only in france....

only in france would karl become a safety mascot!

(the ad reads: "it's yellow, it's ugly, it doesn't go with anything, but it could save your life)

les parisiennes

thanks so much for the encouraging commentary on my last post!

for all the francophiles, this month's french vogue was all about parisian women. it would definitely be one to invest in stateside, it was a beautiful issue. and if you don't read french, i'd love to read it to you!

below, vogue's examples of parisian chic, styled by the most immacuately chic french woman on the planet, carine roitfeld.
alors.....les parisiannes....

leaving town

i'm heading to provence for the next week to relax and read colette nonstop. i will probably be without internet until next sunday when i return....but before i go:

i've been doing this blog for about a month now, and i'd love to get your opinions about where to go next. are there things you want to see more of, or less of? sonnets about alexander wang? haikus about barbara bui shoes? odes to fringe? pictures of paris? or more importantly, is anyone actually reading this?

until then,

bisous

c

bondage is back

i was curing my homesickness with an american vogue when i came across this picture in the sjp editorial



i was intrigued not only by the disturbing expression on chris noth's face but also the insane sexiness of the exposed zipper and criss-crossing straps of sjp's dress. seeing it was narcisco rodriguez, i quickly looked up the rest of the collection...



i loved the contrast of the leather and feathers, the severe tailored lines with the soft plumes....and, of course, that dress....

resort!

while looking through the resort collections, i was really struck by the richness and instensity of the color palettes many of the designers chose. then i realized what i was really seeing was a season where everyone seemed to be thinking along the same lines....

for example, the orange that seemed so striking when i first saw alexanger wang's collection, a bold color usually reserved for halloween and traffic cones, not fashion, kept appearing in other collections


alexander wang, brian reyes, narcisco rodriguez, stella mccartney, doo. ri

burberry prorsum's intense acid green and was also echoed in other looks


doo.ri, burberry prorsum, burberry prorsum, jenni kayne

finally, the blues, doo.ri's flourescent turqouise and helmut lang's yves klein blue being the standouts


doo.ri, doo.ri, stella mccartney, helmut lang, doo.ri

i am really excited to see such vibrant colors from so many designers. i also love resort season, as the collections are usually a lot more wearable and casual than the rest of the year. being just an art student with no grand parties to which i can wear a feathered cocktail mcqueen dress or whatever other couture item i might fantasize about, resort gives me a chance to see what my favorite designers imagine for the daily life of a customer like myself.

jean army

i've been really into the tough/relaxed contrast of swedish brand acne jeans looks for a while. i think it comes from a similar head space to alexander wang or balmain for example, designers who want to make women feel really strong and unstoppable but feminine at the same time.



something really important to me in fashion is clothes that look as great off the runway on the rest of us as they do on the models in shoots and on the runway. a line from the project runway finale comes to mind, where rami said cristian needed to "learn to design for women instead of models," which i totally agree with.

a friend of mine owns one of the acne jeans dresses shown above, she is 5'2", styles it completely differently, and she looks fantastic. i get the same warm fuzzy feeling from all of the fabulous bloggers showing looks inspired by wang's destroyed denim and sleek blazers. if there's anything we've learned from the outpourings of love for the late yves, it's the designers whose clothes make women feel great in them that are really remembered.

oh btw i think it would be really easy to create similar, less expensive versions of the acne jeans line by belting american apparel pieces. i know i'm going to give it a try.

l'été commence

en vogue section of paris vogue
all photos from thefashionspot.com

honor roll

it seems there was more than one tribute going on at the cfda awards....

miss olsen is channeling the late mr. laurent's previously mentioned iconic "le smoking".....and i believe he would have found her easy elegance the perfect tribute.

oh and rodarte beat out alexander wang, in case you were curious.

the end of an era

all of paris is in mourning today for "le petit prince" of fashion monsieur yves st. laurent.

he died sunday at his home in paris from brain cancer. laurent created one of my favorite looks of all time, "le smoking", and was a proud advocate of democratizing fashion at a time when the idea was unpopular, opening "rive gauche," a less expensive line on the then less-fabulous bank, and was also reportedly the first designer to use black models on the runway. to that end one of his most famous quotes is "we must never confuse elegance with snobbery." overall an amazing man who lived an amazing life, transforming both the women who loved his clothes and the industry he was a part of. i have rarely seen his equal in talent paired with such class and personality, such a love for real women, in the designers of today.



"a woman who has not found her style, who does not feel at ease in her clothes, who does not live in harmony with them, is a sick woman."

i have been tagged, also.

5 things found in my bag:
1. sketchbook
2. sir james frazer's "the golden bough"
3. a paris streetwise map
4. lots of ballpoint pens
5. hundreds of little tiny billets du metro

5 favourite things in my room:
1.my window with its lovely view of paris rooftops (see photo)
2. my questionably real vintage birkin
3. my wall of photographs from home
4. my three closets
5. tea!

5 things ive always wanted to do:
1. move to paris (done!)
2. move to nyc (done!)
3. have a huge studio/house by an ocean (someday)
4. see everything (need more funding)
5. learn to dance properly

5 things im currently into:
1. my new blazer (it goes with everything!)
2. parisian flea markets (yves st. laurent! hermes!)
3. the paintings of joan mitchell
4. 19th century english literature
5. brioche

the person who tagged me: the charming mo of like a fox

my 5 impressions of her:
1. she looks cuter in a beret than most french people
2. she is a hat person (so jealous! i have not the hutzpah for hats)
3. she inclines toward schoolgirl charm
4. her blog is new- like mine!
5. she loves guillame canet, as do i. he is a looker.


i know i am supposed to tag others, but since my blog is so new i think it's best that i don't, as i don't know many people in the blog-world-sphere.....but merci millefois for the opportunity to share a bit.

bisous all around!