Happy Friday!

A double feature for you today brought to you by hilarious children.

NEW Baby TOMS!

Just a quick post to let you know that TOMS is now officially offering Youth and Tiny TOMS on their website!

SO cute.

Pick up a few pairs today for the cute little nuggets in your life, and a pair will go to a child in need!

Act your age...Dress your shoe size!

The people over at Elle must be avid readers of FYB as this month they have heeded my fashion advice and have decided that one of the hottest Fall trends will be dressing like a child!

Elle ALSO did a spread inspired by Eloise herself a few months back...

What can I say, I am a trendsetter...

SO, because Elle says ChildStyle is in for Fall...I bring you my grownup Kindergarten Inspired finds...

{Romper by Sunner...You must have the body of a child to wear this, if I did, I would...}

{Marc Jacobs always incorporates some childlike whimsy into his collections, like this ring...}

{Or these shoes...}

{Just in case the man in your life isn't willing to go all out...}

{...Hermes ties can add a bit of whimsy to their usual business attire...}

{For an edgier interpretation of the Childlike Trend, try this line...}

{Or for a fancier occasion, Judith Leiber always has a few options...}

{This reminds me of the first day of school}

{Disney Couture has adorable accessories inspired by your animated favorites}

{My personal favorite accessory, the Cynthia Rowley Grosgrain Hair bow...}

Eloise at the Plaza

Although I loved Where The Wild Things Are growing up, without a doubt my most favorite children's book was/is/will always be Eloise at the Plaza.

In fact, look over to your right...See where it says A Bit About Peppermint Bliss:

"I am Bailey.

I am 23.

I am a city child.

I live in Chicago..."

That, my friends, is a direct reference to the famous opening lines of the original Eloise book.

"I am Eloise.

I am six.

I am a city child.

I live at The Plaza."

The beauty of being an American Studies Major is that often you have the opportunity to write "highly academic thesis papers" on things you love, like Eloise. For my Explorations in American Childhood class at UT I wrote an extremely serious paper on the 1957 children's book by Kay Thompson and how:

"Up until this point there had not been a loveable “bad girl” in children’s literature, though there had been several popular “bad boy” characters. The enormous popularity of a character like Eloise in the 1950s reveals a great deal about changing attitudes on girlhood at the time; The enduring legacy of Eloise today reveals even more about American girlhood regardless of generation."

It is all very high brow and intellectual, and if you are interested in my more academic works I am happy to email you a copy, however, for our purposes all you need to know is that the Eloise series is still very much a driving force in my life.

SO!

You can imagine my horror when I found out a few years ago that Donald Trump (Mortal Enemy of Good Taste and Everything Lovely) had bought the ailing Plaza Hotel and was planning on bastardizing it into becoming part of his gold encrusted empire.

So devastated was I that I buried The Plaza and all my girlhood memories deep in the back of my mind until I found THIS delightful nugget in my internet browsing the other day!

"Come to think of it, they actually have a lot in common. Eloise (of “Eloise at the Plaza” fame) and Betsey Johnson (of funky fashion fame), that is. They both have hard-to-tame blonde locks and a girly sense of style, and they both call New York their home.

So it only seems fitting that Ms. Johnson is designing an Eloise suite at the recently refurbished Plaza Hotel, at Fifth Avenue and Central Park South. The two-bedroom suite—to be whimsically decorated in pink and black—has a notable design history.

Past Plaza suite designers have included fashion designer Christian Dior and architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who lived at the hotel for five years during the construction of the Guggenheim Museum.

Ms. Johnson, whose fashion show is scheduled to take place tomorrow at the Plaza’s Palm Court, plans to start work on the suite immediately following the conclusion of fashion week."

Of the project, Betsey herself has said:

"I'm tickled pink to be designing the Eloise room in the Plaza. When I recently moved uptown and my first granddaughter was born I rediscovered Eloise and hoped that something magical would happen between me and my favorite hotel. This is the perfect pink combo!"

BRILLIANT!!

Have I misjudged you, Donald?

Where the Wild Things Are

I don't know about you, but the trailer's for the new Where The Wild Things Are, along with the dawning of Fall, my most favorite season, have left me feeling super nostalgic.

I am not the only one looking forward to this film, as several amazing projects have been popping up inspired by Maurice Sendak of late. 

One of which is the site/art project featured on Terrible Yellow Eyes. As the website describes:

"I don’t remember when I first read Where the Wild Things Are, but I do remember the feelings I had. At the time I lacked the vocabulary to express those feelings and now, how ever many years later, I find myself in the same situation...

{Trip Park}

What I've wanted to do for sometime is make a collection of paintings inspired by Where the Wild Things Are as a tribute and celebration of the book...My goal for this project is really just that, expressing of my love for the story.

{My personal favorite, acrylic on canvas, Shanon Bonatakis}

 

None of the art has been done for any profit but has all been created out of admiration for Maurice Sendak and Where the Wild Things Are.Over the coming weeks and months I'll display a growing collection of works created by invited contributing artists and myself.

 

{Niko Geyer}

We share a love and admiration for Sendak's work and the pieces we present here are done as a tribute to his life and legacy.

{Nicole Gustafsson}

Simply put, like a visual love letter to the book, with Terrible Yellow Eyes I am seeking to celebrate and promote the original masterwork by Maurice Sendak in the best way I know how -- with pictures."

{Paper Engineer Marshall Alexander}

Pretty Groovy if you ask me, head over to the website and check out the many other amazing interpretations of Sendak's famous illustrations. 

Another cool display is featured at Space15Twenty.com. I can't figure out if it is linked to the above project...Either way, this installation features costumes and sets inspired by the book which I believe you can go see if you are in New York!

What do you think of the W.T.W.T.A. film? Do you remember reading the books as a child? Does the trailer capture the feelings you had then? What were the most influential books you read growing up?