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|| Play, re-wind, repeat ||

2009-08-16T07:33:00.001-07:00

The Last International Playboy

High Summer Playlist

This year's blink and you'll miss it Summer is drawing to it's offical close soon (for those of us who hadn't given up on it anyway). And as far as clothes go, when the mercury goes up they come off; so here's to summer beauty. Grab a cold one and toast to bronzer, to minimal styling and fuss, and the opportunity to frolick in the blazing sunshine like happy girl-nymphs in a Stelly McCartney campaign until we have to wear tights again (the weather forecast tells us that's Thursday). Happy Summer everyone!

Editorial fromVain&Vapid

Daytime: Strictly shorts n' buns (though none as lovely as these Chloe ones. Sadface)

Nails byThe Coveted

Colour spectrum nails: Red, Coral and pink looks especially gorgeous on tanned skin. Paint each toe a different colour- you always thought you'd bought too many shades of red , until now!

Allthetime: Pillbox red lips and bare legs. No I'm not just using this excuse to post this photo of PJ Harvey. Why would you say that?

Lily Allen from Mahalofashion

Nightime: Glittery stardust on your cheekbones will look pretty in twilight, under fairy lights, under strobe lights... wear with a slick bun and an airy dress. No heels please.

Add liberal sunscreen, sturdy flats and the possibility of sunshine and you have yourself a good ol' time!

|| thunder only happens when it's raining ||

2009-04-15T17:27:00.000-07:00

1. All Urbanoutfitters

2. Vain&Vapid, Ashtungbaby!, Chictopia, youthquaker, knighttcat

3. Esther Kim drawings, Bellahoward, Susie Bubble, Alexander McQueen t-shirt, Jean Seberg in Breathless

I wish i was any way capable with a sewing machine. If I was, I'd see about making myself

a black basque with a deep cleft and a narrow waist, and a closet of bustier dresses with tulip skirts and hems that go up in the front.

Until that happens, there are a shopping list of things i need from Urban Outfitters!

|| she has problems with drinking milk and being school-tardy ||

2009-03-04T12:45:00.000-08:00

This song...

Finally a cover > the original? I do not blaspheme, she's that good.

I don't think its quite kosher around these parts for girls to go around wearing suspender/school-girl socks post-16 but dammit i'm going to try anyway...once it's not tights weather

|| but what do you call it?? ||

2009-02-18T16:16:00.001-08:00

Elle UK- Vain&Vapid

Dutch ELLEgirl- Discotheque Confusion

Dazed Digital

I'm getting OCD over something. A while ago i alluded to rubbing my sweaty little hands over 80s Fred Perry polos, Ben Sherman stripes and tweedy mini-skirts...it's an aesthetic i'm failing to describe despite my obsession with it, so bear with me. But the images above are getting there...it must be the new Topshop Unique line with its teddy-girl influences thats stirring this thing up again, so forgive me for repeating...

But I think it goes with the whole mid-90s/early millenium turnover in style which was kind of like a tripped-out armageddon of 80s/90s paraphenilia...i'm regressing to the years of light blue eyeshadow, twisty-grip up dos and jelly sandals here, but I always instantly think 'Ellegirl' when i see any trace of it. It's the editorials with the sports jerseys, old school trainers and little mini skirts that are getting me inspired for the coming season mixed up in my mind (just waiting on that sunshine)...

It's quite a funny thing you get from reading the blogs, that there can be a sort of shtick/influence/reference you own that's so convoluted in the crap you've been doing that week- the movies/music/books you've been browsing or something you've come across on the street, it's like excavating your brain! So trying to exorcise the whole obsession, I had a go at trying to mix up all the different inspirations and influences i was getting to map them out, which was a fun little hour collaging session...

that's right bitches, a colour-coded venn diagram

google,bonadrag, luluisyourmom, ashcan rantings, topman, cobrasnake knightcat

Purple: voodoo prince stevienicks Mermaids cher 80s givenchy rings chains feather skin-tight

yellow: 80sskin-tight mallrat ripped teddy-girl checked Air-nikes Back2The Future

red: fred perry 80s bleached skinhead chains skinscook sports-polos

It doesn't make sense right? But I tried. There's a lot of overlapping, with the garish 80sness of it all:

the piled on givenchy chains, with lovely bag-lady esque rings which have a bit of New Romantic feel. I've always been kind of obsessed with voodoo (hence the blog name), and the whole Stevie Nicks and Cher headdress thing- so, oblitagory nod to Prince and Jimi Hendrix for the blues-rock vibe and Kohl eyes. The film Mermaids which i re-watched the other day reminded me of other childhood faves, like Back 2 The Future and the sick pair of oldschool Nikes that got featured. That got me started on old band t-shirts and neo-punk type stuff- like the 70s style Sophomore neon zipper skirt pictured. Hence the slightly trashy skin-tight look mixed with boys stuff, like men's shirts reminded me of This Is England and teddy-girls. Which leads randomly to Skins 3 (I only still watch it out of loyalty mind) through this guy Cook, who dresses in a delightfully sporty/ASBO way- only because the same actor essentially played the same character in This is England, shame on you Skins producers...

Pheeew.

I know exactly the look i'm thinking off, but what do you call it?

If you got through that, i commend you because it was exhausting enough to write. I am still not making sense dammit, but one day i shall give this aesthetic a name.

How about 80s pagan cobraslut?

xxx

|| yeah yeah i'm cherry cola/yeah yeah i'm candy-eyed ||

2009-01-22T03:51:00.000-08:00

Fuck it's cold

And everyones got the February blues, myself included...and it's still January! Plus, just finished exams yesterday, so i'm taking a well-deserved sickie! So far i've stayed in bed and watched Wayne's World and Rules of Attractions back-to-back, the two most perfect films ever made imo....

this just in:

Sharyn Sossomon has the most beautiful smile in the world!!

p.s. to those who asked, i edit photos like these on Microsoft Paint- i wish i had photoshop!

stills from Rules of Attraction, my own

xxx

|| alright, still ||

2009-01-11T04:13:00.000-08:00

Welcome, 2009!

(And the return of good-trashy )

footnotes:(l-r) Chanel Printemps 2005, Ellery S/S08, Mossy, Rick Owens jacket, Blondie- Call Me, Alice from Closer, a Cobrasnake chick

A very belated new year's wish all around, hope everyone let had lots of fun before herding back to their respective jobs/schools etc- welcome back. Now this is the hard part.

I never really stick to NY resolutions, but here are a few things i'd like to see in 09...and some things that need to come back!

1. bad is good, good is bad:

As in calpol-pink nails and cher-from-clueless furry pens, bad-mouthed bottle blondes (as per Courtney Love and Debbie Harry), men's bowling shirts, varsity shirts, (I've newly discovered Topman is awesome), glitter, 90s house music, dizzy stripper heels (always) , Baseball caps, animal stripes, lucky-star era madonna and lipstick (call it 'rouge')

I restrained myself from adding glitter jelly sandals...just :) Aii, Nostalgia-heavy

2. 60s-era-Bardot hair

The single best thing about 60s film footage is the hair- i don't know if it is because the world was a better place back then, or because people ate all their greens and were all about loving mother nature and leaving their tresses alone...?

If time travel is ever possible, i warrant that making sure every girl had the birth rights to jen brill hair would be my service to society...you're welcome

P.S. It's so cute how Ruby and Charlotte are channeling the gainsbourg girls here. Colour me heartily jealous.

3. Whimsical dressing

Soft jumper, jersey mini, head-dress... your typical outfit. It's hard not to admire girls like the Clotheshorse and Cherry Blossom Girl, who make a concious effort to warm the world a little with projecting a bit of heart and cheekiness into it. Because why not wear a crown everyday? Oh! And bangles, and piles of rings, and sooty eyeliner- i've nabbed this from somewhere but dressing like 'yourself' is imperative, because if you think about your physical appearance is the only real costume; if it is the last thing that tells you about the interior, isn't your embellishment and fantasy more truthful about who you are?

4. To good music, and to Crystal Castles

The best scientific discovery of bad-assery in 2008 was Alice Glass. She's part-Brody Dalle, part-Mazzy Star and part-Nintendo 64 (the one where you needed cartridges) I love a good frontwoman and she made my 2008, on many occasions.

I doubt she can be outdone, but if it would be anyone it would be this girl. She is possesses the same elfish cuteness which disarms you from the voice thats charged with enough static to put all your hairs on end. Inspired by greats like Marvin Gaye, Betty Davis and Sly & the Family Stone, (and with an amazing little back story on how they came to be) they're simply not like anything else right now...

Mette Lindberg- the Asteroids Galaxy Tour .

5. A little magic

When you read or watch most of the coverage of 2008, the consenus is that it was a shitty year. Because i have little backbone and am easily influenced, i thought to myself, hmm yeah actually this was a shitty year, boo! But that's obviously not true- it's no different to any other year, good things happened and bad things happened. Life is tedious and drags on, we just make the melodrama to break the monotony. So on that note, it's not really a resolution but it makes you feel better:

Everything will be alright in the end. If it's not alright, it's not the end...

xxx

|| if nothing else ||

2008-11-30T16:24:00.000-08:00

via googling'vogueparis'

Kurt n Courtney

vain&Vapidfw08

Sunday forecast: 90s music, old Paris Vogues and long Bronte-style walks in the cold

I'm not of many words (or thoughts) lately, so i've found lots who can say it so much better: as well as saving countless pictures, sometimes lovely words give pause for thought...

xxx

can we have a bit of hush for an unknown ache and other fables;
one girl asking permission for a hair cut,
packing her horse into a suitcase,
name stitched into everything she owns
preparing to be a ghost this evening;
one girl a guerilla only held up by bows on her shoes,
apologising in her sleep
and strung like too-early christmas lights

At fourteen I learnt the art of lurking. I had already given up sleep. At night I tiptoed down the attic stairs and the whole house trembled with my disobedience. I slid out of the front door and into the street. I went to the graveyard with its stone angels and pagan gargoyles and lay under a tree which was an umbrella with a canopy of lungs. I made up miserable songs which I sang in a low monotone. I was always looking for the artist. I drifted to the water meadow and walked through clumps of nettles until my ankles grew numb elephantine skins. I walked slowly, wrapped in a duffle coat, hoping that something would happen.`

(Both from the hauntingly brilliant stringbeanjean )

Daydream delusion, limousine eyelash / Oh baby with your pretty face / Drop a tear in my wineglass / Look at those big eyes / See what you mean to me / Sweet-cakes and milkshakes / I'm a delusion angel / I'm a fantasy parade / I want you to know what I think / Don't want you to guess anymore / You have no idea where I came from / We have no idea where we're going / Lodged in life / Like branches in a river/ Flowing downstream / Caught in the current / I carry you / You'll carry me / That's how it could be / Don't you know me? / Don't you know me by now?

(the busking street poet in film 'Before Sunrise' who writes a poem for the lovers, if they like it they can give him change, his deal...)

Eh toi/ Hey you
dit-moi que tu m'aimes/ Tell me that you love me
meme ce c'est un mesonge/ even if it's a lie
et qu'on n'avons un chance/ and we don't have a chance
la vie est assez triste/ life's sad enough
dit moi qu m'aimes/ tell me you love me...

(Alice in 'Chansons D'Amour', a ditty she sings under her breath on a cab home, not part of the musical (but should be)

|| des bonnes raisons pour t'aimé... ||

2008-11-12T13:35:00.000-08:00

Sunshadows &Moonshine

Lalala. I was going to call this post 'brain fart' because the collage is kind of wrong, the influences are all trippy and arse-up from a general theme... but it suits the ambience these days, what with the weather in some sort of hokey-cokey mode between torrential downpours and windy-day-at-the-beach sun? But that's a bitch-fest for another day. So likewise the collage is somewhere between an 80s biker chick in beat-up leopard print kickers, a $10 boardwalk tarot reader in fake jewels and...a grungy harlot holed up in a NY hotel cold-calling strangers....oh i've had too much cough syrup, but those chains over the liquidy-dress sure is pretty yes? Click to view

The soundtrack was the gorgeous chanson de slogan cover by the kills, and Bad Girl by Devendra Banhart, on repeat. Perfect company for my foul mood + anecdote to the Original Shit Morning™. I'll spare the details, but it involved hauling my dog-rough arse to college to pay library fees, terrorizing first-years and killing my ipod...

And now for something completely different: how cool is this little set-up? This is the apartment of my dreams!

It belongs to Chase Cohl, NY musician and obvious bad-ass- two facts: 1) she is the chick who models Little Doe, 2) I want to be her best friend; that is all

|| i love the night bus ||

2008-10-25T13:32:00.000-07:00

and other 5 other things that rank highly this October...

1)Sheer lace dresses are beautiful, and Harley snapped up the best vintage find ever. Look at the sleeves on that! I am cursed to only ever find frumpy tat when i go thrifting...it might be karma

2) Let's continue the french movies love orgy- Love Songs will haunt you. It is a musical, but let's not throw that word around too much; it's less cheesy than it sounds- nobody bursts into song and it's all beautifully shot and touching. You may just find yourself commiting the songs to heart and singing it all the time, to the annoyance of everybody around you. Renting it is a must, watching it in bed with camomile tea on tap is a suggestion.

3) I need a leopard print coat that has mated with a fluffy cardi to keep me warm these winter months, a la Alison from the Kills in 'last day of magic'. Warning: wearing it will not make you look as cool as Signe from Milk, but it's halfway there

4) Polyvore is addictive isn't it? Type in words like 'grey', 'boyfriend' and 'chloe' and you will find you have a wasted hour and an unfinished essay to show for it...but damn is it fun. I made this set after watching Regular Lovers, which will teach you: a) you need a men's shirt in blue and white to tuck into jeans b) you need to dress as if you couldn't possibly think about fashion that much *whistle*

5) ...speaks for itself!

Happy end of October! I'm bloody happy to see the back of it, aren't you?

xxx

|| Best. Video. Ever ||

2008-10-18T14:00:00.000-07:00

Caution: This video is a leetle risque so be warned, but it's still amazing. I love the lyrics, they're so dirty!!

Whoever made this is a genius

SONG: BB Brunes- BB Baise, FILMS: The Dreamers, And God Created Women

|| regular boy ||

2008-10-05T14:22:00.000-07:00

Louis Garrel- Hedislimane.com/diary

Some shameless hormones for the blog here. While being semi-commited to my French Coursework lately (luckily it's on Film, so i get to watch Breathless and Bande à part and call it research!), I've gotten to introduced to some amazing french movies. I just finished Regular Lovers, perfect if you're into cinematography and new-wave cinema; it's mostly set in 1968, Paris, where the students are embracing the revolution and the uprising over the goverment regimes, young people feeling inspired and smoking a lot of hash, kids in love; Of course there's a lot of strong political themes and ethical commentaries that were going on, but it of course all went over my head. It was all about Francois and Lilie, their story... and Louis Garrel of course.

I can't wait for La Belle Personne to come out, I mean, him and Léa Seydoux! (But I'm not pretending to understand much of the trailer....what happened to subtitles :S)

|| fuddy duddy genius ||

2008-09-21T06:46:00.000-07:00

Scott Schuman, Albert Elbaz, vintage Marc Jacobs, Wes Anderson, Andre 3000 (!)...there's something endearing about a slightly nerdy boy in culottes and tweed, and if you're really lucky, a bow tie. A good old-fashioned eccentric.

But it's ever so slightly more heartening when a girl does it, and it's not Rosie O'Donnell (...who am i kidding, i love you Rosie!!). Because it's so easy to do threadbare tees and cuffed shorts, its fun to see someone with a bit of shtick (though admittedly she leans more towards the former of late)...and who invites images of vintage children's books, charlie brown and ever so slightly...salt n pepa. You know, sometimes!

So here's Lesley Arfin, adorably schnozed in massive perspex prescrip' glasses and steeped in cats...you know, for someone who's entangled within the whole Vice-Terry Richardson-NY Scene Flustercluck. And the fact she counts Kim Gordon, Chan Marshall, Benjamin Cho, Chloe Sevigny, Jen Brill etc. among close personal friends, her blog is addictive ~~reading~~ oogling.

Maybe the obsession officially kicked off after i ended up buying her book in a haphazard kind-of-way, and absorbed it over a weekend. Then realising she was already all over Cobrasnake, a founding writer of Vice and newly minted at Missbehave made it all easy fodder for googling the night away... Either way she's like the chick equivalent of Albert Elbaz, or your grandpa: hearteningly cheesy.

I highly suggest checking her out in this month's Jalouse, The Selby and then reading her lovely book Dear Diary- it's about her not-so-cuddly battle with heroine addiction, but don't let that put you off or anything

xx

|| in defence of shlub ||

2008-09-06T16:19:00.000-07:00

via hellosailor

via garance dore

via knightcat

Though I haven't really figured out the irony of dressing slouchy/feeling slouchy yet either

If things in fashion seem to become hyped, overexposed and pronounced dead only to become retrofied back into the cycle a couple of years later...then bah, humbug. Trends really never die, they just play dead. So how innovative is it of upstarts like Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, recently American Apparel resident-odd Dov Charney and Alex Wang to stop using the templates of other decades and to create basic, homogenous canvas pieces where personality takes over and bringing them to the masses. The 90s sentiment which only could have surfaced after OD'ing on 80s sequins and geometric shapes, is all about tailoring, clean lines and the silohuette. Part-blue collar Americana, part- androgyny. It's so awesomely anti-trend, it had to become the shit!

Personally, totally besotted with the stylings of Camille, Rumi, Lulu and the Jalouse-worthy efforts of Lily Alridge, Abbey Lee and of course, Wasson, that my laundry cycle has been refined into pretty much bandage skirts, shlubby racerbacks, tights and the leather/denim throwback jacket. Original? Certainly not. But it's definitely personal and not a formula either. The charm of lived-in/loved-in, underwear-overwear in the jersey-ruched-just-so kind of way extends way over the heads of fashion-types into the boroughs of other types of inspiration: sex, rock n' roll, revolution....so underlining things like bare legs, troubadours, Bob Dylan, Lolita, the working man, female form, the hat in a street-style photo- it's so universal, it can relate to all of us the same way music does . Season to season, any designer's influences could be the same...who's to call one or the other wrong then?

Credits: Alice McCall SS08, Alexander Wang SS07, Fashion Toast, Facehunter, Chloe Sevigny

I'm bored of it being written of as 'lazy dressing'. I think the fashion industry (as a business) are a little scared of style-centric dressing and the rise of blog-culture and face-hunter cause no-one's getting paid, and everyone's getting influenced. Instead of say, wag-driven new Mulberrys etc (let me say here that Mulberrys are nice, its it-bags that i'm getting at). Maybe our youth culture is narcissitic because we know we look good in short shorts, too bored to be historically accurate or whatever but fashion inspiration that isn't necessarily drawn from fashion is not the enemy!

Maybe it's just natural for olds to turn back and point the finger like 'things have changed since we were young wah wah'? Well I'm looking forward to that ...

This post was mostly born in annoyance of this article (which writes of anyone in aa as 'hipsters' where vintage means a 'wasteland of stolen influences from decades they'd never know'? Thanks!)

PS. I'm sorry to say that as an already sporadic blogger, these next few weeks will be hellishly cramped with work/college and catching up on work i should have already done. Just call me lazy and idle!

|| calling all topshop addicts ||

2008-07-24T00:16:00.000-07:00

s...if you've been sneaking looks at the new autumn stock at topshop.com even though you've already gone overboard on sale stuff (damn you one-click ordering, exchange rate etc.) and perhaps ooh-ahhed over some lovely basics, like the whole Topshop Boutique + particularly those kitschy 50s dresses hmm?

Well, this one in particular caught my eye, the halter straps, sweetheart-esque neckline plus the slightly ironic print (black cherry...one for a. haha) until i saw it on daisy lowe via justjared. Oy. This may just take the route of the alexa-chung-star-dress-business in which case I'll have no part of it.

Day after Daisy spotting. Typical.

Of course, it's a nice little day dress but it does not come close to the rest of AW09collection, which can be seen here- and my, it's so much fun perusing what looks like a good chunk of the whole bloody thing, shoes + accessories (and prices) included. It's great marketing because you feel instantly invested to blacklist your favourite bits + to inevitably goo after, make photo mash-ups of and then save for a rainy day...in october probably!

i'm pretty excited. What i will say for topshop, is i don't mind paying increasingly steeper prices for things when the quality, details etc are so good.They're particularly good at shoes now; if you've been swayed into the theory that only really well-made heels don't kill you after a long day then Topshop's 5-inch platform nude serenos (weirdly + inexplicably) pass the test!

BUY NOW, EBAY LATER

And if we're talking about shopping, this is probably the about the time if you really like something on sale (ahem, and you have the loot) you should snap it up because it will probably disappear any day now. Learnt this lesson the hard way. Unless it is at Standard Deviation ,which have been having the most shockingly good sale for months now which still has not sold out, so much so that prices have been slashed ridiculously low (i'm talking about my fantasy label ...compare this independent's going prices to La Garconne. Then pick me up the spitfire dress in 36 plz).

Feeling like throwing some money about, or else indulging in a little self-masochism? The best type of further-reductions, multi-slash final sales are going on with labels like Future Classics, Mocuin, Monroe, Heimstone, Alexander Wang, Habitual, Willow, Abaete, Camilla + Marc, Nuj Nuvakhett...

(anica-boutique.com, shopjinny.com, shoplanguage.com, shopbirdla.com, pixiemarket.com, look-boutique.com)

Meanwhile I'll just look and make some more collages...
xx

||the light is stronger here ||

2008-07-18T06:46:00.000-07:00

'Photographs are like footprints that go backwards. I was born, I was, I...'

the sun bleaches everything out...

the only rich colour i remember is rain on red dust

'It helps if there are photos. No more choices for the people in them — pick this one, dump that one. The livers of the lives in question had their chances, most of which they blew. They should have spotted the photographer in the bushes, they shouldn’t have chewed with their mouths open, they shouldn’t have worn the strapless top, they shouldn’t have yawned, they shouldn’t have laughed: so unattractive, the candid denture. So that’s what she looked like, we say, connecting the snapshot to the year of the torrid affair. Face like a half-eaten pizza, and is that him, gaping down her front? What did he see in her, besides cheap lunch? He was already going bald. What was all the fuss about?'

'Life Stories' from The Tent, Margaret Atwood.

|| fall in love ||

2008-07-09T22:15:00.000-07:00

'Fall in Love' Elle Girl October 2004 Issue 18

Fortune had me finding all my old magazines lately, and i'm posting this edi in celebration! Anyone remember it? The lighting is perfect and the styling is inspired- despite the pure brightness and the fresh-faced model, there's something very sensual and candid about the lazy posture. It reminds me of dreams, the sense of touch and heat, silence and light moving from behind your eyes... like a film-reel of intimate moments.

(click for a better look)

p.s. Save for pretending to get down with my arty self, let me just say the scanning leaves a lot to be desired. Sorry for the shoddy quality!

|| moods ||

2008-07-03T13:23:00.000-07:00

So... Acne is the only real show i'm into (so far). 'bit depressing. If Fashion really is 'a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months' as said Mr Wilde, then thank god for trends!

Mused on this while spotting all the real girls in every pub in Camden, with their bettie page haircuts and cute 50s outfits. Its not exactly a situation i could contend with for too long ( see quote), but it looks like fun...

These are the sort of moods I get into when i contemplate dying my hair blonde, taking my driving test or buying a ticket to new york (one way). There are the mean reds, and then there are those agonising greys. Summer, where you?

Playing Tag

While you wait, here's a soundtrack of 7. I suggest you open all the windows, put your ipod on speaker, tv on mute and sprawl around your house with a stack of mags and a big bowl of sliced watermelon for company.

These are all based on really great films you should watch again + again...

1. Brian Eno- by this river (y tu mama tambien. i'm at a loss to plug the movie or the boy! They're both beautiful)

2. Laisser tomber les filles- Frances Gall (deathproof. French pop music + quentin tarintino are a great chalk-cheese combo. i love that the english version is called 'chick habit')

3. Comptine d'un autre ete- Amelie OST (amelie. sounds either hopeful or austere depending on mood, but soothes in both cases)

4. I don't like it like this- The Radio Dept- (marie antoinette. pretty. perfect. pretty perfect soundtrack )

5. bittersweet symphony- the verve (cruel intentions. associate this with summer festivals)

6. Fleetwood Mac- Landslide. (imdb says Jersey Girl. Not very rock n roll but there you have it)

7. Daddy Never Understood- Folk Implosion (Kids. but the real props goes to Stevie cos i saw it there first)

Hmm, not sure who's left, but still: the sick girls, susie bubble, Real-Pretty-in-Black, Hannahcouture, mahalofashion, deeraudrey, runforthehills

anyway, everyone should do it because listing your interests is disgustingly enjoyable! I had to narrow it down, so i guess a film post is on the cards...

Till the next time,
xx

|| loving is letting go ||

2008-06-25T13:31:00.000-07:00

When the line Heimstone first gained momentum, i was among the screaming fan-girls sweating over the sleek babydoll silohuette with gruff hardware attached- most specifically the Spring collection. Yes, i drooled over it, and posted about it and eventually through much scimmaging i bought a piece of that little dream. But the obsession ~~isn't~~ wasn't over ! On the preview of the 2009 autumn/winter collection that happened, um, sometime during the april/may period i was less than thrilled about the new direction.

SSo8: Boudoir

AW09: Butch!

Well, ss08 was'nt quite in its stride yet, and it wasn't quite time to let the versatile pleated skirts and nude balconnets go. The colour scheme was daring, the decidedly boyish structure was the polar opposite of the floaty decadence we had seen previously. My small brain didn't know what to make of it, and promptly wrote it off as unappealing.

Isn't it funny how we do? Not seeing any new coverage of it anywhere (yet), and revisiting the collection was such pleasure. Sometimes it feels like designers open your minds to new parts of your brain and inspirations you don't know exist. Every piece is like a car, streamlined perfectly with go!go! stripes and boxy pockets. It feels somewhere between the lines of a varsity football player, a gladiator and an urban cowboy. Not every item is quite conventionally pretty, or at least a huge departure from the girlish wonders of yore but some pieces are extremely wearable, and others are brilliant.

Eitherway, the lookbook gives me that giddy at-a-football-match-and-my-team's-winning sorta feeling. If i liked football...

but i think it's safe to bet on the Heimstone team a little longer yet.

|| to be expected but ||

2008-06-19T16:13:00.000-07:00

...this is what Herve Ledger do.

It's so typical that when Bilson finally did hit up the hollywood standard attire, (no mockage intended, those dresses are crazy sexy) she knocked it out of the park! A far cry away from her nochalant boho daywear, here red carpet look is almost always beautifully condsidered and polished, although she carries it naturally.

*the feathered clutch
*the unkempt ballerina hair
*the tailored blazer

I was gonna use the o-word to describe the style (that would be Olsen), but that really 'fresh' high-octane glamour element is all her own. Style-speaking, I can't wait to see where she's headed- sooner or later, the b-word will be on everyone's lips too!

xx

|| PLAYLIST- we did it cos it felt good ||

2008-06-16T15:45:00.000-07:00

Take it in

Some things are pointless but really fun. Eating nutella out of the jar, sneaking out, wearing heels in summer, painting your toenails, watching tv while on the phone...and for me, constructing not-so-elaborate photo posts with playlists to match. Oh wasted youth, what can i say? It's so satisfying!

Here's 20 of my current obsessions:

P.S. I only just watched Deathproof, but i have to say Jungle Julia is one of my favourite short-lived film characters. Ev-er.

1. My Drive Thru- N.E.R.D, Santogold, Julian Casablancas :)

2. Poison- Martina Topley Bird

3. Girl on a Motorcycle- Cinerama

4. Hit The Heartbrakes- Black Kids

5. Robin Hood- The Metros

6. Orange- The Filthy Youth

7. Skinny Twins- The Underground Heroes

8. Weekend Wars- MGMT

9. The Jimmy Choos- Chester French

10. Fuck and Run- Liz Phair

11. Black Baloon- The Kills

12. Combat Baby- Metric

13. If You Steal my Sunshine- Len

14. Superstar- Lauryn Hill

15. Lust- The Raveonettes

16. Golden Boys- Res

17. Pretend to be Nice- Josie & The Pussycats

18. I feel it all- Feist

19. That's Not My Name- The Ting Tings

20. Buffalo Tom- Late at night

Bon Soir

xx

|| NYLON i love you, but ur dragging me down ||

2008-06-11T01:30:00.000-07:00

What makes a NYLON girl?

Vintage Nylon: Amber Valetta in more organic days

This is not a I-Hate-Nylon post. It can manage pretty good coverage of new designers (the wearable kind), profile piping-hot from the pan bands and compile beauty pages that are as inspiring as they are beautifully illustrated. I buy it for the alterno-aspect, and there the outlook is pretty rosy: it has its niche audience. While most magazines are off the cuff either going for cutting-edge + look-at-me brash (Pop, I.D), or the sometimes topless but always sleek + refined bunch (Vogue, Elle, Le Officielle). Theres defintely some room for something that takes itself a little less seriously, but of late, Nylon doesnt seem to be it.

All the best-loved magazines have a personality or 'girl'. Mags like Vogue may have huge readerships, but their aloofness doesnt get people riled up like Ellegirl or Sassy does- that 'girl' is supposedly cool personified, beckoning self-concious girlies who will become self-concious fan-girlies like moth to a flame. It takes enough to look at the letters page, filled with adoringly calligraphed 'Par Avion' envelopes and 'zomgz i love nylon' emails that actually say 'teens equal big bucks'. So understandbly there are a few who jumped the boat. Some purists who remember and still vocalise 'the fall' from the great underground institution that was retro nylon opposed to the uber-glossy, viral version.

Who can blame them? I like Nylon the magazine, but I hate Nylon the brand. This year alone has shown an incredible shift in sales, a considerable amount, I would imagine, from teenage-to-young twenties girls reacting to tabloidworthy cover stars (admittedly the batter ones...though Christina Aguilera toed a line). Nylon and Urban Outfitters have mated long since, so its a bit chicken-or-the-egg to wonder which swallowed which in the great urban machine.

They've secured well-placed buds like the 4am party papparazi, cashed the souls of bands like The Virgins and The Plastiscines in exchange for eternal membership into their X x X collabo hoodie brand of limelight. There's a great Johnny Borrell quote (Razorlight) that I love, where he talked about The Kooks 'standing with the backsides out waiting to get X-ed by Radio 1'. How difficult do you think it would be to get cobra-worthy pretty headliners with urban ambition to jump on the Nylon train to super-stardom?

My gripe is that Nylon has lost its nack for dropping it when it's hot, but gripping it till their bare flesh is scorched and its lost all its heat. Exhibit A- Cory Kennedy. It no longer comes off as cool and breezy, but rather calculated when it fails to choose stars who are diamonds-in-the-rough but seem like Elle leftovers. It's like, we know they have a film out now but damn can't you be a little subtle (hello, Chloe ~~shameless plug~~ cover). But you know when Fashionista calls SuperSuper the british version of Nylon, you get a sense of things to come. Hmm.

If so, um, dear fashion world- there's room for a new magazine please....

|| i knew her once... ||

2008-06-02T13:31:00.000-07:00

I'm not saying she's the most innovative or stylish character ever to land on TV screens, but her persona was a breath of fresh air. She was totally MK, don't you think? With dollops of Luella, Marc Jacobs and Hello Kitty for good measure.

Eitherway I loved her...this is me putting that to bed, super 8 style! For those who don't know the magic that is Cassie off Skins, I fully encourage you to download it off the interpipe...but don't quote me on that. Or send any corporate bigwhigs my way.

|| i dont care what my teachers say...||

2008-05-20T11:40:00.000-07:00

And everyone is gonna dress like me...what and see

The MET gala, and the topshop flagship windows, and finally low-end weeklies show that while it may be big news on the general fashion circuit for months, once it hits US Vogue its officially gone stale. Just like if what villanous Alexa Chung has done to coats with big brass buttons...and nautical...and....oh the fashion saga continues!

A Cycle

spring wardrobe

I have it baaad and will fully relish knocking about town in home-made luella cat masks, square framed- sunnies and scuffy boots after the trend dies until somebody stops me (you don't have to screech that in The Mask way, like i just did)! Even today, I spent too much time in the library looking at Wonder Woman comics instead of reading case studies about 'the detrimental effects of day care according to Bowlby's Maternal Hypothesis' and the previous night re-reading (+then watching) Ghost World. Oops?

Dressing like a superhero is mucho fun, but it won't get me through tomorrow's exams. I would formally announce a hiatus, but anyone who knows this blog will realise there isn't much of a distinction!

So on that note, bonne chance to anyone experiencing the stickier end of the school year and for all of those loose cannons out ambling in the sunshine...yeah you know where to go!!

Love
xxx

Black Lipps- Bad Kids

|| fashion sins ||

2008-05-09T13:18:00.000-07:00

THE POP SKIRT- noun-

1. Mass appeal (Like Primp and Juicy Couture, this ish will get around)

2. Original in its predictability (those kitschy cliches- or we know those lyrics by heart!)

3. Not to be taken too seriously (read: fad- it was fun while it lasted)

I may have fallen for the Justin Timberlake of high-waisted...

Did anyone see the nylon article? Quote: 'we actually really like some of the pieces'

It comes in lots of colours...

Which Lauren has been wearing in rainbow fashion...

Forgive me, for i have reverted to type and done the unthinkable...
It is a couple of things...

Cons
1. It is made from humble cotton yet

2. it is sure to retail at £50+ ($100+)

3. It could be bought cheaply at American Apparrel
4. I would be funding the lucrative fashion 'career' of lauren conrad.

BUT the silohuette it gives is pretty special no?. Ever since I stumbled on it via Nylon, I've been looking for a more worthy alternative...yet to appear. Now if we consider the benefits...

Pros

1. Super high waist (I like how lauren wears it almost bra-high, I didn't approve of nylon-styled hip usage)
2. Cinched banded waist ( fun tennis-style madness)
3. A bit of volume (it has a bit of princess-y- 'poof'' quality to it)
4. Longer than American Apparel versions in length (we don't need to worry about upskirts)
5.... And probably in shelf life too!

AA subsitutes- i used to love the last one but now its seems a bit school gym kit

The useful thing for Ms Conrad is definitely the fact that she has become a favourite on fashion blogs (whether sincerely or for mockage), ultimatedly discussing what she wears- which is usually her own stuff. I feel i'm playing into the target demographic this way, and if I had time to go out skirt-hunting I'd feel a bit better. But dammit its a pop skirt, it should be fun and versatile and guilt free. And then, celeb exposure means seeing the the thing out-and-about , making it more of a love enduring...

So I've decided if I can't manage to get over the burning desire by fall 2008, when it goes on sale, i'm allowed to buy it...I don't think label snipping will be an issue, hopefully

update:**BREAKING NEWS**

Liberty of London print Nike Air Force Ones.... :o

|| mission: junkyard revival ||

2008-05-03T07:41:00.000-07:00

Now, sports was never my thing- I will admit I have bunked a fair few P.E lessons in my school days and I'm damn proud of it. But Vintage sportswear? Yes. Digs from Fred Perry, Ben Sherman and Paul Smith have got me all salivating lately and I'm not quite sure why...It may have started with the first (and best) Handbags for Feet adidas video, and continued through the swedish style blogs. Even at college the art kids have slowly abandoned their neon reeboks for classic limited-edition whatnots (you know those boys and their trainers), even though around london the line between ghetto and chavvy is blurring and everyone is wary of crossing territory and leaving their street cred in tatters.

But I have a dream..

Anyone remember those old Ellegirl fashion stories? They could do things with Nike All Stars and a stuffy gym kit that no-one else could. If i could unearth those old eds of logo chloe jumpers with ballet wraps and sheer glittery tights for good measure i would, but alas they are where nobody knows. In my head i'm trying to re-create one shot an old boarding school, and i'm trying to piece together the fashion credits via google.

So I came up with the token iconic british labels like Paul Smith and Ben Sherman known for their preppy duds, and a lot of browsing and nicking photos via websites ensued. And then, there is collaging.

I'm in love with the Jessica Ogden for Fred Perry tennis-themed shirts and jumpers right now, the salmon hues and red piping make it all quite striking- something of a slightly 50s waitress kind of Grease vibe (which, if anyone has seen those hilarious McDonalds 'designer' uniforms knows is a world of good). The current Classics collection is really versatile although the prices arent- The silken polos have me smiling at the possibilties of mating it with my organic wool cardigans- i love a good texture clash

Before you notice the clothes, you may get slightly sidetracked by the attentively organised british fashion + pop culture decade by decade, complete with flickr threads. That or wondering if the model is actually the girl from Nearly Famous (It is, btw).

the garish prints and mood photography are magic when viewed in sucession

I've always loved Paul Smith- as far as whimsical dressing goes of course, but I'd never got intimate with the collections. Essentially a lovely cumulation of tailored tweediness, bright primary colour and chintzy florals- Its the librarian vibe, sort of embracingly stuffy and classic but with a little self-concious styling which makes it relevant...if that makes sense! Or thats how i see it.

I'm revisiting Acne and A.P.C lookbooks trying to put my finger on the pieces I 'm thinking about...but all this fashion homework is a bit heavy. Me thinks i'd be better hotfotting down King's Road for some low-end options. Although most of london probs is thinking the same thing on a sunny saturday...