Internship

So I got a new internship with costume designer Christian Joy. The latest costumes that she's working on are stories about aliens coming down to earth and their subsequent lives. She has such a different eye than most aesthetically pleasing designers as she tends to mix embellishment with structure as opposed to choosing one or the other. Last week I helped her create this Voodoo princess alien that was layer upon layer of strips of torn gingham and tea dyed silk with a tribal print body suit underneath that has mulitcolored thread sewn to the ankle. To me, it sort of has the voodoo sensibility, but in a less literal sense. Sort of the chicken coop sacrificial thing. Another piece that I am overly obsessed about, is a black romper with sculptural plush squares coming off of the shoulder- which is a sixties housewife that is seen as a sculpture to her husband and goes through life untouched. Sadly, I don't have pictures of her the costumes she is working on because a. she isn't finished and b. I think its supposed to be a surprise for fashion week time. In the mean time here are some other pieces that are delicious. Most of her costumes are for Karen O.

Prada (Post Christmas Crazed Purchase)/First Day Back

So the sales women at Prada are pros. They knew my weaknesses towards the Fall 2008 aerodynamic pumps and they suckered me into purchasing them. They were heavily on sale so I didn't lose too much money and my mind isn't completely lost. They remind me of Achilles, with winged feet. And who doesn't want to be a mythological god? They also have an air of futurism about them with the clean blue color and structural appendages. I promised myself that the next shoe purchase would be a monster platform, but I feel that these shoes still give my feet the volume that I've been so desperately hankering for.



I also wore them the first day with my oversized Banana Republic cape, Lux jacket, Grai cardigan,Jeremy Scott crop top, American Apparel hot shorts and tights.

Please Me, Tease Me

Lately I've had a bit of a nasty obsession with stripper shoes. (I think ever since I did some cage dancing and watching Rock of Love Tour Bus, I've had a hankering for more).Stripper shoes are nasty and trashy all by themselves (lets pick out the clear heeled ones especially), but I think a lot can be said about this obsession. The platforms are flawless on most (this is hard to come by- as any little curve or wrong indention makes me hate a shoe) and they have the perfect nose bleed heights that I have been desperately starving for.


The shoes have to be tamed a bit so as not to scream stripper and the patent version would have to be set aside but overall they have a great effect of hoof like appendages. Aside from the shoe the stripper/porn trend is one of my favorites because it adds a good contrast to the prude-y styles. Super short and tight dresses, hot shorts, back seam panty hose, crop tops, thigh high boots, cheap spandex, red lip stick all say 90's stripper sex, and when combined with super prude/mormon type tendencies can create a lot of interest(especially when combined with an unsexy wearer {me}). This is probably the story of my wardrobe. And if only, if only I had the ultimate stripper shoe- the Givenchy thigh high cowboy boots.... but a much cheaper fix are these Delight 5000s(and who wouldn't want a shoe named that?).

Cutting off the terrible belt (which I did by cropping), and paying no attention to the ugly seam down the front, these boots aren't half bad. They feed my need to have boots as pants. Wouldn't they look wonderful with a big fur coat (i.e. 10 magazines catsuits) or a frilly little dress that came over the top edge of the boots. Or even better, Gareth Pugh's goat hair sweat dress. Yes. My only concern is that I would venture way too much into the Pretty Woman zone. Perhaps I will have to put aside my hot shorts and crop tops for these...
And speaking of Pretty Woman, some crop top and hot short extravaganza to feed my 90's stripper fix..


The big shoulder crop top is something that I made from a terrible eighties brides maid dress and the shorts are American Apparel as well as the tights. The golden belt is a thrift store find.

H&M

I'm not a huge fan of H&M, and this is mostly because I am still getting accustomed to it. I orginally made a trip to go look at the Comme Des Garcons line which I was not at all impressed with, sorry Rei. In fact one of the skirts had a throw up stain on it ( a great H&M quality detail). I did however zone in on one of H&M's regular collection coats. At first I dismissed it as a Alexander Wang rip off, but I kept thinking about it while I was looking around, and I eventually picked it up. I got it 4 sizes too big and I am very pleased with the results. The larger size emphasizes the cocoon shape and the collar looks even more dramatic on me, which I flip up always ( a little mystery is always good- a remedy for not having MMM L'Incognito glasses). I at least have Lucky Magazine fooled....

(Image courtesy of http://Luckmag.com/style)

Elizabethan Storm Trooper

So I will admit, I have a bit of an obsession with the Gareth Pugh SS09 collection. I wish that I could look like his uniform robots everyday. Beyonce has nearly ruined it for me with her head to toe looks of his collection (not to mention she looks bad in his stuff), but I just can't get his collection out of my head. He combined all of my favorite things- futurism, elizabethan ruffs, repition of details, and structure. Its everything that I have been obsessing over into one collection. The words "Elizabethan Stormtrooper" have been floating around for this collection, and I think that its a perfect name. The idea of mixing something so ornate as the Elizabethan time costume with something supposed to be clean, simple, minimal is a hard concept. Gareth did it perfectly. I did some shopping. I didn't stick to black and white.
Elizabethan Stormtroopers:
Look 1:

Christopher Kane sweater- resembles the ornateness of the renaissance times

Balenciaga Jacket- echoes the shoulders of Elizabeth with a twist of minimalism

Gareth Pugh leggings

Luella for Linda Farrow Sunglasses- adds a touch of inhuman futurism

Charlotte Olympia Tassle Pump- adds a bit of authority that Elizabeth and the Stormtroopers have with the structure and height
Look 2

Peter Pilotto galaxy print dress- echoes star wars minimalism with delcious galaxy futurism print

Gareth Pugh sweat dress- again the shoulders.

Azzedine Alaia pony skin platforms

Christine Bec felt bonnet

The Renaissance Tailor Store ruff- what galaxy Elizabethan outfit would be complete without a ruff?

GARETH PUGH (pre-christmas crazed purchase)

SO, I went a little crazy before Christmas and I couldn't help myself at SEVEN's sale. I bought a Gareth Pugh dress. Its a rather simple silouhette, and rather simple concept- skin tight turtle neck sweater dress with an invisible zipper down the back and on the wrists, but it has a much deeper styling message. The complex black and white Aztec print parells back to Gareth's signature print as well as his overall theme of the constant battle between light and dark. And it especially reminds me of Gareth Pugh's SS09 collection, which is, in my opinion, his best collection to date. Styling this dress is quite fun as it takes control of any outfit. Excuse the boring backdrop; I was visiting my mother for Christmas.
I just put my two tone tight ,black Jeffrey Campbell platforms, and Bernard Wilhelm for Linda Farrow sunnies for a simple contrast.

I paired it with an old Urban Outfitters jacket, a blouse that I had to make for a final (in a really interesting pixelating print), my two tone tights ( the dress just looks soooo good with those tights), and my old cowboy boots

I paired it with a vintage darted puffer that my friend gave me, a Grai cardigan, more two tone tights, and Prada platforms

And this outfit consists of some cheesy fabric worn as an oversized scarf/ sash, an animal print skirt that I made, (do I even need to mention the tights?), and Irregular Choice platforms.

Crafty

I guess I really am just that cheap, put I've been making my jewelry lately or having it made for me. I just think that the jewelry has gotten so boring (minus PYT, Disci Mori, and some other lovelies) and I just have no motivation or will to spend large amounts of money on jewelry (I would much rather buy clothes). I know I know " a diamond is forever" but a diamond doesn't add too much to an outfit besides status and predicitibility.
The first necklace that has been on heavy heavy heavy rotation in my closet, is a triangle, plastic tube structure necklace that my boyfriend made,which he calls the Limon Tri's necklace. Its the first of its kind, and its more of a trial necklace than anything( he is now making metal versions, which I am still begging and pleading to get one). It brightens any outfit adding structure, its sort of like a supermodel- it could endure a burlap sack and still look fabulous. I normally just throw it over my H&M coat for an embellishment effect, and it looks wonderful layered into my chaotic messes of outfits. Here I put it with my tire track print Jeremy Scott shirt because it compliments the geometry and chaos. (Also with my Christmas present Fox headband, Banana Republic sweater, Richard Chai for Target Tank, and Mary Meyer drop crotch {deliciousness})


The second necklace is really a set of necklaces set a-turning my OBSESSION with ruffs. They were really just projects for fashion school. My crazy Textiles teacher thought it would be a great idea to make her students learn how to make felt ( a horribly tacky-tastic fabric that is made by taking raw wool and visciously agitating it with water, heat, soap, a plastic tube and some netting- its what people get upset about when they wash their precious wool jackets in the washer) After countless hours "getting at it" with the wool I made spent more countless hours making this ruff. It should be heavily noted that ruff making is not fun, and is a rather pedantic activity requiring concentration and a willingness to sacrifice fingers to needle stabs. The ruff is navy, creme, and black and is quite fun to wear. A ruff wearing beginner, I like to start simple with just my Gareth Pugh dress and Bernard Wilhelm for Linda Farrow sunglasses just to make sure its not costume central. Ruffs are quite lovely on and if high enough up, can frame the face nicely. The other ruff inspired piece is a scarf/breastpiece that was a LCD (light color and design) project. We had to choose a painting/sculpture and make a scarf out it. I chose a piece my Damien Hirst with a lamb suspended in formeldahyde- the clear fabric represents the glass, the leather and grosgrain white and black represent the lamb as well as the rawness and disturbing quality of the piece, and the white linen triangles represent the hard lines of the white container. It has such great volume that I just want it to be a stand out piece. My Jeremy Scott shirt does no wrong.



The final necklace is an antler that I picked up at Evolution of New York ( this is a really amazing nature store, it has a real intense taxidermy collection on the second floor, its just a little pricy). I just tied three nylon bonded thick thread (its thread that is used for leather, I recycled it from the ruff scarf above) around it. When I put it with my fox tail, it has a raw nature effect is quite nice. I paired it with my House of Holland color changing dress, Erik Hart vest, American Apparel stirrup tights, and Jeffrey Campbell Pumps.