Where It’s At: The Beguiling Butterfly

One of the favorite memories of my life was the time my family and boyfriend went to Los Angeles on a summer vacation and visited a wild animal park where there was a butterfly sanctuary. I could not believe the bevy of butterflies, all sizes and shapes and colors, some of which glistened of vivid metallics, completely defying description. It was overwhelming.

It just so happened that I had drenched my body in a perfumed cream that morning, and the butterflies took a liking to it. Within minutes, my legs and arms were covered with butterflies, lingering on my limbs in the most glorious way. They were trying to extract nectar from the scent.

Soon, children, in utter awe, clustered around me with outstretched fingers and wonder in their eyes, begging to touch the exquisite floating gems and looking at me as though I was some kind of miracle. It was a magical moment and one I will never forget.

I’ve never seen so many butterflies in all my life…until now. Ever since we witnessed Jean Paul Gaultier’s tribute to the breathtaking butterfly at Paris Fashion Week, above, we’ve seen many a butterfly flutter by. Here are some of my favorite fashionable interpretations of these wonders with wings.

Sergio Rossi’s filigree butterfly laser-cut leather & satin sandal, $1,150 at Saks Fifth Avenue, feature a 4.5-inch metal-detailed heel! Super sexy.

Giuseppina magazine is only slightly obsessed…check out their two covers in a row featuring the fabulous butterfly…

…A sparkling crown adorned with butterflies, above, graces the cover of the magazine.

Butterflies can be worn embellishing the hair, as seen inside Giuseppina. Could these gilded butterflies be the ones William Shakespeare wrote of in King Lear? Perhaps.

Couture milliners are churning out high-fashion hats adorned with the pretty little things, and headdresses and fascinators are a recently-emerging trend amongst the avant-garde, as seen in this chicly unique confection created by the very talented Polish milliner, Hania Bulczynska, of Lallu Chic. I love them so much that I got one for myself, designed by New York milliner Anya Caliendo and featured in Vogue Italia.

The butterfly takes a decidedly dark turn, above, when you choose a deeper color paired with a dramatic black lip. Fab!

You can buy fake butterflies at craft stores and use eyelash glue to attach the delicate creatures to your face, neck, arms and decolleté. It makes a memorable presentation for special events and nights out in the city. Check out our story on butterflies featuring Jean Paul Gaultier and fabulous butterfly makeup tips.

Is it possible to become friends with a butterfly? “It is if you first become a part of nature,” writes Japanese author Haruki Murakami in his intricate, dream-like fiction novel, 1Q84. “You suppress your presence as a human being, stay very still, and convince yourself that you are a tree or grass or a flower. It takes time, but once the butterfly lets its guard down, you can become friends quite naturally.”

“I come here every day, say hello to the butterflies, and talk about things with them,” Murakami continues. “When the time comes, though, they just quietly go off and disappear. I’m sure it means they’ve died, but I can never find their bodies. They don’t leave any trace behind. It’s like they’ve been absorbed by the air. They’re dainty little creatures that hardly exist at all: they come out of nowhere, search quietly for a few, limited things, and disappear into nothingness again, perhaps to some other world.”

Ethereal and otherworldly in nature and also in beauty, fashion and fiction, taking center stage is the beautiful, beguiling butterfly.