Tuesday, December 22, 2009

QUEUE ORDER



My hair is finally growing out, and has officially (for good or for ill) entered the stage of awkward indeterminacy. I'm not too much into hair "styling" anymore (after some experimentation with self-inflicted crew cuts and lesbian mohawks went belly-up), but I can't keep letting it lie there in a pile on my head...



I'm a big fan of milkmaid braids, aptly demonstrated in these shots of Zebylon Winter from Contributor. Not sure if I've got the manual dexterity to perfect the topknot-cum-cornrows-cum-frontal-rattail there, though.

THE OLD NORTH









My winter clothing preferences have basically solidified, just in time for the first heavy snowfall of the year. Black, grey, and red; boots for marching through the snow; warm, streamlined knits. So you can imagine how much I love the simplicity of Pip-Squeak Chapeau. The tight knit pants in the first shot are particularly good.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

SUN BAKED SNOW CAVE



(photo by Hanne Liden)

Still digging out of the blizzard!

Friday, December 18, 2009

FOREVER

Interested in a few mega-cheap wardrobe additions before Hanukkah ends? Get on this free shipping from Forever 21, then!

The code is MISSYOU, and if you want to use it, you'd better act fast--it expires at midnight tonight.

My recommendation: bypass the sparkly tunics and go for these perfect, classic Oxfords.


Vinyl footwear never looked so good.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

SHOT BY SHOT









(pics from Egotastic)

Mila Kunis looking pretty good in Black Book.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

BALL LIGHTNING



I love these necklaces by Daniel Palillo and Lauri Johansson--particularly the fist.



And this axe of Perun makes a similarly appealing amulet... Hmm, good thing I've got a long neck!

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

RIPPED UP



Have you guys all already seen this Rodarte rip at Forever 21? It's more of a take-off than a rip-off, partly because the Mulleavy sisters' intense craftsmanship is probably impossible to replicate on the F21 toxic Chinese factory scale (hence the sad failure of their Target line to be anything more interesting than a pair of shorts and a polyester chiffon prom dress), and partly because it's evocative of their style without being an explicit copy of any one authentic design. Either way, it definitely has a similar feel--dead doll in a decaying dress, dug up from the back garden...

Monday, November 30, 2009

SALEM'S LOT



I'm really feeling the hand-tinted, Hipgnosis quality of these shots from the new i-D.







(via The Fashion Time)

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Sunday, November 22, 2009

RIGHT TO WORK, PT. II

I'm still making up my mind about which boots to buy. After scrounging around on eBay for a million variations of the same general style ("Beatle boots," "mod boots," "ankle biker boots," "Cuban-heel boots," etc., etc.), these turned up tucked in the middle of a page:



Not even the fact that I never wear gold (I'm a silver person) has put much of a dent in my intense love for these shoes. But when I was browsing around aimlessly in Joann Shepp the other day, I found another killer pair of Robert Clergerie chelseas:



These I like more for the geta-ish sole than anything else. If you're in the neighborhood, stop by and pick them up... on the website they're listed at $695, but in-store they're at least 20% off. Of course, even with that discount they're squarely out of my price range, but after a couple of complimentary glasses of champale anything is possible.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

BACK ON THE RACK

After suddenly becoming jaded with mini lengths (as I said in my last post), I've been spending a lot of time searching around on Etsy and eBay for more long, drapy swathes of fabric with which to festoon myself. Needless to say, YYStudio has provided me with hours of obsession--with this skirt in particular, I can already almost feel how awesome it would be to twirl around endlessly:



Picture that skirt teamed with a simple black top, a ton of silver necklaces, and a hooded wool cape atop everything else, and you've basically got my late fall dream outfit down pat.

Friday, November 20, 2009

WINDING SHEETS

What's inspiring these days? I've been trying (and arguably succeeding) to spend less money on clothes, even though I still check Pixiemarket every damn day to see their new stock. But one thing that's been helping me stick to my cheap-assness is the extreme lack of variance in most clothing silhouettes. Virtually every dress and skirt is in a mini length. And I mean, I've got great legs but there are surely other interesting designs out there, right?

Not to mention, if the '80s must be endlessly resurrected, why gloss over the emergent thinkers of that period... '80s-era Comme des Garcons, Issey Miaki, Yohji Yamamoto are great sources for styling ideas using fuller and longer silhouettes. Of more recent vintage, I'm revisiting Limi Feu's epic S/S '09 collection:



I'm really feeling these calf-length skirts with ankle boots.

And S/S '10 is just as good--the Chelsea boots in particular (for men and women, finally), but the long, draped skirts and dresses are exactly what I'm into these days. Limi is either way ahead of or way behind the times--this long silhouette, somehow androgynous while still reading as classically femme, is so off the map today, it's impossible to find a high-street equivalent.





Limi Y. (daughter of Yohji) is one of my favorite designers at the moment--her clothes are modern takes on an aesthetic that Yohji Y. helped pioneer. Her most recent show is full of the kind of look that I would love to see more designers working with. No more bodycon! Yeah, I said it! It bums me out to see Penn sorority girls wearing paneled leather miniskirts and Iron Maiden t-shirts when they're not on a first-name relationship with Eddie... I saw an advertorial for black lipstick in Lucky magazine. Guys. For real.

I blame this on the spread of Balmain-alikes throughout Forever21 chains and Lookbook.nu. Not to knock the appeal of a simple neoprene dress or something--the thing is, it looks good(-ish, as long as it's not covered in sub-svarowski crystals/scattered with half-assed pyramid studs) but it's everywhere.

Maybe this is all just a long-winded way of saying, I wish Sunn 0))) would come out with their own line of floor-length robes. Now that's a celebrity label I could get behind.

Friday, November 6, 2009

RIGHT TO WORK

I finally found a new job, and I'm planning to celebrate with a pair of chelsea boots for the winter. These are, in my mind, the canonical ankle boot--the combination of Cuban heel, pronounced pointed toe, slip-on-and-go beatnik style just slays me. Of course, they're also the hardest to find in women's sizes!

One of the pairs I was considering on eBay (he who hesitates is lost, somebody Bought This One Now) was by Tod's, with a slightly more rounded toe:



Surprisingly, Anthropologie has a pretty good selection of shoes right now. Sometimes they tend towards the Victorian child whore in terms of aesthetic, but there are some standouts:



These Acne-alikes in black suede with chelsea-style elastic gores are great. Too bad they're over $400, or I'd totally add them to my brooded-over list of chelsea boot contenders.

Monday, November 2, 2009

SWAN TATTOO



I'm in love with this gorgeous magazine, Sang Bleu.



(spreads off ASVOF)

There's a lot of great pictures on the website, but I'd love to get a look at this mag in person. The excellent editorial combination (fashion/art/tattooing) is just a bonus!

Thursday, October 22, 2009

FOR NEGLECTED MURDERESSES

Just when I vowed not to spend any more money on fall clothes, I had to come across this eBay store...







Somehow I've gotten so into this Danish lesbian kindergarten teacher look--awkward calf-length skirts, portrait collars, fabrics like wool and leather--and pretty much everything at Time's Up nails it. Not to mention all the giant earrings! The perfect gray leather skirt is one thing, but styling it with those Acne wedges just puts it over the top for me. I love how they describe the skirts and dresses as "Amish"--kind of says it all, right? It's like what Ol' Widder Bates would wear for a night out on the town.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

ICICLES WITHIN MY BRAIN

Tonight it's supposed to get down to 39°. Man! Call me lily-livered if you must, but I am not prepared to be so cold yet. Although I did break my shopping ban on Sunday (desperately needed more print dresses, they were on sale, I am a fallible mortal after all), I'm still holding out against spending any more money than I absolutely have to on clothes. That said, I think I love this simple, modified cutaway jacket from Need Supply:



The best part is the removable knit collar. When I can't spend all day wrapped in my duvet, that sounds like a decent compromise.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

BRIGHT SHADOW

I got my wish! Rick Owens' collections are almost incapable of disappointing me--he continually hones his overall look (which by now has become something simultaneously sci-fi and stone-age, a little bit Black Queen from Barbarella and a lot hand-tanned woolly mammoth pelts) without capitulating to trends, but always looking timely without making dramatic leaps from season to season. I agree with Amanda that outerwear is his strongest suit, but I kind of love this dress for spring:



That said, it's really his diffusion lines, Rick Owens Lilies and Drkshdw, that get me going the most. The savage fur coats from his main collection give me heart palpitations of pleasure, no doubt, but what the man does with jersey and denim is truly amazing. There's a couple of new shots of his spring '10 Drkshdw men's line up on the website...



I do enjoy being a girl, but I wouldn't mind trading a few parts for the chance to fit into that jacket.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

AUTUMN MISTS

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

October 1st feels like the perfect day to take a peek at Gareth Pugh's new collection. Even though it's meant for spring, everything about it--the subtle grey shades, the enveloping yet sinister shapes--gives it his trademark Gothic/graveyard/ghoul-queen air. Naturally, I love it! Finally, a designer who took an already pretty great but heavily played-out idea (bandage dressing) and did something new, interesting and yet beautifully wearable with it. Unlike Pugh's earlier, more sci-fi creations, these dresses and sweeping cloak-jackets have a slightly more gentle, feminine feel, just right for the new season. Beautiful! What poison apple do I have to eat to get my hands on one of these?!

I didn't post any of the menswear pieces (although, if Style.com is to believed, it's all womenswear but modeled by some [okay pretty hot] guys), mainly because there was too much good stuff in this show to post it all. The fencing/armor-looking jackets--like this one:



--were particularly good, if obvious Rick Owens-alikes. Speaking of whom... can't wait for his show! Goths in Paris, you make lovin' fun.

Oh, and... the less said of the new Rochas collection, the better. Clearly, the bottom line does have to come first in the business of fashion, but it's disheartening to see this label go from Theyskens' (totally non-commercial) genius to Marco Zanini's trite paean to colonialism...

(pics from Style.com and ASVOF)

Monday, September 28, 2009

DON'T YOU EVER STOP BEING DANDY



How is it that cheap Korean men's fashion is somehow so much better than most of the looks coming out of New York, London and Milan? Man. I haven't felt this "meh" about a fashion season in quite awhile. That said, I am completely feeling this dandy highwayman of a fall jacket... for only $46.66 (or best offer!), I can forgive that it only comes in men's sizes. From Buzirune232 on eBay.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

TWISTED

Okay, I wrote my last post without the benefit of seeing Proenza Schouler's new show. I have to kind of eat my words vis-a-vis New York fashion week being a washout this season, because P.S., as usual, totally nailed it:











Nothing new in the silhouette dept., but I'm totally sold on the great prints. And while I'd personally rather punch someone in the face than go skating (I don't know, I could just never get that into it), remove the heels and I'd believe these clothes could go straight from runway to skate park.

HOLY MOUNTAIN



Guys! Once again I've let a century go by without updating. I feel like a lot of things have been happening, even though I'm still chronically jobless. The new (real) season is definitely here, which means I can finally blow-dry and straighten my hair again without it immediately snapping back the second I step outside into the wall of humidity that is summer; of secondary importance, the new (fashion) season is also here... I'm going to wait until London before completely panning it. I've seen some pretty cool shows pictured on other blogs (Odyn Vovk particularly springs to mind), but everything on Style.com is either a retread of the studs/bodycon look, or some sad pastel cocktail parade on Zoloft--with the shining exception of Rodarte, without which I swear I'd think NYFW was a total waste.

Anyway, the big news I wanted to post about has little to do with fash-unnn, unless you're really into long flowing robes (although, really, who isn't?). Sunn 0))) is playing West Philly on Sunday! Dudes, if you're in the area, mark your calendars and buy an extra pair of earplugs.



(Wow, 111 posts... I've finally reached my lucky number!)

Monday, September 7, 2009

KICKS AND PRICKS



(pic from Refinery29)

I just came back inside from a quick evening stroll (keep forgetting to bring a pair of scissors in my bag when I go out to steal flowers from others' gardens... I need more bouquets)--it's starting to really feel like fall out. There's a real briskness in the wind, and I couldn't be more excited. This means more and more cups of pine-smoked Russian tea, plus making up my autumnal shopping list.

I'm trying to keep costs down for the next few months since I still haven't got a new job, but when I saw the hi-top zip sneakers from Richard Chai's collaboration with Keds, I felt my normally moribund pulse (high fashion + high prices + no income = DOA) perk up again. I'll have to make another post with pros and cons of all the boots I'm considering for fall/winter, but let me just say I am seriously hoping this line, nominally all for men, is produced in small sizes! The grey ones are especially presh. Weird because I've never really had a second thought about Chai before...

Saturday, September 5, 2009

CRISIS OF CONSCIENCE




This Undercover dress is up for grabs, courtesy of Mandie, along with some other clothes fit for swooping around in.

I'm still thinking about what kind of clothes I'm interested in for this season... it's still really warm out here, so I've mostly been just going around in the same knotted tanks and Frankenstein boots as ever. Pretty soon it's going to be time to break out the jackets and layers, though--and I'm pretty psyched. But can I also say I'm getting tired of every piece of clothing, whether it's from Alexander Wang, Urban Outfitters, or Forever 21, being cropped and bleached and Riot Grrled to death? It's just gotten kind of overblown. Some designers, like Jun Takahashi, don't have to work at being retro or faux-punky to be really startling and interesting. So in my opinion, this fall should be less pre-ripped jeans, more Mylar survival blanket-cum-jacket...