Celebrity Baby Pictures: Maggie Gyllenhaal With Daughter Ramona

 Celebrity Baby Pictures: Maggie Gyllenhaal With Daughter Ramona

Maggie Gyllenhaal and her daughter Ramona, 4, were spotted all bundled up in NYC this afternoon. We don’t get to see Ramona too often, so this is a treat!

Maggie’s husband, Peter Sarsgaard is part of the cast of the upcoming movie “Green Lantern” with Ryan Reynolds - so excited to see that one (but so bummed that it’s not out until summer!)

imnotobsessed

Style Crush: Maggie Gyllenhaal

I love Maggie, she is a terrific actress and represents a very small group of actresses that I think fit into a category all there own.  Actresses like Marion Cottiard, Audrey Tautou, Rachel McAdams, .... these ladies are unconventionally pretty women that for the most part, keep themselves away the papparazzi, and just get on with the business of building their careers and living their lives like us normal people.  I like that.

Of course, part of their normal lives is attending world premieres of their movies and often being invited to be the body and face of a major fashion label.  Which I guess is a nice little perk, wouldn't you say?  That and the free clothing!

She's unconventional, takes risks with her clothes and her hair and can wear just about any colour in the spectrum, and quite often does.  J'adore!


Maggie stepped out from brother Jake’s shadow when she starred in the 2002 S&M comedy The Secretary (I love that movie - H). 

Maggie, who is married to actor Peter Sarsgaard, gave birth to the couple’s first child, Ramona, in October 2006.  The Dark Knight star replaced British supermodel Kate Moss as the body of Agent Provocateur in 2007.

The Hollywood actress couldn’t believe she was fronting the raunchy campaign for the French lingerie company so soon after giving birth to her daughter: 

“I never think of it as modeling—it is just like playing a character. I mentally disconnected when I agreed to the Agent Provocateur campaign. Then, suddenly, I’m in my underwear on top of a piano adjusting my garter belt for a picture, having just had a baby. I thought, ‘What? How did I end up here?’”

Maggie says she “mentally disconnected” when she agreed to model underwear for Agent Provocateur.

Maggie also revealed she loves wearing expensive clothes and was thrilled when top designers began sending her free outfits. The 31-year-old brunette star explained to Britain’s ELLE:

“I couldn’t believe it. When they started lending me clothes, I didn’t know what Louis Vuitton was. I love fashion. I think Stella McCartney and Vivienne Westwood are great.”

Maggie Gyllenhaal doesn’t “have motherhood down” (- who does? - H).  Maggie has two-year-old daughter Ramona with husband Peter Sarsgaard – worries she is not giving her child the best start in life because she still works.  She explained: 

“I want to give my daughter the same gift that my mom and my grandmother gave to me, which is the knowledge that, as a woman, I can do anything professionally and personally. I have everything open to me. But that doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy."

“I continue to make lots of sacrifices to make sure my daughter feels comfortable, or at least as comfortable as she can. But I can’t and don’t pretend I have it down.”


Maggie she finds the challenge of motherhood “complicated”, and often feels pained when she leaves Ramona to go to work.  She thinks it would be easier for her daughter if her job had more structured hours, and so has decided only to commit to films which make the wrench of leaving home worth it.

Maggie also appeared in the Miu Miu Spring/Summer campaign in 2004.

“Sometimes I fantasise about staying home with Ramona all day, so that I don’t miss a thing in this amazing two-year-old’s life."

“I’m an artist; I love my job. I feel very, very lucky to be in the position where going to work means I’m feeding myself. As a mother, you have to make sure you do that because that will nourish your child too.”

Maggie's street style is cute and unfettered.  She doesn't care what the critics say about her red carpet choices either.  Some have claimed that they are a tad boring.  What?  Boring?  Hardly!  Here is a woman who knows herself and her personal style perfectly.  Just because they don't look like all the other numbers on the red carpet does not make her boring.  I think she is ultra daring with both her red carpet and her everyday ensembles, something which I admire greatly about her.  I love those days when I feel like trying something different and taking a risk - sometimes it works, sometimes not - the point is to do it!

Ciao for now,

Hx

Sources: Style.com, AgentProvocateure.com, People.com, MiuMiu.com, Elle.co.uk

Marni: a label with a funky aesthetic

Unique is a word I would use to describe Marni.  The words bohemian, eclectic, avant-garde, modern, futuristic and chic also come to mind when I think of Marni.

Born designer are two words I would use to describe Marni Chief Designer, Consuelo Castiglioni.  And born lucky are two more.  Why?  Because she has no training in fashion and yet Consuelo is always ahead of trends, making them - not following them.  But how would I define Marni?

Marni was founded in 1994 and is named after Consuelo Castiglioni's sister, Marni.   Consuelo is also married to Gianni Castiglioni, Marni's CEO.  Marni is one of the few remaining family owned and operated fashion businesses.  The Castiglioni family are manufacturers and suppliers of fur to the great fashion houses of Europe and so it comes as no surprise that the first collection Consuelo designed for Marni was a fur collection.  Her clever designs and presenting it in a way that had not been seen before - non-traditional, easy to wear,  "dyeing it, doing it without a lining, with just a little bit of string to close it," she explained to Vogue in 2007, led to her designing a ready-to-wear line for the label.

Consuelo is known for designing quirky, feminine combinations of bright colors, bold graphic patterns, elaborate fantasy prints, and natural textures. 

    “I design what I like to wear myself. It's how I started and how I continue to work. I do not have a muse, other than different elements that I like.” —Consuelo Castiglioni

The result is wearable and elegant clothing, but offbeat with a funky aesthetic that is ultimately a look that can be worn by women of a broad age spectrum - not something that many labels can claim.

Innovative technical fabrics and over-sized accessories feature prevalently as well as bright neons and crazy mixed-up prints.  Consuelo's signature shapes, tunics, belted sack dresses and cardigans and her quirky grandma magpie aesthetic rings true and is probably my favourite aspect of the label.

The Marni design aesthetic, according to their website is - "Precise attributes, eclectic style, especially researched, refined materials and a production quality that ensures garments maintain a tailored aspect. The whole infused with a creativity that makes Marni collections unique in the fashion landscape."  Using silks, cashmeres, fur and other couture fabrics, Consuelo conceptualises creations that cross the lines between avant-garde and couture clothing.  Marni "prides itself on its Italian heritage" - its entire line is made in Italy, and does not have any licensees.

Marni also has a unique view of advertising, saving thousands of dollars by deciding not to use a static advertising image and preferring instead to leave it up to "the editors of the world to express their artistic versatility" and thereby gaining a broad range of editorial coverage in the world's top fashion magazines.  Very clever indeed.

So who is the Marni woman?  What type of woman is she?  I think she is a woman who knows herself very well, she is confident in her style and likes to dress for herself.  She is eclectic, bohemian and of course, chic from top to toe.  Marni has a a cheerful ethic, I feel happy just looking at Consuelo's gorgeous designs.

The label also designs accessories, children's-wear, menswear and rugs.  Castiglioni has ultimately defined Marni as a house of unusual shapes and idiosyncratic prints that have a consummately wearable appeal.  "When I wear a Marni piece, it feels like it was made specifically for me."

- Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, a devoted fan of Marni.  Other fans include Gwyneth Paltrow, Kyra Sedgwick and artist Cindy Sherman.

Early design features included idiosyncratic prints and vintage-inspired shapes and fabrics; Marni has retained these elements but has become more streamlined.  Other Marni hallmarks include juxtapositions of texture; color-blocking; a palette focused on gray, beige, and blue, in which bright colors are interspersed; and unusual shapes, such as bell hemlines, gathering and asymmetry.

At the Marni Spring '09 show, Consuelo sent down the runway her usual suspects of colourful mixed prints, chunky platforms with knee-socks, signature bags and resin jewellery, reminding us that we don't have to let the doom and gloom of the recession infiltrate our wardrobe. 

Another interesting little tidbit about Marni is their stores.  In tune with their image in movement, the architecture of their stores, designed by Sybarite of London, based on a high-tech concept modified and adapted to each location.  Each store has its own colour theme, "thus ensuring the uniqueness of Marni stores across the planet".

In just over a decade Marni has achieved cult fashion status with eclectic accessories and a cool quirky joi de vivre that has seen Marni become one of Milan's hottest labels and has earned Consuelo Castiglioni a loyal following.

Thank you, Consuelo, for reminding us that fashion is fun.



Thank you to Marni.com, Style.com, Kindom of Style, JakandJil, Shoeblog, I Am Fashion, ChinaDaily, Google.com.