Summer sale Steven Alan

(Jacqueline Schnabel Genaro flat 30% off)

Steven Alan’s summer sale is on now girls (and boys). Cute stuff to be had for all. Free shipping on $100+ orders.

Missing the old Bazaar

I came across this article on gossip blog, The Superficial: “Britney Spears poses nude in Bazaar” – with accompanying photo of the August issue. I didn’t want to re-post the photo here for obvious reasons, but seeing that made me think back and wish for the good old days of Kate Betts’ Bazaar.

The show that got away

Cat Power solo at the Spectrum on July 2, but count me out – because I didn’t couldn’t get tickets. Boo. I am able to monitor my eBay auctions with such consistency, but don’t have the prolongued attention span to check the web for tickets. To my chagrin, I heard too late that they released an extra slew of standing room tickets last week, but I heard on Sunday and by then they too were gone.

I feel like Charlie Bucket after he learned the last Golden Ticket was found by a rich Argentinian. Hopefully I’ll have the same luck and perhaps learn that the venue has been changed to accomodate the demand. Fingers crossed. I must go scour Craigslist.

I’m sure the show will be breathtaking. She’s the greatest.

How deep is the ocean

(Olivia Morris paint-by-numbers boot as featured in Nylon Magazine, March 2003)

I have started a new category entitled, ‘the one(s) that got away’, in honour of those beautiful creations that I’ve let slip through my fingers over the years.

In this first installment, I recall the Olivia Morris DIY collection with the paint-by-numbers boot and sandal. This boot was featured in Nylon‘s March 2003 issue – at which time, I probably marvelled a resolute, “COOL!” I lost a couple eBay auctions from Australia on the sandal version (one auction wasn’t even my size) sometime after seeing them in Nylon, and I have been searching for them in vain since. It is almost as if they have vanished without a trace, the few made probably stashed in the deep closets of a few lucky shoe-lovers, destined to be rarely worn but highly prized, and never would their owners consider getting rid of them – to my dismay.

I couldn’t even find an image on the internet of the hallowed DIY “blank canvas” boot she did from the same season. I thought to myself, “She should re-issue them,” but then came to the conclusion that some things should be kept in the past and quietly pined for, gaining a kind of folkloric status over time. These shoes certainly would be deserving of that.

Since then I have carried on, settling for a lesser but no less worthy object of affection: a pair of bronze t-bar flat sandals from her s/s 2005 collection (that I’ve worn to death and even had resoled already).

Ah, love, in its many incarnations, invariably contains an element of tragedy, doesn’t it?

Danny Deckchair

(Rick Owens fitted leather jacket)

The most memorable thing about the random Australian film entitled Danny Deckchair is the white biker jacket Miranda Otto busts out wearing in the last scene of the film. A shy, shrinking violet type character, it was this unexpected wardroboe shift that made me snap awake from the halfsleep the film put me in until that point (the film wasn’t terrible, actually. It’s kind of a cute romantic-comedy Australian style). Afterwards, I furiously searched on Google and imdb for the costume designer’s name and articles in the film’s wardrobes to no avail.

I haven’t found a white biker jacket to match the one in the film to date. Recently I may have stumbled across a version fairly faithful to the traditional biker jacket on eBay by Marc Jacobs, but I failed to make a bid. This one by Rick Owens is kind of close, but doesn’t have enough diagonal zippered pockets and lacks the crucial dirty quality of a good biker jacket.

That said, white/cream-toned leather is increasingly of interest. In fact, I have just acquired a cute pair of vintage white pixie boots with black stacked heels that has only further cemented this.

Further to that however, I have found that many of the vintage pieces I’ve obtained (particularly of the 80′s era) seem to harbour a curious smell – a smell, I’ve been told, akin to that of crack. Coincidence?

[NB: Seems that leather jackets will be the topic of discussion this week...]

A complex beauty

(Sophia Kokosalaki s/s 2006)

Sophia Kokosalaki’s work is all over the place (eg. costumes for the 2004 Athens Olympics’ opening and closing ceremonies, capsule collections for TopShop) but you won’t hear too much media hype about her. She’s had her label for seven years after graduating from St. Martins, recently switching over to the Paris circuit where her work has been garnering great reviews.

But her work doesn’t need to be spoken for. Because when you see an amazing leather jacket such as this with such intricate detailing and complexity that in the end somehow looks terribly effortless, you cannot think anything but that the creator is an extreme talent, her vision strong and unwavering.

What species?

(source: Paco Rabanne f/w 2006)

I really like Patrick Robinson's fall/winter collection for Paco Rabanne. The slick silhouette of his dresses is very tough-feminine, and paired with little bottines, the look is a very sexy one indeed.

I'm at a loss at what to call the garment above, however. Is it a poncho? A cape? A coat without sleeves? I know a term for it exists, and yet it doesn't seem to fit into any of the aformentioned categories. It can't be a poncho since there is an opening in the front along with holes for the hands, right? And a cape doesn't fasten all the way down the front since it is more like something just draped over the shoulders and flows down the back? I think that coat sans sleeves is the most fitting, but I feel that it is probably too inarticulate a term to actually be the name of a type of garment.

In any case, I like this type of outerwear – especially with the epaulets in Robinson's version, along with his geometric tops and square-neck long sleeved black dress and…..

Putty’s fur coat

(Via men.style.com Thom Browne f/w 2006)

Though it chafes to even think about fur right now, when I saw this coat from Thom Browne's f/w 2006 collection, I felt it looked really familiar. Lo and behold it is the same fur coat Putty had that Elaine so despised and threw out the window of an upper level apartment only to land in a tree and ultimately be found by Newman who then gave it to the superindentent's wife as a gift professing his love which ended up in Jerry claiming it was his in order to detract the attention from Newman which then in turn made the superintendent think Jerry was a real girlyman who was crying out for attention. The exact same!

Does the Thom Browne version also cry out "I am a girlyman! Give me attention!"??

That aside, his f/w collection is an amusing mix of overgrown schoolboys in the style of Christopher Robin and milkboys in wintery white shorts with high socks and garters – all on ice. Some looks made me think of Holden Caulfield and New England prep school boys and others made me think of Hogwarts. Needless to say, I think private school uniforms are the big influence here.

Those trademark braids

(Via: Julia Tymoshenko's personal site) [NB: I was going to post a photo that is more representative of her charismatic style, but the gentleman in the background of this one stole the show. This is a rare incidence where the sweatshirt makes the man].

'“She looks so small and tender, but she is the only man among the politicians,” said military surgeon Yuriy Shevchuk, about the former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who announced she and other allies from the country's Ukraine's Orange Revolution would start forming a government.' (Source:The Globe and Mail)

The seemingly polar worlds of fashion and politics collide in Ukrainian Prime Minister (just restored to the position from which she was dismissed). Overcoming allegations of corruption and fraud, Tymoshenko has become a "passionate revolutionary-like leader" in her campaign to reform Ukrainian politics. She was Victor Yushenko's right-hand woman in his campaign for the presidency until she was dismissed last September after a falling out from which she bounced back this spring.

Her trademark halo of a thick blonde braid and gracefully sartorial wardrobe have set her head and shoulders above the other female politicians (though admittedly an easy feat since the number of women in politics is still too few, but I digress). With a PhD in Economics and a long career in business preceeding the foray into the political arena, she was named the 3rd most powerful woman in the world in 2005 by Forbes magazine. Though she may have a spotty past (and what politicians in developing nations don't and even continue to engage in activities of a dubious nature?) the next few months with her in power may be pivotal in determining the trajectory of Ukrainian politics.

I first saw a photograph of Tymoshenko during the turmoil of the elections last year, and was impressed by her stature, the way she carried herself, her suit, high-ass heels, and insane hair – all while in parliament – just blew my mind. She exudes charisma and definitely looks like a force to be reckoned with.

Now for the questions of silly, childlike curiosity: I wonder how long it takes her to do her hair in the morning…and how many people does it take to do it?

More importantly though, I wonder if there have been grumblings questioning her ability to lead a country while being very concerned about her appearance – especially in a parliament full of men?  Surely her political capabilities have shown their muscle enough to quell any quips of the sort.

Wear your old ride

(Source: Kim White handbags)

The Green movement is slowly permeating the fashion industry where now you have organic cotton cropping up all over the place taking form as t-shirts and jeans, and sustainable practices translating into responsible production like Edun and Misericordia, and companies with philanthropic leanings such as Toms Shoes. And many designers have been recycling clothing and decontructing and reworking vintage for years.

We've seen old car seatbelts made into belts for jeans and used juiceboxes made into shopping bags, but upholstery from old automobiles recycled into cute handbags?

Want to tote around a part of a 1986 Volkswagen in style? How about a 1975 AMC Gremlin? The Kim White bags have a sturdy cute shape, and it is fascinating to see the great graphic prints that were made for car upholstery back then. It would be nice to see a revival of these prints in the cars manufactured today, but until then you can simply dangle the relics of the past on your wrist.