Meet my friends, Ooga Booga cat, Bob Dylan, eye, and Princess Diana.
Basically, I've decided that if I dress like it's Spring, it will be Spring. Hence, shorts.

queen michelle tee. gap blazer. thrifted shorts. pierre hardy x gap shoes. random buttons. tsumori chisato socks.
But we all know Chicago is teasing us. Snow will be back. And it will be soon.

Ok back to analyzing misogynist traditional Irish folksongs, brb~

Rodarte fall 2010

New York is definitely the most wearable of the four main fashion week cities, and I'm glad Rodarte is there to make things more imaginative. The Mulleavy sisters always bring a sense of fantasy, but it's not a fairytale, and it's never whimsical. It's slightly darker, with a sense of reality - something that is maybe painfully familiar, perhaps in a nostalgic way; a feeling you've grasped before, now translated into clothing. And that's part of the inspiration for this collection: the point between awake and asleep, or reality and make-believe. Sleepwalkers.

It began with a variety of colors and textures and prints, from plaids to florals to knits. There was definitely a dressing-in-the-dark quality, in keeping with the other part of the collection's inspiration: female factory workers in Mexican border towns, whose workday begins at night.

The fabric combinations also kept with Rodarte's general aesthetic, as did the idea of contrasting elements (this time, colorful/white and awake/asleep.) It was nice to see the print-mixing expand into layering; not just draping, as the girls usually do.

The mix of colors disappeared for the last looks, and monochromatic sleepwalkers drifted by. The nostalgic elements of light fabrics, feathers, and pearls went all-white, and I initially felt that this indicated a sort of stripping away of the prints and colors and tracings of daytime so as to make a clean palette for dreams to form. But the fabrics were drifty and the characters vulnerable. The knits and shearling jackets that had previously protected them were gone, and the new dresses resembled nightgowns, underthings visible. Then the blacklight came on, and the heels in the candlewax shoes lit up, and these were no longer sleepy-eyed girls wishing to dream. They were ghosts, drifting along with only white bits of their dresses visible so as to barely haunt us.

photos by me and style.com. screencaps taken from showstudio.com.

thrift shirt and skirt. gap sweatshirt.

Pictures I took back when my hair was blonde and there was snow outside and I wasn't all lazy and in a style rut like now. Any ideas as to what a story to them could be? I haven't the slightest idea.

we'll never see dennis again

Today in school we played dodgeball. Or, rather, I played dodgeball, and everyone else played kickball. But then they were all "NOO COME ON YOU CAN'T BE THAT BAD" and I was like "HAHAH THAT'S WHAT YOU THINK" and then they made me kick it and I ran to the wrong base. Actually, I didn't even run to a base, I just ran to this random mat that I thought was a base, but was just IN THE WAY, and POINTLESS, kind of like the interpretive dancing at the Oscars. But you know what would've made this experiment far less painful? IF I HAD BEEN WEARING THIS: Along with paying a visit to the 60's (my favorite era, which is probably some kind of twist of FATE) (see what I did there? Bob Dylan song? 60's?) (Oh wait, that song is actually 70's. I...fail. Anyway.) Miu Miu was almost cartoonish with its giant bows, poppy colors, scallops, exaggerated pocket piping, and shoe skirts that added an extra clunky stomping factor to the overall effect.

And there were LOTS of embellishments with metallic bows and flowers, kind of as if the wearer was a little girl going through her grandma's jewelry box (from when grand mam mam had her 60's heydey) and sort of decorating herself with brooches.
It started out with the bright colors and cartoon-ish lace (which I will now refer to as the little sister of Prada's) but towards the end got to a place that was darker, a different kind of romantic, slightly stark..

The silhouettes, colors, and fabrics became more sophisticated, and the playful, wiry flower brooches were replaced by some in full bloom.

There were parts I didn't care for or that wouldn't have really improved today's game of kickball, (which is now the new standard for everything: would it improve my pitiful, athletically-challenged middle school experiences? WOULD IT?) such as the low cut-overall situations and skirts-over-pants (maybe because I was too reminded of my 3rd grade days when I decided I was really edgy and //alt for wearing a skirt over a pair of jeans. THE MEMORIES, MAKE THEM STOPPPPPP). They didn't feel out of place in the collection but my sentiments for them were those of Enid's here:

The spring collection will always be my favorite, and that kind of magic can't happen twice. But over all, it was cute and fun and Miu Miu. And it still would've made that really awful game of kickball much, much better.

big sister / little sister

Prada Fall 2008 / Miu Miu Fall 2010.

Hussein Chalayan was based around the idea of a mirage, though that fact was no MIRAGE as the sunglasses said, "MIRAGE". Dad jokes! In all seriousness, because this is serious business, as things always are around here, I first thought it was sort of arbitrary, but the more I looked through it and thought about it the more it made sense, and the fact that it was hard to understand at first only made me like it more. And made it more, of course, like a mirage. I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE, MR. CHALAYAN.
There were binoculars stuffed up with shearling and leather, hazy nebula-like prints, foggy sheer fabrics, and crocheted jackets that only half-covered the top part of the body. Without the concept, the clothes didn't seem to flow from one look to another too well, but I don't think a Hussein Chalayan collection can be viewed without knowing that there has to be a concept, anyway.
The "mirage" sunglasses reminded me of New Year's Eve sunglasses, in a good way.

oscars the grouch

I am not normally one for red carpet dressing (other than the CFDA gala) and last night we didn't even get Tilda or Cate, AND the co-hosting was awkward, AND Twilight is not a horror movie, and Zac Efron STILL HIGHLY RESEMBLES A NEOPET, but Carey Mulligan filled the Prada void that would have been otherwise occupied by Tilda with this dress that looks very pretty and normal at first...But then when you look at a closer picture, you see this, and if you happen to be looking at the closer picture while it's really late and night and you just ate/drank your weight in sugary products, your reaction is 3x the excitement, or, UDISGHDSLUGWHUIWGSDTiny kitchen utensils! For tiny murderers! Chick is basically wearing a Clue gameboard, AND IT IS FANTASTIC.

And Robert Downey Jr. looked awesome.
I would like to think that he and Michelle Obama play kickball together in their matching Lanvin sneakers. WELL DONE, SHERLOCK, WELL DONE.

That's about it. Again, don't really care for red carpet-type stuff BUT throw some tiny knives and bow ties into the mix and I am intrigued. Oh, and TOM FORD. Throw Tom Ford into the mix and I am also intrigued, and also maybe sitting two inches away from the screen, never mind that it is in the corner of the room hanging from a ceiling. I use my floating powers when necessary, okay? Lastly, I love you all more than rainbows.

one was johnny who lived by himself

Vivienne Westwood was like a Maurice Sendak character that runs away to start her own kingdom, AKA, what I would like to do, all the time, a lot. Paper crowns, crayon scribbles (some of which read "Prince Charming") and drapy dresses that could've come out of an older sister's dress-up box..plus, only Vivs could put her models in marker moustaches (time for me to revisit TOMAS, perhaps?) and it still make sense.
And, going back to the Maurice Sendak thing: Wild Rumpus crowns, anyone? That star on that grey sweatshirt is TOTALLY Really Rosie? LIFE COMPLETE.

stuff about fashion blogging, again

At the Independent Fashion Bloggers conference at NYFW, there was a panel including the Fashionista girls, Susie Bubble, Phil Oh, Bryanboy, and myself, and we talked about-WAIT FOR IT-the future of fashion blogging! Pretty RANDOM topic, if you ask me. There's a video but I'm too afraid to watch it because I probably said some stupid things. But! If I were to paraphrase, I would say we mostly talked about:
-Discretion when it comes to accepting gifts or freebies.
-Advice to new bloggers. (Which mostly came to: write about what is interesting to you. What works for one blogger doesn't always work for another, and writing about the exact same stuff that a popular blogger writes about will go unnoticed since someone else is already doing the same thing.)
-A blogger's place at Fashion Week.
-Hey, remember when we all decided we were the greatest people ever and that blogs were the new everything? Me neither! The media likes the story but it ain't no big thang.
-We can't predict the future of fashion blogging. The same way no one saw it coming, no one knows where it will go.

The big difference between bloggers and journalists isn't the fact that we're using computers. I mean, Cathy Horyn and Lynn Yaeger have blogs, lots of critics write for style.com, and a number of editors, including Hamish Bowles and Andre Leon Talley, write blog posts; but it's not the same as my having a blog - the difference is experience. It's not remarkable that we're using the internet!!! but what most people are pointing out - with me, mostly, since this doesn't apply to the other bloggers that were on the panel - is lack of experience. I haven't gone to journalism school, I haven't had any internships, etc. And I'm 13, which, oh my God, I can't tell you how excited I am to outgrow that number. This, honestly, is what I think is the future of fashion blogging, or at least part of it. The same way teenagers can start a Flickr account and be noticed by a magazine, or a band can start a MySpace and be picked up by a label, blogs will act as jumping-off platforms for people that want to work in the industry.

When I started Style Rookie in March of 2008, only ElleGirl and teenvogue.com would write about blogs. It wasn't a big media thing and having one wasn't an affiliation for Fashion Week, it was a nice circle of ladies and occasional dudes who supported each other and often found themselves saying "Thank you for this post! None of my friends get my feelings about ______." Then some of us started taking opportunities that had arisen, and I spent some money on a Hussein Chalayan dress, and then all of a sudden it was like, JUDAAAAAAAAAAS.

Which is, you know, bizarre. Allow me to direct you to this epic Dave Eggers essay.
So now my inbox and comment section are full of "Can you critique my blog? Can you tell me what to do to get invited to shows? How do I get my blog recognized in the industry?" which isn't a bad thing, I guess (other than the critiquing thing, which like..it's about you and your thoughts. No one is able to tell you what to think or how to explain your thinking to others.) Now blogging is a full-time job for some people and in some cases a segway into the industry but I guess that's the way it goes. And it's sort of a bummer, especially because now I'm far more aware of the number of people that read my blog, and when I take this into consideration when writing a post I feel pressured to sound smarter or fancier when mostly I just enjoy writing journal-like streams of thought (my blog has always been a virtual diary) even though I'm supposed to be writing grand reviews because a newspaper or magazine told whoever to expect that. That's a problem with my own outlook, though, and I still enjoy blogging. A lot. And, thankfully, it doesn't have to be a job for me. When it starts to feel like one, I'll stop.
But I don't think anyone is saying blogs are the equivalent to magazines, or inexperienced bloggers like myself are the equivalent to journalists, anyway. Still, there is nothing wrong with having a range of perspectives. I think fashion is important to discuss.

Which brings me to this recent Isabel Marant quotation:

“For me, fashion shows are not for the public, they are trade shows for the press. It’s time for the press to understand the collection and then spread the information. That’s more interesting than just the image. Everyone wants to be first. It’s too too much. There should be privacy and mystery. There is no excitement about anything anymore as everything is available immediately and all the time – you don’t have to wait for anything. I don’t like the idea of being flooded with image and information. I don’t belong to the generation of spending time on the internet. I think it’s too fast and too fake. It’s like going to a museum on the internet – where is the pleasure? It’s sad because everyone is running after everything, but after what? Everything is too quick. There is no room in your heads for all this information. No one retains anything.”

I think that when it comes to fashion shows being online, it's exposure for a brand. I think that a customer deserves to see the show and get to know the world of that label. I like privacy and mystery too, but there's a fine line between that and exclusivity.

And-TWIST!-I also hate the fastness of the Internet! And the fakeness! I like buying my magazines and zines and having special stuff I can hold in my hand! And this Internet, it makes the already fast fashion very very fast! And it's scary and a lot of it feels very unauthentic and sad. And fast.

But, in five years, the iPhone will be Oldy McOldster from Oldsville, Oldesota. And tumblr then will be like xanga now. Who knows where fashion blogging will be. Point is, things are changing.

back to the future

"Classics with a twist!" Retro futurism! In fashion, all those cliches have been done time and again, but I think that Nicolas Ghesquiere's collection for Balenciaga was the only one as of recent to elevate these concepts to a level that was more refined and thoughtful. "Retro futurism" didn't mean the Jetsons, and "classics" didn't mean camel coats or button-downs. They were elements of home-living and domesticity that were brought into the present with what has now become Nicolas LongName's signature futurism aesthetic. He said his goal was "to ennoble every day objects." Mission accomplished. Ew, that makes me think of Tom Cruise, which makes me think of him jumping on Oprah's couch. And we don't like to talk about that here. So instead I will say, "A+"! But that makes me think of school, and it is the weekend, so we don't like to talk about that here, either. Gosh, is there a reason that there isn't a way to say "GOOD JOB" without being reminded of something terribly disturbing? Well...I guess I could always just say "good job." So, um, good job, Nicky G!
(Why do I think this much about these things?)
ANYWAY. Futuristic classics! Right!

On the far left and far right, updated versions of quilting. The texture on the nude dress reminded me of doilies or lace napkins, and a simple wool sweater was brought into the future with bright green, sort of geometric threading (which really makes me think of that one lily pad game from Zoombinis. In a good way!)

The shoes (which were totally killer) were the greatest indication of this - oxfords or loafers or a wood-looking material elevated with geometric shapes and of what looked like minerals (and whose patterns and colors reminded me a lot of Snood. WHY IS THIS COLLECTION THE SUMMARY OF OUR FAMILY COMPUTER'S ACTIVITY FROM THE YEARS 2002-2005?)

The closing looks were WORDS. Lots of em. Some looked like newspaper or tabloid headlines, and some were in electric clock fonts. In a few looks, they were attached to and appeared to be pouring out of the skinny-legged pants, and in others, were printed on ninja star-shaped marshmallows held together by their corners. I couldn't figure out what this was getting at, but have a feeling it has to do with bringing communication to a new medium.

HA. Yeah, that's all I got. As a look, I dig it, though.


There were then pieces that weren't so obviously on the same wavelength as the collection's concept when broken down, but still felt just as modern. Palettes from Spring were updated, grey coats like the one below were simple as silhouettes but calmly assertive. Same goes for the textural pants mixed with humble striped sweaters.

Also? That dress next to the lil orange number? Needs to be styled with sheer Rodarte AW10 pants? Because it would look pretty and what I say goes? GOOD.