sheer delight

While my blogspot interface was busy acting up the past week, I was cheerfully preoccupied with fall's fashions. Not that I'm acknowledging the imminence of fall or any such thing ― it's summer for another month, dropping morning temps or not!! John Galliano reconfirmed my predilection for his dramatic flair, well, sans the drag makeup, natch. I especially loved his Fall Couture sheer skirts. I don't know if I'd ever do a sheer skirt showing off my bum, but never say never huh. On the other hand, sheer pieces on my top half is just bewitching.

Which got me thinking (and reminiscing) about my Hannah Marshall bat-wing dress. I got it for half off at my-wardrobe (ahh... the joys of online shopping!) and I can't wait to get nippy wear it!! The right pic below is fall 2008's updated version of the batwing dress, pretty but certainly not as daring. And Hannah Marshall's love for all black: killing me softly. She's succeeded in making LBD's that can only be described as beautiful.

Which got me thinking (again!) of Junko Shimada, la plus parisienne japonaise!! I spent a futile hour trying to dig up uncommon knowledge about the venerable Shimada. She keeps the lowest of profiles. However, I've noticed that she's a season or two ahead of our most lauded designers. I w.a.n.t. to kiss her!! Happily, I now have one gracious philanthropic deed to accomplish during my time in Paris in a few... A stop at her boutique on Rue St Florentin, and possibly, her design studio if they let me in!! *fingers crossed?!*Yay!! Below are my faves from this season as well as a delightful piece (right) from A/W 2006-07.


Beautiful kisses.

just because...

Chanel Iman (featured on style.com) in Bill Blass A/W 2008; just because... umm perhaps... she is gorgeous!! She's got on fall's hottest color palette and that dress!!!! Never mind what the critics say, Peter Som did a wonderful job in his debut as Bill Blass's creative director.



Pretty kisses.

chic simplicity life lesson #3: a pump may double as a weapon engraved with your distinctive insignia

...or Stella McCartney's idea of it.
And a chic weapon, if I must state the pretty obvious.
(At Neiman's and Bergdorf's.)



Truffles and kisses.

ahh... king richard the chai

Yesterday, I woke up to Saks' online feature web-rag, "Meet the Designers We Adore." I clicked through to view the pieces before returning to watch Micheal Fink's clip with each of the new designers, thus verifying their interpretations for myself. (I try hard to shake of the geekiness that pervades my entire being. It doesn't work. I don't know why I take fashion so seriously sometimes, man.)

Anyway, one of my fave pieces from Richard Chai's fall collection, in which I'd brazenly delighted earlier this year is now available on the webbie. It's the crinkled chiffon top pictured. Price tag: four digits. Did I mention it was a top?! I'd just been marinating on the idea of shopping only sale items for the rest of the year. If I could buy it, I'd be wearing it as a dress, maybe with teeny shorts underneath; but that's not the point. It is a top. I love it, but this is completely ridiculous and I cannot afford to buy a top for that price. That top better... [insert preposterous and absurd, never-happening-not-in-seven-years-at-least functionality for said piece of garment.] I say 'seven' years because Hussein Chalayan, as you know ― or should know ― is well on his way to producing solar-powered flying pieces of clothing. Umm.. you don't know?!! Go to style.com or somewhere and look up some of his recent 'constructions'. I am not your fashion instructor. (Read, I'm lazy and don't feel up to it. :))

Double air kisses.

photographers limited editions

Recently, I came across this darling treasure of a webbie, Photographers Limited Editions, PLE. Headquartered in Vienna, Austria, PLE "present[s] the extensive works of today’s most respected and renowned photographers to a rapidly growing group of enthusiastic fine art photography collectors in a contemporary format and make[s] these accessible” according to its oh so brilliant founder, Andrea Preiss.

I'm not really into many forms of art (I think) ― except wearable art *sly wink* ― however, as with great photography, some of these images evoke the most pleasurable of feelings. And some are just, well, darn pretty!!
My fave portraits found on the PLE webbie and available for purchase...
• Carrie Donovan (by Jesse Frohman, edition 11, 20x24in): love the reticent knowing manner with a twinge of smugness in her facial expression ― her left hand caught mid-air ― and those Chanel glasses!!
• Iman (by Roxanne Lowit, edition 20, 20x24in) in her haute rockstar girl-of-the-moment. It's an instant I'm inclined to think of as à la Naomi Campbell, but Iman did come on the scene first. She embodies a refinement we all dream to possess; this photograph illustrates a notably beautiful contrast ― to her personality, and importantly, her aptitiude as a model in a moment of her "work" day.
• Then there's this image of these men, Bill Blass and Oscar de la Renta, together (also by Jesse Frohman, edition 11, 16x20in). Sheesh!!









Kisses.

chic simplicity and rihanna do the same hervé léger skirt on the same night. yikes!!

**I love my friends, sometimes.
They force me to do things I'd rather not, torturing my already fragile sanity...
"...you have to put yourself out there!" ― the primary undertones of the rather s.h.a.r.p. reprimands I occasionally endure from my so-called friends. But then, it's why I love 'em. Sometimes. :)**

I'm not a pic-taking gyrl for the simple reason that I'm not a pic-taking gyrl. And lest you mistake this for gracious modesty (ha!!); a more accurate reason would be that I try to avoid any instances of my shameless narcissism captured on camera for the world to see.
(All of this to say I am somewhat shy, but, not really.)

This is one of the rare occasions, I willingly took a pic, or two.
By chance, I donned this skirt last Friday night in DC, when I went to a Jay-Z concert disguised as a fashion show.  No, concerts are not my thing either. (Rihanna wore it in NY.) Oddly, I'd wanted to pair the skirt with a sheer, black button- or French-cuffed shirt, half sleeves, but didn't have a sheer cuffed shirt. Note to self: You must find and get said shirt. So anyway, I went with an old basic button-cuffed shirt (from JCrew). It worked, naturally. But what a coinkydink. And on the same frigging day, huh?!

While I'm never in a photo op mode trying to show off my whole outfit ― I refuse, lol;¹ my dearest friend, pictured (who will find out about this pic in all of two minutes), and I had several dozen takes!! Narcissism, I tell you. (Said darling friend is an undercover Jay-Z fan like none I have ever seen, and you wouldn't even think it!! So while I was excited about the show; she was patiently biding her time, waiting for her (ahem) man.)








truffle kisses.


Footnotes:
1. Truthfully, I skipped my pic-taking/posturing lessons at the Emily Post Tyra Banks School of Modeling and Etiquette.

chic simplicity life lesson #83: eyes are the windows to the soul

...and possibly, you needn't go past the her shades.

Love in the afternoon...
No, it's not a pathetic pun on singer Usher's, Love in the club¹. Really, it's the theme of Cutler and Gross's Autumn/Winter 2008 collection. It's a printed love letter that France's Napoleon wrote to his sweetheart Josephine; the women's collection, a black print on an achingly delicious nude pink!!
K.i.s.s. me now *wistful sigh*

[A black and white printed financial index highlights the refinement of the men's pairs. Yay! for matchy couples. So, this is possibly the one time men could make themselves creditably useful― and pleasurably so. That, and perhaps, when I need to adorn my four wedding dresses. *tongue in cheek*) I love tall boys as you (should) know.]


I'm terribly in love with this updated Jackie O. pair.

Meanwhile, (un)fortunately I've just called the stores in Knightsbridge Green...








Secret kisses.


Footnotes:
1. Do you know how lame I am?? I found out about this song three or four months later than everyone else!!