Fashion for everyone

i've been tagged by the style antagonist! usually i'm terrible at answering these chain questionnaires, but this time i was determined to follow through for a change. so here we go...!

1. what is your current obsession?

jewelry!!! making it, buying it, wearing it, thinking about it... i'm decidedly obsessed.

2. what is your horoscope & how do you relate to it?

i'm a virgo, which is reflected in how exacting i am. i avoid the word 'perfectionist', but admit there is a lot of order in my version of chaos. i think it shows in the way i dress ~ my style is kooky but in an unusually clean way. it's also evident in my designs ~ what is made to look haphazard is actually very precise.

3. what are you wearing today?

a printed blue satin t-shirt dress from target's go international line. originally, it was majorly muumuu style ~ awkwardly long length, huge stiff sleeves ~ but i saw in it some serious marni potential (i'm always assimilating styling suggestions from that collection). so i bought it (for around $20), chopped off the hem, and hand-pleated the sleeves. now it's a cheap + chic summer staple!

4. what was the last thing you bought?

12by12 harem pants & christian louboutin 'miss fourtune' shoes (both of which i wore yesterday).

5. what do you think about the person who tagged you?

with a name like 'style antagonist' i'd expect quite the attitude ~ but she's as sweet as they come!

6. what's for dinner?

it's too soon to tell, but if i had to place a bet i'd put my money on take-out from noodle studio in williamsburg. they have the best tofu green curry in town, and i eat it at least twice a week!

7. what's your favorite decade, fashion-wise?

i'm sort of partial to this mythical ideal decade ~ it would be a haute couture (ie: polyester-free) version of the 1970's, with a generous splash of the roaring 20's mixed in.

8. what are your must-haves for summer?

this time of year, i always carry a lovely folding fan in my purse. i also adore a pretty parasol ~ it's an extravagant yet practical accessory that you can only get away with from july through august!

9. what would you love to be able to afford?

a big, white, light-filled new york city loft, with a closet the size of my current quarters!!!

10. what is your favorite piece of clothing from your current wardrobe?

i've talked a lot on this blog about my favorite gold vintage jacket, which forever remains #1 in my world. i wish some designer would knock it off and send me one in every color! i guess i might just have to do it myself...

11. what is your dream job?

doing just what i'm doing ~ styling photos, designing jewelry, and writing this blog!

12. what's your favorite magazine?

italian vogue, followed closely by its french sister.

13. describe your personal style:

sort of 'palm beach eccentric' ~ like a madcap, blue-haired, bridge and brandy-loving granny (stuck in a 20-something shell). it's iris-apfel-aspirational:

14. which Beatle is your favorite?

the egyptian scarab (winks cheekily).

15. what are you proud of?

using my own two hands to make the world a prettier place.

---

(next up: i tag my beautiful blogger friend, what i wore. jessica, you're it!!!) / (updated to add: my twitter friend the village idiot. you're it too!)

i've decided to make living easy this summer. to wit, i've decamped my glamour base ~ moving all operations out to the hamptons ~ where i can type by the pool, and be inspired by the sun and surf.

expect some tropical, colorful gems to be forthcoming, and many kimono and caftan-centric costumes, looking something like these:

marie antoinette left me wondering... what other ingenues had exceptionably enviable aplomb?

modern movie mademoiselle holly golightly, that's certain.

who can forget 'breakfast at tiffany's?' it's one of those films i'd like to watch incessantly looped & projected onto a high white wall - sound off - like a moving editorial in a larger-than-life magazine.

you see, if it weren't for audrey hepburn's whimsical yet practical costumes, designed by hubert de givenchy, it might not occur to me to consider tulle tutus and sequin vests to be daywear...

...but i do.

what stylish films do you love? let's make a list. which fancy flicks rival french vogue? who never goes out of style? what else? what else!

the village idiot mentioned that she likes to watch 'pretty in pink' while crafting. which film fuels your imagination? help me brainstorm, and who knows? it could inspire the next costume

- mine or yours!

someone recently asked me how i maintain my layer-loving-look when the weather heats up? the answer is ice.

indeed, when i am unable to immerse myself in myriad textiles, i texturize by adding more bric-a-brac and bling. so let it be given that from now until approximately september i'll be having a mega marie antoinette moment (confession: i have been watching sophia coppola's film on repeat while making jewelry).

i want candy! i want to crystallize this, ribbon tie that! i want tulle and satin and lace! i want to wear my cake and ice it too.

there is a symmetry then, that the sweet lovelies over at ice.com

( ! ) just sent me the most dazzling earrings ~ on which i tied teensy-tiny silver bows. i tell you i just can't help it!

i also couldn't help wearing this necklace just once before shipping it off to shrimpton couture. sometimes it breaks my heart to part with things i've made - my babies! - but unlike some other queens, i'm slowly learning how to share.

update: shrimpton couture just announced on their blog that they're making this item available for pre-sale ~ so feel free to contact them if you're interested!

whenever i find myself with a bit of time to waste, i like to go here to watch old episodes of dynasty, the great 1980's soap 

(guilty pleasure alert!).

ostensibly, the story revolves around oil tycoon blake carrington and his ever-more-complicated family life, but the whole thing is really just a high-camp fashion show.

the core of the drama revolves around the competition between blake's new, beautiful, blond wife krystle, and his scheming, conniving, ravishing former wife alexis.

however.

though i love that evil she-witch, my dark heart melts more for sweet krystle carrington:

during a recent viewing, it occurred to me that designer nicholas ghesquiere must share my choice of dynasty heroine, for every one of the spring 2009 balenciaga exits look straight out of the krystle carrington wardrobe department:

who's YOUR favorite dynasty gal 

(and would you dare to dress like her)?

sonia rykiel, spring 2008

last october, the designer sonia rykiel celebrated the 40th anniversary of her eponymous label with a rollicking runway reverie, culminating in a surprise 30-piece finale parade of tribute looks, designed by rykiel's top contemporaries (everyone from jean paul gaultier to ralph laruen to christian lacroix and martin margiela!).

it was a spontaneous style spectacular, and the party's far from over. this month, rizzoli launches a beautiful coffee table book celebrating sonia, who recently shared her '10 rules of style' with elle magazine:

1. know yourself
"what counts is how you look at yourself ~ what you should show and what you should hide. you have to spend time in front of a mirror. very few women pay attention to that."


sonia rykiel, photographed by andy warhol

2. use your head
"my style corresponds to the image i have of the left bank woman who pays attention to what's going on in the streets, in politics, in the world. clothing is also something that happens in your head."


the warhol portrait, reinterpreted as a dress by jean-charles de castelbajac, spring 2009

3. remember the power of black
"black is a magnificent color ~ it gives you an outline like a

pencil stroke."

4. add a little sparkle
"i love accessories ~ bags, shoes, brooches, necklaces. i even like to have a crystal comb or a flower in my hair. if you're wearing a little black dress, a sparkling detail adds a simple and pretty touch."

5. have a fail-safe outfit
"it's important to have an outfit that always works for you ~ one that you know looks good when you are in a rush."


martin margiela's riff on rykiel's distinctive look, spring 2009

6. learn the art of packing *
"i always travel with lots of long jackets, in black, brown, or navy blue, and matching trousers. then i mix and match the jackets and the trousers."

7. let your feet do the talking
"i love eccentric, quirky shoes with colors and very high heels that are gilded or extravagantly embellished with crystals. a pretty foot underlines a look. it's a way of defining a style."

8. dress for yourself
"of course fashion is important, but i think the way you live counts for more. a woman should be herself and dress according

to who she is."

9. seduce with your style
"it's very natural to be sexy, to be seductive ~ it's a way of being. you can do much by paying careful attention to your clothes, by knowing a length or a certain color that suits you."

10. ignore other people's advice
"you shouldn't ask for other people's advice, and certainly not your partner's. it's useless. you need to know yourself ~ that's enough."


sonia rykiel, fall 2008

* though i have my own staunch opinions on the art of packing, i certainly think rykiel's rules give a good, general foundation for building your individual look on.

what's the best bit of fashion advice you've ever received?

though history gives us a gross of glamour girls to look to for guidance, few have cut as iconic an image as louise brooks ~ the silent film star remembered for her boyishly chic bob:



nicknamed "the girl with the black helmet," she is credited with one of the most influential, enduring hairstyles of all time, one that has been reinterpreted on many a recent runway:


en blonde: chanel haute couture, fall 2008

although the groundhog predicted 6 more weeks of winter, a tease of spring just blew through new york, the faint hint that it won't always be so cold.

the slightest suggestion of sunshiney days is all it takes

to find me dallying with thoughts of spring styling!

i'm looking forward to taking a cue from marc jacobs' spring 2009 runway, where he blended yves saint laurent and classic americana - and emboldened us all to attempt florid gingham patterns cinched with plaid obi belts.

this is layering at its most fun.

it's lovely to have maximalism back in such an optimistic

way. there's a freshness to the this spring's look that recalls

one of my idols, the astonishingly stylish loulou de la falaise:

she was a friend and muse to saint laurent, and it's

hard to miss her energy in jacobs' spring clothes.

i love when stylish people have equally stylish homes - it communicates a personal commitment to beauty that i've always admired. loulou's "colorful and generous" apartment (far top left, bottom right) clearly reflects the style and soul of its

chic gypsy keeper.