A Tribute to Chanel

 

Today's posting is one of sweet, sweet nostalgia. I know there isn't a girl out there who doesn't coo and get all doe eyed talking about Coco Chanel, but I really do have a soft spot for the tenacious and feisty spirit behind our obsessions with leather quilted shoulder bags and tweed bouclé suits.

I recently tried to rent a biographical movie starring Audrey Tatou called Coco before Chanel and ended up with the wrong version, which I never finished because I'm ADD and I just don't finish anything. I like to blame that quality on my Myers Briggs personality type, INFP. I tell people the acronym stands for "I Never Finish Projects" when they ask (they usually don't).

I did, however, finish a very cheeky and delightful Chanel book titled The Gospel According to Coco Chanel by Karen Karbo that I highly recommend. The book delves into her checkered past, which no one can ever be sure of because she was always coming up with new contradicting stories about her roots (the author refers to these tales as Chanelores).

It's not that she was particularly scandalous, it's just that she was raised in an orphanage where she was abandoned by her father. Being someone who hung out with high society Frenchmen like Pablo Picasso, that was about as defamatory as you could get. It was bad enough she started out as a lowly hat maker (seamstresses had no status back then, and even as a famous designer Chanel's celebrity clients would pretend not to see her as they passed her on the streets).

Aside from all her clever proverbs, which have now become clichés, such as

“A woman is closest to being naked when she is well dressed”

“Fashion is architecture: it is a matter of proportions.”

I would say the lessons I have enjoyed most from Ms. Chanel are that perseverance and personal conviction when combined are deadly and unstoppable, and that horse riding never ceases to impress men (seriously).

Straw Hat: Urban Outfitters
Pearls: Gift from Dubai
Dress: Little Moon by Wilfred
Heels: Aldo

Awesome Things I Can't Afford Saturdays

Last week I couldn't afford golden finger tips. This week I can't afford to be gripped by death. I could probably have scrimped and saved last week for my coveted item, but this week I really can't afford it. Not now. Not ever. It's $3,684 approximately. You don't even get to know what it will cost you exactly. Pricey shit is elusive like that. When you see it in magazines they don't even bother giving you the estimate, they just say "Dial blah blah blah to inquire". So what's the best thing about this magnificently creepy belt by jewels and accessory designer Delfina Delettrez? It's named after this guy. Yes, that's right. Skeletor.

Not The Grim Reaper, not even the long and slender Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas, but yellow skulled, muscular, and bright blue Skeletor. How in the hell does a couture piece get called Skeletor Belt? Would CoutureLab, the online luxury and lifestyle company who contracted Delettrez, accept a Eric Cartmen inspired tuque or Cobra Commander gloves? I thought the fashion community didn't have a sense of humor and that's why we praise Lady Gaga in best dressed lists instead of laughing at her really, really hard. Regardless of my confusion this belt is sexy and glamorous and I want to wear it on a date with He-Man to Castle Grayskull (just to make Skeletor jealous of course).

Oh, how I would love to have sterling silver fingers interlocking around my waist for once, instead of one of those pesky homo sapiens' flesh n' bones fingers. Sadly, I am just a new been-a-broke-student-all-my-life graduate and precious stones on my hips are just not what the future holds for me. If you can afford this belt you can find it at CoutureLab, oh and...I hate you.

Fashion Fun in my Backyard

 

Because I have received the best response so far from my previous streetstyle post, and I really want this blog to be successful, I am going to continue posting streetstyle pictures as regularly as possible.


Like a good West Coast girl I am wearing Wilfred pants and a bustier inspired Wilfred top. The majority of my clothing is black and from Aritzia if you hadn't guessed already. Throughout high school the dominant color in my wardrobe was pink. My how times have changed. It's simply more practical for me to buy neutral colors for versatility and work. As a result, I let my accessories have all the fun.

I'm still trying to figure out exactly what sort of niche I want for this blog, which is difficult after only posting for a week or so. From my site statistics I've noticed Canadians aren't nearly as interested in fashion as Americans or Europeans. Perhaps I should make my blog more decidedly Canadian and recruit more interest in what we have to offer? Any feedback and what you would like to see/read more of would be very appreciated.

Top & High Waist Pants: Wilfred
Shoes: Aldo
Scarf: Urban Outfitters
Sun Glasses: Adopted from a friend.

Fashionable Links

Bottega Veneta Fall 2010 RTW

Guys, make your next tie a red one. Study Shows Women Attracted to Men in Red (TechVert).
"What could be as alluring as a lady in red? A gentleman in red, finds a multicultural study published Aug. 2 in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General."

Post-slammer fashion advice for our favorite jail bird.Psst...Lindsay Lohan! We've Got A Wardrobe Makeover For The Whole New You! (Glamour).

My thinspiration Ms. Moss makin' me proud as always. Kate Moss Lands Her 30th Cover for British Vogue (NYMag).


Stacy London and Cindy McLaughlin

Perhaps my future agency for wardrobe styling? Stacy London to Launch Style for Hire Rent-a-Stylist Business (StyleList).
""I meet people all over the country who ask me, 'Where can I find someone like you without getting on national TV?' This company is my answer to them," London tells WWD."

Forever 21 wants you to shop after you finish bar hopping with your girlfriends and then maybe play some hide n' seek in their new four story Times Square Location.For Shoppers Who Never Drop (The Wall Street Journal)


Freedom Tower

Vogue, W, Vanity Fair, Allure and other prominent publications will be situated in New York City's soon to be tallest tower and previous World Trade Center grounds. Condé Nast to Move to Skyscraper at Ground Zero (NY Times)
“We will have the best-paid bankers and best-dressed editors across the street from each other,” Mr. Moss said. “What young ambitious person would not want to be downtown now?”

Perhaps I shouldn't feel so bad about the habitual ice cream snacking.Guess What Dress Size The Happiest Women Wear? (The Gloss)

Super Model Coco Rocha shares some of her newly wed bliss with us. PHOTOS: My Honeymoon In Corsica (Huffington Post).

Taylor Momsen and John Galliano Team up for Fragrance Launch

What do Taylor money-in-my-shoes Momsen and John Galliano have in common? They both like attention, and lots of it. So it should come as no surprise that Galliano has asked Momsen to be the face of his new perfume launching this fall. But of course anyone who knows anything about Momsen is...well...surprised. It just seems a bit questionable, no?

Momsen doesn't exactly have all the trappings of a model spokeswoman. First, she's going through that lovely I'm-repressed-because-I'm-a-young-female-and-now-I-must-senselessly-rebel stage of life that most 16 year old girls go through. In just the past couple of weeks Momsen and her band, The Pretty Reckless, released a music video for their latest single Miss Nothing, that features her squirming around in lingerie on a dinner table reminiscent of Jesus' last meal with the Twelve Apostles, The Last Supper.




Second, she has a penchant for poor wardrobe decisions and really has no business messing with couture icons. Like Lohan, Momsen also appears to have a pants allergy.




Lastly, perhaps Momsen’s biggest crime at the moment is being a potty mouth, but that's how it all starts doesn't it? First it's "I'm not dissing Miley personally. However...." then before you know it she's shaving her head and getting mug shots for her latest run in with the law.




But let's not jump the gun. According to the folks over at Galliano, Ms. Momsen can bring in the bucks and they're not the only ones who believe so. Momsen has also posed for British retailer New Look and Madonna and daughter Lourdes' teenage fashion line, Material Girl. Everyone always wants a piece of train-wreck pie. I’m sure adolescents fuming with teenage angst everywhere will be cutting into their cigarette funds to smell like Momsen. It's actually a brilliant business decision when you think of the lucrative market Galliano is targeting. Most perfumers are too busy targeting young adults, and older women leaving teenagers an untapped market. As long as Momsen doesn't get arrested before fall this just may be a great partnership for the perfume house.


R.I.P Little J

Meet Your Blogger and Her Bitches

 

 

 

 

I'm just a lowly noob and used my cheap digital camera so you'll have to excuse the blurriness.

These are only two of the seven dogs I live with. The Toy Poodle is named Chanel (which I had nothing to do with) and the Italian Greyhound is called Bonnie Blue (also didn't name that one). They are pleased to meet your acquaintance.

I don't plan on keeping a streetstyle blog, but today on whim I went and grabbed my camera and pooches. I may do this again on whim. We'll see...

This long sleeved black top I'm wearing is a delicate combination of micromodal and micronylon, which means it's very susceptible to tear and an annoyance to wash. You can't tell in these photos, but it's quite sheer and wicked fun to layer. I have a stretch skirt that goes all the way up to my bra line underneath this thing. Last time I wore a shirt of this fabric I tore 10 holes in it à la Kate Moss partying. Sad.

I'm also wearing that Essie nail polish I can't get enough of.

Lastly, I just joined Bloglovin and have no followers yet. I would be ever so happy if you would stalk me. Do so here.

Top & Skirt: Wilfred
Belt: American Apparel
Pumps: Ralph Lauren
Peacock Earrings: Charlotte Russe



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