31 Rue Cambon
If the Visiting Coco post from yesterday intrigued you, then you should also be pleased with this video tour of Coco Chanel’s apartment from Vogue.com. (Don’t forget to scroll down and pause the My Little Boudoir Soundtrack) 1
TCM Classic Movie Festival
For all of you fans of the silver screen that live in California, or who can make it there lickety-split, there is a fabulous festival that you must attend! Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is putting on the TCM Classic Film Festival in Los Angeles, California from April 22nd to the 25th. There will be a series of old Hollywood film screenings, including films like Casablanca (starring Ingrid Bergman), Carmen Jones (starring Dorothy Dandridge and Pearl Bailey), Sunset Boulevard (starring Gloria Swanson and Nancy Olson), Pillow Talk (starring Doris Day), Cleopatra (starring Elizabeth Taylor), Some Like it Hot (starring Marilyn Monroe), The Graduate (starring Anne Bancroft) and many many more. What’s…
Vogue (…not the magazine)
As you may have noticed by listening to the My Little Boudoir Soundtrack, I love Madonna’s song Vogue (I also love the magazine). My favorite part of the song is when she names the silver screen movie stars. Here is a visual rendition for your viewing pleasure… Greta Garbo… …and (Marilyn) Monroe… …(Marlene) Dietrich… …and (Joe) DiMaggio… …Marlon Brando… …Jimmy Dean…on the cover of a magazine… …Grace Kelly… …Harlow, Jean (Jean Harlow)…picture of a beauty queen… …Gene Kelly… …Fred Astaire… …Ginger Rogers…dance on air… They had style, they had grace…Rita Hayworth, gave good face… …Lauren (Bacall)… …Katherine (Hepburn)… …Lana (Turner), too… …Bette Davis…we love you… Ladies with an attitude, fellas…
Hollywood History: William Travilla
While the subject of the monthly Hollywood History lesson on My Little Boudoir is typically an actress, this month the lesson will be much different (but not too far away from the roots of My Little Boudoir). Meet William Travilla. He is responsible for this… Born on Catalina Island, just off the California coast, William Travilla had a passion for art from a very young age. He attended the prestigious Chouinard School of Art in Los Angeles, where he was advanced to adult classes at the age of eight. As a teenager, the burlesque clubs that he passed on his way to school began to pique his interest. Before long…
Mademoiselle Monday: Mlle Bailey
“No one can figure out your worth but you.” – Pearl Bailey “Everybody wants to do something to help, but nobody wants to be first.” – Pearl Bailey “I never really look for anything. What God throws my way comes. I wake up in the morning and whichever way God turns my feet, I go.” – Pearl Bailey 0
Reading in the “Littler” Boudoir
During a family outing to the book store one afternoon, I was browsing through the children’s section when I came across a book that I knew I wanted my daughter to have. It was a children’s book titled, Different Like Coco. A biography of sorts about the life of Coco Chanel. I pulled it from the shelf and instantly (and all at once) had to choose my words very wisely, play nonchalant, cross my fingers and say a little prayer, that it wouldn’t be one of those “mom is trying to pass a boring book off as cool, so I won’t want anything to do with it” moments. Thankfully my…
Hollywood History: Nina Mae McKinney
In a society that often defines old Hollywood beauty and talent as Jean Harlow, Marilyn Monroe and Betty Grable, it is important to remember that there were many many beautiful and talented women in old Hollywood that simply didn’t get the exposure they deserved then, and still today, aren’t publicly recognized as the legends that they truly are. One of these women is Nina Mae McKinney. She is the topic of this month’s Hollywood History lesson. Born June 13, 1913* in Lancaster, South Carolina as Nannie Mayme McKinney, to Hal and Georgia McKinney, she was left behind with her Aunt, Carrie Sanders, when her parents moved to New York. During…
Mlle Taylor
“I have a woman’s body and a child’s emotions.” – Elizabeth Taylor 0
First Lady Boudoirs
In honor of President’s Day (ok…ok…so I missed it by one hour and now it’s the day after President’s Day…please forgive me), here is a tour of a few White House boudoirs and private quarters used by First Ladies (and one First Daughter) throughout the years. Which is your favorite? Bess Truman Jacqueline Kennedy Caroline Kennedy Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson Elizabeth “Betty” Ford Nancy Reagan Michelle Obama 3
Thinking Outside the Boudoir: How to Marry a Millionaire
Sometimes it’s about having more than just your Boudoir. It’s about having a fabulous home in general. We often see examples of extravagant homes we would love to own on TV or in the movies. Though there are those that, while not super fancy, we still adore. Maybe it’s because we love the movie or come to feel a kinship with the character. Whatever it is, I know that there are some places that I would like to call my own, even just for a day. Each month, I will share with you a home from a movie or television show that fascinates me. This month, the home is from…
