mas

Hussein Chalayan dress, Pamela Love talon ring, Delfina Delettrez hands ring, Made Her Think pyramid stud ring, ThreeASFOUR dress, YSL bracelet, Balenciaga heels, Fleet Ilya bag, Rodarte x Kirkwood thigh-high boots, Alexander Wang suede moto jacket, Alexander Wang camera bag, Shanka fossil resin bangle

being broke blows.

brights

YSL tribute heels, Stella McCartney satin clutch, Balenciaga skirt, Proenza Schouler dress, Marni cuff, Lanvin clutch, Dries van Noten clutch, Proenza skirt

I'd probably only wear about half of this: the Proenza, Dries, and Balenciaga. I weep for the Proenza (that dress!). I'm too afraid of leopard print, purple turns me off a little, and the yellow on the clutch is probably a little too bright for me.

black and white prints

Helmut Lang, Alexander Wang, Helmut Lang, Alexander Wang, Helmut Lang, Zero + Maria Cornejo, Balenciaga, Zimmerman

yum

Yukie Deuxpoints necklace, Proenza Schouler PS1 bag, VPL bra, Glynneth B bracelet, Eddie Borgo earrings, Falconiere epaulets, Givenchy studded flats, Ann D. buckle boots, Bijules ring, Fleet Ilya belt, Sigerson Morrison Gladiators, Madison Marcus buckle mini, YSL cuff, Darcy Miro for Unholy Matrimony cuff, Helmut Lang printed tank

I am so into buckles right now, it hurts. That and crazy, geological-looking jewelry. I wonder if the straps on the mini go all the way around, or are just sewn on the front. I'd feel gypped if they were.

yoshitoshi

Twenty Eight Famous Murders With Verse, 1876

Okay, bear with me: this is a kind of gruesome image. BUT if you can get past the blood, there's almost something Dries about the combination of patterns and colors (including the red). Not quite, but almost.

white all over

Ohne Titel SS10, Txell Miras SS08, Ohne Titel SS09, ThreeASFOUR SS10

Spring-ier options for all-white looks. I love the layers and draping in the first three looks and the ultra-sharp tailoring in the look from ThreeASFOUR. The pants look like hypermodern jodhpurs. I have a mission, and it is to look like these pictures.

source: style, nymag

winter white, part I

Preen Fall 2008, Rue du Mail Fall 2009, ThreeASFOUR Fall 2009, Haider Ackermann Fall 2008

There's nothing fresher, to me, than an all-white outfit. As someone who wears all-black, the allure of crisp whites, and the textures they show (as we all know, a lot gets lost in black on black) is undeniable. I've been trying to wear more white all winter - which is somewhat easier in California, given that the weather really never drops far below 60. My main point of struggle is bottoms. I kind of hate white pants. They look so ... ugh gauche. They look like Vegas in the Summertime to me - worn with some kind of hot pink, sparkly halter top and spangly jewelry. Maybe the answer is in Rue du Mail's suggestion of light gray pants (which I could definitely get behind). I also lack a solid white coat. I have a cream cashmere blazer, but that would clash with all my other whites. I think mismatched whites would look almost worse than unmatched blacks (I struggle with this often). I have some white dresses, but I find them frighteningly transparent. I have to just keep trying, and stop buying black. (Oh no!)

source: style, nymag

vanitas

top: Vanitas, Aelbert Jansz van der Schoor
bottom: unknown

Vanitas: genre of painting popular in the 16th and 17th centuries; served as a memento mori to viewers. Reflection on the transience of life and the inevitability of decay was meant to be evoked through the obvious use of skulls but also in the inclusion of symbols like the hourglass, burning candle, fruit and flowers, meat, and other ephemeral items.

On a fashion note, I think the bottom painting could be turned into a lovely print to be used in lieu of spring florals.

source: Rijksmuseum, myspace

Bora Aksu's Fall collection is kind of... perfect. Delicate confections wrought in pastels, like elaborate sugar flowers. It's difficult to even describe the details of these dresses, the spidery overlay, the textured knits, the piping. I only wish I could find more detail shots.

Aminaka Wilmont, Fall 2010

Ugh these prints are good. Just look at the enlarged photo above (left), it looks like the formation of a gaseous planet or the mist rising off of some glacial pool. I wish I could get bigger pictures, see the fabric in even more detail, take the dress dancing. I really like the black satin at the left chest bit of the dress, it gives it some...stability?

source: nymag, coutorture