thoughts on fall

(Dear Creatures F/W 2010)

I absolutely love the Dear Creatures Fall/Winter 2010 collection. What I do not love is how my addiction to shoes continues to cripple my cash flow. I'll certainly be adding a classic black Mary Jane to my wish list this autumn (although probably with a heel), and a nice matte red lip will coordinate nicely with my heather grey nails.

I'm also quite enamored of Orla Kiely's collection this fall, though I think some of the pattern mixing in the lookbook distracts and doesn't particularly inspire me. I am partial to the more neutral pieces in navy, black and grey and the delicate balance between classic and contemporary cuts is absolutely spot-on.

(Orla Kiely, A/W 2010)

However, I am still quite smitten with the 2009 fall collection... those patterned tights are to kill for! (If anyone knows where I can buy them, I promise I will spare you...)

(Orla Kiely, A/W 2009)

tribal turnaround

I used to believe that I couldn't wear gold jewelry because it made my skin look pale&sickly. As you can see, I have since changed my tune. Now I kind of think silver makes me look green around the gills. Maybe I'm just weird--it's not like my skin tone has changed.

I've never been much of a jewelry girl, mainly because it takes far too much effort to achieve the sort of collection that would allow for the layers and layers of baubles that make jewelry appealing to me. I get so overwhelmed with my lack of necklaces that I don't even know where to start and I'm always dismayed when I purchase a new one and fail to wear it because it looks so lonesome around my neck. This is probably why I wear so many scarves.

That said, I think the simplicity of this single tassel appropriately balances the bangles, button ring and gold detail along the waistline of this funky tribal skirt. No need to get carried away.

The wannabe-worldly anthropologist in me is always filled with glee when tribal patterns make their way down the runway.

1. dries van noten

2. diane von furstenberg

3. gucci

(spring/summer 2010 images from elle.com)

(skirt/gold cuff: F21; bangles: flea market; ring: button from france; tassel necklace: antique shop; shoes: kohl's; tank top: old navy)

monday, bloody monday

Happy Monday, everyone! A few things that are making me happy this Monday:

#1: My time off request for Cape Cod vacation 2010 was approved--one full week of July dedicated to sun&surf=hooray!

#2: I got myself some snazzy new running shoes this weekend--actually getting some serious exercise (with Cape Cod vacation 2010 as a potential motivator...)=hooray!

Today's outfit was vaguely modeled after Alexander Wang's sport-chic Spring 2010 Collection:

The stripes keep it sporty, while the rest of the outfit remains in a kind of khaki-neutral zone.

I originally intended to wear my floral Betsey Johnson tights (which I have such a hard time styling) with this, but it just felt too forced. The white tights nicely balance the kind of wacky decision to wear my striped tank top as a vest, but the wild tights just made me look like a crazy.

Speaking of Cape Cod, K told me this morning that it looked like I was "going to the beach" (!!?) As far as I'm concerned, nothing about this outfit even remotely resembles beachwear (except mayyyybe the striped tank top, if pushed--but seriously, wool skirt? Knit tights? Heeled boots?). I think we're both kind of over the fact that it snowed this weekend (!!!). I do not approve of that.

(shirt: H&M; tunic: TJMaxx or something; skirt: vintage; tights: TJMaxx; boots: ALDO; belt: thrifted)

D&G: dreaming of denim

I first saw the denim shirt on Garance Dore.

Then Christine (My Style Pill) posted her interpretation of that very same denim shirt.

And then, as if I weren't already hooked, D&G created an entire collection (probably inspired by that darn denim shirt).

I need one of my very own. This collection has also inspired me to give aviators a second chance. I used to have a couple of pairs but when the front of my hair went fringe I thought they somehow looked a little strange perched on my nose... granted, none of the women above have bangs, but I've just got to try it. That first ensemble has been in my inspiration style file since I saw it somewhere on the interweb (not sure where I picked that tip up, sorry), and only recently did it come to my attention again (this time with D&G attached, so I knew where to look [style.com]!)

Mark my words, I will recreate this look if its the last thing I ever do!

the light of day

It's Friday It's Friday It's Friday It's Friday It's Friday!! You guys, I cannot wait for spring to come. It feels sort of like April around here, with all of the melting snow and muddy roads... but we're not there yet! Guess how hard it is to walk around in slushy snow with boat-shaped, broken-heeled shoes? Pretty tricky...

This outfit was sort of vaguely inspired by Anna Sui's Fall 2010 RTW collection, which I loved a little bit. I was planning to throw together a few outfits that paid homage to the pile-it-on patterns, but this getup kept crossing my mind.

(Anna Sui, Fall 2010 RTW/style.com)

The only way in which this particular outfit really resembles the collection is in the floral skirt layered over funky patterned pastel tights... so not really at all. But the idea of fashion is to inspire new ideas, not necessarily to provide fodder for copy-cat behavior... right?

Unfortunately, my exposure was way off (as usual) and you can't even tell that the skirt has a floral pattern... so here it is:

Can you believe I was a film major? The problem I had with film production (and still do) is that I'm not technically savvy and I'm not terribly interested in becoming technically savvy. I never read user manuals because... well, I don't really know why not. I like to think that I can "just figure it out," but I never really take the time to self-correct after trial and error. Plus, I'm a very hands-on learner, and if I read something I will most likely forget it unless I can put it immediately to use (which I rarely do). Maybe I'm just stubborn.

I almost had a nervous breakdown in Film Production I because our second assignment required that we use studio lighting in a short film and I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to make them (the lights) do what I envisioned. Also because I had to single-handedly carry approximately 500 pounds of lighting equipment from the COM building to my apartment in the freezing cold, which is not a pleasant way to kick-off any project. That film was a flop, to say the least. I remember I ended up handing it in late and I'm not sure why, but I am glad that I didn't have to screen it for the class because they had all been so impressed with my first film and I didn't want to destroy their glorified perception of me. I did not take Film Production II.

I'm just not mechanically-inclined, and I have trouble with technicalities standing between me and my vision. I don't even like computers. I can't imagine reading a book with a Kindle. I prefer screenwriting to film production because at least that way the film can look exactly like I want it to (since it is all in my mind), and I can leave the grunt work and equipment-carrying to people who can make a reality of my cinematic phantasms and maybe even love it.

(slip dress: UO; skirt: American Eagle; tights: Marshall's; booties: GoJane.com; headband: Ruche; necklace: antique; fur collar: H&M)

Valentino: Lite-Brite, Bodies and Wannabe Bunny Ears

Isn't blogging great? Here I have the perfect forum to broadcast my unsolicited opinions and observations on topics I have little to no verifiable technical knowledge of... but, if fashion really is an art form (and I believe it is), I have the right to my own interpretation. So here I come to claim it, once again.

I chose Valentino this time because I loved the Fall 2009 collection enough to blog about it after watching The Last Emperor. My thoughts on this collection are not as profoundly positive, but the more I examine it the more it grows on me.

Exhibit B: Valentino, spring/summer 2010:

NEON. My initial reaction to the chartreuse intruder on these otherwise neutral ensembles was ick-no-gross, but because my pre-conceived neon notions were already less than favorable, I've decided to put my pride aside and re-examine from a more subjective viewpoint. I don't hate it... the balance of skin-tone and day-glo (if you have to use it) isn't alarmingly eye-assaulting, and could even be considered tasteful (if you're into that kind of thing). I'm just kind of not. Free-association time: this does remind me of Lite-Brite, which I enjoyed immensely as a child... does anyone else remember that thing?

BODY: Okay, so you know the BODIES exhibit that has been snaking its skinless way through science museums far and wide for a while now? That's immediately what came to mind when these blatantly corporeal dresses appeared before me: # 1: big hunk of bloody muscle; # 2: the fragile flaps of skin that were peeled off to reveal #1; #3: well, obviously, look at all of those veins and capillaries! Do I have to spell it out? This runway segment looks like it was modeled after that very squirm-inducing BODIES exhibit (which I kiiiind of wanted to see because of the fascination factor alone but then kiiiind of psyched myself out of seeing because it's just ... TMI). Well, now I feel as if I've seen it. Thank you, Valentino. Also, that last dress shot my tangential brain waves into the Realm-Of-The-Weird-Obscure-Movies-I-Had-To-Watch-In-Film-Class, where I was once made very uncomfortable by a far-too-avant-garde-even-for-me autobiographical Bob Fosse film, All That Jazz, which involved a strikingly similar veined (literal) bodysuit. I'm going to reserve any real judgment for now because I actually think the delicate construction of these dresses is kind of cool, but I can't overlook the fact that these lovely ladies are walking around with their insides-out.

PRETTY: The team pleased me most when they strayed from unnecessary neon and body-building to, well, other things. I kind of like the (above, L-R) wrapped oriental look, which feels a little less Avatar-Alien-Mummy than some of the other get-ups but is also kind of been-done; the pretty pale blue tribal could-be-the-martian-equivalent-of-leopard-print look, which I think actually kind of works with the glow-stick wedges and pretty-in-pink hair; and I actually really like the floaty purple-popcorn-flower dress, which unfortunately seems like it was thrown into the spring collection just for good measure because--drip drip drop little April showers--spring means flowers. But it is pretty and I'd wear it. So I guess that's good enough for me.

FIERCE: I don't think I've ever used the word "fierce" in a fashion context, but everybody else does so it must be okay. The only reason I really wanted to use the word "fierce" is that the second dress here looks like a Tiger. Which I like. I also like the rusty transparency of the first look, with the long patterned tunic that kind of resembles a bird post-plucking (I do like the leftover feathers) and the psychedelic legging-pants (again, I can almost get behind the shoes in this case) and the pretty flowing neutrality of the gown (far right) narrowly escapes inclusion in the sloughs-of-skin category because a) it's lovely and b) if you look closely you can tell that it is actually completely covered in fragile little flowers.

And finally--the headdresses. Odd plasticky twisted ribbons spiraling upward and outward in a vaguely familiar way:

It was weird enough when Louis Vuitton did it. The Valentino version looks like the sort of headgear one of the Jetsons might wear to play a Donnie Darko virtual-reality game.