an actual arm party

so, as it turns out, i happen to know a bunch of cool, awesome, creative people, who are hosting fun events for you all to check out.

yesterday, i wished i was in london.....

today, i wish i could be in nyc for kat's event at the american folk art museum.

kat's been repurposing vintage materials, and making them into all sorts of great accessories. on march first, she'll host a party for your arm party, and show you how to fill up the space below your cuffs with great looking bangles.

seriously, guys.... if you're in nyc, you should really get your ass to the museum...

it's the styling, stupid

lots has been said over the past week, since marc jacobs showed the collection for his main line at new york fashion week.

as is usually the case, most people were shouting from the rooftops how much they loved it. but a number were not so sure.

i thought that alexandra suhner isenberg made a good point in her blog, searching for style- that there were many nice pieces on that runway, but that the horrible hats & shoes (my god, particularly the shoes!), as well as other accessories like scarves & shawls totally obfuscated anything interesting, or exciting....

i had a similar feeling myself, and was looking forward to seeing the individual pieces in editorial coverage, and then in stores, to see what i really thought.

fortunately, i didn't have to wait too long. below are the runway shots (via style.com), paired with shots of just the clothing itself (via moda operandi), without all that awful styling:

look! this is actually a totally cute jacket and skirt combo, not a bulky, ugly dress to be worn with oliver-twist style fingerless gloves!

obviously, the blouse underneath is imminently wearable. i want.

the leather and printed lamé combo looks pretty interesting too. i'd love to see this off-the shoulder dress on its own, showing off the collar bones & arms.

ok, i had a funny feeling that i was going to be pretty excited about this dress, even when i saw it on the runway, with the dr seuss hat & pirate of penzance shoes....

turns out that i was right- a floral, sculptural dress done in magenta holographic sequins is just too great to totally obscure.

but, man oh man.... those shoes! they are just too awful. i thought about cropping them from all of these photos, but thought you should see them, as the designer intended.

do you really think that we'll see girls wearing these, come october & november? i really hope that someone proves me wrong, and wears them in a way that is totally awesome.

i'm not holding my breath.

--------

i've been thinking & wondering about what marc jacobs might have been trying to achieve through this ridiculous styling.....

and i think i may have hit on something - maybe it's a little bit of secrecy? 

 i'm wondering if he's thinking about tom ford's no-photos-allowed shows, and feeling a bit jealous? it is such a brilliant idea- actually keeping the collections a secret from the public until the pieces are actually available for sale... maybe jacobs has presented his own version of this approach.

it's a self-imposed bit of confidentiality- intentionally obscuring the collection from the hoi polloi, while knowing the the important buyers will be able to see each piece, up close and personal, when they have their buying meetings.....

yet, still playing the game of putting on a runway show, and taking advantage of all of the pr, and the buzz and the chatter of a super strangely presented show....

considering this possibility makes me think much, much more about the show..... mr jacobs certainly has a pretty clever brain for pr stunts and tongue in cheek ideas....

and whether or not this was his actual intention, i love that i'm thinking and talking about it more & more....

certainly, that was not an accident on the part of monsieur jacobs!

what do you think about the show, and his intentions??

my perfect shoes?

look now. i am a shoe designer.

so, i own a lot of shoes. and i wear a lot of them too. so, it's hard to declare one pair the absolute perfect, favorite pair....

but these are about as close as any pair have come:

they're ysl black suede "flatforms", which is a name i hate, but i think you'll all know what i mean...

i bought these second-hand at tokio 7.

does anyone have any idea what collection they're from?! they seem like production, so i'm pretty sure they weren't just samples....

they're such a perfect blend of luxury and comfort/ practicality that i find myself grabbing them out of the closet on a regular basis....

i wish i could point you in the direction of a pair for yourself, but i wouldn't have the first idea where to send you! if anyone tracks these suckers down, let me know! i may need to order a second pair....

 especially if they came in brown... oh, or navy....

my perfect belt

i have a lot of belts.

i find them extremely useful in influencing the style of my clothing- changing a particular look from grown up & classy to relaxed & casual is often as easy as changing my shoes and belt....

in the arsenal of little tricks & tips of wardrobe building, one of my favorites is to go lighter on your array of clothing, and build up a serious library of accessories from which to choose. belts are high on the priority list for me...

but, you may recall that i've recently moved from the east coast to the west... and for the first month of living here in los angeles, we waited for most of our belongings to arrive by truck.

due to some bad planning, i didn't manage to pack a good array of belts for our first, transitory month here in l.a, and found myself about to start a brand new job with no respectable belt in sight. 

so, although i have no real need to add another belt to my overflowing collection...

i had a real opportunity!

but, not a whole lot of time to shop. i literally ran into confederacy on my last sunday afternoon of unemployment and was lucky enough to track down what has now become my numero uno, go to accessory for the past month or so... ladies and gentlemen, i give you....

3.1 phillip lim's braided belt!

it has been a real work horse, sprucing up simple jeans and ballet flats, as well as silk dresses whose "self" belts had been cast astray......

it's a great combination of being lady-like enough (gold hardware, refined matte black leather) and cool enough (not-so-refined buckle size, and whip-stitch style braided motif), that it has literally been a perfect, if accidental addition to my new west coast wardrobe....

if you're so inclined, you can pick yourself up one here (it's on sale. you're welcome), and if you're not, i highly recommend looking out for a similarly perfect fit to your own closet...

when everything in your life is new & unfamiliar (read: moving 3000 miles away, finding a new home and starting a new job), it's really surprising how comforting something like a reliable belt can be...

now, i just need a lipstick that will accomplish something similar!

(or, maybe the 31 hour bag?)

do-in it right

last night was the versace for h&m fashion show here in nyc.

versace is not really my thing, so it wasn't a collaboration that i was anticipating with any kind of excitement....

but of course, this morning the blogs are full of it.

one of the most consistant elements of many of the looks in the show were black leather do-rags, worn on the head:

which reminded me, immediately of a similar look that alexander wang showed for spring:

(all runway photos are courtesy of style.com)

i don't believe the wang pieces will be available for sale, although maybe if the versace ones blow out of h&m, they will consider making them for retail?

my first thought was to wonder what alex might have though.....

but he doesn't look too mad ;)

(above shot is courtesy of hanneli.com)

i read somewhere on twitter that their inclusion in the versace show was a reference to a show of gianni versace's, before his death.

i have no idea about that, since i was not a big follower of fashion in those days....

wang, or versace, these accessories are not for me, but....

maybe you'll be wearing them someday soon?

baubles bangles and.... eh.

do you guys like the jewelry line dannijo?

they've gotten a ton of attention recently, not least of which is because of their friendship and association with the man repeller (whose blog i love).

but i'm just not sure about them.

to me, it kind of looks like a couple of kids got access to some great hardware and stones, and started putting them together like puzzle pieces. the sum being worth less than the parts:

they're not bad looking, but they just look a bit slapped-together, rather than really considerately designed.

do you agree? or am i way off the mark here?

when i went to check out their site, i did find a couple of things that i liked. most notably, these clean, basic, minimal rings:

perhaps this just reflects my interest in more streamlined lines these days, and more architectural accessories?

but i don't know..... i just think maybe these two were happy accidents.

thoughts?

questioning lucky logic: the shoe issue

over the weekend, i posted a little snippet of my shoe collection.

so, it's officially shoe-week here on the blog. all things footwear related will now commence.

starting with the new feature..... 

questioning lucky logic:

every fall and spring, lucky does a big feature, covering all of the trends and styles of footwear that any self respecting american female must have represented in their closet. 

generally i find it to be a sad state of affairs, since one can only be told so many times that a knee high boot looks "terrif" over skinny jeans, and that "sky high" platforms are de rigueur for any date night that might lead to a relationship with legs.

this fall is nothing new. it's the same-old-same-old, with recommendations on ankle boots, and day-to-night looks. i'd have fallen asleep by now if it weren't for some of the more hilarious and questionable style choices and product descriptions, all shown below for your enjoyment.....

sporty, indeed. i'm totally picturing tim riggins in a pair.

please, dear god. someone send me a photo of these librarian-looking pumps being worn with a *neon mini skirt and a sequined shirt*. please. i can't even imagine how much "fun" that would be!

the copy here is a bit dumb, but i'm mostly offended by the horrible silhouette of these shoes. should they reside in my closet, they would acquire no patina of wear, glossy or otherwise, only that of dust.

funny, they actually look like they'd make you look somewhat tubby, what with the "wearable" heel height, and awkwardly shaped wedge.

i'm also picturing these to look kinda crazy with jeans tucked in, almost like...... moderate department store hip waiders?

no! cheap flannel wedges will not look very chic at all with light pastels. they will make you look like a middle schooler running out to walk the dog in her pajamas!

nothing too terrible here, other than the fact that these shoes look utterly cheap, and exactly like the casual boots that department stores have been showing for..... at least 5 years.

snooze.

i intentionally took out any reference to the brand of these shoes, so that you didn't get the impression that i'm against any of the brands. however, i will say that it's surprising that this little guy is a collab between a company that makes high quality shoes, and an athlete that's mostly know for being kick-ass and hot.

these are just ugly, no? such bad shapes and proportions, in my opinion.

my a.m. commute is already enough of an expedition, thank you very much. is there someone out there who wants to add more trial / potential danger to their morning?

:::eye roll:::

to beguile: transitive verb

1: to lead by deception

2: hoodwink

3: to while away especially by some agreeable occupation

4: to engage the interest of by or as if by guile

which one do you think they meant, regarding those ca-razy buckles? hmm?

it seems somewhat unfair to tease about a ridiculous use of a cliched pun, when i'm so fond of using them, myself, but.....

it's ridiculous.

so friends, there you have it. stay tuned for next month's installment.......

ok, wait! i do gotta say that these are pretty awesome. they are stunning.

no?

ok, how about this?

is this normal????

i only have one other pair of sneakers.

but i have like 55 other pair of shoes in total.

aimee's thoughts here

ok, only aimee has a question. fair enough.

here it is:

"have you ever handmade a pair of shoes? i've always wanted to try it."

here's the answer:

i have made some pairs of shoes in my life. most of them have been made with some sort of machinery, whether it's a sewing machine, or some of the more technical shoe-making things like grinders, etc:

(the last one is a shoe for kids- i made it as part of my graduation project at f.i.t.)

i have to admit, it's not my favorite thing. it's pretty labor intensive, and can require a lot of wrestling with leather. 

i kind of like re-making shoes. you can see a pair that i did here.

however, the brooklyn authority on making AND remaking shoes is kat:

check out her blog for how to redo things yourself, or take her class at third ward.

calm me down.

is this normal?

(i don't mean the amount of dust.)

this is the top of the bureau that i share with my husband. i didn't touch it before i shot the photos. the collar stays and cufflinks in the two small boxes at the foreground of the first image belong to him, but (obviously) everything else is mine.

is this insane? or, does this look semi-familiar?

mad mad packs!

today, i spent the day at a trade show for children's fashion, and totally fell in love with this line of amazing backpacks.

(btw. i usually detest backpacks. yes, even now that they are fashion-blogger approved.)

mad pax was created by mike cordovana and tina huber.

how awesome are these??

they're kind of designed for kids, but i think i might really want one. now.... which? 

half pack? or mighty bite?

future tense

a few days ago, i was doing some research online. i swear, it was research, not shopping!




and i bumped into some (kind of ugly, kind of awesome) boots, which you can see below.

kat mentioned that they'd look great with a striped dress. which is obviously true.... (even though i am not going to buy them.)

here are a couple of ways that i'd like to wear them:

i guess i'm starting to think about fall clothes already, even though it's swelteringly hot in nyc right now.


anyone else?

the answer is in the question

answer:

yes!

(images courtesy of miu miu)

question:

would these (lovely) images (of hailee steinfeld) make you want to buy sparkly shoes from miu miu?

(you know, it's like jeopardy.)