Marco de Vincenzo, Spring 2011

Fantasy Life: Isn't this dress fun! A little added texture and color, just imagine being on the dance floor with all that movement of the tassels! 

Reality: A dress with tassels in the middle spells disaster when my dinner or red wine falls on it.  And it may just be because I am on vacation surrounded by mosqitoes, but wouldn't the tassels attract the bugs?  Then I would have to pick them out at the end of the night, which doesn't seem like a chic thing to have to do.  

On an art note the added texture reminds me of Maurizio Anzeri's work, who sews into vintage photo he finds.  By making repetive lines he creates a mask over the subjects face.  As with the dress, the added textured and color adds a new element and twist on a otherwise neutral background.  Anzeri's website is under construction, but if you are interested you can learn more about him here.

Christopher Kane, Spring 2011

"Wasn't it only yesterday that we were in Princess Margaret's apartment in Kensington Palace for the Acne show? She was the Rihanna of her day, the good girl gone bad, and clearly she's struck a chord for Spring 2011, because today Christopher Kane was name-checking this royal muse.  "Super-sophisticated," he called her. His sister Tammy nailed the essence of the latest Kane collection as "Princess Margaret on acid." A more contemporary spin, and a drug more relevant to the lurid fabulousness of the clothes, might be Margaret on meow-meow (a.k.a. cheapo ecstasy substitute mephedrone)" style.com, Tim Blanks

Street Style, Chicago Spring 2011

I am officially on vacation.  Wahoo!  I did so much art prep, so I didn't have to worry about my blog and so I was ready to sell comics at a conference that I don't know if I have the energy to make art on my vacation, which is what I have been dreaming about for weeks.  

And if you are wondering, yes I really saw a woman with this many (plus some) blow up pool toys walking around by the lake trying to sell them.  I can't even imagine having non-breathable plastic touching my skin for hours.  It was an amazing site.  If only she was a hipster, it could of been a performance piece. 

And for your ever expanding art mind....

These images come from installations done by Jason Hackenwerth who's medium of choice is balloons.  I wonder if he is for hirer for a kid's party, he would make amazing party hats.  Gives you a Dale Chihuly feel, right?  Also makes me think if you buy one of his pieces and a balloon pops does he come by and replace it?  Jason please leave a comment we are all dying to know....maybe I can introduce you to the balloon-selling lady by the lake and you can design a way for her to carry her wears.

Michael Van Der Ham, Spring 2011

"There were those in Michael van der Ham's audience today who found themselves responding to his clothes the way they might to a Rei Kawakubo show: first bemused, then fascinated, finally mesmerized. Van der Ham's collages of cloth were initially wayward enough to feel like the sartorial self-expression of a split personality". style.com, Tim Blanks

Clements Ribeiro, Spring 2011

Sometimes I worry that my associations to certain looks would offend the designers, which is not my intention.  For instance, when I look at this collection I can't help but notice the floral print, which then causes me to think about large floral print sofas.  It would be an amazing photo to sit wearing this look on a floral sofa. Pattern overload, just the way I like it.  Come and check in on me in 70 years it just may be the kind of look I am going for.

image from here

Street Style, Chicago spring 2011

It seemed like a great idea when I saw that Iron and Wine was playing FREE at Millenium park, well apparently the rest of Chicago thought it was a great idea.  I have never seen the park that crowded! It was  intense and to make matters worse I forgot my phone at home, so I couldn't find my friends that I was meeting there.  Whats a girl to do?  At one point I was giving up hope of finding them, so I decided to just take some pictures of street style that I could use for this blog.  Here is one of those shots.  kudos to the little lady for balancing out a string bikini top with long shorts and sneakers, which made it less "I'm trying to be a sex kitten" and more "you got a problem with this top, go *##* yourself".

Now grab your tissue box....this blog is going to be not as consistent these next couple of weeks because I am going on vacation and right after that going to a conference, so be patient fellow readers I will do the best I can, but my determination to have a post everyday may kill me...to stay sane I have to break my golden rule and post less, so I can focus on other things at the moment. sorry

Prada, Spring 2011

Well along with the rest of those interested in such things, I too have fallen in love with Prada's spring line. "Why" you may ask, for its use of color, stripes, and prints.  Dresses from the collection have already landed the cover of 15 magazines, thats amazing!  Bold colors that pop, and if you are fortunate enough to own a yacht, then I assume you are fortunate enough to own some Prada, it may be a wise investment with the added bonus of additional boat safety.  Think about it, if you had too many manhattans and fell over board, the crew would be able to see you as you bob up and down in your bright stripy number.

Prada put out this awesome video campaign to show the collection.  I want to be a fashion video maker! Its short, choppy, and has lots of movement, which means it holds my attention and makes me want EVEN more to own some Prada, especially the colorful stole.

Jil Sander, Spring 2011

I am not normally a skirt wearer, mostly due to my need for no nonsense and movement, however Jil Sander's Spring Collection could change my mind.  First off I would have the comfort of wearing a t-shirt, which would balance out my discomfort of being in a skirt.  I love the cinched waist and double layered long skirt. The whole collection has a floral vibe with its amazing colors and shapes.  

                              

Cacharel, Spring 2011

                                                          

Zing!  This sweater is an electric green-yellow.  Great camouflage if you were in the woods or at a botanical garden and needed to be sneaky, but also look chic.  Isn't that a must for all of us?  I think I should get some chic-camouflage, so that when I am searching for street styles to use for this blog I don't look like a stalker or a bitch, for staring people up and down.  

image from here

I just googled "chic camouflage" and came across this picture of Condalisa Rice looking Camo-chic, coincidence or not, you decide.

Giles, Spring 2011

Months ago when I was going through the Spring collection I was wrapped in a blanket and it was cold outside, then this outfit did not strike me as strange.  But know its over 90 degrees out and the thought of wearing a puffy hat is exhausting.  So lets cool down and enjoy this look by learning a little bit about the artist Spencer Finch.  A certain lovable fur ball told me about Finch's work, especially a project he did  where he used solar power to run an ice cream machine that turned out colors that were seen in the sunset.  I love art thats thought provoking (if you want to go there) and also just plain fun.

                                  

To learn more about the project you can either visit his site or this blog which documented the process of installing and making the project.

* So when I wrote this it was 90 degrees out now its 60 degrees, what a strange Chicago summer. 

Street Style, Chicago spring 2011

 

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to attend and co-plan a roof top party, which requested guests to wear hats.  I am still riding on the fumes of the royal wedding, so this opportunity was a dream come true.  At the party we set up a photo backdrop where guests could be documented wearing their hat, its the type of thing photo dorks do when they throw a party.

Anyway this gentleman was a guest at the party, who didn't wear an outlandish hat like Princess Beatrice, but did have many elements (arm tattoos, hat, puffy fox tail), which when combined made me take notice.  This whole idea of "the elements in one look" is interesting to me because take away the fox tail or the hat and you have just a plain shirt and jeans. Now add back the hat and fox tail and you can get a sense of the individual.  I have found that is what interests me the most in documenting street style the coming together of elements, the choices an individual makes, and how that combination can begin to express a personality. 

So bravo fox tail man, I salute you.

Rain check

Sorry amazing readers...minor delay in posting for this blog due to annoying computer trouble. Maybe after work, God with take pity on my soul and allow something to work.

Salvatore Ferragamo, Spring 2011

"Massimiliano Giornetti said his second women's collection for Salvatore Ferragamo was inspired by Jacques Deray's late-sixties movie La Piscine. "But I didn't want nostalgia," he said, "just the vibration of that moment. I want to go back to that free-spirit, bohemian, gypsy attitude." style.com, Nicole Phelps

After reading the above description I went on a hunt to see if any artists have been making work based on the gypsy culture and it turns out that Ian McKell ,known for his fashion photography, has a new book out call "The New Gypsies".  Over the past decade he has documented a group of gypsies (not related to the Roma) who left London in search of a more self reliant life, leaving the contemporary world behind.  Think of it as that friend you have that always is talking about self reliance and wants to have chickens in the city and multiple that by 100, thats how extreme you got to be to leave the world you know behind and live in a caravan.  If I traveled with this group of gypsies I would play on my ipad under the covers so they didn't know I was still attached to contemporary life. Below are some images from the series.  You can also check out the series on Ian McKell's website. 

In Process by Hall O'hara, Spring 2011

Very similar to yesterday's feel.  baggy, movement, great for bumming around.  I mean no disrespect to the designers when I say this reminds me of a windbreaker a grandma would wear in Miami.  First off the grandma would not have it so baggy, would have matching pants that sit just below her boobies, and if she is lucky would wear it with a matching rhinestone hat.  Maybe the above description doesn't illustrated my love for this coat-dress.  Hall and O'hara, I have deep love and memories of grandparents and Florida and can remember wearing a matching wind breaker outfit back in the day, only it was electric blue.

image from here

And to increase your fashion knowledge did you know that "In process by Hall O'Hara" is designed by a married couple Steven Hall(from London) and Yurika Ohara (From tokyo).  They both attended Central Saint Martins College. Check out their site and buy some stuff here.

Designskolen Kolding, Spring 2011

Another look from Copenhagen fashion week.  Layers over layer of fabric, with a little keyhole of skin showing in the middle.  As I write this I am trying to articulate and understand why I keep being drawn to looks that are toga like and have this Japanese fashion feel.  I believe it is comes from some place deep inside that just enjoys the comfort and security of being wrapped in a blanket.  I am the type of person that is always cold, who often can be seen at home with a blanket wrapped around like a grecian goddess.  Ok more bag lady like then grecian goddess, but this is a blog and I am suppose to entice my readers into my amazing, always fabulous life.  In reality for a bumming-around-the-house-wrapped-in-a-blanket-feel I should invest in layered numbers, that way I look chic and stay toasty warm.  If I wore this number I may have to cover up the key hole or it will be counter productive to staying insulated.  

Street Style, Chicago spring 2011

It was so exciting to have stumbled upon this coat on the streets of Chicago.  There is this terrible imbalance to seeing interesting unexpected things in real life vs. the runway.  Not many people (me included) step outside the cultural comfort zone when it comes to dressing, its great to see someone who has the courage to break up the mundane.  This coat had so much floral pattern detail and a fur trim color to boot! It really reminded me of some old tapestry you would find hanging in a den full of books, with that "full of old books" smell.  The lady probably had been wearing the coat for years and didn't even know that finding inspiration from interiors, especially busy prints is all over the runway this season  ....that is according to the wall street journal

"What's interesting is that the fashion world is giving wallpaper something of a second wind. "Wallpaper has been saturated in terms of interiors," said set designer Stefan Beckman. "But I think now fashion designers are looking at those kinds of prints in different ways to reinterpret them." Wall Street Journal, Meenal Mistry

Tao, Spring 2011

Ok I shouldn't play favorites, but I love this dress.  Its so busy with texture, layers, pattern and yet comes across as airy...thats pretty impressive.  I totally get a Jane Austen, early 1800's vibe.  FYI, if I was asked to live for a month in one period of history, based on clothing style, I would pick that era.  I love how for about 25 years women were running around in dresses that breathed, moved, and were not confined by a corset.  Its a wonder that women ever agreed to go back to uptight confining clothes.  

So all this writing about Jane Austen to describe this modern dress got me thinking how would Jane Austen describe this dress if it found its way to the 1800's?

"I fear that Tao has made a regrettable mistake, which has caused me a terrific headache.  While I find the silhouette agreeable, the use of dots is dizzying and leaves the mind to wander to wicked places.  I daresay any lady would risk unfavorable attention if she was to wear this to Mr. Knightly's Christmas Eve Ball.  I would not recommend the burden."   style.com, Jane Austen 

Julian Louie, Spring 2011

A dress with texture, yes please!  Whats interesting about this dress is that its just a simple black and white number, but add the color tassels and BAM you got something different and unexpected.  Here is what style.com has to say:

"It wasn't your usual fashion inspiration: The Hyena & Other Men, a book of photographs by the South African lensman Pieter Hugo that documents the lives of Nigerian street entertainers and their faunal entourage—three hyenas, two pythons, and four monkeys—provided Julian Louie with this season's springboard. Influenced by the way Hugo's human subjects mixed traditional, opulent African garments with found pieces of American athleticwear, Louie played with adornment and collage. An asymmetric silk satin skirt came festooned with tassels like the kind you'd find on a tie-back for a pair of damask curtains, 

I love knowing what inspired a designer and I love when that inspiration comes from something to the left of traditional fashion inspiration.  Having never heard of Pieter Hugo's work I had to look him up, its a pretty intense series, below are some images I got from Hugo's website

 I love the cycle of inspiration and how it can be interpreted and used to create more inspiring works of art. I wonder what Hugo thinks of this?  I wonder what the subjects in the photos think of this?  I wonder what the poor hyenas think of this?