Announcing the Winners!

Let's party!! It is time to announce the winners of my blog giveaway. I wish I could offer a token of my appreciation to all that participated. Thank you for your feedback. It really was a pleasure to read your comments.


The winner of a copy of the newly released French Essence by Vicki Archer is Janet of FrenchBlue.












The winner of the Coco Avant Chanel dvd is High Heeled Life.














And the winners of my art notecards are Nathalie of Dolce Dreams and Laura of The Beau Monde Gallery.

If you are a winner, please email me at your earliest convenience so that I can arrange shipping to you.

Marie Antoinette's Birthday and Blog Giveaway

Marie Antoinette in Riding Costume by Antoine Vestier, 1778

Today marks Marie Antoinette's birthday as well as the two year anniversary of Fashion is my Muse (or pretty close to it). It has been an adventure beyond my wildest dreams. Blogging has expanded my horizons as both an artist and a writer and I'm thrilled to have made so many delightful friends along the way.

After 350 posts, I look back and marvel at the opportunities that have come my way, the books I've read, the exhibtions I've seen, and the people I've met - all under the premise of entertaining and enriching my audience which now approximates 20,000 visitors a month.

At the beginning, my niavity was plainly evident. I didn't watermark my photos and soon discovered them on sites all over the internet. And it took me more than six months before I even knew about site counters!! There have been times when, I've been tempted to walk away from it. But the blog seems to have a life of its own and my loyal fans and followers have kept me going.

It is in the spirit of friendship and celebration that I would like to offer a giveaway to my readers. The prizes include:
1. A copy of Vicki Archer and Carla Coulson's book French Essence: Beauty, Style and Ambience which will be released in the USA on November 11, 2010 and shipped directly to the winner from Amazon. (I admire their work so much and wanted to show my support. Plus, I know many of you have been patiently awaiting this release!). 
 

2. A copy of Coco avant Chanel dvd with Audrey Tautou



3. Notecards featuring my Red dress series illustrations

Please tell me your favourite post or type of post (book reviews, exhibition reviews, history of dress, examples of my art work) from the last two years and you could win one of the prizes. You do not have to have a blog but you must include an email address so I can contact you if you win. If you are already a follower, please remind me of that and you get an extra chance to win. Blog links, tweeting, and sharing on Facebook all add extra chances to win.

The giveaway closes on November 15th and winners will be announced the following day.

Movie Review: Coco Chanel From Director Christian Duguay

Shirley MacLaine is an improbable Chanel. Granted she has the gravelly voice and is both eccentric and cantankerous, but somehow I could never really believe that she embodied the elegant Coco Chanel (especially with her heavy American accent).  Obviously, that is just my opinion because Shirley MacLaine received a Golden Globe nomination for this role but I was thankful that her role in the movie was relatively small.

Told in a series of flashbacks, this movie plays loose and fast with the story of Chanel's life. If you have read a great deal about Chanel, you may find this disconcerting, as I did. For example, there is a scene where Chanel orders a young male groom to drop his jodhpurs so that she can wear them riding instead of the long and cumbersome woman's riding habit. I also thought the costumes were somewhat weak, particularly when it came to a bland, ill-fitting sweater that the young Chanel, played by Barbora Bobulova, wears repeatedly in numerous scenes early in her adult life.

In spite of its many flaws, the movie is amusing and a must-see for die-hard Chanel fans, if only to allow comparison with the many other movies about Chanel's life. If any of my readers would like my dvd, please leave me a comment including your score on the Coco Questionnaire and I'll do another giveaway draw at the end of the week. This giveaway is limited to readers from Canada and the USA.

Coco Chanel
Directed by: Christian Duguay
Length of Movie: 139 Minutes
Rating: 14A
2008