Fashion fans will fondly remember the glorious Diana Vreeland and if you don't let me introduce you to her. She was the editor of Harper's Bazaar (1936-1962) for 26 years and after looking at the Kim and Kanye cover this month words cannot express how much I miss her! She also worked for VOGUE and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I can't wait to explore the colorful career of Mrs. Vreeland in a future post.
Not only was she at the helm of the most creative and cutting edge fashion publication at the time but she also wrote a monthly column called "Why Don't You" ... Giving readers fabulous and creative suggestions to enhance and brighten their every day life, such as these as seen in the March 1958 / February 1959 issue.
- Paint a map of the world on all four walls of your boys' nursery so they won't grow up with a provincial point of view?
- Cover a big cork bulletin board in bright pink felt banded with bamboo, and pin with colored thumb-tacks all your various enthusiasms as your life varies from week to week?
- Have every room done up in every color green? This will take months, years, to collect, but it be delightful—a melange of plants, green glass, green porcelains, and furniture covered in sad greens, gay greens, clear, faded and poison greens?
- Have two pairs of day shoes exactly alike, except that one pair has thin rubber soles for damp days? Any cobbler can put these on.
- Find one dress that you like and have it copied many times? You will be much more successful than if you try to produce the same effects each evening.
- Have an elk-hide trunk for the back of your car? Hermes of Paris will make this.
- Put all your dogs in bright yellow collars and leads like all the dogs in Paris?
- Order Schiaparelli's cellophane belt with your name and telephone number on it?
- Tie black tulle bows on your wrists?
- Have your bed made in China—the most beautiful bed imaginable, the head board and spread of yellow satin embroidered in butterflies, alighting and flying, in every size and in exquisite colors?
- Rinse your blond child's hair in dead champagne to keep it gold, as they do in France?
As a form of self love and following an over haul of my boudoir I took a page out of Mrs. Vreeland's play book and posed the question to myself, Why don't you ... have fresh white flowers in your room on a weekly basis?
So I did just that. Each week since the end of May I have had a different white flower in my room.... just BECAUSE and why not? For a tiny weekly investment (that likely equates to a cup or two of Starbucks coffee) you can treat yourself and all your senses with fresh flowers in your room or home. It doesn't have to be flowers it could be any little thing you can do for yourself to practice self love / self care. A little gesture like this can go a long way.
So the only question remains; Why don't you?
