An Ode to the Blazer

I sadly lost my Michael Kors blazer this weekend.  Tears filled my eyes as I realized it must have slipped off my bag on my walk home Friday night.  It was black, it had three-quarter length sleeves, and it was absolutely gorgeous.  My favorite clothing item is gone and I don't know how I will go on.  I searched the streets but had no luck.  Now some fortunate other person is enjoying my beauteous blazer.  To all of you that still have your blazers, hold on to them tightly.  Cherish them.  Love them.

Oh sweet blazer I loved you deeply, and I hope your new owner will care more for your safety than I.

Oh the memories....

My blazer and I at the Thames River Festival in London

There we are with friends in Canterbury

And there we are with Italian Elle and a bottle of wine in Milan

Vivienne

Vivienne Westwood.  A name that every girl should know.  She and Malcolm McLaren began their career in the '70s by opening their shop, Let It Rock, at 430 Kings Road in London in 1971.  Back then, Westwood and McLaren were the epitome of Punk Rock, literally.  They designed the leather- and zipper-clad outfits for the Sex Pistols in 1976, which the media named Punk Rock.  Once the style became mainstream, Westwood was out.  In 1981, she and McLaren debuted the Pirate Collection at their first catwalk.  For this collection Westwood researched into the historical dress of pirates, and based her designs off of this.  She developed ethnic cutting techniques based on rectangles that was different from anything anyone had seen before.

The image quality isn't great, but it gives you an idea

In 1987, her Harris Tweed collection was inspired by a little girl she saw on the Tube, wearing a bun in her hair, a Harris Tweed jacket, and a bag with ballet shoes in it.  This collection was Westwood's break from punks and into designing clothes that parodied the upper class.  She began to pick models who had hips and boobs, unlike the stick-thin models we see today.

This is from another collection, Voyage to Cythera, in 1989

From there she continued to design with an historical inspiration, combining the fine tailoring of the English and the design and proportions of the French.  She continued to embellish the models' figures, making the ultimate hourglass figure by padding busts and bustles and even using wire cages underneath the clothes.

More recently, Westwood has put historicism aside and focused on a more asexual cut, exploring the dynamics of the fabric.  She designed the wedding dress that Sarah Jessica Parker wore in the Sex and the City movie.

So Vogue

Lauren Santo Domingo, the woman who writes "APT with LSD" for Vogue.com, has given readers a look into her own APT with LSD.  She says, "If there's one thing you can say about my apartment it's that it's constantly evolving, constantly changing."

Her apartment, which she lives in with her husband and soon a new baby, is definitely something to see.  The coffee table in the living room is adorned with odd, decorative things, including a giraffe skull and a strange glass beaker.  The living room is also graced with a Lalanne hippo that magically transforms into a bar, and a bronze statue of her dog, Georgie sits near the coffee table.  Her shelves are filled with books, little statues, and candles.  She has a large drawer just for her jewelry and an entire closet just for her shoes!  On the walls hang artworks by Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol, and Max Ernst.  Santo Domingo has to be the queen of interior design.  This rivals the one I wrote about a couple months ago, "A Stylish Place to Live."  I love all the fun and strange decorations she has!

The coffee table with all its odd decorations

The hippo slash bar, along with artworks by Salvador Dali and Max Ernst

The fun shelves

Her jewelry drawer

The Andy Warhol images of General Mao and Santo Domingo herself

Jean Paul Gaultier Spring 2011 Couture

Jean Paul Gaultier's new Spring 2011 Couture line is fabulous!  It has a very punk downtown meets uptown feel, with each of the models sporting creative mohawks and bright red lipstick. There is a lot of black, with a few punches of color mixed in.

Gaultier is a french fashion designer and grand couturier.  He has never had any formal training, and quite obviously didn't need it!  He has a line for everyone, women, men, juniors, and will possibly be coming out with a line for babies in 2011.  He also designs perfumes and eyewear, and has designed the wardrobes for many motion pictures, including The Fifth Element and Kika.

His couture designs are unique, edgy, and absolutely beautiful!

If you want to see the full collection, go to www.vogue.com.

Hugs not Uggs!

What is it with college girls' obsession with wearing Uggs, sweatpants, and Northface jackets? I didn't notice how extremely popular the over-the-top laid-back look was until I went to London for three months and came back.  (Side note: people in London like to actually look nice when they go out)  Before I could even get through customs I was surrounded by fuzzy pants and puffy boots.  At first I thought, 'Well, people just like to be comfortable when going on an airplane.' But no, the sweatpants and Uggs did not cease as a I left the airport, stayed in San Francisco for three weeks, and now have been back in Eugene for three weeks.  Does nobody look at themselves in the mirror anymore?  I walk around campus every day and more than half of the girls I pass look like they just rolled out of bed and left for class.  But here is the problem: they have makeup on, their hair is brushed, and they're wearing jewelry.  So are they actually trying to look this bad?  Don't get me wrong, I like wearing clothes that make me look three sizes larger too.....

Yes, this is what you look like.

The Up and Comers

There some new up and coming designers that really stand out for 2011.  First up: Katie Gallagher.  She recently graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design and has been working on her own since.  Back in September, she launched her all-black collection, Veil, at New York's Fashion Week, jump-starting her career as a designer into the spotlight.  Hints of white, gray, and cream grace her Fall/Winter collection.  Her designs are futuristic, well-tailored, and textured and are selling for a very pretty penny.

 

 Another designer to watch in 2011 is San Diego native Jonathan Cohen.  His collection also debuted at New York's Fashion Week back in September, but unlike Gallagher, Cohen likes color, lots of color.  His high-priced tops and gowns are bright and vivid, with prints that look like long, smooth brushstrokes of paint.  He recently graduated from Parsons School of Design and has interned for several designers, including Oscar de la Renta.

And now for my favorite: the beautiful and creative London designer, Felicity Brown.  She graduated with a Masters from the Royal College of Art, and left with several awards, including the Royal Society of Arts Award.  Her designs are the epitome of couture and her latest collection was inspired by the paintings by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrecs, which featured flamboyant and provocative women leaning over a bar wearing extravagant silk dresses.  I can't wait to see what she comes up with next!

Eugene Hippies

So I've been back in Eugene for about a week trying to get myself moved into the new house, which is mostly why I haven't posted in a while.  The other reason would be that: there isn't much fashion in Eugene.  Don't get me wrong, the students at the UO have some great fashion sense, or at least most of them do.  The other day I saw a girl with tie-dye hair and thought, "Well that might be cool for a model walking down a runway for an avant-garde fashion show, but for everyday wear, I'd stick with one color."  I guess it's time to get used to seeing the interesting hippie fashion that is so common around here.

Now, I do like the hippie styles that were so popular not too long ago, but some of the people in Eugene just take it to another level.  Think of dreds, a long purple skirt made out of hemp, a tie-dye T-shirt, and some Tivas and you've got the perfect image of a Eugene hippie.  Here is the kind of hippie styles that I like; I like the styles that feature a little bit of a Native American influence:

Hippie-Chic by ESP3726 featuring asymmetric tops