heart shatteringly good

Karen Walker’s S/S 09, “She’s Cracked” collection is absolutely fabulous! I especially love the shattered-like pieces of fabric on top of a clean and structured back drop. I mean,  I’m positively drooling as I type. Take note everyone, Maximillia is accepting pre-orders for parts of this collection now, which will be arriving in their shop next month.

white magic

I’m not a white wearer. I never have been. I just never felt like it flattered my pale skin. This summer though, I’m gonna give it another shot. It’s gonna have to be something really good to convert me. So here’s just the beginning of my search. I thought these were white worth for their price worth…

yaya $68

silence & noise $58

mary ping $88

kimchi blue $58

neal sperling $48

kimchi blue $48

All from urban outfitters.

decked in BIG check

I like the check, you might like the check, but this summer designers really like the check. They like it big. I’m not talking the usual plaid that comes around and around, I mean the graphical crossing of hatches. The technique of the moment sums up to a large paint brush running haphazardly across silk fabric. During my online hunt for the hatch, I found some strangely similar looks going on out there. One might even suspect this triplet to be blood related!

Theory

Tsumori Chisato

Bernhard Willhelm

short series

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I find it hard to not look like a stereotypical American tourist when wearing shorts in the summer. There are, of course, ways of getting around that “American” (not that there’s anything wrong with that) look, by maybe wearing a pair of unbelievably hip sandals or dangerously short 80’s shorts, or by sticking with this year’s obvious solution, the “romper.” But let’s face it, we can’t wear a romper every day. This summer, I want to make shorts cool again! Like really cool. How will I do that you ask? Well, I’m still working on it…  but we can at least start with some shorts that won’t make you feel too much like a Griswald.

floral hotpant – topshop

striped cotton – shopbird

cotton gingham – shopbird

bloomer short – letrainbleu

high waisted – urban

hawaiian – urban

high rise – urban

navajo – letrainbleu

samantha zipper – urban

Shop these looks at shopbird, urban outfitters, letrainbleu, and topshop.

pill or pollock?

Once again, I feel as though I’m looking at beautiful paintings when browsing the Spring/Summer 09 collections. This time, they are the works of Cathy Pill. Her runway models look as though they were wrapped in chiffon, shipped off to the beach, rolled around in sand and splattered with paint and bleach. In a good way!  I love the light, airy, delicacy of the fabric but the seriousness of the images projected. Pill is a Belgian born newbie. She burst onto the scene three years ago in Paris and her works continuously reflect an Art Nouveau influence.

Shop Pill clothes on Browns.com.

jumelle’s my jam

Lately, I’ve been looking around, not for clothing, but for clothing inspiration. Since I’m jobless, I’ve been banging around on my sewing machine, creating a few key pieces for my own spring/summer wardrobe. Today I checked back on a shop I always liked, called Jumelle and was happy to come across their new “spring in bloom” selections. Here are my faves (I love that crazy belt and the casual, slingy shape of the marble romper).

brodee belt – heimstone (love that shirt too!)

pink lace leggings – future classics

house print tank – stine goya

marble romper – alexander wang

navajo shirt – jam jam

vendor shorts – rachel comey

top of the tops

I was fishing around for simple summer tops that are easy to throw on with whatever, because I’m lazy like that, and found 9 nifty nuggets of affordables. I shopped around the obvious, cheaper, but cooly sites. These are my faves: 80spurple, Modcloth, Urban Outfitters, Pixiemarket, ASOS and Topshop. I also scanned just a couple of the more expensive (top notch) shops because it sort of felt necessary: Frances May, Farfetch and Bird. I tried to keep them under $50 but couple of them went over. Sorry. Here are my picks:

waistcoat tee ASOS $46

pup FRANCIS MAY $58

s&n ruffle URBN $42

check top FCUK $88

gymnast FARFETCH $49

daisy chain 80SPURPRLE $32

zip tunic TOPSHOP $55

zip vest TOPSHOP $44

giraffe tee BIRD $45

Waistcoat tee (Ben Sherman) ASOS ~ Pup tee (Fox in Mociun) Francis May ~ S & N (silence and noise) ruffle Urban Outfitters ~ Check top FCUK ~ Gymnast tee Farfetch ~ Daisy chain tee 80spurple ~ Giraffe tee Bird ~ Zip tunic Topshop ~ Zip vest Topshop.

the nature of branquinho

Veronique Branquinho’s S/S 09 collection is a mastering of the luxurious, nature inspired, paperbag dress. This Belgian designer created a few beautiful summer looks with draping hooded fabric, that reminded me a bit of Bedouin wear… a look I’ve been more interested in since I just returned from the desert. But what I’m really fascinated with, are the pieces printed with nature murals.

The bottom row are my two favorites, which are available at farfetch.com. I love the detail of the front zipper and the canvas loop belt!

is your game tight enough?

Today I discovered a sneaker company called Keep. They’re a bit like Keds except maybe cooler (hmm, maybe I should do a Keep/Keds shoe-off sometime). The shoes are all pretty boyish looking but are all made for women. Feeling occasionally tomboyish myself, I could definitely rock a pair of their Guerra high tops with a summer dress. I like how they use color in almost all the shoes without being too sickly sweet and sparkly. Don’t get me wrong, I love the sparkle, but sometimes a simple sneak does the trick. Keep also make some tees and totes… some hoodies and glasses. They constantly seem to collaborate with different artists/designers and their motto is simple: they make shoes for “women who have their game tight…” heh…

the guerra

the elias

the homer

tie dye sunglasses

red mosley glasses

yellow mosley sunglasses

calendar tote bag

FYI – Everything is orderable from their site. The homer and the guerra are also being sold on urbanoutfitters.com.

dagg’s good!

Paper doll reminded me about Dagg and Stacey today. I love that in their spring/summer 09 “Out of Africa” collection, there are a few small studs, buckles and ropes to balance out the gorgeous feminine fabrics and cuts. Another nice thing about this Canadian duo is that they’re socially and ecologically conscious, meaning they focus on independent trade and use hand dyed appliques.