Put a Hop in Your Hump-day Step
Net-a-porter.com is what makes my Mondays and Hump-days bearable. Feasting my eyes on what fabulous merchandise they have stocked on these blessed days is the source for Designer Discoveries and the ever present goal in fashion; seducing me into things I never knew I wanted or needed. Warnings for the site should advise shoppers, and especially browsers, on the potential side effects: Sudden onsets of fashion orgasms, impulse purchases of items that were once thought impossible to obtain, and the occasional shopping blackout, triggered by overwhelming salivation at the available options, an innocent glass of wine, and followed by general disorientation and irrational justifications for the numerous packages that arrive during the following week. I'm happy to say my credit card has never had to endure a Net-a-Porter shopping blackout. However, this week has been borderline, and I just had to share the options.
First, a little pit-stop.
All this month, my internship has taken me on photo shoots, it's a fashion magazine, and we took the above glove with us on numerous occasions. While waiting for hair and makeup or other tedious tasks, the stylist and I played with some of the jewelry, and I always picked up the glove and fooled around with it; mostly mocking it's Michael Jackson-esque ridiculousness. Lo and behold, it's on Net-a-Porter today and it's worth a whopping $1,170. Had I known it was that much, I probably would have been a little less dismissive, and more careful. Oops. Oh, well. Moving on.
#1 D&G Dress
This confection is super cute and functional for this humidity plaguing New York, my current location. It cute, easy to dress up or down, and it's D&G. I saw this in the boutique in Soho first, but now I know the price, it's not terrible.
#2 Oscar de la Renta flats
How fun are these? They're Parisian with a carnival twist. I don't know, perhaps its the sudden desire to have more "fun" in my wardrobe that I'd developed today when I bought a black lace dress, and dismally realized how bland practicality was making my style. Whatever the motivation, these are worth a mention and, perhaps for the sake of name dropping an American favorite, worth an investment. Decide for yourself.
#3 Vivienne Westwood Anglomania coat
This little number caught my eye in the back of Vivienne's London shop near Oxford street, kind of. I don't really remember where it was, but the coat was, of course, the only thing not on sale and sadly my pockets were rather empty by that point. Here it is again, back to entice me again, and it looks less overwhelmingly shapeless than it did on the hanger. I can say that up close, the material is divine and the large collar is just so yummy for the fall.
#4 Alice and Olivia dress
This color struck me with this one. It's a little drab with it's neckline, but the styling here makes it seem very versatile. It reminds me of the comment my roommate made when she was watching the city. She noticed that Olivia Palermo never wears low cut things, and this seemed like just the chic, pleated, "oh this little thing?" sort of dress that she would have. To, you know, just throw on for the market.
#5 Balmain Jacket
Although Balmainia has passed, it's hard to deny the striking silhouette and impeccable tailoring. Add in a pinch of military and a dash of tuxedo and you've got this guy, subdued but chic enough to transform even the lowliest of hipsters into a power Manhattanite. Note how the satin isn't wrinkling in the slightest, a downside most designers struggle with.
#6 Marni purse
If you're into the shearling trend that's cozying up to the fashion elite, this might be an easy way to join in. It's cute, neutral, and when you stop paying rent to buy it and you're sleeping on the streets, you can use it as a pillow.
#7 Etoile by Isabel Marant Coat
Who doesn't love Isabel Marant, and at reasonable prices? This tweed is just darling for the winter and it's spacious for the sweaters and extra pounds that usually accompany the wintery months. The model even has liquid leather leggings, and a Rocco bag! How on trend is she?
A few honerable mentions that are also available this week:
-Plethora of P.S. 1 bags that sold out in 24 hours (for the few that don't yet have theirs).
-The actual Rocco bag by Alexander Wang is available, I think? It might be sold out by now.
-The hot pink rabbit jacket in all the D&G ads, if you're feeling frisky.
-A tiara. The one in our opening picture. Yeah, not sure who is going to buy it, but brownie points for Net-a-Porter for going big or going home on that one.
*Designer Discovery* - Asher Levine
This one comes from my Lady Gaga obsession. Asher Levine is a New York City based designer, supposedly "up and coming" but don't quote me on that. He's an edgy kid with a new fall/winter 2010 line that looks something like a Rodarte and Rick Owens love child. He went to Pace, worked in fashion advertising, and took a stab at designing with results that will give you whiplash. His website bio paints his history a little more colorfully, but you can check that out for yourself.
Check out some photos of his collection that will hit stores this fall, and start the nail biting. 
Remember that infamous Lady Gaga photo of her flicking off the paparazzi at a hotdog stand in nothing but this jacket? Mr. Levine is responsible for that. Apparently, this bespoke jacket was made for her and is not, and will not be, available to the less audacious public like us. Here, the one-of-a-kind jacket is her only wardrobe in a recent Rolling Stone issue, June of this year, I believe. 
This is an amazing leather jacket that's part of his fall collection and, if you can get past the crocodile skivvies, that deserve a closer look as well, the detailed photos are delicious. 
The animal sacrificed for this vest is unbeknownst to me, but what a way for it to go. 
Who can resist a moth-eaten shirt? Not groundbreaking, but desirable none the less. 
This one is taken by Gaga's stylist, Niccola Formachetti backstage at the Today show earlier this week. The jacket is, again, custom I believe, and this photo is from Niccola's Facebook.
No word on a women's line, although I should calm down considering his first collection isn't even in stores yet. It will be available at Oak on Bond Street this fall, and online via Oak and Levine's website. I'm not sure if I'll pick up anything, but I'll make a note to stop by Oak this fall and stroke the garments wantonly.
*Market Research* - Union Square
Today begins a new segment where I spew my thoughts on farmers markets that I explore in New York City. I'm stationed here for two months so I thought I'd seek out the local fresh grub offered in this fine city. The segment is cleverly titled "Market Research" and I plan on hammering out a post every time I go to a new one. I plan to keep the markets local to my Chelsea location so don't expect any Brooklyn or Upper East Side reviews here. But, you never know if I'll find myself in that neck of the woods and craving some carrots fresh from the soil.
On a side note, all of mine and your farmer's market needs for NYC are conveniently compiled by Greenmarket, the folks that organize the whole ordeal, at www.grownnyc.org. There you can find maps and dates and times of operation for each market and etc. It's comprehensive, to an extent, but deceptive in it's depiction of each market. I'm here to expose the truth about each location and if it lives up to the popular view or if it's even worth the shlep.
For now, lets begin this venture with the famed Union Square Market.
It's nestled right above the NYU crowd and fairly touristy, but boasts the best selection the farmers markets have to offer. Well, on a sunny afternoon, my roommate and I trekked down there to see for ourselves.
First off, the span of the white tents was impressive and dotted the entire west side of the park. There were massive apple tents and a nice tent packed with greens of all varieties and everything from goat's cheese to meat chilling right in the freezers. Upon further sampling, scouting, and spending, I came to the following conclusions.
RIPE PICKIN'S
- The carrots were fantastic. Large, juicy, and sweet. I'm still eating them nearly a week after and at $3 a bunch it's a shameless buy.
- The apples were a) samples, b) well represented, and c) chin-dribblingly juicy. I prefer the Gala, and Fuji at the massive apple stand, but the mini apples, whose name escapes me, were worth a munch.
- there was a lovely expanse of greens available, silently encouraging a diet with more salads at the sight of their lush and vibrant leaves. I'll be sure to stop back and pick up some bokchoy for my dad's salad recipe.
- The patrons were generally pleasant. As for the vendors, I'm not sure if "I'll give it to you for 3.50, just for you." was as generous as it seemed, but I can't really say anything for or against them. That's New York for you.
ROTTEN APPLES
- The first and major disappointment was that nearly every stand (save the apple and mega-green stand) featured the exact same produce. I understand that strawberries are in season now, but isn't there any other fruit or vegetable that you can offer? It was a whole lot of identical tents making the size of this market vastly less impressive than the initial impression.
- Speaking on those repetitive strawberries, they were TINY. I bought some out of my passionate affair with the little red berries, and I'll say it was a less than stellar purchase. I hoped that the sweetness would make up for the size, but nope. Small presentation and small flavor. Skip them and pick up some from Whole Foods instead.
Maybe because we went on Memorial Day Monday the place wasn't as fab as others claim it to be. I was perhaps dissapointed, but also possibly overhyped. I recommend a trip, but don't expect to cross everything off of your grocery list. I will return as well, though, for some freshly shelled edamame and that bread. Mmmmm.
Your Lady of Cheetos
All year long, the days on my calender are ticked off with anticipation for my friend Tom's soirees. He's flamboyantly gay and lives off campus so he throws real parties that always have themes that require dressing up in less than conventional party attire. And, of course with me being a huge fan of costumes, I embrace the theme to my very core. Since I'm usually the only one dressed according to the theme, Tom bugs me all week to see if he can squeeze my costume idea out of me, but to no avail! I live for the wolfish grin on his face when I walk through his door. Anyway, two weekends ago, he threw his last hurrah and the theme was Trashy or Trash: Wear anything but clothes or dress like white trash. I took on both themes and decided I would attend Tom's bash as Britney Spears (fulfilling the white trash requirement) in a dress made of Cheetos bags (...trash).
So step one was buying all the bags for the dress. I bought 9 bags including traditional Cheetos, Puffs, and Twisted Puffs. On Monday of that week, I gave each of my friends a bag and demanded that they finish it by Friday. Most of them did, even my suite mate with IBS.
They are well aware my costume productions tend to be major events. Still, I had leftover puffs on Friday that needed to be removed from the bags, so I put them in my shopping bags.
This photo is indicative of my life, I think; classy on the outside, but full of artificial cheese on the inside.
I began assembling the skirt and the bodice based off of my own measurements, but I couldn't do much until that night. The dress would have to be taped to my body. I had managed to cut the bodice and tape half of it, though, one of the finer architectural feats of this garment.
Finally, after listening to the Oops album and half of Blackout, the dress is complete and I'm suited up for the night! Add a blonde wig, Carerras, and my friend Rachael's trucker hat and Britney was ready for the clubs!I wish I had more pictures of it because it was pretty impressive for someone who has no dressmaking abilities, if I do say so myself. The skirt had vents in the sides so I could bend and sit down. It didn't come apart all night, nor did I smell like week old cheese balls. It's my greatest costume to date, but expect me to one-up it the next chance I get.
Hot Like Mexico, Rejoice
The gods have spoken. Lady Gaga has selected a director for her newest video, Alejandro. Steven Klein was given the honor and yes, he is a fashion photographer. It's not a complete shock given Gaga's torrid affair with both fashion big wigs and little known crazies that share her penchant for the avant guard. But lets review: Steven Klein's most recent work. I wanted to explore his aesthetic and see what attracted Gaga to him and what he can potentially input into the project. His site, StevenKleinstudio.com, is rich with photographic content and beautifully laid out with every Ad/editorial/media project he has done, including a few haunting motion projects that exhibit his potential video editing style. All in all, I was extremely satisfied that his style seems to fit my visual musings of Alejandro frighteningly to a T. I have a deep love for her and her music and I was put off and frankly disappointed with the vulgar, choppy, and boring Telephone video that was perhaps hyped too much by myself and her fans. Here's a best-of gallery of Steven Klein's style and how he's gonna firefight, gonna cool the bad that was Telephone. Vamos. 
I wanted to start with his most recent work to date, Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston in W promoting their romantic comedy. Note Jennifer's gargantuan cross hanging from her neck and her severe lack of pants compared to her demure lace top. The entire situation is fantastically Gaga with Jennifer being shoved into an old police car in the center of some godforsaken desert. If this is where he's at stylistically, I see bright horizons. 
Seeing Bruce Willis so helpless and sexual irks me to say the least, but the spread speaks for itself. Masochism is such a heavy element in the song and it's tone and here it's displayed in a near desirable way. It could very well be the Lady herself perched atop Bruce in the black bird suit. 
Creepy? Why do I feel this is creepy? I don't know but its so deliciously disturbing. Check plus. 
We all know this ad campaign from the magazine's on our coffee tables right now and it is one of Steven Klein's most recent exports. This presents the potential romanticism that is also imperative for the music video. It is a love song... sort of. 
Here we have Alejandro multiplied and the exact tone I would like to see. My bet is that Gaga saw this campaign, which is D&G's current one, and demanded to have Klein for her video. It really is perfect. 
Ginnfer Goodwin in W, a common canvas for Klein. Speechless. 
Angelina Jolie in his adapted W spread, the once "Domestic Bliss" spread was transformed for his own gritty film. This is a still of the product. 
Scarlett Johannson in a short W profile. Moon shines away as she's howlin' at it. 
Lara Stone in W a while back. Situationally, Alejandro is nearly mirrored in this shoot. Lara in the third picture IS Gaga.
Ahh the coveted Posh and Becks shoot for W. A vacant desert, slick hot bodies, and a violent undertone capture Alejandro's untouchable emotions that I hope Klein calls on when directing Alejandro. I'll leave the post at this saccerine eye candy and cross my fingers that Gaga doesn't let us down this time. So happy I could die. 
Separated at Birth
I discovered that the mass murderer Jason from the Friday the 13th movies has the full name Jason Vorhees. It was then that I discovered the mystery behind Stephanie Vorhees' incompetence and now understand her lineage. I hope their mother is proud of their media success. I mean come on, same expression and everything.
Type rest of the post here
Vampire's Play Tennis
As the lovely Ezra croons, as much of a city kid I may be, I will always crave the peace and simplicity of summer at the beach. Where is this going? Vampire Weekend just released their new music video for what I'm guessing will be their new single, Giving Up the Gun. It's a series of tennis matches in a white room between our ginger-haired protagonist and her many celebrity opponents. It really is a fabulous video and allot of fun to watch, beside the fact that the song, and album is amazingly relaxing and reminiscent of a sunny beach in my dreams.
Beyond my subtle adoration of the quartet, the video is peppered with fantastic tennis clothing. I always forget how much I love the pleated skirts and polos. Tennis players have such an air of simple sophistication that not many athletes have. Their sport is up there with Polo and croquet as one of England's snobby but oh so enviable hobbies. So I snagged some of the best outfits from the video to express my desire for an entirely tennis wardrobe come spring time. I am extremely against this ugly morbid utilitarian look that designers are pushing on us. Give me colorful tennis skirts or give me nudity!
Here we have the techo tennis ensemble consisting of a white body suit. There are shoulder pad-esque things that aren't really visible in this resolution. If Daft Punk were to really play tennis, I'm sure they wouldn't wear anything else. I'll pass on the body suit though, I just thought this picture was worth sharing.
Yes, it's Lil' John himself in a straw panama hat and double breasted blazer. He exemplifies the tennis observer's attire which is equally important. When the camera's pan to you sitting in the stands, you don't want to look dowdy. 
Tennis for the win! Read More......