a cherry blossom/ hibiscus by any other name

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?

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.

nuddy pants

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.

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

Albert Elbaz. You adorable bastard.



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

consummate costumer

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

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

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

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

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.