Remember that time

2010-12-29T20:22:00.000-08:00

Purple.

2010-12-16T00:35:00.000-08:00

It's knitting season!

2010-12-16T00:32:00.000-08:00

Poor guy.

2010-12-16T00:30:00.000-08:00

It was a good day. You know how I know?

2010-12-16T00:29:00.000-08:00

Ladies

2010-11-17T22:58:00.000-08:00

Françoise Dorléac

2010-11-17T22:50:00.000-08:00

These two...

2010-11-17T22:47:00.000-08:00

Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. Those couple of lovebirds just look so happy in all their pics...

Poochare

2010-09-28T00:07:00.000-07:00

Eugene Levy goes Euro for SCTV ad parody:

Maybe they were influenced by some of the more forward-thinking denim ads that were running at the time?

Jerry Hall and Bryan Ferry

2010-08-27T16:04:00.000-07:00

Bryan Ferry and Jerry Hall were quite the couple back in 1975!

Get the AquaNet!

2010-08-16T20:16:00.000-07:00

Kelly Taylor had the best updo of all time in that first Halloween episode of 90210. I tried for HOURS to get mine to look like that, but it always looked more practical Brenda than hot Kelly.
I just look at that picture and I can smell the Salon Selectives apple-scented hairspray. Yeesh. Anyway, I'm going to keep trying with my updos. If I can't do a Kelly Taylor, then maybe I'll try something a little more....

I think I need a better set of hot rollers and a teasing comb!

Cozy Camel Coat

2010-08-13T13:56:00.001-07:00

I must have this coat. I have been looking for one just like it for YEARS in thrift stores. You'd think they would be a dime a dozen, but no! Couldn't find a nice duffle coat to suit my needs. I was inspired by this picture:

Not the exact same, but you get the jist.

Histoire de Babar le Petit Elephant

2010-08-13T12:52:00.001-07:00

Oh I just LOVE Babar! The Morgan Library and Museum in New York has posted the maquette created by Jean de Brunhoff as his prototype for the book. It is really something.

Here are a couple of my favorite parts of the book...

Spats!

Favorite page in the book by far!

I really liked that Babar had so many nice things to tuck away in his trunk. I think that's why I liked Stewart Little so much too. They were both very distinguished gentlemen with all sorts of civilized accouterments tailored specifically to the needs of a civilized elephant and mouse.

Mira Fujita

2010-08-13T12:42:00.000-07:00

Anton Corbijn

2010-08-02T18:44:00.000-07:00

While looking up Anton Corbijn's Depeche Mode videos on YouTube (nerd.) I kept seeing an ad for the George Clooney movie "The American" along side my search. I thought I was going nuts when I read the text beneath the ad- "Anton Corbijn's The American." I thought, oh those tricksters! YouTube is using a term from my search and putting it into their ad! Wow! How crafty! Yeah. Turns out that Corbijn DID direct the new George Clooney super-spy/assassin movie! A movie that is IN COLOR! Now, I know he's done lots of things with people and bands that aren't necessarily my taste (Coldplay, Bryan Adams) but this is just plain weird. That Clooney movie looks like every other movie out there! Why did he decide to go from "Control" to a silly movie like this one? I mean, maybe it won't be silly. Maybe it will be awesome. I shouldn't be so quick to judge. Anyway, here are just a few of my favorite pictures and videos that Corbijn has done. There are so many great ones to choose from! It's really tough to narrow them down...

I love a lady who is not scared of a large hat.

2010-07-13T18:56:00.000-07:00

A very large hat! And a body suit...
And krinkles in her hair...
LB was all boho before Sienna, the Olsen Twins... even Kate! And she was good at it too.
Speaking of krinkles in her hair... this is beeeautiful!

Gap Campaign from 1991

2010-07-09T18:59:00.000-07:00

I really want to find the :60 spot that Gap created for this campaign in 1991. Anybody else remember it? They used Primal Scream's "Loaded" as the background song. I still can't believe they pulled this off and, yes, I do believe it made me reconsider khakis. I was all of 14 but still had very strong sartorial maxims that informed my wardrobe choices. Some (matching hats, shoes, purses, gloves, belts and hair ribbons) were silly. Others (hoop earrings, red lipstick, bangs) I'll probably never abandon. I always work khakis in somehow, I guess, thanks to this campaign.

That's Some Pig!

2010-07-01T22:56:00.000-07:00

Remember Cinders the mud-hating, boot-wearing pig?

Well, he's got a footwear friend. Internet, meet Clyde.

I'll take one of each, please.

Santa Maria Novella

2010-06-18T00:23:00.000-07:00

I'd like to visit Santa Maria Novella in Florence. Like, now.

Sara Moon

2010-06-17T23:37:00.000-07:00

Did you know that the artist Sara Moon is not really a lady named Sara Moon?

Yeah- the artist is actually this little guy peering over his glasses:

I think he came up with the name while listening to "Tusk" and putting together the song titles Sara and Sisters of the Moon. Just a theory.

Anyway, I bring this up because "Sara Moon" is such a perfect way to describe a look. Like, "I want a Sara Moon blouse" or, "Is this look too head to toe Sara Moon?" or even, "I am so sick of the dirty Urban Outfitters/Sara Moon girls that wear short shorts and boots all over the place."

Has Lula done a Sara Moon story? Mark my words- they're gonna if they haven't already!

I associate later Sara Moon with masquerade/ harlequin/carousel horse art. Take some Sara Moon prints, a ceramic painted harlequin mask, a carousel horse with ribbons streaming off of it, a white bedroom set with canopy bed and you've pretty much nailed the look my older cousins all had in their high school rooms back in '81. Oh! Unicorn and rainbow mobiles too. Essential.

Grace Coddington

2010-06-17T20:52:00.000-07:00

My dream...

2010-06-17T20:47:00.000-07:00

Brooke Pt. II

2010-06-17T20:45:00.000-07:00

"I don't get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day"

2010-06-10T15:23:00.000-07:00

I am old.
Linda Evangelista- the supermodel's supermodel who made such a huge impact on the fashion world in the 90's- is now a model for Talbots. TALBOTS! Now, I know other models have done tacky silly things and that Linda herself has even done work for Ann Taylor and some other less than desirable brands, but Talbots? That really bums me out.
I like to remember the good old days...

Italian Vogue covers...

The Barneys catalogs with Stephen Meisel!

And of course, on House of Style

Always loved that she owned up to WANTING to be a model! Every other model says they were a tomboy growing up who never cared about looks or fashion. Yeah right! I appreciate that Linda said she really tried and did dumb little dinky local fashion shows before making it big. And I love her eyebrows.

So Gertz it hurts!

2010-05-19T21:14:00.000-07:00

Jami Gertz: Fashion Icon.

Lost Boys Jami Gertz: The scarves and bare shoulders say lighting drippy candles in a vampire cave while the hair says meet me at the food court! Jami has that late 80s goth hippie look that lets you wear a leather motorcycle jacket AND a long flowing skirt from Cost-Plus. You know what I love about that look? Big hoop earrings and onk necklaces. And The Cult.

My favorite Gertz: LESS THAN ZERO! I would wear head to toe any one of those outfits she wears in the movie. Really. I would. GIVE THEM TO ME!

Yeah, okay I know. Black blazer, black blazer, black blazer. But she makes it awesome every time! A pink pocket scarf for the pink "Fuck Christmas" party, a foofy white dancing skirt for the night club (where they listen to Public Enemy, thank you.) I mean, she goes to Clay's family Christmas without a shirt under her Thierry Mugler suit. That is gutsy at 18! And I have tried for years to pull off the white shirt/brooch/blazer/jeans thing. I think I need her hair poof to complete the look.

Jami Gertz in Less than Zero is PERFECTION!

Preppy Gertz: Jami Gertz on Facts of Life and Square Pegs, well, I mean come ON! Brilliant use of bows at the neck and sweaters around shoulders! She and Blair were quite a pair. Very few photos of this stuff, but plenty of memories.

Oh, JG. I should open a Jami Gertz themed store. The name? Gertz Skirts for Flirts.

I'd like to go camping soon

2010-05-11T21:26:00.000-07:00

I really want to go to Costanoa or some place with pals and do some camping. Don't think I've been on a camping trip since my days as a Girl Scout! Hope I can retain my femininity while eating smores and telling ghost stories!
(ps. I found this book on Awful Library Books which is the pretty much a daily lol.)

Camille Bidault Waddington

2010-05-10T17:05:00.000-07:00

So everybody looooooves super-star stylists these days, right? They are saving brands and being brought in to liven up the lines at major retailers by pushing up sleeves and adding scarves. All these fashion blogs and street blogs have created a craving for personal style that every J.CrewTheoryGapANNTAYLOR is working to leverage.
ANYWAY, one of my favorite stylists?
Camille Bidault Waddington.

I guess at this point she's less of a straight ahead stylist and more of an over-all creative lady. In any case, I like her.

I really like the stuff she did for Teen Vogue a few years back. It was super fun and young and costumey. Instead of turning a each spread into an instruction manual (pair this skirt with these sandals...) she showed readers that they could find inspiration from new movements in fashion then go create their own thing. I can't find any of those pictures online so maybe I'll scan some up. There is a Harry Potter themed one from 2002 or so that featured overalls and lots of patterns. It's a fave.

Long shorts with a high waist. Hardly anybody can pull that off! CBW can.

Just wish she and Jarvis could have made it work. They were my favorite power couple.

Lacroix and acid washed jeans

2010-05-07T19:23:00.001-07:00

This cover was just eeeeeeeeeverything back in 1988! It was Anna Wintour's first issue as editor in chief and the first one that wasn't a super close up on a model's face. My brother had a picture of this model, Michaela Bercu, pinned up on his wall. Boy, she was a stunner! I remember her showing up on every magazine for years! I wanted curly hair like that so bad. I did some home perms to try to replicate the look but, surprise surprise, it didn't look quite as hot.

And while we're thinking 1988 and acid washed, I think this Guess Jeans spot is one of the best ads of the 80s. I love the whole 60's via the 80's thing. It's all just so sophisticated and dramatic.

Cranberry

2010-05-03T14:14:00.001-07:00

I kinda love her hair. I would never do the Gwen Stefani dye-your-hair-a-crazy-color-in-your-thirties thing, but I'm still super jealous of this chick's super cute shade.
I got this pic from Souvenirs, by the way.

Repetto!

2010-04-28T16:01:00.001-07:00

Today I'm daydreaming about living in the Repetto catalog and being a graceful ballerina...

Would a tutu be a dumb purchase? Be honest...

But, like, an EVERYDAY tutu. One I can wear around the house or anywhere, really. I'd get so much use out of it!

I need to learn to walk en pointe. Is that a hard thing?

I want all of this...

Riot of Roses

2010-04-24T23:49:00.000-07:00

Pretty Pics

2010-04-20T21:49:00.000-07:00

Photography by Harper Smith

Lula Lula Lula

2010-04-18T21:48:00.000-07:00

I just go nuts for Leith Clark and Lula magazine. I have nearly every issue. Suppose I should find the others that I'm missing to round out my collection.

Sometimes they get a little too cute and little girly for me, but I put up with it. They also like Joanna Newsom way too much and it's kinda sickening. Otherwise, so much fun to flip through over and over again...

Their scrapbook is a handy supplement of Lula stuff between issues.

Bonerz Bonerz everywhere

2010-04-16T20:55:00.001-07:00

This weekend Netflix sent me Serial a film from 1980 that makes fun of all the crazy wacked out wife swapping hippies in Marin.

Lordy! Just that picture brings back sooooo many memories of similar VHS boxes lining the shelves of Video Media in Walnut Creek. All grown up movies seemed to look like that. So wacky/sexy! Silly/slutty! Strange. Oh! And the first joke of the movie? A granola joke. Because granola is a weird thing. Martin Mull is just DONE with eating all of this wack-a-doo granola Tuesday Weld is always feeding him! Oh, buddy I can relate! Granola? More like BARF-ola!

There are a bunch of hot tub scenes and key parties and the clothes are to die. The Hidden Valley Ranch lady from Rodney Dangerfield's "Back to School" is in it too.

She will always look like a character from the Dark Crystal to me.

Anyway, before the movie even started- before the granola jokes even started- I had already cracked up laughing. Why?

Thing is, I had JUST seen that name a few weeks ago and a few months before that during the credits of some other stuff! I decided to devote some attention to Bonerz and take a good hard look at why Bonerz seem to keep coming up in my life.

Turns out, he was on Alf, You Again (starring Stamos),Police Academy 6, Soul Man, Friends, Living with Fran and Joey. Perhaps he was best known for his role as Bob's dentist pal on The Bob Newhart Show.

I must have seen Bonerz on ALL of those shows! Call me the Bonerz spotter you guys- I don't let an opportunity to catch Bonerz ever pass me by.

I could use a large straw hat.

2010-04-15T17:11:00.000-07:00

I want to go!

2010-04-13T17:30:00.000-07:00

Russian Red, of course.

2010-04-12T21:43:00.000-07:00

Big matte red lips, simple hair, strong eyebrows, a blazer type situation... so good...

The wonky-eyed budget version...

Kinda Winona circa Mermaids and Johnny Depp, but she would go for a motorcycle jacket (his) instead of the blazer. Wouldn't you?

But what are all these ladies lacking?
Big hoop earrings. That's just my 2 cents.

The Viper Room

2010-04-12T01:19:00.000-07:00

Remember when Johnny Depp and Kate Moss trashed that hotel room and it was a big deal? That was awesome.

Do we like these?

2010-04-12T01:09:00.001-07:00

Those are Chloe Sevigny's clogs and socks. She looks great in them because her legs are amazing and stuff but, really, do I like clogs? Can I wear them? I might be too pale and not have the legs. Also, I don't think I'd be able to NOT look costumey. I'd end up wearing a little dress with them and before you know it I'd look less like Chloe and more like this:

For Rahel: Lil Brooke

2010-04-10T19:07:00.000-07:00

Such a beautiful little girl! They styled her in such a crazy awesome way around this time.

It's sometimes creepy, but I guess it's not as creepy/sad as most dolled up child actors because we all know now that she ended up being all successful and going to Yale and dating Michael Jackson and stuff.

Of course, the Richard Prince pictures of Brooke are a little creepy. Okay, a LOT creepy. Even the Tate Modern thought so and took them down.

Baily

2010-04-08T18:09:00.001-07:00

Oh! Would you LOOK at Baily from WKRP!

Isn't she the prettiest? And such great hair...

I bet there were at least 3 "Baily makeover" themed episodes where she took off her glasses and got all sassy. I think she was perfectly adorable with the glasses on. Maybe her attitude was just a little to prissy, but that's all.

I knew that I was supposed to think Jennifer (Loni Anderson) was the pretty one, but she always looked old to me.

I think Baily would like this outfit:

I know I sure think it's cute.

Serge Lutens

2010-04-07T16:03:00.000-07:00

Whether he was working with Avedon or Penn, Dior or Shiseido, Serge Lutens created brands and images that are unmistakeably him.

Some artists work in watercolors, some in pastels, Serge Lutens looks like he works in Sharpie.

Speaking of Sharpie, I always associated Shiseido with really awesome liquid eyeliner and red lipstick. Truth be told, both are just okay. Serge Lutens set unrealistic expectations, I think.

He is making his own perfume now and living in Marrakech. I haven't been able to track down a really awesome collection of his work and his story- has anyone seen a book like that? You'd think one would exist...

HeWasSoCool.

2010-04-05T23:18:00.000-07:00

Adam Ant photographed by David Bailey, 1978

Lala Sloatman

2010-04-05T16:31:00.001-07:00

"Pump Up the Volume" is one of those movies I loved as a kid because it made high school seem so cool and important. Of course, the movie is actually pretty bad. What made it cool was the soundtrack and the clothes.

So there was Samantha Mathis and, yeah, she was super pretty and her clothes were pretty great and her hair was pretty great and she shows her boobs...

And- oh look! There's the outfit I wore waaaay too much in high school in an effort to look like her!

But my favorite person in the movie for sure was Lala Sloatman who plays Jackie, Samantha Mathis's best friend.

Her style is spot ON in that movie! The whole thrift store, cat-eyed, post-new wave, post-punk, pre-grunge, not quite riot girl thing is PERFECT!

There's one part in particular when they are walking through the halls- Samantha Mathis and Lala Sloatman- and one of them jokingly calls the other a tramp and a bitch and for some reason I thought that was so cool. I could NOT believe that they got away with doing that at SCHOOL! I was so excited to be a teen...

The scene is here and it starts at 3:05.

Turns out Lala Sloatman was a niece of Frank Zappa, cousin to the Zappa kids, went out with Corey Haim and was in Dream a Little Dream. She also was married to Chris Robinson from the Black Crows BEFORE Kate Hudson and she played "Hooker in Loft" in the movie Pauly Shore is Dead.

So now you know.

50's x 70's = Awesome.

2010-04-01T16:51:00.001-07:00

The bike is so eco-friendly! The fur? Not so much.

2010-03-31T17:59:00.000-07:00

Love this although it practically BEGS for some street photographer to snap a pic. I bet she biked circles around the photographer for a while before he took this. I wish they had caught her in motion. Whistling or signaling to make a left turn. Or putting on a helmet under the turban.

"Rock Star Ballerina" in British Vogue

2010-03-30T23:02:00.000-07:00

I emailed Cheap Date once to try to find some back issues and Bay Garnet herself emailed me back! You would have thought the President sent me an email- I was so excited! I emailed her again, but she didn't write back. I think that since my email address was erin@niceadvertising she thought I was going to have some ad dollars for them and that's why she responded in the first place. Anyway, she styled this shoot back in 2005 and it's just great. She said she was going for a rock star ballerina thing.

Favorite Video Girl: Cradle of Love

2010-03-30T22:49:00.000-07:00

"I'm Bored With Madonna"

2010-03-30T22:46:00.001-07:00

I just love Madonna at the end of this video. It's kiiiiiiiiinda creepy that she and that little boy hung out, but they clearly enjoy dancing together so you know. Whatever.

Madonna during the Sean Penn era is my favorite Madonna.

Or maybe hanging out at Funhouse with Jelly Bean Benitez Madonna is my favorite.

Ooooh- or Keith Haring Madonna!

And I always secretly loved Bad Girl Madonna in this David Fincher video. I think it was the beret that did it for me. I linked the pic.

Inspiration: Vegan Ballerina.

2010-03-30T22:26:00.000-07:00

You know that model-off-duty look that shows up on every street photographer's blog? That whole thing with the layers over layers over layers over layers topped with a massive scarf? The look that can only be pulled off if you're starting with a super skinny long-legged frame? Well, models didn't start that. Ballerinas did. And I love ballerinas.

The cool thing about the way ballerinas dress is that all their stuff gets worn and torn up from all that fancy dancing! And from a fashion standpoint, a pair of worn out pointe shoes are MUCH more inspiring than a pair of worn out sneakers that you jogged in for a few months. What's super neat too is the textiles they use. There is no sweat wicking technology at the barre. It's all threadbare cotton layers and tulle and satin and leotard. Oh, the leotard. And you'd wear your leotard under everything as a ballerina. With your tights on too! So say you had some time to kill in between your changement de pied and your demi-grand rond de jambe (as ballerinas sometimes do). Let's say you have time to kill and you'd like to run down to the cafe for a pot tea and some postcard writing to your French boyfriend. Well, twinkle toes, you'd just throw a light-as-air vintage jumper or men's button down. Of course you'd simply be swimming in fabric since you are just so tiny and your dress/shirt is for normal sized people, but that's the look. And you'd toss on a jacket and scarf and some super butch boots to keep you warm. Like a chihuahua, ballerinas have very little flesh to keep their bones warm so you shiver a lot.

There was an editorial spread in Seventeen back 'round 89 or so that captured the look of teenage ballerinas living in New York. It followed them all day long as they went from wearing perfectly piled on sweaters and denim and scarves on the street then peeeeeeeeled all of that off in rehearsal to reveal long, slim, delicate arms covered by their second skin- a black leotard. Ohhhhhhhh I wanted to wear a black leotard! I wanted to live in an apartment with a bunch of other ballerinas and take the subway around town! I wanted to tie together the ribbons of my pointe shoes and swing them over my shoulder and walk around town! I don't think ballerinas actually DO that, but I would have! It would be easier than wearing a sandwich board that says "HEY WORLD! I'M A BALLERINA! I CAN WALK ON MY TOES! I AM VERY GRACEFUL!" because that would be my only other option.

I'd also be a vegan ballerina from the late 70's or early 80's. Just because. Just soooooooooo aware of what I'm eating and soooooooo restrained ("Oh none for me thank you. I'm vegan.") One of those people that gets bored by eating- as if it's just something you have to do in between being a super awesome ballerina about town during the day and performing in the tulle-iest of tutus at night.

"Flashdance" almost captures everything about my favorite ballerina things, but I think if it had been directed by Woody Allen a few years earlier it would have been spot on. Sure Jennifer Beals lives in Pittsburgh not New York City and sure she's a welder, but I dig her look, though. She's got the layers. I wouldn't be a welder, however. I'd be a full time Ballerina.

So that was what I always wanted to do but I can't because I'm short and stubby and stopped taking ballet when I was 6. Sometimes I try to dress like a vegan ballerina and wear a leotard under stuff with a bunch of stuff that's well worn but good quality- just like the super well worn pointe shoes I wish I had slung over my shoulder. I sometimes try to eat vegan too, but that only lasts for an hour or two. Macaroons aren't vegan and those are my favorite! And those go better with my 60's French ingenue thing anyway...

Half-tuck

2010-03-30T17:06:00.000-07:00

It's Dries Van Noten. I love these glasses and the sweater (sweatshirt?) with the half-tuck. I want her clavicle so bad.

Alber, put your tiny hand in mine...

2010-03-22T22:36:00.000-07:00

Lanvin Fall 2010...

George Michael's Father Figure video...

Incredible video directed by Andrew Morahan. He also directed November Rain and Don't Cry and a bunch of super dramatic videos from the late 80's and early 90's.