WORKING IT : the lanvin trainer (or sneaker. i'm affected. suprise!)

call them fetishes,
call them obsessions,
but i have historically latched onto certain items
by certain designers
and purchased, collected, even hoarded them
because
(and some of you will understand this)
they simply "click".

it started with the martin margiela
simple, beltless "tube" pant.

my friend david worked at barney's at the time,
and was wearing a pair.

they looked amazing:
simple, clean, yet somehow SEXY.
it was the blend of cut and fabric and sophistication
that,
after the first pair,
led to the immediate purchase of every other pair i found.

(imagine my chagrin when i lost fifty seven pounds,
and,
consequently,
my entire "collection".
the seamstress just laughed when i asked her to take them in,
and touched the two pockets over themselves to demonstrate the . . . futility.
i had to start from scratch.)

this led to a couple of rounds with hermes scarves,
(see the earlier posting)
jil sander blazers,
american apparel summer v-necks,
gold toe socks,
and . . . the lanvin trainer.
sneaker.

whatever.

when i first saw them on the runway, i hated them.
they were glorified sneakers.
they were ROUND toed, clunky, vivid.
they were trying too hard.

then, i was given a pair as a gift:

pink satin.  pink ballistic nylon.  pink suede.
(no, i'm sorry.  to quote a designer friend, not pink, cyclamen.)
it was OVER.

they became my "go-to" shoe.
they suddenly made the suit, modern.
the jean, chic.
the khaki, edgy.

perhaps it's the blends of patent and ballistic nylon, or satin and suede.
i've even seen them beaded.
perhaps it's the precise scale of sole to toe, weight to space.

whatever it is,
the fetish has become an obsession, and, if i could make it happen,
it might be
(gasp.  shudder.  don't quote me.)
the only shoe i  need.

remember,
i said not to quote me . . .

(they just keep making them so prettttty . . . )

what Landis wore : a recent Hermes scarf

i limited my purchases in paris
(gotta love the exchange rate.  stupid american dollar.)
but got this from the flagship.

had to.

years ago, tim and i walked through the hermes in chicago.
i had seen a recent lookbook
with a skinhead wearing a vivid purple silk scarf
as a headwrap,
(this was hermes marketing.  ten years ago.  brilliant.)
and wanted to see for myself.

as the woman behind the counter pulled out scarf after scarf
(anyone who has done this will tell you it is an insane experience:
the colors billowing over and over,
the SOUND of the silk unfurling, heavy, almost wet)
and talking about how men wear them all the time,
but you have to know how it eez done, non?

she showed us
seven ways to wear any one scarf,
and each way made total sense.

this trip's scarf was a similar discovery.
i asked if they had anything in blue and white,
they unfurled,
and eventually, a flurry of dots appeared:

their prints are unrivaled.
so sophisticated, so modern, so timeless.

but she stepped back,
and i saw,
finally,
that it was josephine baker.

SOLD!

note, only Grr could affect ennui so perfectly.

and this is how it's worn:

not for everyone,
but you can't describe the feeling of that heavy silk.
and every time,
people come up and comment, touch, and smile.

that alone is worth it.

tim bought me seven scarves that first time.
you wonder why this year's anniversary is number seventeen?

i can be bought.  ;)