The Style You Haven't Done Yet

Did you see the latest episode of 'Ugly Betty,' where Amanda tries her hand at designing but Marc doesn't think she'll cut the mustard...BUT THEN tragedy strikes, Amanda come through in the clutch, and earns her stripes as a stylist? No, I doubt you saw that one, and thanks to you, 'Ugly Betty' has been canceled.

But don't worry, I'm not here to admonish you. I'm simply reminding you how important styling is. If it weren't, every magazine would simply publish photos from runway shows in lieu of fashion editorials, and the world would be an empty, empty place indeed. Think, for example, if we didn't have Lula Magazine's superior take on Moschino's S/S '08 jumpsuit...Ok, ok, both takes are lovely, but they say two different things...which is why it's so crucial NOT to take ready-to-wear collections literally as they come down the catwalk. While many shows are beautifully styled, it's important to translate these looks into something that is our own. Then, penny-pinchers that we all must be, we can zero in on one crucial element of a look and say to ourselves, "gosh, self, if I spurge on that one key piece, I can put together a million different looks with stuff I already have and BLOW that runway look OUT OF THE WATER!"

Conversely, some looks that come down the runway are exactly what we want but know we can't afford. Then we can say, "gosh, self, I can put that look together with stuff I ALREADY have in my closet!" Take this highlight from Alexander Wang's F/W 2010 show...

I love it! But most of us already have a long, structured work skirt that we can hike way up, layer over some lacy top or lingerie, pair with wool AA thigh-highs, and VOILA! A perfect look for the...I don't know...club? Office? Brothel?

Of course many of Mr. Wang's looks just can't be replicated, as is the case with much of what the runway produced in New York this past week. Stay tuned for some of these highlights and the much anticipated follow-up on terroir.

images via Lula Magazine & style.com, inspiration via KRS One

terroir, Part 1: Cheers to Dirt!

Let's pretend for a moment, shall we, that I am not someone who has eaten Cup Noodles for breakfast two days in a row, but rather someone who savors the effect of terroir on whatever she drinks and eats. Pretending is fun!

The concept of terroir is somewhat familiar to most of us as it applies to wine. According to The Bible, is it "[a]t its core...the assumption that the land from which the grapes are grown imparts a unique quality that is specific to that region." It's a romantic notion, if nothing else. Unfortunately, it may not hold much weight. According to people like Alex Maltman, professor of dream dashing, the effect of soil on wine is not significant enough for humans to taste.

Fortunately, terroir is about more than just soil. Going back to more reputable sources (Wikipedia), it refers to "the sum of the effects that the local environment has had on the manufacture of the product." The jerk-of-a-blog (actually a pretty good blog) that told me that soil is not directly related to taste redeemed itself by concluding with this:

I think consumers can be led down a path that connects soil and climate to taste in a very direct way. It's at this micro level when the interplay of soil composition, aspect of the land, micro climate, vine density, vine age, cover crop, irrigation routine and winemaker interaction can be explored in detail and some very good estimates can be made on how they affect the final wine.

Hooray! Romantic notions win again!

There is a case to be made that some people get a bit carried away with their ideals concerning soil and taste. Take Laura Parker, for example. Her "Taste of Place" installation is meant to explore two questions: "How does soil touch our lives and affect our food; and why does it matter?"

In the installation, participants are given samples of soil to which water is added, apparently simulating new rainfall. They take a big whiff of the dirt, and then eat food grown at the same farm. I was initially very intrigued by the whole concept after reading about it in the New York Times Magazine's most recent year in ideas issue. Intrigued, that is, until I watched this video. The participants are just too heavy a mix of pretentious and hippie for my taste.

Still, it does seem like an installation worthy of participation. At worst, it would be an opportunity to taste for oneself that there really is no connection between food and the dirt from which it sprung. At best, it can help the participant gain an understanding of the relationship between farm and plate (or at least justify his trendy claims that this relationship is palatable).

This would be interesting to try at home. I hope the folks at my local community garden don't mind if I play a little Peter Rabbit in their plots this summer...

Anyway, everyone raise their glasses and stay tuned for Part 2: Happy Pigs and Laughing Cows!

click on pictures for sources

2009 charlotte ronson campaign

via fashion squad

I've lived in my apartment for over a year and the walls are still almost as empty as the day I moved in. I'm tempted to blame a limited budget but the reality is that I just don't know where to start. The wall space seems so endless that whenever I do buy a painting or a photograph to hang, it just looks lonely and out of place. It ends up serving no purpose but to highlight just how blank the rest of the wall space is.

On top of that, my eye for art is relatively underdeveloped compared to my eye for...stuff. Whenever I go to a boutique, art gallery, flea market, etc, i end up going straight for the knick knacks, housewares, books, records and even furniture while avoiding the wall art all together.

Fortunately there is inspiration for turning this kind of "stuff" into decor, simultaneously solving the bare wall crisis and preventing one's apartment from turning into an episode of "Hoarders."

via the thinking tank, coco + kelly, and the city sage

clever shelving + thoughtful (and fastidious) organization = design for the art challenged.

saturated

I take pleasure in having no formal training in cinematography. I can make an aesthetic judgment of a film without getting caught up in the minutiae or the process, but rather sit back and allow the film to transport me.

The best films bring me to an entirely different world and leave me dreamy and disoriented when I leave the theater. I often won't even be able to recall the plot, but the visual impact will haunt me forever. There are a handful of directors that do this to me with everything they produce, and Wong Kar Wai is certainly near the top of that list.