August 27 2011

Azzaro

I intend to start updating this journal weekly. I will do a mood summery for every week and post 5 current season clothing & 2 matching accessories.

Last week the world seemed full of chaos. There was an earthquake and hurricane on the East Coast. Mercury was in retrograde. In my personal life I got a new roomate & had to make a few lifestyle changes for it.






Aquilano


It is the week before labor day. Oregon is humid. It's too hot to even think about long sleeves, least of all a jacket. The end of the camping season is weighing on me & I want to get outside









Aquilano


The other thing that I am feeling at the moment is a need for control and power. So much of life feels out of control that the places that we do still control seem precious and anything that reminds us of our strength is well recieved. The pieces I selected all do this for me.

The Azzaro halter top shows off strong shoulders and brazen curves beautifully. The all black adds to the sense of confidence.





Alex Wang
Both pieces from Aquilano make great use of leather, which is practically synonimous with strength. They also both manage to use it in such a way that would be appropriate for the current heat.

The silver in the Alex Wang piece reminds me of metal and of motion. I think it captures the spirit of change beautifully and the simplicity of the yoga pants makes it feel like controlled change.





Valentino
I am still in love with the peek-a-boo sheers, like this Valentino. The cut of the dress makes it feel strong and structured, even though is is clearly a light weight fabric. It manages to look like something dainty that a sexy fantasy charecter could fight a battle in.












I seem to be really attracted to strappy sandals with prominant ankle straps today. These are from the designer Roger Vivier and the buckles are such a nice touch!


There is something about a large wrist cuff on ones dominant hand that screams power and confidence. This gorgous piece is made my Dannijo.

Look of the Moment : Exposed

Akris * Dolce & Gabbana * Etro * Fendi * Fendi * Fendi * Alberta Ferretti * Alberta Ferretti * Alberta Ferretti * Halston * Marc Jacobs * Donna Karan * Julian Louie * Stella McCartney * Missoni * Miu Miu * Elise Øverland * Reem Acra * Nina Ricci * Elie Tahari * Sophie Theallet


The clean refreshing slate begins to give rise to small accents and flowing textures as spring becomes in bloom. The inspiration is venus and the nymphs, naked but still adorned, beauty reaches deep inside and sparks of personality can't help but shine through.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Blessed Ostara everyone. This post is a bit late. Time has become a hot commodity lately, but the world of fashion is not forgotten.

This season has exposed alot of myself to me. I've found it really difficult to stick to basics. I don't feel naked or exposed, just bland.

So I began thinking about how I relate to the seasons through fashion. I also stumbled upon a blog post (that I would share, but sadly, I've lost it) discussing being aware of what your dress says about you, and I realised that I hadn't been focusing on reflecting who I am as much as I should.

Then came the question of what is it that I wanted people to see when they looked at me. I realised that there were alot of things I found a bit revolting. I wouldn't want anyone to think of me as delicate or girlish. So I started thinking about adjectives. Beautiful -- sure. Sexy -- absolutely. Pretty -- yuck. Sweet -- well it's a given but I'd reather not have it be the first thing my appearance shows. Professional -- sure, but not in a boring way. Strong -- yes please. Bold -- I like that one. Ladylike -- pass. Demure -- not interested. ect. I realized that I was not presenting an image true to who I wanted to be. Perhaps this is a personal power issue. I noticed that there were girls that carried their power a certain way where you know that they have inner strength without them needing to advertise. I want to seem more like that. While pondering this I had an epiphany that this all relates to me being gay.

I realized that fashion is simpler for strait people. Most strait people don't find themselves staring at some attractive person and thinking "Wow I wish I looked just like them." where I probably have the thought six to ten times per day. The problem is that I'm not actually attracted to me, and there's no reason I should be. The girls I'm attracted to and the girls that I would like to appear like are not actually the same ones. There are cross overs of course, but that's more coincidental. Furthermore trying to emulate girls that I am attracted to is futile because I'm not narcissistic. I will never look in the mirror and arouse the same feelings in myself and that doesn't mean I have low self esteem -- that means I'm normal.

So right now I'm taking some time to separate in my mind what I want from who I am. Don't worry. I'm not going to go completely butch or anything ridiculous like that. I still love lace and makeup and jewelry and wind in my skirts. I'm just realizing that I still have a ways to go before I find myself.

Helmut Lang --- classic comfey

When we think of style we sometimes think of a scale with comfort at one end and beauty of the other. On the far end that is comfort lies the tee shirt and sweat pants. "Not so!" says Helmut Lang. There is no reason that we can't have both comfort and style and he proves it creating pieces that would be appropriate for almost any occasion.

On a more personal note I've rediscovered tee shirts lately. It started with a vintage 1985 X-men tee that Bob had been hanging onto. Then came the lovely trees and crows that kept appearing in the young men's section & I was hooked, finding that a men's medium was slightly more flattering than a women's XL on my curvy figure. I also bought the first pair of sweats in years last year & actually convinced myself to wear them out of the house on a few occasions. It is nice to see the synchronicity in the fashion world and that it's agreeing with me.

Alexander Wang --- Essence of The Suit

Finally something worth writing about! The first day of fashion week was filled with more plain minimalistic pieces. This is a trend that designers started latching onto as the recession began to show the value and wearability of their pieces to folks cutting back and simplifying. This is definitely a sign of the times and worth noting, but frankly I'm bored sick with it. Budget conscious and bland shouldn't be synonymous, although to many they are. But fortunately some people are still interesting.







Alexander Wang was inspired by the traditional bankers suit, an item which inspires emotions like contempt, envy, opulence, pompousness, power, superciliousness, and regret in the current times. This complexity was taken to a point of absolute sexiness, after all isn't wanting things you dislike the base of most sexual taboos. He removed parts exposing flesh without giving the appearance of vulnerability. He bound necks showing the restraint and slavery of the necktie. He then added rich velvets to add the sensuality associated with wealth and power.

All I can say is yum.

Look of the moment -- Out with the old in with the new

Fall 2009


Ralph Lauren * Ralph Lauren * Ports 1961 * Malandrino * Kai Kühne * Jil Sander * Veronique Branquinho * Luisa Beccaria * Luisa Beccaria


It's still too cold for most spring looks, but I know that we are all feeling the need for some fresh growth. Spring is upon us. Many of us find ourselves cleaning up messes that we've made of our lives. The need for change seems to be the one thing everyone in the nation can agree on & speaking of it seems to border on trite cliche, as opposed to the optimistic outcry of a year ago.

This spring I feel we all need a clean slate -- some thing that is reminiscent of birth and nakedness, that helps wash away negativity and old baggage and propels us forward to the things that are actually important in our lives. Many designers seem to agree as well. The spring shows were full of sheers and simplicity, and these fall looks have the right balance of warmth and freshness to transition into the warmer days.

Blessed Imbolc all.