show + tell : Michael Kors Envelope Clutch

In the interest of honesty I should probably tell you :  no, I haven't become more "put-together". The fact that I haven't lost my cellphone, house keys, debit card, or driver license once (not even once!) since the New Year started isn't due to personal growth on my part.

It's due to my new personal assistant.

Oh, Michael. What would I do with out you?

photos on film with Nikon FM.  

Sweater Weather

I have to be forcibly dragged from Summertime. I like popsicles and freckles and books on the beach. I do not like looking like a corpse because I literally lit-er-ally haven't seen the sun in 7 months.

But - little itty bitty but - I do look forward sweater weather.

What? oh um. I said I look forward to sweater weather.

Knits and weaves. elbow patches and henley buttons. Wearing a sweater is like being snuggled all day by a man made of merino/cashmere blend. mmmm. I think an Isabel Marant sweater and I could really go steady.

My Summer love has some competition.

Has sweater weather arrived where you are this weekend?

[ (1 and 2) Isabel Marant etoile Spring Summer 2011 (p.s) Alexa Chung in Isabel Marant for Harper's Bazaar UK (on A Lovely Being) | Sabrina Meijer in Isabel Marant etoile at AfterDrk.]

Mission Missoni

 

Even though Portland is a fashion forward town, the competetion is never too stiff (usually non existant) for Target's Go lines. Usually Tessa and I just stroll in and pick over the rolling racks. We always smile gleefully knowing that in every other major metropolitan area people are punching eachother for some designer polyester.

Yesterday was a different story. When we pulled up, before opening, we were so surprised to see a line of Missoni seekers! But, thanks to some stategic planning and choosing the less-than-swanky area of town we were able to hold our own against the people running down isles with carts like they were on an episode of Super Market Sweep

 Here's is Tessa's review :  

"Sam and I got there at 7:30 and they opened at 8. By the time we got to housewares everything we wanted was gone. Taken by a man in a Tap Out shirt. Margherita Missoni would be so ashamed!"

It was crazy to see people piling pillows into their cart just to sell them on Ebay for $7,000 (that's real). I think it's unfair and greedy and just kind of rude! 

Luckily the set of silk scarves and zigzag ballet flats will ease our disillusionment.

this is not my cart.

Jackie in the Old Photographs

"It's only on the incandescent Jackie in the old photographs (and particulary in the photograpshs where she's standing next to some poor frump) that they excite desire. They repel desire, too. The "armorial" smoothness of her hair and clothes telegraphs a message of defiance:

'Nothing can ruffle me.' " 

Judith Thurman, Costume of the Country.

Cleopatra's Nose: 39 Varieties of Desire (p. 383)

[ photos of Jacqueline Kennedy's trip to India, March 1962. By Art Rickerby for Time & Life. Getty Images

Full slide show of Jackie Kennedy's trip to India at the LIFE archives]

what I wore | Bastille Day

{dress : J. Crew / skinny belt : Target / shoes : thrifted Michael Kors (not pictured. Unfortunately, Eli is not The Sartorialist) / lipstick : MAC lip laquer}

I'm not wearing this dress today. No, today I woke up late for work and washed my bangs in the kitchen sink. I also had Onion Funyuns and a Vitamin Water Revive for breakfast. Not Glamorous.

I wore this stiped a-line dress for the Bastille Day Block Party. Oui, with some red lipstick and an easy side-pony. I also accessorized with Macarons and Trumer Pilsner.

full photo & portrait on flickr. 

Lisa Warninger | On Portland's Smart Style

"One trend that is never going to go away here is looking smart. Wearing glasses, that kind of nerdy cool will always be popular. It's a very bookish kind of town and this is the only place I've ever lived where I see people reading while walking down the street all the time. People here love to be informed and well-read, and I think that kind of academic nerdiness will always be fashionable."

Lisa Warninger, photographer of Urban Weeds, in an interview with CNN.com

I love what Lisa had to say about Portland style. I always smile to myself as I ride the bus in the morning. It's like being in a hip library on wheels. Everyone is dressed in their best business-casual (sweaters, black leggings, and oxfords ... not a pants-suit in sight) holding Portland's favorite accessory, a paperback book.  

[ image by Lisa Warninger, for Urban Weeds]

Rodarte at MOCA "States of Matter"

June 5th will be the last day of the Rodarte exhibit, States of Matter, at Museum of Contemporary Art. It features the costumes Kate and Laura Mulleavy designed for the film Black Swan, as well as complimentary looks from their previous collections. Seeing the exhibit was a highlight of my recent trip to Los Angeles and I urge everyone to visit before it's gone!

In the world of academia, fashion takes a beating. Critics see it as fickle consumerism. Feminists call it a tool of oppression and a mindless distraction. But, this installation transcended the realm of rolling-racks and showed fashion as Art.

The exhibit begins with a set of dimly lit black garments from the Spring 2010 runway show. The collection was inspired by the California condor. (Have you ever seen one of those? They're like pterodactyl cross-bred with a vulture, yikes.)

The dresses are made of multiple layers of crochet and matte-black fabric. They are multidimensional with out being dense, much like birds wings.  Duality is central to a lot of Rodarte's collections, and I think the S2010 collection is really demonstrative of the relationship the Mulleavys create between the ugly and the beautiful .  

The center flock is offset by glittering black tutus, strung from the ceiling. The stiff and corset like construction of the bodices means that they hold a human form as they turn in place. They look as if they are inhabited by an invisible, sinister ballerina.

The second floor begins with pieces from the following season, Fall 2010. It features long white dresses, detailed with Chantilly lace and intricate ruffles. The whole look is hyper-feminine, almost to the point of parody. It reminded me a lot about the way Natalie Portman's character, Nina, in Black Swan is coddled by her mother. Nina, though in her twenties, still lives in a room decorated for a child. Her mother brushes her hair and calls her "my sweet girl".  Ballet has always praised youth and traditional femininity. A dancer's body lacks femme-fatal curves, and instead is delicate and ageless. Nina, like many ballerinas, has conditioned herself to repress all appetites - for food, for sex, or indulgence. These ideals are reflected in the long white dresses, which are reminiscent of brides and nightgowns. There is an air of virginity in every soft breath of tulle.

The final installation features the tutu from the climatic scene of the movie; an ice-white and feathered masterpeice stained by a swatch of blood. It is accompanied with two looks from Rodarte's Fall 2008 collection. On the runway, both the dresses and the tights appeared to be made out of stretched gauze. In person, it is gruesome and beautiful dip-dye. Red wicks up the white, like blood stains. 

This was my favorite part of the exhibit, and the details were breath taking. On one of the dresses, a nude mesh along the side joined the two halves of draped white with a zipper. The zipper was surrounded by a collection of deep red, sanguine, and marigold rinestones. When the wearer undresses it will look as if her skin is tearing open.

This exhibit is a perfect example of the way that fashion serves as a system of signs. The pieces were created to tell a story. They translate an idea. The Mulleavy sisters design clothes that are eerie and sweet, organic and ethereal, simply beautiful and full of meaning.  

(photos) 1. on film, with my Pentax k1000 outside MOCA's Pacific Design Center | 2, 3. Rodarte Spring 2011 on style.com | 4. Autumn de Wilde | 5. crochet work from Vogue Italia via fashion lover | 6, 7. Autumn de Wilde | 8, 9, 10. Rodarte Fall 2010 on style.com | 11. Black Swan film still | 12. Rodarte Fall 2008 on style.com | 13. style.com, Rodarte's Night At the Museum | 14.  kleider sachen 

view Autumn de Wilde's full set of photo's for MOCA here and watch the video narrated by Kate and Laura themselves. Haunting visuals, explained so much better than I can.

Style Inspired : Portland in the Spring

Spring - the whole bird's chirping and flowers blooming thing - is a little different here in Portland. You can walk around and marvel at the blossoming beauty of it all, but it's from under an umbrella. Wet jeans could kill my joy in almost anything.

But, May has a way of giving us a few beautiful days where ....

... we fall in love again with what we have here.

 'I'm so happy we both showed up here' Oregon shaped print (which hangs in my apartment), from Lark Press

... we banish the gray and bring the color indoors.

turquoise tinted Ball Mason Jar and Daffodils

... we wear cloths that are (still) seasonally inappropriate, just because the sun is out.

floral print Tucker for Target t-shirt sun dress

...  we remember to appreciate the city we live in - and the writer's, artists, and designers -we share it with.

Miranda July's short story collection No One Belongs Here More Than You (She's a Portland girl)

... we try to soak up every moment.

Diana F+ camera

(p.s.) I loved this post from another Portland girl, Andrea (of Hula Seventy), about the way we try to hold on to everyday experiences. I think it's a spring thing.

Style Inspired : San Diego

All you really need for a week in San Diego is a good bathing suit and a pair of aviators (these are the Von Zipper fernstiens). Unfortunately, I still managed to bring two suitcases and forget my sunglasses.  My style has changed a lot since I moved to Portland, so I broke out all my old monogrammed bags for one last go round.

And, I tucked in the card for the bouncer at the Sandbar. You know, just in case.

Garance Doré | On Winter Blues

"I’ve become my own shadow as this year nears its end. What’s with the aura… The hair… The disposition? Hey, why are you in tears and why are you laughing? Except that when I find myself in the doldrums , face buried in scarf and counting the days before vacation begins… I run into a shining, shimmering, splendid star like Clémence Poésy"

(1) Garance Dore. (p.s.) A comparative look at Street Style Photographers

--

* It's nice to know that even for someone whose grace seems effortless, this time of year can be a bit draining. I think this reflection from her speaks volumes about the redemptive power of inspiration when you find yourself in "the doldrums". It's something I've been considering a lot this week. originally here, and productively here.

Missoni on Monday

For those of you ballin' on a budget (like myself) you can now get Missoni at your local grocery store for about $3 - in the form of a San Pellegrino bottle. Or you could admire this missoni-esque ornament on your christmas tree for $28.00.

We all need a little something to chase away those winterblues, including Margherita Missoni 

"[My mother] knew it was bad 'cause I stopped asking her to buy me clothes. I would only wear polar fleece tights under jeans and huge sweaters." 

uh oh ... this sounds a little familiar. 

Her fix? Stop stifling your creativity, and go after your passion. That's even better than designer water.

(photos) anthropologie |  film, with my pentax (quote) The Olson Influence interview with M. Missoni

Style Inspired : Being John Malkovich

I refuse to believe I was born in the 80's and grew up the in the 90's. With the exception of a little flannel and floral grunge, I really don't relate to any of the fashion staples of those eras and I haven't participated in the exposed zipper/big shoulder comeback. (and I definitely don't ever want to see another glittery butterfly graphic-t again.)

But, recently I watched the movie Being John Malkovich (1999) and I am seriously style inspired by Catherine Keener's character, Maxine. Her look is both contemporary for the time (lots of A line, cotton/lycra material) and classic. She dresses almost entirely in black and white, and everything is simple. simple. simple. Her palette lends a business attitude to the otherwise low-key seperates she wears, since the majority of the scenes for this movie take place in an office. Such a nice alternative to a polyester pants suit that makes me feel like I'm 17 and working at Victoria's Secret.

Work this look at work with a long sleeve t-shirt from j.crew and one of the stretch pencil skirts from American Apparel, like I did this week. And the finishing touches? a nice coat of plum red lipstick (and no bra if you're feeling brave.)

(p.s.) watch Catherine Keener in all her slender and simple sexiness in the trailer here.

Style Inspired : Rose Pink

Maybe it's my unwillingness to give in to fall, or the s/s10 collections that are making me yearn for spring already - but I can't get enough rosey pink. I don't usually wear pink (with the exception of coral) because I think it makes me look like an expectant mother (It's a girl!). 

But, this shade is so soft and feminine, it reminds me of the lining of a jewelery box: the one you find when you're little and it holds, all at once, everything beautiful you've ever seen.

(1) Olivia Palmero outside Valentino from Stockholm Street Style via dress, design, decor. (2) Big Magazine via a glamorous little side project. (p.s.) Summer roses in Portland | more fashion color sets : blue on blue | white and tan. 

A Styled Saturday

I styled a shoot with my friend, Paul, this summer and got to spend some time on the other side of the camera when I wasn't being too awkward.

I am wearing ...

• cardigan: filched from Tessa's closet {Nordstrom's}
• belt: I found any excuse to wear it this summer. It was also in my shoot for Urban Weeds. from local boutique {Sloan}.
• linen shirt: filched from Eli's closet - although I can't imagine him in it with out looking like someone from the cast of Miami Vice. {probably goodwill}
• bracelet: Jessica Kagan Cushman. Reads "Are you a good witch or a bad witch?" a line from my favorite movie, The Wizard of Oz.
• shorts: J. Crew My hair wasn't usually as well brushed, but besides that, this was pretty much my look this summer. what were your go-to items for sunny days?

(p.s.) an interview I did with the bracelet designer, Jessica Kagan Cushman.

Helmut Lang | On the Relationship with His City

"Over time, though, when you move to a city and work there all day, every day, and you get caught up in daily obligations, it takes away some of the magic of the place. When I decided to sell my company and pursue creating art, I started to travel between Long Island, where I have my art studio, and the city quite frequently which made my relationship with New York magical all over again"

Helmut Lang, Nostalgia. Vogue, September 2010.

Helmut Lang gets the feeling too.

Falling in Love with Orange

I've never been a big fan of orange, perhaps because it heralds the end of my favorite season. But a few things have given me an attitude adjustment

1. This is Glamorous pointed out, autumn comes in shades of Hermes. Now that is a positive association.
2. Seen all over Paris on Little Brown Pen the perfect tangerine color suddenly seems so french
3. I bought an old book yesterday called Color Design, published in 1972 by Harald Mante, to teach me about using color more effectively in my film photography. It says that Orange

   "combines the brilliance of yellow with the warmth of red. It's luminous ... the absolute pole of warmth."

   It's inspired me to focus on orange to capture the few perfect, warm air and cool breeze, September days.

If you look in the thesaurus for synonyms for Orange one of them is bittersweet.
Much like its appearance in the trees at summers end & my new feelings for this color.

Familiar? : Mike Quashie and J. Crew

This article from this Sunday's New York Times talks about my favorite academic aspect of fashion : the impact of subculture on style movements. Max's Kansas City was a club in New York that was a counter-culture party mecca. It was also, ironically, the birth place of many mainstream fashion trends.

Perhaps we can thank Mike Quashie (the man who "ignited the limbo dance craze") for inspiring this winter's J. Crew look book?

Baby, I'm Red'y to Go

I saw this photo on Jak and Jil and got a kick out of the that man in the background. He's totally smitten for that gorgeous ginger. And who wouldn't be! There is something so eye-catching about red hair. I read somewhere that only about 11% of people in the world are redheads, but it's the most popular color of hair dye. My best friend Tessa (that's her in the top picture) has red hair, and if it weren't for the fact that we already show up in identical outfits at work atleast once I week, I think I might be fun to try it out.

Have you ever considered going red?

Life Style : Book Stores & Cardigans

"Lovers hold hands in never opened novels
the page with a recipe for cucumber soup is missing
A dead man writes of his happy childhood on a farm
of riding a balloon over lake Erie"
Charles Simic, Used Bookstore on Trimet

(image) the Sartorialist via Cup of Jo. This look has two of favorite everyday articles of clothing, and my favorite payday activity.

Two of My Favorite Things Made a Baby

Kate Spade and Literature!

I must have this Book of the Month Clutch from Kate Spade. I absolutely must. When I saw this in my inbox {yes, kate spade e-mails me with new items ... which in itself is dangerous} I rushed to check my savings bank account. So far I can afford 1/5th of this clutch. For now I'm going to settle on having it as my computer background.