there are no words (but I've managed to find some)

So.


Dress, Alexander McQueen, SS09.

It seemed like too nice of a day not to spend it running around, so I decided to stop by Off 5th, the Saks outlet, and see what was going on. Usually the selection is deplorable.

Today, it wasn't.


The flash helped capture the colors on this shot; they're crazy vivid.



From now on if a day goes by without an outfit post in this blog, just assume that I wore this dress. Because it's pretty much all I want to wear for the rest of forever, every day, until I die.

lace + tapestry + flowers

Top, Pinko 1966. Skirt, vintage.

I've been looking for a good tapestry skirt for awhile, and I fell in love with this blue and green floral one the last time I was in LA. I was originally iffy on the top, but once I tried it on with the skirt everything made sense. I've loved the idea of combining different florals since Dolce & Gabbana started doing two contrasting florals on one piece, as seen in these SS10 pieces:





Similar looks showed up for FW09 in stores (both department and boutique), though they didn't appear on the runway, which is weird. Obviously Dolce & Gabbana take it a little more luxe, and bless them for it. I've noticed as well that some of the store pieces have different textures to them, with light quilting and metallic threads. That's reflected to a certain extent in my look, with the tapestry and the soft lace top (which is sheer as well).

It's great inspiration - I'm also, funnily enough, finding a lot of inspiration in the D&G SS10 collection which I overall really didn't like. The lace dresses in particular seem stuck in my head. I need to get over to the boutique here and see some of the new pieces for myself, I think. I doubt the denim prints are going to do anything for me, but who knows, right?

Autumn/Winter shows

Nothing's really bowled me over yet. Oddly what struck me most were the MbMJ dresses I posted here - usually that line is way more miss than hit for me, so not expecting much I was pretty bowled over. I've gone through a lot of the collections that have walked so far, and aside from these not much has really stuck in my mind. Mostly I'm looking forward to Paris and Milan. God, I hope they go on with the last Alexander McQueen collection, as sad as it will be.

Anyway, here are my three favorite collections so far.

Marc Jacobs:




I usually have stronger reactions to Marc's collections - pretty strong aversion to last season vs. still obsessing over S/S '09 - but this one I just, for the most part, liked. (Except for the fur. Good god, I am SO over the fur. Seriously, fashion industry, can we not?) The color pallette was a bit more subdued than I'm usually into, but so much of it is just, purely, good that I can't really complain. Except about the fur. The fur sucks.

Marc by Marc Jacobs:




Yeah, the striped dress is one I will definitely be buying. How ridiculously fierce.

Rodarte:




Not gonna lie, most Rodarte collections barring S/S '09 have taken me a bit to warm up to; this one, at least, took only like a day. Kate and Laura have an aesthetic and for the most part they tend to stick to it. Fortunately, it's one I like. The different textures and draping don't feel particularly new, but I love the inclusion of florals and plaids. The patterns were perfectly chosen, and the pants, oh my god, the pants. It's like S/S '10 was the Rodartepocalypse and this is the follow-up where the world is recovering, only instead of a new Eden it's a delightful 1930s dustbowl throwback. The more I think about it the more I like it. My one issue would be the shoes - this may be the season where Nicholas Kirkwood doesn't win me over. But we'll see, we'll see.

most Hallmark-friendly of all saint's days

Okay, work with me for a second - we're about to go back in time. Back in time, to three days ago, when it was Valentine's Day and I wore this outfit:


Pink lace dress, vintage, over red dress, American Apparel. Shoes, YSL.


Detail of the lace.

Time travel is intense, isn't it? Try to keep up. I played Miss Lonelyhearts for VDay, dressed up in my girliest colors and took to Neiman Marcus for makeup shopping and lunch at the cafe. If you can't be someone's valentine, I think the second best option is to just BE a valentine. The lace dress is vintage and super pretty, and will be worn with a black dress beneath it on all other days of the year, I think. Also might hike it up to wear as a shirt with jeans and platforms.

It's been a pretty low-key week, with much pawing at the internet for all the F/W shows. Expect a post on my favorite looks pretty soon.

fairies, denim, cork

I have a new camera! A friend recommended the Canon Powershot, which is working really well so far. The Samsung SL620 sucked seriously hard, and had some of the poorest customer service I've ever received to back up that suckage, so in case you were thinking of buying a Samsung camera: don't. Anyway, so far this one is working swimmingly. Chief among its virtues is that it takes three shots in a row on a timer, and stays in that mode, until you change it. Awesome. Despite that, I have but one shot to show you:


T-shirt, Prada. Jeans, Rich & Skinny. Shoes, Target. Birdcage necklace, craft shop charm and chain.

The t-shirt has a fairy on it, as seen in the SS '08 collection. I got it from Wasteland a little while ago. The wedges were five bucks from Target (seriously), and the jeans were hand-me-downs, making this a ridiculously cheap outfit, all told. Can't argue with that. It's that awkward temperature outside where having skin covered is a little warm but leaving it uncovered is a little cold, but I suppose it can only really get warmer from here. And then, dare I say, outdoor shots perhaps?

RIP Alexander McQueen.

A few days before it happened, I'd been playing catch-up on Tumblr and laughed at something Tavi reblogged and added to, the well-known "cerulean" speech from The Devil Wears Prada. To this, Tavi had added I look forward to when I’ve been obsessed with fashion for so long that I can be like WELL IN THE OLDEN DAYS OF 2009 ALEXANDER MCQUEEN SHOWED THIS AND NOW IT IS 3207 AND YOU THINK YOU’RE TOO GOOD FOR FASHION EVEN THOUGH YOU WERE CLEARLY TRYING TO LOOK LIKE A LIZARD THIS MORNING and yeah, which, caps of enthusiasm and absurdity aside, still felt pretty damn true. McQueen was so far ahead of the curve that it doesn't seem far off to assume that his work will still be an influence far into the future, when the rest of the populace catches up and we all roll out of bed trying already to figure out what snakeskin to wear, and get dressed up for prom in shipwreck dresses, and totter out of our Jetsons-style houses on shoes that make us look and feel like the cyberpunk aliens we know we are.

It's almost unthinkable that we won't get to see what he was going to hit us with next, what insane collection would have the kids of 3208 rolling out like feathers and skins and bustles or whatever are just what you do. McQueen designed for the future; it's a shame he won't be around to see how long his influence will undoubtedly last.


Elsewhere:
fashin: McQueen favorites
fashin: editorials feat. McQueen
little augury: the ornithologists (McQueen tribute)
garance dore: McQueen sketch
The Cut: Retrospective of McQueen's work

be nice or leave.

Isabeli Fontana in Vogue Brazil February 2010, via ecstasy_lover

Marc of hearts

I know what you've been thinking lately: the quality of the images on this blog is just too high. Well fear not, my pixel-craving compadres, today I bring you shots not from my still-broken camera, but from that garden of earthly delights known as Photo Booth!


Dress, Marc Jacobs. Shoes, Miu Miu. Fierceness, all me (also some Tyra).



The reason I resort to such drastic measures is because The Outnet is having a really really fantastic sale on the Marc Jacobs SS09 collection, which is one of my favorites ever, and I want everyone to have pieces from it so I can see it on your blogs and be like "yessss, wasn't it good? You guys, it was so good," and then we can all do the can-can of Marc is a Genius, and no one will mention the travesty that is Louis Vuitton SS10, as I've wrapped myself in a blanket of denial about that one and no one can unsnuggle me from it.

The dress I'm wearing above was one of my favorites of the collection and remains one of my favorite dresses. Unfortunately most of the sizes that would fit me are sold out on The Outnet, but maybe your size isn't sold out? Go get 'em! Here are a few of my favorites:


How hideously amazing is this dress? I love the color combination.


I love how every element of this dress is faintly ridiculous. Out of control draping and lots of fabric? Sure. A sort of awkward, meaningless length? Okay! Plastic chains hanging from the belt? Why not, he's Marc Jacobs!


Deliciously strange brocade leaves! I'd love to see the tree from which they fell.

Click through at leisure, let me know if you pick anything up!