Fall roundup
Here’s a collection of items from previous posts that tickled my fancy for this cold weather season and beyond! I’m chipping away at this list. Almost halfway there!
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- Comments! I love them! Leave one and introduce yourself! When you comment, I get to see YOUR blog if you have one, and this my friends, is how great relationships begin! I just recently received a comment from Sarah whose blog yes and yes, I had never seen before and well… it’s awesome… and I’m mentioning it here! So there you go!
- The Botany of Desire was on PBS this week and I loved it. It’s a documentary based on the book by Michael Pollan. It talks about how 4 plants that have satisfied humans (apples, potatoes, tulips and marijuana) have thrived and expanded across the world because of our efforts. If you’re into plants, into history, into genetics, into evolution, into the world, check it out. You can watch it online.
- This is both a plus and a minus – I’m not dressing up in a costume this Halloween. It’s a plus because the planning, expense, and usually the sewing can get to be a little overwhelming. It’s a minus because costumes really bring out the nut in me and they’re soooo much fun! Here are some pics from Halloweens past -
This was a zentai tiger suit I ordered off of eBay in 2006. I cut the face out of it but was constantly having to readjust. This costume got a lot of milage at a lot of super fun parties. The nose was a pain but I loved the annonymity. It was skin tight and some chick came up and told me I was “really brave” for wearing it. Compliment? I hope so.
In 2007, I repurposed an old bridesmaid dress and made the Bjork swan dress. Such a pain to sew! Miles of various types of white tulle strips and at the last minute I magically found a yard of white feather ribbon edging for the bodice part. That really made it. It was great going to parties and everyone running up to you knowing who you were.
Last year, I finally made a super cuddly hamster costume after talking about it for forever. It was beyond comfortable and I loved wearing sneakers all night. I also made a blinding pink bunny suit for a friend out of the same pattern at the last minute one evening. We took over the town. Everyone wanted to hug me and I wanted to hug them back!
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I have had this first pair of Givenchy shoes from the Spring 2010RTW collection bookmarked for almost a month but hadn’t had the time to look at the rest of the collection. The clothing (and those god-awful hats) didn’t do a thing for me but holy cow these wedges! So ideal. Have I told you before how much I love a wedge? Like a million times! I wish affordable amazing wedges were more readily available!
via style.com
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- Grilled Romaine lettuce just seems so wrong to me! I hear it’s very good though.
- After getting my laptop back from being repaired, my external hard drive (that I backed everything up on) won’t work. (Something about partitions and all this other computer garble that I don’t plan on teaching myself.) Well, I tried to hook it up to my folks’ desktop and it too is saying that it needs to be reformatted – meaning I will lose everything. So, I downloaded a freeware version of a data recovery program and everything was working well. The items on my external were being recognized, I could see it all in front of me, then the error reports started popping up (something got corrupted which explains why it wouldn’t work on the desktop either) and just when I was ready to transfer all the items I had painstakingly hand clicked on… the “freeware” program directed me to a website to pay $50 to complete the transfer. What a flippin crock!
- Twinings African Rooibos red tea tastes like bug spray. It seriously tastes like Raid!
- Zombieland was a huge waste of time. The previews were incredibly misleading. There was hardly any zombie killing. Who goes to a zombie movie not wanting to see excessive zombie violence? The female characters (I hate to say it) were unnecessary - very cunning at the beginning, emo in the middle, and pathetically stupid and needing a man’s rescue at the end. The awkward emo guy was obviously cast as some poor excuse for a Michael Cera wannbe. Bill Murray’s bloated self-indulgent cameo was terrible. Weak. So weak.
Fall in the Fan
Last night we took a 3 hour walk around the Fan. The weather was perfect as we headed out right before the sun was setting. Not nearly enough people decorate for Halloween but that one block on Hanover Ave. was gearing up for the kiddies and it felt magical. Happy Halloween everyone!
my favorite mouse house on Vine St.
why i love fall
- All things pumpkin! I don’t like coffee shops and make my own at home. A little package of pumpkin coffee is a nice treat!
- Same goes for pumpkin ale, although I can never remember the one I like the best!
- The added mystery to life when the sun starts going to bed earlier.
- costumes and the way people really let go when they’re wearing one.
- Long afternoon walks with leaves crunching under your feet and the sun setting the trees ablaze overhead.
(Hollywood Cemetery pic via *wanderlust*)
- Squirrels are going nuts for nuts this time of year
- The scents of Fall filling your home
- Kids are back in school and out of everyone’s hair.
- You can scare the hell out of kids and get away with it.
- Indian food feels right.
- Soft German gingerbread cookies lightly iced and dipped in dark chocolate.
- Halloween sized candy feels less guilty.
- Martha Stewart’s Halloween issue is the only one worth looking at. Amazing.
- I only wear hats with bear ears.
- HOODIES!
- Bear ear hoodies!
- Cold weather food like hearty soups and stews and bread puddings.
- boots
- over the knee socks!
- caramel apples!
- date nut bread and cream cheese
- all the insects are dying away!
loop-de-loop
Remember the days when hipsters were wearing keffiyeh scarves, probably having no idea they were aligning themselves with militant extremists for the sake of trendiness? Let’s hope that all those cheap Urban Outfitter rags are tattered and tossed and everyone goes back to a good old-fashioned scarf that actually provides some level of warmth!
Well… not “good old-fashioned” scarves. I want a drapey continuous scarf! (I’ve typed the word “scarf” so many times now… what a silly word! scarf scarf scarf!) Seriously though, these look so cozy and squishy and sincerely snug and they’re such a nice departure from long tails catching in car doors, getting sat on and nearly choking yourself, and getting wet in public sinks. These are pretty much a no-brainer with a few different styling and warmth options.
The green one is from etsy shop I’ll be Yarned and the second is from Tortillagirl. Etsy has so many color options available but you’re paying for the handmade aspect. Knitting is no joke. (I much rather prefer a dark grey. These make me want to get my knitting needles out again. You can try your hand at a diy project- just knit your normal scarf and stitch the ends together!)
These multi-loop handmade cotton scarves from Necklush (also on etsy) have been all over the interwebs. I am in love with this concept and their richness. Here is a sweet diy tutorial to make your own out of old t-shirts.
This knit scarf from Assembly New York can also be worn as a snuggly hood but it’s tattered and worn, which gives it a lot of character. At over $100 I would rather do my own damage over time… just let my cats have a field day. This looks like it could be replicated with a old huge thrifted sweater, cut and stretched to hell.
fall wishlist
- bras. I needs em.
- black motocross jeans.
- sweet graphic tees.
- skirts with interesting tucks and gathers.
- killer ankle boots. killer.
piggies
So, I was just perusing Alexander Wang’s Spring 2010 collection and I couldn’t help but notice a similarity with Prada’s Fall 2007 RTW collection – open-toed knee socks with open toed thick-heeled shoes. I am totally down with this style and rocked it quite a bit a few years ago. Nice to see it coming back.
Alexander Wang S2010RTW
Prada F2007RTW
photos via style.com
maps
If you follow any design blogs, you surely saw Emily Fischer’s “Soft-Maps”, which are maps that have been embroidered into quilts. I can’t imagine the labor involved in her commission-only designs but the prices certainly reflect an enormous amount of work. Her stitches remind me of Sashiko which is simple but does take some getting used to so that it speeds along nicely. You have to be a special type of person to do this kind of work. Quilting is one craft I never got into since the traditional designs and old-fashioned fabric choices really don’t do it for me. It’s so nice to see an old art get a modern twist. Maybe it will inspire younger people to try their hand at it. Cold weather is creeping upon us and it’s the right time to think about starting a quiet evening/weekend project. This could easily be done in the form of a throw pillow or embellishment on a t-shirt, or something bold like your neighborhood slanted and incomplete at the hem of a blazer. Some embroidery needles and thread and a white or blue washable chalk pencil (to draw your outline) would cost less than $5.
I have been subscribing to the Hand Drawn Map Association for a while. They remind me of my childhood, when I would make up imaginary lands and draw detailed maps. Here is an interview with artist Shane Watt who also creates imaginary maps.
There are also companies that sell old aeriel photographs in various sizes to frame and hang in your home. You can find your hometown or a place you’ve always wanted to go.
This is one of many dresses by artist Elisabeth Lecourt. I don’t believe these are sold for wear though.
Totally wearable, I was turned onto Christian Francis Roth’s fun line of clothing Francis by gorgeous jewelry designer Wendy B. (her jewelry and her hilarious blog). She also writes for the Francis blog. Wendy helps the lost find their way in her map dress! This dress is too cute! (on sale right now!)
An etsy search for “map” revealed thousands of items.
Isotope makes awesome tees. I really like the graphic nature of maps on clothing. It’s a random geometric pattern that could be paired with just about anything and look chic peeking out from under a blazer or cardi.
Have you heard of Dream Heels? What an awesome concept! They are a take on Threadless where instead of tees, people submit and vote on which pattern of pumps they will make. This Parisian map concept is currently a contender!
This handmade decoupage plate can easily be recreated with some diy help.
Maps are also finding their way into jewelry. This pendant by XOHandworks is special to me since my dad is from Serbia.
booooring
Back in March, I wrote about Christian Siriano’s shoes appearing at Payless in the Fall. Well… on September 8th, they’re here and guess what!?!! They won’t look anything like the runway preview pictured below, because some idiots decided no one would buy them with spikes and chains. Are they kidding?! Way to play it safe and screw it up for everyone Payless.
Get your bookmarks ready to check ‘em out anyhow! I’ve heard they will retail between $40 and $50.
Oh Alber
Lanvin holds a special place in my heart. My mother has worn the original 1927 formula of Lanvin Arpege since before I was born and I’ve always associated the scent and the name with opulent notions.
The hefty Fall fashion magazines are out so I caved and finally reinvested myself into checking out what’s going on in high fashion. My first stop was to revisit Lanvin. I wrote about Elbaz’s 2009 Pre-Fall collection back in January, which was absurd to me. We were still enjoying one winter and being forced to assess what was coming a year later, all while anticipating warmer days. Elbaz has a consistent Fall aesthetic, certainly not predictable. His F2009RTW collection retained his vision from Pre-Fall. I love his vision. It suits the ideal core of myself so completely… a visual representation of my heart if fashion were my only medium. In a fantasy world where I could intern under any designer, it would be Lanvin’s Alber Elbaz.
Here are some of the Fall detail shots via Style.com.
Long leather gloves are sticking around! They must be sublimely soft!
I love his soft weathered interpretation of Fall.
Still love the cone heels!
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