The Best of Flair was one of my favorite birthday gifts this year.
It's been on my wishlist since my time at FLAUNT, when their creative director and co-founder, Jim Turner, showed it to me and explained that FLAIR was what inspired them to start FLAUNT (and that they actually tried to get the name FLAIR) and that there are a lot of qualities about FLAIR that they used as the foundation for FLAUNT, such as always having a double cover, one featuring art and one photography, the use of multiple non-standard types of paper, creative die-cut covers and interior pages, and unique fold-out advertisements and mini-booklets printed within another story.
This was also, believe it or not, one of the first luxury coffee table books I'd seen in person, or paid attention to for that matter. I rememeber the striking red slip-case that held the giant book filled with whimsical images and a look that was far ahead of its time.
So seeing how influential FLAUNT was on my entire editorial style and obsession with independent magazines and the actual ART of creating a magazine — you can only imagine how pressed I've been to own a piece of the magazine that inspired them.
The book was always extremely expensive, even on amazon, but a second edition was recently released so I let the beau know it was at the top of my list :) I knew nothing about the editor or how it came to be so it was such a treat to read her introduction and find what kindred spirits we were: "The birth of FLAIR was one of the happiest events of my life. Jewels, race-horses or yachts were not things I wanted. I jumped at the invitation to create a completely personal new magazine — one that would reveal my full inventiveness, my love of art and literature." — Fleur Cowles
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Sixty years after it ceased publication, FLAIR is still one of the most talked-about and influential magazines ever created. / It is remembered for its innovative design and production quality, it's superb coverage of the arts and its intuitive discovery of many artists and writers well before they achieved fame and fortune. The Best of Flair.
Things I loved this year.
The High Priestess of Fashion.
style was a standard. didn't hurt anyone... but you gotta have style. it helps you get down the stairs. it helps you get up in the morning. it's a way of life. without it you're nobody. i'm not talking about lots of clothes.
now brodovitch was the tutor of all these people of harper's bazaar of layout, and many of them had gone to his classes at night. he was a very remarkable man, he loved his white space, he loved empty pages-oh, he couldn't stand me. i mean, i wanted, of course, to put in as much as possible. i only wanted fashion.
style: all who have it share one thing—originality.
UNDER VREELAND, VOGUE BECAME A COMBINATION OF CULTURE, ART, HAPPENINGS, AND VIBRANT FASHION. "I THINK PART OF MY SUCCESS AS AN EDITOR CAME FROM NEVER WORRYING ABOUT A FACT, A CAUSE, AN ATMOSPHERE. IT WAS ME—PROJECTING TO THE PUBLIC. THAT WAS MY JOB. I THINK I HAVE ALWAYS HAD A PERFECTLY CLEAR VIEW OF WHAT WAS POSSIBLE FOR THE PUBLIC. GIVE 'EM WHAT THEY NEVER KNEW THEY WANTED."
can you tell I LIVE for diana vreeland!? i mean. she's just wonderful. hideous and marvelous. in her documentary "
My newest book love. 
I discovered Zing in a shop near the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. It was wrapped in plastic so i had no idea what was inside or where it came from, but I was obsessed with the cover and it's subtitle "a curatorial crossing".
I discovered later that it's been based + published in Brooklyn since 1995.
This issue is from August 2013 so I hope they're putting out a new one soon.
A girlboss is someone who's in charge of her own life.
She gets what she wants because she works for it.
As a #girlboss, you take control and accept responsibility.
You're a fighter— you know when to throw punches and when to roll with them.
Sometimes you break the rules, sometimes you follow them, but always on your own terms.
You know where you're going, but cant do it without having some fun along the way.
You value honesty over perfection.
You ask questions.
You take your life seriously, but you dont take yourself too seriously.
You're going to take over the world, and change it in the process.
You're a badass.
I was super excited for Sophia Amoruso's new book, 
I finally got around to purchasing 
Interestingly enough I've been shying away from fashion— (completely inspired by this Phoebe Philo for Céline post 
These are my favorite quotes:
Q: How do you manage to preserve your creativity?
"Although I've very diplomatic, I've learned not to back down when it comes to my own vision. I stay inside a bubble so I can focus on my own creativity and not feel burdened by outside influences or pressure. I don't live in a fairy tale— anything but. But I remain inside my private, insulated space where I find my inspiration and my freedom."
Have I contradicted myself? Not too long ago I told my mom that I think my goal in life is to be an elegantly aged woman. After learning more about Carine, I think that's true.
Friday I picked up copies of 
R29 recently posted an interview with 
What is your philosophy when it comes to literature?
"The best kind of literature never stops revealing its secrets to you. Each time you open it, it will speak something different. My favorite books are the ones I read once a year or once every few years — not because of the pleasure in it, but because there is still more to learn."
Circa 2009, 
Happy Valentine's Day! 
yea so my plan to photograph and post about all of my favorite books and zines is already off track pretty much due to the ridiculous number I accumulated (on a regular basis) all at once. overwhelmed haha, but so good. 
I am OBSESSED with 
delish.
Getting new magazines/books in the mail is literally as good as christmas to me. I recently picked up 
Thanks to their uber smart new website you can literally shop straight from the pages and easily pull your favorite pictures from every feature.
The