MINNAPALMQVIST

So, as I said yesterday, I'd elaborate on how I came upon German label Prose. However, this morning's surfing session has altered the course of such elaboration. Let me explain. First, the other day on NJAL, I came upon Swedish label MINNAPALMQVIST (and yes, I believe the all-caps are required). I was first reeled in by the lovely sweater (above) that Minna has available in The Shop, but then I was intrigued by this line in the description of her collections: "The shapes we don't want our bodies to have are built in to the garments." Now, the reason why I find this so intriguing is that it never occurred to me that that is exactly what I look for in my wardrobe, i.e. voluminous and sagging/draping pieces to clothe my (hopefully) non-voluminous and non-sagging body. She also has a tank dress available in The Shop called 'Underwear Dress' that is meant to create "the illusion of being caught in your underwear or the looseness of skin associated with rapid weightloss." Interesting, no?

The MINNAPALMQVIST piece above in particular made me stop and ponder the ridiculousness of some women's clothing, as I've always gone home and immediately ripped out the foam or otherwise padded bra inserts that come with certain underwire bras or bathing suits. Well, I shouldn't say 'always', as there was a time when I did want to enhance what little I had. Anyway, for whatever reason, I tend not to throw out these cup-filling things, and it seems as though Minna not only does the same thing, but has also found a way to put them to use. Good stuff for a Tuesday morning.

But so, after all those words, I've realized that I've come no closer to describing how I ended up writing yesterday's post. And, as Minna deserves her own post anyway, we shall continue the explanation in the next post...

Eleanor Amoroso, A/W 11

It seems as though I'm subconsciously looking for some sort of quirky maxi dress for the warmer weather, as those are the pieces I've been bookmarking and adding to my Etsy Favorites lately. So this morning's email is more than welcome, as I've never seen maxi dresses quite like this before. Well, except for in the same designer's previous collection. Remember the gorgeous handmade graduate collection of Eleanor Amoroso which consisted of macrame dresses and accessories? Well, the London-based designer has done it again with her A/W 11 collection, this time sticking mainly to black fine fringing to knot together some spectacular pieces, accented again with metal clasps and piping. Make sure you click on the photos to see the details (well, except for that first dark photo - that one is here more for the interesting silhouette possible only with a dress made of fringing). I'd love to see these pieces styled with some mesh dresses, leggings, and bodysuits underneath, a great cardigan or jacket on top (perhaps something by InAisce) and possibly some Dr. Martens. Specifically, I'm going to be dreaming about the dress with the cap sleeves (also seen below), and try to convince myself that I wouldn't let it get more knotted up if I were to get my hands on it.

For those of you that are interested, the clothing pieces can only be ordered directly from Eleanor herself, while the accessories are available now from NJAL's The Shop.

Felipe Rojas Llanos

Mystery solved! Remember those delightful coats and jackets from an unknown Central Saint Martins grad last year? Well, doing some browsing around NJAL's The Shop brought to my attention a design which looked familiar for some reason, and a couple of clicks later, I realized that it was from the same designer of that grad collection. The designer, Felipe Rojas Llanos, who is Chilean-born, Swedish-raised, and London-based, has developed that style I fell for from his CSM show through two collections, both shown at London Fashion Week. 

I would love to incorporate a few of these pieces into my own wardrobe, as I'm totally digging the minimalist yet slightly futuristic look. I'm trying to push for just that when we finally get to move our things back into the apartment beginning tomorrow, though such a change may be farther in the future than I would like.

Photos at top (via NJAL): Felipe's 'Suspended Animation' collection (completely made from silk and technical fabric)

Photos in the middle (via NJAL): S/S 11 'Legion' collection
Photos at the bottom (via this.hearts.on.fire): F/W 11 collection

Eleanor Amoroso

Last week I saw a couple of new pieces in NJAL's The Shop that looked interesting from afar. However, I didn't want to take a closer look since they looked like they were made from hair, a material which may be a trend on the runway, but which just makes me feel icky. Good thing the designer of these pieces is being featured on the front page of NJAL. For these pieces, along with the rest of this fashion student's graduate collection, are made not of hair but of fringing, cord, and metal, thus warranting a much closer look than I previously though. The designer's name is Eleanor Amoroso, and the painstaking technique of macrame is how she handmade every single piece of her collection, including the accessories. I'm going to be staring at these statement pieces for a few hours. It's a comforting thought to know that craftsmanship isn't yet a lost art, isn't it? Sigh.

On a completely unrelated note, please check out my shop for some new listings of (mostly) handmade pieces I've never worn before. There are fourteen items up for sale in total, with all but one of them from $10 to $50 until December 31st. There also may be an Alexander McQueen piece you'll want to check out...

Carly Hunter, XI

While my Google sidebar search box doesn't seem to be working, it seems that I have sorely neglected the newer works of Carly Hunter, which I was just reacquainted with whilst browsing The Shop. These are from the current A/W 10 'XI' collection, which incorporates fetishistic and 90's grunge elements. And I thought those were just some nice zips, chains, simple shapes and simple drapes... It's a shame that all the pieces in The Shop are only in size 6, as Carly has some rather reasonable prices for Australian loveliness...

In other Shop news, seven pieces from Konrad Parol's 'REBELS' collection are now available! Mmm...Polish greys...

It's hip to be square

You definitely need this dress as much as I do. I mean, it's by Study NY, it's made of bamboo jersey and recycled buttons, it's completely convertible to morph into a few different kinds of dresses, playsuit, and more, it's one size, and it's only $176 in The Shop. Did you catch that it's Study NY? You know, Tara St. James? I'd prefer if I had this already to go see Caribou tonight, but I'll settle for getting it in time for my NYC trip.

Badgers can't be choosers

I'm having issues finding something I want to post. I'm currently going through Eddie Izzard withdrawal, and seem to just be typing in 'eddie izzard' over and over into my Google search box. (Indeed, I just closed about fifteen Mr. Izzard related windows since my usually fast MacBook was beginning to run unusually slow.) Have you ever looked forward to something so much for so long that you just don't know what to do with yourself once that thing has come and gone? Yeah. Eddie Izzard is my hero. And a super hero at that. Monday night was indescribably amazing (so happy he showed up in both his dashing tuxedo jacket and in 'girl mode') and I curse my bad memory for being unable to replay it in my mind on a constant loop (such as the superb bit about Latin that had me crying). I also curse the fact that he'll be in a Broadway show ("Race") that only runs till August 21st, 20 days before my arrival. Sigh. At any rate, here's a pretty dress by David Longshaw. I miss the days of colouring books, and would happily wear something I can doodle on. But, as they say, badgers can't be choosers.

Günseli Türkay

I've been running on 3-4 hours of sleep intervals the past few days here, so please forgive me if I am completely incoherent. But, at the risk of assailing your brain with horrendous grammar, I simply had to share these photos with you. These are from Turkish designer Günseli Türkay's newly launched brand of the same name. Günseli has been in the fashion industry for a while, working for the past few years as a fashion designer and brand consultant for larger brands such as Zara and Topshop. Her own brand combines fashion and art, transferring paintings of contemporary artists to the fabrics used in her pieces. That, combined with the gladiator theme of these dresses (who said the gladiator look was so last year?!), makes me a very enthusiastic fan. If you don't happen to be around Istanbul, Lebanon, or London, check out NJAL's The Shop to order one for yourself. Perhaps I could sell a bike to get the Joyce or the Amy for myself...

LoveCarpet

It appears as though I blogged too quickly the other day, as I discovered some more things about those delightfully springy pictures from Dori Tomcsanyi. No, the photos above aren't also from Dori's new collection, but from the S/S 10 collection of a related label called LoveCarpet by designer Adel Kovacs, who shares the same artistic space as Dori, called k e p p showroom. You might have seen pictures of the Love Carpet A/W 10 'Hardtag Dress' floating around the Internets, as I know I've come across it a few times in my travels. Upon re-finding it again, I've decided that buying this dress would be the best way to prevent shopping sprees, at least in brick-and-mortar shops. Why is that, you say? Well, according to the description in The Shop, "these security tags are really working, so the dress is not recommended for shopping around." This is Adel's response to fast fashion, and I love it. I also adore the S/S 09 collection, seen below. It features both actual plastic hangtags and hangtag prints on nude fabrics, and lovely large knit pieces. I need that wardrobe, with all its contents included. Anyone else want to venture to Hungary with me?