Madcap Mavericks

I first heard about the Isabel Toledo when Michelle Obama wore one of her designs at the president's inauguration. I filed it away in the back of my brain, to let that titbit of info collect dust. But then came across a lovely post about the Toledo's here and felt compelled to find out more about them. They are incredibly incredible. They are madcap mavericks. They are completely compelling.

'He's visualizing my feelings'. Fashion Designer Isabel Toledo, on her collaborative relationship with her artist husband. [papermag 2003]

[The Toledos]

[Working it]

"If I make a dress that's totally ugly, I know that it is going to have babies." Isabel

[New york, New York]

[Ruben's raw talent]

[The two of us]

Papermag: How do you describe what you do?

Isabel: I don't. It's like describing my insides, and I've never looked at my insides.

In the interview, Isabel goes on to explain that she's not a 'visual person', Ruben is that part of the equation and 'he has no choice but to be a part of it (designing clothes)'. Isabel then gives an example of how their constant conversation goes:

IT: I might say, "I want to feel the line yanking underneath my arm," or "I want tension here. I want this to be a huge garment, but make sure it fits beautifully on the neck as well as on the bottom of the sleeve. I want to feel the air between that huge garment and me." And he'll draw it. I have a library of sketches, or what I call our constant conversation.

Isabel is completely quotable. She also uses hula hoops to exercise. If you are a snoop like me, Woody Allen used their amazing apartment in Melinda & Melinda. But I'll leave the final word about Isabel to Ruben:

It's her eyes: They're so mystical. They're like looking into some other world. There's so much soul in her eyes. It's like a poem that you can't quite understand, ever. It's all about mystery. And she always keeps it, you know. She breathes mystery. It's not about explaining everything; it is about letting it be a mystery. I love that.

Trigger point

[Valentino Vamp]

This picture is an uncanny replication of my physio session yesterday.

My legs awkwardly thrown in the air, bottom exposed and a look of pain + helplessness on my face, as my physio (a muscle bound, ex-rugby player) did trigger pint massage on my right gluts. Ouch.

I have a pile of stretching and strengthening exercises to do, but a return to running is looking likely for the weekend ahead. Booyah!

Oh this happy day

I'm feeling a bit lackluster and lazy at the moment.

It doesn't help matters that it feels as though I have a nail wedged into my right shin and a bottle of clag has been poured into my right hip joint.

So I had to reluctantly forego my long run this morning (read: my Mother held my running shoes ransom and demanded I rest these silly injuries).

With ample time on my hands I went in search of pretty pictures and was quickly distracted. Suddenly the day is looking a little bit more lustrous, albeit lazy.

[gracia and louise]

[Valentino vamp]

[hit the wall]

[Valentino vamp]

[Liam Stevens]

[Vintage poster]

[Kate Shaw]

Lots of these were found through the divine blog: Where the Lovely things are.

Aqua

So "the party" has hit the water. My local pool has been advertising aqua zumba for a while. I'm not sure what is more alarming:

- I will probably been pulled to rescue after five minutes as I'm not the most proficient swimmer and I look like I'm drowning when I attempt zumba on dry land or

- the fact that I've been eagerly anticipating the class since they put the poster up. Literally foaming at the mouth excited.

Perhaps I need to find more parties to go to.