Feel like a woman...wear a dress!

"Feel like a woman...wear a dress!" I love that quote from Diane von Furstenberg. Pretty much sums up her design philosophy and how she made a name for herself. Of course, she married a man with lots of money who funded her little dress business and if that wasn't enough of a reason to hate her, she also has quite a fabulous collection of homes.

The first three photos are of Diane's pied-a-terre in Paris designed with help from the designer Francois Catroux. You can really get a sense of her love of travel in the mix of textiles and prints in her apartment. It's a love that also extents to her famous fashion line. There is a great mix of antiques and contemporary art that is present in every home as well.

She's got quite a collection of Hermes boxes in the Paris apartment as seen in the dining room above. I wonder what she bought!

Diane von Furstenberg's new 14th Street building in New York not only houses her new shop but her office above and a glass room atop the building where she can sleep, do yoga and meditate. Lucky her!

But her real oasis of serenity and inspiration is her 75-acre Connecticut estate called Cloudwalk below. She bought it in 1974 on her 27th birthday and at the end of her marriage to Prince Egon von Furstenberg. This refuge from the insanity of life is where she goes to enjoy nature and spend time with family and friends. Perhaps, she'll go there after the insanity of fashion week is over!

The one thing you notice about all of her homes and her office are the books! You'll have to excuse the bad scanned image with the rip down the middle below but I just had to show her amazing library at Cloudwalk. The room also converts into a screening room and has armchairs by Adnet and a 1920's Orientalist painting above the fireplace. I dream of having a library that big someday. Sigh.

It's hard to imagine that the newest incarnation of Diane von Furstenberg's company has only been around for the last 10 years. She's a been a very busy woman but it really seems like she enjoys life and has fun. So why not wear a dress in her honor and feel like a woman! Unless of course you're a man, in which case, that might not be the best idea.