ari n me

ph by Tayler

Hung out with my angel Ari for the first time outside of the internet this Spring Break. I had a really beautiful Spring break full of cute people. I got this vintage suit thrifting the day before with Shelby actually. 

Thriftin' 

Also had a Rookie hangout. This is not from said hangout, it is from the last hangout. Some of us are pantless in the most current interations of the hangout (we were sweaty from Beyonce choreography) and so the internet can't see those. Sorry. 

So much love. 

Eleven Objects Spring 2013 Appreciation Life

Been a fan of the Eleven Objects girls from the start [see this post], and I make it a point to stop by their studio whenever I can do fawn over their works in person. So happy that they are getting recognition from magazines like NYLON etc, I wanna see their designs on every cute twenty something celebrity (and Kimbra. Mostly Kimbra.) I wanna be able to buy them and support them -- why aren't they stocked at Opening Ceremony or Jeffrey????? C'MON MAN.

Anyway. I wanted to share with you their latest lookbook that they sent over. I couldn't attend their last preview because of school and work commitments so this is the first time I've seen what I missed and I am a thousand percent obsessed and am going to be bothering them constantly to have an opportunity to stare at everything IRL.

Look 1: Leopard printed calf hair rounded collar, Silk organza collar sleeves with feather embroidery, Silk crepe peplum jacket with cork and silver leaf, Silk crepe skirt. Look 2: Croc embossed patent leather rounded collar, silk faille with leopard printed calf hair peplum jacket, bees brocade skirt.

Look 3: Bees brocade collar with crystal embroidery, Leopard printed silk charmeuse collar sleeves, Striped Silk Charmeuse bra top, Velvet Skirt with feathers, Silk Faille Skirt.  Look 4: Cork with silver leaf collar, Silk Crepe Top with feathers and vinyl, vinyl peplum belt with cotton Swiss lace applique.

Look 5: Mirrored leather collar with silver spikes, Snakeskin printed silk collar sleeves, pearl body jewelry, mirrored leather skin belt, snakeskin printed silk georgette draped shorts. Look 6: Latex and feather collar, leopard printed charmeuse bra top, bees brocade skirt belt, silk organza skirt with feather trim.

You can see the entire collection here, the collars specifically here, and see people wearing their collars (including myself) here.

Honestly 11O is one of my favorite NYC brands. They make me excited about fashion. :') I just wanted to share them with you all. What're your favorite small designer labels you wish got more rep?

Rookie Prom

Marie, Leeann and I. ROOKIE STAFF JAMS. I'm wearing an Opening Ceremony dress (previously worn on the blog here) and a RM bag c/o.

Nicolette, my #lesbichic blogbff, and Jenna Sauers, The Best Person Jezebel Has On It's Staff Period.

ROOKIE STAFF PHOTO BOOMMMBBBB

Lightspeed Champion/Blood Orange and Alexa at the photobooth. Was too obsessed to say hi. 

Elizabeth, Amy Rose & her friend and Marie. 

Petra & Avery being FUCKING ADORABLE UGH 

Anaheed, Laia, Ira and Amy Rose being the literal manifestation of adorable happiness. 

ROOKIE BABIES. Not every Rookie staff of course, not even everyone at the party! -- but lots of us. It was so, so fun, and I am unspeakably, wondrously lucky to love & know every single one of these MEGA BABES. I am so proud of my baby gurl Tavi and every single staffer and it was a privilege to experience this week. 

All of these photos are Alyssa Laurel Photography. 

Marc Jacobs Resort 2012

I don't really talk about my favorite collections on here (only my faves!), that sort of off the cuff stuff I tend to do on my Tumblr if at all, but I felt like this one was deserving of a post.  I can't get it out of my head, it's so good! We all know how into color I am, but also my obsession with the often monochromatic and dark looks that come from CDG. I have a discombobulated fashion sense, really. I am more attracted to the ideas behind collections than any certain aesthetic I think, and the thread that weaves all my favorite designers together is a sense of camaraderie between the foundations of their design methods and what they are inspired by. They might not be similar kinds of clothes color wise or pattern wise but they might be inspired by the same kinds of things -- a powerful woman who doesn't give a damn what her husband thinks (a Rei Kawakubo quote), a powerful woman who has flipped her lid and is pushing against domestic life (a la J.W Anderson Pre-Fall).

This collection is right up my radar because it's inspired by Cindy Sherman and it's so obvious to me when you compare it side by side by her work -- her clown series and series of portraits (well, all of them are portraits really, I'm sorry I can't be more specific). It also reminds me of my childhood, though. The long floral skirts in the first picture reminds me of the first 'fashion' thing I really did for myself, my tablecloth skirts. Before I mucked up with them, they'd fall just like these Marc Jacobs skirts. I was initially really embarrassed by how different they looked compared to 'normal' clothes like jeans and the stuff I was wearing before I got into fashion, but I decided to embrace them and make them my own and seeing a high fashion version of them brings back a sweet nostalgia. :')

What I also like about this collection is the more is more youthful mentality I see -- it could easily be too old lady-ish (not that I'm not into that, HAVE YOU SEEN ME) but there are little things that make it really fresh to me. I enjoy how fresh and.. not minimal it is. Minimalism is lovely but I've never been a true fan of it, I'm a fan of more is more. I enjoy the different textures at play, being able to sit down and drown in fabric, to pool it around my legs, to clutch wads of tulle in my hands on the subway when I'm nervous, to see my body sparkle in the sunlight because I'm head to toe in sequins. It's fun. It's an experience, it's innocent. Minimalism doesn't give that to me, not really. It's too cool and removed when it is being fresh and clean and simple. I want warmth and safety and happiness in my clothes and this collection reminds me of that.

Okay, enough fangirling. I just wanted to record my sincere fondness of a high fashion collection because very often I look at them and forget them immediately afterwards because I see no emotional connection to them and I have no way of attaining their looks myself. This is different though and I see everything here are approachable and it makes me really happy inside. 

Hope you're all well and safe and happy my sweets. Stay fly.

it makes you think.

Fashion, at it's best, transforms and inspires us and it's more than thread and fabric and seams. It is an idea that you can wear that you can shape or be shaped by. That's why I love it. I might not ever be able to afford the things that are very high fashion, or at least, very rarely -- but it lets me dream and that isn't something you can buy. I actually paid attention to shows last season (or at least, London shows, I was a TERRIBLE reporter on the NY shows and need to beg forgiveness to my editors for that.... please love me bossman I love you!!!) and I'm glad I did, because it confirmed my love for designers I have been watching for the past few seasons. The main one being J.W. Anderson.

                         

This is from his last collection, but I'm a big fan of his past few seasons, too. I like how sparse and naked they feel. He takes sex out of the equation, like all my other favorite designers. It's one of my favorite things to think about, the relationship of sex to fashion. Most of the time I don't want my clothes to say anything about sex, I don't want to be an object. If they do make a statement about sexuality, I want it to be a subversive one, I want to creep people out, I want to make people as uncomfortable as their leers make me. I want protection and thorns. The idea of a collection designed 'for women' but leaves the idea of what a woman really is -- that is so interesting to me. It is ambiguous and questionable and for that, it's remarkable. Clothes say a lot about a person if you want them to, and these are like opting for silence. It's rebellion.

                         

Learning more about this collection made me love it even more, too. Apparently it's called "The Chamber of Isolation" -- JWA "imagined a woman so oppressed by that domesticity that she'd flipped her wig." It's rad, isn't it? You can tell. She's saying enough is enough. I don't want to be fucking cute. I want to be free. Fuck your noise.

It's rad when you can see your politics in the clothes you love. I could wax on about Rei's last collection, too, but I mean... we all know how much I love her.

wish list version: couples outfit

I did not actually intend to make a shopping list / wish list solely based on this one dude, but I really am obsessed with his outfit and general existence and have accumulated a wishlist over the past few days of stuff I really, really want and intend to purchase in the very near future. Read: I spent my paycheck before I actually got it, going to be eating ramen for another nine months straight, OH WELL WHAT IS SAVING MONEY I DON'T KNOW WHATEVER OK

 

This Streetpeeper Dude,  Butterflysoulfire Dress, eastwest Dress, eastwest shirt, Zana Bayne Oxford Harness, CDG Ruffle Skirt, Vivienne Westwood by Melissas Anglomania Winged Sandal, Latex Ring Harness.

First stop: Dem shoes. Minute I get enough money in the bank to get them from my *secret* location, they will be MINE. hiss. Since I can't afford to buy EVERYTHING here, I'll pick and choose and then DIY the rest. Particular the blazer he's wearing. You will see that one day.... I am determined to make it if I can't buy it. 

things i am obsessed with: chiharu shiota

・・・　　at Kenji Taki Gallery, Tokyo, Japan 2009

This week, I figured I'd do something new; there's going to a post every day (including guest posts by my BFF Scott) because I want to show you guys stuff other than outfit posts and my angst-essays. A few days ago, Scott and I were on the phone last night discussing what's going on in the art world right now and how it's the only thing that is really inspiring us at the moment: fashion is on the sidelines, neither of us have really been impressed by shows or streetstyle lately and so we've turned to art. We've been obsessing over the art stuff Hussein Chalayan does when he's not doing fashion collections, and some really cool people I think you'll all like too. 

Home of Memory. Solo Show La Maison Rouge (Paris) France (2011)

Most of the time I'm not impressed with the modern artists I come across at Museums; I feel like most are stuck in this referential circle jerk where their work is just a platitude to older, more well known artists and I'm just grossed out by it right now. Like I said in my last post, everything feels like a copy of a copy of a copy and I want to claw my eyes out. Chiharu Shiota is one of the artists that makes me feel optimistic about what is going on in the art world and fashion scene. My favorite artists right now are all (and I don't think coincidentally) japanese post-war artists who've been on the scene for awhile and are off in their own dark world and drag you into it. It's very clinical, sometimes repetitive, but it never feels old. Chiharu is the perfect example; she's been doing the same method for almost two decades but always in different ways. It's very haunting and reminds me of the horror mangaka Junji Ito's work a little bit.  Speaking of which, I'm feeling in the mood to be terrified, so I'm gonna go back to watching City Hunter now (BEST DRAMA SINCE COFFEE PRINCE?).

Installation at Haunch of Venison 2010　　Haunch of Venison　 (London) U.K.

In Silence. Solo Show Detached - Tasmania Museum & Art Gallery Cooperation with Museum of Old and New Art, Curator: Olivier Varenne (Tasmania) Australia 2011

Resort 2012 Realness

You guys!! This resort season was/is so important and amazing! I have never really been into or been impressed by Resort collections, a lot of the times they seem do be done without true vision or a point, and they're invariably white, beige, short to the point where I seldom bother even looking. But this season I did, and I'm so glad I did! Collection after collection was awesome and I really am in love with so many, so many!!!!!  THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH EXCLAMATION POINTS TO PROPERLY DESCRIBE MY ATTRACTION!!!!!

 

My heart is in my throat I am clutching the screen I am clawing at the screen come to me I want to love you down and sing you Justin Bieber songs!!!! Everything at Peter Pilotto was perfect to me, the length, the simplicity of the silhouettes, the acidic palette. I would die to see this in person, I want to know what fabric they used, I would be a little disappointed if it was just like, cotton or jersey. The prints would look next level in shiny fabric. Basically, I want every single item and I want it yesterday. Peter Pilotto is most definitely one of my favorite designers and I have never been disappointed by his work, ever. Resort was no exception.

 

I'm just having a moment with the skirts. The shirts are amazing, but I doubt they'd stand the test of time??? I do have collared shirts like them so I'll probably replicate one of these outfits, though it'll take it forever to find a skirt that looks similar to those. 

 

I mean. I MEAN!!!! As a ~fashion writer~ I should be really descriptive and whatever, but really all I can say is: *appreciative animal noises, pawing at computer screen, hearts for eyes*. I really loved how whimsical this was, the floral prints are garish but in a CUTE way, and it's just the best mix of pretty-ugly cool. I love the makeup too, so fresh. Into it. 

The red moments at Preen were my favorite. I went through a phase where I wore red like every day. Then I had green and blue phases etc. The way the clothes fall in this collection is truly stunning, I expect the most from Vionnet for draping (check out Vionnet resort it's beautiful) but but Preen had the cool factor and the pink suit. Really the pink suit the most important. Pink. suit. I want a pink suit now. My wardrobe feels lacking without a pink suit. 

BABYDOLL COOLCAT AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

And that concludes my highly critical, moving review of the collections. Riveting, I'm sure. 

yokoo's asian secret brother happens to be fabulous

This should be Yokoo's new campaign model you know? Just imagine, this dude in a chain necklace. Unstoppable fabulousness, girlfriends. Unstoppable.

P.S If you're too stingy to buy from her (shame on you! her stuff is always perfect) at the very least very least least enter her giveaway. How can you deny free stuff? You can't.

random post

I've always been super inspired by FRUiTS and Japanese street style, and it's the only inspiration I actively look to for any outfits. I do grab inspiration from all around me, and at the end of the day I can pick out what inspired the outfit, subconciously or not. It's funny. Even though I think Betsy Johnson isn't my thing, two weeks later I'll be wearing something froufrou and be reminded of her unintentionally? Anyway, if you're going to buy any magazine ever, it should be FRUiTS. If you are both 1) stingy and 2) lazy, I've uploaded some of my favorite outfits on my other tumblr. That way, if you miss my outfit posts, you can see BETTER outfits!

Here are some of my favorites, and they pretty much always inspire me. Some aren't from FRUiTS, but never mind that.

this look above is what i wear pretty much on an every day basis.
this look (below) is very number (n)ine... R.I.P bbz.


This is maybe the best outfit ever and if you don't think so you're not my friend.

Nothing in the world is more perfect than this picture. Nothing.

hi marit fujiwara i lurve you

Marit Fujiwara makes the most gorgeous.. I don't even know. Speechless. Of course Susie found her first. Hey Marit! I LOVE YOU.

in which i decribe to you how going through the paper shredder was the best thing to happen in my life,

So I was surfin' the net, avoiding my email, thinking about chocolate, eating chocolate, doing my thing, you know, and came across Iris van Herpen. She is perfection. I cannot see anything NOT perfect about her. She is Comme.

Okay, so she's an Amsterdam designer who graduted from design school in 2006 (notice my serious journalism skills, obviously I am very specific and informative). The lookbook pictures here are from her first collection. Her first. They only get better. My favorite kind of design is pure, unadulterated art you can wear. If I could wear an art gallery every day of the week I damn well would.

She's very elaborate in each piece, which makes the fact she only makes 10 pieces per collection forgivable. I'm nervous for her solely because I don't know how she'll make it commercially -- though obviously she's not doing it for the money, or else she'd be pulling a line skirts out of her ass and splattering them with whatever trend of the season.

No, she's very much designing for her own muse and her muse alone. I love it. I want to write a love song to it. I want to court her muse and serenade it at night to sleep, and buy it rings the size of my fist, and buy it a yacht and half the world. I want to stalk it at night at it's window. Yes. Even that.

her latest collection.

She juxtaposes mummified silhouettes with ruffles, studs, anything that fits her whim. Her aesthetic is kind of like a love child of Pugh, TAO, and skeletons, with a healthy dose of barbed ire and rufflery and sometimes even bondage. Iris smudges the line between the macabre and the feminine. It's rough, but it's fragile, and damned if I don't want it all.


(sorry for the quick post, got lots of plans for the blog in the future -- lucky packs return, a contest, and more. xxx)

my life turned upside down and i'd like to take a minute

Man, Fresh Prince was ballin' when I was in middle school. Most of the kids in my class used to just plagiarize episodes of it for Language Arts class, while I wrote about Poe and incest (I was big on the Southern Culture theme in the textbook, also Kaori Yuki's Angel Sanctuary was the first manga I ever read. It is a perfect read if you would like to scar yourself as a 10 yr old for life. I loveloveloveit) and punching mirrors as a geisha. The angst, it burnssssssss.

So anyway, I'm not even on a topic eh? I need none. LOOK AT THE SHOES. That is how you roll with Uggs. I try not to be a snob about clothes, because the truth of the matter is if you style it nicely, even the most blase biece can be worn fabulously. As seen above.


It is a sad day when your granddaddy steals your heels and wears them better than you do. Also, when his beard entices everyone around you to him like white on rice. Mhmhmhm. He is a magical fashion djinni.