Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Words of wisdom: Stamping in flowers does not necessitate stamping ON flowers

I did talk about hats, didn't I?

Well now I talk about Prints. I swear. NO more hats. Maybe a little hats... Ok, hat with print?

I diverge. This is not what I'm here for. Well, except for previously stated mission statements, but that's besides the point. The sun is here, I can still see after 6 O'clock, and I'm officially declaring Spring. Even if the director of our school hasn't, and blazers are still mandatory. Nut job.

Spring calls for patterns. Like these loverly laydeeeez photo'd by Nick Wolf on Refinery 29 at the Life Ball (Only one of the biggest Aids fundraisers in the world, dontchaknow).


Why patterns? because I've just unpacked, and my dorm is a melee of morrocan rug, urban outfitters bauble prints, chintz files,, polkadot, butterflies, art Deco and floral. It's a vibe thing. It's self preservation really, I call it the Procrastination instinct. Otherwise known as the i'm-going-to-turn-this-clinic-into-something-liveable-so-that-I-can-actually-work-in-it urge



A very fine revival. Not that Hilanicki wasn't full of vitality, rather that Topshop has picked a winner, with her beautiful illustrations and the clothes themselves leaving them without need of a model; a fine way to deal with the reccession. I would be so looking forward to tuesday if I wasn't flat broke and saving.... leSigh. I want these trousers. So badly.  To wear with killer strappy heeled sandals. Or, more likely, barefoot and strolling through the sand in my mediterranean travels before Paris. What I wouldn't give.....

Will someone give birth so I can be a babysitter for below minimum wage? PLEASE?

Zebra Jacket Kimiko Red @ King and Queen of Bethnal Green 
Oh, just look at that lying flat, you can see the construction is beautiful. The collar is brilliant. I wouldn't mind wearing that around with my floor length A line black uniform skirt covered in paint. It might toughen and smarten it up simultaneously! The arms! The arms! To arms? To arms(For Kimiko Red, long may Kim reign!)

Dharma Taylor
Dharma Taylor is a london based graphic/fashion designer, and I believe that the diptych of mediums shows in her clothes, which hinge the two together. Both @ Shop172 - 172 Brick lane. An interesting shop; the collections curated by the store owners here are certainly graphic and interesting. If we move on to designers Neurotica, I thing you'll see my point quite clearly. Bodycon, crazy patterns. purrrrrrrrrrfect darlings.

Neurotica also at Shop172 

Never one to stick to just the clothes (did I mention hats at any point?) May I now be shot if I forget to mention Kabow!Wow! Whose inspiration range for fauna to fruit formations and jacobian ruffs. Each piece? Beautifully handcrafted from re-claimed materials. How very lala.
(Also, predictably, at shop172)

Liberty print Hightop Nike Dunks @ DSM 

I leave you for Therese Desqueyroux. Don't be sad, she's the old new hipster you never even knew.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Plastic waves, sequins and period drama.

Hats. All I see is hats. First, I stay up Saturday night watching Cranford. Hats. Hats on Judi Dench. Veils. Hats.
Then I'm watching Inspector Alleyn with my grandmother on Easter Sunday. Hats. It is, after all, the 1930s.
I open my new copy of Another Magazine. Hats again. Stephen Jones this time. Brilliant photography.
stephenjones5.jpg

stephenjones4.jpg picture by laura123laura_2007
I come across a turban made from the material for an hermes scarf. It has a matching handbag, run up by Chanel. I'm pretty sure there's a dress somewhere. Only ones ever made in the world.... (My uncle is very persuasive). My grandmother wore it to my father's wedding. Brilliant, isn't it? One more thing... the patten? Hundreds of shoes.
Hmmm....there's a thought...dress made of shoes.....ballet shoes could work.....
At any rate, then I spot this fedora from RVCA ...$42...
 
I remember I want a stray straw floppy hat, like this Kimchi and Blue one, $28 @UO(us).....
That I wouldn't mind an Asymmetrical Straw semi-Cloche with a teardrop crown...

Black Silk Satin Rose Headband with monochrome sequins. Tour de force 
Image of THE BLOOM
Green Pinstripe silk taffeta bow headband Tour de force 
Tour de Force
Lets be fun! Oversized, jewel toned, requiring nothing more than courage and attitude. Isabella blow Compared it to therapy, saying, "If I feel really low, I go to see Philip, cover my face [with his hats] and feel fantastic... Wearing a hat is like cosmetic surgery."
 

Monday, April 13, 2009

There was once a velveteen rabbit, and in the beginning he was really splendid.


I've been feeling a tad inspired by the velveteen rabbit the past few days. Perhaps it's the fact that I too am battered and worn following three days of sailing, and  can now empathise with the worn-in bunny. Perhaps I'm finally being influenced by the recessionista 'spin' on fashion in an expounding on re-loving sort of way. Perhaps I just suddenly got reminded of when my brother was little, sucking his thumb and stroking the ears of his toy elephant so much that they went smooth and threadbare and as long as the ears of a rabbit. Maybe it's a subconcious craving to see Jake Gyllenhall act with Maggie, or a calling to watch that episode of friends. Whatever it is, I shan't bother pegging it; it might just be that I had the most beautifully illustrated book of it, which I can't track down anywhere, and got reminded of this by internets-trawling. The image above does not do my memory justice. Marissa Lanternam of Marissa's Art  does the best illustrations I've seen in a while, but I daren't post the images; she is, after all, a student, and she needs all the copyright laws she can get.

In the spirit of all things looking a little thrown together....
Michael Van der Ham for CSM's MA show


a little stringy....
Central Saint Martins Fall 2009 Ready-to-Wear
Derek Lawlord for CSM's MA show

Perhaps a little droopy...
Dress by Bolongaro Trevor s/s 08
or maybe just a little hotch-potch
Marni @WWD

Or uneven...




I present the Alien being lazy. (In every sense of the word; this must be a month old.)
Barbour is badass.
I leave you with a film reference that references my reference. 
People cannot be truly loved if they are too sharp and shiny.  (Get the reference?)
[an ammendment to the reference to a reference: and yet I will still walk towards the shiny.]

Monday, April 6, 2009

A brief pausular shaped object.

Dramatic news...
I, the alien (soon to be of Paris)...
seeing as it is spring,
Will be heading out...
To sea for a few days...
Pray for me?
Nah, don't bother, I'm a chiller...
A total chiller!
Don't fly away...
(you're wondering how I took these, aren't you)...
Coz I'll be back...
In three days.
All photos by me. Except the ones of me; I'm not that brilliant.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Est-ce que je puis me maquiller? Bien sur! Quoi... possédés par surprise??

Wow. The alien does do makeup. Although, it is rather limited, seeing as her makeup bag was stolen by some deviant thief or other a couple months ago, and the price of replacement is crippling.

WOUAOH! Elle peut se maquiller. Bien qu'elle n'ait pas des reserves illimité, puisque quelqu'un qui était rusé a volé sa trousse de maquillagé il y a deux mois, et alors elle doit les remplacer au prix coûtant.


Et les remplaçants?

Sukicolor tinted moisturiser -> It''s a lifesaver. SUbtle, doesn't cake, smells delicious, mineral so its good for sensitive skin, creamy because normally mineral foundation is powder, and dries out your skin.
Sukicolor eydefiner in smoky gray colour.(Brilliantly named...smoke) it's gelshadow/liner/brow. Mineral cream makeup. All of their stuff is mineral/organicky shizzle.
Paul and joe (Disney ltd. edition) blush. Amazing. It's just their face Colour B (002) but it smells amazing, is the perfect pink, and goes on with a proper puff and has the cute bashful skunk from bambi on the box.
Sukicolour eyeliner/multi purpose brush, for the eyedefiner stuff. it's shadow liner/brow again
Too faced leopard bronzer. amazing. It's brown but mixed with pinks and beige (it's pressed in a rather alarming leopard print) but it means it comes out well for my pale skin)
Bourgeois blacky purple eyeshadow in the ltd. edition old school tin.
Korres Mango butter lipstick in 'pink'. Really cool shade. So softening.

Loreal bare naturel mineral foundation in 410 (Ivory white) that I had to get my brother to import from across the pond since they don't make it that pale over here in brittania. Naturally, it shattered everywhere due to the stupid stateside packaging redesign, so It explodes in a cloud of POOF! Every time I wish to open it. *sigh* It is good though. Especially as I'm so pale at the moment that even the stunningly brilliant sukicolor tinted stuff makes me look a tad orange. I want a holiday.

And what I retained, due to me always leaving stuff in my handbag from laziness?

Benefit BadGal Lash
Lancome Black Eyeliner
Bobbi Brown Golden Shimmer brick (THANK GOD)
Mac eyeshadow in goldmine frost.
Pale pink dior lipstick (218)
Maybelline moisture surge in BonBon Caramel (mocha-y colour)
M-A-C m-a-c red lipstick
Clinique Honey blush


The pink is what's worn currently. Lips- pale pink, then mochhay on top, then daps of goldmne frost eyeshadow. Yeah, on the lips. (and eyes). I use a paintbrush. One made for acrylics. It's easier to do a smoky eye with, at any rate... Top lid, grey sukicolor gel eyeliner. Mascara. Dab of gold eyeshadow again

You forget how expensive that **** is. Seriously. I almost cried at the bill for that lot, and i didn't even replace half of it. And just some of what was lost.... *sob*. I got half of this on discount from being nice to the counter girls in bloomies and bringing them so many customers (english girlfriends staying over). And in america where its half the price. Here's a quarter of the losses...

This sheer Benefit Shangri-la hot pink lipstick. awesome. Discontinued.
Perfumeria Gal Madrid Lipbalm in Grosella/red currant. So. Amazing. I have to import it from the states in industrial quantities for the female half of my family. Amazing. (http://www.beautyhabit.com/gal_lip.html)
Stila eyeshadow in kitten

Lilac Dior lipgloss/ Pop lipgloss (pop my bubble)/bobbi brown lipgloss (petal-3)
Jemma Kidd makeup school Black eyeliner (so. good. Glides on. no more, sadly)
Diorshow mascara (freeeeeeeeee saaaamples!)/Benefit BadGal lash/ Lancome hypnose
Benefit Showoff in bambi
Tarte lip/cheek stain in blushing bride

 Discontinued clinique blush


Incedentally, there was this survey in britain where they worked out that the average girl spends £2,373.84 spent on toiletries (i'm assuming including facewash/shampoo etc.) in her CHILDHOOD (so...that must be....5 years of actual makeup wearing?). woooooh
. Although, I guess that the average teenager has in her makeup collection minimum of 100 pounds spent, even just if they buy high street...more if they go for stuff like benefit/mac. ach


Today, I wear a men's cardigan backwards, C.R.A.F.T Jeans, and report black (muddy) suede booties. Men's cardigans backwards make the best slouchy jumpers ever. How quirky. Oh yes. I was multitasking by cooking lunch. How Very modern bloggeuse.


Big people, little people, Lilliputiens and stylish chains.


The Cambridge Chain 
In this instant, I wouuldn't mind playing gulliver..... Yookoo 

Called Atanta's "Knitting Wunderkind" by Vice magazine, Yookoo (who is, I believe, pictured) has been chipping away at fantabulary keck-knitwear, at a rate of knots. Too bust to take anyone on, this one woman, one shop set-up has been raking in orders (recession? whowherewhatty?) and, beneath that elfin crops lurks a human-machine that's been churning out oversized chains, Chunky capelets and Giant soopascarves.

Oatmeal Soopascarf 
By Giant, of course I mean 7-8 feet long....
 
No wonder she wakes up with cramps... or, as she so succinctly puts it, "me and my carpal tunnel thank you" [for your orders, presumably). Now having received street level recognition (people stopping her in APC to have a gasp) the knitter is, in fact, resorting to guarding her yarns and patterns fiercely. But, in actuality, she's moving into sewing. The ateliers better watch out...

The Cambridge Chain in Fig 
Susie Bubble in Yooko's cambridge chain

The Mothership in Sweet Pea 
The Mothership in sweet pea
I would also just like to point out the beautiful photography; lighting, composition, and the creator-model. All makes for a brilliant setting. Check out the colour combinations in that last image!

She also gives etsy the best "Tell us a bit about yourself" answer ever:
I don’t mean to scare anyone here, but, to be honest, I spent a larger part of my childhood preparing for this question. I used to dream of being on Nighttime Talk Shows and having a host lean in and say, “tell everybody about yourself.” My father said that it was the type of question that meant you had finally become someone of note.
Ingrid Bergman was someone of note and would always poise when answering this question. I would poise, too. I would try, but I probably wouldn’t make it far. I would end up jack-laughing throughout the entire first segment. Catching the Giggles. I’d try focusing on the bridge of my nose to keep from laughing. My father said all Nighttime talk show hosts have miniature buttons in their desk to cue commercials when guests weren’t working out so well. I imagine my persona being very button friendly. And it would be pushed.
And there I’d sit. I would have blown it. Now the entire world would join me in knowing that I was not the type of person that entertains such questions. I wasn’t Ingrid Bergman, or Simone De Beauvoir. And I was in nobody’s note. I was Yokoo, and I made scarves, some of which were chunky.

Brilliant.
The Pembroke Cowl in Charcoal  
The Bubble again

Also in my etsy favourites at the moment are Portland designers Emily Ryan (very affordable, cool) and Holly Stadler.
Stadler's designs start off as trimmings; literally. These can include "faded velvet ribbons, edwardian lace, the beaded applique of a 1920s dress" and  "aurora borealis rhinestone buttons". Interested in looking at the aging of fragile fabrics, she keeps things modern in the designs themselves, incorporating these raw materials; sustainable production indeed. Basing herself from the Seaplane boutique/lounge/gallery (complete with music and art installations, launching oregons finest on the word) each item she produces is one of a kind, tailor made or limited edition. Now that's special.

La Sylphide - little cream capelet with bow 
La Sylphide Capelet
 
Spring Puffy Sleeve Shift Dress RESERVED LISTING FOR SOPHIA 

Another thing? Custom-made-to-order listings. Such as this Gem silk lace dress and antique lace cape....
 Custom listing for Gem Silk dress and Antique Lace Pouf Sleeve Shrug 

This all goes on While i wile away my time waiting for Kate Towers to post a new item (she has a baby, I suppose it's excusable....)
sugar and spice 

TIP OFF #1:
Check out http://ccwearschanel.blogspot.com/ for her amazing interview with artist Mark shwartz