I Sweat This Sweater.

Granny Satan knitted this for the boys, but I want one too! Ignore the face mask and crazy fur collar; how cool is this cable knit skull sweater? Alexander McQueen, you sure know how to make a girl want a guy's knitwear!

Instra:Mental Meditation.

My friend Rory just dropped this song by Instra:Mental in my inbox and I can't stop listening to it. It's dreamy and heavy with bass-backed desire. It's just one of those songs I can listen to on loop and not feel a minute of wanting another for days to come.

The boys are hastily labeled by critics as drum and bass, but duo Alex Green and Damon Kirkamduo defy true categorization. You have to listen to their stuff to get a real grasp on it, or at least attempt to. Next time you want to really conjure up the perfect outfit, tune in to one of their Autonomic Podcasts, close your eyes, and let the images of spacey, serene, style dance across your darkened eyelids. Let me know what you come up with...maybe we can get the two spinners to put up some production money for a trippy, fan-imagined clothing line inspired by their sonic experiments. I think it'd be a great idea.

Puff: The Magic Jacket.

Down jackets are getting a little full of themselves lately. They think they're high fashion or something, jumping from ski slopes to runways on the backs of models. I've never been fond of the puffer's shape (think: fat-making) but have always loved its generous warmth here in the upper east.

Puffers on the Men's Fall 2010 runways for Jil Stuart, Thom Browne, Etro, John Varvatos, and Emporio Armani

So, I'm glad designers are taking it and making it something a bit more special. A little quilting can go a long way in the winter, and forsaking fashion for warmth doesn't always appeal to vain city goers. But, as Bill Cunningham found out this week, you can always count on this city's denizens to keep things snappy, even coats originally based on a camping store's sleeping bags. Here, watch his interesting piece on the puffer:

See that? From sleeping bags to high end shopping bags. You just never know. Puff away.

And Another One.

Designer-comissioned art films are the new black. Watch a beautifully lit Tilda Swinton dig in the dirt in her designer duds provided by Pringle of Scotland in a short film shot by Ryan McGinley.



It's beautiful. It's Tilda.

Real Gold.

This year The Globes were all about "real" women. The Mistress of Ceremonies as such was Ms. Christina Hendricks.

Be still my beating heart, she is a breathtaking savior of souls in that gorgeous gown. Maybe y'all out there don't know the joy of seeing her on a red carpet because you don't know the pain of hating your curvaceous body in a world high and mighty on the thin, thin, and thinner. I wish you could feel the flush of warm love that her appearance stirs in me. It's divine. Forever and always, Christina, I lurve you and your globes!

Others who looked divine were also of an underrepresented demo--the older ladies who still look like real humans.

The glowing Glenn Close and the ever-wonderful Meryl Streep looked so classy and so undone, and Meryl's acceptance speech was just as lovely as she is.


Even our go-to girl for how much not to wear, Christina Aguilera, looked, well, pretty and soft and not like a drag queen at all. Nice!

Mo'Nique's legs were real stars too! She could probably braid those puppies, but I say good for her!

Shaving sucks. You guys get to look like ravishing, sexy, scruffy hotties (insert link to Sam Worthington photo here) and we have to be hairless like swimming seals. It's a bitch, people! I say stubble it up if you want, who's gonna stop ya? Certainly not the HFPA. I wouldn't do it, but if you want to grow some leg gruff, go for it.

Also, I don't know how quote-unquote real Jennifer Aniston is on my sclae, but she looked real hot.

And, for the record, I'm never a particular fan of the Aniston. But, damn, girl! Nice legs. Now if only they were hairy like Mo'nique's...

Now That's a Coat.

Christopher Bailey's Men's collection for Burberry Porsum Fall 2010 was heavy on the outerwear. Wool, leather, shearling, and brass buttons are all a big part of the Burberry look for fall. I found one truly standout coat among the many, its features are phenomenal--as useful as they are stylish. That is a design coup.

I love the rich golden brass of those zippers. They are gorgeous. The ones on the back of the sleeves are so elegantly long. Those buttons peaking through the back vent are also a nice touch. And, two coats for one? We in the Great Recession like it. Well done, Bailey.

Fly Away Home.

Prada's connection to the art world has always been strong and meaningful. Their matriarch, Ms. Miuccia, is a patroness of many forms of visual art, from architecture and interactive design to photography, sculpture, and now film. The latest PR from Prada is a film by Chinese artist Yang Fudong. It's a black and white short film featuring Prada's meshy menswear from Spring 2010 and a high wire tight rope and a few geishas and some uselessly mesh umbrellas falling. All that makes for a surreal, fluid presentation where the norms of life take a backseat to pretty pictures, and the long shots are choreographed so that peoples' entrances and exits of the frame are as entrancing as a ballet.

Hey There, Big Boy.

The Fall Men's shows are here, and upon seeing a smattering of the coverage, I swooned a bit. Let me assure you, this is not a regular occurrence when viewing the parade of skinny andro pretty-as-any-long-haird-girl boys that usually sulk down the catwalk for big designers. In the past decade or so, the men's fashion scene has been devoid of testosterone, favoring instead girly men that could have passed for chicks any day of the week. They have their own beauty for sure, and their own demographic (the gay male designers who do them up, perhaps?) but they aren't so good for a girl's want-o-meter, ya know? If the runway at Dolce & Gabana is any indication, that seems to be changing and I'm happy.

Look at the bodies on those boys! I'm not usually a beefcake fan myself, but maybe there's a sea change happening because now I want me a hunk.

Fashion folks, where have you been hiding these fellas? Don't do that again, ok? Thanks.

Haiti Alive.

I don't have a television. At times like this, I am extremely grateful for that fact. It's not that I want to be ignorant to the suffering of immense proportions in Haiti. It's not that I want to turn my back and be flippant or unaffected; it's that there is nothing that invokes the feeling of utter helplessness, despair, insignificance, fear and morbidity like the news coverage of disasters. The endless loop of footage that keeps replaying again and again on every news outlet makes my heart sink into a kind of pit that has no exit. It makes my mind numb. Limbs are dusty and dead on the television. So many. Bodies are discarded and broken. So many. Rubble is endless and there are cameras poking into it, using electricity, maneuvering to get shots, not to help. People are crying. Again, and again, and again on CNN, on Fox, on MSNBC, on every channel. I don't know what to do with that information other than feel hopeless. So I turn it off. I think of healing instead. I think of help coming. I think of peace. I think of vibrancy and miracles, of color and life and I send it on over. It sounds foolish, trite, like bullshit, I know. But it feels better than staring at bodies on the beds of trucks, in the bays of bulldozers. It feels better than seeing images that again look like a tsunami/terrorist attack/hurricane/flood. Again and again.

Pain is palpable right now; it is in the air, but resilience and healing and revival are natural human qualities. I'd rather focus on them than on the mass graves. In that spirit, I offer these photos of Haiti from the archives of the New York Times, before the earth there broke.

It was this way, and will be again. My positive thoughts are with the people there and here affected by this unimaginable devastation.

A+

The big girls are taking over. PA-POW! That's all I have to say about that! V Magazine's size issue hits stands today and should carry a warning label that says "Dangerous Curves Ahead." There's always so much talk in the fashion industry about using "real looking women" in magazines, and in past attempts I have to say that most publications have failed. It makes me laugh to imagine Anna Wintour, for instance, meeting with the Voguettes and picking out a "big girl": "I can see her when she turns sideways; must be what they want." But, V has a good sized selection. The ladies in the issue, especially in Solve Sundsbo's editorial, are vuluptous and vampy and curvy indeed.

As a woman who has struggled with her weight and has done battle with a eating issues her whole life, I can't explain the feeling of validation that comes from seeing women who kind of, sort of, maybe a little bit, look something like me and my body. This feels especially good coming from an industry that I love so much, and that has been so unified in its acceptance of nothing but boniness for so long. I don't blame the industry for my own image issues, but seeing beautiful bodies in glossy pages helps me feel good and sexy and PA POW myself. Thanks V! You done good.

Terry's Tumblr.

Terry "T-Bone" Richardson (did you know he has that tattooed above his...ahem, "T-Bone"?) has a Tumblr, and he's not afraid to use it. Tumblr is a micro-blogging site; an interface suited for brief posts of tiny snippets of information. With Terry the information mostly consists of snaps of models, self-portraits, and videoed bits of behind the scenes photoshoot footage. Surprisingly there are no nudie pics yet, but I'm sure that will change in time. Terry's turn at Tumblr certainly means the web venue will no doubt become a photog hot-spot in no time, which makes sense; the layout kind of reminds me of a strip of film, one photo after another.

Shots from Terry's Tumblr. You may be shocked that his T-Bone hasn't made an appearance yet, but he's just getting started--give the man some time.

Secondhand Pepe

Donate to Haitian relief efforts.

I remember hearing about the documentary Secondhand (Pepe) last year, and it seems timely to highlight it now. It is a pair of filmmakers' sonic and visual journey through the culture of secondhand clothing. A segment of the film focuses on Haiti and its booming Pepe business. Pepe is the Haitian word for worn but coveted secondhand clothing. A countrywide peddler's business has grown up around the cast off clothing of America. In the '60s huge pallets of used American clothing started flowing into country via ships at Port au Prince. Peddlers would purchase the clothing and set up shop selling it on the cheap to Haitians wanting the look of America without the unpayable prices. Customers would hunt through piles of used clothes to find items cool enough to be labeled "Hollywood Pepe". But, cool didn't always sell people on the idea of wearing someone else's garments. In order for Pepe to become the business it has, the people of Haiti have had to overcome the idea that someone else's stuff carries someone else's aura, which could mean bad spirits.




Most have gotten past the aura theory, but Pepe is still not without its negatives for some. Seamstresses, or anyone selling clothing that isn't Pepe, have stiff competition. With used going for pocket change, there's not much of a market for new. But, all in all the Pepe industry in Haiti proves something that we unfortunately keep being reminded of again and again--the resilience of the Haitian people. They are strong and smart, innovative and tough. If only we could know they were all of those things without the hardships. My heart goes out to all of those in Haiti and their friends and families around the world.

If you can help in anyway, again, please donate to Haitian relief efforts.

Bound for New York.

I'm moving to the big city. I live right near it, and love it as if it were my own, but I've always been a Jersey Girl waiting for the day when "I live in New York." was not a statement of proxy, but rather a truism. It sounds cliche--little girl dreams of big city--but cliches exist because they are so often so true for so many. My New York envy runs deep and has always coincided with my love of fashion. I used to get dressed up to visit Miss New York. I'd put on my coolest clothes and actually do my hair to go hang out there and I'd watch as all the other city dwellers dressed up in their own ways; business suits with ties, stompy boots with rubber dresses, fur coats and too much blush, anything "it" and of the moment. New York is a fashion parade and a people watching paradise. I can't wait to fall asleep in my bed, hovering above its electric current of everything everywhere moving in every direction. I'm almost as excited as the two girls in this 1954 TWA film. Almost. I'm definitely jealous of their cute skirts and hair pin dos. You have to watch this.



Wasn't that special? Loves it.

Who's That Girl?: Emily Haines

Who's that girl? Emily Haines. Who's that? Read the post.

The newest Metric album dropped this past summer, but it hasn't left my earbuds since. I'm a little obsessed with the angelic lead vocal over hard rhythm-ness of the music and the lyrics get me everytime: "Help, I'm alive." Who hasn't felt that way now and again?



The lyrics and voice of Metric belong to Emily Haines. She's a lithe lil thing a'la Kate Moss in the early '90s, but the girl packs an energetic punch. Her wardrobe for Metric shows and videos is a sparkly discoball (love the discoball) of showyness. She's a fan of the glittering silver ensemble and her blond hair makes her whole look rock glam in a moviestar kind of way. Emily is a busy songstress and has lent her musicla talents to many other arrangements. She's a member or the rotating line-up of Broken Social Scene and also composes solo music under the band name Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton. She's got range from rockin' to restful, with most of her solo stuff eminating from melodic piano riffs and slowed down, sentimental synth work.



Emily's a daughter of a poet, and her poetic spirit motivates her music writing. She's said she is trying to pen the human experience so that people know they aren't alone. I appreciate that, and with the lyrics like, "Hard to be soft/tough to be tender," she's got me pegged. Oh, and again, "Help, I'm alive." That one feels about right today.

Fashion Resolution.

My New Year's Fashion Resolution (everyone should have one!) is to only buy and wear things that I love, things that call my name. I want my wardrobe to sing to me, to make my heart jump, to make me feel expressed and in love and hot. I want my wardrobe to be filled with a curated collection of what makes me feel most like me; shoes that are shaped perfectly, tops that I could hang on my wall as art, pants that...fit. I have a long way to go. My shopping M.O. has always been to buy things that make the most sense in my budget. The rubric for grading purchases has been more wallet-based than anything, and while I know that is important--a girl needs to eat--so is feeling good in my clothes. I've also always suffered from Fashion Phobic Fat Girl-itis which is marked by acute symptoms of self-criticism and the overriding thought that I should wait until I lose the weight and LOVE every inch of my body before I spend more than the minimum money on clothes. Well, I call an end to that bull shizz! I do love myself, body and all. It's an amazing feeling and I'm going to celebrate by raising the bar on what I let into my closet. (Somehow I'm hoping this sets a precedent for my love life to. I'm raising bars all around.) No more misfitting items just cuz they are on sale. No more boring colors because they are left in the pile of discounts. No more! No more! I will dress to express. I will shop to love. I will invest. I will spend time cultivating my personal style and I will honor that, not my miserly side. I will, damnit! And I'm going to start with purchasing things from a site that Donna K. sent my way. Have you guys heard of Need Supply Co.? It's filled with coolness for moderate prices. It's my new aesthetic in an online store. Love it. Above and below are some looks.

How badass is all of that gear? I apparently want to be a lil more crazy cool in the '10s too. I'm especially wanting that penknife necklace. I could open some serious mail with that thing.

Happy New Decade!