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)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.)

Estoy en Tejas.

Estoy visitando Tejas para la boda de mi hermano. ¡Hasta la semana próxima!(pic from people.com)

Loveable Dress

I don't know if Lily's dress is from her Lily Loves line, but she seems to be loving it, as does Debbie Harry, as do I.

The Ryde

If you're going to wear a t-shirt, it might as well be attractive and comfortable. Go to The Ryde for pretty textiles and the comfiest t-shirts.

I dare you to find softer shirts!

Chanel Resort '08

I was excited to see this photo because it summarizes what I've been wearing in the last week: red lips (!), headgear (scarves, headbands), high-waisted "mom" jeans and platform heels. Except, you know, not Chanel.

I can't wait for these colorful, more carefree looks to start spreading. I'm ready for a break from the bleak/black emo abominations that are everywhere.

I recently found a picture of my mother, taken in the late 1970s, dressed similarly to Raquel Zimmermann, although Mom looked more earthy and less jet-setting. It made me all nostalgic for an era in which I never lived. So I'm going to recreate the era in my wardrobe this summer. And at Karl Lagerfeld's bidding, I'm hoping many other people will, too.
(pic from style.com)

Une Vidéo

Here's a fashionable film by our friends at Une Fille Comme Moi.

Les pieds dans la mode - Hyères 2007
Uploaded by lespiedsdanslamode

ma soeur

Like Dita von Teese, my sister, Briallen, advocates glamour. Every minute. Every day. Briallen has an enormous (and ever-growing) collection of vintage jewelry, fur (tsk, tsk), party dresses and hats. I post these pictures as examples of quotidian glamour.

Distasteful

I like many of the pictures in the new Vogue featuring Keira Knightley as water nymph, Keira on Safari, Keira as turn-of-the-century imperial colonizer... but I think it's a little distasteful to go all the way to Africa and cloak an elephant in a Louis Vuitton blanket. I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing the blanket is thousands of dollars, and it just seems rather vile given the state of Africa. The last thing Africa needs is coutured elephants or elephants as billboards for western capitalism.

Can You Think of A Better Candidate?

Audrey Tautou is slated to play Coco Chanel in an upcoming biopic of the iconic designer. Can you think of anyone better to play Coco? I can't.
(source Buzz Sugar)