pavement frippery

Silver Vixen

2012-01-19T23:29:00.000-08:00

Joyce Bryant doesn't have a Wikipedia page, which is weird because, well, look at her:

I mean, how much fabulous does a girl need before earning herself a place in The Free Encyclopedia? An excerpt from Andrew Hamilton's All Music Guide is the only bit of biography I've found on the 20th century American singer. It's not amazing but does include this factoid:

Bryant's hair was naturally black, but not wanting to be upstaged by Josephine Baker at a club, she doused it with silver radiator paint, slithered into a tight silver dress and voila: the Bronze Blond Bombshell and even Baker was impressed.

Given that Bryant began performing in the late 1940s, I think she must have been considerably younger than Baker but I do hope the story is true.

Oh and then there's this from Life magazine's 12 October 1953 issue:

Ha ha, Sterling ya old prude.

Hell Yeah Indochina

2012-01-19T22:57:00.000-08:00

I recently returned from a heavenly holiday in South-East Asia during which most of my time was divided between beach-lazing and market-browsing. My main man Michael took all the photos I was too lazy to, and so it's thanks to him that I have some pictorial evidence of the marvelous markets in Luang Prabang, Laos:

Photos by Michael Krasovitsky

As I understand it, the extraordinary metal necklaces are made by the Hmong people in Laos (I remember seeing similar stuff for sale in Vietnam when I went a few years back). Unlike the jewellery sold in the Camodian markets, none of this stuff appeared to be made from precious materials (namely silver) - just the way I like it. I actually didn't end up buying one of the necklaces because I found myself quite overwhelmed by the sheer number, beauty and monumentality of the pieces. No surprises, I have lived to curse my lack of shopping prowess. Note to self: grow a pair.

Won't You Charleston With Me

2012-01-19T01:07:00.000-08:00

The Blue Shoes!

Moira Sheara in The Man Who Loved Redheads (1955)

I have a serious, ballet-related thing for satin shoes paired with white stockings. They made an appearance in Christian Lacroix's Spring 2007 Couture show, incidentally one of my favourite Haute Couture collections ever:

Swoon.

bella cipolla

2012-01-16T18:36:00.000-08:00

Chanel Iman and Dolce & Gabbana Spring 2012 on the cover of L'Officiel, February 2012:

Just showing everyone how it's done.

long and lean

2012-01-16T04:13:00.000-08:00

Remember this moment, friends.

Natalie Portman's Lanvin dress probably won't be the most talked-about one worn to the 2012 Golden Globes but I reckon it might be a bit of a game-changer. At first glance the gown looks like a slightly cheesy nod to the famous pink Travilla gown worn by Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. On closer inspection, however, I think one can detect the influence of some of Christian Dior's Y-Line designs of the mid-1950s:

"Dovima with the Elephants” by Richard Avedon, August 1955. Dress by Christian Dior

For some decades now voluminous skirts and fish-tails have dominated the red carpets. Here's hoping that Portman's dress marks a return to the very sophisticated line of structured and slim full-length skirts. God knows it's time for the fish-tail to take a bow.

p.s. Yes Jonathan Saunders! Yes!

Jonathan Saunders Pre-Fall 2012

covers

2011-11-23T05:59:00.000-08:00

I've more or less stopped buying fashion magazines (what with the internet and all) but these two covers could tempt me back into the fold:

Under/current, Issue 06

Used, Issue Two

The puce hair seems very correct to me.

mystic baked goods

2011-11-13T22:20:00.000-08:00

As someone partial to the occasional [box of] fortune cookie[s], I find myself tickled pink by American designer Diana Eng's adorable coin purses:

And they're all made from recycled leather. Delicous!

click click wind

2011-11-12T05:29:00.000-08:00

An announcement to anyone who has any interest in fashion, photography, women, beauty, New York, clothing history, history history, style or French street sweeper garb; Bill Cunningham New York is a documentary that you simply must not miss.

Photograph by Scott Schuman

Now in his eighties, Cunningham began his career as a candid fashion photographer in the 1970s, flitting between shnazzy events and the sidewalks to find his subjects. He is still working, now for the New York Times, and his enthusiasm for fashion along with his vigorous approach to capturing it on film (yup, no digital here) are enough to delight even the most jaded fashion types.

Before becoming a photographer Cunningham was a milliner, selling his wares under the label 'William J', as his family didn't approve of the venture. I've had a look on the webs and only found one example of his wares, here.

Innocuous enough a piece, you'll agree. But check out the inside:

I'm such a sucker for hidden treats.

Oh and here's one for the fashion nerds; you may notice that the spectacular I-don't-know-what, Iris Apfel (who has been photographed by Cunningham on numerous occasions over the years) is interviewed in the film wearing a rather fabulous toucan brooch. This one, in fact:

Or is it this one?:

I'm not sure because they look exactly the same, and therein lies the problem. You see, one of these brooches was created by the french jewellery designer Hanna Bernhard and subsequently bought and worn by Apfel herself:

The other was sold as part of a collection that Iris Apfel 'designed' for the Home Shopping Network. Hmm. I'm guessing (based on time stuff) that Apfel is wearing Bernhard's original in the movie. Who knows, maybe Bill Cunningham New York will be used as evidence in a copyright case - and honestly if that means more people will watch the film, I'm all for it. It's the best thing I've seen all year and manages to be funny, inspiring, joyous and astonishing all at once.

Edit: Hanna Bernhard informs me that the lower Toucan is her creation, and that Apfel's naughty birdy num num was removed from the HSN collection after those Texan beauties and defenders of justice, Jane and Judy Aldridge broke the story.

front on

2011-11-11T06:14:00.000-08:00

Can I get a hip hip hooray for David Sims' Miu Miu Resort 2012 campaign starring Guinevere van Seenus:

As always van Seenus exudes a sort of regal severity. Elizabeth I anyone?

Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I by John Bettes

And the colours bring to mind Rogier van der Weyden's Portrait of a Lady:

The only let down, tragically enough, is the jewellery. Toi, toi, toi, let this be the first and last time I speak ill of Miuccia.

Obviously doctor, you've never been a 13 year-old girl.

2011-11-07T05:26:00.000-08:00

Serious question: Was Danny DeVito more hilarious as a doctor in The Virgin Suicides -

or It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia?

It's a close-run thing.

The Opium Bores

2011-11-04T02:08:00.000-07:00

Yves Saint Laurent have released their latest campaign for Opium with British actress Emily Blunt having been chosen as the perfume's latest junky:

Upon seeing this image I took a deep breath, ready to unleash a torrent of sanctimonious criticism on its creators - something along the lines of, 'Boring! Bland! Brit girls shouldn't do Opium! Boo too all things contemporary and let us mourn every wonderful Opium campaign past.'

But then I trawled through a few blogs and realised that every fashion bitch on the internet had already written exactly the same thing. I decided that I would have to think something different.

So here's the question: What were the good Opium ads again? How did they go?

Let's have a look at some of Blunt's predecessors.

Kate Moss

This is a weird one - I really think there was some mix up at the YSL offices and someone accidentally smacked the Opium logo on what was meant to be an ad for Parisienne.

Mélanie Thierry [technically for Belle D'Opium. Settle down.]:

Well, she's wildly beautiful AND French (Dieu merci!) but the video short that accompanied this photograph is so hugely embarrassing that I can't even begin to take this campaign seriously. That dancing gives me shame tingles.

Malgosia Bela

Blah. I feel like she's trying to seduce me into flying Air France First Class (yes, Bela is Polish. Settle down!)

Kate Moss (again)

Well this is quite beautiful but if I'm going to nitpick - 'Sensuality to the Extreme'? Shame tingles (again).

So, given Opium's less than incredible track record one may well ask why the latest campaign has been met with such earnest disappointment.

Well, you see, we have been tricked. Tricked by the sneaky Steven Meisel, tricked by that awfully clever Tom Ford and tricked most of all by beautiful, beautiful Sophie Dahl. For have ever you seen so enticing a fashion image as this?:

It's an ad so good as to be a curse on the Opium brand, rendering all the perfume's campaigns before and since inferior and superfluous. No tacky Oriental/ Asian/ Tribal props. No bong smoke. Just the most ravishing advertisement you ever saw. And it has hoodwinked us into thinking that there is some great dynasty of Opium campaigns when really there's just this one, very sublime photograph.

So of course I don't like Blunt's turn in the den - the smoking suit and necklace are cheesy, the 'oriental' (ugh) atmosphere contrived and Blunt herself just such an odd choice for the product. But I'll grant that she like the other Opi-ettes have not benefited from the reflected glory of Dahl's effort.

I'll finish off with an excerpt from Luca Turin's review of Opium the perfume, published in his and Tania Sanchez's book, Perfumes - An A to Z Guide, which, incidentally, is one of the best anythings I've ever read:

Opium illustrates better than any other fragrance the peculiar phenomenon of love followed by rejection, known as fashion. It is unquestionably one of the greatest fragrances of all time, not only in terms of its phenomenal success, but in having deserved it. Yet I would hate it if anyone wore it near me today.

Ha! And it's just the opposite for the ad campaigns. Life!

our bitter angels

2011-10-27T04:48:00.000-07:00

For the second time in this excellent song's life, "Pale Rider" by The Preachers has found itself bedfellows with fashion film. And why not? The band's singer Isabella is as outrageously beautiful as ever and she offers some very interesting insights into her mode of performance. The song is dark and lusty in a way which for me (alone, apparently) conjures up the setting of a lonely bar sitting on the edge of a desert. Nevertheless, as with the song's official video (styled by Saint Augustine Academy), dark water seems to be the motif of this new film directed by Ben Briand.

The fashion comes this time from Benah, the accessories label of a, now Sydney-based, New Zealand transplant Brenda Harvey. Beautiful leather pieces with gold hardware (a most perfect shade of gold, by the way) anchor the collection currently available on the Benah website. Also good are a series of printed silk scarves.

Without getting into the current debate over the Native American 'trend' in fashion - though obvs. I'm Team Navajo. Urban Outfitters can suck it - the Southwestern influence (direct or otherwise) on this scarf's print sits perfectly with the atmosphere of Pale Rider.

Baby when you race today/ Just take along my love with you

2011-10-24T01:09:00.000-07:00

Oh, the loveliness of cars.

Blumarine

Vogue Italia September 2011

Prada Spring 2012

angles

2011-10-04T06:34:00.000-07:00

The Spring 2012 Ready-to-wear collections will be remembered as being that time that Art Deco murdered us all and we loved it.

Chloé

Christian Dior

BCBG Max Azria

Araks

Alice + Olivia

Alexander Wang

Alberta Ferretti

10 Crosby Derek Lam

cute

2011-10-04T06:24:00.000-07:00

You know how you thought Alber Elbaz was adorable? Well behold Jeffrey Costello and Robert Tagliapietra:

And their clothes are beautiful too, the late 1970s style necklines and draping well-suited to the flat-chested wraiths who wore them at New York fashion week.

faaarshion

2011-10-04T06:12:00.000-07:00

Hey look, a shoe broke at Burberry Prorsum:

Move over Tim Blanks. For the best subtle and in-depth analysis of contemporary fashion, come straight to Pavement Frippery.

swanning around

2011-10-04T05:55:00.000-07:00

I must admit I was wee bit disappointed by Phoebe Philo's latest collection for Celine. More leather t-shirts, eh? Well I guess if you've got a good thing going... Also, I'm not ready for sloped shoulders. I'M NOT READY.

On the other hand it's nice to see Philo taking inspiration from a rather unexpected source:

And just look at how chuffed Barry Hall is. He loves it.

more than the sum of its parts

2011-09-28T08:10:00.000-07:00

I'm starting to think that the stretch of road that is my bus route to work must be owned by G-Star, as there isn't a vertical space in sight that hasn't been bedecked with their brooding, grimace-heavy ad campaign. They must be doing something right as here I am about to discuss G-Star (something that would be quite unlikely under normal circumstances). This ad in particular is the source of considerable perturbation:

Vincent Gallo is such a babe! But he's such an asshole! Why is he doing a G-Star ad? Those clothes suck! Why do I care about this?! He's such a babe!

I guess you could say I'm feeling a lot of feelings.

In fact this G-Star ad series is one of many that fits into the category of 'What's a nice campaign like you doing with a shitty label like that?'. I'm especially unnerved by G-Star's decision to use Magnus Carlsen (the world's number one chess guy) as a model:

Such an undeniably cool move - especially for a decidedly lame label.

Another member of the WANCLYDWASLLT? club is Blumarine, though admittedly it has take me a while to come to terms with the fact that Anna Molinari's wares just don't do it for me. Why the consternation? Because Tim Walker's 2003/04 photographs for Blumarine are the most beautiful things I've ever seen:

And Walker was at it again for Juicy Couture:

I guess it just goes to show, you can't polish a turd but you can sure roll it in glitter.

love struck

2011-09-20T04:18:00.000-07:00

Solestruck is a website that I more or less stopped perusing after coming to the conclusion that Jeffrey Campbell shoes are really quite ugly (I expect my Blogger-girl Union membership will be revoked shortly). I'll give credit where it's due, however. Those kids stock some pretty serious shoes:

I personally am done with gargantuan platforms and over-the-top inclines in my heels. They're fun to look at, but.

45º

2011-09-18T23:47:00.000-07:00

There have been rumblings recently about the return of the bias-cut dress. My favourite examples of this style come from the time of its invention, the 1930s. Old Wallis Simpson's Mainbocher wedding dress is undoubtedly the queen (oh...) of the genre.

Another wedding dress, however, one that was worn nearly fifty years after Ed and Wally did the deed, is a strong contender for the most beautiful bias-cut dress. It is the Narciso Rodriguez gown worn by Carolyn Bessette when she married John F. Kennedy, Jr.

In August 2003 Vanity Fair published an excerpt from Edward Klein's pretty trashy-sounding, The Kennedy Curse: Why Tragedy Has Haunted America’s First Family for 150 Years. Klein details how the Rodriguez dress did not include a zipper (!) and that on the day, horror of horrors, Carolyn found herself unable to put the thing on. It was only after Gordon Henderson, a friend and designer (who, incidentally, had been crushed by Carolyn's decision to not go with one of his own creations), put a scarf over her head, that they were able to slide the dress onto the 'hysterical' bride.

Surely the ordeal was worth it -

Has ever a bride looked so lovely?

a cherry blossom/ hibiscus by any other name

2011-09-07T05:40:00.000-07:00

Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet is a movie replete with brilliantly beautiful (and beautifully brilliant) costumes, but at the moment (and I go through phases) I only have eyes for the Hawaiian shirts favoured by the Montague boys:

Shame of shames, I have never noticed until now the Japanese influence evident in these prints. According to Chicken Soup from the Soul of Hawaii: Stories of Aloha to Create Paradise by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, this is because the first Hawaiian shirts were in fact made from kimono fabric remnants. Unfortunately the book doesn't give too detailed a history, as I'd be fascinated to know whether the style went into decline after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbour.

P.S. I am yet to encounter a hipster girl whose Manic Panicked hair looks anywhere near as luscious as Sampson's carnation-pink locks

who's the fairest?

2011-09-05T07:43:00.000-07:00

I just lurve Annie Leibovitz's Disney campaign but poor old Olivia Wilde seems to have gotten the short end of the stick:

I kid, she makes an awesome Evil Queen - it's probably the meatiest role of her career.

I met him in the ocean.

2011-09-05T07:32:00.000-07:00

nuddy pants

2011-08-31T04:57:00.000-07:00

A few photos from the Mario Sorrenti-shot 2012 Pirelli Calendar are doing the rounds, the photographer apparently going for a return-to-nature theme:

And not that I give a shit about things that might annoy Terry Richardson, but isn't this shoot super similar to Pirelli 2010?

Just bring back Karl, please.

Ou est le bibliotheque? Voila mon passport! Ah, Gerard Depardieu.

2011-08-31T01:17:00.000-07:00

I can accept that I'm probably Objectively Wrong about Le Divorce, but I just love that movie to bits. Here are my reasons:

1. That Roxeanne (Naomi Watts) gets shit from her mother-in-law (played by the incomparable Leslie Caron) for serving grain sugar rather than the cube variety.

Who knew that was a thing? "Original!", the old bitch exclaims as she sweetens her tea. Roxie subsequently pours the stuff down the sink.

2. That Glenn Close in this movie is my old lady ideal

Fuck everybody who says women shouldn't wear their hair long after 25.

3. Isabel's (Kate Hudson) transformation from a West Coast hippie to a Parisian fashion monster. Before:

And after:

4. The food. (Note Isabel's manicured but very short nails (très chic, etc) , and her adorable die-print blouse.)

Plus this movie learned me how to correctly mix a Ricard...

... something I'll never do as that stuff is nasty.

5. That Roxeanne's plump little ballet-dancing daughter is watching The Red Shoes on TV

(though admittedly you could probably splice a bit of The Red Shoes into Deuce Bigalo: American Gigolo, and I'd still be all like, 'Oh, what magnificent art'.

6. That Isabel's old man lover, the Sarkozy-esque Uncle Edgar, gives her an Hermés Kelly bag when they begin their creepy relationship. It eventually gets flung off the Eiffel Tower.

Uncle Edgar also purchases her a Chanel scarf to mark the end of their relationship (ugh, creepy). While at the boutique he runs into Olivia (Glenn Close) who is also there buying a gift for Isabel (awesome! Not creepy!). They agree to each buy her the same scarf so that she can come back to the store and swap one for something she likes. Now isn't that most perfect thing you ever heard? It reminds me of a much-loved (by me) section in Little Women, in which it is found that Jo has stained the only pair of gloves she has to wear to the ball. Her prissy sister Margaret's gloves are clean, and they agree to each wear one of the unspoiled pair, while clasping one of the dirty (apparently an acceptable practice at the time). Easily-resolved drama ensues!

In all honesty I'd probably never recommend Le Divorce to anyone whose respect I desired. The characters are unutterably annoying and the plot is kinda weird. But if you're the kind of person who can look past fundamental flaws to appreciate the sweet little bits, maybe give it ago.

dance dance

2011-08-29T21:15:00.000-07:00

Albert Elbaz. You adorable bastard.

Lanvin, making fashion more loveable since Fall 2011/'12

consummate costumer

2011-08-28T22:26:00.000-07:00

Now THIS is interesting. Local model Stephanie Carta (of Balenciaga Pre-Fall '08, and being-quite-skinny '08, fame) has recently tweeted:

Getting fitted into some prada for the great gatsby.

Aaah! Exciting! You may recall that Prada's wares made an appearance in Baz Luhrmann's much maligned (but very beautiful) Australia. And boy was that some lovely luggage:

Further, Tobey Maguire who plays Nick Carraway in the film, recently became the face of Prada's Winter 2011/'12 campaign.

I love the idea of costume designers collaborating with contemporary fashion designers, and I'm calling it now - this movie is going to look really, really, really nice.

p.s. Until, like, five minutes ago I thought that Luhrmann's wife Catherine Martin had been the costume designer for all his films. This is partly because I'm sure that Juliet's famous angel costume in Romeo + Juliet (Luhrmann and Martin's last outing with Leonardo DiCaprio), has been attributed to her in the past. Perhaps there has been some confusion since she was the production designer for that film. Anyway, apparently it is only since Moulin Rouge that she's actually been the costume lady - quite surprising considering how unbelievably awesome the costumes in Moulin Rouge are:

When it comes to period costumes, I reckon Martin is up there with Milena Canonero.

Australia's Next Top Model 7, Episodes 1 & 2

2011-08-18T05:19:00.000-07:00

Let it be known that I am suitably embarrassed by my love of this silly series - and with that out of the way, let's get on with some in-depth analysis. Episode 1 was a little overwhelming for my taste - so many faces! So many earnest yet utterly inane professions of model-y keenness!

The only bits that stuck in my mind from this episode were (firstly) the elimination of Amy, 18, from NSW:

To me she looks like some incredible Daria Werbowy 2.0. Kicked out on the first ep? The mind boggles.

Secondly, I was struck by how much Rosie, 18, from the ACT looks like the actor Ben Whishaw:

For the record, I think they both have sweet faces, though Rosie's heart didn't seem to be in the thing, so maybe it's not so bad that she was booted early on.

Soldiering on to the second episode, let me be the first to say, Lucifer's Ball Sack! Paris and couture?!!? Not gonna lie, I was thinking some pretty envious thoughts as I watched the girls writhe around in Galliano, McQueen and Saab, to name a few. Le sigh, some were just not worthy.

Jess, however, was one of the girls who seem quite at home in couture and chopines:

And everyone's saying it cuz it's true, she is absolutely Ruby Rose's double:

My current favourite (perhaps not to win but, you know, just to like) is Madeline:

And she really does look quite Eva Green:

Even though her choice of lipstick makes me want to kill myself:

Yolanda is another stunner:

At times she looks like Lily Aldridge:

and that ain't a bad thing, no diggity.

Inevitably, the two best photos came from the two dickest models, Neo and Caroline:

Neo in particular is probably one of the the most outrageously gorgeous people I've ever seen. Oh, those bitches know how to werk.

settle petal

2011-08-09T05:14:00.000-07:00

I actually quite like Daisy Lowe's Playboy cover, probably because I like Daisy and daisies.

The accompanying shoot, however, is not nice. Glabrous cooch. Yuck.

When it comes to faarshion, natch snatch really is the only way. Ladies am I right?

Yup.

american nightmare

2011-08-09T04:54:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos by the American artist Brooke Shaden. In her work you might find a bit of Ophelia, a healthy dose of Hans Christian Anderson, and perhaps some Sleepy Hollow and Tarkovsky to boot.

I can't get my head around the fact that she's only 24 as her work seems incredibly self-assured. You can flick through her flickr for a look at her extensive body of work. It seems as if domestic motifs were a central element in her earlier photos, and she's now moving towards more naturalised (though often grotesque) settings.

Her photos look like stills from a horror movie that I would DEFINITELY to watch.

Blue Angel

2011-08-04T07:39:00.000-07:00

Some more wonderful photos of Charlotte Blau's designs have been sent to me by her daughter, Gina (check out the photographers!!):

I am so grateful to Gina for sending the photos as well as some additional information about Charlotte. It all just makes me continue to wonder at the fact that Charlotte Blau is not a household name (well, in fashion-conscious households at least). As a history nerd I would urge designers, especially young ones, to keep exhaustive archives. Gina tells me that even she and her family don't have any of Charlotte's garments left - a real tragedy I think, though I have to believe that some of her dresses are still out there, hopefully hanging in the closet of someone who appreciates the beauty of her work.

exactly right

2011-07-30T06:06:00.000-07:00

The costumes from The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude include what I think must be the perfect modern tutu:

Wonderful.

You and me and the devil makes three

2011-07-25T05:36:00.000-07:00

This is a bit old hat (not unlike the term 'old hat') but how amazing is Anna Wintour's necklace collection?

The various blingalings pictured are antique Georgian collet necklaces (i.e. not for the likes of us plebs). Nerida Aylott over at Art For Interiors seems to be doing a roaring trade in replicas:

But there's something about the quality of the stones, the intense shine perhaps, that misses the mark a little.

I've had a little look on Etsy with some success:

But it's just not the same, really.

Edit: Here's a genuine one being sold at Lang Antiques, and let me be the first to say, Holy Fuckballs

Yes, it is $7,950.00

fucking scary

2011-07-21T07:09:00.000-07:00

Twitter indicates that local shoe label Tony Bianco has made the wise decision to stick with queen babe of everything, Bambi Northwood-Blyth for their latest campaign. Here's a photo from the shoot that was recently posted on twitter:

Do the shoes look familiar? Well they're very similar in style to a pair of Giuseppe Zanotti suede wedge-platforms which were released late last year:

Now maybe I'm losing my cojones but I think the ratio of heel-incline to sole-area in these shoes is totally terrifying. I would be afraid to wear them.

Project Runway Australia 3.2: Put the Needle on It

2011-07-19T06:31:00.000-07:00

This post is unforgivably tardy but in my defence, the episode in question was unforgivably snoozy. The designers were charged with the task of creating a dress for this woman's fashion line.

Ok, why not.

What we saw of Project D, the label run by Dannii Minogue and Tabitha Somerset Webb, was a collection of aggressively inoffensive evening gowns, which would no doubt appeal to a lot of women everywhere. The designers kinda had their work cut out for them but happily (for asshole viewers like myself) there were a few crash and burns.

Case in point:

Timothy's ensemble was a strange and heinous mix of bad late 80s/ early 90s glamour (the hair and the gold cuffs and the ruff? Pull back dude, pull back). And that red belongs in hell.

Nerrida's dress on the other hand was safe, sweet and a little dull:

But I can't get over the awesomeness of the hairstyling. It's a look that I associate with the 1940s for no particular reason - though maybe it's a bit Edwardian too? Luscious.

[Edit] Validation?:

Anna, my favourite contestant so far, didn't disappoint. Or at least she didn't disappoint me - no one else, including Anna herself, seems to rate the designer's work too highly.

There's something a little off (perhaps the tight skirt should have been connected to to the overlay), but I adore the sheer volume created by the tulle.

It was Craig who won the week's challenge with his stunning jersey (!) gown with lace back-insert:

The 1930s are my one of my favourite eras fashion-wise, so I have a soft spot for designs that focus on the back as an erogenous zone. Craig's dress is designed so beautifully and sits so well that it seems unbelievable that it was made in 8 hours.

I was quite worried that Dylan's very beige (in essence, not colour) grecian dress would be the judges' pick:

But the judges chose well.

Rest easy Dannii and friends, your decision is approved by me, a random blogger.

trompe l'oeil, trompe le monde

2011-07-14T06:35:00.000-07:00

Murder, Kali Arulpragasam's latest collection for her label Superfertile, is not the UK jewelery designer's best work. The concept is pretty neat, however, spiky gem-covered discs intended to resemble gunshot wounds and gouged skin:

The idea works best in the images above, with the pieces heavily layered. When styled more sparingly, however, the jewelery does not recognisably connect with the mutilation concept:

Personally I think she should have stuck with shades of dark red, as the pinks and oranges look a little fruity.

Arulpragasam is not the first designer to inject a little gore into her wares - check out Elsa Schiaparelli's 1938 Tears Dress:

The print was designed by Salvador Dali. Yum.

through the hourglass

2011-07-13T05:15:00.000-07:00

No way. No flipping way. Guess what this stuff is -

Sand, magnified sand! Magnified 250 times, to be exact, courtesy of, 'artist, inventor, and scientist' Dr Gary Greenberg . Now someone put this shit on a T-shirt.

of nostalgia and peak

2011-07-08T08:21:00.001-07:00

Do companies ever do reissues of specific styles? Here is Nine West's Tenant bootie:

I bought a pair of these babies about three years ago, and I've pretty much loved them to death. They're among the most comfortable and well-proportioned heels I've ever owned, and if I could go back in time I would have bought three pairs. Woe is me.

Project Runway Australia 3.1: Hue are you?

2011-07-08T06:09:00.000-07:00

First, a note to Arena. As someone who watched the first episode of this series illegally online (and has no inclination to do any differently for the remainder of the season), I am not really in a position to be making demands. Nevertheless it would be very nice if you could include pictures of all the final garments on your website - perhaps instead of the many, many photos you've chosen to display of this season's token kooky contestant, Rachael. [EDIT: Got em off facey. I'm practically Sanda Bullock in The Net]

Anyway, how about dem designers?

The first challenge involved each contestant being allocated a different coloured fabric with which to work. I like the conceit but some designers lucked out so badly it seemed silly. I mean, there are at least twelve nice colours in the world, right?

It seemed for a while as if Timothy 'I haven't sewn in 25 years' Godbold was going to be the guy to beat, but his dress turned out... kinda tacky?

One particularly misguided feature of the dress really threw me off:

Why is there a bow on her butthole?

And while I can see why Johnny won with his heliotrope creation, the dress did bring to mind the deliciously awful phrase popularised by Nina Garcia (of US Project Runway), 'questionable taste levels'.

I felt that an uncharacteristically not-annoying Alex Perry was right in suggesting that Johnny hold back on the arm detail, though it seems the young designer chose to ignore this sage advice.

My favourite design came from the rather unassuming Anna.

It is very reminiscent of two dresses by Abigail Lorick (Eleanor Waldorf's ghost designer) worn in the first season of Gossip Girl:

And while the tailoring of Lorrick's creations is very appealing, I like that Anna's belt is wider and attached to the garment itself. Further, while partially-concealed belts have been doing the rounds for a while now, I don't recall having seen one placed on the back before. Very chic.

Charlotte Blau

2011-07-05T06:04:00.000-07:00

In February of 2010 I came across this photo in the State Library of Victoria picture archives:

Little information was supplied save for the subject's name and occupation - she is Charlotte Blau, an Australian fashion designer. There was much about the image I found interesting (not least the gown Blau is shown working on) and my inability to find further information on Blau was a puzzling disappointment.

Imagine my delight then, when yesterday I received an email from Blau's grandson, who has been kind enough to share some additional information about his grandmother.

Before World War Two Blau studied architecture at the famed Bauhaus school in Germany. From the 1950s to the end of the 60s Blau created garments for her label, Charlotte Fifth Avenue Gowns. Apparently she was the first Australian designer to display in all windows at Saks in New York (neat!). Winning the Wool industry gown of the year award five times, Blau's work was photographed by Helmut Newton, Athol Smith, Bruno Bernini.

Blau's life seems so fascinating, I can't wait to learn more!

edit: It seems like some of the photos in the Powerhouse Museum collection might feature Blau's work, but I'll be darned if I can figure out their captioning system:

the blue hour

2011-07-01T23:49:00.000-07:00

I am quite fascinated by the outfit Kate Moss wore on the day before her wedding:

I have had no great love for the work Moss has produced during her stints as a designer, but I must admit she remains one of the most brilliantly intuitive dressers around. I'd love to know the make of the boots - the flat bow first made me think Louis Vuitton, but since having a second look at Stella McCartney's (splendid) Resort 2012, I wonder if they are her creations:

In a strong Resort season, McCartney's collection was one of the best and the squat, lucite-heeled shoes are out of this world. Let's go mid-heels, it's time for a come back.

Now

2011-07-01T07:14:00.000-07:00

Horrible confession: I watch Mel Gibson's Apocalypto at least twice a year . Strangest guilty pleasure ever. I know it's an abominably silly movie, but there's something about the faces that I find very appealing. The urban Mayan civilisation scenes also include some crazy good colours and costumes:

past times

2011-06-21T07:40:00.000-07:00

The National Library of Australia photo archives are such a neat little source for historical faaaarshion inspiration. And it's educational too- I didn't think 1930s gowns were ever terribly voluminous before seeing this photo:

Portrait of Madge Elliot, September 16 1935

There are quite a few rather poignant portraits of Aboriginal women from various parts of Australia, and I've noticed that for some reason they are often dressed in fairly funky repeat-printed garments:

Yuendumu, Northern Territory, 1958

Methodist Mission Station in Welpa, Queensland, 1957

Portrait of Nancy, Central Australia, 1946

Methodist Mission Station in Welpa, Queensland, 1957

I find the clothes quite appealing thought I suspect these weren't fashionable garments - perhaps missions gave them out?

p.s. How much does the woman in the last photo look like Grace Zabriskie?

toasty

2011-06-13T23:35:00.001-07:00

My dad recently leant me his credit card so that I could buy a replacement for our old, kaput toaster. However after ascertaining that this toaster does not exist -

- I kinda lost interest in the set task. The episode has served to reinforce the fact that I should never, never never be given a credit card, though I like to think of myself as living in the tradition of Jack (of Beanstalk fame).

Behold my magic beans:

These matches are disappointing me!

2011-06-13T08:58:00.000-07:00

Everyone shut up. Now, can we figure out how I can get my hands on these Alexander McQueen shoes:

The white is so beautiful and austere.

milk-fed

2011-06-11T22:52:00.000-07:00

I recently became the proud owner of this sweet-as-pie swimsuit, The Dollar by local label Black Milk:

I actually hadn't heard of the label, designed by James Lillis, until Tavi of Style Rookie posted a picture of herself wearing Black Milk's sacrelicious Cathedral leggings:

Pretty dope, eh?

One of the things I find most interesting about the label is Lillis' accompanying blog, the surprisingly frank Too Many Tights. Remember in The Simpsons how Mr Burns finishes singing "See My Vest" by saying, 'I really like the vest!'? Well Lillis really likes the tights.

It's pretty incredible to be able to track the progression of the label, especially given that Lillis seems to have been largely self-taught as a designer and sewer (sorry, I can't for the life of me think of a synonym for that word). As someone who lives in fear of working with stretch fabrics, I was filled with jealous admiration while reading over Lillis' development as a designer and, I gather, the sole constructor of his garments during the early days.

If someone decides to write a history of this label, they'll have their work cut out for them. If the blog is true to real-time, then it seems that Lillis spent late-2008 and early-2009 creating the kind of metallic, often patterned leggings that are probably most readily associated with American Apparel. In fact Lillis makes reference to AA in one rather nice post in which he discusses the question of garment-pricing:

"And then you've got companies like American Apparel keeping guys like me honest. You know they're going to be doing stuff at a good price, and if independents like myself want to ask for more, we better have a damn good reason. You can't trade off your name - because no one's heard of you!"

Around about April 2009 Lillis' wares made great leaps in construction complexity, with the release of his Spiderman and Cage leggings:

And throughout the blog Lillis discusses in detail his approach to design and how he deals with the problems he encounters when trialing new fabrics and designs.

TMT posts range from being endearingly geeky to uncommonly (for the fashion world) canny. Take for example his October 2009 post, 'Let's All Be Racist!'

"Funny thing about talking about clothing manufacturing - a lot of people kinda go all racist on me.

Me: Yeah, got a lot happening at the moment. There has been a lot of interest in the Black Milk gear and I'm struggling to keep up with demand.

Person: Oh, I know what you should do - just hire and Asian for $2 an hour. Me: ... um... that's kind of racist, don't you think?

Person: No, not at all, those Asians, they'll work 16 hours for a bowl of rice.

I have had variants upon that conversation more times than I care to remember. "

After releasing The Dollar swimsuit in October of 2010 he blogged

'Now, I know what you are thinking: "Dollar leggings - you copycat! We all know Jeremy Scott did that like 2 years ago!!!" I know. However, (and don't tell Jeremy this) I think I can do them a little cooler.'

And I bet he could.

In June 2009 Lillis used a Star Wars metaphor to explain why he would no longer be personally sewing all the items he sold. While I do not doubt Lillis' dedication to creating well-made garments, I wonder if the shift to outsourcing labour has impacted on their quality output - I couldn't help but notice that the shoulder straps on my swimmers vary slightly in width.

But let's not end on a crud note. LOOK AT THESE RIGHTEOUS SWIMMERS.

buggy?

2011-06-11T22:34:00.001-07:00

This editorial by Benjamin Kanarek from Brazillian Vogue's June 2o10 issue is keeping me warm at the moment.

It reminds me a lot of a dumb computer game that came free with my first laptop. It was about a bug who had to run away from other bugs. I think it was called bugsy or buggo, or something. Anyway, the grass and sky looked exactly the same.

The idea of not wearing colour during Winter is totally strange to me. Though I don't do too much non-virtual shopping anyway, stores filled with twenty shades of charcoal and one 'burnt orange' don't make me feel any more inclined to go into shopping centres.

The Ugly One.

2011-06-09T07:20:00.000-07:00

I'm weirdly obsessed with this song and video:

I'm all about the lazy dancing.

I don't think Girls Aloud ever really made an impact in Australia, though for a while I thought 'Sound of the Underground' was the sickest thing I'd ever heard. Anyway, apparently Nicola Roberts was the ugly one of the group (so christened by Lily Allen, ooh hark at that!). I think she's the sickest thing I've ever seen.

All photos stolen from Red Carpet Fashion Awards.

made for talking

2011-06-02T04:20:00.000-07:00

Current thing I want more than anything else in the whole wide world:

Metal-heeled cowboy boots a la Tybalt in Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet. Remember the scraping noise they make as he stamps out the match flame? What a rockstar.

se7en

2011-06-02T03:30:00.000-07:00

By Chris Hill, the seven deadly sins represented by Disney Princesses:

Neat, huh? I like the Art Nouveau fonts. And the concept. Also the execution.

the littlest matryoshka

2011-05-25T07:34:00.000-07:00

So Australia has spat out another crack-eyed lovely for the fashion world to feast on. Anja Konstantinova was born in Saint Petersburg but migrated here at the age of twelve so that her mother could join the Australian Ballet Company.

I think there's a whiff of North by North West-era Eva Marie Saint about her:

- but Eva didn't have those eyes.

And yeah, she's short. Who cares.

Whatta scoop!

2011-05-25T05:33:00.000-07:00

I don't really believe in the word 'flattering', but...

Portrait of the Marquise de Pompadour by Maurice Quentin de La Tour

There are few things that look nicer on a lady than a good scooped, rounded-square neckline.

Mr De La Renta knows what I'm talkin' 'bout:

gnocchi is potatoes

2011-05-25T05:12:00.000-07:00

One of my (many) favourite moments in Napoleon Dynamite:

Why did she put three exclamation marks? And why did she put hearts in them??

Summer Wheatly is a stone cold bitch.

contrasts

2011-05-24T07:13:00.000-07:00

Louise Brooks with her pearls:

Photoshop is fun!

Art History lols

2011-05-23T04:57:00.000-07:00

Drei Männer am Tisch Date Deutsch (1618) by Diego Velázquez

'Your mate?'

Elegance is refuse.

2011-05-22T07:56:00.000-07:00

From US Vogue, September 2006.

Undulating black aluminum foil - a very pretty description indeed, but in my mind it's definitely the Garbage Bag Dress.

It's Hedley!

2011-05-17T01:44:00.000-07:00

Dita Von Teese is looking beautiful in the February edition of InStyle magazine:

But that's hardly a surprise since she's channeling Hedy Lamarr in Ziegfeld Girl:

please please please me

2011-05-16T08:44:00.000-07:00

Honestly, there aren't many people I wouldn't kill for this 1970 Lanvin skirt:

#sothat'swheremiucciagotitfrom #whyamiusinghashtags #Idon'tevenunderstandwhathashtagsarefor

You know exactly what it means to me.

2011-05-16T03:51:00.001-07:00

Weird thing: I own one VHS and two different DVD releases of Michael Powell's 1948 film The Red Shoes. Mostly this is because (back in the day when it was just the VHS) I caught the movie playing on TV and found, to my astonishment, that one particularly beautiful dress had changed from green to blue. Anyway, here are some screencaps from the blu-ray release:

I probably can't justify buying a new entertainment system for one movie, but would you believe that the dress in question has yielded yet another colourful surprise:

I never noticed that purple tulle petticoat.

So my feet made it onto the US Vogue website...

2011-05-11T05:24:00.001-07:00

But please don't rush to get my autograph.

Fame ain't easy.

p.s. The extraordinarily beautiful dress/ shoes/ gams to my left belong to the extraordinarily beautiful Chelsea Whitbread - undoubtedly a street-style favourite at this year's RAFW.

Ksubi's first Fauré into film. Shut up.

2011-05-07T19:28:00.001-07:00

Watch this. It is outrageously beautiful and probably the best Australian film since forever.

Every time I watch a movie that features the Bach/Gounod 'Ave Maria', I wish that Fauré's 'Requiem' had been used in its place.

Shit son, Ksubi don't put a foot wrong, huh?

snark snark snark

2011-05-07T07:49:00.000-07:00

In 1998 Vogue Australia's then-editor, Marion Hume provided side-by-side comparisons of the work of Australian fashion labels at Fashion Week and that of the international designers who had - ahem - inspired them.

Also in Australian Fashion Week's early years, the event's indomitable founder, Simon Lock often boasted that we had the advantage of showing the first of the international Spring/ Summer collections. Going by the calender year this may indeed be the case, but as anyone with an awareness of fashion trends will know, Australia is seldom the source of directional collections. Perhaps it is because of this that I often approach AFW with my rip-off radar on high alert. Personally I think that it's just as well that these days local magazines maintain the general policy of, 'if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all'. Better to leave the snarkiness to broadsheets and bloggers.

On that note...

It was in October 2009 that Phoebe Philo sent this leather blouse down the catwalk for Céline.

It is simply disappointing that Gary Bigeni would bring down the tone of his otherwise stellar collection with a style of garment that has long-since hit the High Street sales racks.

What's the point?

Similarly there was a whiff of Lanvin's Fall 2011 greyscale roses in one of Limedrop's prints:

Limedrop

Image from fashionising

Lanvin

In fact I don't think Limedrop's print is terribly problematic - yes they have taken inspiration from an international look, but they've also brought something new to the table via the painterly zig zags. I can't help think, nevertheless, that there are more than a few Australian designers who would do well to put in place a self-imposed ban on viewing international collections. We can do better.

Paper Skye

2011-05-07T06:04:00.000-07:00

My favourite garments at the New Generation show came from Paper Skye, and it was nice to see a designer choose to whisper rather than roar. Pleats were everywhere this week but Paper Sky's workmanship with this tricky fabric surpassed that of many local fashion stalwarts.

Images from fashionising

And perhaps it's silly consideration, but I was so glad that, unlike in the majority of other shows, the models were wearing substantial undergarments beneath the sheer fabrics. I mean honestly, what does an entirely visible nude g-string have to do with fashion?

Mok Theorem

2011-05-07T05:56:00.000-07:00

Mok Theorem was one of the labels to produce a collection for the New Generation show. While I would have preferred slightly different styling in a few instances, there were some very nicely tailored shirts and jackets. I though this blouse was particularly clever:

And I don't know what's going on with exposed belly button and bulky belt, but how cute is this lace collar?:

Images from fashionising

One to watch, I reckon.

Really?

2011-05-07T05:50:00.000-07:00

So there's two things a swimwear model needs to do...

Images from fashionising

...walk and wax.

As if the Resort Wear group collection wasn't bleak enough already.

Who are you trying to get crazy with, ese? Don't you know I'm loco?

2011-05-06T19:52:00.000-07:00

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Even though the song is revoltingly bad, Lady Gaga's "Judas" video is by far my favourite of her offerings so far. The New Testament/ Chola aesthetic works on every level and the shots of Gaga and Jesus have a stunning tableau vivant quality.

Gwen Stefani also rocked the chola/ chicana vibe in her stupendous "Luxurious" video.

A friend tried to describe this video to me before I had seen it, and I remember she used the phrase 'a plethora of piñatas'. This remains one of my favourite groups of words ever.

A guide to Fashion Week bullshittery.

2011-05-06T17:22:00.000-07:00

Thankfully there appears to have been some improvement among Fashion Week lasses in the area of gracefully receiving a compliment. A smile and nod (yes, we're still working on 'thank you') is a vast improvement on last year's state of affairs. In fact my dear friend has bit of a problem in this area and I tried to train her, to no avail, to follow Liz Lemon's lead:

Jamie: And now I'm getting attitude from the sexy librarian.

Liz: What? Sexy? Shut up. You are.

The new, and far less vexing, mode of bullshit-talk identified at this year's Fashion Week was subtly perplexing. Apparently it is now not the done thing to admit how much pain your killer heels are causing your feet. For example:

Me: Awwww, owwwwww my poor tootsies, owwww.

Fashion Lady: Oh really? My heels [Louboutin Pigalles. Seriously, fuck off.] don't hurt at all.

Is it just me or is there a funky odour in here? Isn't it a little ripe? Oh yeah, that's the smell of BULLSHIT.

While we're on shoes, Ellery's lucite heels were quite ubiquitous this week, so hooray for a local designer creating some seriously lusty shoes.

Bet they hurt but.

Gail Sorronda

2011-05-06T07:26:00.000-07:00

Gail Sorronda is such an exceptional talent that sometimes I wish she would diverge from her signature black and white palette - surely she would have more commercial success that way. Oh well, I suppose I'll just have to let her hold onto that aesthetic integrity. I was pretty surprised (and let's face it, horrified) to see balloon hemlines popping up in a few shows this week. Sorronda was the only designer who made it work:

The weight of the fabric stops the hemline from looking like a rehash of a too-recently passed trend. For me, at their best, Sorronda's designs hint at the monumentality of Renaissance garments:

Portrait of a Gentleman by Giovanni Battista Moroni, 1550

Il sarto by Giovanni Battista Moroni, 1570-1575

Michael Lo Sordo

2011-05-06T07:19:00.000-07:00

Probs maybe some of my favourite prints of the week came from Michael Lo Sordo.

On first viewing it looks like smoke but now I'm thinking it's a little more like ink in water. And if you're into that, you must check out Mark Mawson's photography:

Just a leetle beet awkward.

2011-05-06T06:38:00.000-07:00

Does this Gary Bigeni outfit look a wee bit familiar?

Well here's a something from Lisa Ho's Winter 2011 collection.

I think this is probably an unfortunate coincidence and nothing more. After all, why would Bigeni rip off Ho? Let's just forget this ever happened.

Oh no! Did a Korean person die?

2011-05-06T06:17:00.000-07:00

So by now everyone knows that this year's Fashion Week was awash with white.

Yawn.

What few interesting whites there were came from Josh Goot, Lover and Gail Sorronda.

This Goot suit in particular reminds me of Joseph Losey's magnificent screen-adaptation of Don Giovanni:

But on the whole the whites we saw were a tad insubstantial, not to mention a little mournful (and no, I'm not just saying that in order to justify using a 30 Rock quote in the title of this post, though this does make me happy).

Dhini

2011-05-06T06:08:00.000-07:00

Butterflies were a motif of Dhini's show and it was therefore an uphill battle for me to love this collection, but love it I did. The undeniable standouts were three sheer dresses, cut in the style of a 1940s trench coat.

I love the rather bulky, masculine lines of early 1940s clothes, but admit they may have limited appeal in a contemporary context. Dhini's use of ultra-feminine sheer fabrics in this style is therefore a lovely and clever conceit. One is given the impression of viewing the ghosts of fashions from a bygone age - and what could be more lovely.

More like Camilla and Snark.

2011-05-06T04:26:00.000-07:00

I've had some pretty snarky rants about Camilla and Marc's collections in the past, but today I'ma hang up my cranky pants and admit that this year they presented one darn-cute collection. Yeah yeah, there was a bit of Gucci's Spring 2011 colour palette but there weren't any egregious rip-offs. In fact there were some really original moments, this Neoprene blouse in particular a total winner:

And, could it be, a black dress that doesn't have everyone in the room narcolepting? I think so!

What's more, that looks like the first viable drop waist I've seen in a long time.

Oh well done to the siblings Freeman, well done.

Alice McCall

2011-05-06T03:51:00.000-07:00

Of all the collections this week Alice McCall's had to be among the most desirable and it's unsurprising that this label has such a cult following in Australia. An ensemble consisting of what looked like painted organdie (white on white, heaven) paired with a lattice-work skirt was one of my favourites in the collection:

Afterwards my companion and I got to talking about the show and it came out that, while we both adored it and the label, neither of us owned any Alice McCall pieces ourselves. Trying to work out this riddle wrapped in an enigma, wrapped in a vest, I concluded that while I'd give my [insert some body part which, when removed doesn't affect the drape of silk cropped pants] for a pair of these silk cropped pants...

... McCall's prices really are prohibitively expensive. When I am cashed up enough to buy something in her price range, I'd probably want to spend said imaginary money on some kind of statement garment. Her pieces are the kind of thing I'd want to wear everyday, to not be too precious about - if only le bank account would permit.

Belters.

2011-05-04T23:10:00.001-07:00

A micro-trend that's emerging at RAFW is the partially concealed belt, seen here at both Gary Bigeni and Shakuhachi:

I really like this look and have done since Marni did it way back in their Spring '07 collection:

Very simple and chic - I hope some high street stores pick up on this soon.

I want to go to there.

2011-05-03T00:55:00.000-07:00

One overheard-conversation that made me almost swooning with delight came from the Vogue Australia pozzy. Arriving after the bec & bridge show, the magazine's editor, Kirstie Clements, was greeted by a gaggle of her (rather sweet-seeming) underlings. Asking how the previous show had been, Clements was given the (entirely splendid) answer, 'We saw a redundant dart!'

It was all I could do not to pull a Bridget Jones and surreptitiously join their circle with a casual laugh.

P.S. More than likely the dart comment was tongue-in-cheek. I don't care. It's still awesome.

EDIT: So I've just noticed that vogue.com.au included the following in their Day 1 'Loving and loathing' coverage of RAFW:

Loathing

3. Redundant darts on dresses. Please save the front row from over-exposure to side-boobs and make your darts work.

I must say this is a bit of a bummer, as it sounds like they really mean 'poorly placed' or 'ineffective', rather than 'redundant', and the latter is far more interesting. I guess I'll just go fan girl someone else then.

waves and ripples

2011-05-03T00:25:00.000-07:00

Someone asked me what I thought of the Arnsdorf show and the first words to fall out of my mouth were, 'It was a cool breeze'. Yes, there was a lot of white, but I didn't get bored as a delectable pale aqua and pulsing hot pink came along for the ride too.

I'm not much of a shirt girl, but this collection might just turn me.

She comes in colors everywhere

2011-05-03T00:13:00.001-07:00

I'm generally pretty mean to Alex Perry (see next paragraph) but I really do give him props for using some colour in his collection, when it seems that white (ho hum) is dominating everyone else's.

Of course colour blocking has been all over the international catwalks for the past few seasons. Jill Sander and Gucci were among the many fashion labels who presented collections in which seriously unlikely colours were combined, gorgeousness often ensuing. Unfortunately Perry's lack of restraint - evident in his choice of shot-fabrics as well as heavy sequin-beading- robbed his designs of the kind of clarity that colour-blocking demands in order to avoid becoming visually overwhelming.

Undoubtedly the best part of the show was when, heralded by the disco thuds of Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough", Perry himself came to take a bow (walking the entire circuit of the catwalk, of course). As some middle-aged woman might say, he certainly has a lot of 'tude.

RAFW Day 1: In which words were not my friend

2011-05-02T23:34:00.000-07:00

Yeah, so I probably wouldn't have said, 'Don't be a dick, go to Arnsdorf', if I had known the cute European I was talking to was in fact Yvan Rodic, aka Monsieur Face Hunter. But I probably would have still have asked which part of France he was from (no part, as it happens, he is Swiss).

And if I'd had a little time to reflect on the vast array of adjectives the English language has to offer, I maybe wouldn't have described my own outfit to a Fairfax photographer as being, 'a little bit spastic, really'.

And if I hadn't been so distracted by the dual-polar pain of Balenciaga heels and an oversized topknot, I definitely wouldn't have let the words, 'Alex Perry makes clothes for club girls who have found a sugardaddy', pass by my lips.

Oh blergh.

I did have a nice photo of my shoes taken by Lee Oliveira, however, so it's not a dead loss.

Well aren't you just the cutest cute that ever cuted

2011-05-02T05:51:00.000-07:00

I'm way too tired to write about fashion so I'll just say, how cute is this girl?

It's Amanda Ware, winner of the most recent Australia's Next Top Model, coming off the catwalk at Flannel. In addition to being adorable she has her dead sexy walk down.

Fuck yeah Australian Fashion Week.

2011-05-02T05:23:00.000-07:00

Let's do this.

Regarding Tumblr.

2011-04-25T08:09:00.000-07:00

What follows could be fairly classified as a rant, and I must admit that Tumblr tends to elicit a disproportionately passionate response from me. I have four main emotional stages of Tumblr.

1) Awestruckity

The world is saturated with an almost impossible amount of extraordinarily beautiful images

Tumblr has enabled me to see an array of wonderful things (like the submerged room, above) that I may never have seen otherwise. HOWEVER...

2) Annoyance

Who took that photo? Where is it from? I have absolutely no idea because Tumblr is entirely shithouse when it comes to referencing, labeling or any kind of accreditation really.

3) Shock

Why do so many fashion gurls pepper their Tumblrs with super-explicit sex GIFs? Is it meant to be edgy?

4) Bewilderment

Yes that is Justin Bieber's gleaming visage sitting alongside a Helmut Newton photograph. I just... I don't get it.

but we love graven images...

2011-04-23T08:58:00.000-07:00

I guess network TV was in biblical mode on account of it being Easter and stuff. The Ten Commandments was on and my parents and I watched the whole thing even though an intermission was sorely in need. Observation the first; regardless of what you thought of his (awful) politics, Charlton Heston was one fine piece of tail:

Secondly, this is one thoroughly gorgeous movie. The colours!

Bee tee dubs, these are blu-ray screencaps. I've never watched a blu-ray thingo but have heard the criticism that the image and sound become almost too perfect - I still don't know quite what that means but, yeah, these pics look a tad overripe.

boy germs

2011-04-22T23:24:00.000-07:00

Excerpt from an interview with Edward von Bertouch and James St Johnson of the Sydney fashion label Beat Poet:

What place does colour have in your ideal wardrobe?
James: I believe the only colours that should be present in modern menswear wardrobe are neutral colours. The focus should always be on cut, fabric and texture, in that order. Colour is an unnecessary and distracting element. It has its place in art, not on the body. I feel the same about graphic prints; save them for the gallery.

Oh My God. Have you ever heard anyone in Australian fashion talk like that?

As a rule, I don't care about men's fashion...
but in this instance I might have to make an exception.

planets and stars

2011-04-22T20:51:00.000-07:00

Oh wow. I've just watched the trailer for Lars von Trier's latest movay Melancholia, and... wow. It looks as visually beautiful, if not more so, than both Dogville and Antichrist - no small feat in my book.
And how's about this promo image:

The first reference that floats to mind is John Everett Millais' Ophelia:

But I think the hardness of Dunst's expression make von Trier's image roughly one million times more interesting. My mum has pointed out to me that the image of Dunst owes something to the shot of Cecilia in the bathtub in The Virgin Suicides:

It looks like Charlotte Gainsbourg is one of the few actresses who has returned to do a second film with the von Trier. I am keen to know how Dunst got on with the director during filming. If you are interested in von Trier's work, I highly recommend Dogville Confessions, a very candid behind-the-scenes short.

There is one amazing moment in which we see Dogville's star Nicole Kidman, chastising von Trier for his immature behaviour during the filming of a rape scene. Von Trier comes off as being the most terrible shit - but isn't that always just the way.

pining

2011-04-19T01:57:00.001-07:00

Great googa mooga, look at this necklace I just found on Etsy:

I'll die without it, really I will.

Annie are you Oakley/ will you tell us that you're Oakley

2011-04-18T03:44:00.000-07:00

A hoedown-themed shindig I've got coming up has led me to have a pretty serious revelation.

There are few things cooler than a cowboy, and there is nothing cooler than cowboygirlboy.

ageless

2011-04-18T02:38:00.000-07:00

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting the Australian fashion stalwart Carla Zampatti, when we both attended (what was for me) a fairly swanky dinner. I've been pondering the sartorial elements of this little episode ever since.

To set the scene, I was dished up and feeling pretty sweet in this 1960s lilac sheath dress:

And then in glided (glid?) Carla. She was wearing this dress from her Autumn/ Winter 2011 collection:

It is a singular type of woman who, in her late-sixties can dress in such a way, that the only appropriate reaction is, 'dayum son'. And so -can you blame me- I began to feel a little fuddy-duddy standing next to this woman who put the you-know-what in sexagenarian. Her whole look brought to mind the dangerous glamour of Michelle Pfeiffer's Elvira in Scarface.

And then, all in a flash I remembered a 1976 Sydney Morning Herald article I had come across while researching an essay on Australian fashion of the era:

I find the contrast between the Carla I met and the mini-skirt opposing Zampatti totally fascinating in its incongruity. I'd love to know whether she ever came around to mini-skirts. Certainly I warm to the idea of one's taste in fashion becoming more liberal with age.

the last straw

2011-04-09T21:37:00.000-07:00

Confession: I don't actually know the difference between raffia, rattan and wicker. I'm pretty sure I love em all, however, so what does it matter?

I get more compliments for this Estilo bag than anything else in my wardrobe. This doesn't stop my dad from referring to it as 'the picnic basket'. Philistine.

Steven Meisel's photos for Prada's S/S 2011 campaign are all so beautiful, but the image of the raffia shoes is the best:

And how incredible is this dress?:

I suspect you would get a fair bit of chafe wearing it, so maybe this trend is best left to accessories.

Uh Oh It Girls #∞

2011-04-07T07:30:00.000-07:00

What an excellent babe Jesse Jo Stark is:

I don't understand What She Is and I don't really care but her whole vibe made me start humming 'Los Angeles' by Frank Black:

And that's such a good thing.

Oh, but none of us will see it.

2011-04-05T06:43:00.000-07:00

If you haven't watched the TV series Downton Abbey yet, for the love of God, do. The show's creator Julian Fellows wrote the script for Gosford Park, and if that's not enough to reel you in, the clothes are gorgeous:

It kicks off with the sinking of the Titanic, and though I used to think of the years 1910-14 as being an awkward little Edwardian-hangover period, there are some really cool moments fashion-wise. There is such a high standard of costumes when it comes to Brit period dramas, and Downton Abbey is no exception.

Funny girls.

2011-04-04T06:13:00.001-07:00

As if everyone doesn't have a crush on Gillian Jacobs.

I would definitely turn lesbian and have a longterm romantic relationship with her.

No homo.

ghost clusters

2011-04-04T05:05:00.000-07:00

How fitting that with Jane Eyre about to be released, Vogue Italia's March 2011 issue included the Tim Walker editorial, 'Dreaming of another world':

Of course Jane Eyre isn't really a ghost story, and neither is Rebecca, another novel this shoot brings to mind. Still there's something so creepily beautiful about the spectre of the (other?) woman, in all three instances.

And don't let's forget Blithe Spirit:

Same deco-green and all, though I think I'd hang out with Elvira over Walker's mopey apparition.

I like pink, money, pageants, and winning.

2011-03-28T04:18:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I'm having a huge pink moment.

Ellery

Financial Times, Fine Times November 2009

V Magazine

But gawd, who isn't?

Hey You.

2011-03-27T03:56:00.001-07:00

There is a particular bitterness I experience when seeing an object that displays both extreme beauty and simplicity in its creation. So, like, whenever I see a teapot with one of those in-built strainers I'm forcibly reminded of the painful scene in The Squid and the Whale, in which Walt is (rightly) accused of plagiarism.

MR. WADDLES: You said you wrote the song you played in assembly.

WALT: Uh huh.

MR. WADDLES: Why?

WALT: I don't know.

MR. WADDLES: Did you have a reason?

WALT: I felt I could've written it.

MR. WADDLES: Okay. But you didn't. It was written by Roger Waters of Pink Floyd. I think you know that.

WALT: Yes, but I felt I could've so the fact that it was already written was kind of a technicality.

MR. WADDLES: I see.

So basically this felt-slice necklace has me seething, but I also have a strange urge to take credit for it.

I could have thought of that.

Why. Didn't. I. Think. Of. That.

NB: The second photo is from Facehunter, not sure about the first.

Violet

2011-03-27T03:36:00.000-07:00

As I've blogged before, Liz Taylor was always my favourite of the bombshells and like a lot of people I've been trawling through photos of the actress since hearing of her death. I don't know if she was ever more beautiful than when she appeared in Ivanhoe (1952), and I just love this on-set picture of her with the film's star, Robert Taylor:

Though as Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf showed, she was more than just a pretty face:

She will be missed.

yeah yeah democracy

2011-03-25T18:34:00.000-07:00

I'm very mildly tempted to get gussied up to go vote in today's NSW State election.

But to be perfectly frank, I think my cloche hat and furs would be wasted on the political hacks in attendance.

Go banana!

2011-03-24T05:16:00.000-07:00

The other night I had an extremely awesome dream in which every finger of one of my hands was adorned with a ring, and on each ring a different fruit. Since waking up to ass-hat reality I have found that the rings I dreamed of are actually super tricky to find. Ideally I'd like an apple, a banana, a pear and maybe a lemon. The only thing I've come across that comes close to dream-standard is this little apple (up the back):

Doesn't 'fruit ring' just sound like a thing that exists?

Sugar.

2011-03-18T07:43:00.000-07:00

Thank you Elle UK, for featuring a black model in an editorial that doesn't have a tribal theme:

Elle UK April 2011

And it definitely paid off.

See guys, not so hard, is it?

Weezy, I love you.

2011-03-16T07:13:00.000-07:00

life is the bitch, and death is her sister

sleep is the cousin, what a fuckin’ family picture

you know father time, we all know mother nature

it’s all in the family, but I am of no relation

Do yourself a favour, listen to 6 Foot 7 Foot, watch the video and then watch it again. Lil Wayne is king.