The deep part of winter is upon us. The solution to everything rests in these, hung on the kitchen wall by the stairs to the basement. Once I get these up, I can start pinning up all sorts of stuff on them. I might even add one or two of these into the mix. My friend Carolyn will have to come over and help me put them up. If I don’t make a date, I’ll be writing about this again in May. I will get it done this winter. Read more
I had a whole post prepared on Antonio Berardi’s Fall 2012 collection and then came my surprise hiatus. I will share two gorgeous outfits, one for Halle Berry to wear to the Oscars, and one for the meek among us to try and replicate. For the second one, I had sort of a cool idea about a vest with some fabric recommendations. It was a bust finally, so just two gorgeous things to look at for now. But since I am back, I wanted to try Berardi again. He likes embellishment and while it’s gorgeous, (late breaking news – see this dress on a celebrity – beautiful!)anything even approaching that up here is too, too much. I do like to share stunning outfits and you can see the whole collection here. Today though, I want to remain focused on the everyday. What I am about to show you may seem bonkers, but I am intrigued nonetheless.
If I tell the true story of my life right now, I would say that I want more. More energy, more waistline defined, more tea, more words, more books, more writing. I had to write those first few sentences glasses off and so I couldn’t see the letters as I typed. It occurs to me that I have no real drive even while I so clearly see that there might be a place out there for the ideas running around in my mind. And then I wind around to aging and think how much my left ribs hurt after stretching too vigorously over the weekend and how I am hobbling around, yelling at the dog when he pulls too hard. I fell this morning on the walk and wasn’t hurt, but getting up was an awkward and ugly affair. What does any of this have to do with Haider Ackermann? I am not sure yet and I doubt I’ll edit this paragraph when I find out. It’s about time’s passage. Here’s the point, there are those moments when the world bashes you on the head and maybe you wake up or maybe you fall down dead.
Jan 9
This evening, I tried to look at some of the spring collections and the Donna Karan is still too fresh in my mind to move on to anything new. Especially Dries Van Noten, whom I adore and want to smooch even though he is gay. It was too much to ponder Dries this evening.
Instead I am thinking about my wardrobe for 2013, thinking realistically, wanting to maximize the efficiency and output of my sewing. God, how deadly dull does that sound? What do I mean in plain talk? I want to sew things I will wear over and over again. I want to sew things that create delight and ease when getting dressed in the morning.
The music situation at my house is odd. There are stacks of CDs in the other room, in the dark, barely looked at. There used to be a stereo but now all the music seems to stream from the computer to an anemic pair of USB speakers via Rhapsody. Sometime during the holidays, I went to the shelves and pulled out Elgar’s “Enigma Variations.” Call me a sentimental dope with a sawboned view of classical music, but the Nimrod variation from this piece is one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever composed. If you don’t know it, start the new year off right and listen. If you do know it, listening again will do you good.
I have always loved Helmut Lang. When I became aware of him, I can’t say with any accuracy, sometime while I lived in New York City. No doubt there was ogling and craving in Barney’s at some point. When I think of Helmut Lang, I think: black, tough, asymmetrical, leather, out there. All of which works for me, except the unrelenting black. (I agree with Angie over at You Look Fab, who wrote a post recently about all black outfits, including tips on how to brighten them up if you are so inclined.) Helmut Lang’s Fall 2012 collection had all these elements plus a gorgeous rust red and ruby red here and there. And several outfits that reminded me of blond brownies and tawny lions. No red, no lions for today’s commentary. Instead, something heavy and something light, both of which make me think of sweat and post-apocalyptic worlds. At least the movie version of a post-apocalyptic world.
Mar 13
Dries Van Noten – invasion of plaid and silk flowers
I loved Dries Van Noten’s Spring 2013 show even while finding it perplexing, for some of the usual reasons – how do those fabrics fit together? Where do you wear that? Who would ever wear that?. Even though I couldn’t answer those questions, the more I looked at it, the more I saw this edgy femininity and began to really parse out what entranced me. Read more