THIS NOT THAT : bottega veneta men's spring 10

different take this time around.

not reviewing the whole runway show.

"shopping" the show.

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these are the pieces i covet,

and would make my own from the shows.
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from the key show of the season, BOTTEGA VENETA:

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unquestionably, something RED.
tomas meier did a whole run of red, primarily in a bold tomato tone,
that looks so fresh suddenly, particularly for summer.
i would take:
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the flap pocketed pant
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the laser cut leather blazer
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and of course, the signature red suit.
go big or go home.
then:
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the odd and insane intrecciato "confetti" leather bag
_

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the vivid cerulean alligator tote
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this little green combo (sexy/army/summer)
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a pair of these delicious luxe sweatpants to pair with a blazer
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these printed pants.  not really "me", but then again, so "me".
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this flawless re-invention of the navy blazer.
peak shoulders, nipped waist, flared hips.
watch the shoulder to start appearing everywhere within the year.
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what we learn from this shopping excursion?
the color palette is a new look at masculine,
a fusion of the femininity of lanvin and something more agressive.
watch for it to start emerging everywhere, quickly.
also,
a strong commitment to the ongoing mesh of casual and formal,
but re-interpreted in skins and wovens.
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oh,
and the return, big time, of the penny loafer.

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DU JOUR : a daily dose of beauty and inspiration

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learn from conceptual furniture design 

that all things need not be "just a chair"

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DU JOUR : a daily dose of beauty and inspiration

 

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gloriously RED art installation.

men should fear art less. we should insist on it's presence.

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the eye needs to be pleased.  the eye needs to be trained.

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DU JOUR : a daily dose of beauty and inspiration

 

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new postings starting today.

i will be adding one piece of personal (recent) inspiration here for you to learn from.

i may tell you why,

i may not, 

but each image moves me and leads to some form of insight into what men should/could/would 

need to live a fuller life.
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glassware from stefano tonchi's apartment in new york.

for years before we owned our first place,
tim and i would collect handblown glasses.
we built a beautiful collection that we never drank from,
in all colors and sizes.

when we finally moved into our first home,
they began being used,
and we moved from "college apartment" living
to "young adult" life.

objects can provide marking points in life.

beauty can be the landmark.
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the eye needs to be pleased.  the eye needs to be challenged.

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wow. where the hell did i go?

sorry,

fell off the face of the blogosphere for a bit.

happens.

wasn't shopping, though.

was finding my way through a new life/career thing.

loving it.  hating it.  loving it.

such is my nature.

back now for a bit.

think we should talk about the spring shows, right?
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but first, a bulgari interlude:
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our roofdeck this summer

our living room

the bedroom

our bathroom.

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OR,
the bulgari suites in milan.

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where i SHOULD have been, lo, these last many months.

ICONS OF STYLE : the curious case of victoria "posh spice" beckham

please,

take this for what it is.

but one has to admit that ms. beckham

has in a far shorter time period,

and with far greater grace notes,

eclipsed her dandified arm-candy

to become a stylish,

interesting

fashion icon.

is she a true icon, hitting all the notes of our previous members?

non.

does she have potential?

oui.

so let's look at this as a lesson.

in how one can evolve,

and develop the footsteps towards fashion icon status.

little vickie began to enter my consciousness somewhere around here-ish:

post music career, new hair, lots of designer label.

level: attention whore.

then this, which i saw in person at the mtv awards two years ago:

level : whore

but then, curiously, she began mingling with marc.

and this stuff began:

level : celebutante

ok, you say, dressed BY a designer does not make one stylish.

but off hours, we saw this happening:

a little rick owens.  a little hermes.

not bad.

 love or hate the choices, they suited her.

they carried some edge.

they took some guts.

and then, she designs her own clothes,

and they aren't horrible.

in fact, they are surprisingly chic.  and pretty.  and desireable:

i gotta say, i LOVE a charcoal pencil skirt, deep vee and fur shrug.

and as long as she can still wack out and do this every once in awhile:

i'm giving miss vicky an upgraded level.

level : icon, in training.

A.P.B. : i love this look

from the site : stylezeitgeist.com

it's the perfect casual modern guy look.

cool sweater, good bag, great denim, excellent shoes.

ok, now I want it.

Gossip Girl fashion breakdown :

i found these facts

absolutely fascinating.

in a sick, delicious, kind of way:

there are an average of EIGHT costume changes, per character, per show.

(it's like my dream day.)

there are SEVENTY FIVE alterations performed each day on set.

blake lively wore a pair of TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLAR crocodile boots in one episode.

(bitch.)

kelly rutherford, however, wore a SIX HUNDRED FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLAR

van kleef and arpels brooch.  in one scene.

the closet has TEN THOUSAND garments at any given time.

(i'm swooning. may have to take a break.)

TWELVE HUNDRED pairs of shoes.

(thud.  which is the sound of my head hitting the keyboard.)

FIVE HUNDRED BAGS.

TWO HUNDRED HEADBANDS.

(if there was a BIGGER way to emphasize HEADBANDS, trust me, i would have typed it.)

all i can say is:

XOXO

WHAT LANDIS WORE : putting all the good stuff together at once

the march edition.

(neil barrett db blazer, american apparel leggings, co-op boots, mink fleurette)

(HK custom blazer, jil sander sweater, diesel black gold jeans)

(Viridi-Anne knit pieced coat, lanvin "crackle" gloves)

(diva sunglasses (shut up), Viridi-Anne "armor" shearling, 

jil sander sweater, lanvin silver heather pants)

(Viridi-Anne "armor" shearling, diesel pants, vintage work boots)

(lanvin suede and felt peacoat, blood and glitter jeans, lanvin trainers, red nose pit bull)

RUNWAY RUNDOWN : tim hamilton fall 09

while everyone is out looking for

"the next american menswear designer",

he arrived quietly several years ago.

i bought my first tim hamilton piece in hong kong,

unable to resist the acidic yellow

and coutureish ruching on a cotton hoodie

that had the weight of athletic wear you remember from middle school

rather than the almost flimsy quality of mass brand work these days.

i have worn that thing into the ground.

each season, tim hamilton has explored and expanded,

moving in ways that are hard to chart,

giving us "american" sportwear

with a twist.

this fall, he opened up his oeuvre:

more formal,

more dress,

and how much do i want that printed trench?

and the knits?

the footwear is great, too.

but the sportswear took a huge leap,

into new forms

and a distillation of many of the new trends:

the last look?

me.  all me.

(and he just launched womenswear.  go.  find.)

RUNWAY RUNDOWN : libertine fall 09

sometimes,

shows just make you happy.

let's have a party

and all wear these, shall we?