THE MARTIAN TIDE

Simply RAFishing

2013-01-17T02:57:00.000+01:00

Hi from Portland everyone. Just poppin' on to say... the Fall 2013 Raf Simons collection for men is badass. I've been way into collars and sweaters and layering lately, mostly because it's freezing, and I'm going through an odd preppy phase. The retro pants are dope too. These are my four favorite looks:

(photos from Style.com)

xoxo

Megan

I miss you

2011-12-15T04:21:00.000+01:00

Martian Tide, I miss you. Paris, I miss you. I haven't blogged in over two months, mostly due to an extremely full schedule and feeling as if I have a less unique perspective to offer now that I've been back on my home turf in Portland rather than being something of a fish out of water in Paris. Now that fall term is over, I realize I do miss having this space to organize and share my thoughts and photos and interests, in fashion or music or otherwise. Truthfully, although frigidly cold at the moment and not European or too exotic, Portland is truly beautiful, so why shouldn't I share it with my followers? Here are a few photos from the months I've been back in the states.

Click on the photos to see 'em bigger!

this was an expensive yet epic experience

the new Kill Rocks Stars offices, with sweet album cover
paintings!

dress by Bryce Black of PDX
backstage at Portland Fashion Week

Portland's occupation behind the elk

Hawthorne Bridge on the Willamette River

Northeast Portland / My 'hood

My roommate's cat / soulmate
(second cat sighting here on the blog... see
the first one here)

lace on lace, one of my favorite combinations
at the moment

For some reason I've been listening to the Spinners nonstop lately. It must have something to do with the fact that I bought some groovy high-waisted wide-legged jeans the other day on sale at H&M... enjoy.

over and out. i love you all.

Davidelfin SS '12 + Best Fwends

2011-10-10T04:37:00.000+02:00

Hello earthlings! Tomorrow I'm beginning my third week of school back in Portland, and my second week of living in the Northeast part of the city! It's nice to be back but I am definitely still adjusting to being busy again, and I miss France everyday, especially my friends and mes enfants. Luckily I'm taking two French classes and I'm pretty sure one of my teachers is Parisian, so I still have to speak plenty of French.

Anyway, I wanted to rave about one of my favorite collections for the upcoming Spring/Summer 2012 season. I'm totally in love with this colorful collection from Davidelfin, a Spanish label who recently showed during Cibeles Madrid Fashion Week. It's such a fun and literal take on color blocking, and brings to mind the paint swatches one would see at home improvement stores. I also love the contrast between the loud, fun colors and the traditional toughness associated with usually leather-made motorcycle vests. It's almost as if he's poking fun at this toughness.

Oh, and THE BAGS!! I am FAR from being a 'bag person,' but these are irresistible. In fact, they were designed in collaboration with Prince Pelayo of Kate Loves Me, and are. so. beautiful. Check it out....

(photos from Tall Dark Roast)

I feel like this collection can logically be paired with some tunes from a band I've been listening to a lot lately, Best Fwends, who call the music they make 'abrasive pop'. I played them a lot last week on my radio show Haircut Meganomics, which you can listen to HERE!

In other news, all week I've been attending Portland Fashion Week as press and it's been a lot of fun! Blog posts to come! :)

FALL, GET AT ME + my radio show

2011-09-24T11:43:00.000+02:00

Hey earthlings. It's 2 a.m. I just ate 2 cupcakes. But I've also been playing a lot of tennis, so I figure it's relatively okay. So, here's some proof I still remember how to do an outfit post. Here I'm celebratin' a few of my favorite trends for fall: sheerness, plaid, and leopard print. While I don't religiously follow trends, I do recognize them whilst I'm perusing designers' look-books and runway photos, and enjoy putting my own twist on them from time to time.

This photos were taken back in July, back in France... sigh. With the exception of socks (H&M) and shoes (thrifted from Goodwill), each item cost me a euro at Free'P'Star, which I'm sure you're tired of hearing about. That store absolutely spoiled me during my 9 months in Paris. Now, being back in the states, I find myself wincing when any second-hand garment costs more than a few bucks. Perhaps that'll keep me from spending too much back here. Not that I have any money to spend. MOVING ON...

It should be noted that my hair does not look like this anymore. I've taken a shine to straightening it (when I've got the time), and it has been dyed 'soft black,' a L'Oréal Preference shade I've used before and have always been pleased with. The ombre seemed a bit too summery and out of sync with my gloomy, bored mood these days, so black it is. Plus I've been drawn to wearing more dark colors lately, while I rarely did in Paris, where black is, well, common. Go figure.

Yup, it's safe to say I'm quite bored these days, in my hometown... but luckily I'll be moving to Portland this weekend and beginning classes on Monday. Non-fiction writing, third year French, intercultural communication, and a university studies class are on the agenda, as is, at last, my good ol' radio show/baby Haircut Meganomics on KPSU, my university's radio station. I started it soon after the beginning of my freshman year back in 2009 and raised it well until I left for France, and I missed it all the time I was gone. Now, at last, anyone with an internet connection can listen live on Tuesdays from 5-6 p.m. west coast time, or catch the show later by downloading it from the KPSU archives.

Last Tuesday was my first show back, and it was so great to be back on the air, mumbling about my time in Europe and forcing people to listen to my favorite tunes. Maybe of the artists I played last week have been featured here on The Martian Tide in fact. Right click to download or simply click to just listen.

Playlist:

De La Soul - En Vogue (Diego Bernal remix) -------also known as my favorite remix of all time

Deerhoof - Fresh Born

Deerhoof - Super Duper Rescue Heads!

Taxi Girl - N'Importe Quel Soir

Schlafengarten - Turn Away

Kurt Vile - The Creature

Lotus Plaza - Out Of Touch

John Maus - Just Wait 'Til Next Year

John Maus - Believer

Bleeding Knees Club - Have Fun

Bleeding Knees Club - Bad Guys

Yuck - The Wall

Yuck - The Base of a Dream is Empty

The Death Set - I Miss You Beau Velasco

Kurt Vile - Freak Train

I have some more exciting things to share (Portland Fashion Week is rapidly approaching!) but for now I'll just send ya over to my 'Features' page as there have been a couple of recent additions, including a snap of me by Wayne Tippetts from his popular site 'Street Style Aesthetic'.

La Rentrée

2011-09-14T02:47:00.000+02:00

Even since I got back to Oregon exactly a week ago, I've been wanting to get back to this blog. During my 'break', many things caught my eye and I made notes of them, promising to blog about them later. Now that I'm ready to be back, I have no idea what to post.

After a few minutes of reflection and clickin' through my iPhoto library... I've landed on ARCHITECTURE IN BARCELONA. The wide variety of wacky buildings in BCN was one of the many reasons I fell in love with this city. See for yourself. As an aspiring designer and stylist I always find myself wildly inspired by lots of buildings; their colors, designs, shapes... click the photos to view them larger.

I'm currently trying to check out all of the collections from NY, will definitely be sharing my favorite collections soon! Which are you all lovin' so far? I have to say that I don't love being home as much as I thought I would. It's great to see friendly faces and familiar places, but it seems as if things went back to normal a bit too quickly, and I miss the dense, cultural diversity of Europe already. Surprisingly, I also wish it were still necessary for me to constantly speak in French. The thought of gradually losing my hard-earned proficiency terrifies and depresses me, so I guess I need to look for some French friends in Portland... I've already started saving for my next crossing of the pond. Starting school in 13 days! STOKED. Also stoked to catch up on all yer blogs!

P.S. R.I.P. M E H D I

Yes, I'm taking a break from the blog.

2011-08-28T21:47:00.000+02:00

No, this break will not last forever. Within the next week and a half I'll be back in my home state of Oregon, and plan to return to the blog when things have settled down a bit. I miss you and love you all, so for now, just check out how Teen Outfits decided to make an exception and feature a 20 year old: Me. It was a nice surprise!

Also I'll hopefully be attending some pre-fashion week events in Paris next week before my departure, so stay tuned for that! And Barcelona pics... there were also plenty of collections shown in Barcelona, Stockholm, and Copenhagen which caught my eye...

à bientot!

Turbulence + Polka Dots

2011-08-10T01:41:00.001+02:00

I apologize for looking like a zombie. I was
rather ill when this photo was taken...

So... since my last post, things have been a little strange. In case you couldn't detect the subtle signs of my emotional implosion in my last couple of posts from Spain, the job was a bit too much for me to handle at the time. So I quit. After receiving one week's pay. And headed straight for Barcelona. After 10 lovely days of adventures in couch surfing and hosteling, I am now writing to you from my bedroom back in France.

I definitely have some cool pictures from Barcelona I'm looking forward to sharing, and still more from fashion weeks, but tonight I'm inclined to share an outfit, because I wore this short-sleeved polka dot blazer today while flying and feel even more deeply in love with it. I bought it at Free'P'Star, like most things I own... for one euro. I had never seen anything like it in a women's style, and the cut reminded me of a similar piece I fell in love with back at the 22/4 showroom in June. The pants are not new to The Martian Tide by any means, and I have to again mention they were also seen on Easy Fashion (check my features!). Thrifted back in my hometown. White vintage blouse, also from Free'P'Star, also one euro. Boots from Goodwill and H&M socks. I dig the way these two dot patterns clash, especially how the dots are around the same size.

22/4 by Stephanie Hahn
photo by me

Anyway... pretty exhausted from the travel and just the last 20 days in general. I am way out of the loop so I look forward to catching up on all of your blogs! ...Tomorrow!

Check out this awesome Deerhoof vid... yup, I'm still listening to them heavily in the wake of their awesome show in Paris last month. Also digging a lot of Brazilian post-punk at the moment... but that's another story.

OVER AND OUT

Roof Time + Stray Cats

2011-07-28T23:23:00.002+02:00

YO from TarraGO! Quite frankly, I'm pretty exhausted these days as I'm working close to 12 hour days during the week. Regardless, the city is still beautiful, and one of my favorite hangouts is currently the awesome roof right above my flat. I can see the sea, the sunset, the cathedral, into random peoples' apartments, the street below, and plenty of beautiful rooftops. I'm wearing an outfit with stuff you might have seen before (ocean print vintage top from a friperie on rue Ménilmontant in Paris, vintage skirt from Free'P'Star in Paris), but I wanted to show a bit of how I'm dressing these days.

As I'm getting ready hurriedly in the morning, jewelry is usually forgotten, and makeup is limited to MAYBE mascara and MAYBE lipstick. I never know when I'll have to go swimming, so I gotta be ready for anything. I've also been wearing a lot of beachy bright colors and prints, but trying to combine them without being too tacky or looking like a tourist in Hawaii. As far as street style here goes, I'd say there are a lot of relaxed, bohemian looks, but not the ones which look too intentional, or seem to have been purchased right off of an H&M mannequin. Authentic, Spanish, bohemian. There are dreds, many harem pants, and minimal makeup. Maybe I should be shooting some street style. Must learn how to say "Can I take your picture?" in Spanish...

There are also stray cats EVERYWHERE, especially climbing around the Roman ruins and wedging themselves into the ancient rocks' crevices. I'm not a cat person by any means. Cuddling up with a cat doesn't interest me one bit. But these stray ones fascinate me, and I've taken to photographing them whenever possible.

Other cats which fascinate me include felines in photos with the lovely Aiden Andrews, specifically in this adorable editorial for Kinki Magazine, which has been a favorite photo set of mine since I first saw it last month. Photos from here, HommeModel.blogspot.com, which has become a favorite blog of mine. Click to see them full-size.

IN OTHER NEWS:

I've got another post on the ASTONISH Magazine blog: my interview with German designer Stephanie Hahn, who you may recall I met when I visited her showroom in Paris during men's fashion week in June. Click here to check out the interview, and maybe *heart* it if you're a fellow Tumblr user :).

Thanks for the lovely comments on my last post! It's so exciting to be in this new place, even if I'm working twice as many hours as I expected........ BYE

What's New

2011-07-25T16:32:00.000+02:00

So, I'm in Tarragona, Spain. Specifically, I'm sitting on a bench near some sort of ancient Roman bricks, which are stacked high in the middle of the Plaça dels Àngels. I am stealing Wi-Fi from who knows where, and there isn't any in the flat I'm sharing with the other au pair for my Spanish family. No. Wi-Fi. For a blogger (and let's face it, internet addict) like myself, this was quite a shock to receive upon arrival. Needless to say it's been a bit tough to keep up on the blogosphere, and also a bit tough to want to, since I'm in a new city and naturally want to explore it. I figured I'd at least come on here and say hello, and show you some pictures from my new life here. I'm still around, I'm still planning to shares lots from fashion weeks, and I have my eye on a certain designer in Barcelona who I'm dying to score an interview with... so don't leave me! :)

Click the photos to see them bigger!

Tarragona's cathedral, which chimes every hour all
through the night, and which I can see from my window

I'm delighted by the amount of street art

including a small street lined with these decorated poles, each
one is different!

dreamy

ancient Roman amphitheatre

the view from my roof

Iris van Herpen Couture A/W 2011 + Deerhoof

2011-07-17T21:46:00.001+02:00

This post shall serve as a teaser for the post I'm really trying to promote... my first contribution to the San Francisco-based Astonish Magazine's blog! I attended the incredible Iris van Herpen couture show in Paris last week, and reviewed it for Astonish, while my fellow contributor and photographer Sami Dann took some gorgeous photographs.

This wild collection was made up of true pieces of art, and it was an amazing show to witness. I also took some photos at the show, but not with the SLR, so they definitely can't compare to the ones on the Astonish blog. I will share them anyway... if you're intrigued, check out my review! Link after the pics. Click on the pictures to view them full-size!

Stephen Jones alert! That hat looks familiar...

My review and the superior photos can be found here. And maybe, ya know, while you're there, follow Astonish's blog if you're a fellow tumblrer. :)

Also, shout out to Florrie of Intrinsically Florrie for including me in her recent floral-themed feature! Check it out here!

Lately, I'm going crazy trying to learn as much Spanish as possible and decide what I'm going to put in the one suitcase I'll be taking to Spain for the next month. Sadly, I'm just barely missing Barcelona Fashion Week, but I'm really excited nonetheless! I leave in three days! Thanks for all of the lovely comments as usual. I'll leave you with some tunes from one of my wacky favorite bands, Deerhoof! Singer Satomi Matsuzaki's voice is just so unique, I love their unpredictable, noisy sound. Plus I'm seeing them tomorrow night, for free, because I'm a baller.

BYE!

Leopardy Florals

2011-07-13T21:02:00.000+02:00

This is an outfit I wore the other day. It was directly inspired by Giambattista Valli's resort collection, which prominently featured both leopard print and florals, and which you may recall I raved about here. The necklace was sent to me by my lovely mother back in Oregon, I think for my birthday. The top was 1 euro from Free'P'Star in the marais, the pants were 5 euro at the flea markets in Saint-Ouen, just north of Paris. The shoes belong to my french host mother, and are a pair of extremely comfortable Dolfies.

IN OTHER NEWS:

So how 'bout that Google+? I keep looking for a way to import my Facebook contacts because I don't know how to find anyone, but then I realize that Facebook is their competition. Is it workin' for you all?

Also, IN SEVEN DAYS I'M FLYING TO TARRAGONA, SPAIN TO WORK AS AN AU PAIR FOR A MONTH! While I love Paris, I've been restlessly idle here for a while, searching for a path to take this summer while my host family is on vacation abroad. I'm dying to see more of Europe, so I've finally got a chance! Tarragona is a coastal city about an hour south of Barcelona (!!) with lots of ancient Roman ruins, beaches, delicious tapas and summer festivals. I think it'll be a perfect working vacation for me and I couldn't be more excited! If any readers are in the area of Tarragona or Barcelona and wanna show me around or teach me some useful Spanish (I know little to none), then my all means get in touch! Also, I'll of course have to hunt down some vintage clothing stores as well.

Finally, I was delighted the other day to see that my 4th of July ensemble which I wore to a day of couture shows last week was snapped by Fred from one of my favorite Paris street-style blogs, Easy Fashion! Head on over to the features page to check it out, and while I'm sure I would have discovered it eventually since I'm a follower of the blog, thanks to Rea from Surf Addict Fashionista for tipping me off! Also, I can't pretend I'm not stoked about someone posting the photo on tumblr, and how it's up to 74 'notes' and counting, since yesterday!

More fashion week coverage on the way, stay tuned my lovelies! I have a lot more to share! Thanks for all of the amazingly nice comments on my last post, including one from Morgan, On Aura Tout Vu's own 'web strategist'! I'm flattered!

Have Happy Wednesdays!

On Aura Tout Vu Couture A/W 2011

2011-07-10T14:57:00.003+02:00

Le Jardin du Palais Royal was the perfect location for Bulgarian designer duo On Aura Tout Vu's couture show last Wednesday. Not only for the guests, who appreciated not being piled into a hot, confined gallery, but also for the clothes, as the green of the trees reflected beautifully off of the shiny, mirror-like pieces on many of the garments and accessories. Natural sunlight peeked through the trees and made the body and hair glitter truly sparkle. Yes, I feel that if this show had been held inside, it would've lessened the impact significantly.

Looks like this are the reason I love couture. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate beautiful, more subtle, red carpet-worthy gowns too, but it's always gonna be the weird stuff which inspires and entrances me the most. I loved these sparkly hairstyles, the combinations of mirrors and nude sheerness, different shapes, the amazing accessories (from fingerless gloves to shiny space boots), and the eclectic mix of music which played as the models took their time down the catwalk. I'm all about interesting and dramatic contrasts, so I was delighted by the leather/lace, metals/sheerness, and intricate details/long, flowing fabrics. It was just such a nice show to watch, and even though I arrived too late to take my assigned seat, they let me stand in a really good spot for taking photos. So... here they are! Enjoy the futuristicsqueenfairryspacemissuniversenymphgaga vibes! Click on the photos for full-size!

Also, my 4th of July outfit was snapped by my new Singaporean blogger friend Vera, and also appeared in Nylon's gallery of patriotic ensembles. Head over to my features page for the proof! More show reviews, pics, and street style coming soon! Much love!

By the way, I'm currently pretty obsessed with this website. It's filling the void of my old radio show, which I miss probably an unhealthy amount.

the day I met Ebony Bones!

2011-07-06T03:10:00.002+02:00

I am indeed in the midst of a very tiring yet exciting couture fashion week here in Paris, and I promise my pages of scribbled notes and some of the hundreds of photos I'm taking will surface VERY SOON UP IN HERE. The Iris van Herpen show on Monday has been the highlight so far so me, and I can't wait to blog about it.

However, I can't help but share these pictures I had the pleasure of taking the other day, while interviewing EBONY BONES!, a personal style icon and true musical artiste. Even though I'm not a skilled photographer by any means, I couldn't turn down the chance to fumble around with my french family's SLR and try to capture as much of her beauty as possible. I was going for a street-style vibe. In the comfort of her nicely air conditioned hotel room, we chatted about her music, style, how the two collide for her, operas, Portland, and vintage shopping in Paris. She was so lovely and nice to interview, and I find her wild style incredibly inspirational. The fact that she braved the 80+ degree heat so I could take these photos was amazing. I can't wait to see my article on her appear this fall in the first issue of Moda de la Mode magazine, thanks to the lovely editor-in-chief Grace. Her blog can be found here.

Click on the photos for full size.

She insisted we have a photo together... even though I look
like I may at any moment die of a heat stroke

More Ebony, photos from last.fm:

I sadly haven't had the pleasure of seeing her live in concert yet, but after meeting her and seeing videos like the one below, it's definitely on my "must-do" list.

Long Distance Patriotism + July, July!

2011-07-03T21:01:00.000+02:00

So here I am in France, this will be my first 4th o' July not spent in the states. Not that I've always been the biggest fan of the holiday or its festivities, but I have had some pretty fun times in the past, and always some good food, such as red, white and blue cupcakes, which my mom often made. I'll still be celebrating this year, with my outfit.

You can see my good ol'/new 1 euro lipstick with a goldish tint, thrifted suspenders and pants, and a vintage top I found for 1 euro at Free'P'Star in the marais. The pants and bag were first seen here a few months ago. My sunglasses are from H&M and my shoes are also vintage, bought in Portland. I felt like wearing my suspenders in an unconventional way and this seemed to be just the ticket. I plan on rockin' this ensemble tomorrow when I take the couture shows by storm with my overt and possibly obnoxious patriotism. We'll see how it goes. On the schedule for tomorrow: 3 shows and a showroom presentation, for a resort collection. More details soon! Boy, am I giddy! Gee whiz!

I've been posting really often this week... I guess I just have so much to say and share! The MFW coverage ain't over yet, I'm just breaking it up a lil'. Stay tuned! And I love you all!

Click on the pictures to see full-size. I know they're a bit crooked, but that gives 'em a little charm, don't ya think?

I'll leave with you with what has been one of my favorite Decemberists (from Portland!) tunes for ages, appropriately titled.

Things I saw during Men's Fashion Week in Paris

2011-07-02T11:47:00.000+02:00

More amateur street style and things I saw, captured last week during the men's shows in Paris! You'll recall I did a similar post after the RTW shows in March, but I feel like these are slightly better. I've also included some pictures I took at shows that I won't be doing separate reviews of. Without further ado... (click on the pictures for full-size)

My meuf Giulia rockin' a swell t-shirt. Yesterday she returned to her
homeland of Italy, and I've been crying myself to sleep ever since.

sweet leather sleeve at Julius

inspirational print-mixing from new blogger friend Kenny Dunkan

Cerruti models

Megan, Day 4 ensemble

Can you spot the Songzio models?

The birdless cage necklace of mon amie Anne

dolfies. Thanks, French mom!

Donald Duck + Docs, winning combination

Dolfie Twin

Barcelonian homie Inigo's white 'Breathe' tattoo and ring

outtake from Qasimi

lurking out of Thom Browne

Arnys

Weird/cool pants at Arnys

a good way to end this set of photos

sheer neon blouse jackpot + tunes to match

2011-06-30T22:57:00.000+02:00

I'm not quite done with my men's fashion week coverage, but I feel like I need to break it up a bit with some personal style, since there hasn't been any on the blog for a while. So.....

A few Sundays ago in Paris, the Salon Emmaüs Grande Vente de Solidarité was held at the Expo Center at Porte de Versailles. All sales, and the 3 euro entrance free, went to Emmaüs International, a charity which benefits victims of poverty and homelessness. Emmaüs groups came from all over France and Europe alike, selling everything from clothes to musical instruments to silverware. It was basically a huge indoor flea market for a good cause, so I was happy to drop 13 euro altogether on the entrance fee, plus 5 amazing vintage finds, FOUR OF THEM NEON (and three of those sheer)! It was unreal. I don't think I ever even owned any neon items before I coincidentally ended up with all of these. Check out my neon haul! Click on the photos for full size.

Also, there are some neon related tunes below. The first is a lovely remix of the adorable Au Revoir Simone tune "Another Likely Story," by Neon Indian. The second is slickly mellow electro tune called "Neon Colony" by Solar Bears.

À très bientôt! And as always, thanks for all of the lovely comments :)

Qasimi Homme SS 2012

2011-06-29T02:40:00.001+02:00

Ironically, a show I wasn't invited to ended up being one of my favorites of the ones I attended during the recent men's fashion week here in Paris. Though that could have been heavily due to the fact that I was actually able to sit, in the front row (out of two) no less. Plus the lighting made taking decent pictures quite easy, even for someone with little to no knowledge of runway photography (me).

The clothes were incredible too; I was delighted by the bold, bright shade of orange which popped up in prints, shirts, and many pairs of socks. Speaking of prints, many were military-inspired (with berets, cargo pockets, and face coverings to match), others Victorian, and others just fun and lovely. I loved the aforementioned berets, the skinny ties, a large bag with a black and white print, and all of the shoes which were either maroon or pointy toed, in particular. Many of the pants and shorts were cuffed, revealing an inch or so of print, a trick I always fancy. Cool jackets, plenty of black and white, a camo print which didn't drive me nuts, neat bags, military nods to designer Khalid Al Qasimi's own Middle Eastern background... solid collection.

Although I could have gone in search of better runway shots to share with you all, I took these, and they're halfway decent, and you aren't gonna see 'em anywhere else, so pourquoi pas? Plus you can totally see Yvan Rodic down there in the blue shirt. He didn't photograph me. Burn.

Please don't use my photos without asking or at least linking back to this post.

Anyway, I can't describe how much I enjoyed covering my first men's fashion week. Feeling like an actual member of the press was incredible, an although I didn't feel like I truly belonged anywhere I ended up being, last week was a groovy step in a really cool direction. I made friends, gained contacts, was incredibly inspired by people and clothing, and gained a true appreciation and even love for men's fashion. I hope to be designing for men someday myself. Starting this blog has truly opened countless doors for me, it's actually quite hard to believe... but I'm now very excited for what the future holds, particularly for the ready-to-wear shows this fall! 'Cause I'll be SO READY. Word on the street is I might even have a few couture invitations coming my way for next week... fingers crossed!

I have countless exciting posts planned for you all, including more show reviews and photos, pictures from the street last week, an interview with Stephanie from 22/4, a recent haul of vintage neon blouses, and exciting news about a certain musical artist I had the pleasure of interviewing yesterday.... don't you go nowhere!

This song has been stuck in my head off and on (is that an oxymoron? you know what I mean!) for months now, ever since a friend sent it to me on Spotify...

22/4 by Stephanie Hahn in Paris

2011-06-25T02:11:00.002+02:00

Although men's fashion week truly began on Wednesday afternoon, this (Friday) was day one for me (unless you count lurking around Place des Vosges during the Issey Miyake show on Thursday). The plan was to attend the Julius and Boris Bidjan Saberi shows, which I received invites to, while also checking out the 22/4 showroom presentation, which I had received a random email and subsequent invitation to. While I ended up being at my french kids' school instead of at the BBS show due to the untimely illness of their nounou, I did end up front rowin' it up at Julius, which will be discussed in a later post! I'm definitely glad I went to this presentation though, because I was enchanted by Dusseldorfian designer Stephanie Hahn and her beautiful clothing.

This was my first time setting foot in a showroom or attending any kind of fashion presentation besides a runway show, and I have a feeling this fact was extremely obvious... but I tried my best to keep it together and act like I knew what I was doing, which by the end of the hour and a half or so I spent there, I more or less did. I chatted a lot with the lovely Stephanie and even set up an interview with her for this weekend, awkwardly bantered with the models about whether the shoes were comfortable and photographed them extensively (Question: is it normal to thank them after turning around for me or posing or whatever? Or am I just supposed to shut up and just take the damn pictures?), flipped through the entire collection backstage, filled up on quinoa, mango salad, and raspberries, sipped champagne, and lounged while taking notes while a DJ spun some tunes. I could definitely get used to this kind of work... now I just need someone to offer to pay me :).

The collection itself is described in the press release as "combining classical and very traditional summer wool fabrics, as well as patterns, with casual cotton blends and engineered modern fabric, together it is merged in a fresh and relaxed silhouette... you have mustard and curry yellow shades, red wine reds, ash, clay and stone greys, chalk cliff colours, olive greens and variations of blue and beige colours."

I fell in love with all of the colors in this collection, and while Stephanie wasn't afraid to be creative with her chosen shades, she never strayed far from the classic, nautical combination of blue and white for pieces where stripes were concerned (which they often were, as she's a self-professed huge fan of stripes).

The relaxed silhouettes were so lovely, and most of the clothes looked incredibly soft and comfortable. Pants were loose yet not baggy, shirts were well-tailored and structured yet not tight, and there were always surprises around every corner. For example, most coats featured a vertical slit in the back, there were pops of bright, pinky orange under sleeves and on the linings of jackets, and plenty of charming asymmetrical quirks to be found, especially in the necklines.

Stephanie considers her label to be unisex, and she has always had a great appreciation for men's clothing, particularly the suits. She told me the collection she will show this fall will be comprised of many of the same elements and pieces, yet tailored for a woman's body. I really look forward to returning to her showroom during the ready-to-wear fashion week and seeing what she's come up with for women! It'll be very interesting to compare the pieces to their male counterparts. I can't wait to interview Stephanie and pick her brain about her inspiration and how she has gotten to where she is, so stay tuned for more 22/4! Unfortunately the 22/4 website is under construction, otherwise I'd link y'all. Bummer.

Anyway, enjoy the pics! They were all taken by me, and should only be used with permission from me. (FAIR WARNING.) Click for full size. I've posted all of my photos from the presentation on my blog's facebook page, so check those out here! And don't forget to 'like' it! :)

THIS COAT!! am I right?

Stephanie with stripes galore

not pictured: champagne, tiny desserts

Well, it's off to sleep for me! Going to the Wooyoungmi show tomorrow, real stoked! I love you allllllllll!

Resort Roundup

2011-06-23T03:09:00.000+02:00

So. Things have been a little crazy lately in this life of mine, and by crazy I mean stressful. Although, now, I feel like I can finally breathe, because I at last/at least know what I'm doing this fall. I'm no longer looking for a job in Paris, because I've decided to travel this summer, and then come back to Paris in September to au pair a bit more and cover fashion week at the end of September for Astonish, before heading back to my homeland of Portland-ish, Oregon in the middle of October! And then, moving to San Francisco in January to study fashion design at CCSF. I can't express how good it feels to have some sort of real plan.

Anyway, enough personal stuff. Over the last couple of weeks I've been obsessively checking out all of the resort collections, thanks to style.com, and although Paris men's fashion week is about to take over The Martian Tide BY STORM, I can't help but share with you a few of my favorite resort collections and trends.

Taking the cake is Céline. There is just the right amount of sheerness, florals, nudes and brights. It's trendy but still luxurious, and the white shoes are lovely. And how about those gorgeous gloves? I would happily pack all of these clothes for my next cruise (lol @ the thought of me on a cruise). (All photos are from style.com)

Another favorite was Giambattista Valli. The way he somehow succeeded in mixing leopard print with rich florals and sheerness was inspired! So cool!

Thirdly, I loved the Marc by Marc Jacobs collection. Geeky chic-y glasses, more tropical flowers, polka dots, and plenty of belts and ties to help define the waist made these looks so lovely. The shoes are especially awesome too, as is the all-red ensemble.

Finally, I am a sucker for palm trees and parrots, so Pedro Lourenço's collection impressed me as well. How cool are these zippered panels, metallic shades and that leather jacket? And yes, Pedro is 21... he makes me feel so unaccomplished.

So, which resort collections were your favorite/least favorite? In other news, my first menswear show is Friday, Boris Bidjan Saberi! But I'll definitely do some lurking/gatecrashing before then... so stay tuned :)

I'm back! Sorry again about the deafening silence around here lately. I recently made some noise by recording this violin (+ effects(REVERB)) cover of "Believer" by John Maus, who I first gushed about here. So listen if you dare.

Believer (John Maus cover) by meghead

J'adore le parc

2011-06-13T14:30:00.002+02:00

These past few weeks I've spent a lot of time in parks, namely, le Parc des Buttes Chaumont in the 19th, and Parc de la Villette, also in the 19th, where the Villette Sonique music festival was held a few weeks ago. While I couldn't afford to go to any of the paid concerts, there were two lovely, sunny days of free outdoor music, including the likes of Caribou and James Pants, among other, although those two were my reasons for checking it out. Since I also can't afford to travel or pay to go to any festivals this summer, unlike a lot of my friends, Villette Sonique will have to suffice. I took my camera with me the second day and spotted some interesting hair colors, which I creepily photographed without permission. Cool!

I did actually get into one of the concerts, thanks to a guy I sort of know putting me on the guest list. It was Julian Lynch and Ducktails inside the Géode (the huge, shiny ball at Parc de la Villette), which usually shows 3D and IMAX movies. The Books were supposed to be headlining, but they canceled, sadly. Seeing bands there was very odd, as the audience was seated (very comfortably, I might add), and the room was silent. I could hear the band members talking to each other, and it was just a bit strange... but I enjoyed the free show nonetheless. Both bands used tons of reverb which reverberated off of all of the round walls, it was really noisy and drone-y but cool. Anyway, yeah. Here are some pictures! Also I'll leave some videos so you can check out the bands I mentioned. The Caribou performance was especially epic, definitely the best live show from him I've seen (out of 3 total, haha).

Oh yeah, and my 100th google follower ended up being my dear friend from back in Oregon Michelle's mom! So thank you Karen :). By the way, Michelle recently started an awesome food blog where she reviews restaurant and posts about her favorite recipes and experiences in the kitchen. Check it out here. It makes me drool...

click on the photos to view full size! I wish I could make them bigger, but the column is only so wide...

redhead spotted in the bathroom line... this picture
was creepily taken from a pedestrian bridge.

incredible blue braids!

Canal de l'Ourcq, Parc de la Villette

Giulia + Géode

Julian Lynch in the Géode

Buttes Chaumont

Nectarine + nude nails at Buttes Chaumont

Giulia + her latest Free'P'Star find at BC
(wearing my leopard sweater :))

rainy day in Belleville

Bastille

faded florals and rainy plaid and oxford collapse

2011-06-08T19:38:00.003+02:00

Hey, it's an outfit. Also, I have 99 google followers which is driving me nuts, someone needs to push me into the triple digits! Seriously, my hundredth google follower will get a special mention in my next post!

I wore this yesterday to a delicious Vietnamese lunch in Belleville with my Dutch/Kiwi au pair homie Anne. Belleville's one of my favorite areas of Paris, and I've lately just been in love with the 19th and 20th arrondissements in general. The parks, the lack of tourists, the markets, the 'real' Parisians who live there (for example, old men who walk around shirtless. so... authentic!).

Lately I've been workin' hard on my French CV and finding work in Paris for when I finish my au pair job at the end of this month. WISH ME LUCK! I'm definitely feelin' some stress. Who wants to offer me a paid assistant styling job?

It was a drizzly day, so as always, I was happy to have a reason to wear my favorite bronze Docs ever. It also seemed appropriate to don this clearly autumn-y plaid coat which I bought from Forever 21 during high school, although I'm not a big fan of that store these days. This dress is one of my favorites, and I THINK I found it at my good ol' hometown McMinnville Goodwill last fall, but I really can't be sure. I do know that I bought it in Oregon, and it was used. I love the faded flowers, and how combined with the Docs, (charmingly?) clashing plaid and sheer bandage-y leggings (which I picked up on rue Ménilmontant at a random store of brand new, otherwise kinda uncool stuff... but once again, lovin' the 20th!), there's sort of a '90s chord being struck with this outfit.

The necklace was first seen here.

Scroll down to read about a band very near and dear to my heart, and... 14 days 'til men's fashion week! As of now it's lookin' like 9 shows for Megan! AH!

I love the shoulders on this dress!

Now things are about to get a little more personal. Oxford Collapse was one of the first bands (to be exact, they were the second) I EVER saw play live in a place that wasn't a huge arena. At the end of middle school, or around age 13, I made the life-changing decision to listen to music besides what was on the Top 40 radio. This was thanks to the discovery of Hot Hot Heat, the Shins, Le Tigre, and a couple others, courtesy of the forum of a certain teen fashion magazine. Real talk. At age 13, I frequented an online forum or two. I became hooked on Hot Hot Heat, but kept exploring, listening and downloading. Eventually (well, a or so month later), I wanted to see some of this music live, but sadly, none of my friends at the time were into the stuff my ears were diggin'. So... one night, my dad drove me an hour to my first real show in Portland: The Futureheads of the UK, who I really loved at the time. I bought my first band tee, stood close to my first stage, experienced my first hip, legit music venue, the Loveland, which is now called Rotture and isn't all ages anymore, if I remember correctly. That's Portland for ya.

Oxford Collapse, of Brooklyn, were the band that played right before the Futureheads, and right after another band whose name I've forgotten. Even seven years ago I really dug their rough, rockin', youthful sound, and continue to dig it to this day, although they broke up in 2009. Check out some of my favorite Oxford Collapse tunes. Just kidding, my favorites of theirs aren't on youtube, so I've uploaded my two favorite jams for y'all. Hopefully I embedded them correctly. ENJOY!

"If It Dies in Peoria Then Who the Hell Cares?"

"The Boys Go Home"

BIG HUG, thanks for the lovely comments as always :)

Dudesday Tuesday: Bernhard Willhelm + Raoul Sinier

2011-06-07T03:32:00.000+02:00

Happy Dudesday! Firstly, I want to thank Alexis for once again choosing to feature me on her blog North on Harper as part of her "NoH Does: White Out" feature, for which I donned a mostly white ensemble for summer! Check it out here! And now, onto the dudes...

As men's fashion week in Paris rapidly approaches (15 days to go!), I'm getting more and more stoked and interested in menswear and models, and the world of men's fashion in general. I guess we can call it research. While no envelopes have officially arrived on my doorstep as of yet, I've received confirmation that I'll have invitations to at least seven shows! So, I'm eagerly hovering around the mailbox these days... particularly anticipating the invite for Bernhard Willhelm, as his shows seem to be true, crazy works of art.

Much like his women's collections, which I won't specifically discuss today, the ensembles seen in his shows are chaotic combinations of wacky separates (I felt similarly about Louise Gray's A/W 2011 collection, which I nonetheless loved as well). When clicking through some photos from his "exhibitions" for his men's collections, I thought more about how much I wanted to be there and what was going through his head when he put all of this together (outfits and props alike) than how practical most of clothes actually are. (It's irrelevant). They're like costumes, for superheroes or funky aerobics instructors with an affinity for speedos (though of course there are a few more wearable exceptions). This guy is nuts! I'll share some photos from both his most recent fall and spring (2011) "exhibitions"... see for yourself! The umbrellas are amazing! Can't wait to see what he's got cooking for the exhibition in Paris, with no gate-crashing required! I thoroughly enjoy the group photos included amongst the photos of the separate looks. It's nice to review and take in all of the crazy at once after scrolling through such delightful madness.

These photos are all from Bernhard's website. If they intrigue you, I'd highly recommend checking out the photos from his other two men's exhibitions on his website. Seriously. Some words that come to mind after looking at pictures from the A/W 2010-2011 spectacle: mullet, bodybuilder, pineapple, Chippendales, RexFromNapoleonDynamite... JUST CLICK.

(Then, scroll down to check out this DJ (/digital paint/filmmaker) I've been obsessed with for the evening! My fellow Parisian Raoul Sinier!)

Fall 2011:

As if that weren't weird enough, here's Spring 2011:

As I mentioned, Raoul Sinier is a super cool dude who is also a triple threat: digital, video, and electronic musical artist. This means his music videos are awesome. He also has uploaded videos to his YouTube channel which show him "speedpainting" with Corel Painter on his Mac. Set to his music, of course. While I still haven't delved deeply enough into his vast back catalog, I'm workin' on it, because every new song and video I hear or see gets me even more stoked on this guy. His sound is heavy, suspenseful, glitchy, a bit eerie, and very creative. But one can also tell he's enjoying himself. Wouldn't mind grooving to his stuff in some grimy lil' Parisian club! So I'll present you, dear readers and listeners, with two of my favorites so far. Oh, and check out his website HERE if you dig it, which I hope ya do!

Enjoy your dudesdays, and thanks for all of the TRULY LOVELY comments on my last post! I love you all!

The Human Beach + Beach Bands

2011-06-02T22:42:00.002+02:00

The truth is, over the years I've realized that I prefer the idea of a beach to actually spending time on one. With the exception of one family vacation to Maui when I was 14, the only beaches I've been able to frequent were in Oregon or France. Both, especially the former, are usually windy, cold, and somewhat treacherous... although, also very beautiful (if you're able to see through the hair that's being blown in front of your face and avoid getting sand in your eyes). I've had lovely days and nights on beaches, of course, but usually the reality doesn't quite live up to my expectations.

These days I prefer to stick to dressing like a beach, complete with sand, waves, gold shells and feathers, which could belong to some tropical bird or one of those things people use for fishing (my fishing vocabulary is nonexistent, so hopefully you know what I mean...). When I found this top at a friperie up the hill on rue Ménilmontant for 2 or 3 euro, my first thought was "WHOA THIS LOOKS JUST LIKE A WAVE I'M GONNA WEAR IT WITH MY NUDE SKIRT AND BE A HUMAN BEACH" so that's what I'm finally doing. The skirt was one of my vintage birthday scores, the shoes suck and are falling apart and are from H&M, although I do still like them, I'm just pissed about the quality. I think the necklace is from Claire's (yup, the mall chain store where you and I got our ears pierced). I bought it ages ago, back in Portland no doubt. Probably at age 11. I bought the feather earrings at the Waterlooplein flea market in Amsterdam back in February. Feather earrings always bug me because they never seem to hang straight, but the idea of them is pretttttty cool and I thought these feathers were gorgeous.

At the moment I'm kickin' it bachelorette style in this lovely house, as my French family has gone to the real beach for the long holiday weekend. Basically this means I'm doing a lot of loud singing around the house, eating at strange hours, blasting my tuneage at all times, and taking pictures with their sweet SLR, which I am certainly no expert on. I took these photos with it though, which explains why some of them are weird and blurry but I'm pretty stoked to try and figure out this camera. Click on the photos to see them full-size.

Rings from Grandma/jewelry store on rue Rivoli

west coast of France

At the moment, there are tons of popular bands with beach in their name, and since last summer, following the chillwave/lo-fi/beach/goth craze, beaches have been totally romanticized in many a music video. As much as it was kinda annoying and overdone I still find some of this stuff kinda awesome as well, as I'd much prefer shimmyin' to a beachy tune to shiverin' in the drizzle on a windy, cold, Oregon beach. Here are some of my favorite beach influenced tunes and videos these days.

*Favorite*: Dirty Beaches are amazing. Just listen, and you'll hear and see how Alex Zhang Hungtai lives up to his awesome name.

The Drums. I'm not a fan of this video, but this song was totally my beach anthem for the sunny months of 2010.

Ariel Pink's cover of "Bright Lit Blue Skies" by the Rockin' Ramrods (who are really, really great). As much as I love the original, this video is epically beach-y.

The ever lovely and dreamy Beach House from Baltimore.

"#7" by Washed Out samples the sounds of real waves. whooooa cooooool!

In other news, I've realized today that I've finally broken the big 1-0-0 followers, when combining my Googlers and my BlogLovin' numbers! So thanks to everyone who's following! I'm proud to have reached this first milestone, especially since I refuse to trade follows simply to raise my numbers. I follow blogs which interest and inspire me, and I sincerely hope that my readers follow because they truly enjoy my blog as well!

Much much much love. I'm eating couscous and let me tell you, it's delicious. And it also reminds me of sand.

Dudesday Tuesday: GANT Rugger + Bleeding Knees Club

2011-05-31T14:23:00.000+02:00

Once again, Dudesday is upon us! This week I'm featuring GANT Rugger, specifically the Pre-Fall collection, "New Haven Math Club". Rugger is one of several sportswear lines under the GANT umbrella, and targets a younger male clientele, perhaps the sons of the older GANT-wearing men. Launched in 1949 by Bernard Gant in New Haven, CT, Gant is now creatively fueled by the Swedish Christopher Bastin. While the look definitely says New England Ivy League/Vampire Weekend member, there are also hints of European influence as well. As I learned from this interview, the line was inspired by photos of a 1960s Yale math club. The photos I posted below are also taken from this GQ article, as well as from GANTRUGGER.COM.

Usually, when it comes to men's clothing, I'm not so much a fan of the preppy style, (at least not without some interesting, edgy contrasts, although I do love me some bow ties) but this collection has a certain casual, modern, summery edge. It's fresh. I'm especially a fan of the shorts, particularly when the shorts are paired with a matching suit jacket. (If I were a guy I think it'd be really fun and possibly rebellious to take a nice skinny suit and cut the sleeves off of the jacket from the wrist down and cut the pants into shorts, with loose threads hanging all around. So expect to see a menswear line from me in the next 10 years featuring this type of suit.) Plus the videos that accompany it are pretty adorable, and the lookbook solely features Swedish model Charlie Westerberg, who I adore, so there you have it. "Popped collars are not for scholars!"

Oh and Charlie also dresses himself pretty well I'd say. He's also a fellow fan of the stick 'n' poke. According to whoever posted this photo on The Fashion Spot forums, it's from coadcinc.com.

I'll leave you with the delightfully self-explanatory music video for "Have Fun" by the Bleeding Knees Club of Australia, who I saw in London a few weeks back. They were definitely my favorite of the night, fun to watch, and seem to be getting tons of press lately so good for them!

Cheers, mates.

May Days + Kurt Vile + Refound Love for the Fiddle

2011-05-27T01:11:00.002+02:00

dress: seen here, vintage cardigan from Free'P'Star
vintage sunglasses from a flea market in Montmartre,
purchased just before this photo was taken

This is gonna be one of these posts where I share a bunch of photos from my recent life and blabber about one of my favorite musicians as of late, Kurt Vile, and what a bitchin' time I had hanging out with him and The Violators earlier this week. I shall also share a song I recorded last night with the violin, my voice, and my hands. This is a somewhat significant event, as I hardly EVER EVER let anyone hear my singing voice. I don't know what's gotten into me.

Lately, I've been obsessed with red lipstick. I wear it every day, unless it would clash horribly with my clothes. I found this 'stick at a random and slightly sketchy cosmetics sale inside of Gare Saint-Lazare a couple of weeks ago. It was one euro and stays on great for like 4 hours! Pinky red with hints of gold and orange is how I'd have to describe the color. Somehow slappin' on some rouge à lèvres every day instead of going heavier on the eye makeup is the best idea in the world to me lately. There are some downsides though. I need to carry a mirror throughout the day to make sure it's not anywhere besides my lips, and a bit of it ends up sticking to everything my lips touch. BUT I LOVE IT.

click on the photos for full-size.

I took this photo of the adorable French girl I take care of
during our vacation in April.
I love her dress so much... you can see the bottom of it here
her clothes are so adorable...

I was diggin' her all-white ensemble. This was taken at
the national library of France

Another one of "my" kids.
One day after he returned from school I realized he had,
purposefully or not,
perfectly executed this spring's color-blocking trend,
which has now even reached the average American home
since being featured on the Today show,
as my mom recently informed me

In the garden of the Petit Trianon in Versailles,
where Marie-Antoinette lived for a time

10 euro score at a flea market near Oberkampf
Maybe I am a bit influenced by all of this boho
revival riffraff...

Canal Saint-Martin, a regular hangout spot these days and nights.
Me in jeans (it looks weird to me too)

Le Jardin des Plantes

homies Lynn, Giulia, and Zarah in Pigalle

Zarah's amazing vintage boots she found in Paris

Zarah's vintage Givenchy sunglasses, so wild!

No artist has been blowin' my iPod as much during these past few months as Philadelphian Kurt Vile (and the Violators). His four full-length albums and a sprinkling of EPs (all released within the last 3 years!) make up an incredible body of work, and I just can't get enough of his music. It brings to mind all kinds of genres from psychedelic to folk to shoegaze to lo-fi to blues to plain ol' rock and roll. His songs are dreamy masterpieces, each album is different, but Kurt's laid-back, distinctive, somewhat drawl-y and at times reverb-heavy style of singing and honestly earnest, effective, witty lyrics remain. Watching him live, (as I did on Monday night) one rarely sees his face, as his epic wavy locks are bouncing in front of it as he's hunched over his guitar, rockin' out while taking breaks to peer through the middle and sing, with his eyes darting around the room. I'll post a couple of his videos after my photos so you can see what I'm talkin' about!

I had the pleasure of meeting Kurt & co. after his show the other night, and actually ended up having a drink or two (or three) with them at a nearby bar. This is something that wouldn't have been possible if I still lived in the US... so thank you France and your extremely reasonable drinking age! In fact, Kurt told my friend and I about how they were shooting some videos for La Blogotheque the next morning and invited us to come watch... so that was kinda a dream come true. We went the next day and spent a few hours basically enjoying a semi-private show on the streets of the 20th arrondissement while La Blogotheque filmed and oblivious passersby wondered what was up. I'm pretty sure I'll appear in the videos... so that'll be interesting to see when they're finally posted.

In conclusion, it was an amazing night and day. Walking around Paris singing Kurt Vile songs with the actual Kurt Vile was so surreal. Meeting a musical hero like him and having the chance to talk to him at length was incredible, and the fact that such a normal, cool, humble, genuine guy can create such beautiful music was really inspiring to me. Perhaps so inspiring that last night I swiped my French boy's violin (I took 4 years of lessons in the past so I've still got some chops) and recorded my first song in a really, really long time. Like, in over a year. And yup, it's a Kurt Vile cover. Let me know what you think of it...

Blackberry Song (Kurt Vile cover) by meghead

group shot c/o Ellie

I love you all! Thanks for the comments and stuff on my last post. I'm glad I kept the dress too. :)