Hard Work, Paid in Squeals.

I recently began an internship with the Special Collections division of the Library at FIT. This means I pinch myself repeatedly sitting among the stacks of old, rare, unique and oversized works on paper as I do "work" like organizing stacks of storyboards from Esquire in the 1960s, or taking stock of the collection of Vogue magazines--making sure to flip through every page to note any damage. I literally pinch myself, smile, and squeal with glee for 6 hours at a time on this "job". The Vogue assignment has been particularly delightful. So far I've paged through every twice monthly issue of the magazine from January 1, 1936 to May 15, 1938. The only hazard of the job is that my brain is swimming with 1930s dress desire. The clothing, the faces, the makeup and hair! It was all so gorgeous and remains remarkably covetous. How gorgeous? Take a look for yourself. Below is an absolute relic of fashion film. A 1938 fashion show shot at the studio of London-based designer Norman Hartnell in rich Dufaycolor. The film shows you great examples of just what I feel so lucky to swoon over.




I know, I know. Swoon, right? You too can flip through the pages of Vogue (or anythings else fashion-related you might enjoy). If you are a student in need of research, a scholar of any kind, or just a respectful fashion fan with careful hands, you can contact the library to make an appointment to spend some time with the incredible treasures of FIT's collection.

Can I Get a WAH WAH?

This little invention called the internets makes me feel like London is just down the street, so forgive me if you can't make immediate use of WAH Nails, but I think you should still know about them. Why? Because WAH is the new cool.

WAH is in fact more than a nail salon. It's a movement. There was a zine, there is now a blog with a TV tab and beuty tips. The WAH team is dope. I don't usually use that word, but there is no other word that would be useful here. The girls get it. They love all things empowered and feminine and they are big fans of '90s R&B. (Think TLC and SWV.) The nail salon they opened seems to be getting them a big amount of press. Today the director of the operation, 25 year old Ms. Sharmadean Reid, was photographed for SHOWstudio's 100 Portraits series, snapped by Nick Knight. She rocked it of course. Her tribe of employees are cool girls too, wanna see their work? Of course you do!

Mondrian.


Meow.






Haring.


Sprinkles.


Sparkles.


Monsters.


A deck.


Matte black.


Double Cs.


Cookie Monster.

How cool is WAH? Very.

All pics from the WAH blog.

Gift It: Button Up!

Mark Pawson makes buttons, or badges as the kids say in London. I'm a big fan of badges. They are a transitory accessory that can be used to perk up your more permanent fashion statements, like your winter coat, your nicer leather bag, or your boots. Can you stick a pin through it? Then you can badge it. Pawson makes makes his buttons out of many things: old price tags, photos of homes, airmail envelopes.

My favorite group of buttons is a series that Pawson made out of his own favorite shirts. When his Westwood and Paul Smiths were worn too thin, he made mini-badges out of the fabrics and packaged them in sets of four. Pawson tells his shoppers the shirt stories on his site. Order a batch of badges and then click below to read their life story.

If you don't mind a pin prick in your items, you can stick it to your wardrobe as much as you want with Pawson's clever little badges. Scoop them up for friends and family or yourself. They are coming from London so a package will run you about $8.

Pawson makes all kinds of art. Earlier this year he showed a sampling at the kooky cool Tatty Devine store. I quite enjoyed this virtual float through the store's preview of Mark's work.

Cliches abound (art gallery babies, asymmetrical hair cuts, handlebar mustaches) but it looks like fun.

All images from Pawson's web page.

One/One-Thousand: Hedi Slimane

Hedi Slimane shows the January Dazed and Confused readers that he's a talented man. On stands December 18th, the mag will feature the clothing designer/photographer's incredible photos as well as essays, and covers created by and focused on young Londoners. Silmane's portfolio, is pure energy and beauty.

























Youth in all its glory. These photos are the filmic love child of Bruce Weber and Inez & Vinoodh.

Swinging '60s

This is too good. A tour of London clothing shops in the '60s? It's fashion heaven.

This video really made me feel like I boarded a time machine with the dial set to swinging. The dancing at the end is fantastic.

Lipstick Londonites

Party scene site Dirty Dirty Dancing proves that Londoners love a good lipstick.


Choose your shade (kind of like Choose Your Own Adventure for glam girls!) from the M*A*C selection below and pop your pout.

Each shade is $14. Click a color for more details.

In Case You'll Be in London This Week...

Head on over to the Photographers' Gallery and scope "Fashion in the Mirror: Self Reflection in Fashion Photography". The show takes a photographic peek behind the scenes at some of fashion imagery's foremost studios. Anybody wanna split a flight? If not, I'll travel cargo style.