Dear Ms. Torrico,

Thank you for starting off my day with these images. This is possibly the most beautiful piece of jewelry I have seen in quite some time. It is also the only time* I have ever wished that I were a sequin, just so I could become a part of a gorgeous creation such as this.

Yours truly,
Me

*Well, there was that one other time, but that's neither here nor there.

The Low Hum

I feel like this girl should be prowling around McCarren Park at night, watching the soccer games on the field and the hipsters on the sidewalks. I also feel that I should be wearing most, if not all, of these A/W 11/12 pieces from Italian label Ilaria Nistri, especially that hoodie. I need to find a hoodie.

Modern Bedouin

There's something I very much like about this look from Moldovan-born, Poland-based designer Elena Ciuprina. And after having it on my desktop for a day, I think that 'something' is that I can picture one of my favorite professors wearing if she were to stroll down Fifth Avenue for a day. Or myself. At least in the fall. Truly, I think I'm just going to turn into a jumbled up version of my two favorite professors, because I've already discovered that my newest favorite outfit very closely mimics the outfit my Greek prof most liked to wear. Though that outfit is better suited for more colourful surroundings, such as the Met, or Times Square. And that is another day in NY altogether.

66 Allen Street

Goodness, where to begin. As I'm sure you've gathered from the frequency of my trips to New York, I am truly in love and addicted to that small area of Earth where it seems like anything can happen. This third trip was, at first, a last ditch effort to retain what little bit of sanity I still had. But, a mere two days before I left, my situation changed for the good, and I was given the go ahead to enjoy my trip to NY as it should be enjoyed. And that I did.

And so. While I'm still trying to process everything, particularly seeing the McQueen exhibit (twice) and hearing my favorite author read a chapter of my favorite book (and say many other wonderful sounding words) in person, one of the absolute highlights of the short week was going to the gorgeous studio occupied by Verlaine and meeting the very charming people behind that label (not to mention getting an exclusive preview of their upcoming collection). Truly, Verlaine is the type of label that this blog exists for, and I would have no trouble writing umpteen posts a day if I lived in a magical world where I could continuously discover designers with fantastic aesthetic sensibilities and charming personalities. Sigh. Anyway, somehow the universe deemed it fit to reward me for all that I've put up with for the last eight months, and I walked away from the Verlaine studio with this 100% silk kaftan from their S/S 11 collection. As I've already promised a photo to Verlaine's founder of the Greek goddess/split maxi dress way I decided to style it (and a play date with a dear friend to come up with other styling options), I'm sure you'll see this again at some point. But, for now, I'm still stuck on how I came to be such a lucky girl to even see this stuff in person. Sigh.

Hearts Frozen Solid Thawed Once More by the Spring of Rage, Despair, and Hopelessness

That was a week, to say the least. If I didn't have a boarding pass to NY with my name on it for tomorrow morning, I can't be certain just how long I would be able to form full sentences any more. Whatever the case may be, I'm sure I'd still be able to appreciate these new looks by kOs favorite Dori Tomcsanyi (photos via NJAL). Gorgeous.

Take care of yourselves this week. I'll get back to more regular posting upon my return next weekend.

Yigal Azrouël

That weird phenomenon that seems to happen every summer has occurred yet again, in which I look at my closet and can't seem to find more than one outfit suitable for a hot day. And without having come up with a packing plan for my trip yet, this seems to be more of a pressing problem. Or, at any rate, a more welcome problem than the other real stuff I'm having to deal with. Anyway, I'm almost tempted to just go with an outfit or two and pick up some lovely things in New York. Especially as I've found yet another New York label to like. This one is from Yigal Azrouël, who I probably should've heard about before now after 13 years of critical acclaim and success (and the rather wonderful online shop he has). Of course, I could likely never afford anything of Yigal's, but I may have to stop by his flagship boutique in the Meatpacking District in case there's a sale rack with this perfect dress (above) in my size waiting to be taken home. Or the outfit below. Though apparently only 70% of Yigal's clothing is still produced locally in NY, so I'd have to find out first where these particular pieces were made. And, you know, win the lottery.

Edit (writing from NYC): I did manage to get to Yigal's gorgeous shop AND did see the dress pictured at the top of this post. But at a price tag at over $1000, I had to pass. I do highly recommend going there and checking out the menswear though (especially if you're a normal sized woman), particularly the sales rack. There were a couple of cardigans marked down to under $200 (as well as a pair of great pants with back pockets incorporated into the waistband) that I had a hard time not buying for either my librarian man or myself. 

meshit*

After just stating that I don't really wear pullover sweatshirts, I rather like the idea of these by Austrian-based label meshit (found via NJAL), which comes from designer duo Ida Steixner and Lena Krampf. I have to admit that the description of inspiration for the A/W 11/12 collection as a whole is what made me take a closer look ("Swedish electronic art meets Norwegian Metal and meshes with Voodoo rituals"), and it wasn't until the second go-through that I noticed the recurrent detail of reinforced slits throughout the collection, most evident in the gilled forearms of one top, and gilled upper arms of another. I would pass on the black lipstick but, come October, I could definitely pull off this look. Especially as my next hair colouring appointment may be my last, meaning my blonde roots will make their first serious appearance in about seven years. Any thoughts of long hair that is blonde on top and black on the bottom? It might be a good thing that I wear mostly black, as my ends could blend in with my clothing and not look so out of place. Though it might take a year for my black 'ends' to be anywhere near my shoulders. Sigh.

By the way, if you're not into the Swedish/Norwegian/Voodoo vibe (and you can't find your way through the meshit online shop language-wise), meshit currently has a few of their S/S 11 pieces available at (and exclusive to) Topshop as part of their 'Emerge' section of up-and-coming designers. Though I personally think the dead forest is a better setting for even that collection than a white background and headless mannequin.

*Being a play on the verb 'to mesh'.

R.I.P., Garneau

Last night we paid our respects to an iconic establishment in our neighbourhood, the Garneau Theatre. Built in 1940, this art deco style building was one of three remaining independent movie theatres in Edmonton, but is now being shut down in two weeks for being unable to afford their rent. It is being replaced by one of the now two remaining independent movie theatres left, so I'm hoping it it doesn't change much in looks, especially as it was apparently designated as a municipal historic resource in 2009. It definitely won't be the same though, as the indie films the Garneau got in were much more up my alley than those that the replacing theatre runs, and I'm sure I'll no longer get to see the top secret exchange of movie reel canisters in the wee small hours of the morning whilst walking to work. I was also rather partial to the extremely friendly (and sweaty) manager who always told me that my requested movie snack at the concession stand was 'an excellent choice'. Sigh. I'm just happy its run ended with a brilliant movie, Midnight in Paris. I highly suggest that you watch it (even if you aren't a Woody Allen fan), as it's the perfect summer movie.  Especially with a cup of peach juice and a pack of Nibs - an excellent choice, indeed.

Resort to not resort*

Am I the only one that slightly cringes inside when I see the words 'Resort Collection'? I don't buy that there's a specific time of the year when we're all taking off from our real lives to hang out at various resorts, and I definitely don't buy that I need to buy a specific wardrobe in the event that I can leave my real life to hang out at a resort. I mean, what about the whole northern versus southern hemisphere thing? And what about the whole not being able to afford to go to a resort regardless of the season thing? These apparently necessary collections all look the same to me anyway: maxi dresses, floral prints, bright colours, bikinis, beach cover-ups, and the general lack of workplace or non-beachside restaurant appropriateness. Having said all that, I didn't cringe when I saw that Ukrainian designer Anna October (found via NJAL) had named her latest collection 'Resort Collection', simply because it doesn't look like a resort collection, or at least not for the type of resort where you're neither required nor expected to make any moves that would dislodge you from your 'swimsuit'. These are pieces that don't require countless hours spent in the gym to wear, and won't require you to pack them away when the end of that elusive resort season ends. Thank you, Anna, for not insulting my intelligence or my wallet.

*[sic]

Katrina Ferrari

I love all these pieces by London-based designer Katrina Ferrari (found via NJAL). The ones above are from her A/W 11 'Nocturnal' collection, and the ones below are from her graduate A/W 10 'Hexenjagd' collection. Now I'm confused as to how to wear my hair today though, as the above pieces make me want to put it up in some sort of stylish knot, but the below pieces make me want to leave it long and wavy. It also makes me want to put on some Loreena McKennitt... Anyway, Katrina's motto, if you will, is 'affordable couture', as the pieces are one-offs and, apparently, affordable. Katrina will be having a sample sale very soon, so look her up on Facebook so you know when that's happening.

The Perfect Match

mydearthing Steel Spine Tunic + Gravis waxed canvas shoes (yes! you can get waxed shoes!)

I never really liked the look of this style of shoe until I saw a pair on Lauren of mydearthing. Actually, the very pair you see her wearing the above picture. Now with trip #3 to NY looming and both pairs of my trusty Chucks falling apart simultaneously, I needed to go on an emergency shoe buying trip to Gravity Pope in order find a comfy everyday pair that wouldn't take more than a couple wears to wear in, and that didn't contain any leather. I was very happy to find these laced Gravis shoes (worn with the laces tied on top of the tongue in a bow, not hidden inside), which were instantly comfy, not too pricey, and are made of my second favorite fabric (the first being tencel). And they have finally solved the question of what shoes to wear with my boyfriend jeans other than flipflops. My very metal mydearthing tank tops the outfit off just right, making me wish I had the evening off to enjoy the pairing. Sigh.

Dack and Cover

Bringing me out of my bored-with-fashion phase for at least a brief moment is London-based designer Manuela Dack, specifically with her S/S 11 jacket (which was also a part of her graduate collection). I believe that the main part of it is leather, and so I'd obviously prefer a heavy canvas or waxed cotton instead. What I love about it though is the very unexpected juxtaposition of the pleated chiffon with the heavy material and zippers normally found in a biker jacket. I've always like the look of the stylized biker jacket (i.e. one found in a boutique and not on an actual biker), but I know myself well enough to have never even tried one on. However, if given the opportunity to get a leather-free Manuela Dack version... Anyway, I found Manuela via Fashion156, but apparently she's been all over Style Bubble as far back as July of last year. So now I'm wondering what that says about my (changing) fashion sensibilities and/or my state of mind. Perhaps I should rethink my whole never-getting-my-driver's-license-thing and start shopping around for a motorcycle, or at least the more chiffon friendly Vespa. Or, maybe I should actually pay attention to the blogs that I supposedly 'read'...

Needle in the Hay

I heart this Elika Designs cotton/silk dress. Almost as much as I heart The Royal Tenenbaums. Especially because it comes in black. Or green. Perfect for a walk through Central Park. Or, say, a night listening to Neil Gaiman. Or even a night on the waterfront listening to Thievery Corporation. Sigh.

Dead Drops

As you may have deduced from the dramatic decrease in posts (especially in comparison to a year ago), I have grown rather tired of the Internets. I love having information (and music) at my fingertips, but I resent the fact that a day off spent at home basically means I waste the whole day on my laptop for no good reason at all. Actually, the Internets just makes me plain cranky. So perhaps that's why I'm rather intrigued by Berlin-based media artist Aram Bartholl's idea called Dead Drops (found via Tara St. James' blog). Basically, Dead Drops is a form of electronic graffiti with a practical usage, whereby someone cements a USB stick into a wall/building/curb/something of their choice in a public space, and passersby armed with laptops can then upload whatever files they'd like onto the stick, and subsequently download whatever is already on the stick from previous 'droppers', thus forming "an anonymous, offline, peer to peer file-sharing network." I think it's a brilliant idea (so long as it doesn't melt my computer with some sort of malicious computer and/or human virus), especially since a good Internet connection is sometimes hard to come by, as is a working postal service. And though I love having lookbooks and whatnot available to me in seconds, it would make fashion a lot more interesting if I had to go download the newest collection by so-and-so from an old brick retaining wall or a park bench or something. I could also see some romantic file-sharing courtships developing via anonymously uploaded love letters (though the drops should then be in very public spaces to keep the creeping to a minimum). I'm not sure what I myself would want to drop, seeing as I don't really want to aid potential cheaters by uploading any of my unpublished papers. It would be interesting, however, to see how many readers I was left with if people were required to download my newest blog post from a Dead Drop...

Anyway, while Dead Drops are meant for anyone to do themselves (and there are now hundreds of drops all over the world), Aram started the project himself in NYC with five drops. According to the database list, a couple of these original drops are now defunct. There is, however, still an active drop at W 21st St., where I will be walking by via the High Line Park in about two weeks. It would certainly bring a whole new meaning to 'souvenir' if I brought an interesting file home. By the way, does anyone know of a good therapy group for overcoming NY addiction? Because this is quickly becoming a problem...

(Photo featuring would could be an excellent Dead Drop wall from the lookbook of London-based label siob.she, found via NJAL)

Steel Cut Dress

I have a sudden desire to a) find/write a book about the history of the comma, and b) roll down a hill, particularly in this metal-infused silk dress by ArtLab. 

Yes, I do already have a similar ArtLab dress, but I would prefer to roll down a hill in the nighttime (in part due to my recent obsession with Jamie Coon and this song), and, with Wednesday being my city's cycling club ride night of choice, I would need some form of reflective material in my clothing so that I don't end up like that unfortunate pigeon in the middle of the road. It would also be fun to see what kind of shape the dress would end up in after being formed by a spiraled decent.

P.S. To those of you wondering, my mydearthing Steel Sighlens T may or may not have maple brown beans all down its front, the addition of which I believe would impede the rolling and/or reflective power of the tee.