february

we had a lovely warm weekend which i thoroughly enjoyed by spending as much time in the sun as possible. But the thermostat has once again plunged and it's back to grey and gloomy weather. Spring break is not that far away but until then proenza schouler pre-fall 2009 will keep me inspired until the sun comes out for good

M Design

I stumbled across Molly Luetkemeyer's M. Design and I think I might be in love.
Isn't this office just to die for? (ok the photos look much better when you click on them) The combo of the pale, pepto-bismal pink walls with the bright blue chair was what initially caught my attention. And i loved the sketches on the wall and the orderly row of national geographic magazines.
I'm thinking of trying something similar for my room- but flipped. a pale blue on the walls with some bright magenta as a hit.

T by Alexander Wang

“Necklines are stretched and armholes are strategically lowered so that it looks worn in. It’s like sleeping in a T-shirt and then wearing it the next day. It’s not this crisp little T out of the dryer. It’s draped and kind of wilted."
- Alexander Wang on his diffusion line, T by Alexander Wang

That's right ladies and gentlemen, the new alexander wang diffusion line has finally arrived. I was super excited when I first learned of the line, and finally seeing the product has only made my anticipation grow. And the best part? the prices. Nitrolicious reported that they would be selling wholesale for $26 (tanks) to $40 (dresses). WHAT??? I am soo there. When I learned that saks had them on preorder I clicked over as fast as my fingers could type. Imagine my dissapointment when even the sleeveless tees were selling for $74. I've worked in retail, so I have some compassion for the stores- they definitely have a lot of costs- rental, wage, electricity... but that's over a 280% markup!

Maybe that's the norm, but if so, I think that there's going to need to be some industry-wide restructuring. Maybe saks has an exclusive contract with alexander wang, but it doesn't seem like it'll be very long until a web-only store pops up that can undercut saks

Domino's manifeto

found this online...

Domino’s Manifesto

• Home Should Make You Happy!
• We swear by the 3 R’s: repaint, repaper, reupholster
• Steal ideas from other people’s houses
• Even the insides of the closets & cabinets can be beautiful
• It’s ok to NOT BE finished
• TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS—ALWAYS!
• A chandelier is as timeless as a black dress
• Renters need not be second class citizens
• Sometimes your mistakes become your greatest inspirations
• DON’T BE AFRAID TO MIX STYLES (Louis XIV and Eero Saarinen should hang out more often)

the death of domino

Domino dead? a sad day indeed.
expect an upcoming post with some of my favorite images

History in the making

I'm going to DC for inauguration- so excited!

“Necklines are stretched and armholes are strategically lowered so that it looks worn in. It’s like sleeping in a T-shirt and then wearing it the next day. It’s not this crisp little T out of the dryer. It’s draped and kind of wilted."

-Alexander Wang on his new diffusion line, T by Alexander Wang

Yes Please!! As a longtime Alexander Wang fan, I was super excited to learn about his diffusion line. I was even more excited to learn that wholesale prices ran $28-$40. And it was available for preorder at saks! Starting at $74 dollars. Holdup, what? Having worked in retail I have some compassion for the store's situation. They have overheads to pay for- like rent, wages, electricity... but this is almost a 200% markup. Maybe that's the industry norm, but that doesn't exactly seem like the way to lure customers, especially if it's a strictly online venture. I understand paying a bit of a markup when I am actually able to benefit from helpful salespeople and being able to try clothes on. But if all I'm doing is ordering from a website paying an extra $46 seems unreasonable.

"Rather than trying to keep the machine running by pumping out high-price hand bags, watches and other goods, he proposed the unthinkable: the entire luxury industry should slash prices. “We need a return to reason, decency, discretion, beauty and creativity — in other words, to true values,”

-Mr. Némarz, New York Times

Mr. Nemarz, chairman of the prestige jewelry firm Mauboussin, said what I've been thinking for a while. This fashionista post definitely got me started thinking along this track, and it's been something I've been pondering for a while, because we've all got to admit that prices for clothing have gotten a little out of control recently. $1385 for Wedges? $595 for a pair of sneakers?

I don't want interesting, innovative and new companies going under. I don't want the people working in the fashion industry to be left jobless. As an econ major I've learned about deflation, and I certaintly wouldn't want us getting stuck in a quagmire like Japan did.

But that being said, a little bit of rationality might not be such a bad thing. Being able to get a pair of balenciagas for less than $1000? should that be as outrageous as it sounds?

willa holland

I'm totally digging these photos of willa holland

genevieve jones

Dubbed a modern holly go lightly, Genevieve Jones has been taking the fashion world by storm. Even after a WSJ expose, she managed to return and once again take her spot as a prominent socialite/interior decorator/designer. Originally from a middle-class background in baton rouge, she came to new york and established herself on the city's social circuit, building close friendships with Zac Posen and Julia Restoin-Roitfeld.
She describes her fashion, remarkable for it's inventive style and creative color combos, as "classic taken to the edge."

acid wash

I'm really digging acid wash these days. While many may think that acidwash should not leave the 80's, I think it can look attractive even outside of 80's parties. While back then they favored the all over spotting, I think that the larger splotchier wash makes it more modern.

Karen Walker featured some great acid-washed prints on her runways.



I'm going to try and do a diy acid wash skirt- i'm not sure how it'll turn out, but i'll post some photos if it works out

Vogues tries affordable

The New York Times labelled "recessionista" as one of the words of the year.
With being fashionable on a budget suddenly the new hot thing, Vogue has tried to throw their hat into the ring with this video, The Economists. They challenge their editors to find something "inspired" for under $500. Which is about $500 more than I have to spend. No but really, I understand that $500 is a very constrainig budget for the ladies of vogue, but if they're trying to appeal to the average woman don't you think they could have gone a little lower? Maybe? Especially considering that they were allowed an investment piece that was over $500?

That being said, I find the video pretty interesting (which is probably why it's lingered in my bookmarks since the summer). We get to see Bonnie Morrison dancing, and some shots of the ever allusive Lawren Howell.







some screenshots...

Mens Vogue

With the economy in a tenuous position, many of our favorite magazines are struggling. The one that I think I'll miss the most will be Mens Vogue. Given that I'm not exactly their target audience, this may seem surprising, but I've always liked their more intelligent take on style.

But while their print version may be over, their website is still up. So I would recommend to hurry on over before that too gets taken down. I would especially recommend looking at Amanda Brooks blog In Her Eyes. I loved her mix of classic and modern, and was always pleasantly suprised by the photos that she was able to get. Some vintage, some new, but all were absolutely chic

To me, fragrance seems like such a personal, identifying item. More than a piece of clothing or an accessory, I feel like a fragrance is defining. But at this stage of my life, the idea of a signature scent is overwhelming.
But these mini fragrance tubes sure seem like they'd make the job easier. At only 25 dollars, I can try several before making a decision.

rings

Over two years ago WhoWhatWearDaily did a feature on mary-kate olsen's rings. That page has been sitting in my bookmarks ever since then until recently when I was going through my bookmarks and saw it.



Given the olsen's trendsetter status, it's not suprising that this look has caught on like wildfire. Some of my favorite bloggers like rumi have become ring afficionados.

I'm lusting after Vivienne Westwood's armour ring...



...and obviously the olsen's own line...



... but it's all a tad expensive, so most likely i'll be buying one of these suckers from f21

i'm baack!

So I haven't been doing a very good job of keeping with this blog. But since I don't really have any readers, I figured that was fine- I don't believe my lack of posts are disappointing to anyone. I really do this blog for me- to express the ideas that I have in my head and hopefully achieve some sense of clarity in the process.
I'm not making any promises on the frequency of posts. I'm theoretically thinking once a week, but most likely my posting schedule will follow the 'when I'm inspired and have time' schedule.