Dreamtime

So I just watched this movie, I don’t know if you would have heard of it, it’s not getting much attention - it’s called Inception. For reals though, what with all the hype, the quality of the film wasn't a huge shock. What I was surprised by was how extraordinarily beautiful the costumes, and particularly the suits were.

I’m not one for noticing the subtleties of men’s dress, and coincidentally I had watched A Single Man for the first time about a week before seeing Inception.

I’m probably revealing my gauchness, but I was more taken by the clothes in the one not directed by Tom Ford.
Now that just sounds wrong.

Don't make me hate you.

A little while ago I posted about how desperately I wanted this witchery jacket:

Well I ummed and ahhed for too long and my size soon sold out. I went into mourning, like a widow who could have easily prevented her husband's death (by buying the jacket, geddit?).

One of my mourning rituals was to trawl through page after ebay page of 'black (jacket, blazer)'. It was kind of sad.

But low and behold, I found this:

Dear reader, I bought it.

Now the dodgy thing is that this jacket is not Witchery. It is from a US label named Theory and not only was it slightly cheaper than its (almost) identical Australian twin, the fabric is wool as opposed to synthetic like the Witchery one. It is also several seasons old.

Pooey, Witchery, if you're going to steal designs at least have the decency to price the garments accordingly.

Top model diva but my name not Eva.

After watching the first episode of season four Mad Men, I kinda regretted not owning a Jantzen swimsuit. I'd imagine there will be hike in prices for the vintage items on Ebay.

That said, vintage Jantzen swimsuits have always been a bit overpriced. In general I think swimwear is a genre of clothing that is best bought new, not because of the ick-factor (I think that's silly), but because the fabrics they used back in the day are just not as practical as what we have now. And there are plenty of retro-styled numbers to sate even the biggest vintage fanatic:

Louis Vuitton 2003

Australia's Next Top Model, Episode 2

The shoot for this episode was a total snooze-fest with double denim done in the worst kind of way. The photos themselves were over-exposed up the ying yang. Nevertheless, Amanda totally killed it:

Looks like Patty over at Frockwriter might have backed the right horse.

Unfortunately there were other problems, with a few girls getting their bitch on and targeting Kimberly. The bullying, though thankfully less severe than in Cycle 4, is a total gross-out. I have no idea what would drive a group of girls to gang up against one person so horribly, but there does seem to be some weird class stuff going on, with Kimberly being the self-professed bogan of the house. Though for someone who seems to be viewed as unintelligent by the other girls, Kimberly was surprisingly eloquent when describing her own loneliness and I found myself very moved by what she said. Though she crashed and burned during the Channel V spot, she was still more personable than many of her competitors.

The other girls' lack of basic decency aside, what strikes me is their total lack of media savvy. Surely they realise that they are being filmed at every moment, and that their unkindness will undoubtedly be beamed into the lounge rooms of Foxtel-owners around Australia (that's hardly anyone, but still). On a similar note, I recall in Cycle 4 how Alex (the fashionista of that year's cohort) flubbed, Vogue Australia editor, Kirstie Clement's name during one of the regular segments in which the interviewer is neither seen nor heard. The footage aired showed her saying something along the lines of 'Kristie.... Wait, is it Kristie or Kirstie?'. The show does not include a narrator who would comment at such moments. Had Alex just powered through, not acknowledging her mistake, there would have been no way for ANTM, in its present format, to highlight the moment. A little media-literacy would go a long way with a lot of the girls.

In other news, I finally figured out who a couple of the girls remind me of. Joanna looks like a cross between a young Sofia Coppola and Romeo + Juliet-era Claire Danes.

And someone else too, maybe? As is, it's not a bad combo.

And at her best moments Megan has a bit of an Angela Lindvall vibe.

I guess I was a bit slow figuring that out.

Finally, Chantal is fortunate enough to at times resemble Olivia Palermo.

But she also pronounces 'clothes' as 'clue-ths'. Unspeakably annoying.

And GREAT GUGA MUGA, Sarah! Congratulations on your boobies... I mean baby.

Nah, I meant boobies.

Also, the new mentor, Josh Flinn, is totally adorable. I love his low-key sweetness and St Augustine Academy threads.

P.S. The ANTM website is insanely annoying to navigate. It makes me want to stab myself in the Alex Perry. Fix it, Foxtel.

Light Riders

Omygawd, I can't wait for Tron Legacy. I watched the original for the first time in 2003 after reading that The Strokes' video for '12:51' was inspired by the movie.

Julian Casablancas was right, of course, the movie is total eye candy.

I wonder if it influenced Ksubi's (then Tsubi, I think) 2005 collection, From here to infinity:

hallowed hollow

So, I just watched Antichrist, and I’m sure I won’t be the first to say in response: Blaaaargh!!
What struck me throughout was how different the film would have been if Eva Green, who was originally cast for the role, had played 'She' in place of Charlotte Gainsbourg. Willem Dafoe (the male lead) and Gainsbourg’s sinewy, lean (often naked and writhing) bodies are similar to the point that there were moments in the film where I mistook one for the other. Green’s more voluptuous figure might have been an interesting counterpoint to Dafoe’s. I should say I thought Gainsbourg was quite incredible in the movie. I’m just annoyed because Antichrist threatens her place as one of my happy people.
Think happy thoughts. Think happy, Balenciaga thoughts.

That's better.

P.S. Mr von Trier, there is room for only one talking fox in my life.

He is the Crack Fox.

Love, luck and lust.

I came across Alex Foureyes' photostream on Flickr, totally by chance, and the funny thing is that I think we may have gone to the same primary school. Weird.

If I had to describe these photos in one word? Joyous.

old is good

I liked (SMH supplement) Essential's feature on vintage shopping. Costume jewelry sure does seem to be making a comeback and it needn't break the bank. This bracelet is $30US on Etsy:

But one major beef with the article: Not knowing the difference between provenance and providence? So not ok.

means style

For awhile I've been thinking that for my next bag purchase I should like to save up for something from local label, Estilo Emporio (don't bother with the website, except for PDFs it is eternally under construction). The leather accessories they produce are really gorgeous and I'm surprised they don't get more coverage in Australian fashion magazines. Unfortunately for me, their latest offerings (in stores August) are mostly slouchy, and I've decided that structured bags are the way of the future. There are some extremely beautiful bags, with a nice Bottega Veneta-vibe, on offer:

But nothing, I fear, for me.

p.s. I swear they did these phenomenal thigh-high boots before thigh-high boots were a thing:

Kudos.

no milk

Because I have better things to do than watch the Emmy Awards, I'd never seen Leighton Meester and Blake Lively's respective outfits before.

The first thing that popped into my head were lyrics from the Hole song "I think that I would die":

Rose white, rose red/ Rose up in my head

*gargling Courtney Love noises*

Seriously though, Live Through This is such a solid album. I'm going to go listen to it right now.

Reflections on Australia's Next Top Model, episode the first.

Thank God cycle 6 has begun, I've been waiting with bated breath. The season started off well with a photo shoot after my own heart: Mad Men themed. Indeed the styling for the shoot and especially Brittney's outfit, looked fantastic though unfortunately the brilliant emerald green of her jacket was lost in the final photograph:

Thoughts so far:

1) I can't believe Sophie is only 19:

She was the most Betty Draper-esque in the shoot (obviously a good thing in my books) but I hope they give her a make-under in coming episodes - she looks way too Princess Diana-ish at mo.

2)Kathryn photographs like a whiter and more conventionally-featured Samantha Harris:

3) I wasn't a huge fan of Jessica's looks but am totally gunning for her after hearing Alex Perry's appraisal of 'not pretty enough'. God that man is such a crashing bore.

Jessica reminds me quite a bit of Daniel Johns' missus, Louise Van Der Vorst, who in turn looks like a pointier version of Gemma Ward:

4) ANTM deserves the latest fat scandal. I can fully accept that the current fashionable silhouette is an extremely slender one - successful models who do not conform to this ideal are in a tiny minority in the industry. For this reason I think it is unconscionable for the show to allow 'curvier' girls like Ashlea on show. I can only assume they do this (knowing they won't fit into sample sizes) in order to create some drama.

16 year-old Ashlea was too big for the clothes shown on the catwalk at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week and was subsequently not allowed to compete in one of the episode's two challenges. While not a stand-out, her photo was perfectly pretty and one can only assume that the fact of her omission from the catwalk, and therefore her size, counted against her. ANTM needs to stop sitting on the fence when it comes to larger girls - don't put them on the show as a token gesture.

Prince and woah-girl.

"I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best."
- Marilyn Monroe

So lately I've noticed this quote popping up everywhere, and you know what? I'm calling bullshit. I would be happy to be proven wrong, but everything that I've read about the woman until this point indicates that she was neither particularly clever nor eloquent. And I'm not suggesting she was a bad actress; I LOVE how she says 'Why do they always look like unhappy rabbits?' in All About Eve. And I'm NOT saying she wasn't pretty. She was super pretty:

Just give me a footnote I can believe in.

Fuckabees!

I heart I heart Huckabees. So much.

And Naomi Watts totally kills the Amish Bag Lady look.

smile

Lily Allen is looking pretty adorable in the 'Just be good to green' video, wearing numbers from both Louis Vuitton and Chanel's pre-Fall 2010 collections.

I keep watch the video because I just love how she says 'Yes' to Professor Green. Has this girl done any acting yet?

All that junk.

Earlier this year I was walking down City Road and found myself confronted by these rather phenomenal tits:

Since then it's been 'Elvis Di Fazio this', 'Elvis Di Fazio that'.

What? Sorry, all I heard was 'bla bla bla Terry Richardson bla'.

Nah. That was way harsh, Tai.

I will give him props for making Rachel Rutt look so baddass:

Muzak.

There's definitely some stuff about Vogue Deutsch's August cover that doesn't quite work.

I mean, what is that leopard print? And I adore Abbey, but there is something a little too frail and affected about the hand gesture combined with her gap-tooth.

This said, there is a moodiness in the cover that does appeal to me. It's reminding me of the time I came this close to painting my room a dark, dusty blue, and making me forget why I didn't end up doing it. In my mind-tank, the cover is a very distant cousin of The Artist's Sitting Room in Ritterstrasse (1851), by Adolph Menzel:

Ich liebe es.

Walk on.

Here are some items from Karen Walker's Sun Gods collection.

Walker has some of the best eyewear campaigns around. I just finished reading an article on her that was published in 1999. The piece mentions she has a cat named Chicken and a dog called Turkey. I should like to be her friend.

Hark at that.

Here is Twiggy in Ken Russell's divine The Boy Friend:

I'm having a bit of a Ken Russell moment, and was glad to see a few video shops have started stocking ARIA, which includes a short film of his, set to Puccini's Nessun Dorma.
Here are some screencaps that don't quite capture the camp awesomeness of the film: