The White Canvas Operation

FIVE (Sunny P.O.V)

Picture: 'Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss' by Antonio Canova. 1793 

'White Canvas Operation' phase six: shopping.

Carolina Herrera store, 954 Madison Ave, New York.

It wasn't easy, not at all, and it took us all day. I'm exhausted... it's a good thing that Mrs. Herrera has decided to put these comfortable armchairs if front of the dressing room of her store. The truth is that this is my fault. I started taking Stella to my favourite shops: Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Prada, Dior and Dolce & Gabbana. They aren't my favourites because of the quality of their clothes or their design but because of the situation: they're all very close on Madison Avenue so we didn't need to walk up and down the street every time I went shopping with Cassie, therefore it took us less time when she wanted to buy me a present. I've never cared that much about last trends in fashion and my only condition is that my clothes must be colourful and of good quality, those stores meet my requirements and it's easy to find at least one garment that I like. But my little trick hasn't worked with my guest. Mainly because she needs to buy a complete wardrobe and one shirt from here and one skirt from there isn't enough. But above all because I've made the mistake of not asking her what she likes and which kind of style she feels more comfortable wearing. After leaving frustrated the fourth store carrying only three bags, and one of those was her perfume Egoïste by Chanel, I realize that I needed a change of strategy and suddenly everything went better than I expected.

Stella also likes colours although she prefers them more sober, less bright than me, she likes clean and pure straight lines, a classic and timeless style on her formal clothes and with a biker or a rock and roll star touch on her casual clothes, and she has a tendency to choose garments with a masculine cut even if she's bought two long evening gowns with the style of a Greek tunic too. Once I had all that information compiled, our shopping day became easier.

We had our first success with Alexander McQueen where she bought several sneakers, shirts, jackets and pants both in menswear and womenswear sections of the store. We went to Hermés looking for shoes, bags, boots, belts and kerchiefs, also to Ferragamo and Allen Edmons, a men's store I've never been before but I loved it and I even bought a pair of casual shoes made of braided leather that will be very comfortable to walk around the city. We enjoyed a relaxing time right after a quick lunch in Elizabeth Arden, where we got a massage and she bought some cosmetics, soap and make-up. She has three new Tom Ford tuxedos and a long black dress with asymmetric neckline that fits her like a glove. We found her casualwear and sportswear at Desigual, Lacoste and Nike and then we spent more than two hours at Abercrombie & Fitch. At that moment we had to call Mr. Rupert's son so in order to take home all the bags we were carrying despite several stores sent our purchases directly to the apartment. We also spent some time at Intimissimi, Agent Provocateur, La Perla, Ralph Laurent and Tommy Hilfiger, where once again she took a look at both sections: menswear and womenswear. Stella opened my mind to a new world of options that I never thought before above all if you like shirts, sweaters, jackets and polo shirts. I must admit that I've bought a couple of new things for me too.

And now we're here at Carolina Herrera. Stella wasn't fully convinced at first, too feminine for her taste she said, but I insisted. It's hard to go wrong with Mrs. Herrera and her clothes line for business women: her slacks, shirts and suits are superb. Suddenly, the dressing room curtain is pulled back and Stella walks out wearing white straight leg pants with a white cotton blouse embroidered with red geometric details, it has an ethnic touch but it's elegant, suitable for a business lunch but also for a not very fancy dinner adding a good pair of stilettos, clutch and jewels. She puts her hands in the pants pockets and checks critically her reflection in the mirror tilting her head. Wow... she looks beautiful. Cassandra always had an eye for pretty things...