Good Face

Artist Jen Mann gives good face. Her print work and paintings are the love children of a high fashion magazine and the prime of the pagan planet. Her pretty subjects have the bone structure of perfect creatures, and the animals she sometimes coaxes out of their ethereal surroundings (or their skulls) are equally perfected.

While the imagery elements (howling wolf, pretty woman) could easily have come from that hippie/suburban spirit shop on Main St., Manning's soft renderings of bold features keeps her work well in the realm of higher art. You can see more of her work at her website and on her blog.

Surf the Pavement

I'm a fan of tough girls. The thing about being a tough girl is that you have to do your dirty work with grace. Here the ladies of the Longboard Girls Crew shred Madrid mountains with a style so sweet, it makes the bloody work look like a dip in the ocean.

I mean, really, the pretty little synchronized ditty at 3:45? That's money. I'm also a fan of how they skim their fingertips along the passing road the way a girl on a boat might touch the surface of the water, leaving a wake. Their clothes are classic skater gear with softened edges. It's all so breezy.

via The Daily What

Today: Brought To You By Uniqulo.

If the calendar is going to say Monday, it might as well be fun to look at.

Day-brightening calendar via Uniqlo. Get your own here.

Pretty Boys.

Quebecois Xavier Dolan's semi-autobiographical debut film I Killed My Mother (J'ai Tue Ma Mere) is a making a splash on the festival scene. Why? Well...



Splish splash, right? Pretty boys in painter's pants getting all Pollock drippy? Yes, please! Oh, and the rest of the film is quite phenomenal as well, especially the superb performance by Anne Dorval as the objet d'matricide. See it when you get a chance. You'll love it.

Look, But Don't Take.

Artist Lauren Nassef is one of those poetically gifted artists who knows just how many lines to use in her work. Her drawings are detailed, but spare, but evocative. They've got personality, identity-- and for a scandalous time last year, they suffered identity theft.

An online "artist" took Lauren's drawings off the web and claimed them as her own. She sold the forged drawings and even won a major competition with them. The matter has since been resolved, but gave me pause. The internet makes a pretty easy game of cut-n-copy. It takes some seriously compromised integrity to steal someone's work on such a big level, but this case also shows just how simple it can be if one were so inclined. Caution artists, and warning fakers: Feast your eyes on Nassef's beautiful work, but don't get any plagiaristic ideas. Just enjoy the simple, gorgeous graphics. I love so many, so I'm posting many.

See, they make you covetous too, don't they? That's ok. You can get some through Lauren's site (where she posts a drawing a day!!) or through her Etsy shop.

All art © 2007-2010-infinity Lauren Nassef / laurennassef.com (see that?)

Crumple. Crush. Cram.

Artist Stephen J. Shanabrook is making pretty things ugly. In a series of works he calls "Paper Surgery" he takes c-prints of magazine photos and fold/crush/presses them into Franken Images of mutational proportions. [via Goldenfiddle aka love of my internet life]

Everything can be pretty. Everything can be ugly.

You Look Pretty. I Look At You. I Feel Better.

Peter Lindbergh's work from the Supermodel age.

Sugar On Paper.

Renderings of fantasy; that's pretty much what the fashion industry and all of its offshoots are, right? Give me a dream, show it to me so that I can see it somewhere besides the back of my eyelids. Give me a representation of something I thought couldn't be looked at here, in public, with others. Give me your fantasy, or feed me mine. That's it. Fashion illustration is the passing along of fantasy. Autumn Whitehurst's work is a sweet fantasy, a girlish, glamorous, laze with phantom lollipops. It's fashion candy. Bee stung lips, honey-colored complexions, syrupy, doe-eyed stares. Penny candy for the pretty people.

Autmun is represented by Art Department. You can see her portfolio here.

Watch Things Swim.

This is not wearable in anyway, but I wish it was. Enjoy.

Kuroshio Sea - 2nd largest aquarium tank in the world - (song is Please don't go by Barcelona) from Jon Rawlinson on Vimeo.

Lifes's No Picnic. But Your Dress Can Be.

Christopher Kane's breakthrough success is aging nicely. Whereas most stars that rise as fast as his has burn and fade before you get to see them shine, his light is growing brighter, stronger, and even more brilliant over time. He's the kind of designer that the fashion world needs to sustain itself. He's like vitamins for an ailing industry. His ideas are remarkably fresh and reach that apex of design where they function both formally and aesthetically. His work looks great, whether or not you pick up on the nuanced complexities of its back story. That's the rubric of success that so many designers work so hard to achieve and miss. Yet Kane, just a few years out of Central Saint Martins, seems to be doing it again, and again, and again in such different ways with each collection. His bright ideas are making lagging followers of his contemporaries. As a fashion fan it's amazing to watch him push the game.

Looks from Kayne's ultra-successful Spring 2009 collection.


Explosive prints of nuclear fallout from the Resort 2010 collection.

His craft is slick and skilled. His seams belie simplicity, when actually the construction of his garments is a complex affair. Materials, images, shapes, and stitches are as pretty as they are subversive. His latest collection may not be quite as obvious in its rebellion as the shift dresses printed with color saturated images of nuclear explosions he showed in his recent resort collection, but it is still a feat of contradiction. Light, airy, sheer, and innocent looking, the dresses and separates are woven around a sickeningly sweet tale; the Jonestown cult that was fatally lured into drinking cyanide laced kool-aid by their zealot leader with touches of additional inspiration from various repressive religions.

Piquant picnic prints from Kane's latest collection.

That's quite a starting point for such a pretty collection of gauzy, gingham prints. Whether or not you choose to explore the deeper waters of the presentation, Kane's mix of conservative, high necklines and patches of revealed skin speaks to the tension of cult-like religions. Covered up to avert any thought of sex, yet inviting it full-on in the face of the denial of its existence. It's like this: Do not think of sex, do not think of sex, do NOT think of sex. What are you thinking of? Sex.

Kane's catwalk brilliantly featured model-actress Jenny Shimizu, left, an icon of subversive sexuality.

The corset tops and tight construction are a marvel of craftsmanship, yet unlike so many designers with an equal skillset, the clothes of Kane are quite wearable, sellable, likable even. And still so devious. They bubble under with ideas for those who are looking, and bubble over with pretty for those who simply want a great dress.

Spring 2010 collection images from nymag.com. Previous collection images from style.com.

Dreams To Put In Your Ears.

Jewelry designer Jade Gedeon is just as pretty as her delicate pieces, and about as exotic. Gedeon was born in America, raised in Trinidad, recently lived in Australia, and now makes her home in Essex, Massachusettes. Quoting sources from far away lands, including mythic creatures, winged things, precious stones, and ancient techniques of indigenous cultures, Jade fabricates pretty things with unique details that keep them from being just another golden nature charm. Gedeon's golden pieces are my favorite and, in my humble opinion, look just stunning on the designer herself (pictured below).

Her online shop is called We Dream in Color. My ears dream in gold and they want those birdies bad.

Pretty Little Papercuts.

The simplest tools can make the most beautiful things. Hand artist Elsa Mora a sheet of paper and a pair of scissors, and she'll snip snip until you hold in your hand the most gorgeous piece of work of art. Her papercuts are masterpieces of delicate and intricate handiwork with sharp objects, mainly tiny scissors from Honey Bee and really well filed X-acto knives.

Here's a closer look at the finer points of her work:

Aren't they amazing? The precision of the incisions is fantastic. Elsa, or Elsita as she is known in the Etsy universe, is a dedicated artist. She brings creativity to every aspect of her life and is a champion for the freedom of expression. After battling stress and baby blues in the period following the birth of her second child, Elsa realized that she had been neglecting her appearance and resolved to change the things she didn't like in the mirror, and embrace and love the things she did. To keep herself up to task, she began a style site called The Hidden Seed. There she documents her daily outfits in the most gorgeous way.

She's a woman full of the kind of rich, real beauty that rage women need to see more of. Her lovely sense of style comes courtesy of a childhood spent growing up in Cuba and winding up in California. Her artistry comes through in her beautifully detailed outfits where every fabric is lush, every color is perfectly hued, and all of her accessories add another detail to the story her ensemble is trying to tell. And, look at those backgrounds. They are so lovely.

What a pleasure to see a woman--a real, unairbrushed woman, a mom, an artist, a creative being--having fun with her wardrobe in a really joyous way. Follow Elsita's lead and treat yourself like a work of art. If you need some help with the finishing touches, check out her Etsy store for jewelry, pins, the occasional article of clothing, and an entire cache of inspiring artworks.

All photos are via Elsa's bolgs. Click any image to be taken directly to the sites.