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

FALL COUTURE : an art form, up close

the couture shows for winter were what they always are:

an unattainable, yet lovely,

expression of all that a couturier can dream of,

and then make real, for a moment.



most of us won't have lives where we ever wear this stuff,

(not the least reason being that it's women's clothing only . . .)

but it surely informs and influences every aspect of fashion downstream,

from colors to textures to lengths . . .



after all, that's what dreams are supposed to do,

seep into daily consciousness.



your homework here is to look closely,

and tell me what you see that inspires you.

what can men learn from a frothy, imaginative rundown of women's fantasies?



in some ways, guys need to spend more time seeking inspiration,

and less worrying about what works.



my mother (who, among other things, was a very successful interior designer in the eighties),

once made me pull every page from every kind of magazine that i liked,

then lay them on the floor,

step back,

and see what rose to the top.

that way, i would know what i consistently was drawn to,

be it color or shape or lighting.



for the record, i liked red sofas,

violet walls,

dark wood floors,

and alabaster.

(i've moved on.  but it was a stunning apartment.)



here, a few snippets from lacroix and chanel

that should make you yearn a bit

for reasons to keep this art form

alive:

ICONS OF STYLE : CATE BLANCHETT

well it wouldn't be me if i didn't include someone

this fearless,

this timeless,

and this chic,

would it, now?



cate blanchett has proven time and again,

over and over,

that with the right confidence and knowledge of yourself,

almost any fashion risk can be ridden to harbor,

and any occasion should inspire you to rise to the new.



she easily fits the five rules,

but she also inspires across gender with the radiance of her attitude.



her true gift?

she transcends whether you "get it" or not.



she makes you understand

that true style

is about the wearer:























 

ICONS OF STYLE: ALAIN DELON

the second in the series of style icons

fits all five rules rather effortlessly.



alain delon is a french movie star,

breaking out with his role in "purple noon"

(the original "talented mr. ripley").

his great physical beauty and aloof quality

made him the object of both adoration

and curiousity around the world.



a dedicated playboy his entire life,

he wore clothing in a way that spoke

to "not caring" about it,

though he is known for once saying:



"I like to be loved like I love myself."



which could explain a lot:











i can relate . . .

ICONS OF STYLE : HIDETOSHI NAKATAWA

someone asked me recently whom i considered as my personal style icons.



fun game, right?



but i was seriously stumped.

it's like when anyone asked me who i wanted to play me in the movie of my life,

i was always stumped, until i came up with "christina ricci" as my answer,

whereupon everyone would go, "christina ricc . . . ohhhh yeah. now i see it."



but style icon, that's harder for me. so i came up with some rules.



an icon has to be someone whom:



1) looks great in every picture you see of them, regardless of where they are,



2) chooses clothing that sets them apart, and is truly distinctive,



3) remains consistent in those choices over a period of time,



4) commits to fashion, and enjoys it,



5) makes you want to replicate their look, down to the critical details.



there. landis' five fashion icon laws.



that out of the way, i got stuck in WHO might actually fit that. and the field narrowed rapidly.



i've come up with three.



the first:

Hidetoshi Nakatawa. he's like the japanese david beckham,

only in a way that makes me go "yes, please!" not "oh, interesting . . ."

he clearly enjoys clothing, attending fashion shows and endless parties.

and he somehow straddles the whole masculine/feminine thing

with a slight edge of the dominatrix. i love that.



witness, my friends,

icon number one:













doesn't hurt that he's more than a little dreamy . . . non?



no, it don't.