2 Comments Posted on Bohemians

The Quintessential Bohemian: Laren Stover

 

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Laren Stover is the author of The Bohemian Manifesto: a Field Guide to Living on the Edge.  It is a literary treasure with the most beautiful illustrations by Izak Zenou.

Laren has the beauty, elegance, style and curiosity that perfectly captures a true Bohemian.

This Manifesto is so exquisite to own I cannot tell you how many times it has uplifted me in moments of melancholy and I always get swept away by the romanticism of Bohemianism every time I gaze at the pages. 

 

 

Laren Stover

She is the Editor-at-Large of Faerie Magazine  Stover has also published a darkly comedic novel called Pluto, Animal Lover: A Novel

Begin 2017 with a Bohemian Bang akin to the sound of champagne Muselets catapulting on the walls of a Nouveau Bohemian’s Upper East Side apartment in the Winter… Well you’re not going to stay in the freezing abode of your Beat or Zen Bohemian friend’s place… Nouveau’s are your friends in Winter they can afford heating and food! Zens and Beats are for the Summer when you’re On The Road… Dandy’s are your all seasons friends because they’re always so charming and chic! But wait what kind of Bohemian are you? There is a delightful Quiz at the end of this Quirky Field Guide to tell you which one you are…

If you’re someone who relishes in curious details from counterculture style, to bohemian must-reads (yes there’s a reading list) then this book is for you. The most charming pages of all are the Case Studies which tell you where these curious creatures live, work and their background. So charming, so dreamy! This book will make you delve into Bohemian Consciousness and maybe make you feel less alone about the freedom and rebellion we crave.

Oona the Actress: Case Study

“Oona is tall Swedish and, unbeknownst to her Bohemian friends, a princess. All her actor friends live in squalid Lower East Side, Brooklyn or Harlem apartments. Flickering lights in hallways, mattresses on the floor, candles in wine bottles, crooked stairs. She was jealous!”

If glamour, creature comforts and beauty still can’t quite escape you then have a peak at The Bombshell Manual of Style. The allure of dazzling beauties became another one of her anthropological quests as she felt they were an “exotic species” as discussed on The Early Show in her interview for the book. The interview was conducted by Lisa Birnbach, author of The Preppy Handbook.)  Another video teaser of the book to watch.

Laren On Bombshells: 

“A bombshell believes in her fantasies, she may be wearing a rhinestone bracelet but in her mind it’s Cartier… She doesn’t need to be perfect she still believes she’s a Goddess.”

Purchase The Bohemian Manifesto here.
The Blurb:

Bohemianism is a way of life, a state of mind, an atmosphere. It is not a trend, its a timeless movement. It is about living beyond convention. THE BOHEMIAN MANIFESTO explores and joyfully celebrates the creativity, the originality, and the splendor of a lifestyle and spirit shared by free-thinking, free-living artists, poets, writers, sculptors, musicians, and intellectuals. This is the first book to distill and categorize all the ingredients of Bohemian life. In a witty and engaging style, Laren Stover examines the contents of a Bohemians closet, bathroom, and bookshelf. She explains the allure of absinthe, why it isn’t wise to leave a Bohemian unattended in your home-you could return to find nude nymphs painted on your lamp shades-and how to identify what type of Bohemian you might be.

For the Bombshell in your life or those seeking a New Year Makeover get this book!
The Blurb:

In this glittering beauty and lifestyle guide packed with pearls of wisdom, Laren Stover has compiled everything a woman needs to know to live the Bombshell life: from how to dress and make an entrance to what to eat and where to shop. It tells readers what makes a Bombshell tick; road-tested outfits for 25 occasions; must-have Bombshell sleepwear, handbags, and fragrances; what’s in the Bombshell library; and what she looks for in a man. With scads of little-known facts about real-life bombshells like Liz, Mae, and Lana this fun and ever-so-practical little book is certain to bring out the inner Bombshell in every woman.

Connect with Writer, Editor & Melancholy Connoiseur Laren Stover

LarenStover.com
Instagram: @Faerie_Style
Twitter: @Reine_Des_Fees

Read her article for The Paris Review: Pimped for a part

Laren for The New York Times:

Leave a comment Posted on Film, Randomness

Film review: Metropolitan

Metropolitan

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Doomed   |      Bourgeois      |        In Love

“Manhattan, Christmas Vacation, not so long ago…”

Oscar Nominated for Best Original Screenplay this film takes you into the lives of Manhattan’s elite. They’re young, beautiful yet doomed. A group of preppies sans Gossip girl overtones after all this was released before text messages even existed. It’s a nuanced debut film by Director and Screenwriter Whit Stillman.  Stillman made Serena a chic name in books, film and TV. He paved the way for beautiful and damned Manhattanites found in Cruel Intentions alongside Gossip Girl the book series and its eventual mega-hit TV show.

Whit Stillman’s first film speaks to danger of the American élite becoming as obsolete and absurd as Europe’s titled aristocracy.

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The film still above the original “you can’t sit with us” scene.

Meet the U.H.B. Urban Haute Bourgeoisie pronounced “Uhhb.”  You have Tom the auburn haired fellow with a penchant for socialism and is conflicted by his views on privilege to fully mingle with his new preppy friends. Audrey is in love with Tom, but he can’t get over Serena. The dark haired guy in the above photo is the dashingly witty Nick who serves the best lines:

“The Surrealists were just a bunch of social climbers.”

“Playing strip poker with an exhibitionist somehow takes the challenge away.”

“Rick Von Slonecker is tall, rich, good looking, stupid, dishonest, conceited, a bully, liar, drunk and thief, an egomaniac, and probably psychotic. In short, highly attractive to women.”

It’s a subtle plot. You are essentially spending the holidays in a W.A.S.P. way. There’s stimulating conversation and a foreboding of economic uncertainty present by the fact that even these privileged kids face the prospect of downward social mobility and that even these lucky kids see themselves as Charlie puts it “doomed.”

Tom Townsend once belonged, not to this particular set of friends but to their world: Prepdom.  Since his parents divorce he has lost his privileged access and lives as an ‘outsider’ in Upper West Side. Though he’s in love with the resident Preppy It Girl Serena Slocum, who is with Baron Von Sloneker who Nick detests and labels titled Aristocrats as “scum of the earth.”

Tom kind of annoys me: “I don’t read novels I prefer good literary criticism.”

Audrey is adorable and there’s not much revealed about Jane who looks like an American cousin of Nigella Lawson.

It’s witty, interesting and a traditional depiction of an extraordinary class. It’s delightful and there’s none of the stress and drama found in contemporary depictions of rich kids. You’ll either love it or you won’t. It’s an enjoyable film for those that get it.

 

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Purchase the film on DVD 

More about Whit Stillman

whit_stillman

Twitter: @WhitStillman
IMDb profile

Other films by him:
The Last Days of Disco
Barcelona
Damsels in Distress

Leave a comment Posted on Confessions

My initial reluctance…

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Another blogger confession going deeper on the last post.

Originally I felt compelled to blog because I really didn’t have any friends, moreover nobody to talk to about the things I like and have that dialogue. There was not and still not one soul on this planet who knows what my favourite song/film/book is. Sometimes facing this reality feels devastating. In the Western world, generally speaking, you have that identity, people that know and care about you get the privilege to hear and share these treasures. So how do you cope when you don’t have that? Enter blogging….

I guess that’s why I’ll blurt out a song with it’s lyrics across this blog. Yet also the reason why I have shied away from writing about the things I love on this website. Putting this kind of information out there actually limits my chance of true connection. Because heck people could just Google you…

I’m still stuck in that same unknown state. Of course I appreciate anonymity. (I don’t like taking selfies.) But it’s that human connection of being known by a small circle of friends that is typical of life in a ‘developed’ country that I still continue to lack despite my efforts to redress it. I’ve lost out on a lot of life and maybe the balance doesn’t really get restored and that’s what I’m trying to deal with. You have to give up the hope because the hope is what can weigh you down.

Ultimately it is blogging that has paved the way for me get certain types of opportunities and increase my chance of some kind of interaction with others. So I have to give it all that I have. I have to give up the hope and the dream that someday, somehow I would actually make genuine connections where there’s a real like-mindedness because now that I’m online, sincerity from others becomes more hazy…

 

 

1 Comment Posted on Confessions

Blogger confession:

Hey guys,

So 2016 has been a year of highs that were astronomical and unpredictable as well as full of lows. My promise for 2017 is to make this blog more focused on championing awesome talent, helping you to discover new talent and showcasing hidden treasures.

I don’t feel I’ve made this happen as much as I’d have liked this year partly because I was so busy and my poetry took off in ways I couldn’t imagine and also because of a secret.

The reveal…

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I have major reservations about being online, being a blogger, having my face on the internet. Much of this drive to write online was naively fueled by wanting to make friends.

A dread about writing online the things I like is that someday just when I think I’ve made a real connection with someone it turns out that the person has probably just read about me online and the connection and seemingly similar interests were fake or perhaps they sincerely did like me/want to get to know me, so read about me on my blog as a way to get to know me and ingratiate themselves to me.

Either way, I’m done. I’ve just given up the hope. You end going that long without friends and the opposite sex that having it in your life would only become a hassle. A foreign concept.

So here goes, in 2017 I will ensure to give you satisfying and enriching reviews of the books, film and art that I really like. I’ll just put it out there…

It’s really just all about My Readers because without you I wouldn’t be able to write books. You guys me the world to me!

Also be sure to follow me on Twitter: @CattVaughan as I hold occasional Giveaways of my books I’ve published or films and books that I adore.

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