playing dress up...

in the spirit of spring...(above) is a photo of designer Alber Elbaz of Lanvin which I love...this photo reflects his gentle inventiveness. (below) is a quote from Pamela Love, whose designs I also HEART very much. (Just got her bear ring & I wear it everday as a talisman...) 

"Francesco Clemente once said to me fashion is the quest for perfection and style is the acceptance of one’s flaws. I completely agree with this. I love style. I love seeing the way different people dress, how they put things together, how they deviate from the current trends, what they are referencing, and what this says about them and who they are. Style is a way of communication. Fashion has much more to do with money, retail and commercialism. You can buy fashion. You can’t buy style. It’s just something that is part of you. A girl can have style wearing a sweater she found in her mother’s closet and her boyfriend’s hat. It’s all about how you wear it and how you feel in what you wear." -- Pamela Love - NYC.

And, on the other side of the Atlantic...

just a little peek...at Pebbles London -- where stylists and well-known fashion designers go to get inspired and bring home exotic baubbles to mix and match with their collections. inspiring & fun...

The latest from Colette...wish I'd picked up The Selby's Paris exhibition book before it sold out...Colette always has something new and these helmets and shirt have me dreaming of zipping around on a moto or at least a moped this summer... :P

ALL PHOTOS: 

Lanvin

Pebbles London

Colettte

harlequin dreams...

anne valerie hash...reconstructs modern feminism from the str ucture of menswear and a kind of belle epoque beauty that mixes 80's super heroine fierceness in strong shoulders, hidden ruffles, and cinched waists. Her poetic opera of construction & grace mirrors a kind of romanticism and strength that reflect a modern girl's desire to be both feminine and at ease in her own personal sense of power. Perhaps it's Hash's eccentric, almost gothic beauty and origami like construction that has me both mesmerized and bemused. She's been a mainstay on the Paris fashion scene for handful of years. She started her first collection with very  minimal funds and has been deeply sought after every since. She recently held her "atelier de curiosites"exhibition at le palais royale in Paris along with publication of an exhibition book I am dreaming of owning....

ALL BLACK & WHITE PHOTOS: Fabrice Laroche

ALL COLOR PHOTOS (ABOVE) : Mixed plate of Anne Valerie Hash's 2008-2009 collections

LAST TWO COLOR PHOTOS (BOTTOM): 3 Suisses Collection by Anne Valerie Hash

Geisha Princess & a bit pUnk roCk

kimono style... yes! I'm back! :)... after a long absence. Apologies to all my darhling ones reading this. I am still kicking reboot after a couple of weeks so check back often as I am about to start a whirlwind of postings. ;) In the meantime, I am in love with all things kimono. I have been for years but my fever is just now returning...

Can you imagine vintage, silk kimonos redone as jackets and dresses...with little ballet slippers covered in punk-rock studs? I can..

When ebay first hit the scene as the first virtual, everyman auction house, you could find the most delicious vintage kimonos online for about as much money $ as a couple of lattes. There was this one kimono style that I adored called the 1920's "paper" kimono. Drew Barrymore and other actresses would wear this kind of kimono in movies as bathrobes...ie. "50 First Dates". It's kimono done flapper style - straight from your grandma's era. Paper kimonos were selling for like $35 USD but I never bought one. Now you can hardly find them and if you do they're upwards of $250-$300 USD. All the lovely kimonos and hand-embroidered vintage pieces I so easily found online a few years ago are now practically impossible to find (big sigh)...lesson to the wise, when you find something you love, and you can, buy it...

I can still be inspired though by fashion and interior designs taking their cue from the land of the rising sun...and I think mala beads are a beautiful reminder of what is important in life...centering yourself while sharing a wink and smile at inner style...

Inspiration also comes from books like the great Omiyage by Kumiko Suda. She does amazing books on Japanese handmade crafts and I have made delicate little butterfly pouches from instructions straight from Omiyage. Omiyage is the Japanese word for gift. Butterflies gilded in kimono fabric (I will post my kimono creations back into this post when I get the chance)....

And then I came across this beautiful flurry of getas in the photo below- which reminds me of what Anna Karenina would wear if she were a Geisha dancing through the snow on the way to meet her true love. And the vintage Japanese FireFighter kimonos shown further below are so lovely and cool...I would love to deconstruct one and redo it up as a tight-fitting jacket and pair it with some black and white stripe-down-the-side Adidas track pants...how cool would that be...

Ja

I am also dreaming of re-creating this lovely vintage handbag...jade handles... embroidery, and tassles..all done up in good luck & silk threads...

Finally, who doesn't love a little Yoshitomo Nara...

.

In dreaming of all things Japanese, I am obssessed with his clock...different drawings on the hour...this is something else I should have bought when I first saw it...from $150 USD a few years ago you can no only get your hands on one of these puppies for $350 USD...

Champagne tastes on a beer budget...thank heavens there's always window shopping and sewing machines!

With Love,

;) K.