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Ruffles, Ruffles, Ruffles... and Bows



Setting Sail


But some of my favorite pieces were effortless chic... Wang and Bottega Venetia

So Glamorous

When compounded by a wardrobe problem my best friend reassured me via text.  "It doesn't have to be expensive for you to be glamorous."  It raised my spirits and reminded me of this video.  Although I don't have that marvelous David Koma dress... a little ingenuity and creativity could fix that!

Dazed Digital with Lady Gaga

My Whole House is Great!

Loved this so much I had to post it.  Every woman should start her day off like this... although dancing on the counter isn't necessary, the dance moves are.

Jessica's Daily Affirmation

Awesome Jewelry - Awesome Inspiration

The excess of the 2000s resulted in a horrible economic downturn which resulted in consumers tightening their budgets.  But it especially hit the retail industry hard because people began questioning the importance of clothes and fashion. So the smart designers are reminding them.  Phoebe Philo completely redirected the industry's attention towards more minimalist pieces that women really want to wear in the Spring 2010 collection for Celine.  Dolce & Gabbana's Fall 2010 fashion show displayed the designers at work on their amazing tailoring skills with the classic black suits that came out in droves on their runway.  It's during this time that women want to be reassured about what they're wearing.  And while I've embraced this cleaner is simpler is better motif I have turned to jewelry to create the accents for my outfits.  Below are some of my recent favorites!

Rachel Gilman and her poptastic 80s-infused earrings... but I have to admit that when I saw them I was IMMEDIATELY reminded of Saved By The Bell!!  Granted hers are softer colors than the neon 90s but those shapes are a direct high-five to Bayside.  (Think opening credits of the show or the cafeteria!)

Assad Mounser calls this piece Moonage Daydream... Not sure it has anything to do with David Bowie but that actually happens to be one of my favorite songs.

I'm totally into asymmetrical necklaces right now as you can see.  The pieces below are by Gemma Redux who has a couple great pieces to choose from.  Anddd Play-Doh!

Where The Wild Things Are!  Okay, so I haven't actually seen the movie... BUT I did read the book about a hundred times when I was younger.  That's much more authentic anyways right?  This great textured cuff represents intertwining trees and is aptly named Tree of Life.  Alkemie not only concentrates on nature (which most of Alkemie's themes represent as well) but their jewelry is also 100% recycled materials!  Just Wild!

Tada! Heavy Metal Chanel

Below my Heavy Metal Chanel project!

I like to imagine Karl Lagerfeld rocking out to Iron Maiden while adding spikes to his 1,000 dollar purses.

Pre-Fall 2010

Let's start off with Chanel.  Does Lagerfeld ever do any wrong? 
(Actually yes. Sorry S/S 2010, clogs will never be chic.)  But this 1930s Beijing inspired collection is fabulous!

Carolina Herrera: Never a big fan of flower print dresses, Herrera does dancing people instead. 

Narciso Rodriguez : Amazing structural minimalism

Oscar de la Renta: This is what I picture myself wearing when I'm 50.

Lastly, VERSACE.  For clothes I would wear right now... if I could afford them.

No more Uggly Boots

So I've been searching for a good pair of boots that can handle Iowa's winter.  I absolutely refuse to buy Ugg boots because they're really ugly and I don't want to be another stock model for Chicago suburbanites.  I don't care how comfortable they are.  Alas I thought it was a futile search until yesterday!!!! Cutout wedge heel?  Yes please!! Michael Kors is a savior!!

Michael Kors Patty

Trashy Classy Streethard Chanel

I was drifting through DSW with my best friend trying to find boots that did not include the letters Ugg when I came across a rather nondescript quilted leather chain purse.  Chanel first introduced the now famous quilted bag in 1955.  But I can't afford a real Chanel purse, so I've decided to make one.  Thankfully this Poppie Jones bag I found at DSW gives poor college students like me a chance to buy this style without paying the price.  But it's not like I'm fooling anybody.  The leather's cheap, the inside reeks, and there is no interlocking C's on the outside.  But this can be fixed by adding all the materials below.

                          

Making the Chanel logo out of studded spikes makes me feel beautiful and dirty rich.  Which is a good thing.  As Lagerfeld once said, "Vanity is the healthiest thing in life."

Beating the System!

Might seem random but... it describes my day pretty well.

The Art of Paintballing

If I ever go paintballing, this would be my strategy. 



Bon Yurt is a Colombian pop artist who orchestrated this wonderful Warhol portrait of Marilyn utilizing paintball guns.  Brilliant!

I Want Your Ugly

Money, Fame, Celebrities.  In the past decade these three entities have fascinated our generation culminating in the popular sites of PerezHilton.com and TMZ.com.  It seems that everybody is primarily concerned with money and the superficial aspects of social interaction.  The 2000s certainly exploited the many facets of stardom among celebrities in the explosion of reality shows and thereby the creation of the "reality star."  Instead of free-thinking individuals, America is rampant with hoards of hollow frames posing in the VIP section of clubs.  I don't care if your shirt cost $100 and I don't care if you drive a BMW.  But I do care that you're a pretentious, shallow human being.  A side product of this money-lust and greed (besides an economic collapse) is the absence of fun.  Nobody is truly having fun when everybody is so concerned about how people perceive them.  I care very much how I portray myself; what I don't care about is how people perceive me.  I thought high school was supposed to be only four years of a person's life.  Unfortunately it's seeping throughout all social ages and locations.  I'm ready for being poor to be cool again.  For the brilliant thrift shopping to become fashionable.  I like the crazy, the freaks, the ugly, the fat, the bold, the beautiful, the uber-cool, the nerds, the geeks, the jocks, and the goths.  Not the photoshop or the producers in the background, or the scripts. I like it as long as it's real, as long as it's raw, as long as it's passionate.  Because that's what makes it beautiful.  So, take it away Marilyn..

"Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring." 

Cheers to cheap drinks, Hawkeye wins, and blue tongues.

Boxing Ring + Bed = Genius!

One of the greatest ideas for a bed, the Boxing Ring Bed portrays the inevitable power struggle of sex.  But it's bright neon colors give it a playful twist.  Designed by Japanese architect Masanori Umeda in collaboration with Memphis, this piece is now on exhibit in Paris.  Even better is the fact that the god himself, Karl Lagerfeld, furnished his home with this bed as well as other pieces Memphis had created.  My favorite part has to be the four light bulbs on each corner; because isn't sex just a performance after all?

Central St. Martins Fall 09

Watching the Central St. Martins show was rather drab until Derek Lawlor's collection walked out.  While everybody else was focusing largely on minimalism, Lawlor's intricate cord knitwear ripped my brain apart.  Still in awe about how he perfected that technique.

The other highlight of the show?  David Koma of course! 

You can view one of his pieces in a performance fashion film by Gaga and Kathryn Ferguson.

http://dazeddigital.com/features/LadyGaga.htm

Ra Ra Ra Ma Ma... Bad Romance Fashion Installations

Alexander McQueen Dress and Heels:
Spring/Summer 2010

Haus of Gaga Razor Blade Glasses:

 "I wanted to design a pair for some of the toughest chicks and some of my girlfriends — don't do this at home! — they used to keep razor blades in the side of their mouths," she explained. "That tough female spirit is something that I want to project. It's meant to be, 'This is my shield, this is my weapon, this is my inner sense of fame, this is my monster.'"
                                  -Lady Gaga

Haus of Gaga Ensemble

 
 
 

Rachel Barrett Dresses:

Royal College of Art

MA Graduate of 2009

 

 

 

 

 

Alexander McQueen Heels:

Spring/Summer 2010

 

 

 

 

 

Alexander McQueen Dress & Heels

 

 

Haus of Gaga Crown

 

 

 

 

Shinji Konishi Bat Hair Hat:

 

“I wanted something poisonous,” says Konishi. “I’m interested in things that make people look away.”

                       -- Vice Magazine

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vava Dudu Trench Coat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Franc Fernandez Diamond Crown Outfit

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keko Hainswheeler Mask

 

Benjamin Cho Crystal Rosaries

 

Alexander McQueen Heels

 

Agent Provocateur Love:

Black Bra and Underwear

 

 

 

 

Nasir Mazhar Orb

 

Alexander McQueen Heels

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alexander McQueen:

Spring/Summer 2010

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alexander McQueen Heels

 

 

Carrera Vintage Sunglasses (not shown here)

 

 

Benjamin Cho Polar Bear Faux Coat:

Spring 2005

The Humane Society of The United States was “very excited to have this opportunity to work with Benjamin Cho and Glenoit Fabrics to spread the message that consumers can make a compassionate difference for animals by choosing faux fur”.

 

 

Alex Noble Outfit

 

 

 

 

 

 

Haus of Gaga Metal Bra:

"The bra was meant to be a weapon. My body is my weapon. I am woman."   -- Lady Gaga

 

RP Encore Rat Headpiece

 

Alexander McQueen Heels

 

This video was ferocious!  Sometimes I wish Gaga would develop a better editing eye for her videos and understand that sometimes less is more.  But her passion for art and fashion is infectious as well as her devotion to promoting emerging designers.  It's so exciting to see a female pop star who isn't just shaking her ass in order to look sexy.  Hail Mary!