the last sitting

check out lindsay lohan on this week's new york magazine cover as marylin monroe. the cover story, shot by bert stern, is based on stern's iconic last sitting from 1962, featuring marylin. surely much will be made of li-lo and her personal parallells to marylin's drug abuse story. whatever.


anyway, i have long been a fan of the book which shows an amazing range of emotion in the star, shot over several boozy sessions just prior to her suicide.

probably this is my favorite image, which i first saw on a friend's wall years ago and has made a lasting impression of the woman behind all that legend.



and as for the rest of the photos, it's easier for those of us in a (slightly) later generation to see what all the hype was about, and why so many stars today refer to her.

more books i want

i had to run my off-kilter sewing machine over to hussein at gizmo on 1st avenue this morning for bad behavior. as i glumly walked home i did pop into william wayne on university -- you know, just to see what's in store. this book is too too lovely and i do not have any pics of the inside (er, no way i am paying ww's asking price of $60 when amazon is selling it for $37). but, suffice to say, it's a dress lover's must have. all the great frocks from real life and editorial life. they were also displaying:

for the fashionable scot (or scotophile) in your life. lots of vivienne westwood and ralph lauren as you would guess, and apparently, lots of linda evangelista.

gorgeous french life

oh, i just received this book which was released stateside last week. lovely, lovely pictures and text about the restoration of a 17th century home and property in st. remy de provence. an easy, early holiday purchase for the francophile on your list.