels: charm school, entertaining, food
Lazy Martha: Table Setting
Image from BrightSettings Table Linens
Labels: charm school, entertaining, etiquette, food, home
04 January 2008
Alright ladies and gents...
I think the redesign is almost complete...please let me know what you think. Be brutally honest! Is it too busy??
Thanks!
Sophia
Labels: babble
03 January 2008
Ten ways to tell you are not yet a grownup
- You never have more than $40 cash in your wallet at any one time, and in fact that number is usually closer to $5. When visiting the ATM you would never take out more than $60 at a time, and that is only because you owe your friend $20 for picking up the tab at lunch at that charming cafe that only took cash.
- You don't balance your checkbook. In fact, generally speaking, you just check your balance every few days online to make sure you have about the right amount of money in your account.
- Take out. It's what's for dinner.
- Breakfast and lunch primarily consist of caffeinated beverages, and perhaps some carbs if you are feeling peckish. More often than not you might forget to eat breakfast all together.
- You own four aprons from anthropolgie, which you wear to make Pillsbury slice and bake cookies. Thanks to Clueless you know that the log of dough should be sliced and not just plunked down on the cookie sheet whole.
- Your hairdresser lectures you on the importance of regular haircuts during your annual or biannual visit. At this point in your life the only thing that would motivate you to make more regular appointments is the appearance of lots of gray hair.
- All free food is good food...as a result you've made a meal of the bell pepper and lettuce garnish with a small bag of Lays potato chips.
- Car maintenance, home maintenance, bicycle maintenance...these things tend to happen on an as needed, emergency basis. In fact self maintenance seems to be the on type of maintenance that occurs on a regular basis, even more so when one is dating.
- You own sufficient socks and underwear to avoid doing laundry for two months.
- At work, in large meetings, you rarely contribute productive commentary. You actually spend the better part of the meeting day dreaming about shoes, your birthday, your blog, Tom Welling...
Labels: babble, eccentricities, humor
02 January 2008
Chic Women: Eva Green
Image sources imdb, thecinemasource.com, glennkenny.premiere.com
Labels: chic and stylish, chic women
01 January 2008
Tragic!
Thanks!
Sophia
Labels: blog life
Voguing
"Penetrating the tight-knit community of minority drag queens living in New York City, Jennie Livingston's acclaimed documentary was one of several films to be shut out of Oscar contention for its unconventional content, prompting the academy to reevaluate its standards in the face of critical backlash. The film offers an early glimpse at the art of "voguing," the underground dance style popularized by Madonna in her No. 1 single "Vogue."-netflixApparently there is another documentary called How do I look which chronicles the modern voguing scene, unfortunately this is not available on netflix.
Labels: art, babble, current events