Riffing on a theme

Sources: Lady Moriarty//Vanessa Jackman

Cool girls wear short sweaters and jeans.

Holy bleeding breton

(jakandjill)

I'm a simple girl with simple loves. The classic breton top is one them. But it's nice to have a twist on a classic every now and again, yes? A marinière shirt whose perfection has been skewed by blue stripes that bleed into the pristine whiteness? Lovely.

Aspiration

Whenever I think about letting my fringe grow out, I look to this picture and snip snip snip.

(the sartorialist)

Cat-Eyed Vixen

Baaaaaaaaah. I'm dying a little bit inside with every exam... #3 out of 4 tomorrow, phew. But enough about that. May I present to you my current internet obsessions:

(1) Kinga Burza's photoblog, which I've been following for awhile now. Infrequently updated but inspiring much wanderlust when it is. Her photos of sunny LA are a ray of light in bleak exam times.

(2) Her amazing Graz x Ellery cat-eye sunglasses. They make me so envious, that I am almost glad they are sold out otherwise I might've blown all my birthday money on them. Eep!

And now back to the books, folks. Thanks for stopping by...

5 Franken will get you

This picture by Stil in Berlin made me inhale a little sharply when it first popped in my Reader. Her hair is lovely. And that dress is simply stunning. Apparently it was purchased for 5 Franken (which is around 4 Euros they say) at a Zürich fleamarket...dang. Jealousy abounds.

----

On another note, I am still alive, simply immersed in dissertation writing, exam prepping, life prepping. Two months till the very end of my law degree. It's all a bit scary and I haven't had much time or desire to blog. No word on when the winds will change, but if you don't mind bearing with me, I don't mind.

A snippet of nyfw: rag & bone

(click to enlarge, if you wish)

I haven't really been paying much attention to New York Fashion Week, mostly because I've attempted to ban myself from superfluous browsing of the internet while writing a hefty slew of papers. This morning, I was feeling a bit ill, and so spent a good part of the morning in bed, checking out New York Magazine and Style.com's coverage to see what's what.

While I enjoyed the ones I usually enjoy (Marc Jacobs, Peter Jensen, Karen Walker, Rachel Comey to name a few), I was particularly taken with rag & bone. They aren't a brand I am really familiar with nor generally interested in, but I was quite intrigued with their show. I'm not sure if it is the clothing themselves or rather the styling that won me over. I liked all the grays, olives, and fairisle knits, but what I really adored was all that layering. The only reason I don't mind winter is that I get to layer clothes upon clothes, which automatically gives me warm feelings of comfort and generally happy fuzziness.

The show was styled by Vanessa Reid, who also styled the Missoni aw09 show and an editorial I'd earmarked in the fall 2009 issue of POP - both were favorites last year precisely because of their layering wonderfulness. I only wish I could be as proficient at piling it on.

D is for Dree

A little 'D' in the hollow (crook?) of the neck. One of the prettiest parts of the body adorned with the most delicate initial charm. Just another thing Dree Hemingway has that I kinda want. Dammit.

(photo via jak&jil)

Sophie Conti

I'm sure most of you are aware of that wonderful haven of inspiration, Style Like U...but I couldn't help but repost this recent video of Sophie Conti, merely because she is so hilarious and has the funniest anecdotes, including a Larry David-esque incident involving knock-off Balmain heels. I love her approach to fashion. Quality over quantity and pro- outfit repeats, as she says, "I'll wear the same pants four days in a row, but it looks good, you know." It's fun and funny, nothing too serious, cause in the end, it's just clothes.

Sophie Conti from Stylelikeu.com from Stylelikeu on Vimeo.

damn.

I don't care what anyone says, Chloë Sevigny looks damn hot in this outfit. And only she could take a straight-from-the-runway outfit and make it look so effortless and throw-on. The girl's got gumption.

(source: tfs, via ringo, have a banana)

Christy et Jean

I think it's relatively obvious that Jean Seberg, immortalized in her little striped shirt in A bout de souffle (Breathless), is considered one of those 'classic' style icons. And then there is Christy Turlington, super amongst Supers. Put the two together, throw Ellen von Unwerth behind the lens, and you have this wonderful Turlington as Seberg editorial from a 1990 US Vogue. Pretty fucking fabulous.








(source.)

Book Worm

Ok, so this post originally started as me wanting to point out Camille Bidault-Waddington's brilliantly put together outfit. It was gonna be a quickie simply stating that I am smitten with her dress, especially the longer length, long sleeves and generally demure cut. And her hat makes me smile. But then I noticed what she was holding...seemingly Melville's Moby Dick, but...





...Apparently, Camille and other fashionable Paris folk were at a 'book launch' for Olympia Le-Tan's new collection of box clutches. They are hand knit copies of original classics. It kind of reminds me of the magazine clutches of the 70s (they looked like rolled up magazines to thwart purse-snatchers). I have one that I used to tote around obsessively but kind of stopped when I stopped using clutches. I think I'd give up the glory of a purse strap for one of these puppies though.

This may sound stupid, but personally, I love to read and not only that I love to read books. Kindle and other such technology kind of freaks me out...I want the tactile, olfactory and visual delight that accompanies reading a book, especially a secondhand one that is kind of yellow and musty. It frightens me to think that books may one day be relics ("when I was a kid, there was a thing called a book, no screen in sight") and so her collection makes me happy in its celebration of the book.

(Camille Bidault-Waddington photo via style.com, all others via purple diary)

good morning

Nothing like a bevy of beautiful, inspirational ladies to wake up to...

ps. The sole thing I want for winter is a proper fairisle cardigan. Come every October, the search begins, come every April, it ends abruptly, with no sweater. Not this year.

Julia Frakes: a little note

Dear Julia,

This is just to say... I am oh-so very jealous of your Pendleton for Opening Ceremony coat, but it's okay because you styled it to perfection, and that makes me happy (which subsequently cancels out the jealousy. Maybe? At least a little bit).

Love, dw.(via stylesightings)

Behatted

(you can click, and it gets bigger!)

I love hats, and have a slight problem in collecting them and then not wearing them. A bowler, a cloche, a straw floppy, a felt floppy, a Panama hat, a fedora...my collection definitely does not lack in variety. But still, I have yet to find the 'perfect hat.' I am not quite sure what it entails, but I am constantly on the lookout. A hat can be a tricky thing to pull off without looking affected, but I am determined to find one that will sit pretty on my head, hide my uncooperative hair and make me look as wonderful as all these ladies. Ah, to dream the impossible dream.

help, i'm alive

I've returned! After a week and a bit of basking in the Mediterranean sun, it was a bit depressing upon returning to rainy old London, to be greeted by a 48 hour tube strike and weird humid cold/hot rainy weather. Apparently it was gorgeous whilst I was away, go effin' figure.

I've actually been back for a couple of days, but have been grappling with the emails that filled my inbox whilst I was away. I don't think I ever realized how much junk mail I get. I also did not realize how many blog posts I read in a week, but after 9 days there were 754 post in my Google Reader. I finally, after four patient days, have whittled it down to about 50 still to read, but it is kind of crazy/depressing to realize how much time I must spend reading blogs. I don't spend nearly that amount of time on anything else...unless you count contemplating my next meal, which I am in a constant state of doing: tonight, hoisin chicken and noodles, yes, please.

Anyway, of all the 754 posts to be read, one of the first ones I did read was by Backyard Bill. It's one of my favorite style blogs, but the posts aren't that frequent, so I was delighted to see a new profile, this time of Julia Bostrom. She's the younger sister of artist Fanny Bostrom, whose apartment I fawned over on the Selby awhile back. Style runs in the family I guess.

all the right places

It doesn't take much to make me happy...and this outfit proves it. While simple -- a skirt and blouse -- the details such as the print on the blouse, the sleeves, the precise curve-hugging of the skirt and the fishnet-dotted tights all make it so much more enviable and admirable in my mind. To me, this is perfect spring/summer transition dressing. I couldn't care less about all that the Miami Vice-90s-neon-pastels look that seems to be floating around this summer. Give me this girl's outfit over that, any day. I can only hope to one day be able to pull off such detailed, tailored, sophisticated simplicity with her panache. Though I suppose I would have to minus the sophistication and throw in a bit of scruffy hair to make it truly me...ah well.

( à la facehunter)

fun fun fun til her daddy takes the t-bird away

These pictures just ooze summer. Even though spring is in full swing here, I am constantly thinking about the next season, the warmer and bare-er glory days of summer, with nothing but blue sky and sun shinin' down on me. These gals outfits are exactly how summer clothes should be, simple and minimal with sunglasses and a hat for good measure. Now, where's my SPF 30?




(via Style Sightings)

Lauren Hutton-esque

EDIT: here's an attempt to repost a post that I tried to post a couple of days ago. Hopefully it works or I may go postal. heh.

I picked up the latest French Vogue to browse while at Borders. This issue didn't really strike me as particularly interesting, but I did enjoy this little accessories editorial inspired by Lauren Hutton's 70s style. While I didn't pay much attention to the actual accessories in the story, I do quite enjoy the recreation of Lauren Hutton-esque outfits. I'm not one for safari fashion myself, but the latter three looks with high waisted pants/shorts and oxford shirts are very appealing for a simple spring/summer look. And the little snapshots of Lauren are just perfect.




(scans from the fashion spot)

Overalls, y'all

I still have a pair of overalls from 8th grade hanging up in my closet it at home. While I've long since relegated them to childhood memories, this girl has brought overalls back to the forefront of my mind. I mean, how did she manage to make them look so stylish? I will just have to be content to admire her bravado though, as I know full well overalls could never work on my 5'2" frame, unless my goal is to look 5 years old.

(pic via fashionista)

Sarah Silverman: It's a Boy [by Band of Outsiders]

Man, oh, man do I love Boy by Band of Outsiders. Scott Sternberg is a little bit of a genius (and a recent CFDA menswear nominee, mind you). Girls love to wear boys clothing. He makes boy's clothing. He also makes boy's clothing for girls. He has that preppy intellectual look down pat and is a clever little marketer. Last fall, it was hazy polaroids of Michelle Williams wandering around a house all Boy'd up, then there was a series shots of Kirsten Dunst posing for the spring 09 presentation video and last month was his recent Godard-inspired fall 09 presentation, which I am in love with. And now, to show another side of the spring clothes that Kirsten modelled, he's come up with a new set of hazy polaroids with Sarah Silverman being her usual self in a "super Jewy" deli in L.A. As for his choice of model, Sternberg told The Moment, "It’s less about the content and delivery and more about her singularity and honesty. Plus she’s totally hot. And hilarious." True true true.

See the Gal shine in Boy.