Having a Bit of Fun

It is no secret that I love fashion magazines. I subscribe to Vogue, Lucky, Teen Vogue and Domino (I count that as a fashion mag). And I usually pick up Elle, Bazaar, Marie Claire, British Elle and British Vogue every couple of months. It's a sickness, really, and an addiction, but they're all so glossy and fantastical that I can't help myself.

That being said, there are times when I become a little tired of the anorexic models, stilted photo shoots, and overly airbrushed/photoshopped ads. I was feeling this way the other evening while flipping through the September issue of Vogue. So I decided to take a sharpie to some of the pages and have a bit of fun.



Banana Republic must be one of the most inappropriate names for an American clothing store. People who live in a real banana republic wouldn't even be able to afford the button on the sweater below. Was "Absurdistan" and "Kangaroo Court" already taken as store names?


I can't imagine those shoes have much traction on a wet boat.


I have so many questions about the photo shoot below. Did Vogue pay for all those bruised apples? Did some lackey intern have to re-stack them? Why apples? Couldn't they have picked something more resilient, like sponges?


At times I feel that Marc Jacobs has become just like every other successful designer.


Ah, Naomi. So elegant and yet...

CL

PS: Thank you for all the great camping tips!!

Lovely Lucy

I ended my subscription to Bazaar two years ago because I found it a little too conservative for my taste. It seems like every issue has the same photo shoot with conservative, beige, designer suits. I picked up the latest issue at the airport this past weekend and was pleasantly surprised to find this great Olympic-themed spread with Lucy Liu. It's all a bit fantastical and silly, but that's what makes it so great.







CL

Bless Your Little Heart

Lauren and I attended the Pecan Pie Couture "Revival" charity fashion show last Sunday. Having missed the previous - and much talked about - Pecan Pie Couture shows, we were determined to make it this season. Clint Zeagler (PPC's founder and designer) seems to know everyone worth knowing in Atlanta and then gets them to put on an evening of entertainment that centers around his fashion line.

Mr. Zeaglor pictured above in front of the Atlanta Gay Men's Chorus at the beginning of the show.

The theme of Sunday night's show was "Bless Your Little Heart," which in the South is the equivalent of saying "Screw you - with sugar on top." The models danced around on stage wearing Pecan Pie's popular all-natural dyed, screen-printed, southern-themed shirts and flouncy skirts. The Thin White Clouds, Dames Aflame, and Francine Reed (a Decatur/Atlanta favorite and pictured singing in the last image below) were just some of the evening's great entertainment.
Seeing as we AsianCajuns aren't top notch photographers, I recommend checking out Brent Walker's photos of the event on his website.

CL

Zooey Deschanel for Erin Fetherston

Move over Kirsten Dunst! Zooey Deschanel is the star in Fetherston's latest video. Check it out on the Style File blog. It's much shorter (only one song) and less self-conscious, which makes for a fun video. Deschanel just kind of semi-dances throughout, but the music, fashion and styling are well worth a look.

CL

The Big Three

Nope, I'm not talking about Ford, GM and Chrysler. This is a fashion-centric blog after all. I'm talking about the three major luxury department stores: Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Saks 5th Avenue. Every time Vogue releases its large spring/fall fashion issues, you're almost guaranteed to find multiple-page ads from these department stores nestled amongst the glossy pages. No matter what store, the ads feature a different designer on each page. I always like comparing how each store portrays the designer looks for the season.

In the Vogue (March 2008) spring fashion issue, Neiman Marcus takes the cake with over 10 pages worth of ads. Nordstrom features model Lily Cole posing in front of a large black and white graphic background. For some reason Saks only had two pages this month - maybe they're saving up for the September 2008 fall fashion issue.

Chanel:
Etro:
Yves Saint Laurent:
Gucci:
CL

When Hipters and Preps Collide

That's right, menswear designer brand Band of Outsiders has somehow figured out how to mesh the contrasting preppy and hipster styles. The brand's emphasis on suits and button-up shirts, the prices (expect to pay $250+ for a shirt), and nautical-themed collection viewing makes it preppy. Pairing the suits ironically with top-siders, the quirky photo shoots (see images below), a blog-format website, and being friends with Jason Schwartzman makes it hipster-friendly.

If a menswear line can bring together hipsters and preps, then surely world peace can't be that implausible.




CL

Color Inspiration

The trend of mixing jewel tones has been going strong ever since Prada's Spring 2007 RTW line, but I was inspired to do a post on it today when I saw this Free People necklace online.

Free People Crystal Spectrum Necklace

Don't even look at the price unless you are willing to spend $200+ on it. But there's hope for those of us who don't have that kind of money. I've put together some jewel tone items that won't break the bank:

1.) Heritage 1981
2.) American Apparel Nylon Taffeta Wind Breaker
3.) American Apparel Figure Skater Dress
4.) Fred Flare Swan Lake sunglasses
5.) American Apparel Baby Rib Dog T
6.) Forever 21
7.) Banana Republic
8.) Top Shop Bright Tregging

CL

SJP on the Town

I found these photos on JustJared.com of Sarah Jessica Parker promoting the Sex and the City movie. There are a couple of things I really like about this outfit: the combination of white, gold and black, the high dramatic collar of the coat and the petite gold-handled handbag. The best part is the stylizing of the coat. I love how it's flipped out at the end, revealing the lining and the same studded belt that was seen on SJP while the movie was being filmed is used to cinch the waist.

Of course I have a couple of dislikes. The strap-y sandals look sloppy with all those excess tabs sticking out and I think a pair of shoes with slightly more toe coverage might have grounded the outfit more. But, at the end of the day, I'm no style expert and I'm not the one who's made millions by dressing Carrie Bradshaw.

CL

Man Tutus

Leave it to Miuccia Prada to send men wearing tutu-inspired skirts down the runway (worn over pants, thank goodness). There were only two tutus in the whole RTW Fall 08 Menswear collection, but the jock-strap/bikini inspired pants and bra-hooked shirts added to a kind of androgynous, cross-dressed look. Some might call it weird and over-the-top, I just call it tongue-in-cheek fashion.

Photos from Style.com

Prada's male tutus bring to mind Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, an all-male ballet company that parodies classical ballets. The talented group defies convention by proving that males can dance en pointe (see photo below).

It seems to me that these male ballerinas (who wear real tutus and extra-wide pointe shoes) actually look very masculine when compared to the Prada male models in the photos above, but perhaps I'm just splitting hairs...

CL

Multi-tights

It's so fun to see all the different color tights that are available these days. Just a few years ago, you'd be hard pressed to find a non-neutral-colored pair.

A couple of companies have even taken it one step further - multi-colored tights. I have no idea what you'd wear with them. Personally, if I bought a pair, I would stick to very simple, monotone clothing, but maybe I'm not being very creative. I'm going to keep my eye out for anyone wearing something like the pairs below in the street style blogs.

American Apparel:

Sock Dreams:

Twelve by Twelve:

CL

Badly Done W Magazine

I ended my W subscription over two years ago because I can't stand how they uglify everything. Half of the fashion spreads are so blurry or stylized that it's hard to see the actual clothing.

The recent issue with Knightly and McAvoy further proves my point. The magazine took two very good looking actors and turned them into overly-posed, awkward biker ballerinas? If this is high fashion, I want no part of it!

I'm very confused by the pairing of the black grometed top with a tutu. Hasn't the mix of grunge and feminine been done to death? That top would look much better with black, skinny pants and a looser hairstyle. And the tutu would better with...a corset and some pointe shoes.

Don't misunderstand me, I like the mixing of styles, but this outfit is poorly executed.

One of the reasons I'm so obsessive about fashion magazines is because I love how stylists are able to take seemingly unwearable pieces from the runway and throw them together to make a fantastic outfit. The image below doesn't have any of that - in fact the jacket looked more wearable on the runway than in this spread.

I'll be sticking with my regular intake of Vogues, Elles and Lucky from now on.

CL

Pushing Daisies Style

I've only watched a few episodes of Pushing Daisies online and I already love it. The acting is great and the plot is entertaining, but it's really the set design and wardrobe that do it for me. Apparently the look of the show is heavily inspired by Amelie, which is one of my all time favorite movies.

The women in the show have the best outfits. Anna Friel, who plays the main character's love interest, is usually outfitted in very feminine dresses - with cinched waists, v-necks and 3/4 sleeves.

I've included this bottom batch of photos to show off the amazing set design. This pink house was only in one episode, but a lot of creativity and attention to detail went into its creation.


Anyone else a fan?

CL

Ikat + Zara

My first purchase from Zara in Atlanta is this Ikat dress. Lately I've been noticing that Ikat patterns are everywhere and have been desperate to get my hands on something Ikat-ish. So you can imagine how happy I was to find not only a somewhat affordable Ikat jersey dress, but one that's kind of Balenciaga inspired.

This photo was taken while helping out at the Wren's Nest Christmas party. (I have no idea why I posed that way - it looks like I'm attempting to do a jig). Sunglasses: Target, dress: Zara, bracelets: from Brazil, leggings: American Apparel, flats: Delias.

Evidence of the current Ikat trend:

Balenciaga RTW Fall 2007 and Oscar de la Renta RTW Spring 2008 (photos from style.com)

Ikat couch (www.wallpapernews.com) and a swatch of fabric from Hancockandmoore.com

C.L.

Ain't it Dandy

Found this charm of a website in Domino Magazine. A British company that sells posters and t-shirts with Warhol-worthy graphics. They don't ship to the states yet, but I figure it's only a matter of time.

CL