A Nomad in Jammu

This woman is a nomad near Jammu. I feel I've seen this look on innumerable hipsters.
Reuters

Should Annie Leibovitz Be Taken To Task?

I know I posted on this a few days ago, but I'm still kind of stunned by it. It would take a great stretch of the imagination to believe that brilliant photographer Annie Leibovitz's could produce such an offensive photo in a strange fluke.

People had been comparing the cover to King Kong, but look at it next to this old racist propaganda. Look at the savage brutalizing the lily-white damsel. "Destroy This Mad Brute"?? My God, Leibovitz. I want an explanation.

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Iraq House of Fashion

Watch a video here.

Fashion Don't

This was ill-advised, but Hillary's advisers have been giving her consistently bad advice.

Inneresting

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New American Gothics

I gave a presentation in my Career Development class on Thursday. The purpose of the presentation was to describe how the class had helped me focus on a career and develop my hireability by strengthening interviewing skills and my resumé. I decided to be a smartass, as is my wont, and give a presentation describing why I'm more suited to being a farmer than to pursuing a conventional career. I even interviewed a local organic farmer for the project and looked into summer internships on local farms and with organizations like WWOOF. (A few of my friends have "Wwoofed" around Europe and loved it.) My classmates chuckled as I said I was more comfortable with poverty and gritty hard labor than with powersuits, profiteering and cubicles. Too bad I wasn't joking.

Well, imagine my surprise when I opened the Sunday Styles in my Times today to find an article called "Leaving Behind The Trucker Hat: Young urbanites, learning that dirt can also be soil, are using their overalls as originally intended." It's all about city dwelling young people kicking the dirt of the city off their shoes and heading off to the farm, so "their Carhartts are no longer ironic." "Many longtime observers of small farms say they have noticed an increase in recent years among college graduates who want to farm," says the Times.

Who knew? And who's laughing now, classmates? I've got the Times on my side.

By the way, I have a feeling I already dress like the woman pictured above.

This Is Why I Don't Cover LA Fashion Week

Ghastly Gams

"A model presents a creation from designer Dino Alves Autumn/Winter 2008-2009 collection during Lisbon Fashion Week in Estoril March 6, 2008." - Reuters

New Acquisitions

Armani shades

A tiny plaid dress

Must Love Vivienne

REPRIEVE.ORG.UK

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Love it or Leave It?

I've seen this outfit completely panned on other blogs, but I kind of love it.

Not many people could pull this off without looking like death, but overall, Lily Allen looks sharp and very gothic femme fatale meets Brigadoon.

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Happy Hallmark's Day to all my lovely readers. If you're bored, take a Valentine's-related quiz here.

Thought of the Day

Iconic fashion photographer David Bailey (who has worked with Penelope Tree, Jean Shrimpton, Jane Birkin, Mick Jagger, The Beatles, Catherine Deneuve and Marianne Faithfull, to name a few) was asked by Guardian Unlimited what he thought of the UK's new curriculum which introduces children to five hours of culture per week (art, music, etc.).

Bailey answered:

I learned nothing at school. I didn't really go until I was eight, and I left on my 16th birthday. The only person I liked was an art teacher - a woman, of course - and she told me you couldn't put a line around things. I was amazed because that was all Walt Disney ever did. My real education came from reading and going to Hollywood movies with my mum - it was cheaper than putting another shilling in the meter.

They never told me Van Gogh cut off his ear because he couldn't get it up; they never told me Caravaggio was the character he was. If they had, it might have been different - it was all too academic. I didn't discover Picasso till I was 17. I didn't know art galleries existed. But I don't like the idea of compulsory culture.

See some of his best work here.

A Missive for Perez Hilton

People who read this blog know that I've loved Agyness Deyn since I first posted on her on August 14, 2006. At the time, I wrote this about her: "...when you Google this girl there are only nine results. It won't be that way for long. This twenty year-old British model is destined to be the next big thing." For the following months, my blog was the first Google hit for Agyness Deyn.

On August 27, 2006 I wrote this: "I have taken it upon myself to promote the hell out of Agyness Deyn. I first posted on her a few weeks ago when there were only eight Google results for her name. Now there are thirty-three."

Well, that was one and a half years ago. Now there are almost 200,000 hits for Agyness on Google, because as all of us who love and keep up with fashion know, Agyness was definitely The Model of 2007, and maybe even 2006, depending on whom you're asking.

Which is why I find it very amusing that Perez Hilton, who often likes to claim having "discovered" people (like Robyn, who's been around for over a decade and who I danced to in eight grade), posted this today, speaking in the Royal "We", as is his wont: "Miz Deyn is gonna break out in 2008. Mark our words!"

Just to clarify, I do not claim to have discovered Agyness either. I'm pretty sure a scout did, and then her agents. But I will say that a certain blogger who likes to speak authoritatively about all kinds of things (like the supposed death of Castro), has really stepped outside his bounds on this one, and I'm calling FOUL.

I may only be speaking for myself, but I'm sure a few people will concur when I say: Let the fashion bloggers blog on fashion, "Miz"ter Hilton, and you can keep to your own vocation of drawing semen on people.

Much love,
Ailsa

Zellweger, as Novak (again)

In Down With Love, Renée Zellweger played Barbara Novak. Now she poses as Kim Novak in Vertigo for Vanity Fair's Hollywood Issue.

I just watched Vertigo last week and was reminded that it really is one of Hitchcock's most beautiful films. Here's Zellweger, and here's a classic clip from Vertigo.


Here's a montage accompanied by U2 (I'd mute it - the movie is better than the music). Keep your eyes open for Kim Novak's fabulous costumes.

J'Adore Jumeau

I'm always looking for animal-friendly, eco-friendly fashions that are interesting to look at. So often the ethical product lines are, well, bland.

I've been keeping my eye out for a new purse that is functional (I'm always lugging too much stuff - notebooks, a MacBook, textbooks), attractive (I'm underwhelmed by the gazillions of canvas totes I'm seeing), and vegan (if I can save an animal's hide, I will).

So imagine how pleased I was to be introduced to Jumeau. I've just added two new bags to my collection from Jumeau's Green Collection, made of organic cotton.

I got the Keri and Wisdom models - they're just the right size for a laptop, books... everything. - the color, Deep Sea Bloo, is a beautiful, lush marbled turquoise and navy with gold accents.

Thanks to Style for the lovely Marion Cotillard.

Quick Debriefing, Bill Blass

Hello everyone - I've been on hiatus (again) because what with the holidays, moving, obsessing over politics and overloading on classes, I haven't had much time to blog.

Besides, the weather here in the Pacific Northwest is frigid and icy, so my sartorial leanings are all towards warmth and comfort rather than attractiveness.

Today I took a walk to the local charity shop where everything was half off. I found a pair of Bill Blass, new with tags, extremely high-waisted jeans - I mean, two inches above the bellybutton high-waisted. I mean Farrah Fawcett in her heyday high-waisted. These jeans must be from 1976, and I have no idea why they've never been worn. They're spectacular, and I'll post pictures as soon as I can.

Hope everyone's enjoying 2008.

xoxo,
Ailsa

Gemma Ward, actress

Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, et al.

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