"she's fainted! get the brandy!"

Ella and I spent all of Saturday night and Sunday morning watching movies and movies and movies. YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS BUT I paid attention to the clothes more than anything else (besides how much Tippi Hedren seemed to simply ADORE driving in The Birds, and that in all of the movies we watched, whenever somebody would get injured or be pretty much on their deathbed, whoever tending to them would scream for brandy) but because I'm pretty sure most of the clothes in these movies have been covered in the blogosphere before, I am going to risk the Being Really Ridiculously Pretentious thing and look at the movies' aesthetic, not just clothes. (And why yes, yes I did just write a paragraph-long sentence that probably only made sense in my head.) I can assure you that this movie marathon of ours was one of two times I've been cultured this year, the other being when I went to a museum in the city! Otherwise I just sit in my room and look at issues of Lula while making whale noises of enthusiasm over how pretty the styling is and eat crackers.

Vertigo In a nutshell: James Stewart is stalking his friend's wife named Madeleine because his friend thinks she's going nuts because of her crazy great grandmother of which the wife knows nothing but still feels this weird internal connection with and it becomes a huge mess. The highlight is definitely when a nun comes out of nowhere and starts ringing a bell. Obviously the clothes are cool, but they're pretty much what you'd expect from a movie made in 1958. More inspiring I think is the setting and the eerie feel. Flowers and beautiful architecture everywhere and a DAME IN A CUTE DRESS (I sometimes like to talk like I'm in Guys and Dolls?) make for a pleasant idea, but throw in the vertigo and mental illness and murder and it's super creepy. As an outfit: cheery and floral with a few dark details like a black necklace. Maybe even a knife. Well no, not really. Yes really. *shifts eyes*

The Birds Another one where the clothes are pretty basic and simple but the feel is FREAAAKAYYY. Think of that bird print dress from McQueen AW09 and how it's super creepmaster. Yeah.
Also we could not stop cracking up at this part (one minute and twelve seconds to be precise:)


Are we crazy and terrible or is that really just hilarious? Oh man, almost as good as the Windows XP screensaver used all the time in Vertigo. Alfred Hitchcock come over here and give me a hug.

Marie Antoinette
With Marie Antoinette it's the clothes, setting, and aesthetic that would make for cool outfit inspiration. The hair, dresses, shoes CUSTOM MADE BY MANOLO BLAHNIK FOR THE MOVIE (goddamnit) and every other luxurious everything in every scene are incredibly detailed, very perfect and clean and pastel-y and very very amazing. Translated into my dream outfit: a shirt with some pattern that looks like fancy pastries, a couple curtains draped here and there, wallpaper print tights, a pretty lace fan, custom-made Blahniks (goddamnit, again,) and, since there is that FIERY SPIRIT of Marie Antoinette that means sneaking off to fancy balls (the scandal!) maybe something neon pink as opposed to pastel baby pink too (no Ramones tees or scuffed up Converse for this combination for me though, the irony with those mixed with tutus or tiaras isn't fun anymore/is Avril Lavigne.)
Man I would totally love to style a Marie Antoinette shoot with all the clothes from most of the AW09 shows.

ManhattanThe whole movie has a very autumn feel, even though I don't think it takes place in the fall. Maybe because Yokoo is a fall staple for me, and Yokoo reminds me so much of Woody Allen? Anyway, the whole movie is black and white, the humor is unforced and natural, and adding that to images like the one above pretty much makes for a very breeeeezy, Autumn-in-New York feel (I've never been to NY in the Fall, but shut up.) It's so...like...they're walking down the street in loose button down type things and ~cas(ual) and it's a little windy and awhiumugnonnggggggdufl. I am terrible at trying to put into words 98% of things. Decipher my whale noises?
I don't think anyone other than my soul get what I mean but basically the aesthetic of the movie (because I have no other word for overall feel and aesthetic makes me sound kewl nd smert) would translate into a cross between an Annie Hall-type outfit in its I-just-threw-this-on-ness, and a "Posh Sans Dosh" (fashion story from Love Issue 2) type outfit to cover the neoroticness and awkwardness of the character Isaac (the Love story was a little nervous-old-man-like with all of its tweed and such and I loved it.)

Evidently, I become more and more incoherent as time goes on, and should probably keep this next one short and simple: HEY BUD, LET'S PARTY!

love love love love

I got an email from LOVE in May and it has been SO hard to keep quiet about this! I'm glad I can finally talk about it!
I was first contacted to do an interview and take pictures of myself like I do for this here bloggyblog only with a box of lovely samples sent over by the magazine. Let me tell you something, it was so hard to say goodbye to the clothes when they had to be shipped back. Dare I break into Dreamgirls right about now? DARE I?
Anyway, saying goodbye to the clothes was as hard as I imagine it would be saying goodbye to a bunch of people you took a month-long trek through the Himalayas. But minus the goodbyes, it was lots of fun. Then I was contacted about interviewing Jordan Wolfson, a conceptual artist who is lots of fun to talk to and had lots to say (it's a shame I had to cut it down but hope he likes the article..)
And the photos I took...(getting this in the mail right before leaving for school supplies shopping was completely surreal..)
Pixie was really great to speak with and asked questions I've never even thought about..so fun.
And the photos I took, including ones that ended up not being used in the magazine or on the website. (For LOVE only, do not use please..!)
This bike like..doesn't have tires? Or a chain? Or something? I DUNNO, it was super hard to move. Or I'm a weakling? Yeah that's probably it.
This exact Yokoo pompom will be up on CWAC soon..
I wanted to keep the dress!
Aghjshfewjtfabhwer Comme aw09 coat, I DIE. I MAY OR MAY NOT have pictures of me just hugging myself in the coat, so I will always have the memory of what it was like to be in Its Holy Prescense.
Blogging on a Friday night/worshipping a coat YEP I'M A WILD GAL.
Angie's skirt and Yokoo's chain! (Yokoo's will be in the CWAC shop..)
This last one wasn't even sent to them because I didn't like it...I still don't really like wtf I'm doing in this but I do like the clothes!

I started taking pictures of my favorite features in the issue but it ended up being practically every other page, so I'll just list my top 10 (I was going to do 5 but couldn't pick..) in no particular order:
-"Posh Sans Dosh," Julia is in it along with lots of other rad people, the styling is epic and all the awesome ladies in it look like tweedy little bowtie grandmas and I love it!
-"Pixie and Ashley," they're both just too rad.
-"Dorothea," once again, epic styling (what else can you expect from Katie Grand?) that makes me so excited for winter and, yknow, a Comme coat, so I have to love it..
-"Boxer Beat," I know NOTHING about boxing and this completely fascinated me.
-Article about the kids that work at Hollister. Kind of eerie, really interesting though.
-Taylor Swift feature. I think she's awesome and I love her!
-"Bloodline" shot by Mert & Marcus, just so rad.
-Billie Lourd interview with Marc Jacobs, she's cool and so is he!
-Cover girl Coco Sumner's feature, love her.
-"Thigh Society" and "Hot to Trotsky" I am counting as one because I am a cheater even though they're totally different...the styling, again! Just amazing.

I haven't read the articles on Disney or Hugh Hefner's sons yet but I'm looking forward to. Go buy the issue!
It's always nice to see a better version of yourself but with LOVE I felt like they kept it true to my style and who I am as well...thank you thank you thank you LOVE!!

i don't even know.

WTF IS THIS.Vogue Paris, September 2009.

THAT FONT. I MEAN..WHAT. It's called Curlz. With a z. It's almost as bad as Comic Sans and is infamous for its many appearances in numerous MS Word documents and 8 year old birthday party invitations. I used it for my 8 year old birthday party invitation. I could pull up GREETINGS WORKSHOP and show you.

Also, I am certain this is not something that the people over at The Fash Pack pasted onto the photo, because, being the hard-hitting journalist I am that will not rest until the truth is revealed, I googled the name of the editorial (Googled, you guys. I don't mess around.) and every scan I've seen has this terrible writing in that terrible Polly Pocket shade (ok, I actually love Polly Pocket, but there is a time and a place.)

And I know Vogue Paris loves being controversial but this is not even supposed to be bad, I don't think. It's not like they did the whole model-giving-the-finger-to-a-sign-protesting-fur thing. They just think it's ~bitchin, I suppose. Or edgy or sexy or whatever else they always aim for.

I don't know you guys. I just. don't. know.

And because I am basically Jim Henson in 13 year old girl form without the puppets but DEFINITELY WITH THE SAME OPTIMISM (sarcasm, though the following is 100% genuine,) I will say that Sasha looks ACE. As always. She should've decided on the font. She should've BEEN the font. It would just be a Bye Bye Birdie lyric made out of little Sashas, like that book we have somewhere from the 90's about The Human Body where the title is a bunch of kids in primary colored tshirts and jeans and converse and they all make up the title.

photo source thefashpack

lucky

WOW, okay, it looks like there were way more Lucky Pack orders than I anticipated! Good times! I will reply to all the emails I've already received but until I have gotten back to everyone that's already tried to place an order and seen how many can be fulfilled, no more orders will be taken as that needs to get taken cared of first.
Also I forgot to put this in last night's Lucky Packs post though I've added it just now, shipping is $5 for the US and $10 everywhere else.
Thanks dudes!

p.s. Thank you to Grazia who featured my blog in their magazine a few days ago. I can assure you I definitely do not get anywhere near 4 million daily hits or readers though!

Clothing With a Cause update+Lucky Packs

(To find out what Clothing With a Cause is, click here.)

First of all, the amount of money it's raised so far comes to a little over $510, including a donation the folks at Weardrobe made in exchange for a goody box full of things for the Weardrobe Closet. Yay you guys!

In the beginning of the summer I said I would keep selling until the end of it, and there are still TONS of donations I need to get rid of and will keep selling throughout the school year until they're all sold. To get rid of them in bulk I asked Belle for permission to use her ingenious Lucky Packs idea.

What it is what it is
-A Lucky Pack is a box filled with goodies. There will be around 3 items of clothing, 2 accessories, and a fun book or zine or inspiration print, and a mix of new and vintage. Fun!
-It is all about luck, hence the name. You might like what you get and you might not, but you can always resell, or you can gift, or whatever. Even if you don't like everything you get, you'll still know the money goes to a good cause, and that certainly can't be a bad thing.
-I say I need to get rid of these items because they're donations, not because I wouldn't love to own them myself! Everything going in your Lucky Pack is something I would wear or like to own myself, if not, that's lame.
This is an example of one, minus a third piece of clothing which would actually be included.

How to order
I'm not using eBay for this and am doing just 3 Lucky Packs to begin with. First come, first serve!
1. Email me at tavitoons@yahoo.com with the subject line reading "Lucky Packs."
2. Type in your name, address and size.
3. I will reply with PayPal information (only form of payment, sorry.)
4. You will send money to the PayPal account.
5. I will email you once your item has been shipped. Worldwide shipping. $5 for US, $10 for everywhere else.
Simple!

Each Lucky Pack is $65. Remember, one dress, a top, a bottom, two accessories, and a zine or little book or mini poster. Say you were to normally spend $25 on a dress, $15 on a top, $15 on a bottom, $5 for one accessory and $10 for the other, and $10 on a zine. That's more than the Lucky Packs cost, and the money goes to Darfur. There are no refunds-I'm trying to get rid of a bunch of stuff here-but if you don't like what you get, you can always resell.

It starts now, so email me asap if you're interested!
Thanks guys!!!!!!!!! xo

first day of...something that rhymes with school

Ehhhhh.

Honestly I've been kind of really excited for the school year to start because I wanted FALL more than anything, and there were getting to be too many days in the summer where I wouldn't get dressed or do anything until 4 in the afternoon and during the school year I've fought a battle every day by that time, whether it be wearing uncomfortable BUT VERY PRETTY AND THEREFORE VITAL necklaces or not getting killed in gym class (the latter is every. single. day.) Once I actually got to school it was like...ewwww. Why am I here. For the first couple hours I was as bitter and deadpan as all the ladies Lula issue 6 was based around but by the end of the day I was a) really happy with all of my teachers and b) really happy with how I decorated my composition book (McQueen in the front, Comme in the back. WUT.)thrifted dress and necklaces. random doily and bracelet. tsumori chisato socks and vintage boots, gifts.
I was trying to be a warm colored granny? Sure, we'll go with that. The dress is pretty big on me so I gathered and pinned lots of the excess fabric with a doily. I really am way more creative in dressing during the school year.
My lucky socks!
Highlights of the day:
-Being mistaken for a boy
-Being mistaken for being in the sixth grade (I'm in eighth)
-Being asked if I was AT THE WRONG SCHOOL. I can't even choose between the different sarcastic ways to react to this.
-Coming home and sleeping.
OH who saw Anna on Letterman last night? Man oh MAN you guys! It wasn't as climatic as the 60 Minutes one where the interviewer guy said, "SO Anna, what do you think about people calling you a-ahah, heh-bitch all the time? What do you think about being called a-(holds back grin)-bitch? Why do you think people call you a-heh, hehehmehhhh-BITCH?" a billion times, but it was enjoyable and way more interesting than that baseball player guy that came on afterwards (totally blah.)
She was nervous in the beginning and her voice was sorta shaky which I actually really liked. She plugged everything you'd expect her to, and even though I love Dave~ I was totally rooting for Adubz when she would give him backhanded compliments or flat out insults. He went into the whole "Do people actually WEAR those things on the STREET?" about designer clothes, and I felt like throwing my fork at the TV screen and then jumping in myself and giving him the rant I give every person in my family/every one of my friends that asks the same thing. He also was being an ass and asked questions she's answered all before, only without saying "bitch" repeatedly and smirking each and every time. OH WOW MR. LETTERMAN, ANNA WINTOUR DEFINITELY HAS NEVER BEEN ASKED ABOUT THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA BEFORE. As soon as he mentioned it she rolled her eyes and who can blame her? There are a million other things he could've asked. Anyway, I can't wait to see The September Issue.

September Issue reviews: Harper's Bazaar

I don't know if stories about plastic surgery, trends, or dating after 40 will ever really appeal to me but in Harper's it's good for what it is and of all the magazines that do that kind of thing, Harper's is the least annoying about it. I generally don't like it when magazines have how-to-wear guides (especially about "ageless style!") but for the people who do like them, Harper's puts together flattering and usually fun outfits, and for people like me, the guides are very appealing visually. Obviously everything inside The Well is good.

Highlights:
-Story on Susan Boyle which, honestly? It's hard to read it and not like her. Like how thinking UP was stupid would mean one does not have a soul. You have to like her after reading it. She jokes about herself and is modest and ~quirky~ and I like her cat.
-Naomi Campell in Africa by Jean-Paul Goude. I was on the fence about these for a while because I couldn't tell if she was supposed to be portrayed as an animal or just having fun with them. In the controversial Amber Rose pictures Jean-Paul Goude just shot for Complex, she is in a cage, shackled up, and naked. Here it seems to be more about the clothing, and Naomi is racing or jumproping with or sitting on the animals and not acting like one...I think? What are your thoughts?
If we're going to ignore that aspect of it, I do think the photos are neat as fashion photographs. I mean, look at how her arms and legs are positioned here...that's kind of perfection.
EDIT: Ooooopsydoops, the Complex story is by MATT DOYLE, not JPG. My bad!

-"Fashion..and all that jazz" has a cheesy title but otherwise is just plain awesome. The styling is impeccable and, um, Peter Lindbergh! Hi! Plus Chanel and Arlenis look so good!LOL IKNORITE

-Peggy Guggenheim's Venice Um, ok, HI. It's inspired by Peggy Guggenheim, shot by KARL in VENICE which is BEAUTIFUL, model is LARA STONE, in two photos she is with a DOG, and clothing credits include COMME and PHILIP TREACY. So, like, yeah. I die. I think one of my favorite editorials of all time.-This interview where Karl pretends to be Coco Love! He says "Some idiot Karl" which gives me a warm fuzzy "oh, I love people" feeling, like the one I got when I watched that one video interview he did where he seemed to actually be enjoying himself and the interviewer wasn't being a sociopath and/or Charlie Rose. People are upset about his anti-feminist comment in this Coco interview but it truly came off as a joke to me, and as if he was more making fun of people who think all feminists are ugly than feminists themselves.
-"Thriller Fashion" is a Jacko-inspired ed and kind of epic. Aggy is cute, styling is good, and so far all the tributes to him have been articles or on TV so this is different and I like that. Plus they didn't ass it up by including an article analyzing him, which I think we're kind of tired of by now, y/y/y/y/y/y?-"From Seventh Avenue to Sesame Street" Probably my favorite feature in here! Each page (or in DVF's case, spread) is of an American designer somewhere on Sesame Street with a character from the show and a model wearing one of their designs. They're all SO.GODDAMN.CUTE. and everybody is smiling instead of trying to ~play it cool.-"New Pieces You'll Love Forever" The title sounds like another SHOP YOUR CLOSET BE A RECESSIONISTA! piece (though that is in another part of the issue) but it is IN FACT something TOTALLY DIFFERENT: "Buy classics!" I have not read the article, which I probably should if I'm going to criticize it, but I know I am not going to spend $3,000 on a trench coat because it's a "classic," or, something everyone else has, and if this article was written for the average American woman, I'm not sure if she will, either. I don't wanna be too snarky so I will instead babble on about the accompanying editorial with mah gurlll Jessica Stam, but I like to call her Jessie when we hang out and are bffs. In my head. *shuffles feet with hands in pockets* Anyway, the colors are amazing, the styling makes me want to spend $3,000 on a trench coat, they matched a Comme coat with Prada waders, those Dries van Noten sunglasses with the nordic platform Proenza shoe (my favorite of the season), and-brace yourselves-there are really cute dogs! And, of course, Jessie looks totes fab, as always, when we hang out. All the time.
-"Most Wanted"
another one that is visually incredibly rad and, like most fashion spreads, inspiring in the feel it gives off and not because it's advertising a $640 bangle. The whole thing is
floating red and black accesories with jumping red and black playing cards, and it looks cool.
-"Fabulous at Every Age: Leighton Meester" I don't really have a problem with her to begin with and the article isn't ~edgy by any means, so if anything it's a nice read for the bus, or taking a dump, if you do that kind of thing. To be honest her interview with Seventeen was more interesting to me. Harper's did make her look like an old lady in some of the photos which I think is cool and would have made for a more eyecatching cover than the one chosen.
-"Schiaparelli: The Shocking Truth" Ok, I haven't read this one either but it seems really interesting and if not there is a lovely picture of Siri Tollerod with a red glove on her head that is stunning, at the very least.
-Suzy Menkes writes about the 80's I preferred the article about 80's redoux in the September issue of the NYTimes' T Magazine but the accompanying editorial here is good and the composition I think is especially great. Plus Suzy Menk
es seems like she would be very fun to bake cookies with, or comb bangs with, or something.

...And, lowlights, since I'm an optimist!
-"Urban Chic" Really? Still? We're still talking about Urban Chic? The whole shoot is kind of bland and I feel bad that the model had to work with such a boring setting.
-"Buy designer clothes because our magazine survives when we are good at advertising them." With an editorial by Terry Richardson that is pretty meh. Yeah.
-"Cheap and Cheerful." This is where the "Recessionista!" talk begins.

To sum up: Worth the money ($5) if you live in the US, and if you don't and it costs like $15 for you then I would spend the money on Vogue Nippon or something. Harper's Bazaar is one of very few good American fashion magazines and the September issue is, if I may use The Proud Family lingo, off the yeezy.~Fin~

photo sources: tengossip, i love kdia, gossiprocks, bellasugar, thefashpack