ISABEL GONZALEZ

Senior editor of InStyle magazine and co-author of Latin Chic: Entertaining with Style and Sass (Harper Collins), Isabel Gonzalez is a walking billboard for Latino style.  Isabel sets the design world of the Americas afire as she manifests her "only Isabel" vision on contemporary living.

As she expresses in Latin Chic,  "It's really a one-world view of style;  encompassing cuisine, beauty, lifestyle and design.  The world of fine living should be about a grace and an elegance that is substance, not crass label-madness.”

Born of Cuban expatriate parents who fled the Castro regime, Ms. Gonzalez was the inheritor of both her parents' intellectual pedigrees and her mother's panache for fashion.  A soigne' beauty, Ms. Gonzalez's mother was hand-picked to model by Christian Dior. Of her mother, Isabel recalls, "She was a devotee of Balmain, Lanvin, Balenciaga, and of course, Dior.  My mother wanted anything that Ava Gardener wore that was of the period and la mode.”

Her father landed a professorship at Harvard as her mother modeled at Revillion at Saks Fifth Avenue.  The pair were undeterred by their situation and their loss of station in their native Cuba, but their determination and hard work would be Isabel's richest inheritence.  She avows, “They came with very little…sneaking out some jewels…thank God.  But what they secured by being in the United States, was even more valuable".

Eventually settling in Atlanta, her mother refused traditional Southern decorating concepts; opting for Vasarely, Yaacov Agam, and modern furniture — complete with their "Florida room" of traditional tropical elements and rattan.

In Atlanta, Isabel left a coveted job, as a senior producer at the Cartoon Network, for the great world of print.  As she remembers, “This was right after the Olympics, and Atlanta was becoming more international, more hip, more sophisticated.  The influx of these people added  a new diversity that shifted the cultural mileau,  so I pitched a column to the newspapers about night life and culture, very much a la Michael Musto.  There was so much happening, so many openings of boutiques;  Jeffery's was at its zenith, Nicole Miller had just opened — featured styles were veering away from the conventional — think Pappagallo to Prada."  Her column became so successful, the young Ms. Gonzalez quickly became renown city wide.

After a solid stint as editor of Atlanta City Magazine,  Isabel realized that, "If I want to follow my dream to be in publishing, I'd better go and cut my teeth in New York.”

Moving to New York in 2000,  Ms. Gonzales  moved up the publishing world hierarchy, with a position at  Teen People, and a quick ascention to Editor-in-Chief of Tu Vida, a Hearst Publication targeting Latin Americans. Currently comfortably at roost as senior editor at Instyle, she has been featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post, People, Life, People en Español, Latina, Harper's Bazaar, Food and Wine, and Food and Wine's Annual Cookbook (2007).  Television appearances include "The Today Show", "The View", and "Emeril Live" in which she was featured in a high spirited one-hour special.  Her book,  Latin Chic: Entertaining with Style and Sass, won the International Latino Book Award for Best Cookbook of 2006.

WHAT DIRECTION IS YOUR STYLE COMPASS POINTED TO?
FASHION: I love to keep my eye on Latin designers. Oscar de la Renta,  Narciso Rodriguez, and Carolina Herrera are all untouchable.  I love Edmundo  Castillo, the talent behind Sergio Rossi's towering heels.  I'm digging so much, Isabel Toledo's turn at Anne Klein.  Alvin Valley is a fave with his sharp pants and  an affordable collection at Nordstrom.  Maria Cornejo always nails architectural shapes, while new man on campus, Brian Reyes is sexy chic.  I'm also liking Gustavo Arango's debut sportswear collection for Sharagano .

FABRICS: I love the easy-breezy nature of draped silks and draped silk jersey.  Lanvin's Spring 08 collection shows beautiful knee-length belted draped dresses in rich blues and khakis.

ENTERTAINING: No one throws a more fabulous soiree than Colin Cowie!  His  book, Colin Cowie Chic, drops in December;  it's the one-stop guide for capturing his uber-sophisticated approach to life.

TRAVEL: My husband and I can't get enough of Paris lately. We've been there three times already this year, and we're heading back for New Year's.  We stay at a little boutique hotel in the Marais (Hotel Duo) and grab lunch at La Perle; dinner at Robert et Louise and meet friends at Fish La Boissonnerie across the river.

ANTIQUES:  Since I'm having a Paris moment, I love to escape into the Paris section of 1stdibs!  I've got my eye on two 1940s, blue velvet chauffeuses.

COLOUR: My life — and my wardrobe — would be simpler if I could just stick to black, but I collect the whole spectrum, though I've learned finally that
pastels just don't work for me.

FLORAL: We have a lovely rooftop terrace in NYC which I share with my
neighbor who, unlike me, was born with a green thumb. She's planted roses,
petunias — the gamut.  When she goes out of town, I water, and try very hard not to kill anything.  So far, so good!

BOOK: Ramiro Fernandez's, I WAS CUBA.  Ramiro owns the single largest, privately held collection of Cuban photography, and this book features a mere 400 or so of his stunning images which span more than a hundred years.

MUSEUM: The Louvre's Musée des Arts Décoratifs  — then downstairs for a delicious meal Le Saut du Loup with its incredible view of the Tuileries
and the Eiffel Tower.

MUSIC: Gloria Estefan, Kanye West, Jamie Cullum

RESTAURANT:  A cozy Italian eatery, Celeste, on the Upper West Side is our second kitchen.

HOTEL: The Mandarin Miami for its views, lush bedding and the happy way they always welcome our dog, Starbury.

SHOPPE: I'm in love with the new Theory store in Saint-Germain-des-Prés.  Sure, I can go to the Theory store in New York, but the one in Paris feels so special with its sunny back rooms, hardwood floors and Pierre Hermé treats.

GIFTS:  For the women in my family, uber-feminine Fragonard is my one-stop gift shop in Paris.  As far as receiving gifts, I love shiny surprises from Brazilian jeweler, H. Stern.

VACATION SPOT:  If not Paris, then Miami to visit la familia and eat some good Cuban food at Versailles. We also just discovered Rock House on Bahamas's Harbour Island, a boutique hotel owned by J Wallace Tutt who did Versace's home in Miami.  Harbour Island also has the most beautiful beach I've seen outside of Bora Bora.