Inspired Image: Jenn from Department of the Interior

Hello my name is Jenn Lore.

You can find me at Department of the Interior, my DC-based design blog and on Twitter @JennL

This image comes from Slim Aarons, the late photographer famous for his portraits of the wealthy, tanned and impossibly glamorous jet-set of the 1950s, 60s and 70s. This particular image comes from El Venero, the Moorish villa of Hector and Chico de Ayala in Marbella, Spain and was taken in 1971.

It inspires me to channel the exotic and mysterious in my everyday life. My natural instincts compel me to always show all of my cards. A coworker tells me my hair looks great, my response is a half-joking, “Well that’s because I actually brushed it today.” A friend compliments my outfit, I say, “Oh, please this was the only decent thing not on the floor.”

To me, this image evokes a time (perhaps imagined) when sophistication was something that could not be bought at your local mall. It was a lifestyle, and a particular way of carrying yourself that was accessible not only to the heirs of industrial capitalist fortunes, but also to someone like your mother or grandmother who always remembers to put on her lipstick and wouldn’t dream of telling her neighbor she hadn’t done laundry in two weeks.

I particularly love the way Aarons shot the scene from a distance. It is much like the way a wildlife photographer would shoot a pride of lions or the way that Ansel Adams would have shot a snow-capped mountain. The distance between the subjects and the viewer is a reminder that this is something apart from you; rare and exotic. And it was. Lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous didn’t air until 1984, and US Magazine wasn’t yet printing photos of celebrities pushing strollers captioned, “Stars come within three feet of their offspring. They’re just like US!!”

It makes me feel open to an adventure, and honestly, quite willing drop everything to jet off to Palm Springs with a band of wealthy, international nomads. (a la Don Draper, Mad Men season

The three words it conjures up are intrigue, glamour and true luxury.


*Note from Amy: How rad is Jenn's blog name?! I just Love it! Happy Friday everyone. I know I'm very relieved to have nearly made it through this week (have I mentioned that getting a magazine to the printer is a ton of work? Because it is! Good thing I love my job!) and am looking forward to a relaxing weekend. And thankfully, it seems like the sun is finally going to join us, so hooray for that!