new york fashion week

Araks

I love clothing that is simple but detailed. The aesthetic is modern but very casual, clean and sophisticated but with a twist. Welcome to Araks, where those standards are met. From the sweaters and collard blouses and almost frumpy skirts to scalloped shorts and satin skirts and 1920s drop-waist dresses, Araks is a keeper for the spring. I love the contrast between the over sized tops in the first two looks that appear to not fit quite right with the shimmery skirts. Also the couture-like pieces at the end with sandals from earlier in the collection.

Alexander Wang

I haven't liked an Alexander Wang collection in a very long time. But when I saw the first look for spring 2013 I knew that I instantly had to see more. First off, those cut outs are incredible. A dress that appears to be floating on a model is so neat to look at. The shoes play off of this; they're called a sandal boots, and look like they are stickers on the girls' shins and feet. On a deeper level, this collection is about strength. Women's strength to be exact. It takes a lot of courage and confidence to wear such demanding clothing. All eyes will be on you so you better be ready.

Dean Quinn

Couture aesthetics have been flooding the runway, it seems, ever since that spring/summer 2010 collection from Raf Simons at Jil Sander. Check it out: now you can wear "high fashion" pieces at work. When you slap on a satin biker short or a sating skirt with such a simple and almost boring top, people will answer and they will answer with "ooo's" and "ahh's". I love Dean Quinn for the simple reason of dressing a woman so elegantly and delicately but so strongly.

Jill Stuart

Jil Stuart this season reminds me of the film Atonement. Anyone who knows me knows I am in love with the film Atonement (and probably the novel once I read it) so when I decided that this collection reminded me of the dress that Kiera Knightley wears at the beginning of the movie, I was there. Besides the fact that it hints at one of my favorite films of all time, I can't help but also notice an entire 1930s/1940s vibe. The satin dress and separates almost look like they could be elegant nightgowns and that sparkly number is just needing a hat. Things that are regal and pretty and nod to a decade from 70 years ago are things that make me giddy about a collection. Definitely my favorite from NYFW.

Marc Jacobs

I also haven't enjoyed a Marc Jacobs collection as much as I have enjoyed this one. I watched the live stream, as I do every season but this time I was actually yelling at my computer screen. I loved everything, which isn't something I say at Marc Jacobs. The whole 1960s mod/Edie Sedgwick thing can be over played and get drained out but not with Marc. It's almost as if he enhances the decade and reminds everyone of why it was so damn cool. Why not just wear a bold red and white striped shirt with matching panties? And as for that sparkle jumpsuit on Jamie Bochert (second to last look) that everyone went nuts over? Well, I wouldn't mind wearing that, actually.

The Row

Every time it's The Row. It's the sandals, the hair and makeup, the setting, the bags (oh, the bags), the drapery, the colors. I could go on. The Row has become one of my top favorite making Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen my new favorite designers. I had no idea that those two would ever become such people. I grew up watching them grow up and I remember when they got their own line at Wal-Mart. Such a long way they've come. What I'm lusting over this time is that champagne colored jacket in the third look. I'd wear that every day of every week for God knows how long. If only I was a millionaire because that baby is probably going to be well close to 10,000 dollars.

smalhans

Soundtrack for the weekend:

1. Rà-àkõ-st by Lindstrøm
2. Simulation by Róisín Murphy
3. This Head I Hold by Electric Guest

cinematic style: FBI agent dana scully in "the x-files"

    Gillian Anderson, who played FBI Agent Dana Scully for 9 years, said that she never felt sexy playing her character. Most of it, she said, was because of her clothes. Putting aside the fact the I do love Scully's wardrobe, I think she was sexy because of her strong, feminist attitude as a woman contrasting against Mulder's male persona. Sure Scully wasn't va-va-voom in the first couple of seasons of the shows; she wore loads of plaid and balloon trousers with pointed toe heels and looked like a little girl ready to start her new job next to a good looking FBI agent. Her "geek chic" glasses with the typical brown/red 90s lipstick matched with her red hair made her look smart and serious in the first three seasons. She also always wore these great big trench coats. A lot of the times Scully and Mulder's investigations would take them to Washington or Oregon (they actually filmed in Canada) and the skies always seemed to over-cast. It called for the hero coat. The hero coat, coined by John Barrowman describing his and David Tennant's iconic coats in Doctor Who, are long trenches that flow behind you as you walk/run thus making you look like a hero in a cape. This was the first time I saw a woman pull it off and I'm convinced that it looks good on anyone (even on Anderson's 5'3'' small frame). By the fourth season, that was then into the 2000s, Scully started to look more polished. She started wearing fitted blazers instead of ones that hit her at mid-thigh, outfits that didn't have two or three prints all bunched together and crisp white blouses that weren't all the way buttoned up, a classic FBI agent look. Dana Scully started to look more grown up. After all, she had to have been getting used to the fact that she was staying as Mulder's wing-woman working to make scientific analysis of his findings.

    One of my favorite Scully wardrobe moments is in episode 13, season 7 that is based around a video game. All of the sudden Scully pops up on screen with this brown leather jacket over a fitted turtle neck and her usual black trousers. I'm not sure what happened but for some reason she looked sexier than usual. It just goes to show that a turtle neck and leather can go a long way. A great suit can also go a long way. I always wonder why Scully never played with color more often. Because that maroon suit with the white Grace Kelly in The Rear Window-esque blouse looked superb on her. It accentuated her waist which was such a good surprise since all she was wearing was menswear trousers and over sized goodness in the past. 

    I can't help but throw a little bid of Mulder in here, after all, those big billowing hero coats really only look good if you're with a partner who's wearing a similar one. I love the fact that Scully and Mulder kept the coats throughout the seasons (these two screen shots are from season four). I'm very into over sized coats and jackets for the autumn and winter because of their comfort and 90s vibe. Scully looks like Mulder's equal when she wears hers and in some episodes, the baddies don't treat her that way. She has a great one here: it makes her look professional and down right cool. 

Images via The X-Files Screen Grab Archive

cinematic style: wendy darling in "peter pan"

My sister recently wanted to watch the 2003 version of the classic story of Peter Pan and I was honestly only into it for the fabulous Jason Isaacs but then found out that I could grab a lot of style inspiration from Wendy Darling. She basically only wears her nightgown for majority of the film in Neverland, but what she has on before departing with Peter is so desirable. I love the fact that she wears the coveted Peter Pan collar during the day as a crocheted version and with a warm cardigan. She's a very typical English school girl with pig tails and bows; she's probably wearing a skirt and long thick socks with loafers, I can't remember. You've gotta dress warm during those London winters. At night, before she escapes to Neverland, Wendy seems so dolled up just to be ready to go to bed, but after all it is the 1940s and the Darling family did have company. What really attracts me to her pajamas are how comfy they look. Her hair looks warm and brushed, like she followed that "every girl must brush her hair 100 times before bed" rule and then tied an adorable bow into her side part to keep her soft mane out of her eyes. That cardigan seems so cozy; it really makes me want to put on a slip that I use as a night gown and throw on my chunky knit and cuddle up in a chair with a good book. But what I really love about Wendy Darling's cinematic style is the innocence of it all. The bow, the white nightie, the pig tails, the pink sweater, that collar...after all, isn't that what Peter Pan is all about? The innocence of youth?

island life

Last year my summer playlist had more of a California beach vibe but this year there's more of a Tahiti, Cancun, Caribbean beach vibe. I love islands, tropical beaches that meet with jungles, heavy dark green foliage, turquoise water, rolling mountains. Pretty much any geographical description that is seen in these photos. A few are from a Vogue Japan August 2012 editorial with Toni Garnn, one is from Vogue Portugal and the YouTube screen caps are from Duran Duran's music video for Rio. Rio is the main song of the playlist because of its funky bass guitar riff and bubbly personality. The title of the playlist is even from the song. A close second is Madonna's La Isla Bonita because of its lyrics: "tropical the island breeze, all of nature wild and free, this is where I long to be, la isla bonita." La isla bonita means the beautiful island and where ever Madonna was referring to, I'd love to go to. Despite the humidity of tropical islands and the bugs, I just want to end up in some sea side resort with my all white wardrobe and mermaid hair.

Bird of Paradise - Summer 2012