The reveal...

Charlie and The Marchessa

The photos from last night's epic, epic festivities have begun trickling in...this is my favorite so far, as we are both so in character! Charlie (aka Chad Mitchell, my best friend's brother) arrived with Josephine Baker and an entourage of silent screen starlets. More to come later....

Halloween...the Marchessa Luisa Casati

 

The theme this year is dead celebrities, bonus points if you come as how they died. While the Marchessa Casati's death was somewhat pedestrian (old age in obscure poverty), her life was anything but. In her art-deco heyday the heiress was the biggest celebrity there was, with a notorious penchant for unapolagetic decadence. She traveled the world, acquiring art, jewelery, and antiques, with which she filled her villas (yeah, that's villas, plural.), and pet cheetahs, which she loved to walk every evening, usually accompanied by gilded male servants. She also commissioned hundreds of works of art from the leading artistic figures of the day, all in her own image. Eccentric much?


I'll be topping off a simple black turtleneck/maxi skirt combo with a feather cape, long black gloves, matching pearl cuffs, and loads of faux jewels from Forever 21. A pale, pale face and seriously smoky eye, touseled tresses, and I'm living the dream.

Then again...

I recently posted on my deep and abiding love of all things overkill. However, I do think there is something to be said for the sublimity of minimalism. A calm, uncluttered space can be just as captivating and expressive if well thought out. Its all about balance, I think...

Calvin Klein

Celine

Chloe

All images from Desire to Inspire , Coco+Kelly, and Style.com.

Bag lust.

Ugggh, that sounds a bit pervy, doesn't it? I only meant that I spied this amazing Luella satchel on Jak and Jil today, and YOWZA! I want it! Be forwarned. If you are the owner of this satchel and you carelessly wander the streets of Portland (unlikely, I know...), you may just get mugged by a tiny person.

Ok, so, its been one of THOSE weeks...

But I'm finally starting to get things back to some semblance of normality. My biggest project right now is organizing my closet. And by closet I mean the giant pile of crumpled clothes in the middle of my floor, obviously. I have a great built-in in my studio that I'm going to turn into a dressing nook...

surveying the disaster

I just need to get started! More before and after pics next week, lord willin'.

The perfect jeans...

 Okay, so when I first saw the ad campaign for the new"Curve ID" collection from Levis I rolled my eyes, like the well conditioned consumer I am. Yeah, right. Jeans that actually fit real humans? Nah. Never gonna happen. I saw, I snorted, I moved on. Then I found myself searching for new jeans at Marshalls (I know, I know...I'm not supposed to be shopping...but these are jeans! Jeans don't count, do they? Isn't every girl in the world perpetually on the hunt for the perfect jeans, frantically whipping through racks of unflattering washes and ill-advised distressing treatments, spandex panels, and bedazzled back pockets slapped onto ever skinnier stretchier skimpier cuts until she thinks she might go mad if she sees another rhinestone embellished wardrobe malfunction waiting to happen? No? Well, I am. Deal with it.) when I came across the demi-curve 528s. And, um, I don't know what to say, but....they fit. Like, full on, dancing around in the dressing room like a total wierdo humming "At last" under my breath  FIT. Like, cute little dip down in the front, but full coverage in the rear, even when I'm bending down, and no dreaded back gap, so I don't have to wear a belt fit. Well placed pockets. Classic wash. Wildly flattering. I bought them. I lived in them for a week. I went back and got another pair. Hurrah! The end.

I am not a minimalist.

Here are a few reasons why...

                                      

“I want this place to look like a garden, but like a garden in hell.” -Diana Vreeland (above), on her home decor philosophy. 


All rooms via This is Glamorous and Coco+Kelly
Necklace by The Glamourai, Shoes by Prada, Alexander McQueen, and Miu Miu.

A girl can dream...

 Been lavishing far too much attention on Polyvore lately. What an amazing resource for style inspiration, no? I mean, I can't rush out and get a McQueen dress (or shoes, or coat, or minaudier...) but I CAN play around with incorporating those pieces into my own aesthetic. Its like paper dolls, for grown ups.

Find me on Polyvore

P.S. That little black leather minaudier by McQueen reminds me ever so much of one of Gieger's sketches for Alien. Yaaaaaay! One of these days I'll post my thoughts on the new McQueen design team and how they're drop dead geniuses....

More things that aren't things...

Food that's really clothing! I love these shamelessly fun compositions by

Karen Shacke

Karen Shacke

And

Kate Jenkins

Happy Birthday, Kenzo!

 I'm so glad that the Cherry Blossom Girl posted some first hand shots of the incredible 40th Anniversary finale presentation at Kenzo. It was almost impossible to find good photos on line, and what the creative team did, using pieces from the archives to build intricately layered sculptures of clothing, was really cool. I love how doll-like and composed the models look here, like illustrations from a Russian fairy tale.

I was not particularly thrilled with the spring collection (you can see one of the models above, crossing in front of the archival tableaux), especially after fall's smoky seventies-tinged bohemian extravagance, but I think that's more a matter of personal preference. I love that the label is 40 years old, and still turning out beautiful, expressive, intellectual clothing and innovative styling.

Fast forward...

I kind of hate all the new spring collections, mostly because I'm a grump, and it is now fall (hurrah!), and the last thing I want to see is another wispy little frock, for at least another six months! I'm sure once the weather turns and I spend enough time being cold and miserable, I'll come around and give them a second look. Marc Jacobs' S/S '11 collection for Louis Vouitton feels just right though. The over the top orientalism, timeless but oddly cartoonish cuts, and vibrant color palette transcends seasonal stereotypes.