something I really enjoy:

Band of Outsiders has started a cookie blog. It is everything you would expect from a hipster-elite blog about baked goods...and much more. That is all.

story of my life.

"My desire to eat grilled cheese runs in direct contradiction with my desire to wear a crop top"
-Hanna(from Intellectuals Read Vogue, Too)

i was feeling uninspired.

New layout, new batch of pretty pictures to help me get through the week.

From Oh You Pretty Things and Luxirare.

overtly blatantly obvious.

I went thrifting this weekend (with EPIC results, more on that later) and found this beauty in the purse section:

I really should have bought it.

like ivy, we grow where there is room for us.

Miranda July is currently my favorite artist.

I like her because of her multimedia work and whimsical, cheeky sense of design. One of my favorite visual art installations of hers is Eleven Heavy Things at the 2009 Venice Biennale (which you can see more of in "her eyes are a blue million miles", lovely video from Lula Magazine). I love the interactive nature of the exhibit:


She also makes films (including the Sundance-and-Cannes award winning film Me and You and Everyone We Know), and I especially love her short piece Are You the Favorite Person of Anybody?

Makes you think.

She even writes! I'm dying to get my hands on her book of short stories:


Even her websites are creative. See here and here for proof.

flashflash

Annie Leibovitz in front of the camera? With Mikhail Baryshnikov?
I can't wait.

"I'm stalking...I mean starving..."

I have never really gotten into the whole "style icon" business...there are men and women whose sartorial prowess I admire, of course, but I never get up in the morning and try to channel them. I dress the way I feel and wear the things I like, and I do NOT want to ever be characterized as a copycat or cheap imitation of someone else. There's a lot to be said for women like Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe, but when every girl and their mother is adoring them and trying to emulate them, the entire reason for their success - uniqueness - is completely undermined by overexposure. Of course I love Audrey and Marilyn as much as the next girl...but I'd rather use their legacy as a little bit of inspiration in the big collage of influences I've made in my mind over the years. That being said, I always love seeing creative, pretty people do their creative, pretty thing. Right now I'm sort of enthralled by Zooey Deschanel...ever since I saw 500 Days of Summer, she's been a constant inspiration to me. I love her name, I love her haircut, and I love her band!


They're responsible for one of the best Beatles covers I've ever heard, too:


Not like I'm obsessed or anything.

imagine.

haus of maus

Remember the KarlBear?
I was sort of in love with it, back in the day...but I found a new fashion-toy hybrid to obsess over - two, actually!

Meet Karl Mouse:

and Anna Mouse:

They were made by the Etsy seller HouseofMouse, and I adore them. It's too bad they sold out so quickly...but I have an even better idea for their next celebrity-inspired creation; Lady Gaga mouse, anyone?

strange things are happening

some things unsettle me even as they inspire me:

One of my favorite songs...it's so haunting but so beautiful.

I do not know why there are pictures of Rome in this video.

Photos from vi.sualize and the unicorn diaries,

I don't believe in electricity.

These are my Amish boots:


I thrifted them sometime last year. Originally, they were for a dance at my school that was 90's themed...most people were breaking out the heinous bike shorts, croptops, legwarmers and shoulder pads that were for the most part inappropriate and categorically inaccurate (straighten out your 80's and 90's, freshmen!). I wanted to go in a Courtney Love-esque grunge outfit, and scoured about 5 thrift stores for old Docs. They were surprisingly elusive, even in Seattle...so I settled for these and promptly forgot about them. Just yesterday, I was searching our mud room for an old sweatshirt and I found them, fell in love, and have had them permanently attached to my feet ever since.

As I was headed out the door to take them for a test-drive, my sister looked me up and down and said acidly "Nice Amish boots", which I chose to take as a compliment...and the name stuck.

I'm wearing the bowling tonight with my boyfriend and our friends, and my dad took one look at my American Apparel dress, cardigan, tights, and cherished boots, and told me I looked preposterous, that I should change, that he didn't understand why I was wearing such a ridiculous ensemble for such a casual night out. I told him I was sorry he felt that way. That's the problem, you see...he simply doesn't understand. And for a minute, he succeeded in bringing back all my old insecurities, memories of middle-school timidity and self-loathing and fear of not being accepted that I still have not completely rid myself of - and I was on the point of changing into jeans and a sweatshirt and boringness.

But then I realized that this is me, whether dad likes it or not, and I can't risk losing the person I've only just started to appreciate.

So I'm keeping my Amish boots.

coriandoli

Few things make me happier than confetti.

affairs to remember

I love pre-fall! Viewing the collections is so much fun when they're staged in a controlled environment that accurately reflects the designer's vision, versus the less perfect, variable-ridden surroundings of a fashion show. I found a lot of them to be sort of lackluster this time around, though...Tuleh, a label I have always liked purely because their name is adorable, featured some of the ugliest clothes I have seen in a while. They surpassed "youthful" and carried on straight into sloppy, infantilizing, and awkward. Lots of others just showed boring, hashed-out looks that are being ripped off at Forever21 as we speak. But a few labels did manage to pull out the best sort of pre-fall...wearable, but pretty enough to top wishlists and empty wallets.

Lanvin never disappoints. I love the way Alber (obviously, we are on a first-name basis) oscillated between "severe Russian nun with a jewelry and tassel fetish"...
...and "top to toe batty-but-chic leopard print lady". Personally, I would dress like either one in a hearbeat.

Everyone's all atwitter about this Proenza collection, which is TOTALLY valid...it's pretty much perfect. I mean, who doesn't love a good jumper?

togglecoatandgiantshortsgetonmybody

Lazaro and Jack (also my bffs) do the best blues...judging from collections past, that is a leather skirt. sign me UP. Also, I don't think I'll ever be over the socks-scrunched-over-sexy-shoes thing.

LV was sort of...cartoonish? I really do love this dress though, and although those boots are pretty dubious I LOVE the kneesocks.

Missoni was sort of exactly like the last two collections, but less subtle. But who doesn't want to dress like this?
Perfect coats, knit bows, BEAUTIFUL shoes, and those amazing leggingtights.

And finally, Thakoon...I have a giant soft spot for Thakoon,everything he designs is just whimsical enough to make me fall head over heels. I adore the fringe motif and petal-shaped skirts that keep appearing, and who doesn't love a good nautical stripe?
This is the sort of monochrome I could actually stand a chance at pulling off.
So pretty! And it's nice to remember in the depths of January that spring is not so far off...

splashy

aaaaand what I wish I could have on my wall:

you can't be everything at once by Laura Merrett

inky fingers

Lately I've been on the lookout for a simple, colorful, joyful print to greet me each morning as I wake up. My wall decor right now is limited to a hodgepodge of magazine clippings, prayer flags, postcards, coarkboards, and homemade butterflies...I'd like to add some real, grown-up art that lends some authority to my homey but cluttered room. Some finalists in my search...

from charmingwall.com

from the unfortunately named but very talented Etsy seller iheartpugs:


and finally, some favorites from Etsy seller GollyBard...I love the simple way they seem to capture a feeling.

need supply

I'm still adoring the 1920's silhouette I posted on a few weeks ago...I love the "boyish" shape of all the clothes, and the subtle pleats and drapes that invariably take each dress to next-levular prettiness. Paul Poiret's designs are particularly captivating; all of his surviving clothes are inordinately lovely. Unfortunately, they are too delicate for anyone to wear, and for me there's something soulless about a dress that once knew glamour hanging limply on a dress form. Because of this, I much prefer his sketches. His clothes weren't just meant for wearing...they were meant for living.



I have a print of this one up on my wall.

I recently discovered the label One Vintage whilst wishlisting on Net-A-Porter...their 1920's inspired dresses really struck a chord with me, purely because of their authenticity. I could easily picture any one of them hanging in Jordan Baker's closet. The only thing holding me back is the pricetag...