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I started to feel nostalgic for old movies and costumes by Edith Head. I knew she was THE fashion/costume designer in the golden years of cinema but I didn't know too much about her. This amazing woman won 8 Oscars for her design work and was nominated 34 times.
She did costumes for movies that I love like Roman Holiday and To Catch a Thief (above) . She made it seem like it was normal to have these amazing ornate party dresses, giving all of us a little bit of that dream.
Intel just announced that they are developing new laptops that are more fashionable, going beyond the typical black or grays that we find today. In their press release from yesterday, they talk about a new concept laptop that is designed with a whole new style and look using Ultrasuede® fabric, a micro-fiber that is integrated directly into the casing of the laptop.
Seems like a great idea as laptops becomes more so a part of someone's accessory that they carry around all day. Knowing that the images here are strictly concept, I'm hoping that they start to collaborate with some cool textile designers like Angela Adams or Lotta Jansdotter to start bringing even more style to laptops, rather than just blocks of color. Murakami could team up again with Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton for cute strawberries or peaches this time. I only hope that as all this gets developed we start to find more creative ways for adding style to laptops, much like how the new Nokia L'Amour collection was developed. I like the idea of etching laptops and I do believe that this will be a new trend coming up.
If you are in England and find yourself in a fashion dilemma, all you have to do is send a text message from your cell phone to 81144, the Topshop Style Advisor, and you'll get a picture back of what you are looking for. "I need a perfect black dress" or "What kind of shirt can I wear with these jeans?" Not a bad idea to have a fashion expert on hand at your celly's every beck and call. You can request the store to hold an item (text HOLD), make an appointment with a style advisor (text STYLE), or just ask a question (text ADVICE).
Topshop is one of the leading mass retailers in England and sells hip clothes like H&M. I like to go to the Oxford Circus store when I'm in London for cheap trendy clothes or the essentials (tees and tanks). So far with this service there aren't many requests (a total of 4 which I've pictured above). If you are in London I'm curious for someone to try it out and see what kind of answers they get.
Sigh. If only we had this here in the States. Wouldn't it be cool if you were at Nordstrom's buying some cute shoes and could text message Banana Republic a couple blocks down if they had a dress to go with it? Pretty cool and interesting use of mobile technology.
Read more about it in the British Inquirer article [via picturephoning.com].
Isaac Mizrahi is back with his own TV show, Isaac: Have a Better Day, on the Style Network. I caught a quick commercial of it the other night while watching Fashion Police. It looks like a mix of TV talk show (clip of Isaac chatting and laughing with Elle Mc Pherson) as well as him out about town with his friends (clip of him in the car with Veronica Webb). I'm hoping he will cover more topics on fashion and I like that he's been bringing in his former fashion friends in to chat.
The show premieres on December 5th, but you can catch a preview of the show this thanksgiving weekend on Friday and Saturday. The first guest is Mandy Moore. I'm assuming she is going to talk about her new T-shirt line, Mblem. Kind of a bore but I'm hoping better fashion guests will come up. I assume Isaac will bring in some of his own fashion inspiration and ideas in the show. That's really what I'm looking for. I just loved the documentary Unzipped.
Have a great Thanksgiving weekend everyone! Coquette will be taking a little holiday and will be back on Monday, November 28th!
This is the cover of Life magazine as life was 64 years ago to this Thanksgiving day on November 24, 1941. The picture entitled "Wartime Knitting" was at a time when Life magazine embodied the verve of everyday people and historic events. Fast forward to today and the cover for the latest issue has the cast of Harry Potter on it. Now I ask you is this "Life" or a serious movie promotion? The lines are blurred these days as mass media and reality TV have taken over our ability to decipher between commercialism and true happiness.
We all know that the Friday after Thanksgiving is the biggest shopping day of the year and heralds in the official Holiday Shopping Season (TM). Almost Girl, a fellow fashion blogger emailed me last week to join in on blogging my thoughts on what is now dubbed "Black Friday". Don't get me wrong, I love fashion and I love shopping. But shopping isn't everything and shopping doesn't necessarily mean fashion. Fashion is what you do to bring out your own personal style.
I have been knitting for many years now and most often can be seen wearing one of my creations around the city. Whether its a scarf, shawl, or sweater, I usually try to add my own personal touch to what I wear. I also bring that same thinking to the gifts I give. If there's a baby due out somewhere from one of my friends or a birthday coming up, adding the handmade touch is more meaningful than buying gifts in a store. Wanna know a secret? The handmade look is IN, and most stores are overcharging for it. Just remember this: Big knitting needles = chunky, cute, quick project/gift. And wanna know what else? Crafting makes you feel good. It's good for your soul. I don't know where those endorphins come from, but when I knit everything else just melts away and I am in pure bliss. Crafting, DIY, knitting, crochet, embroidery, sewing, origami, paper crafts, whatever you choose, spend some time to enjoy your life. Make a tote bag in some funky fabrics thanks to super eggplant's tote bags 101. Make your own holiday cards with gocco. I have a bunch of inspirational crafting links in my delicious or you can check out the Make Crafts archives. Crafster.org and get crafty are good sites too. Get your friends together and make something from a crafts book or learn how to make something yourself with a kit. I like Jenny Hart's Stitch-it Kit, a simple way to get you started on your first hip embroidery tea towel project.
Instead of shopping, start crafting! Make Black Friday your own DIY Friday and feed your creative soul. Homemade has never felt so good.
At 8am on Saturday morning, my friend Susan and I braved the opening day crowds just so we could add a little bit of Stella to our closets. Dressed in our sneakers and jeans, ready for any kind of crazy activity, we stood in a long line that was already around the corner, and halfway down the block. We were discouraged at first but then decided we were already here, we might as well stand in line. Apparently the first people in line were there at 1:30am with sleeping blankets. I guess they really wanted that 20% off discount for the first 200 people. By 10am opening time, the line had made its way full circumference around the block. See all the photos here.
I thought we'd be bored in line but it was really fun. The H&M employees would walk over and scream and make us all yell. Then they passed out TONS of free goodies. I mean TONS! I got H&M playing cards, a notebook, lunch box, fold up bag, and tote bag. All I missed was the cute zip up sewing kit, which is kinda ironic since I'm all about crafts. At 10am the line started moving and soon we began to see line cutters emerge. Susan would not have it. "No, No, No! The line is in the back," she said to the trio of hipster girls who tried to blend in and move with the line while holding their little handbags. "Oh we aren't shopping at H&M," one girl snapped back as they crossed the street. Um, yeah right. It's Sat morning at 10am, where else would you go? For most of the morning it was us and the crazy homeless people. The girls ended up watching the line from the corner across the street. Another girl tried to pretend she was on her cellphone and made her way up in the line as we turned the corner. She really had nerve. A few people were yelling at her including the girl in front of us. "No Cutting!!" She just turned around like she had no idea what we were talking about. I can't even believe she turned around and acknowledged the people yelling at her. Finally up close to the front door, everyone yelled to the security guard and Miss Cellphone Primadonna had to leave under the velvet ropes. Everyone clapped, and laughed at how agro we were. But we had all waited 2 hours in line and we were not going to let anyone get ahead of us! Thank God for some justice in the world!
When we got to the 2nd floor where all the Stella stuff was I couldn't believe my eyes. I didn't even see any clothes but just a swarm of women. A huge sea of grabbing and I didn't even know what they were grabbing at. I walked through into the crowd and was moved by it. People were all around me and as a person who hates crowds, this was my worst nightmare. TV cameras and photographers were all around (very annoying) so I just moved with the crowd and tried to move to the end of it all to catch my breath. Well it turned out I was standing by an empty rolling rack where moments later they were re-stocking all the things. So as the guy put all the clothes on, I'd grab two of whatever from the middle (hoping it was our sizes) and figured we could sort it all later. Some girl behind me was jealous and wanted me to move, but I just stayed there till I couldn't grab anything anymore because my hands were full. I lost Susan for those 20 minutes and then we found each other again. Her experience was even crazier. She found a dress and grabbed the hanger while another girl grabbed the bottom part of the dress from her. Susan says to her, "I have the hanger," and the girl replies, " Well I have the dress," and proceeds to snag it off the hanger from her hands!!!!! After our hands were full, we went around the corner and made a huge pile of all the clothes we snagged. Of course most of them we realized later were way too big, size 12 or 14. You could see other girls, also in pairs, sorting their clothes in piles. A photographer shot a bunch of pictures of them but they were too busy to notice.
We would switch off and go back to the racks to see if there were smaller sizes or if there was anything new coming out. Each time we did rounds, each of us would find a few new things. It was too crowded for dressing rooms so you'd see girls just huddle with piles of clothes by a mirror. We both ended up buying way more and double sizes because we weren't sure if some of the things fit. And we had assurance to return goods till Jan 30th because of the holidays.
One of my prized finds was this tulip dress. I can't believe I snagged it. I also got the skinny jeans I wanted! I got them in blue and grey denim. The fit and design of the clothes is just so amazing. After about an hour of shopping, we were spent. It was like a workout braving the crowds. (I had to take a nap later that afternoon.) Susan heard from the cashier that one girl actually hit her head on the racks and was bleeding because she was pushed by the crowds. Ahh!! My worst nightmare. I hope she's ok. It took about a half hour for us to wait in the long line to pay so we were done finally at around 12:30pm. By then we were tired, hot, and thirsty. When we left there were still people waiting in line to get in. Just about the most insane experience of my life but it was really exhilarating and fun too! And of course the best thing is that we both came out with the Stella goods we wanted.
Why are all these celebrities launching fashion lines? I'm starting to freak out that we are now going to be overshadowing and oversaturating stores when there are real hidden fashion design talents that are just waiting to be discovered.
Justin Timberlate is doing a new line of clothing for men and women called William Rast (I still can't find a reason behind this name) which launched at Bloomingdales. I caught some of the clothes on the Today show and I have to say, its ok stuff but nothing that I wouldn't see if I took a trip down to Urban Outfitters. Justin says, "Its southern country club meets southern rock." Ok guy, whatever.
Next up, you thought you saw enough of Beyonce at the Oscars last spring? Well she'll be hitting the department store shelves soon with her own fashion line, House of Deron. Apparently she touts a line of jeans that will make your butt look good. (Sweetie, they are called Seven jeans.) She's collaborating on this with her mother, who likes to dress up Destiny's Child in some crazy matchy matchy outfits, I must say. No thanks.
And last but not least, my favorite lil' space cadet, Jessica Simpson with her Sweet Kisses line. I see better hip clothes at H&M than what she's trying to sell. And the handbags in her line? Too cheap looking. This is the woman who totes around two thousand dollar bags from Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs or Fendi, I can't imagine her being caught dead in the $5 ones she's trying to peddle onto America.
Melvin Sokolsky added his own theatrical style and special effects to fashion photography back in the 60's.
His book "Seeing Fashion" is one of my prized fashion books. The bubble photos are the best and can be mesmerizing in a "how did he do this" kind of way. SImply Brilliant.
A beautiful smoky bubble shot of a model in a cute polka dot dress.
He's still out there taking some inspiring photos. This one was for Harper's Bazaar in 2002.
And this one, with his trademark "ghost" images, taken for Vogue in 2002 as well.
Melvin Sokolsky captured the artistic essence of fashion. This timeless book is a necessity for any fashion lover out there. I love to look through it every once in a while and get re-inspired.
If you told me back in the 80's that I'd buy an album by Carla Bruni, I'd probably start laughing. I mean a supermodel SING?! Plu-eeze. Wasn't Cindy Crawford terribly tone deaf singing in that Charlie perfume ad back in the day?
I found out recently, that Carla is different. Her album, entirely in French, called "quelqu'un m'a dit" (translates to "someone told me") is one of those albums you can play over and over. I actually found this album by accident while browsing for French songs one late Sunday evening on iTunes. I had just selected Autour de Lucie's "Je Reviens" ("I Return") and a list of "if you like this selection, you'll also like these..." popped up. I clicked on Carla Bruni, becuase I was thinking this couldn't be THAT Carla Bruni they are talking about??
"Quelqu'un m'a dit" just pulls you in. I had to look her up on google to confirm that "yes, this was the Carla Bruni, Italian beauty and 80's Supermodel who came out with this amazing album. I mean she's beautiful on the album cover but half her face is covered by her guitar. I really couldn't believe that she wrote and sang all the songs. This review from the UK Guardian sealed the deal for me. I completely agree with the writer. All the songs have a folksy, sultry, intimate style with just her voice and guitar on most of the tracks. Even if you don't understand French, you feel the music. When my boyfriend (who is French) heard me playing the preview, he was like "who's this?" I told him and he was shocked. "Her French is impeccable. C'est parfait! Not like the way Italians speak French!" he said.
Another song, "Le toi du moi" (more poetic French, not grammatical, translates to "the you of me" ) is a fun song where she rhymes all these French words together with some really nice harmonies. I had no idea what she was saying since its so fast so I looked up the lyrics to all of the songs. She speeds through lines like "You're the guitar, I'm the bass" and "You are the hand, I am the caress" all while rhyming. It's just so clever.
The album has been a bestseller in France and Europe. I don't normally recommend music, but on a nice winter day, this is a nice album to pop in and just chill. Its also good for background music when you need to work. From a woman who once dated Donald Trump, bravo to Carla for breaking out artistically from her supermodel past. Tres Bien!
November's Coquette Things is all about Pom Pons!! These cute little colorful things of wonder are seen everywhere from handbags to sweaters. Pictured above is a selection of H&M Fall items as seen in H&M Magazine Online. I was lucky to get the print version (again, thanks Leigh!) and if you are near a store you can too. I really like the large format layout. The "Rustic" section features all the pom pon goods including some bags as well. I kinda want one of the pom pon scarves to see how many of those pom pons stay attached on the scarf through the winter. Could be a fun way to countdown to spring with each passing pom pon.
As a writer, I just want to say that every inch of me wants to call these things "pom poms" but technically ever since high school journalism class, we were told that they are gramatically written as "pom pons". I revisted all this by recently doing a search on google. Here's what I found:
"To most people that fuzzy ball on the top of a knit hat and the implement wielded by a cheerleader are both 'pompoms,' but to traditionalists they are 'pompons,' spelled the way the French—who gave us the word—spell it. A pompom, say these purists, is only a sort of large gun." (Source)
Since I'm learning French grammar and conversation now, it all kinda makes sense. They don't pronounce the end of words anyway (and I always end up getting caught in class doing that) so no doubt we end up saying and spelling "pom pom" as well. To me, I'm fine either way but just know even as I write "pom pon", I really want to say "pom pom" but I can't because of all the grammar guilt, ok? ; )
Now on with Coquette Things and Pom Pons!
Hue Pom Pon Wrap Around ($3) and Hue Pom Pon Liner Socks ($5 or 3/$12)
I thought this was a bit of retro fun. I love the socks and have a pair with pink pom pons for when I work out.
I'm not sure about tying the little wrap around on my ankle as pictured here, but it could work really cute on a handbag or tied and pinned to a sweater.
Coach Pom Pon with Lanyard Charm ($98)
This is the luxe pom pon complete with Swarovski crystal is a cute winter white accent to your cellphone.
Kate Spade Cashmere Crochet Hat ($135)
This hat looks so warm and fuzzy with the pom pon on top!
Marc Jacobs Pom Pon Shoulder Bag ($995)
This stylish and roomy bag has the most adorable leather pom pon accent. You know Marc is all over the pom pon trend!
P.S. I will be posting "Coquette Things" the first week of each month starting in December.
