tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-99929582024-03-19T06:20:41.164-04:00Fish Monkey's Writing StuffFiction. Fashion. Foolishness.Fish Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513113946225645783noreply@blogger.comBlogger363125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9992958.post-57628287218255988752017-10-11T15:57:00.001-04:002017-10-11T15:57:15.369-04:00The semiotics of Rick Owens<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
(Most fashion photos are from Vogue.com)<br />
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I've been eager to talk about Rick Owens for a while now -- not just Rick Owens the designer I adore, not the sharp-profiled patron saint of Goths everywhere, but rather Rick Owens as a cultural force, and an oblique successor to the avant garde of the eighties and the cosmopolitan minimalism of the nineties.<br />
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But let's start with his Spring/Summer 2014 collection. It gained a lot of (well deserved) attention by casting American step teams instead of models.<br />
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<img alt="Image result for rick owens step team" src="https://img.gawkerassets.com/img/191dryyrd2m7njpg/ku-xlarge.jpg" /><br />
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You can watch the full video of this really inspired performance here:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="708" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1WfAmL-dIBQ" width="1263"></iframe><br />
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Thing you will notice first is the diversity of the models, which makes sense: they were not selected by a casting director, but came as an entire group of living, breathing American students, with bodies of different heights, builds, weights and of course colors.<br />
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Another thing that immediately jumps to mind is how easy these clothes are to move in. And how GOOD they look on these women -- all of them. This is really the quintessential Owens' clothing -- interesting but not imposing or assuming, clothes that are mostly black or white or dust colored, cut in an inspiring and often mind-boggling way, and yet so easy. A disclaimer is perhaps in order: I love Rick Owens' clothes. I wear them a lot; they are blank and anonymous. And yet people who also love him will recognize his clothing immediately -- by the drape, but the flattering skim of unraveling and asymmetrical jersey, by a sharp cant of the shoulder.<br />
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The thing about this show is how much it says about fashion as an institution -- how often the barriers we see are artificial; and it also seems to be poking a bit of fun. It's as if it says, you want more diverse runways? You don't need more casting directors or a heavily regulated model industry; you can just grab a group of people from anywhere in the real world, and here you have it. (Of course now casting "real people" in the runway shows is a trend. I will not say that Owens pioneered it -- but he certainly got a lot of attention when he did.)<br />
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I would not call Owens clothes derivative by any means, as his aesthetic is all his own; and yet it would be a mistake to argue that he has no antecedents. The palette and the indifference in separating eveningwear from streetwear roots him firmly in the nineties, to the works of the Amsterdam six (especially Ann Demeulemeester), as well Yohji Yamamoto. Yamamoto has become a rarefied legend, and yet he was one of the first avant garde designers to actually look to the street, to the "sneaker culture" as he calls it, and to incorporate some very mundane references into the exquisitely cut clothes.<br />
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Of course there are also more direct points of comparison between Yamamoto and Owens: both reject the explicitly feminine silhouettes, tending instead toward the androgyny. It is never tight but skimming, it is boxy but flattering, bizarre and yet utterly enchanting.<br />
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From Yohji Yamamoto himself: "<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Men's clothing is more pure in design. It's more simple and has no decoration. Women want that. When I started designing, I wanted to make men's clothes for women. But there were no buyers for it. Now there are. I always wonder who decided that there should be a difference in the clothes of men and women. Perhaps men decided this.</span>" </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">(Not surprisingly, I adore Yamamoto, even more than Owens.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">But if it was all there were all to Owens -- the reliance on black and the asymmetry, the unraveling seams and the imaginative cuts -- there would be no explanation for his most recent show, Spring 2018.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It starts out mildly enough: </span></div>
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<img height="400" src="https://assets.vogue.com/photos/59cd2663aca61e23ea062caf/master/pass/KIM_0041.jpg" width="266" /></div>
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It is a quintessential Owens, and we can see a similarity to a Spring 2014 piece:<br />
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<img height="400" src="https://assets.vogue.com/photos/55c6512408298d8be21c40de/master/pass/MARC0241.1366x2048.JPG" width="266" /><br />
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Evolution for sure, but hardly a dramatic leap. As the show progresses, however, Owens abandons his usual skimming/concealing of the body and goes toward the downright distortion:<br />
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<img height="400" src="https://assets.vogue.com/photos/59cd2dc40f253e28e044fcf1/master/pass/KIM_0654.jpg" width="266" /><br />
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At this point, one has to recognize that this distortive approach, this refusal to enter the flattering/unflattering dichotomy harks back to Rei Kawakubo, another Japanese avant garde designer (who was honored in this year's<a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2017/rei-kawakubo"> Met Museum Costume Institute Exhibit</a>), who refused to even consider the question and went straight for the body distortions, like in her famous 1997 collection:<br />
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<img height="400" src="https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2017/05/rei_checks1a.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=407" width="266" /><br />
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And all doubts disappear when Owens walks out this look:<br />
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<img height="400" src="https://assets.vogue.com/photos/59cd2ec5d56762026cef17d1/master/pass/KIM_0774.jpg" width="266" /><br />
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The manipulation of jersey, the color is all Owens but the shape is unmistakably referential of Kawakubo. And listen, I am the first to argue that runway presentations are about art first and commerce second, that complaining about runway looks not being wearable is missing the point -- a bit like judging a painting by how well it matches your living room color scheme. And yet...<br />
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<img src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/0*IqB-vSWIiGSTsYAz.jpg" /><br />
<img src="https://poweredbygirl.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/cdg.jpg" /><br />
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These are professional ballet dancers performing in those lump dresses from Kawakubo's collection. And the attention to the movement, to the three-dimensional reality of clothing and athletes' bodies -- who, unlike models, inhabit the clothes fully instead of walking them down the runway -- brings this all together for me. That Spring 2014 show that was also shown on bodies of dancers.<br />
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So to me Rick Owens' 2018 show is a love letter -- to other designers, to the evolution of his vision, and to the bodies that move and inhabit clothes, bodies that revealed and concealed, distorted and embraced. It is a love letter to movement in all senses of it -- dance, time, music, human body -- and I am grateful for it. This letter came at the right time. </div>
Fish Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513113946225645783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9992958.post-40978628453266725802017-02-01T14:39:00.000-05:002017-02-02T09:14:25.170-05:00The World is on Fire, Let's Go Shopping<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I have been absent -- mostly due to things like family illnesses and my mother's death, and associated travel and mute heartbreak. I won't even talk about the current political events because there is no talking there but only screaming. And yet: no matter what is going on, those of us who continue living carry on with the mundane stuff. We eat, we sleep, we create art, we write blogs. We work out, we tend to the young and the elderly, we feed cats and let them outside. And we shop.</div>
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Today I want to give a shoutout to my favorite city, Moscow. And to two favorite shopping destinations there: one old, one new. But first, some street views.</div>
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Incidentally, this puffer coat by <a href="http://www.theeightsenses.com/">The Eight Senses</a> saw me beautifully through most of January in Moscow. Respect! The only time I needed something more insulated was during a -20 freeze, which lasted three days and seriously hampered my walking time.<br>
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And here's this coat again, in <a href="https://svmoscow.ru/">SVMoscow</a>. I wrote about them <a href="http://fishmonkey.blogspot.com/2014/12/moscow-shopping-2.html">before</a>, and I keep going back year after year. It's not just the amazing selection and the beautifully curated space, it's not just the fresh collections by The Row, Ann Demeuleemester, Yohji Yamamoto, and Vetements. It's this mirror, it's the quiet interior. It is its sense of sanctuary. I am not the one for churches, but I do find a degree of spiritual contentment trailing my fingers along their racks of black Japanese and Belgian avant garde, drinking tea in the spacious front area, walking around with the wooden floors whispering underfoot.<br>
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The greatest treasure of this space and my favorite salesperson in the world is Roman. He is a friend and a confidant, and a person who saved me from myself more times than I can count. Some Roman quotes which always make me laugh:<br>
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"No. NO. Take this off IMMEDIATELY."<br>
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"I will not let you try this on -- it's too big, it'll swallow you whole and your broad shoulders won't save you."<br>
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"I feel I would be doing you a disservice if I let you buy another black dress."<br>
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(He is always right, by the way.)<br>
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And it is also thanks to Roman that I visited the showroom of two Russian brands, <a href="http://rubancouture.com/">Ruban</a> and <a href="http://www.peforgirls.ru/">Pe for Girls</a>. Both are the brainchildren of Alisa and Yulia Ruban, designer sisters. Pe for Girls is their younger line, much less expensive than their main one, but still exhibiting the same quality -- structured cashmere tops lined in silk, velvet track suits, simple timeless dresses:<br>
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I knew about their main line, RUBAN, which is always exquisitely and inventively constructed, but it took Roman's tip to send me looking at the Pe and its wearable and deceptively simple silhouettes, the sort of thing you can wear to work or to lounge on the couch, and always be secretly delighted by the sweep of the hem or the substantial and smooth hand of the fabric.<br>
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It took me a second visit to venture a look at the main line -- elaborate clothes with couture sensibilities require a certain state of mind. There is always a special energy in designer showspaces -- they tend to be quieter and sparcer than retail, and I especially enjoy the ones that reflect the aesthetics of their creators not only in clothes but in decor. I loved the RUBAN showroom so much -- it is so open and straw-colored, and the clothes are exquisite. </div>
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Also they are not exactly cheap, but I lucked out and walked right into their biggest season sale. I am a sucker for structured and tailored clothes as much as I am for Belgian avant garde, and I do firmly believe in supporting domestic manufacturing (both Russian and US -- this is what happens with two homes.) The look below caught my eye right away, and after trying on the skirt I took it home.</div>
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And wore it for the first day of the Spring semester, with my trusty <a href="https://protagonist.com/">Protagonist</a> made in NYC shirt. </div>
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I dress up for my classes because they are important to me, and by dressing up I convey my sense of excitement and respect for the occasion. Or at least I hope I do! I like to wear things made by people I admire and respect. It is importantfor me to support those who are truly creative, who invest in ethical practices, who care about sustainable manufacturing while creating beauty that keeps people warm.<br>
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Because we are alive, we must leave our houses, and we must wear clothes. They tell the world of who we are and where we are coming from, of our aesthetics and desires. We chose our clothes because they matter. And we wear these clothes to honor the people who dreamed them up and made them, who put them onto shelves and racks for us to find, and those who showed them to us and talked us into trying them on.<br>
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Because even as the world falls apart, we carry on with shopping, dressing, and looking after one another.</div>
Fish Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513113946225645783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9992958.post-74850392432351223832016-08-28T10:07:00.000-04:002016-08-28T10:07:01.137-04:00New Luxury<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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(Photo by Soumountha Keophilavong)<br />
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A few months ago I stepped my foot inside Bergdorf Goodman's for the first time. You know the mythology surrounding it: a legendary luxury department store, spanning a whole 5th Avenue block and gazillion floors (or so it seems), that carries every conceivable designer and bag and shoe, and is also home of the inimitable <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2014/09/betty-halbreich-bergdorf-goodman-I-ll-drink-to-that-interview">Betty Halbreich</a> whom I adore for her books and for stealing that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_tlLasDH3A">Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf </a>flick. It is the most luxurious, excuisite, discerning and just the mostest of all department stores. Its clientelle is also the richest, most sophisticated, hardest to cater to... I was curious to see it in the flesh.<br />
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Can you guess? It was disappointing. Too many people, the overall department store atmosphere, owing no doubt to prominent perfume counters, and racks and racks of dresses (expensive dresses, mind, stuffed almost obscenely on a sales rack!)... Add to this indifferent salespeople, and it all amounted to "THIS is what luxury is?" sense. But of course it is not.</div>
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We live in the age of this ultimate oxymoron, mass market luxury, where every airport in the world has a Louis Vuitton store as if it were McDonald's, and where every Chanel/Dior/Saint Laurent boutique looks the same no matter where in the world you are. The experience is homogenized in the very opposition to the notion of luxury as something special, unique, something that is just for you - custom, bespoke, made to measure and to order. BG may be better than most department stores because there is only one of it, but the insides of it are as homogenous as elsewhere.</div>
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Of course, the truly rich are taken into some secret compartment of the store where they are waited on by personal shoppers and are offered complimentary champagne. But for the rest of us, BG offers only an illusion of luxury. Department stores are to luxury what heavily logoed Vuitton wallets are to wealth: a hollow symbol that functions only because of its mystique propped by advertizing. Brands that once signified quality now only signify themselves.</div>
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I suspect that nowadays the experience of true luxury - that is, attentive service, personalized help, custom goods, and above all quality - can be found by regular people but not at the self-designated luxury brands and stores. It exists in smaller spaces - boutiques, online stores, Etsy even - and it is not called "luxury". But the experience of finding true quality, in clothes as well as service, is what luxury is, really - and I thank all the smaller brands and designers who answer my emails and invite me to their spaces. I thank all salespeople in the stores I frequent who email me to let me know when something I might like comes in or give me heads up for new collections or sample sales. And I am happy to pay a bit more for this, and I would much rather do it there than at some mass luxury designation where unless you are super rich you will get a distinct experience of shopping at Macy's but the one you can only afford a scarf and maybe some perfume, which Target also carries. </div>
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That was a long lead in to a shout out to such a place - <a href="http://anothergarde.com/">Another Garde</a>, a cool online space founded and helmed by the amazing Soumountha Keophilavong. It seems like the past few months have been so generous in letting me meet great women who are clever, passionate, and committed to making a difference in the fashion world. I met Soumountha last week, and really enjoyed hearing about her philosophy of promoting and supporting women designers, as well as getting to ogle her very tightly curated selection of beautiful and functional clothing.</div>
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Here are some pictures from Another Garde's pop up in NYC:</div>
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Fish Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513113946225645783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9992958.post-34605587207411671712016-08-10T13:08:00.000-04:002016-08-10T13:08:02.922-04:00Zero Waste Fashion and NYC Shopping<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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(Disclaimer: Reusing old clothing and upcycling are environmentally friendly and decrease waste and consumption, but here I am more interested in discussing impact of NEW clothing.)</div>
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"Ethical fashion" and "sustainable fashion" have become common notions, although often conversations about the future of fashion don't bother differentiating between, or defining the two. Definitions do tend to evolve and shift meanings with the times, but it is useful occasionally to talk about them. Currently it seems "ethical" definitions focus mostly on labor justice issues, such as fair pay for the workers and factory safety, while "sustainable" deals with environmental impacts of textile manufacturing, pesticide and fertilizer use, pollution, waste, and fuel comsumption. One can also argue that "sustainable" should really be subsumed in "ethical", since environmental protection is an issue of ethics.</div>
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In my <a href="http://fishmonkey.blogspot.com/2016/07/made-in-new-york-or-go-home-greenpeace.html">last post</a> I wrote about Greenpeace and its definition of green manufacturing so narrowly focused on avoiding toxic chemicals as to be completely meaningless; on the other end of the spectrum, others tend toward very broad views, setting the bar high enough to include both fair labor practices and minimal environmental impact. Not impossible but challenging, and of course costs will go up. Textiles sourced from sustainable operations and made in mills that pay fair wages, local production, fair labor practices for pattern-makers, cutters, sewers... It adds up. Throw in distribution, warehousing etc etc and the price differential between fast fashion and ethical/sustainable becomes a real hurdle for consumers.</div>
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So it is always refreshing to see novel approaches. Zero-waste fashion, for one, focuses on minimizing textile waste, and <a href="http://tabiijust.com/">Tabii Just</a> (by Trinidad-born designer Tabitha St Bernard) takes this concept even further, cutting her garments without leaving any scraps AND using deadstock fabrics, further minimizing impact (and keeping the cost at a low end of the soectrum). Everything is manufactured in NYC, ticking off boxes of fair wages and minimal fossil fuel consumption.</div>
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Of course I had to visit! Tabitha was kind and thoughtful, and generous enough to share some professional pictures of her studio. It's a beautiful space filled with gorgeous clothes, and I appreciated Tabitha showing me around!</div>
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Her pieces are mostly dresses, with a few tops and skirts and vests, most of them patterned in bright colors. </div>
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If you know me at all, you can guess I opted for black and white. It's a print (I know, so adventurous of me) - a lovely snake print, worn here with Alexander Wang mules from a few years back, and a family heirloom bone necklace.</div>
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I strongly suggest listening to Tabitha and a few other zero-waste designers on <a href="http://fashionmediacenter.com/afpod/2016/03/089-zero-waste-gold/">American Fashion Podcast</a> - fascinating conversation. </div>
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Personally, I feel that a stumbling block to much of ethical consumption is the unfortunate tendency to put onus on the consumers - having them learn about each clothing brand, research their supply chain, etc etc. This is not a reasonable expectation: I feel that the responsibility should lie with the manufacturers and lawmakers, so that we can go to a store, pick up a pair of shoes and be readonably certain that no children were exploited in their making. Until the day comes, we often resort to shortcuts: rather than performing exhaustive research on each product, we have our criteria. For me, domestically made product suggests 1) fair labor practices, especially if made in NYC; 2) low fuel consumption; 3) compliance with the US environmental regulations, which are not perfect but are at least somewhat enforced. European- made textiles do have a higher fuel component but are manufactured under stricter environmental controls, so it's an all right trade-off.</div>
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Anyway! It is nice to find small-scale designers who manufacture in the US; even better to find a bunch of them brought together in a cool retail space. I found such in <a href="http://coterre.com/">Coterre</a>, a great little pop-up in SoHo. </div>
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They carry my favorite <a href="http://schaischai.com/">SCHAI</a>, as well as a few other smallish indie domestically manufactured labels. Of course I had to stop by and try on a few things!</div>
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Meet my new blazer, made by <a href="http://alchemydetroit.com/">Alchemy Detroit</a>. Love the tailoring of their pieces, and their t-shirts are the softest I ever touched. (The pants are by <a href="https://www.thisisaday.com/">ADAY</a>, and yes, I am coming from the gym.)</div>
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There is also jewelry, shoes, cosmetics... And what I found really thrilling while browsing and chatting with Hilary, the woman behind the project, was that I did not have to constantly wonder where and how everything was made. I hope that soon enough it will be the norm: walking into the store and assuming that everything in it was made ethically. Or at least that no one <a href="http://en.prothom-alo.com/bangladesh/news/112445/Rana-Plaza-Trial-in-murder-case-begins">died</a> as a result of making of our clothes - and really, this is not too much to ask!</div>
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Fish Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513113946225645783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9992958.post-5255589450373083732016-07-31T22:14:00.001-04:002016-07-31T22:14:54.116-04:00Made in New York, or Go Home, Greenpeace, You're Drunk<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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For the first time ever, I got to visit an honest-to-goodness New York City garment factory! With all the talking and teaching about garment industry that I do, it was long overdue.</div>
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The factory, Johnny's Studio, manufactures clothing for <a href="http://schaischai.com/">SCHAI</a>, among others, and it is thanks to SCHAI's founder and designer, Suk Chai, that I got to visit. And to meet Suk, who is smart and funny and gracious, and took time to show me around.</div>
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It was amazing to see this vibrant life, mere remnant of the volume of 1950s and 1960s, but so much is the same: the skill and the energy, and the industry that still seems to function (although on a smaller scale) as an engine for getting immigrant workers to middle class and business ownership. The garmentos of yore, the Italian and Jewish workforce of the early days, seem to have been supplanted by Asian and Latinx/Hispanic owners and workers, but the vibe is still there! (Has anyone read <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Beautiful-Generation-Americans-Cultural-Economy/dp/0822349132">The Beatiful Generation by Thuy Linh Nguyen Tu</a>, by the way? It's great, and talks at length about the link between Asian-American fashion designers and Asian workers in the garment industry. Anyway, I babble).</div>
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Here are some pics!</div>
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(I was told Ken here was cutting my dress!)</div>
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Here's a snapshot of a few of SCHAI's Fall looks, by the way. As you probably guessed, it's yet another obsession.</div>
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I mean, look at these pants!</div>
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As you can guess, I love this label not just because of the tailoring and luxe drape of the textiles, but also because it is domestically made, uses well-sourced, high quality fabrics, and doesn't cut any manufacturing corners. The price point of course reflects this ethos. Which is just another way of saying this: there is no way on earth to make cheap garments <a href="http://thisiwear.com/inside-story/will-fashion-collapse-too/">sustainable</a>. Of course higher price alone does not guarantee sustainability (in fact, many well-known brands' pricetags reflect little but name recognition), but the opposite is certainly true: a ten dollar dress is inherently problematic. Not only because of the impossibility of paying living wages and buying decent materials with that kind of retail, but also because cheap clothes are disposable, and they will be choking our landfills with their poly blends for centuries to come.</div>
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And this is why this Greenpeace -authored <a href="http://www.ecouterre.com/greenpeace-reveals-the-most-and-least-eco-friendly-fashion-brands/">rundown</a> is especially puzzling. The criteria are so ridiculously narrow as to completely ignore the irreducible reality of how clothes, physical garments, affect the environment in many complex and intertwining ways, and of which toxic compounds are only one part. H&M and other fast-fashion retailers are a problem, and will continue to be so as long as they continue the current volume of production at current prices, no matter how many toxic chemicals they ban.</div>
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Fish Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513113946225645783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9992958.post-5261895296944317712016-05-05T20:58:00.001-04:002016-05-06T15:16:24.320-04:00The Met Costume Institute, Manus X Machina Exhibit<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Amazing! I could say a lot but instead here are some pictures!<br />
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Fish Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513113946225645783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9992958.post-27171862465432576602016-05-04T10:59:00.000-04:002016-05-06T15:15:45.345-04:00Versatility<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQWAvfh-HiFGP6XSTJVL6U8JXLUN6k6GD-XnXUSjq1MKFhwX47Q3PWYl9vZ4OvlaHdDvANchKZo-4BVZmh7rWDinBgCX_X0eHV5ta8HxpAF4IeoFED6mP3w07uT7M0rWFGAtrTdQ/s1600/beekeepin3.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQWAvfh-HiFGP6XSTJVL6U8JXLUN6k6GD-XnXUSjq1MKFhwX47Q3PWYl9vZ4OvlaHdDvANchKZo-4BVZmh7rWDinBgCX_X0eHV5ta8HxpAF4IeoFED6mP3w07uT7M0rWFGAtrTdQ/s320/beekeepin3.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br />(Transferring frames from the nuc box to their forever home.)<br /><br />This came out of a few talks with various people, but it seems to me that the new luxury nowadays is space -- as witnessed by high-end boutiques with a single rail and a few wispy garments hanging minimalistically on it. Having things is passe; having space isn't. And for one's wardrobe to be like this, pieces have to play many roles: and lately I find that I tend to wear the same things to work, going out, hanging on the weekends... everything but the gym! (If you see me and I am in sneakers and leggings, this means I am coming from the gym or going there. I have my principles.)<br /><br />So this necessitates clothes that can be worn -- as much as I love intricate textures and delicate fabrics, I wear them to pieces, because in life things stain and snag; good quality clothing though gets ragged and worn in interesting ways, acquiring patina and character, rather than simply falling apart (one more reason to avoid cheap fast fashion, but enough on that.) So even my expensive stuff is worn everywhere... Including work. Mostly work, if I am being honest.<br /><br />I rarely talk here about work because boundaries, but I just wanted to share a couple of pictures of me working in the apiary on campus. Last week, we were installing a new nuc (short for a nuclear colony, basically a quick and easy way to get a new hive going. A nuc contains a queen, worker bees, brood, and honey frames.)<br /><br />Here's the frame with the queen. She is the big one with short wings in the middle:<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlhevOXwODmKKozBs-0nQyBGOdV8XdcecHqGFANP5gAXEyN_0DVVkKS3-6s0e2Et5vIegLhQwkWEgxx52B62mIL-W_ZCR6dXTK1ViAyTYj-2BhmrR1ZgylK9t0DElS0BYMB52NcA/s1600/Beekeeping2.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlhevOXwODmKKozBs-0nQyBGOdV8XdcecHqGFANP5gAXEyN_0DVVkKS3-6s0e2Et5vIegLhQwkWEgxx52B62mIL-W_ZCR6dXTK1ViAyTYj-2BhmrR1ZgylK9t0DElS0BYMB52NcA/s320/Beekeeping2.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br />And here's a somewhat better view of my outfit.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiCiqkNY_CJ3W20RINTz-0sLRokE8vr2McXNRhyENax5n3Duo2OqxtlpB1DVVFIrAuRdBpBBB_0gxO_CbCY1Uh-CrfbUZRLjaR8QVPM7wkb0qrc1eOKLsVESNx_o1FtwngGT7DNA/s1600/Beekeepin1.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiCiqkNY_CJ3W20RINTz-0sLRokE8vr2McXNRhyENax5n3Duo2OqxtlpB1DVVFIrAuRdBpBBB_0gxO_CbCY1Uh-CrfbUZRLjaR8QVPM7wkb0qrc1eOKLsVESNx_o1FtwngGT7DNA/s320/Beekeepin1.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br />The pleated skirt is by <a href="http://www.silvae.co/">Silvae</a>, and the neoprene top is <a href="https://www.thisisaday.com/#!/">ADAY</a> sample from their recent sample sale. The coat is my favorite <a href="http://www.inaisce.com/">INAISCE</a> piece.<br /><br />Incidentally, Jona Sees of Inaisce greatly influenced my view on what makes a versatile piece: his clothes do not look immediately easy to wear, with their precise cuts and elaborate designs, but trust me, they are. This <a href="http://fishmonkey.blogspot.com/2015/04/inaisce.html">sleeveless jacket</a> is easily my most-worn piece: I wear it for work, on walks, on the plane (it unbuttons on the back and makes a great plane blanket). Warm weather jacket or winter layering piece - it works for everything, which is really cool considering that it looks like a really complicated and architectural piece.<br /><br />Now I will only buy clothes I can tend to my hives in.... shoes, however, might be another matter altogether.</div>
Fish Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513113946225645783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9992958.post-68124904794889442292015-10-17T20:26:00.001-04:002015-10-18T20:21:21.893-04:00Bodily Geometries<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It's an interesting thing, our relationship with our bodies; even this construction implies them as separate entities our cerebral selves have some uneasy and often tenuous discourse with. And yet of course we are corporeal - the reminder often unpleasant to academics. Is it why they are so often dismissive of fashion, because fashion is so obviously embodied, and thus stands in opposition of intellect and art? It is certainly not artful by the Kantian standards, for it is entirely too immediate, corporeal and female (Kant's aesthetics, on the other hand, sees art as exclusively cerebral, appreciated only by remote senses of vision and hearing, and unambiguously male.) So contempt for fashion, often couched in language of triviality of such pursuits, seem to stem more often than not from the contempt for the feminine and the embodied, illustrating how entwined the two are to this day in collective psyche.</div>
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So anyway, bodies. I wrote before about how we present, highlight, conceal our bodies through dress; I wrote about <a href="http://fishmonkey.blogspot.com/2010/10/on-flattering-dressing.html">flattering</a> and <a href="ffb: Not-Sexy Dressing http://fishmonkey.blogspot.com/2011/11/not-sexy-dressing.html">not-sexy dressing.</a> But I don't think I ever talked about my perceptions of my own body and how the idea of it shapes much of what I wear and how I wear it.</div>
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However, first things first: another designer I recently fell in love with is <a href="http://www.larakhoury.com/">Lara Khoury</a> who hails from Beirut, Lebanon. Her latest <a href="https://www.notjustalabel.com/designer/lara-khoury?collection=212011">collection</a> is beautiful, softly draped with an occasional punctuation of deconstructed elements and structured shapes. The collection speaks to and of a multitude of experiences - softness and rawness, immigration and staying behind, severity and excess. The pleated dresses juxtaposed against heavy coats, wide woolen pants next to tulle, the plurality of shapes and hemlines. High necks and exposed backs, sweeping and draping, this collection is about cleaving, in both senses of the world: the designer's description speaks of the experiences of the Lebanese diaspora and their families who stayed behind, of tearing away and hugging close. The collection miraculously hangs together (cleaving again) despite its seeming contradictions of pastels and stark black and whites, modest necklines and exposed skin. Leaving and staying, torn raw and sealed in a beautiful lantern of pleated tulle.</div>
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As I said, in love. </div>
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Contrary to my instinct, I didn't go for the structured pieces - partly because I wanted to try something new, partly due to my realization that I might have more than a reasonable number of sculpted white tops. Instead, I went for a different shape altogether, softly draped and voluminous. </div>
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The piece is beautifully made and constructed, in cotton gauze with subtly arresting unraveling edges and interesting shape. And yet, my first reaction was, "Is it supposed to fit like this?" (The designer was kind enough to reassure me that it was indeed the right fit).</div>
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I am no stranger to oversized fits. Figure flattery is not high on the list of my dressing priorities. The top is gorgeous and I love it to bits, but seeing it on myself was an interesting if unfamiliar experience. It felt different somehow. I had to wonder what's going on.</div>
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Of course, most of my oversized pieces are quite sculptural, often in stiff woven fabrics like this Cin+Oko top and Litkovskaya pants:</div>
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(Shoes are rag&bone mules)</div>
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The volume these clothes create is a separate space in which my body exists without filling it.</div>
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It is a carapace, an exoskeleton, a shell that does not suggest softness. And this angularity is actually what I am used to projecting by the way I dress, and I think it is rooted in self-perception. Conflating femininity and softness is a cliche; I do wonder about it though, only because I perceive my body as fairly sharp, fairly angular, with bone and muscle defining its shape to me rather than breasts or hips. In my self-image, I am never soft (even when I am). </div>
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I can do slouchy as well:</div>
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Even though this cashmere sweater by Protagonist is fairly soft, it has enough weight to create its own shape, with my body maintaining its separate distinct identity underneath. The skirt is a nice counterpoint in another substantial knit (merino wool, Iris&Ink). Proenza Schouler boots work here, I think, instead of more expected pumps. They feel more grounded against the shades of white, heavy and flat.</div>
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And finally, here's the Lara Khoury top: it is oversized and yet drapes close to my body, neither following its shape precisely as a tailored fit would nor making a shell for it. Instead, it imposes its softness over my contour, and I suspect that this is why it felt so alien at first. </div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">(I'm wearing Lara Khoury blouse with Isabel Marant pants and Carin Wester shoes.)</span></div>
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I love it, and it does something different from my usual clothes. I wanted to try something new but didn't expect the novelty to be so conceptual, so dizzying at first. This single piece made me realize that even though I think of dressing in terms of silhouettes, I have failed to recognize the importance I've assigned to angularity and stiff shapes, basing my entire wardrobe on it. Even the strictly feminine pieces I wear tend to be sharp (such as high heels in the otherwise masculine look) rather than floppy and soft. But now I think I am ready to play a bit with softer versions of femininity.</div>
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Fish Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513113946225645783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9992958.post-36184751847804466542015-10-11T13:27:00.001-04:002015-10-11T15:54:53.380-04:00Vault Show<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Yesterday, had a chance to attend a fashion event in Philly - <a href="http://www.vaultshow.com/">Vault Show</a>, organized by Philadelphia Fashion Week crew, was a show featuring some local designers. It's a smaller venue, so you get a chance to see everything up close, and the designers also say a few words, which is nice. Here are some highlights!<br />
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First up, <a href="http://www.ayasaafi.com/">Ayasa Afi</a>:</div>
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<a href="http://kecollection.com/">Ke Collection</a>:</div>
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<a href="http://www.heartlessrevival.com/">Autumn Lin</a>:</div>
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Me, in Bitte Kai Rand jumpsuit, Alexander McQueen belt, Dutch Basics necklace and Rachel Comey heels.</div>
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Fish Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513113946225645783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9992958.post-83258044744795849292015-05-26T13:13:00.000-04:002015-05-26T21:07:10.541-04:00Yojiro Kake <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Another obsession: as always, it starts with an aesthetic, a unique eye for a silhouette, something that I haven't seen before and yet recognize as mine. This time it is both sculptural and fluid, like the frozen ridges of waterfalls. Fabrics like oil slicks on puddles on a rainy day, Comme des Garçons meets McQueen by the way of Issey Miyake. Minimal avant-garde. In other words, my jam.</div>
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Then there are fabrics: how many perfectly nice garments are ruined by thoughtless deployment of polyester and acetate, acrylics that pill and blends that hang limply and without purpose? The more I pay attention to clothes, the more I realize that textiles are where it's at. </div>
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But let me start from the beginning: I came across <a href="http://www.yojirokake.com/">Yojiro Kake</a> at <a href="https://www.notjustalabel.com/">Not Just A Label</a>, a lovely site dedicated to smaller designers. Yojiro Kake's aesthetic was arresting, and his attention to detail compelling. I don't want to repeat my previous post, where I waxed poetic about <a href="http://www.inaisce.com/">INAISCE</a>, but I feel that I'm developing a more defined personal style and I always recognize brands that embody it.</div>
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After salivating at the AW 2014 <a href="http://issuu.com/okalin/docs/yk14aw_items/1">lookbook</a>, I made contact with Oka HuiYun Lin, a friendly and super nice partner of Yojiro, and she helped me to directly order a couple of pieces. (Periodic disclaimer: all clothes featured here are mine - that is, I paid for them.No content of this blog is sponsored ever, by anyone.) I opted for this amazing rich red shirt with a caped back, made in luxurious technicl textile:</div>
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Look at that color!</div>
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And that drape!</div>
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Here's some detail closeup:</div>
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The second piece I ordered was this wool cape blazer. The Italian wool is wonderful -- sumptuous and drapey, the cut is sublime, and the finishing of the seams shows the quality of craftsmanship that today sadly only exists in smaller brands who make quality of production their priority, and vintage. Here's a bunch of gratuitous pics of my new blazer! (Pants are by Crippen, shoes are Maje, and the necklace is by <a href="http://dutchbasics.nl/">DutchBasics</a>, my go-to for pretty and minimal handmade jewelry. </div>
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Yojiro's SS2015 lookbook is also <a href="http://issuu.com/okalin/docs/yk2015ss_lookbook_pagine/1">online</a> now, go take a look. Functional and wearable avant-garde is not easy to find! Also, they have a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Yojiro-Kake/169216919895619">Facebook page</a>, where they post a lot of pretty pictures.</div>
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Fish Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513113946225645783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9992958.post-19838851462408726542015-04-09T11:29:00.000-04:002015-04-09T11:29:18.606-04:00Inaisce and Things That Matter<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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So let's talk about what matters in fashion. It will of course be different things for everyone, but to me it's the following: beauty, functionality, imagination, ethics, fair labor, natural textiles and fibers. Not in that order.</div>
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As I get older, I find that I rarely get tempted by famous brands and almost never by fast fashion. I want fewer things, but I want them to be exceptional. And I do like meeting people who make these exceptional clothes. </div>
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This is all to say that I was slow in finding <a href="http://www.inaisce.com/">INAISCE</a> but once I did I fell in love: the subdued palette of charcoal greys, black and whisper-whites, the nubby wools, the cuts that are tailored and relaxed, luxe yet austere, spoke to me on the emotional, aesthetic, and tactile levels. The fact that the clothes are made in NYC from luxurious fabrics from Italy and Japan locked me into the obsession mode: I had to see these clothes in person; and I had to meet the person who made them.</div>
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Lucky for me, <a href="http://jonasees.com/">Jona Sees </a>- the designer and mastermind of Inaisce - was kind and available. His atelier space is located in a renovated church building in Brooklyn, and it is gorgeous: hardwood floors and wooden beams, soft light, the smell of clean pine... I mean, perfection. And this is before I even saw the clothes! </div>
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Most recent collection is a great amalgamation of past and new silhouettes and fabrications - cozy knits and structured jackets and pants in textured wools and high-tech cupro, gorgeous capes... I could go on. The past collections were also there, spread throughout the closets. It was basically a fairyland. If there was Narnia in one of those closets, I would not go and stay with the leather skirts and swishy woolen dresses.</div>
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Anyway, see for yourself! </div>
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And what of Jona? It is always a pleasure meeting a creative mind; sense of humor is a bonus, as well as a warm personality. I also appreciate the designers who wear their own clothes. Jona is pretty far from a typical fashion person, but similar to my favorite designers: passion and conviction and curiosity about the world is something they all have in common. They also design for themselves, which I think is important: most of my favorite designers are women for that reason. They design with bodies and bra straps and humans sitting down in mind. Male designers that I do like usually skew unisex (JW Anderson, Haider Ackerman). Jona ' s clothes are definitely in this category.</div>
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He also has an almost Zoran - like understanding of fabrics: good textile speaks for itself, something I appreciate greatly. I saw the same understanding in Izumi Hongo of <a href="http://vanhongo.com/">VanHongo</a>, <a href="http://www.titaniainglis.com/">Titania Inglis</a>, <a href="http://razumikhina.com/en/">Daria Razumikhina</a>, Kate Wendelborn of <a href="http://www.protagonist.com/">Protagonist</a>, <a href="http://litkovskaya.com/home-page/">Lilia Litkovskaya</a>. It is not coincidental then that all of these designers choose mostly natural fibers, ethically made textiles. I see a theme developing.</div>
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So yes, I bought a gorgeous piece from a previous collection (grey wool dress - sleeveless jacket) and pre-ordered another. Here're some pics of my new acquisition, worn with VanHongo velvet pants and basic black turtleneck. I tried for a few different angles to show the geometric complexity of the cut that results in a beautifully streamlined silhouette. Basically, magic!</div>
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It is always exciting for me to find another clothing brand I love; it is doubly so when it embodies all the things that matter in fashion so well.</div>
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Fish Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513113946225645783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9992958.post-14996313610416333132015-04-09T07:26:00.001-04:002015-04-09T11:06:52.791-04:00Spring and return to blogging<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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And this is how it always goes: I decide to blog more regularly and then the semester hits, stories and scripts become due, and the weather is too horrible to contemplate stepping outside voluntarily.</div>
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Thankfully, spring has arrived - at least, I can resume my regular walks; no need to wear two coats and a blanket anymore. Look, we even went out to an Easter brunch! (And took out some gardening supplies.)</div>
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This is my Issey Miyake Pleats Please dress. Shoes are LD Tuttle.</div>
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Of course it's still a bit chilly so I'm wearing a vintage Japanese kimono. Cuff was a gift from a friend.</div>
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I intend to start posting again with some regularity; I did recently travel to NYC to see the <a href="https://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/exhibitions/1501">Bjork exhibit at MOMA</a> (underwhelming but had its moments and reignited my interest in her music videos), and to visit with Jona Sees of <a href="http://www.inaisce.com/">Inaisce</a>, which was amazing. Full report forthcoming!</div>
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Fish Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513113946225645783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9992958.post-13252364563612890352015-01-10T17:30:00.001-05:002015-01-10T17:48:03.043-05:00Not another detox post!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Yes, sorry about this one! This time of year internet and other media is bursting with body- and food-shaming masquerading as health advice, and quick fixes and sales on activewear are thick on the ground. This is not what this post is.</div>
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Look, your liver, kidneys, and intestines are all doing a fine job eliminating toxins. You cannot make your body more alkaline by eating certain foods. However, there are foods that help with digestion as well as peristalsis, and seasonal eating makes perfect sense at least in the temperate zone: temperatures and day length do affect metabolism as well as local food availability, and our bodies do respond to both. </div>
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So with that in mind, I want to offer a few of my favorite kitchen things to do in the colder months. Most of them are vegetable-based, and thus are basically healthy and good for you. They are also seasonally appropriate in terms of either availability or fitting in with winter cravings for hearty fare. They make me happy in winter; I hope they'll make you happy too!</div>
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1.<b> Fermented vegetables</b>. Not quite pickles, since most pickling methods involve vinegar. These only need <i>Lactobacillus</i> to kick off lactic fermentation - lactic acid keeps the pH low and thus prevents harmful bacteria (<i>Clostridium botulinum</i> being the deadly one) from growing. On the pic above, there are two jars of cauliflower and one of beets, but pretty much anything can be fermented - carrots, cabbage, peppers, tomatoes etc.</div>
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Cut up the veggies in bite-sized pieces, fill the jars 3/4 way to the top. Prepare brine: 1-2 liters of water, 3-4 tablespoons of sea salt, and spices of choice. I used bay leaf, dill and cumin seeds, coriander, and black tea for tannins. You can heat the brine but let it cool before adding to the veggies. You can let the nature take its course, or you can add <i>Lactobacillus</i> with some brine from a previous batch, or a spoonful of juice from store-bought kimchi or sauerkraut, or whey from Greek yogurt. Close the lids and let ferment at room temp. Open the jar once a day to taste the pickles and let out the gas. 3-5 days is usually plenty. After the pickles are done, move them to the fridge. Enjoy for the taste, probiotics, and seasonality -- they keep for a few months in the fridge!</div>
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2. <b>Winter smoothies</b>. I tend to make them without ice or frozen bananas, and add cold-weather spices, such as ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, and cloves. The bright-green one pictured above is made with two cups of spinach, one cup of almond milk, one whole pear cut into pieces, a sprig of mint, two dashes of turmeric and ginger each (use fresh ginger if available), one tablespoon of flaxseed meal, sweetener to taste -I used a teaspoon of honey and a tablespoon of sea buckthorn berries pureed with sugar, because I am Russian and we feel strongly about health benefits of sea buckthorn.</div>
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3. <b>Homemade kefir</b>. Another Russian thing, but also probiotics and deliciousness. If you consume dairy, this is the stuff: sugar has been eaten by <i>Lactobacillus</i> so it's all low sugar, great protein, and probiotics. You can buy kefir grains (sometimes called Tibetan milk fungus) online. </div>
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4. <b>Root vegetables</b>. They are the seasonal staple of temperate zone and national food of all cold European countries (along with fish!) Beets are a given, and sweet potatoes are always nice. I usually convert my salads to root-veggie based in the winter, as they feel heartier that usual summer greens. Here's the one I made today: daikon radish and carrots grated on the largest holes of a standard box grater, seasoned with sea salt and sea buckthorn oil. You may prefer any other vegetable oil, such as sunflower or olive.</div>
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The red color is due to the oil as well as the carrots. </div>
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I like these foods because they are delicious yet healthy, filling but not excessively so. And they make me like winter just a little bit more!</div>
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Fish Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513113946225645783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9992958.post-47368876920150258662014-12-31T21:19:00.000-05:002014-12-31T22:21:54.048-05:00Moscow Shopping 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
After another trip, more shopping recommendations. First, if you can go to <a href="http://svmoscow.ru/">SV MOSCOW</a>, do: amazing beautifully designed space with a well-curated selection of Russian and otherwise avant-garde designers, from Comme des Garcons to <a href="https://www.afvandevorst.be/en">A.F. Vandervorst</a> to <a href="http://k-t-z.co.uk/">KTZ</a>, to more obscure labels such as <a href="http://gosharubchinskiy.com/">Gosha Rubchinskiy</a>. This is where I scored these amazing quilted CdG pants (posed with a sweater by The Row).<br />
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I also bought this CdG sweater and AF Vandervorst booties. Yes, heavier than usual shopping, bit the selection was too good to resist.</div>
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Here're a few more pics of the space and the merch;<br />
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I have to give props to the staff as well, always attentive and helpful. I mention it since as a middle-aged woman who doesn't look like the usual fashion person, I have encountered complete indifference as well as borderline disdain in many edgy boutiques. Always nice to encounter an exception!</div>
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<a href="http://primerova.com/">PRIMEROVA</a> was having an open house in their new space right off Nikolskaya St. Sadly, I wasn't able to meet the designer. I did however met the store cat!</div>
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Stopped by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/traffiktraffik">Traffik</a>+. Nothing bought, but nice browsing and lovely selection by Rodebjer and Humanoid!</div>
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As always, <a href="http://www.winzavod.ru/eng/">Winzavod</a> is lovely and inspiring, and the graffiti there is as good as shopping!</div>
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Here're some pictures of pre-New Year Moscow streets, because most of the point in downtown shopping is wandering through the streets and gawking, and of course warming up with hot chocolate from <a href="http://shoko.ru/moskva/">Shokoladnitsa</a> and pastries from kiosks.<br />
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And once I got home, there was a package from <a href="http://totokaelo.com/">Totokaelo</a> waiting for me under the tree! Check out the lovely packaging:</div>
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The dress is Issey Miyake's PLEATS PLEASE number in navy and purple. For truly, Japanese avant-garde is a great joy, and I'm so glad I can find it on both sides of the Atlantic!</div>
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Fish Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513113946225645783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9992958.post-64178820957567161912014-12-02T13:45:00.001-05:002014-12-02T13:45:52.555-05:00Zoran and Union&Fifth<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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So the #BlackoutBlackFriday is over, and I am not much for promoting sales. However, today is Giving Tuesday, and I wanted to draw your attention to a new charity shop on the e-block, <a href="https://unionandfifth.com/">Union&Fifth</a>. It is a charity shop in the original sense: you donate your (designer, gently used or new) clothes, and they sell them, with all proceeds going to charity. However, there are a few unique things about this site, which are worth mentioning.</div>
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First, when you donate, you can select which organization you want the benefits to go to from the list of charities on the site -- currently, <a href="http://www.umb.edu/">U Mass Boston</a>, <a href="http://www.yearup.org/">Year Up</a>, <a href="http://www.wonderdogrescue.org/">Wonder Dog Rescue</a>, <a href="http://www.pedaids.org/">Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation</a>, etc etc. You can even start your own campaign! They price and photograph things for you, with 75% of the sales going to the charity of your choice, with the rest being used for the operating costs of Union&Fifth (also a registered non-profit). </div>
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Second, when you shop, you can sort everything by charity or in a more traditional way -- into tops, bottoms, dresses, etc. They have curated selections of sweaters and Chanel. You can search by the label or designer -- so the website basically functions like any other high-end consignment store, similar to TheRealReal, say, except that all proceeds go to good causes. None of that <a href="http://fishmonkey.blogspot.com/2010/10/with-october-being-breast-cancer.html">a nickel per lid</a> bullshit! The pricing is comparable to TheRealReal as well.</div>
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This seems like a really new and interesting thing, and I hope it does well. I have a vested interest: among the resale sites I've seen, this one has the most comprehensive selection of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/20/style/reviews-fashion-zoran-the-master-of-deluxe-minimalism-still-provokes.html">Zoran</a> pieces. Yes, I've been obsessed with <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/28/style/28iht-zoran.html">Zoran</a> lately, as witnessed by these pics from a recent NYC trip. Here, I am wearing his quilted jacket and a cashmere sweater. The skirt is from Viktor Luna's sample sale, the bag is <a href="http://www.cuyana.com/">Cuyana</a>. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHNE1Q9znkQ3q6PSkXGtdhfpQTNU_tC4di7ZJFEZNlcbEVpwNv9bgCUpUCdW_bYMOUU3hgcRENpbEJqMiJYCT7WaO3yqL72HZvACS4s0b6cxCuc5rmfIbST2CHsJ4YJBH7R0giNA/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHNE1Q9znkQ3q6PSkXGtdhfpQTNU_tC4di7ZJFEZNlcbEVpwNv9bgCUpUCdW_bYMOUU3hgcRENpbEJqMiJYCT7WaO3yqL72HZvACS4s0b6cxCuc5rmfIbST2CHsJ4YJBH7R0giNA/s1600/photo+1.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></div>
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Here's the closeup of the jacket and the sweater, so you can get the feel of the texture (and the closeup of the admissions stamp from The Met, because we went to see <a href="http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2014/death-becomes-her">Death Becomes Her</a>.)<br />
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Both are wonderful pieces, quintessentially Zoran: timeless, simply cut, in luxe natural fabrics. They are almost always made in one size, and I love the drape and the weight of the sweater, as well as the sculptural simplicity of the jacket.<br />
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So yes, I was quite happy to discover that Union&Fifth carries a fantastic selection, that gives me a chance to snag a few more pieces at really good prices. I am going to Moscow again in a few days, and I usually travel with a single carry-on bag. These clothes tend to pack in small spaces (after all, they were created for a <a href="http://www.departures.com/fashion/dress-code/zoran-packs">jet-pack</a>), and travel well. Cashmere sweaters, wool pants, and silk tops are perfect for travel, and warm enough for my destination. And hey, since they are single size, there is a good chance that my mom will appropriate a piece or two. Not that I mind. </div>
Fish Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513113946225645783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9992958.post-6356273230108099362014-11-28T10:08:00.001-05:002014-11-28T10:08:48.499-05:00Blackout Black Friday<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAAGFBMVEUiIiI9PT0eHh4gIB4hIBkcHBwcHBwcHBydr+JQAAAACHRSTlMABA4YHyQsM5jtaMwAAADfSURBVDjL7ZVBEgMhCAQBAf//42xcNbpAqakcM0ftUmFAAIBE81IqBJdS3lS6zs3bIpB9WED3YYXFPmHRfT8sgyrCP1x8uEUxLMzNWElFOYCV6mHWWwMzdPEKHlhLw7NWJqkHc4uIZphavDzA2JPzUDsBZziNae2S6owH8xPmX8G7zzgKEOPUoYHvGz1TBCxMkd3kwNVbU0gKHkx+iZILf77IofhrY1nYFnB/lQPb79drWOyJVa/DAvg9B/rLB4cC+Nqgdz/TvBbBnr6GBReqn/nRmDgaQEej7WhonozjF+Y2I/fZou/qAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://instagram.com/p/v8ZMGfjxXM/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_top">#boycottblackfriday i know the hoarders gonna buy junk anyways</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A photo posted by REGEND DOT COM (@regend762) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2014-11-28T12:37:05+00:00">Nov 11, 2014 at 4:37am PST</time></p></div></blockquote>
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I am very much in support of economic boycotts, and if the events of Ferguson is not a reason to participate in one, I don't know what is. I also feel that it is important to recognize that corporate economic exploitation does disproportionately affect Black consumers, for a complex variety of socioeconomic reasons I would rather not go into here. However, I did want to offer for your attention two roundups of black-owned businesses to patronize year round. Social activism may and should be supported by economic actions, so please check out these lists by Fly Girl Blog and Afrobella:<br />
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Fly Girl Blog: <a href="http://www.flygirlblog.com/2014/11/black-out-friday.html">Black-out Friday: 50+ Shops to Support</a><br />
Afrobella: <a href="http://www.afrobella.com/2014/11/26/101-independent-black-owned-businesses-support-blackout-friday/">101 Independent Black Businesses to Support for Blackout Friday </a><br />
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Please feel free to add more in comments! And please consider refraining from shopping this weekend, because this has to stop.</div>Fish Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513113946225645783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9992958.post-88597751508284503462014-10-27T13:48:00.000-04:002014-10-27T13:48:36.085-04:00Exciting Writing News<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibV_Ihj1dyT4Pdw6hbtfNHV_NiTdrkFz1tGyv2l1o6690F24MBfadVapcsh9EylRvp5FfuupENyw98uZ3RSNMEolvCKIPMkohAUNCtSdEekXkT9LPi8qCThafcMf5iI2OHUwTFqA/s1600/BAM6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibV_Ihj1dyT4Pdw6hbtfNHV_NiTdrkFz1tGyv2l1o6690F24MBfadVapcsh9EylRvp5FfuupENyw98uZ3RSNMEolvCKIPMkohAUNCtSdEekXkT9LPi8qCThafcMf5iI2OHUwTFqA/s1600/BAM6.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">(Sam Koji Hale and handmade puppets) </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #141823; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Finally, it can be announced! I have co-written the screenplay for <a href="http://www.darkdunesproductions.com/yamasong-march-hollows/">YAMASONG: March of the Hollows</a>, the new feature length puppet film by </span><a class="profileLink" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=683838415" href="https://www.facebook.com/samkojihale" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-decoration: none;">Sam Koji Hale</a><span style="color: #141823; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">. It is currently in pre-production with </span><a class="profileLink" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=161732804018161" href="https://www.facebook.com/DarkDunesProductions" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-decoration: none;">Dark Dunes Productions</a><span style="color: #141823; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">. It is a sequel to Sam's award-winning short YAMASONG. So yes, pretty thrilled about this one!</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Rz0P_aI3-vdap1aYTk5_O_VZ_tRpimLGe20U7lGcAOuDsLGVqd5hug_bqvRR8-76O0knFrfoI8V2_nSVNe8JcJQS5slTPqas5Jj_0c2ZgA-Ba6XY906OcAxKgYQlBYDIYKyWRQ/s1600/BAM2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Rz0P_aI3-vdap1aYTk5_O_VZ_tRpimLGe20U7lGcAOuDsLGVqd5hug_bqvRR8-76O0knFrfoI8V2_nSVNe8JcJQS5slTPqas5Jj_0c2ZgA-Ba6XY906OcAxKgYQlBYDIYKyWRQ/s1600/BAM2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">(with Sam Koji Hale)</span></div>
<span style="color: #141823; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><span style="background-color: #fce5cd; font-family: inherit;">It was announced last Saturday during the <a href="http://www.bam.org/classes/2014/handmade-puppet-dreams-filmmaking-symposium">Handmade Puppet Dreams Filmmaking Symposium</a>, held at Brooklyn Academy of Music. Here are some pictures from the event, including the puppet of Nani, one of the main characters in Yamasong. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG36pPVt9I9jcZLk08ymieZ5mrGg0D1hzfDcXfZTYL-3HzSCda62wSgeCZzEojCMm6peyxSf0hnE4NbBegUQammJZsPktSKn8ahkVjouEH-DsiD0-luwHxo2EWshnxX7ENJF2Fwg/s1600/BAM1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG36pPVt9I9jcZLk08ymieZ5mrGg0D1hzfDcXfZTYL-3HzSCda62wSgeCZzEojCMm6peyxSf0hnE4NbBegUQammJZsPktSKn8ahkVjouEH-DsiD0-luwHxo2EWshnxX7ENJF2Fwg/s1600/BAM1.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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(with Chris and Nani)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaHBAENHsgrM9_w6aOBc5tdkJJD3955DtCq4LARDZUTJl9BlorCMfqNB3lPliyEnTmmXoXA9EW8T-DCnL05hzpDI2npTUurB-e0FpJvokH9LTRTbjPq7-dRO7PY6gRprpantqCgg/s1600/BAM3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaHBAENHsgrM9_w6aOBc5tdkJJD3955DtCq4LARDZUTJl9BlorCMfqNB3lPliyEnTmmXoXA9EW8T-DCnL05hzpDI2npTUurB-e0FpJvokH9LTRTbjPq7-dRO7PY6gRprpantqCgg/s1600/BAM3.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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(with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mallory.omeara">Mallory O'Meara</a>, producer with Dark Dunes, and Sam)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicSFdSP0RWLoWbtj5QVYEKYXQ9All05sI8j0E5jUYcb1jF4PR8oK32y96FnCYKOHpOWtK0mSUnqG0FEJFLgibptAbqylg4rthw3qi8138F_brs5WABCLWeXKoDvK1dfAGgMAFnlw/s1600/BAM4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicSFdSP0RWLoWbtj5QVYEKYXQ9All05sI8j0E5jUYcb1jF4PR8oK32y96FnCYKOHpOWtK0mSUnqG0FEJFLgibptAbqylg4rthw3qi8138F_brs5WABCLWeXKoDvK1dfAGgMAFnlw/s1600/BAM4.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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(With Mallory)</div>
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(Meeting Nani for the first time!)</div>
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(Clothes notes: I am wearing a sweater by <a href="http://lakestudio.org/index.html">LAKE -- formerly KamenskaKononova</a>, and pants by <a href="http://www.kseniaschnaider.com/">Ksenia Shnaider</a>. I intend to wear Ukranian designers to all public events this year.)</div>
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Fish Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513113946225645783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9992958.post-7511143115074759462014-10-07T06:00:00.000-04:002014-10-07T06:00:07.295-04:00Black and White<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7oVUUSaBoY4U164MhGvc_s2FIT9Dbs5kcIIuhsrDSTv7KsAWbVZeSozWHZ4YcRDi_8T04RJXtZc8HiUbkUkW0S1BPkbfhjCIUrBxMc5x8_GAYhqhL1BwNlPBlQd8CK7XrlWh8Ew/s1600/AnnDem+Shnai.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7oVUUSaBoY4U164MhGvc_s2FIT9Dbs5kcIIuhsrDSTv7KsAWbVZeSozWHZ4YcRDi_8T04RJXtZc8HiUbkUkW0S1BPkbfhjCIUrBxMc5x8_GAYhqhL1BwNlPBlQd8CK7XrlWh8Ew/s1600/AnnDem+Shnai.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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(A favorite black and white look, fall-appropriate! Pants by <a href="http://suitster.com/brends/f_6-59/">Ksenia Schnaider</a>, vintage Ann Demeulemeester coat, Phillip Lim sweatshirt, Cheap Monday boots, pashmina from Cyprus, and a bag from <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/hierapparel">Hier Apparel</a>.)</div>
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"Black and white for work? Revolutionary!" to very loosely paraphrase Miranda Priestly. And it's true, black and white can be quite boring -- white shirt, black pants are the mainstay of waiters and office workers the world over, and it is difficult to be excited about this combo.<br />
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Yet, black and white on the runway can be quite striking and anything but soul-killing. Runway of course doesn't always translate to workplace, but there are many ways of making black and white work for most office environments, never tipping too far into either high-fashion territory or the yawn-land. Personally, I love those looks. Not that those tricks are new, but they are effective, and work for minimalists and not.<br />
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Adding texture immediately makes a garment more interesting. I love this top by JW Anderson:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpU4zETuDxlkQyjy7pjdOBPagqRGTK6N-l7YSxHXgBHDS14-5GVd4Jph___PJSjvf1kN9gcI9ExZM5uy4_FZXOEpjOZOZMf2j-5jYPNPkQJVK8loG4sMl7OVwGOtr9y0pnpHPiYA/s1600/JWAnderson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpU4zETuDxlkQyjy7pjdOBPagqRGTK6N-l7YSxHXgBHDS14-5GVd4Jph___PJSjvf1kN9gcI9ExZM5uy4_FZXOEpjOZOZMf2j-5jYPNPkQJVK8loG4sMl7OVwGOtr9y0pnpHPiYA/s1600/JWAnderson.jpg" height="320" width="245" /></a></div>
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It has a beautiful floral embroidery and a draped neckline that elevate its simple shape from a t-shirt into sublime. Here it is worn with Vince wool tuxedo pants and black slingbacks:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQJ9e7ro1H61EMgNw7vQJmfj8QyBoNz1geJlz5ewULxk9itnO7UVEihAMpbU2VfQxeA0F4qMlsUciXTF1v6V5_LneXbsOdlctfg1KnmyoRurjKgvp9EgokDxqWwamMrApbEHNiiw/s1600/JWVince.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQJ9e7ro1H61EMgNw7vQJmfj8QyBoNz1geJlz5ewULxk9itnO7UVEihAMpbU2VfQxeA0F4qMlsUciXTF1v6V5_LneXbsOdlctfg1KnmyoRurjKgvp9EgokDxqWwamMrApbEHNiiw/s1600/JWVince.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
Simple? Yes. Work appropriate? Absolutely. Interesting? I'd like to think so.<br />
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Things could be punched up further with embellishments, like this Robert Rodriguez top worn with Theyskens' Theory textured pants:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGmZlRCtlTBKHE6Q-jyRWMBwCTSBsc7ApFKxBpLkLRm6BTPQoaJRjTjEuwZ61DHNKnwCxXZC0pY34BvEg2nNosGZDoC3RYgGnvgP0jr_XeEMYCYKF87uBhMine2g40HKRhPvykVQ/s1600/rod_they.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGmZlRCtlTBKHE6Q-jyRWMBwCTSBsc7ApFKxBpLkLRm6BTPQoaJRjTjEuwZ61DHNKnwCxXZC0pY34BvEg2nNosGZDoC3RYgGnvgP0jr_XeEMYCYKF87uBhMine2g40HKRhPvykVQ/s1600/rod_they.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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I opted for black and white Tibi sandals here, and I think that their simple shape and clean design work well with the more elaborate detailing of the blouse.<br />
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Here's another look with textured and patterned pants (Ksenia Schnaider again), worn with Razu.Mikhina blouse. The shoes are basic Carven oxfords. Here's another shot of the blouse, in <a href="http://fishmonkey.blogspot.com/2014/07/moscow-shopping.html">Razu.Mikhina's store</a> I visited this summer:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBU143A7rLZNKawQjVeEE4f5CwYOJiwUh5hmQqZtbZtUlYLL94q64mMPz7_aJ2ztEtR2JWFvGCbwjijMd3-PZi2PUTmZV3q3oxdQ8YmzWPTJG7CPrNIgU9Asb0f-Jgx-RzsxgoGw/s1600/razu5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBU143A7rLZNKawQjVeEE4f5CwYOJiwUh5hmQqZtbZtUlYLL94q64mMPz7_aJ2ztEtR2JWFvGCbwjijMd3-PZi2PUTmZV3q3oxdQ8YmzWPTJG7CPrNIgU9Asb0f-Jgx-RzsxgoGw/s1600/razu5.jpg" height="320" width="237" /></a></div>
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As you can see, the detailing is intricate although subtle, and I think works well with the polka-dot pants.</div>
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And of course, if the clothes are simple, shoes can be turned up to eleven, like here:<br />
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The streamlined Protagonist silk t-shirt (not technically white, but pale enough peach to count) and Tibi skirt allow for some kicky Marie Antoinette action from these H&M Conscious Exclusive Collection beauties:<br />
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So yeah, I don't foresee ever being tired of black and white! And if I do, there is always grey, camel, and ivory.<br />
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Fish Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513113946225645783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9992958.post-56321508613552735732014-10-02T21:02:00.002-04:002014-10-02T21:02:50.154-04:00Links a la ModeAnd once again, my post is being featured on Links a la Mode by Independent Fashion Bloggers!
<h3><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-131906" alt="lalam1002" src="http://d1v2fthkvl8xh8.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/lalam1002.jpg" width="600" height="298" /></h3>
<h3>The Politics of Fashion</h3>
Emma Watson made waves last week when she launched the #heforshe campaign. Chanel channeled a feminist protest for their runway show this season. Chantelle Brown-Young broke through a barrier redefining beauty. No matter what you believe, the fact is we can not ignore that ideas are changing, and we're ready.
<h3>Links à la Mode: October 2nd</h3>
<ul>
<li>A Glamorous Revelation: <a href="http://glamorousrevelation.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-purpose-of-fashion-industry.html">The Purpose of Fashion</a></li>
<li>Attire Club: <a href="http://attireclub.org/2014/09/26/strange-fashion/">Sometimes Fashion is Strange</a></li>
<li>Burgundy Whispers: <a href="http://www.burgundywhispers.com/2014/09/selfie.html">Selfie</a></li>
<li>Cow Cups Are Cool: <a href="http://www.cowcupsarecool.org/slut-shaming/">Slut Shaming</a></li>
<li>Elisfa: <a href="http://www.elisfa.com/post/98800765234/the-chanel-riot">The Chanel Riot</a></li>
<li>Fashiony Fab: <a href="http://fashionyfab.com/2014/09/favorite-fall-scents-and-how-to-style-them.html">Favorite Fall Scents & How to Style Them</a></li>
<li>Fish Monkey: <a href="http://fishmonkey.blogspot.com/2014/09/normcore-vs-new-normal.html">Normcore vs. The New Normal</a></li>
<li>Happy Pretty Sweet: <a href="http://happyprettysweet.com/2014/09/26/a-brief-history-of-charm-bracelets/">A Brief History of Charm Bracelets</a></li>
<li>Lovejoy Styles: <a href="http://www.lovejoystyles.com/2014/09/fear-not-using-tripod-in-public-to.html">Fear Not! How to Use a Tripod in Public</a></li>
<li>ModaVracha: <a href="http://www.modavracha.com/2014/09/fashion-blogger-viktoriya-sener-shares.html">How Blogging Has Changed Your Lifestyle</a></li>
<li>Petite Fille Modelle: <a href="http://bgbgyeah.blogspot.ca/2014/09/forget-fashion-week-think-diy.html">Forget Fashion Week, Think DIY</a></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 13px;">Save, Spend, Splurge: <a href="http://www.savespendsplurge.com/how-to-increase-the-luxe-factor-of-your-wardrobe-without-breaking-the-bank/">How to Increase the "Luxe Factor" in Your Wardrobe</a></span></li>
<li>Sealed With a Loving Kiss:<a href="http://quaintrelle-georgiana.blogspot.cz/2014/09/the-infinite-wardrobe-of-fashion.html"> The Infinite Wardrobe of Fashion Bloggers</a></li>
<li>Storybook Apothecary: <a href="http://storybookapothecary.com/high-fashion-halloween-costume-ideas/">High Fashion Halloween Costume Ideas</a></li>
<li>Style and Minimalism: <a href="http://www.styleandminimalism.com/2014/09/what-is-normcore/">What is Normcore Really?</a></li>
<li>TLV Birdie:<a href="http://www.tlvbirdie.com/2014/09/tzipora-style-blogger.html"> Meet Tzipora. She is cool.</a></li>
<li>The Daily Luxe: <a href="http://www.thedailyluxe.blogspot.com.au/2014/09/fashion-feminism-and-emma-watson.html">Emma Watson, Fashion & Feminism</a></li>
<li>Thunderboxxx: <a href="https://thunderboxxx.squarespace.com/home/2014/9/27/au-revoir-gaultier">Au revoir, Gaultier!</a></li>
<li>We Are Ready Made: <a href="http://www.wearereadymade.com/2014/09/what-is-modern.html">What is Modern?</a></li>
<li>Wild Beauty: <a href="http://wildbeautyworld.com/2014/09/25/chantelle-brown-young-desigual-bust-through-another-beauty-barrier/">Chantelle Brown-Young & Designual Bust Through a Beauty Barrier</a></li>
</ul>
<span>SPONSOR:</span> <a style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; color: #000000;" href="http://www.gq.com/style/blogs/the-gq-eye/2014/09/our-tk-favorite-things-from-east-danes-1-year-anniversary-collaboration-collection.html">East Dane</a><span><a style="text-decoration: none; color: #666666;" href="http://www.shopbop.com/natori/br/v=1/32629.htm"> Natori</a>, <a style="text-decoration: none; color: #666666;" href="http://www.shopbop.com/phat-buddha/br/v=1/32563.htm">Phat Buddha</a>, <a style="text-decoration: none; color: #666666;" href="http://www.shopbop.com/saylor/br/v=1/32621.htm">Saylor</a></span><span>,</span><span><a style="text-decoration: none; color: #666666;" href="http://www.shopbop.com/miista-shoes/br/v=1/2534374302203722.htm"> Miista</a>, </span><span><a style="text-decoration: none; color: #666666;" href="http://www.shopbop.com/mcm-bags-backpacks/br/v=1/22675.htm">MCM</a>, </span><span><a style="text-decoration: none; color: #666666;" href="http://www.shopbop.com/cushnie-ochs/br/v=1/2534374302192280.htm?all">Cushnie Ochs</a>, </span><span><a style="text-decoration: none; color: #666666;" href="http://www.eastdane.com/brands-bwgh/br/v=1/31809.htm?all">BWGH</a>,</span> <span><a style="text-decoration: none; color: #666666;" href="http://www.shopbop.com/stella-mccartney/br/v=1/2534374302183260.htm">Stella McCartney</a>, <a style="text-decoration: none; color: #666666;" href="http://www.shopbop.com/kimem/br/v=1/27001.htm">Kimem</a>,<a style="text-decoration: none; color: #666666;" href="http://www.shopbop.com/ash-shoes/br/v=1/2534374302053471.htm?all"> Ash Shoes</a> <a style="text-decoration: none; color: #666666;" href="http://www.shopbop.com/clothing-dresses-cocktail/br/v=1/2534374302063655.htm?all">& Evening Dresses</a></span>Fish Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513113946225645783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9992958.post-34255755743113342052014-09-29T13:36:00.000-04:002014-09-29T14:01:58.818-04:00Normcore vs The New Normal<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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(Designer Stella McCartney after her Spring 2015 show. Photo from <a href="http://www.style.com/fashion-shows/spring-2015-ready-to-wear/stella-mccartney/collection">style.com</a>)</div>
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There was a lovely <a href="http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/08/18/commercialization-of-high-fashion-hedi-slimane-ysl-nicolas-ghesquiere-louis-vuitton/">essay by Cathy Horyn</a> a while back dealing with commercialization of fashion -- that is, high fashion becoming increasingly more wearable, from Celine's Birkenstocks to looks that are all about branding and recognition, about simple messages and wearability. It is a good essay, go read it. And it is tempting to assume that in the days of Twitter and soundbite, the need for simple messages permeates everything, including fashion (one of the most expressive industries), where the promise of individuality and idiosyncrasy has been subsumed by the notion of uniform, and when even high-fashion designers seem to borrow GAP's latest "dress normal" slogan.<br />
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It is also tempting to blame the ubiquitous yet poorly understood "normcore" trend from last year -- when everything and everyone were suddenly "normcore" (much like TV anchors who want to appear hip by calling everything a "selfie"). But these two movements are distinct even though they do share the surface appearance of faded jeans and sweatshirts: normcore is a trend precisely because it is self-consciously perpetrated by the very young, very thin, and very fashionable. Everyone else dressing in white sneakers and hoodies looks like normal mid-American frump, that has been the basic default of the non-fashion crowd who have never heard of Zeline. They are not participating in the fashion moment; their trappings have been appropriated by those who could do so while looking distinct.<br />
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In a way, normcore is more akin to "no makeup selfies" and "woke up like this" hashtags: because of course millions of women do not wear makeup on a regular basis, like they don't wear or even have interest in high fashion. But for them no makeup selfie would not be an exercise in vanity, just because most of them (us) would look like normal middle-aged women not wearing makeup, to the consternation of beauty experts everywhere. They would not provoke a flood of Instagram likes, they would not look like a humblebrag, because there's nothing flattering about them (and flattering is the unspoken expectation of #wokeuplikethis). To reject makeup (or fashion) is to announce having had access to those things in the first place -- it is the tortured, self-conscious refusal by those who do not have to refuse, like those clothing fasts and shopping bans that were all the rage a few months back. We can only refuse what we have to begin with: most of us cannot be normcore because to refuse the high-fashion labels one has to have access to them in the first place.<br />
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Then there is also looking like your refusal is intentional and not coincidental -- hence the very young and very thin; everyone older and heavier would simply look like a mom who has given up, thus ultimately failing in the main intent: separating oneself from the hassled masses while pretending to look like one of them. It's a tricky thing to pull off, and impossible for anyone who does not meet this very narrow criteria. Unless you are a model-looking twenty-something or Emmanuel Alt, slapping on a pair of mom jeans would not make you look high-fashion (or French). It is not individuality via anonymity, the battle-cry of normcore enthusiasts, but rather a demonstration that some women manage to look amazing no matter what. Which is all good and fine, but I think it is quite important to realize that this is what sets normcore apart from that other thing.<br />
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And that other thing, comfort and wearability and comfortable familiaty Horyn is talking about, is certainly not bad -- it is still about beauty, I think, but the beauty all of us not blessed with genetic and chronological gifts can indulge in. I can appreciate looking good in a beautiful, simple sweater and a pair of slacks. Not normcore, certainly, as instead of refusal there is a desire to embrace -- a different aesthetic perhaps, but an aesthetic external to the wearer of clothes. This is to say, normcore seems to be more of a personal characteristic, while normalcy of fashion is indeed a moment that exists for everyone to participate in. Whether it's a ood or a bad thing -- only Cathy Horyn knows.</div>
Fish Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513113946225645783noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9992958.post-48424816201898969532014-09-23T06:00:00.000-04:002014-09-23T06:00:10.687-04:00Luxe Fabrics and Political Choices<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The quality of air is different in the fall -- the temperatures that would feel balmy in July are downright brisk in September. Either that, or I am deluding myself in order to wear wool when it's almost seventy degrees outside.</div>
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Merino wool, to be exact -- this COS lightweight top is a dream, in a warm beige and luxurious drape, and the pleated sleeves give it a distinct yet subdued character. </div>
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The skirt, however, is the real showpiece here: it is by Litkovskaya, a <a href="http://fishmonkey.blogspot.com/2012/02/ukrainian-designers-ftw.html">Ukranian designer</a>, and I recently bought it from <a href="http://suitster.com/">Suitster.com</a>, one of my favorite online stores. The material is a substantial, stiff silk, almost taffeta-like in quality but with a rough finish that feels a bit like wool. (Another reason I like overseas shopping is the variety of quality natural textiles, especially silks. Silks in the US market seem to be largely dominated by chiffon and charmeuse, with some washed silk thrown in for good measure. While I enjoy all of those, I also seek out heavier weights and raw silks; so far, Suitster and <a href="http://vanhongo.com/">VanHongo</a> are my go-tos for those.)<br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">And the side view, showing the intricate pleating of the skirt, and the side sweep of the hem. It is quite architectural, and cleverly constructed: the closure is via hidden snaps in front, which allows the skirt to move well despite the rigid fabric. I chose Rachel Comey shoes with wooden heels here because they seemed to work with yet against the more dressy elements. </span><span style="text-align: left;">They also played well with driftwood of my reading chair!</span></div>
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The necklace is from <a href="http://www.jewelmint.com/pages/about-luv-aj">Luv AJx JewelMint</a> collection, and it is lovely. Here's its closeup (and my fresh manicure).<br />
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And there is also another thing. Shopping and clothes are frivolous, no doubt. But, as any social institution, it matters in that affects our lives as well as lives of those who make the clothes and run the shops. I became interested in fashion as an extension of my fascination with social movements, and specifically the intimate connection between the US garment industry and labor union and suffrage movements in the early 20th century. But even today, manufacturing and distribution of clothing are deeply connected to the social institutions and political climates, and one cannot escape being enmeshed in politics of it all. And I really get that sometimes one doesn't feel like dealing with the complexities; sometimes, high street (like that lovely COS top above) is just fine.<br />
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But sometimes, I want to consider what economies are being supported with my spending. And this is when I shop small, local, indie, etc. And I have been making a concerted effort to support Ukrainian businesses and designers. Most of you have some knowledge of the tragedies that have befallen this beautiful country and its people lately; I am heartbroken about it. And I think people and institutions of the West too readily default to charity as a way of supporting struggling countries, with not enough attention given to investing into local economies and supporting local manufacturing. It seems to me that making economies more sustainable is quite beneficial in the long run.<br />
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So no, I won't pretend that my shopping will save the world or even solve any of its problems; but I do feel that when we decide to spend money, where and how we do so matters, and thus our choices should be considered... at least some of the time. I wouldn't expect anyone to ditch Zara just yet.</div>
Fish Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513113946225645783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9992958.post-65670095705782199682014-09-21T13:19:00.000-04:002014-09-21T15:23:06.837-04:00Routines<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCJNhbRcDZhLhsbbl23WHpkct2Yy8NSXhJq7SiIugOddLMdpkr9pUb1nMJjFSBOlNyo0Cc6Xh1OFmnc-FeopFqHAKDWkvP6EemcTXUsejIy85gKTG56YAIlOOgVr9jWYrqdTp-4Q/s1600/DSCN0127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCJNhbRcDZhLhsbbl23WHpkct2Yy8NSXhJq7SiIugOddLMdpkr9pUb1nMJjFSBOlNyo0Cc6Xh1OFmnc-FeopFqHAKDWkvP6EemcTXUsejIy85gKTG56YAIlOOgVr9jWYrqdTp-4Q/s1600/DSCN0127.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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(Mushroom, onion, and bacon omelette)<br />
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I am such a creature of a habit that nothing makes me happier than a well-established routine. A GOOD well-established routine, I should say, as it takes me months and sometimes years to finagle a bit of my life into a fitting pattern, the repetition of which never bores me but rather comforts me. Like a favorite sweater, a routine should be cozy and it should also fit -- into the time available to it, into the season, and most of all into the notion of a person I would like myself to be.<br />
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So it is with my weekend mornings in the fall -- they are long and free, and the weather is perfect for that sort of thing. I wake up at 6:30 -- a late morning for me, since on the weekdays I am up at 5 am. I get ready and walk to the gym for my 8 am barre class. I love morning exercise classes, it's such a nice way of starting the day. Especially barre -- not too intense, but with plenty of varied movement and stretching, I feel energized and not exhausted.<br />
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After the class, I walk some more: I stop by a local Italian market to get some fresh rolls and almond milk, and then continue to the coffee shop, to get my latte and Chris's chai (yes, we like foofy drinks, what of it?) and walk back home. The loop home-gym-store-coffee-shop-home is just under three miles, and I get back by 10 am. By then, I am ready for breakfast, and usually cook something fun for the both of us -- omelletes, like the one pictured above. It's from today. Chris also enjoys hash browns, which I make from scratch. We get our produce from farmers' markets, when in season, and from <a href="https://tristate.doortodoororganics.com/">Door-to-Door Organics</a> year round. (And that is also a part of my routine: by opting to have most of my food delivered, I free up time to do other things. Yes, I do realize that we are very fortunate to be able to do that.)<br />
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We eat breakfast and drink our coffee, and then it is on to shower, internet and/or movies, lunch, reading, errands, afternoon, grading, prep for classes. I cook lunch as well, since it' the weekend, like this cod with piperade, roasted potatoes, and parsley almond sauce (via <a href="http://www.blueapron.com/">Blue Apron</a>).<br />
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But it is the mornings that are my favorite, and I treasure every weekend day when it is not too cold or rainy to walk to the gym and all over town, errands and leisure pleasantly entwined, a perfect balance between indulgence and purpose.</div>
Fish Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513113946225645783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9992958.post-73892594342475146332014-09-15T12:46:00.000-04:002014-09-15T12:46:52.429-04:00Faking Minimalism<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Yes, I am still doing outfit posts! Yes, those are from teaching days; I am still finessing my work uniform, as I am not yet ready to commit to a certain look but I do want the ease of decision-making while dressing, and a defined style. I will probably never be a true minimalist, but I will fake it the best I can. My wardrobe is not exactly small, albeit it is not large either: it takes up half of a small walk-in closet I am sharing with my husband. I would like it to be smaller in theory, but in practice I am not ready to commit to a narrow enough aesthetic (that is, dresses could probably go, but I do enjoy them every now and again.)</div>
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Anyway, here's what I wore last Friday.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidPy4uqFNVhxOaC_gIISg3xw_1pfcASPfSKw-ycdZryhwm1hnn1Tg35jE2LD_QvGY3dGjXYmm0Vgah6xXTVqUHVhUUiQIbR38apEI-byaxIEsuOCTRpTJVQfGzF2wdqx-5rnhrKw/s1600/DSCN0083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidPy4uqFNVhxOaC_gIISg3xw_1pfcASPfSKw-ycdZryhwm1hnn1Tg35jE2LD_QvGY3dGjXYmm0Vgah6xXTVqUHVhUUiQIbR38apEI-byaxIEsuOCTRpTJVQfGzF2wdqx-5rnhrKw/s1600/DSCN0083.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a><br />
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Fall is my favorite season, because, as <a href="http://fishmonkey.blogspot.com/2010/10/uniforms-in-fibers.html">mentioned earlier</a>, I gravitate toward seasonal fibers as much (if not more) as seasonal clothing items. So yes, sweaters, and yes, layering; but most of all, I welcome the season of wool and silk, of leather and suede, of texture and more texture. However, since it is still a bit on the warm side, I concede by wearing some more summery toppers, like this <a href="https://thereformation.com/">Reformation</a> coat, made from recycled heavy cotton and linen:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWQLjd69J_359wP7FidGC4Udx_4930-NlGugqqmS3bn1BQeJXcT5jjld8FKsofdDJHrNe-SkhYb7RdEnUNbXvjR9JgQy325B6UBBKg7hNcj7RzINBsfEa43PvgWI3D8PFpWgT_yA/s1600/DSCN0086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWQLjd69J_359wP7FidGC4Udx_4930-NlGugqqmS3bn1BQeJXcT5jjld8FKsofdDJHrNe-SkhYb7RdEnUNbXvjR9JgQy325B6UBBKg7hNcj7RzINBsfEa43PvgWI3D8PFpWgT_yA/s1600/DSCN0086.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a><br />
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And check out my bag! It's by Mansur Gavriel, and unlike with clothes, I do enjoy color in my bags and shoes.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsYd2BtxEIVYX5tfkBTva_3Vjt7vZkrqNYsHalnwoZ865EvMm0bKCaGujFExHC_xS5pQ7L_pVcLj4aZAGFhl-_qPZyM4MPzfZn791KwEhyphenhyphenZyDwxJXXwr3auhvbnZ8wbE0AO4f_uw/s1600/DSCN0082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsYd2BtxEIVYX5tfkBTva_3Vjt7vZkrqNYsHalnwoZ865EvMm0bKCaGujFExHC_xS5pQ7L_pVcLj4aZAGFhl-_qPZyM4MPzfZn791KwEhyphenhyphenZyDwxJXXwr3auhvbnZ8wbE0AO4f_uw/s1600/DSCN0082.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
Underneath, I am wearing a silk T by Alexander Wang shirt and Vince wool pants. I love the tuxedo stripe on these, and slim yet easy fit. Shoes are Maje.<br />
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The accessories close-up: besides my usual four rings, I am wearing a hammered knuckle ring and the beetle bracelet from <a href="http://www.humblechic.com/">Humble Chic</a>. That store is a great source of interesting costume jewelry.</div>
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With all my love of chunky statement jewelry pieces, I have been gravitating toward more delicate necklaces lately. While I am certainly not ready to dump all my three-pound bibs yet, I've been wearing more subtle pieces. This is one of my favorites, a small necklace with a lot of visual interest.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5tTozhOWygVN_B5ng9X0aOkBsIfzmrg1nh3fLiAURG529twXIX-wCXnoh5hH3-CTRqviNPo1Jqdd3jEAAv7Nrfa8geEmhjN_QRvF-TJd2xxkJ-3ljSW8yoCHQzuPmQSR3wnB5vQ/s1600/DSCN0088.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5tTozhOWygVN_B5ng9X0aOkBsIfzmrg1nh3fLiAURG529twXIX-wCXnoh5hH3-CTRqviNPo1Jqdd3jEAAv7Nrfa8geEmhjN_QRvF-TJd2xxkJ-3ljSW8yoCHQzuPmQSR3wnB5vQ/s1600/DSCN0088.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Perhaps, faking minimalism is easier with jewelry?<br />
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Fish Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513113946225645783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9992958.post-11440639484593723262014-09-05T12:07:00.000-04:002014-09-05T16:40:34.115-04:00New York Almost Fashion Week<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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So it's this time of the year again. No, I do not mean NYFW but rather the time when Kate Wendelborn of Protagonist presents her<a href="https://www.theline.com/brand/protagonist"> next collection</a>, and I travel to NYC like a fashion-forward Hamelin rat.<br />
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I feel like I repeat myself a lot -- Wendelborn's aesthetic is as minimal and luxe as always, and the clothes are just as tempting. She continues to develop her pared-down style, and the collection now includes heavenly pants, chunky and lightweight knits, and even skirts and dresses. And as always, there is a plethora of buttoned shirts with gracefully elongated cuffs, silk blouses with scooped hemlines, and superbly cut tanks. There was even a couple of printed pieces in a lovely abstract watercolor that Kate described as "a print for women who don't wear prints".<br />
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I am pleased to see that <a href="http://www.barneys.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-BNY-Site/default/Search-Show?q=protagonist&fromInstantSearch=false">Barney's now carries a few of her pieces too</a> (some are exclusive, including a gorgeous Merlot layered-cuff <a href="http://www.barneys.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-BNY-Site/default/Product-Show?pid=503617352">shirt</a>). But as much as the collection itself, I enjoy the shopping experience -- the chance to chat with the designer and the staff of The Apartment, to shop in a very laid-back atmosphere, and to fulfill the fantasy of being the only person in the store full of amazing clothes. Just look at these racks! Also, as is proper for a fantasy, everything there is the sort of thing I really really like.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm3MQiTIxIxVe7FRYzdpZ24dW65LS3rUe6oBLFvwzSuSqAcSsB5Brq3vVmcDASw7H5zDHzxr9Fyvi4deIRRHndlhErFc3sPHZKKCUstfyJpRH9msar9WHNVvsJwxOzn4IbhEMzeg/s1600/Fashion_showLT+009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm3MQiTIxIxVe7FRYzdpZ24dW65LS3rUe6oBLFvwzSuSqAcSsB5Brq3vVmcDASw7H5zDHzxr9Fyvi4deIRRHndlhErFc3sPHZKKCUstfyJpRH9msar9WHNVvsJwxOzn4IbhEMzeg/s1600/Fashion_showLT+009.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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(Needless to say, I did buy a piece. )<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzIuSCN_VuEzB2X_mdDYYOTPE4meEpivkTWRyrLf0HqLHKOUFrW4lbL3HqQEJZpIpIuo5Wq_hrL9RY2fAJEYVA1nc6u6NixjtrcZCJ9X6b-STjkfSDYFEDFVnvos0PRo5NStnd-g/s1600/Fashion_showLT+011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzIuSCN_VuEzB2X_mdDYYOTPE4meEpivkTWRyrLf0HqLHKOUFrW4lbL3HqQEJZpIpIuo5Wq_hrL9RY2fAJEYVA1nc6u6NixjtrcZCJ9X6b-STjkfSDYFEDFVnvos0PRo5NStnd-g/s1600/Fashion_showLT+011.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4jKtCZMmCtIIP2zZEVkH-kst27fpnkApRRf3hKP27FxqAZP1Nk7QwWaR_giT-OX6MtvXvVFqOlqUvkT1tWlZyDs4CNbuVKMK3LAKq0zO2q5s8Thn9uUoEhwuO7100k_7kUI8crA/s1600/Fashion_showLT+013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4jKtCZMmCtIIP2zZEVkH-kst27fpnkApRRf3hKP27FxqAZP1Nk7QwWaR_giT-OX6MtvXvVFqOlqUvkT1tWlZyDs4CNbuVKMK3LAKq0zO2q5s8Thn9uUoEhwuO7100k_7kUI8crA/s1600/Fashion_showLT+013.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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And of course I petted the house dog! (Yes, there is food on this table. No, fashion people don't eat.)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv37HcfMRwHbjEF-mno24mNALwU6smXRRSZYq2lS_i0NoqRJzWHSDzSZo6rAGYPDgG6iPkMxuET9D5u0AP6ct6hVUKKhfxIYmYklylxELMC71xCw87nmniX4zovg5UVvXnQwO4-A/s1600/Fashion_showLT+014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv37HcfMRwHbjEF-mno24mNALwU6smXRRSZYq2lS_i0NoqRJzWHSDzSZo6rAGYPDgG6iPkMxuET9D5u0AP6ct6hVUKKhfxIYmYklylxELMC71xCw87nmniX4zovg5UVvXnQwO4-A/s1600/Fashion_showLT+014.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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They have redecorated the main space, and I just love the interior design there:<br />
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And then it was off to meet <a href="http://www.genevievevalentine.com/">Genevieve</a>, grab some ice cream, and head to the <a href="http://www.refinery29.com/rsvp/lord-taylor-fashion-week">fashion show</a>! <a href="http://www.lordandtaylor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/en/lord-and-taylor/search/whats-new--1/contemporary-fashion-womens-new-brand-assembly">Brand Assembly is collaborating with Lord and Taylor</a>, and they are carrying a range of limited-edition exclusive pieces by a few up-and-coming brands - Sachin and Babi, Torn by Ronny Kobo, Michelle Kim, Danielle Kallmeyer and Priory of Ten, to name a few. </div>
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First, we looked at the clothes, which are reasonably priced, and lovely:</div>
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Love that TORN by Ronny Kobo crochet sweater!<br />
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See the logo? Proof we were there!</div>
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And then there was a runway show highlighting the collection. Models whizzed by at warp speeds, so I had better luck capturing the audience and their reaction than the actual looks, but hey.<br />
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(This Priory of Ten look is so good, it had to be snapped twice.)<br />
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Here's the program!<br />
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And this was my day. Now it's back to school and back to work. So long, fantasy life!</div>
Fish Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513113946225645783noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9992958.post-49274663845725497922014-09-01T12:19:00.000-04:002014-09-01T12:19:27.258-04:00Almost Sweater Weather!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Wouldn't you know it, as soon as I want to do a fall fashion post, temperatures jump to 90F. Not so much sweater weather, although this past week has been hopeful: brisk mornings that required a sweatshirt on my usual walk to and from the gym, and the air had this crisp quality I love so much, with the under-taste of apples and yellow leaves. Oh well,the fall is on pause for now, but to celebrate this almost-fall, I'd like to talk about almost-sweaters.<br />
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I love cashmere and wool, and the heavy fluid knits in oversized and shrunken silhouettes. But lately my concept of sweaters has expanded to include the sort of in-between garments that are not quite jackets, not quite knits, and yet they are worn as toppers and technically can substitute for either. Here are some favorite pieces:<br />
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COS pullover: it is made in woven wool, with a beautiful drape. Wears like a suit, with an ease of a sweater -- perfect with a collared shirt and dress pants.<br />
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Isabel Marant boiled wool jacket. Even though it is technically a jacket, the fabric (thick, soft and woolly) has the give of a knit. During last winter's polar vortex, I layered it under coats, and never looked back.<br />
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Shockingly versatile double-faced wool piece by <a href="https://www.theline.com/brand/protagonist">Protagonist</a>. The wool is thick and structured, so that this pullover has an architectural character, and yet functions like a knit. I lived in it last winter and cannot wait to start wearing it again. Here it is at the American Museum of Natural History:<br />
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(Layered over Protagonist silk top, with <a href="http://www.carinwester.com/">Carin Wester</a> trousers and <a href="http://emersonfry.com/">Emerson Fry</a> trainers).<br />
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Recently, I added another piece to my collection of these liminal garments: a wool and suede jacket by <a href="http://primerova.com/">Primerova</a>. It is an open jacket in very soft, grey heavy fabric reminiscent of a thick grandpa cardigan. Suede inserts on the shoulders and suede self-belt give it added character, and it can be layered over shirts, t-shirts, other knits, or worn on its own. In the pictures below, I am wearing it with Alexander McQueen belt (it's the one from Spring 2013 beekeeper-themed collection, and I am obsessed with it! There are tiny jeweled bees on the buckle.)<br />
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Shoes are Alexander Wang, and the skirt is from <a href="http://www.viktorluna.com/">Viktor Luna</a>'s sample sale. I like the slightly messy look of the jacket here, but of course it can be worn in a more structured way. So I will count among my versatile almost-sweaters (or not-quite jackets), and cannot wait for the temperatures to cool off enough to wear it with long-sleeve t-shirts and tweed pants. Here's to hoping for a long and cool September!<br />
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Fish Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513113946225645783noreply@blogger.com0