Subject Eye

Subject Eye Presents: My, My, My Lila Delilah!

A stylish woman with a fantastic name, Lila Delilah, created her in-the-know website Madison Avenue Spy (madisonavespy.blogspot.com) in 2008. Lila has lived for most of her life in NYC and wrote about a myriad of topics including business and retail for The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, and Smart Money before taking a respite to start a family.

Soon enough Lila, who describes herself as a Type A- personality in the land of Type A’s, found that she missed writing and, inspired by her love of fashion, she decided to put pen to paper (or fingertips to keyboard) again. At its launch, the focus of Madison Avenue Spy was the businesses, sales and events in the environs of Madison Ave, but it has since grown to include a much larger area. If you want to know what’s happening on the Upper Eastside and beyond, this is the site for you.

Madison Avenue Spy is insightful and helpful. It’s like having a best friend who has all the info about great bargains for name brand merchandise and where and when to make the best attempt to acquire it. This week you can find out the up to the minute stats regarding discounted merchandise at Scoop, Marc Jacobs, and Manolo Blahnik shoes.

I truly enjoyed my interview with Lila Delilah. She was like a calming restorative tonic we all need and has the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen. I feel that her interview was such a gift. I hope you’ll feel the same way too.

The Lovely Lila Delilah.

What were you thinking?

I wasn’t thinking much, except ‘food!’ (Lila and I met for some extremely delicious cake at Lady M Confections)

List of the items you are wearing in your photo:

Jacket: Devi Kroell

Shirt: blue silk blouse from Zara

Pants: jeans from The Gap

Necklace: J.Crew

Handbag: Celine  (if not always, then usually I carry a bag from Celine)

Boots: Triple zipper boot by Sigerson Morrison.

Nail polish: Limited edition Chanel polish in ‘Peridot’

Favorite music played while getting dressed?

My favorite music right is Top 50 dance music. I love jazz music. I’ve been listening to Esperanza Spalding. I also end up listening to a lot of my kids’ overly engineered Disney music (laughs).    

Inspirations: icons, fictional characters, shapes, eras?

I can’t tell you how many people have inspired me! So many women inspire me. I love to watch women in the shoe salon at Bergdorf Goodman. I could sit there and watch them for hours.

Shopping tactics:

I’m still learning. I experiment with buying things I want vs. buying the things I need.

Lila and her composed, classic style. 

Avoidance tactics:

I will not wear Uggs, Crocs, Juicy Couture or mindless trends. I don’t mind mass marketed items, but there needs to be some sort of aesthetic discernment. There needs to be a standard in place. 

Do you Rock, shock or think about matching socks?

I shop!

How do you keep or lose your figure?

Having children makes you lose your figure, but then you have to get it back slowly. I don’t obsess. I tend to do what I need to do when it’s needed.

Do you think you're sexy?

Yes. 

What do you collect?

I collect, but not in the traditional sense of collecting. I like things that are pretty diverse. I just try to buy wisely. I hate feeling forced to buy anything. I have some Yves Saint Laurent that I bought at an outlet. I felt like I was saving them. I felt that these items needed to be rescued (laughs).   

Most desired item-if anything?

There is something I want, but I’m going to keep this to myself. The idea needs to be contained.

Are you designer label happy?

Not at all.

Is your skin in? (What is your skin care regimen, if any?)

Whatever beauty products that get sent to my work, I’ll try. I’m not a beauty products ‘high maintenance’ woman. I did have to buy a $50 lipstick once. Just to see what the hype was about. I was really mad at it, but now we are good friends.

If you could be reincarnated as a piece of clothing, what would you be?

A coat.

A night to remember/forget regarding your clothing…

It was a night to remember. It was the opening gala for the Gianni Versace exhibition at The Costume Institute/The Metropolitan Museum of Art. I was 19 and I snuck into the VIP laden dinner. I even spent time speaking with Donatella Versace! Sting preformed. It was an amazing event; I wore a Romeo Gigli dress that had a deep ‘V’ opening to my navel. I just fell into this night. I was photographed standing behind Donatella made it into The New York Post on Page Six.

Any advice for future generations?

Don’t spend so much time worrying. Don’t be neurotic. It is a complete waste of time.

Past/Current projects/Future projects?

I’m evaluating if I have time to launch a sister site for Madison Avenue Spy. It will be different, but it will be a compliment to MAS.  

*Note: I’m one lucky girl! A year ago, I was asked to do an interview for Madison Avenue Spy. It was such a pleasure to do. Check it out: Retail Therapy- Erika Belle.