21 June 2007

Haute Hippies

Both the New York Times and Style.com are reporting the return of hippie chic, and I couldn't be happier. What better time way to celebrate the Summer Solstice and the fortieth anniversary of the Summer of Love than to break out my floor-length, cream-colored, hooded and intricately bodiced authentic 1970s sun dress, a pair of weathered platforms, and Pearl by Janis Joplin?
Just the other day, I was considering heading up to Jimi Hendrix's grave, which happens to be less than an hour from here, in a nondescript town in Western Washington.

The Whitney Museum's Summer of Love show is, according to Style.com, "a buzzy cocktail of record jackets, spin paintings, and... electro-bright furniture."

The Times profiles musician Kim Matulova and her adoration of and emulation of Janis Joplin, calling her style "a departure from the structured shapes and rigorous geometry of the current ’60s wave... blithely improvised, unencumbered and emphatically fluid."

The look is having a booming comeback.

"In cities as far-flung as Miami and Los Angeles, young women in the vanguard are setting aside their trapeze and baby-doll dresses — and as often as not, their drainpipe jeans — in favor of a breezier, more audaciously colorful interpretation of boho chic. Their pavement-grazing frocks, bells and feathers, flares and cascading hair, recall the freedom that once was a hippie rallying cry, an invitation, quite literally, to go with the flow." (Times)

The Summer of 2007 is rather reminiscent of the situation that sparked the Summer of Love in 1967. The U.S. was embroiled in a disastrous war and the young crowd, feeling helplessly useless to prevent anymore death and destruction, proclaimed that they'd make love, not war. John and Yoko campaigned heavily, saying that they'd grow their hair out until there was peace, and the hippies followed suit. The Times recalls the "naïveté and renegade spirit of the hippie period," although the naïveté disappeared as the war waged on and the White House continued to manipulate the trust of the world.

My father remembers that his university in upstate New York had to shut down for an entire semester because students were attending anti-war rallies and not class. He remembers people sitting on the lawn as the Layla album by Derek and the Dominos blasted over loudspeakers. (This was a few years later in 1970.)

I became especially interested this movement when I lived in Los Angeles, one block above The Whiskey a Go Go, where Jimi Hendrix, The Doors and Otis Redding used to play. I purchased the Hippie coffee table book in Venice, California in an appropriately Nag Champa-filled shop. The book largely chronicles the hippie movement in California, from Los Angeles up to San Francisco.

It would be nice to see some of today's nouveau-hippies promoting love, not war, but until they do, we can at least enjoy the memory.

18 June 2007

I picture this woman playing croquet in Martha's Vineyard while her Cavalier King Charles spaniel nips at her ankles, and her three piece-suited husband puffs his pipe and reads The Wall Street Journal.

Doesn't this outfit say East Coast sophisticate and Ivy League? Don't you suddenly want an apéritif and a cigarette?

(pic from FaceHunter)

Swiftly Speaking...

I'm guessing the girl is from Lilliput and the bag is a wristlet from Bromdingnag.

Seriously, have you ever seen a bag dwarf anyone so much? Is she stowing refugees?


(pic from FaceHunter)

08 June 2007

I Won't Be Happy When The Nylons Bloom Again

By posting this, I am in no way implying that Christina Aguilera and Posh are fashion-forward, or even normally fashion-mentionable. But, I thought I'd point out that within a week of each other, they were both photographed wearing similar bathing suit-sized outfits with little white tops, and heinous beige nylons, the likes of which I haven't seen for at least a decade. I just hope these pictures don't indicate the beginning of a beige nylon comeback because, unlike Fats Waller, I won't be happy when the nylons bloom again.

07 June 2007

Good Summer Palette

This photo, from a NYT article on a Hispanic heritage exhibit, represents a great summer palette. It also is reminiscent of an Almodóvar color scheme. His films are practically film rouge, but with enough blue, green and teal thrown in for proper contrast.

Rodeo Dr.

When I first moved to LA I lived five minutes from Rodeo Dr., but I only went down it twice. More often I'd visit the less intimidating (read: less expensive) Wilshire Blvd., home to Saks Fifth Ave. and Neiman Marcus, or Robertson Blvd., home to Kitson, Kalologie (best Sonya Dakar facials), The Paint Shop (see Carmen for the best U-Toe-Pia Pedicure of your life), and Planet Salon (see Geno).

But next time I'm in LA (in August, hopefully!), I'll definitely cruise Rodeo to get a look at Chanel's new boutique.

I love the Bauhuas minimalism of it. Perhaps that was Mr. Lagerfeld's Deutsch touch?

(pic WWD)

Sienna for Tod's

What do you think of the Sienna Miller/Tod's match-up? She looks unnaturally elongated, but I like the look.

06 June 2007

I'm Missing The UK...

The Twinsies are back. This was shot somewhere off of Wales on the set of their new Dylan Thomas film. (I adore Dylan Thomas.)

This reminds me of a day in Portsmouth last October getting completely drenched from ocean spray while standing yards from the water. The freezing wind was blowing so hard I couldn't keep my eyes open, so I popped into a shop for some Lapsang Souchong.

What fun costumes they have. Doesn't this make you want to put on a pair of wellies, throw on a thick jumper and romp in frigid water while getting blasted with wind?

El Arte de La Vida

To give a little background, I first went to Mexico in 1999. I loved it so much that I returned in 2002 and stayed for three months. My love for the culture has grown since, and I've developed an appreciation for the food, music, art and film of Mexico. But my appreciation has seeped from exclusively Mexican to pan-Hispanic. I am even pursuing a Hispanic Studies minor along with my Arts, Media and Culture major. This summer I'm taking a Hispanic Film class, and in the Fall I'm taking Intermediate Spanish.

Last week I was in the Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas area for my brother's wedding. His wife, my new sister-in-law, is Nicaraguan. It was so enriching to be around her family and a culture so different than mine. My life can feel so blandly American at times, although I do my best to avoid blandness. To be fair, Texas feels like a different country (and often likes to think of itself as a different country), but being around Spanish speakers and authentic Central American food was stimulating.

I took some pictures to try to document the festivities, but they don't fully capture the warmth of the weather and the warmth of the people, the fun of the music and the fun of the whole weekend. But here are some:

I loved G.'s dress because it was off-white (I dislike white wedding dresses) and it looked edible... like a pile of whipped cream. Note the fun costume on the doorman.
Delicious Tapas catering, fragrant flowers and endless sangría.
And live music! An all-girls mariachi band performed for an hour. Apparently, there is no such thing as all-girls mariachi in Mexico, but these trumpet playing, guitar strumming, belting girls were amazing entertainment and great for dancing. We also danced to Juanés.
The last morning in Texas, G.'s mom served an authentic Nicaraguan breakfast, complete with fried plantains, avocado, beans and rice and an exclusively Nicaraguan cheese.
The food was delicious, vibrant and, as La Femme told me, "It makes me embarrassed about this morning's Eggo." Or my plain toast this morning.
The whole weekend inspired me to live a more musical, more flavorful, more colorful life. And it also inspired me to quickly move somewhere warm and Hispanic where I can eat avocados fresh from the tree. Right now I'm listening to Brazilian music (although Brazil is technically Lusitanic) for continued inspiration and this evening my friend and I are watching Todo sobre mi madre by Pedro Almodóvar. (Yesterday I watched La mala educación and Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios.)

Summer Lovin'

There are a lot of fun things going on in this picture. First of all, I think that (L to R) Helena Christensen, Liv Tyler and Kate Bosworth are an unexpectedly pleasant Ladies Who Lunch combination. Second, the clothing is great (except for the mystery man). Third, I love seeing platonic kissing (in a totally non-voyeuristic way). There isn't enough of it in America. People are too independent and territorial. We should all kiss more.

05 June 2007

Fresh Faces?

Style.com is featuring W Magazine's Fresh Faces in fashion. I can't help but notice how much "fresh" face Lara Stone (top) looks a lot like familiar face Angela Lindvall (bottom).

Stam

Stam looks to be channelling an early 1940s look in the Fall DKNY campaign. A little Katharine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story or something.

Imagine the Tan Lines...

I actually kind of like these shoes, but just imagining the tan lines is enough to put me off of them.

03 June 2007

Twinsies

At least Keira Knightley and Sienna Miller look more interesting than the Olsen twins. I never thought I'd see gingham and leopard complement each other, but they do. (By the way, these boots seem to be on everyone these days.)