Down South.. "Let me fall out of a window with confetti in my hair"

Tom Waits sings about Louisiana in a way that diffuses oppressive humidity and heat into a gritty, romantic landscape, like sodden streets in old photographs.

I've spent the past month here, visiting old friends and family, and my pal Shanny, seamstress/jewelry designer/crotcheter extroardinaire, showed me how to make a necklace and earrings. Here’s a peak at the results..

I used glass, copper, and brass beads for this one..


For years I've had an old coin from South Africa and a clear lens from an optometrist; they finally materialized into something wearable with Shanny's help. I used glass, brass, and vintage beads, along with a disc pearl for this necklace.



I want to post photos of a pair of excellent earrings Shanny made, but they're saved on my camera--not my memory card. I have no idea how to retrieve them! But they're blue and red, involving Catholic memorabilia and safety pins..

old writing

My fiercely talented friend Rob Guillory, who co-creates the super rad comic Chew, sketched this for me back when I wrote for our college paper. I love this drawing so much!

Why the World Needs Tavi Gevinson

image from stylerookie.com

Tavi is about to start high school and I’m terrified.

The reason people care about her blog isn’t because she’s got great fashion sense or a fresh writing style, though she has both, it’s because of her uninhibited style that most of us only have until somewhere between 13 and 15. The loss isn’t deliberate, but it happens, and the shift is only noticeable in retrospect.

I found Tavi’s blog late in the game, through another fashion blog by someone much older (and less interesting to read about), about seven months ago. More than the sophisticated looks on other blogs, which I love, or the very trend-generic fashion on lookbook, Tavi’s blog stands out from them all. She doesn’t look like she’s trying to be cool yet like high-school trendsetters. She’s not trying to look sexy like most girls who are just a bit older. Her subconscious hasn’t become inundated with thoughts about her peers, and there’s a clear sense of an untarnished individuality most of us lose as teenagers. And reading her blog--filled with high end fashion, photos of her quirky ensembles I’d never wear, and adolescent musings of an intelligent and insightful kid--reminds me of a world I’ve outgrown but will always deeply miss. It makes me wish she'll never grow up, which is totally selfish.

Let's hope our culture doesn't fuck up this cool kid.

Swedish Label Acne goes to London

Acne is opening its largest store in London, and I feel slighted. WHY didn't they do this five months ago when I was there? Perhaps this is better though, because it would have been torturous to see their beautiful clothes and shoes (wearable sculptures!) without the bank to buy them. Like Debbie Harry says, "Dreaming is Free."

This blouse is perfection.


acnestudios.com

Deborah Harry is the Coolest.

I can't stop watching videos of Blondie cause Debbie is so hot and their music is so good. damn.


(pardon the blurriness, but her blue pants are way shiny)
Maybe those AA disco pants aren't such a bad idea..

John Blasioli: Menswear Designer with a Conscience

Blasioli made his own clothes in college while studying environmental science so he wouldn't have to support companies that use sweatshops.. which is, uh, most of them: J.Crew, H&M, Urban Outfitters and Top Shop are some obvious names. He aims to keep prices low enough to compete with these popular, trendy stores--a tough ambition if you're looking to make a living.



This shirt is made with bamboo fabric and feels like a soft, hefty linen. He expects it to sell for just over a hundred bucks, which is a pretty sweet deal even if it's a bit spendy for your average twentysomething year-old like me. His pieces will last longer than most sweatshop threads, and his sophisticated aesthetic subverts fickle trends. These are garments you'll want to wear for years and years. Right now, you can find his clothes at Frances May in Portland. His website johnblasioli.com should be up soon!



Here's John wearing a lightweight coat he made.



Did I mention that he's super nice? He is.

William Eggleston, I love you

"I want an absence of too much prettiness...
Not a complete absence of it,
but just like coffee, pictures get too sweet."
- William Eggleston






Has prosaic Americana ever been so beautiful?

READ SUZANNE RIVECCA

Her storytelling carries a savory emotional resonance that won't quite disappear when you're done with her debut collection Death Is Not an Option. Best new writer I've been exposed to in a while, and I hope the rumors of an upcoming novel are true. She's comin' to Powells so I get to have the copy I swiped from work signed. :) And look at her eyes.. don't let them distract you too much from her literary merit as a writer though.

(photo by Adrian Corsin)

Yes.

I will have her hair, sans the blond.

Spring McQueen

Alexander McQueen's Spring collection makes me think of wild animals in the Amazon. Take for example this image. Doesn't she look like an elegant giraffe? Her coif is sculpted like delicate giraffe horns and she even has hooves!


photo from style.com

poofy white hat

I made Chris wear this hat because I think it looks pretty great on him. Sadly, it's entirely too big for my small-ish head. I wore it out once, and children at the grocery store couldn't stop staring at it and whispering to each other.

Lex

Here are some photos I took of my friend Lex. I love how the flash lights up her red hair.

Not quite circa 1997

Dr. Marten shoes haven't been on my radar since the late 90s, when I proudly sported a pair of bright ones. That might have something to do with the fact that I live in the U.S., but since arriving in London I've seen a few pairs of D.M's that grabbed my attention. My favorite so far are these patent leather heeled boots. I saw a girl on the tube wearing them with a faux fur leopard print coat.