Metropolitan Museum of Art - Part 2

Jacqueline de Ribes — The Art of Style

Gossip Girl here. ;-) Follow me on Instagram! ✖️⚪️✖️⚪️, 💋 @suzannespiegoski

Happy Hump Day, y'all! Yesterday's post I reflected on some of my personal favorites at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Today I'm sharing the Costume Institute’s Fall 2015 newest exhibition, Jacqueline de Ribes: The Art of Style, which focuses on the internationally renowned style icon Countess Jacqueline de Ribes. She is one of the most celebrated fashion personas of the 20th century. A designer herself, she was also a muse to many — and was quickly recognized as the quintessential of French style. She is a classic but modern – beauty, like Audrey Hepburn, whose elongated neck, refined profile and couture clothes were well known to fashionistas here in New York as well as Europe. Emilio Pucci called her “Giraffina,” or “baby giraffe”; Yves Saint Laurent called her “an ivory unicorn”; Oleg Cassini found her “elegant to the point of distraction”; and Valentino named her “the last Queen of Paris”. She eventually went professional in the 1980s after raising money on her own and was no longer held back by her aristocratic in-laws from pursuing her career, officially becoming a commercial designer. It is very clear from this exhibition that Jacqueline's taste and style were timeless as opposed to trendy. In fact, her clothes are so classic – whether she designed them or simply chose them from the couture houses of others, it’s hard differentiating which decade they were made. I guarantee you, you could step into any of her clothes and feel magnificently dressed. The exhibition is on view in The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Anna Wintour Costume Center until February 21, 2016. If you're at all into fashion, this is a must-see! Now let's go take a look inside! (Scroll down to see more photos from the exhibition.)

Love & xx's,

Entrance to the exhibition. Jacqueline de Ribes, 1955
Photograph by Richard Avedon, © The Richard Avedon Foundation

Photos of Jacqueline de Ribes through the years.

The many, many magazine articles on Jacqueline de Ribes with family and friends.

"Narcissism" photograph of Jacqueline de Ribes by Richard Avedon for The New Yorker magazine.

"My mirror, my only truthful advisor." -Jacqueline de Ribes

Yves Saint Laurent haute couture A/W 1980-81

Costume du Bal Oriental, 1969. Isn't this some supreme inspo or what?!

The Masked Ball Series. "Ball's were not for one's amusement, they were for being ravishing." -Jacqueline de Ribes

Fringe Envy.

"Glamorous people bring something to others. They are seductive, attractive—and it has nothing to do with frivolity. Glamour sticks to people. An object is not glamorous, but places where people go are glamorous. That's why New York is the glamour capital of the world." ♥

YSL Love.

Exquisite colors for evening wear.

A Christian Dior haute couture gown owned by Jacqueline de Ribes.

Flights of Fantasy.

"Elegance. It's an attitude. A frame of mind. An intuition, a refusual, a rigor, a research, a knowledge. The attitude of elegance is also a way of behaving." -Jacqueline de Ribes.

Portraits of Samia

Last month after sifting through hundreds of photos I come across on Instagram daily, I stumbled upon a face I immediately felt drawn to. Samia is six feet of intense beauty. A sense of extreme curiosity compelled me to message her and see if she'd even be interested in collaborating together.  It's not as common as you may think, (perhaps it's because I'm a tad shy when it comes to reaching out to people for the purpose of photographing someone. Or maybe it's because I took a long hiatus from photography in itself.) But I have never been the type to be as forthright as I was when I contacted her. I was pleasantly surprised when she replied back right away.

My hiatus consisted of writing my first novel as well as working as a figure skating coach, which explains the break. It's can be tough when you're passionate about multiple projects!  I've been wanting to update my portfolio for some time now. I think MaQ was the one who led me back to the camera since I've been pretty keen on only photographing him besides everyday snapshots of my husband and friends. And now with the blog, it's become second nature. I love documenting our journey together and sharing it with you guys!

For me, it's not just about a photo. It's about telling a story; a conversation; a conflict. A photograph is worth a thousand words as they say, and I think what makes photography truly special, is the constant absorption we receive from each photo made. Sure it should be technically sound but the affect it has on it's viewers is what matters most to me. Photos should make you feel something. I love portraits that make me feel like I already know the person but what I love even more is how it can make me want to get to know someone I don't already know. Especially strangers. Not only are you getting to know each other but you're always learning from each other.

I'm a total people-watcher. As a writer, all you interesting folks bring such inspiration when it comes to creating characters. The art of observing is what motivates me to bring them to life. I, however, never click and tell on who and where it's originated from. :)

Scroll down for more photos of Samia! You can catch more of this beauty on her Instagram.

Interested in a photoshoot together? I'm always happy to hear from you!

Message me here or on my personal Instagram account. Happy Monday!

Love & xx's,

maQ + Suz

Remembrance of Trinkets Past

Firstly, I want to thank my readers from the bottom of my heart for your love and support these past few days. Times like these are proven difficult, but because of your acknowledgement and acts of care, it makes the pain endurable. It may never fully go away, but knowing I have people who have my back: please know I will always have yours. Thank you. I am grateful. Always grateful. Just thank you. 

I get out of bed every morning because I want to get up and talk with each and every one of you; to share with you all my life experiences, whether day-to-day or in reflection of the past or future - it's the good, the bad, and yeah, the ugly. What I love about social media, is its power to provide knowledge amidst helping/contributing to the world we live in and to the people who are in it. It should be an efficient tool, not a weapon to manufacture or destroy us.

Here's something I discovered I'd like to share with you today. An amazing company called, CaseApp, allows you to design your own phone case! You can use someone's previously created design or you can custom make one yourself! It can include typography, a collage of some sort... let your imagination run wild! I've been loving the marble trend but I wanted to create something with a little more spunk, basically including a bit more of my style into it.

Since green is my ultimate favorite color besides black, I chose a combination of the two! And voila! Doesn't it look so chic? I think it's perfect for the holiday season! Great for Christmas stuffers/ smaller gift ideas. Want to make your custom iPhone case? Don't have an iPhone? Not to worry, they carry other phone types too! Why not use my promotional code for a 20% discount?! Just enter SPIEGOSKI20 before you checkout. Click HERE to get started! :)

But before you go there's more to these photos than just a phone case. Every year during the month of November, in honor of my mother, I get statice flowers. Statice is also known as a herb and is sometimes called "sea lavender". According to Teleflora, "Its botanical name is derived from the Greek word "limonium," meaning meadow, referring to the plants original habitat and likely why this versatile flower is also called marsh-rosemary." Having a deeper appreciation for flowers and more particularly, in the language of flowers, statice symbolizes remembrance.

I discovered these flowers nearly ten years ago at a girlfriend's apartment, who also displayed them out in the open, in memory of someone she lost when she was only a little girl: her father. Since then, statice has kind of stuck with me. The flower itself is dried up and feels like confetti, yet they're so incredibly beautiful to me. With my mother's profound love for flowers and gardening, I always am reminded of her when I see these and many other kinds of flowers. I can't help but carry some in the house this time of year. I can't help but always have some kind of plant life in the house now. 💜

Every piece of jewelry except the Twin Tiger Bangle belonged to my mother. My father had gifted her with these (and plenty more) throughout their years together. Birthdays, Valentine's Days, Christmases and Anniversaries, they actually eloped in Vegas on Christmas Eve - so Rock -n- Roll by the way guys! These were passed down to me after her passing, some I can barely ever wear to this day because they are far too precious to me. I'll wear the Movado watch for a special occasion of some kind, like when I got engaged. (Oh the irony!) Everything comes in full circle, doesn't it? I believe those heart earrings were a Valentine's Day gift.

The sapphire ring is encrusted with diamonds at the top edge of gold band. This was a Christmas gift to my mother and I received this as a Christmas gift after she passed. My father had given this ring to the two women he loved most in life. I always found this incredibly touching. I still carry, in my memento of mementos, the hand-written letter he wrote when he gave me this ring.

I think the memory of someone is always possible when it comes to jewelry, trinkets, flowers, etc. These tokens of remembrance are significant, and they don't have to be someone. It can be something else, perhaps a place or a first time experience. I have a girlfriend who after becoming quite successful, bought herself a Rolex just because she could. Why? It's not the materialism that comes with the territory, but meaning behind it. In her eyes, time is money. It was now a constant reminder of her sense of urgency. Life is short, so you better damn well make the most of it. 

Like my new phone case from CaseApp, I will now always have the memory of my first time designing my own cover to my iPhone! My meaning behind it? To me green is a peaceful color. Serenity, Light, Earth. And black is well, black. Dark. The opposite of every other color. It's my own version of yin and yang. ☯

Love & xx's,

maQ + suz

Unakite Necklace Giveaway!

Happy Monday! I'm starting this week off with another jewelry giveaway! This month I've teamed up with an Etsy store called Breezy Please run by the amazingly talented Shannon Boyce. Located in Las Vegas, Shannon creates wire wrapped necklaces with chakra stones and other unique pieces like pendents and even earrings.

Ain't she a beaut?! Let me tell you a little more about this precious stone, unakite.

Unakite, also called epidote, comes from the Greek epidosis, which means- growing together. It is a combination of red jasper and green epidote solidly bound, originally first discovered in the Unakas Mountains in North Carolina. From the combo, we get the meaning of what comes together, belongs together.

This is a highly Spiritual stone. It will bring though serenity and optimisim in regards to the future and will also aid your spiritual growth. This is a great stone to use during the difficult times the world is currently going through. Unakite has a protective element within its make-up and will help you to release negative energies and addictions that may be holding you back.

Unakite Jasper is a stone that encourages visionary abilities by opening your psychic vision. It works through the third eye chakra and aids you to visualize what you desire in your life. It also has a powerful vibration within the heart and thymus chakras, also known as the higher heart chakra. The higher heart chakra encompasses love and compassion, as well as love of self.

So how do you enter to win this necklace for FREE? All you have to do is go to the end of this post, like the article, then comment about what you are digging most about this necklace! There are also a couple of extra freebies which are loaded in nothing but positive vibes- I'm including a Quartz piece cell phone charm, which fits into the headphone port on any phone or device AND there is also a little bit of white desert sage and a small quartz point, bad energy be gone!

Now, there is also one other way you can enter! If you have an Instagram account, please go to my IG profile (@suzannespiegoski) and do these 3 simple steps:

1. Like the photo of the necklace. 

2. Follow me @suzannespiegoski and @callmebreezy42

3. Tag 2 friends in the comment section.

The winner will be contacted directly this Friday, 11-6. 👏 Good luck guys! 😘

Got questions? I aim to answer them :) and happily so! Please feel free to fire away down in the comment box or contact me here. You can also catch me on Twitter and Google+ which I'm frequently on.

Have a great week everyone! Stay tuned for upcoming graffiti trending in nyc and a fun, new Korean-infused recipe! Oooooooh..... :)

Love & xx's,

maQ + suz