Sunday, August 31, 2008

Kid Stuff


Violet and Ruby Phillips are the 7 and 9 year old daughters of kids clothing designer Eliza Gran. They give the Times the lowdown on their wardrobes and style icons. Girls, I couldn't agree more: I've also always aspired to look like Pippi Longstocking.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

"Lay Down Lean"

The Citizens Band is one of those many-membered troupes of traveling actresses/musicians/models/cool kids that make music. They're bringing their show "The Panic is On" to downtown throwback burlesque spot Spiegletent on September 7th, 8th, and 9th. One of my favorite red heads of all time, model Karen Elson is a member. She also stars alongside Zooey Deschanel and Sarah Sophie Flicker in this here silent short based on an Edna St. Vincent Millay poem. Although, I must say that the real stars of this show are the beautiful McQueen and Chanel dresses, and Elson's bright red tresses. The short is courtesy of director duo The Belles of the Black Diamond Field. Read their vulnerability manifesto and let it restore your faith in humanity.

Feels very fall, no?

Somebody Call PETA

Crimes against animals (and office decor) have definitely been committed:

Veep Candidate Sarah Palin's Anchorage office scares the shit out of me.

T-Time

Everything I ever needed to know about fashion, I learned from Mr. T.



He calls Marta a hot dog. Finding stuff like this makes me believe that there is a God.

Michelle, My Bell



This fahionista's vote has already been cast. Michelle Obama had me at first sight. Pearls, shifts, belts, everything this lady wears is pitch perfect. Even if it's all going to be politics as usual, at least we'll have the unusual pleasure of a chic first lady. It may sound shallow, but let the world at large have a fashion icon in office, and we may be able to mend some foreign fences. Never underestimate the power of fashion! She's also incredibly intelligent and refreshingly confident. That doesn't hurt.


Friday, August 29, 2008

Righty Tighty

Please Lord, let this season signal the end of the legging. I can't stand another fall of stretch pants, although I do admit that a girl needs a good alternative. Let me suggest tights for fall leg coverage. They may be a bit less wind resistant, but what they lack in warmth they more than make up for in pure pretty. Here are my favorites from the Fall '08 runways:



Tsumori Chisato's dip-dyed gradations.





Rodarte's wide weave, flossy webs.

If I see you in plain, black stretch pants when these are on the market, I may wag my finger at you. Consider yourself warned.

Yes, please.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Who's that Girl?



The Brazilian Girls have a new album out and it rocks my world. New York City is their third studio effort and the songs have that unmistakable, sexy Brazilian thing going on. Standout tracks are "St. Petersburg", "I'm Losing Myself" and "Nouveau Americain". Lead singer Sabina Sciubba is an arbiter of that crazy brand of style that may scare some people. She's kind of like Bjork's multi-culti, less fussy cousin. Check out some stylin' Sabina moments:




Now go listen to her music! Any woman who can rock balloons or a reflective backing disc deserves the eyes and ears of a wide audience.

Make me up before you go go


In honor of The Museum at F.I.T.'s new show Gothic: Dark Glamour which opens September 5th and runs through February 21, 2009, I present a goth makeup tutorial courtesy of Adora BatBrat. She is the Swedish answer to all of your beautiful, dark prayers. This pretty in pink punk princess teaches you a thing or two about how to apply the perfect shade of black around your peepers, and how to properly decorate yourself. I love the crazy German background music (Achtung!) and cheerful shower curtain. FYI this woman has three children.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Hat's off


I know Sarah Jessica caught a nice amount of flack for her recent decision to don a flowery, butterfly festooned, acorn hat at the London premier of Sex and the City, but I'm kinda jealous. Those Brits really know how to top a person off. I wish Americans were a little more accepting of the crazy hat craze because I would love to rock the Stephen Jones pieces featured in today's Future Tense video on Showstudio.com. The video entitled Soma Holiday was shot by Chloë de Carvalho backstage at Basso and Brooke's Spring/Summer 2008 collection.

Colorful, floating discs of Op Art: they should be the next big thing.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Butter in the corner.


Follow one man's journey to pixelate his bathroom. Not fashion, but fun!

I want to laugh.

This is how I imagine the majority of haute couture customers live.


(happy friday everyone)

Color Storm

Before the fashionistas invade Tokyo for Japan's Fashion Week (show season is like a really slow-paced Olympic event for the high heeled set!) there's still more to explore elsewhere. Ann Torfs is a talented young designer from Antwerp whose Frida Kahlo/Gypsy mash-up aesthetic totally caught my eye on Dazed Digital.


The images above are from her Kaleidoscope Alchemy show from a little while back, but her vision remains the same. Once the rest of the world catches wind of her charming color storm, I'm sure there will be much more coverage of her shows. Stay tuned.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Shop-A-Matic




New York Magazine has this great feature called Shop-a-Matic, where they compile a group of many types of one thing, say fall shoes for example, and let you sort them any way you like for the ultimate virtual window shopping trip. While my one complaint is that the prices go skyward a little too quickly for my liking, I have to say that browsing their posh selections from the comfort of my bedroom in my pajamas without a salesperson breathing down my back is a luxury I quite enjoy. Now, if we could just work on being able to virtually try on those Isador flats by Sam Edelman below, I'd be a girl in heaven.

Heartmade

The traveling fashion circus that is "Fashion Week" made a stop in Copenhagen from August 6th to the 10th. The shows are weird yet very watchable with great soundtracks and can be seen in their entirety at CFW's official website. My favorite is Heartmade's offering for a few reasons: 1) There is as much color in the crowd as there is on the runway. 2) The incessant self-fanning of the audience members really highlights the blazing fireplace stage set. 3) The clothes remind me of the peacocks in the Bronx zoo that I love so much.


Go, Copenhagen, go.

Shady Lady

Diane Pernet puts the e in eccentric. A former New York designer and reportage photographer, she currently pens a fashion blog (a Shaded View on Fashion) and co-curates the traveling fashion film festival "You Wear it Well". And, she dresses like this every single day of her life:



Inspired by the grieving Sicilian widows in Mussolini films, she dons black and veils and a mile high coif to roam the streets of Paris. She's like Elvira's high society step sister. I'm always impressed with the dedication a well crafted look requires. Those large black sunglasses must do something to focus her fashion sense, because she has quite the eye. The 3rd installment of You Wear it Well premiers in September. Here's a quick preview:


*editor's note: Diane now works alone and her film festival is called A Shaded View on Fashion Film Festival, everything else remains the same. Thanks for the correction!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Tilda tidies up

I love me some Tilda Swinton. I'm a huge fan of outsiders and she generally looks like she may come from way outside, like another galaxy. Alien chic. In this month's W Jeurgen Teller captures a few different sides of her. This is the Upper East Side of Tilda doing dog walking duty:


Perfect satire. Show me the bag and the shoes as you do the deed...Now, this may seem to go against my more models/less actresses post from earlier, but it's Tilda. I'll make an exception for Tilda. Maybe talented actresses make good models (oh yeah, I said it!).

Monday, August 18, 2008

A model rebellion

Models don't really make news anymore. They barely show up in fashion magazines, having been replaced by actresses hawking their latest vehicles. I for one want the models back. I'm sick of miscast, misdirected photoshoots starring the actress next store all gussied up to look tough and to prove her versatility, but winding up looking plain old weird. Two recent examples of why modeling should be left to models are Rachel McAdams in the latest T Magazine and Kate Hudson in this month's W.


Rachel light and dark.



Kate happy and moody.

It's all a bunch of marketing dollars changing hands. There's a reason why God created models, that scant 1% of the population that can actually make a garbage bag dress and black lipstick look like divinely inspired art. Give me "the girls" anyday, and while you're at it--make them tough for real.

Introducing Alice Dellal:

She's been on the scene for about a year, but her recently half shaved head has given her a boost in visibility. Her nose piercing, flannel shirts, and ripped tights are ushering in a 90's grunge era renaissance.

Her model foremothers would be proud. She stands firmly on the shoulders of pretty tough things from days past, like fully shaved (and tattooed) Eve Salvail and fire-engine red head Sybil Buck.

Rebel yell: I want more, more, more!

Saturday, August 16, 2008

re-shoot





Everything old is new again.

The September fashion magazines have arrived (prepare to do some heavy lifting) and while I was perusing the newest selections something looked familiar. At the top of this post is Kate Hudson's latest W cover from her terribly miscast feature shoot starring her in black leather and smeared eye makeup. Below that is Nadja Auermann's breakout Bazaar cover from September '94, the year she ruled the runways with her 48" legs and beyond bleach blonde tresses. Ode? Swipe? I smell a scandal. Or simulacrum. You decide.

She plays hard for her money.

Victoire de Castellane is the creative director for Dior's Jewelry line and I've always loved her big, fun, candy-colored creations.

Even better is her big, fun, candy-colored imagination. Take a tour of her workspace to see what sparks her fancy.

I especially love when she refers to a box full of florescent lanyards as "all those plastic scooby doos". Can I be her when I (don't) grow up?

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Take it all off

Eternal clubstress Sophia Lamar is elevating makeup removal to an artform. Her lipstick, eyeshadow, liner and glitter smeared tissues are going on the wall of a gallery downtown. Behold the art of beauty's leftovers:

It looks prettier in print, so check out the Artifact page of the latest issue of New York Magazine for the full effect. Or, go see it in person at the Asia Song Society, whose tag line is "ASS! Just for you." Gotta love this city.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

I want my house to wear it

If I had an unlimited budget and a whopper sized apartment, I'd be creating the kind of art-filled wonderland director Roland Emmerich has staged in his not-so-humble London abode. His art collection is taking over and I like it.


A life sized Pope John Paul II figure reads his own obituary under the stairs.


That's a White House inspired bird cage and a Thinker shaped Arnold Schwarzenegger.


Princess Diana holds court over the fireplace while her and Charles' dolls feed the flames.


Check out the ball-o-Barbies under his WWII plane wing desk in the chalk board paint covered home office.
Wanna see more, including a taxidermy Zebra and a JFK assassination diorama? Click here for the full NYT profile.

Saturday, August 09, 2008

Sia later.

I'm going to the All Points West Festival today. Yeehaw. While the major motivation for my ticket purchase was to be in the same mile radius as Radiohead, I'm also really excited to see Sia.

I love the blonde bob and her high level of quirk. Watch the below video to see why she would take Gold if impersonating the love child of Amy Sedaris and Cindy Sherman were an Olympic event.

Friday, August 08, 2008

Wipeout!

Oh man, this hurts my ankles and my sides.

I can't believe the one at 2:00 even survived that. God help the beautiful!

Roll with it.

Ladies and gentlemen who doubt my recent purchase of rollerblades, have faith in my judgment please. Check out this pretty Parisian princess who also had the good sense to strap on some skates:



and with a babydoll floral print, no less! I just hope her helmet is in that rather large bag of hers. A brain is a terrible thing to bust. Let's roll, baby.

Beautifull

Apparently, Feminism does a body good. Beth Ditto makes me want a cupcake. Now.

Thursday, August 07, 2008

Collector's Item

July has come and gone, but the beautiful Italian Vogue issue featuring all black models shot by Steven Meisel is still a hot item.

Conde Nast had to reprint the issue to get more copies onto sold out newsstands. Publicity stunt or not, it is a gorgeous exercise in calling attention to an easily overlooked issue. I've always wondered what it does to people of color to be surrounded by images of what they are not. Well, here are stunning images of what they are: beautiful. The white models in nearly all of the magazine's ads look a little pale in comparison.