CdG Style™:  Elegance meets Simplicity

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My childhood memories are extraordinarily strong – and are an endless source of inspiration.
In one of my earliest, I am playing with a box full of sparking gemstones which belonged to my grandfather.
Another has me looking up at my Aunt Annemarie and seeing rubies, emeralds and diamonds.
Being awed by those beautiful jewels, even though I didn’t know their names.
In my memories, my father’s family embodied glamor and classic elegance.

Maman had a slightly different style. She was simple elegance personified.
French elegance. Grace and style, coquette and chic.
She would always wear a necklace. Pearls, gold Huguenot cross, a small diamond.

We didn’t have much money, but my father would give her beautiful rings when he could afford it … which was rare.
She treasured all he gave her.  My mother’s simplicity, grace and pure beauty made a profound impression, teaching me that ‘less is more’.

Maman embodied Coco Chanel’s belief that “Simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance”.
Papa’s family proved Coco was right when she said “A woman can be over dressed but never over elegant”.
These two spirits have helped to shape my own artistic sensibilities – giving me an instinct for the subtle balance between glamour and elegance,
between fashion and style. And they inspire almost everything I do.