Cheap Thrill: Parisian Chic

When I think of Paris, I think of two things: how much I love everything about it, and This 2006 cover of T Magazine featuring Sofia Coppola and a pair of hot pink, plastic Eiffel Tower earrings:

In fact, this is one of my favorite magazine covers. The stark pop of pink dangling from Sofia's ear is such a great contrast to the subtle softness of the rest of the photo. See the faded Tour de Eiffel in the background? That serious icon gets a perfectly post-modern dunk in colorful, playful electric strawberry plastic. It's a great play on the tension between the Parisian preference for all things traditional and their constant dedication to stretching and molding the rules to find what's nouvelle, especially in fashion. Anyways, enough analysis. A recent Times article about a few proposed plans for possible architecture projects in and around Paris brought this image to mind. All it really does is make me want a pair of plastic eiffels of my own, so I went inter-hunting.

These super cute gold ones from Girl Props may do the trick.

They are 3-D danglers. If you don't mind a pancaked version, and are feeling crafty enough to string 'em yourself, you can get fantastic plastic tour charms in a few great colors.

You get a dozen charms for $4.50 from The Plastic Shop so you can do a bunch of Paris pairs for not a bunch of money. Like it? "Oui, oui," says moi.

One/One-Thousand: Miles Aldridge

One of Aldridge's typically saturated fashion images.

Steven Kasher Gallery is hosting an exhibit of work by fashion photographer Miles Aldridge. His plastic fantastic photo style, pallet of bright, crayon colors, and super-lit, sexed-up scenes are classic examples of fashion's current flair for hyper-maximalism. With fellow snappers like Mert and Marcus, David Lachapelle, and Solve Sundsbo working in similar styles, it's interesting to see Aldridge's defining characteristics on display. His process is thought out pre-shoot.

He literally sketches his shots by hand in marker on paper. The pre-photo set pieces are on view right next to Aldridge's super-saturated portraits of mouths engaging in all sorts of lippy activities. The two subjects- Aldridge's prep work and his mouthy portraits- are the highlights of the show.

You can see more from the exhibit on Steven Kasher's website. You can get sparly gold lipstic here. Just in case...

Find The Pattern.

Vintage sewing patterns are charming beyond the definition of the word. When I grow up I'm going to wallpaper a room in my house with them. I'll need a bunch, and I'll find them at Lanetz Living. They have a whole slew of out of print sewing patterns that are divine.

What an amazing way to explore the history of fashion. I'm such a geek for this stuff. You can peruse Lanetz's selection by era. Hours of geeky-fashiony-historical fun!

Lather. Rinse. Repeat. Ah, Brainwash.

One of my favorite parts of urban living is the ever-presence of street art. In New York we are lucky enough to have some of the world's best streetsters bombing the city on a regular basis. So much of the graffiti here is clever and even, dare I say, poetic. There's skill to the max on view on a regular basis, and it's usually conveyed with sly wit and smart humor. Most of the pieces have so much commentary wrapped up in something that's simply cool to look at. Last night I passed a piece that paired classic Marilyn Monroe poses with two faces of the new pop cult.

In giant paste-ups Angelina Jolie and Madonna were layered into Marilyn busts. The pieces were tall and towering over the cobbled street corner home. When I got to my home, I did a little research and found the piece on the awesome street art site, Streetsy. The work belongs to French filmmaker turned graffiti maverick Mr. Brainwash. Here's a sampling of his stuff:

Mr. Brainwash is not without his detractors. He is often criticized for being a copycat. He began his artistic endeavors as a cameraman/filmmaker following street artists in an attempt to make the ultimate graffiti documentary. In the process he got bitten with the bombing bug and started stealthily pasting stencils of his own onto buildings. His work quotes others, like Banksy and Warhol, with a heavy hand. But I think there's room on the block for more than one artist. So, keep your eyes peeled for giant pop figures weilding clever messages and decide for yourself whether you want to be brainwashed or not.

Make Some Noise.

Presenting the Noisettes:

How funky/fresh/old-schooly cool is this video? I'm in girlie, girlie love with lead singer Shingai Shoniwa. How could I not be? That double rolled, super-braided updo? The shakin' and stirrin' white fringes on that beaded dress? The barefooted happy dancing? That's a whole lot to love. The band is still newish on the scene, but this video signals their solid gold arrival. Now how can I do my thin, white girl hair like that? I think I hear the hiss of an economy-sized can of Aquanet singing my name.

Jerry Hall. 'Nuff Said.

Watch the brilliance that is vintage Jerry Hall, Texas twang n'all, on David Letterman. How funny that Dave begins by pressing her about the kids without marriage thing. Until recently he was the face of unmarried with children.

Cheap Thrill: Kung Fu Shoes

I'm a fan of the Kung Fu Mary Jane. It's a classic, and no matter what's in or out, slipping your toesies into a pair of those babies solves the footwear issue in a comfy, cute way. I was recently contemplating purchasing a pair I saw at Urban Outfitters, when I thought to myself, "Ya know what? I can get these in Chinatown for half of the $18 bucks they want here in Coolville." So I put 'em down, and resolved to fine me the real deal for less dough. Well, wouldn't you know, I hit pay dirt.

On a recent rainy day I found myself on an unfamiliar stretch of 6th Avenue with some time to kill. All of the sudden huge stores stocked to the brim with crazy boxes of bright bric-a-brac, like panda plush toys, bamboo figurines, paper parasols, and barking/flipping wind-up doggy toys were calling my name. I found it! The land of Chinatown wholesale! And right there in the front of Yung Kee Trading Inc. were big boxes of kung-fu shoes in every color! And, they were $24 a dozen. That's $2 a pair. Yeah, you do have to buy 12 pairs, but you can mix and match and pick as many colors, styles, and sizes as you want. Grab 11 friends and make a day of it, or pick up a few pairs for your lovely lady friends. Or, get the goods and turn 'em around for a profit. Exciting? If you think so, hit me up and we'll have a field trip.

Fine Feathers.

One of Etsy seller Featherbrain's feathered headbands.

I'm seeing so many women in the city wearing feathers in their hair lately. Entire street vendors have ceased to sell anything but plumage embellished headbands, and have been attracting quite the crowds with their displays. Although, I generally have a natural aversion to any wide-spread trend (I'm just that unique, y'all), I'm finding this one kind of charming. Why the change of reaction? Well, every time I see a headband full of feathers catch the sunlight and shimmer in some girl's hair, I am reminded of this nature video that I love oh so much:



How amazing are birds of paradise and their fine feathered selves? I mean truly! They are so crazy/beautiful. Watching that video so reassures me of the absurdity inherent in the dating process as well. Fluff your finest feathers, shake what your mama gave ya, and hope the right chicky is watching. That's all we can do, right? I say put some feathers on your head and see where they get ya. I just hope you don't attract any pigeons...

Kruse (in) Control

Christina Kruse's self-portraits.

Christina Kruse has transitioned from being a supermodel in front of the camera, to being, well, a photographer...still in front of the camera.

Some of Kruse's more haunting images.

Using herself as her own subject, Kruse has been creating stylized self-portraits for a couple of years now. Her part Warhol, part Sherman pics are actually quite intriguing. Rather than a beautiful girl's documentation of her own navel-gazing, the portraits serve more to obscure and play with her pretty face. They are creepy and unsettling.

Kruse's work for Interview Magazine.

Recently she's been commissioned by Interview Magazine to showcase a couple of trends, and she's even staged a gallery exhibition of her work, and bound her photos and accompanying sketches into travel journal-like books titled, Reisebuch 1-5.

An image from Kruse's publication, Reisebuch 1-5

Kruse has taken control of the shutter, and therefore her image, in a way that few models ever dare to try. The results are quirky and self-obsessed in an entirely watchable way.

Happy Friday! Love, Priscilla!

Priscilla, Queen of the Dessert is just the best. How amazing are the costumes?



Happy Friday!

Teller Tells Tate

There is a great article in the New York Times today about the un-retouching movment that is brewing in pop fashion photography, and Jeurgen Teller was mentioned as one of the snappers who has always kept things real.

Back in 1999, before reality TV was an overwrought cliche, Teller did a groundbreaking project where he photographed every wannabe model who banged on his door with her portfolio in hand and a dream of superstardom in mind. With little direction to the girls and no retouching, the shots expose the grit and desperation of the beauty business. I've always loved the series, (which can be yours in a great book called Go-Sees) and Teller's thoughts behind the project are just as interesting as the shots in the book. In this video from the TateShots series, Teller talks about the power of the male photographer in the fashion biz and even plays a little table tennis.

I love when he mentions seeing the girls changing from trainers into heels on the corner of his street just before they rang him up. Artifice is always in action, no matter how little retouching is happening.

Common Goods: A Luv-A-Fair To Remember

Luv-A-Fair was one of the birthplaces of the New Wave era in the '80s, that movement of music and fashion that had all the cool kids painting their faces, ratting their hair, and tearing their fishnets. It was a legendary night club in Vancouver that spawned and fostered some of the era's biggest musical acts, like Nina Hagen, Sonic Youth, Violent Femmes, The Cure, and many more. The club closed its doors in 2003, but the party lives on on the Luv-A-Fair's photostream on Flickr.

Technically they aren't part of The Commons, but man the snaps of all that '80s gaudy, garish, craziness certainly are good.