Patience is a Virtue

... and probably the virtue in which I am most deficient. (though I suppose that comment implies my modesty isn't excessive either).. but anyway..

Fashion-wise, I'm counter-seasonal to bears. Weird statement, but be patient with my metaphor please: Summer is a hibernation period, in terms of my interest and concern with what I wear. Of course, I do care how I look, but with temperatures holding above 90, I want only the lightest, loosest, coolest clothes and don't give a thought to layering, textures, structure, etc. when I am getting dressed. Sure, I read fashion magazines in the summer, but they don't resonate. Fall just feels too far away for me to think about it.

But then in August, when the sun starts to rise after I do, something starts to change.. just a little bit... I don't yet feel sick of my summer clothes or look forward to cooler days, but there's the initial stirring of a little feeling inside that maybe it will be ok that summer is going to end sometime in the still somewhat hazy future and that there may be a redeeming virtue to a bit of freshness in the air. If you were to ask me, I'd say it was incredibly sad that it's Labor Day already but that tiny little spark tells me it's going to be ok. And that tiny little feeling grows and grows and eventually triggers a deep and powerful memory that's been ingrained in me and others before and after me well before we could even remember, a powerful pull like the tide: time for back to school shopping.

And that's why I bring up patience. Because when I realize summer is actually going to end and it's not light outside at 9pm anymore (or 6am, for that matter), I look for that redeeming virtue to the upcoming chill. Awake from my peaceful, frugal fashion hibernation, I go out and look for nourishment. And the world is full of it: Fashion week! Bulging September issues! Store windows that actually seem relevant to my life! And I notice specific items start to exert a particularly strong pull (like the boots I wrote about a year ago in "Obsessed Until Possessed"). And I want them NOW! And I know they will change my LIFE!! (or at least my wardrobe!)

And darn it, they're never on sale...

Some fall inspirations (am trying something new, so this is via polyvore...)

fall is coming by villagette featuring floral jewelry

Wolford Bandage-print tights
$65 - net-a-porter.com
Sheer hosiery »

Tom Binns Cuff with floral motif
125 GBP - brownsfashion.com
Floral jewelry »

Chanel - Rouge Coco Hydrating Creme Lip Colour # 19 Gabrielle
$35 - yesstyle.com

Marcella Pantyhose 100%Nylon
sneakyfox.com

Celine Fall 2010 RTW
nymag.com

Dries Van Noten Fall 2010 RTW
nymag.com

Celine Fall 2010 RTW
nymag.com

Lanvin Fall 2010 RTW
nymag.com

Matthew Ames Fall 2010 RTW
nymag.com

Bottega Veneta Fall 2010 RTW
nymag.com

What I learned from Fashion Week

I normally don't comment on Fashion Week. Usually I write about what I feel like wearing, what I saw on other people and was inspired by, or what I just think is striking or funny. But this time, that all sort of ties in to Fashion Week.

I went to a couple of shows this year (Matthew Ames and Ports 1961) and both shows, in addition to showing beautiful clothes on the skinniest people you will ever see (seriously, every time I go, it pains me to see how thin the models are.. please let those girls eat!!), both shows also gave me a bit of inspiration on how to see and wear what I already have a bit differently.

At Ports 1961, a lot of the models had big curly hair. Big BIG curls. And messy. Hurray for messy! It suits my style better and takes less time! Plus, if it gets messy during the day, it stays the same, right? I've been doing messy hair and a single braid (a style Prada has made popular again) ever since my office asked all of us to get to work earlier in the morning. With the alarm set for 5am, it was either my social life, my sleep, or neatly styled hair that had to give first. What would you pick? Btw, if you wonder, as I have, how to pull your hair back when you're going to wear a hat and don't want to look like you have no hair - a loosely pulled back braid is your answer to that as well...

At Matthew Ames, there was no mess, but strong lines and clear colors that make me want to pair colors you wouldn't think would go so well together - and to wear more light colors in winter. Pale aqua and caramel, or aqua and yellow... so much cheerier than all the black the audience was wearing! And a couple of outfits were all in pale ivory. Really beautiful.

It's always also fun to see what the audience is wearing, too. How do fashion show attendees address snowy streets? Lots of high heeled boots - I think they made the same decision that I did to ignore it. Maybe they also hadn't found a satisfactory fashionable solution. My friend, Elena, had a great pair of solid Prada boots - very cool-looking in their sort of military practicality. One of the best solutions I've seen so far!

I was surprised a photographer asked to take my photo outside the Ports 1961 show - she took a couple, one just of my blue tights and and ivory lace-up shoes. I had originally thought of ivory tights when I was getting dressed that morning, but changed to blue last minute as I didn't want to look like a nurse. But some of the most beautiful outfits I saw were pale monochrome, so maybe I'll give that a try next time. I think the way not to look washed out with all these pale monochromes is to wear bright lipstick, which I'm also really into. Orange, red, purple, hot pink. I noticed a lot of this in the audience, too..

Well, hey, I'm going out tonight. I think I'll go mess up my hair, put on fuchsia lipstick and wear head to toe ivory (or as close as I can get)!

Lighten Up

It's usually when I'm really feeling the gloomy weather, when my sunshine-generated Vitamin D levels have fallen to critical lows, and when I realize how much time has passed since my life was filled with Christmas parties and pretty decorations, that I start to see store windows and shelves filling with red plastic hearts, shiny paper, cheap candy and even cheaper sentiment. I think back to my first valentine's memory when I was 6, lying in bed ill from the flu and too much sugar. I don't know, maybe this cheers some people up, but despite efforts from those I love (mostly my mom) to make it a fun day, V-day is not for me.

May I propose a couple of alternative holidays for this time of year? Mardi Gras/Karneval/Carnaval anyone? And how about fashion week? Aren't you sick of wearing black and gray wool by now? Surely the fashion week holiday would be welcomed by stores who are trying to drum up sales in the post Christmas/post sale lull...

Celebrating Mardi Gras is pretty easy to figure out.. (and they've started in New Orleans this year already).. My proposal for celebrating fashion week as a holiday? Break out of that black and gray box. Things don't have to be so serious! Wear green nail polish, fun tights, a white dress. Guys can play too - maybe skip the nail polish and tights (unless you don't want to), but bright colors? That's not too hard. And you can celebrate at work! (I'd keep the Mardi Gras/Karneval celebration to after hours...)

Laissez les bons temps roller!!!

Things don't have to be so serious...

I'm alive (and so's the blog)

I have a bunch of ideas that I want to write about, but they pretty much all require my photos as illustration and I'm getting a bit tired of editing the wonkiness out of my bathroom mirror. (You friends who've been in my apartment know what I mean - you can make your face look like Eric Stoltz in The Mask then like a Steve Madden ad depending on the angle. Kind of cool analog effect, but not appropriate for this blog, really.. )

Anyhow, I'm writing with other photo illustrations while I work that angle out, and because I don't have a theme will be a bit more random than usual...

So, since I have lots of things I'm dying to show that I like, I'm going to write about things I don't like from NY fashion week, Oktoberfest and other stuff I've done in between. But also wanted to mention some things that I do like very much! (that doesn't require any of my photography - all images from style.com, btw...)

First show, first model - bowl cut. I don't like it (though the clothes were very nice). Maybe models, because they look like the skinniest 10 year old boys you've ever seen, can kind of pull it off, but no, I don't see this working in the mainstream. And because it's so obviously now, it also seems a bit lemming-ish and not very reflective of an individual style to me. Maybe I just don't get it, but I don't. So there you go...

Men's brogue-style shoes for women. Well, naturally, they don't have high heels, so it's like a foreign language to me, but they add further support to my suspicion that there's a "no trend left behind" campaign going on, because dig through old Vogue/Elle/Bazaars from 15 years ago and what you haven't seen people promoting as cool yet, you will. I'm still waiting for full-on Laura Ashley floral & petticoat to come back topped by a silly hat - I've already seen the high necked Victorian blouse in NY and Copenhagen (and have to say, it looked pretty cool the way I saw it worn - with high waisted, bell-shaped trousers.) But if the original 90210 (cropped t-shirt and paper bag waists and all) is being promoted as a fashion source (which I have read), guard your wallets.. A fool and his/her money, etc etc...

I saw all kinds of horrible new acid/stone wash jeans treatments in Germany, but that's such an easy target. I also saw a leopard print dirndl, which is just bad bad.. to paraphrase something I read a while ago, sometimes you don't want a variation on the theme, you want the theme. Guys get this right - I saw no '80s hair band influenced lederhosen. Just suede like it ought to be. Way to go, guys!!

Well, I hate to end on a negative note, so will mention something that I realized I like a lot as I was watching the fashion shows (aside from Matthew Ames' show, from which I've already mentally purchased about 4 things). Pants. Or trousers, but you know what I mean. I've seen some flowy pants and there's something about that look that just draws my eye. Maybe because there are so many dresses, shorts, minis, etc, in the show (and in my closet as well)... I don't know, but I like it.

The return of the '90s, part II

As I mentioned in my last blog, I've been in a pretty strict budget mindset. Even though I still enjoy reading Vogue, I have been feeling quite disconnected from fashion and often wonder what it feels like to work there, how the writers and editors can make themselves feel relevant when stores on Madison Ave and West Broadway are shutting after 4-month long sale seasons, when ads are down and much of their readership has seen a drop in salary - or (for the trophy wife readership) of spending money. It does seem as though every article talks about "budgeting" and "high/low mix", though these articles precede photos of $6000 suits with jaunty belle epoque hats. Adorable, but I mean, really... And anyhow, my latest trip was skiing, so what I really wanted for my head was a helmet.

So coming back to Manhattan during fashion week and going to a show right after getting back from a ski trip was a bit of a drastic jump, since I wore pretty much the same thing everyday and hadn't been in a clothing store in months. But interestingly, far from feeling disconnected, I felt like I was starting to get feeling back in some part of my body that had fallen asleep. I've never worked in the fashion industry, so it wasn't any nostalgia for that (though it is always fun to see my friends who work at Fashionhaus). It was more that I've been so focused on work, on saving money and preparing myself for bad times, that I hadn't really done enough enjoying the fun things in life - like beauty and design - just for the love of it. I think that's how the people at Vogue get through times like now. At least, that's what I hope. It's not just about shopping (though of course, is partly about that since it is a business after all) but is also about just loving style, design, expression, beauty, etc.

I was also interested in the kind of fashion at the show. The designer, Matthew Ames, is a young American whose clothes reminded me (not being a fashion writer) of Georges de la Tour, monks cloaks, and Obi Wan Kenobi; sculptural, almost monastic designs in rich fabrics. That expensive minimalism also reminded me of Zoran, who had been around since the '70s but who I only heard of in the '90s, when his clothes were always in Elle. I mention all that because thinking back to the '90s reminded me that the economic slowdown then led to a preference for understated fashion and less of the '80s trash/flash. Ironically, I think the clothes were actually more expensive - but the emphasis was on craftsmanship rather than broadcasting labels. Prada and Marc Jacobs emerged from that environment and I think that we may see a similar shakeout of trash (do we really need celebrity designers, for example?) and the rise of some real new talents.

I hope so, anyhow.




















Tough look for tough times...?