Chunky knits

3.1 Phillip Lim

Chunky knits are a feminine and wearable way to stay warm during the long and cold winter. They match everything, from a pair of pants, skirts or even dresses. The only rule is wear them during the day, the rest is up to you. If my mum finally teach me how to knit some of this days, I will do a cable cardigan and a pair of purple mittens.

Balenciaga

Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti

The new queen of knits: Sandra Backlund . I would die for one of her pieces.

Obsessed with: In my arms - Rufus Wainwright

Karl strikes again

The new and androgynous line, K by Karl Lagerfeld, will hit the stores the next winter. This second line is composed by ambiguous pieces like jeans, white shirts and blazers.

My favourite? This double breasted coat. It's all I need for winter. Nice cut, perfect length, what else can you ask for?

I couldn't find any department store stocking the collection. If anybody knows, please tell me.

Song: Gloria - Patti Smith

I can smell the sorrow on your breath

I have to confess I feel attracted to people who die tragically: Jeff Buckley, Carole Lombard and the list goes on. Don't get me wrong, I don't have a morbid interest in death. I am just filled with pitiful feelings for them. I am specially interested in those who commit suicide, the case of Francesca Woodman. It is impossible to look at her pics without questioning what was her vision of Life, and the depth of her Sorrow.

Francesca Woodman was, in my opinion, one of the most talented photographers of the twentieth century. She was born in Colorado, but her roots were Italian. The artistic atmosphere Francesca was raised in, was the perfect scenario to develop her skills. She did her first works at the early age of 13. When she was 17 she started her studies at the Rhode Island School of Design. Between 1977 and 1978, she spent a year in Rome, and after that she moved to New York. In 1981 her first collection of pictures (Some Disordered Interior Geometries) were published. At the age of 22 she killed herself by jumping from her New York studio.

She was the model for the biggest part of her works, in which her body and surroundings merged into one.

Chris Townsend compiled her works in a book, called Francesca Woodman. It seems really interesting.

"Francesca Woodman created her first photograph at thirteen and took her own life at age 22. She left behind a hauntingly beautiful legacy. Flailing, groveling, jumping, and hiding--often dissolving into a blur before the camera--she used her body as an actor in a mysterious drama. In less than a decade Woodman created a body of work that has secured her position as one of the most original American artists of the 1970s, and the first-ever child prodigy of photography."



Song: Grace - Jeff Buckley

The good, the bad & the ugly

The good


The bad


The ugly


Forgive me for this post. But I couldn't resist, those evil Louboutins challenged me to a fight.


Song: The good, the bad & the ugly - Ennio Morricone

See by Chloé

My winter wardrobe will be totally inspired by the See by Chloé collection. Which means lots of mini-dresses, chunky shoes and bright coloured tights. Black, grey, forest green and red will stand out.

I will need a new babydoll coat, a pair of black pants, some cardigans and a pair of boots to achieve this casual chic style. I already have the dresses, big scarves, a tweed blazer, a plaid skirt, socks and tights, a pair of black patent flats, red jazz shoes and high-waisted grey pants.

An idea for New Year's Eve

Song: Empire - Kasabian

L'art pour l'art

The aesthetic movement flourished in Britain in 1868 as a reaction to the Industrial Revolution and Victorian era. It was formed with a vast group of post-Romantic artists who tended to hold that Art's purpose wasn't didacticism but beauty. Art for them had nothing to do with moral, it should provide us pleasure, not ethic and that's why their works were filled with sensuality, symbols and synaesthetic effects.

"Synesthesia is a neurological condition in which two or more bodily senses are coupled. In one common form of synesthesia, known as grapheme, letters or numbers are perceived as inherently colored." And that's how children think, because their brains aren't mature enough. Some people keep that skill during the rest of their lives, and most of them use their experiences during creative processes. Synesthesia can also be experienced with some psychedelic drugs like acid.

Aesthetic fashion.

At the end of the XIX century, some writers and artists, like Ruskin, rose up against one of the most anti-hygienic garment ever: crinoline. They suggested looser cut and unstructured dresses in the style of medieval or Renaissance frocks with larger sleeves.

Lieder Ohne Worte by Lord Frederic Leighton

The corset free lady was thought Bohemian and immoral. The typical aesthetic woman had pale skin, green eyes, and long red hair (enhanced with henna).

Aesthetes introduced natural dyes, preferring faded colours, evoking nature as terracotta, indigo, salmon, green, etc...The dresses were adorned with large sunflowers and daffodils, made of silk with oriental silhouettes (Japanese kimonos and Indian pyjamas).

"A garden" by Albert Moore

The epitome of the male aesthete was Oscar Wilde. During his speaking tour of America, he liked to wear a velvet jacket, a flowing tie, and a wide-awake hat.

The aesthetic movement is considered to have ended with the trial of Oscar Wilde and the appearance of Art Nouveau.

"We are all in the gutter but some are looking at the stars" Oscar Wilde.

Chopin's music makes me cry.

Hosiery madness

Yesterday, I went shopping and I only bought tights and socks. They are my latest and cheapest obsession. I bought a pair of red tights, grey silk Prada-esque stockings, and a pair of black wool knee highs. I looked for a pair of mustard ribbed tights, but I couldn't find anything.

Surfing the net, I discovered a fantastic shop, called dream-socks, stocking a wide range of hosiery.

This are my favourites. They are made of angora, can you feel the softness? I can.

Chevron pattern

Classy

Another recurrent option: American Apparel

I find 40€ for a pair of tights a little too much. For pricey stockings go to A.P.C.

1 decade, 4 cities

Cities in the sixties is the title of a four-book series written by George Perry. The books are a compilation of different photojournalists' works. They all begin with a small introduction and continue with photographs featuring the fashions, the hippie movement, pop art, including many celebrities of the time as: Twiggy, Edie Sedgwick, Truffaut, Bardot, etc...

The sixties were, concerning freedom, the most important decade during the past century. There was an explosion of peerless new ideas and concepts.

Synopsis:

"It was a turbulent decade, beginning with a bitter colonial war and ending with rioting on the streets. Yet Paris sizzled with a buzz of creativity in the arts and popular culture. In cinema the proponents of the New Wave led by Godard and Truffaut overturned the established order, electrifying the screen with a new, immediate excitement. Café intellectuals, Sartre and De Beauvoir still predominating, endlessly debated theories of structuralism. Yves Klein astounded the art world with his avant-garde events, and in fashion Yves St Laurent and André Courrèges fought catwalk wars to push the definitive look of the Sixties. Brooding over it all was the upright and aloof figure of De Gaulle, recalled from Colombey-les-Deux Eglises to preside over the Fifth Republic, a reign that would end with a referendum vote against him at the end of the decade. Here in aptly-chosen images is the essence of Paris in the sixties".

If you want to read it, there is another synopsis about San Francisco available at amazon. Anyway, I bought Paris in the sixties, but it hasn't arrived yet. If you'd like to know my personal point of view e-mail me in two or three weeks.

Song: Highway Child - Jimi Hendrix

It's fun to lose and to pretend

It is well known plaid prints will invade us next winter, but there is a wide range to choose from. For those (like me) who were raised during the 90's, surrounded by grungies, you may like plaid flannel.

Flannel is a typical workwear fabric, and that's why the grunge movement wore it.

3.1. Phillip Lim revisits this symbol of grunge adding modern elements.

In God we trust transformed the classic lumberjack shirt into a babydoll.





Lover does likewise and creates this high-waisted skirt.

Finally, Kirsten Dunst wearing a cropped jacket.

Song: Lithium- Nirvana

Les prairies de Paris

Leaticia Ivanez created Les prairies de Paris back in 2002. Like other French labels as APC or Vanessa Bruno, Les Prairies, provides women simply and good quality garments, shoes and accessories for everyday wear. Their clothes help us to stay comfortable during the long work journeys without renouncing to elegance. A label for those who love the classic effortless French femininity.

To see the complete Spring/Summer collection go to Guide Paris Mode.

Song: Motown Blood - Mando Diao