Take It to the Street

I spend at least hour a day looking at online photos of complete strangers. I know, major creeper activity. But I freaking love my street style Web sites.

Photographing stylish pedestrians is nothing new-- fashionable New Yorkers have been gracing the Style section of the Sunday New York Times for over a decade. But after the Sartorialist, imitators were suddenly, and literally, everywhere. To see the clothes horses tromping around Helsinki, you have Hel Looks; for London, London Street Fashion; Berlin, Stil in Berlin; Prague, Made on Street; Tokyo, Tokyo Street Style, and the list of cities and sites goes on. Google, and you shall receive.

And now, the Sartorial middleman is cut out with the proliferation of online communities where users post photos of their daily outfits. Big names in the game are: Lookbook.nu, Chictopia and What I Wore Today. Here, photos are more camerawhore than candid, yet come off much more personal-- instead of an anonymous fashionista standing on a Milanese street corner, you have Karolina F. from Poland or Wen L. from Guangzhou. You have a face and a name, explanations of where they wore the outfit to, the pretentious indie song lyrics they use as post titles, their apologies for "looking like poo-- i have the flu :( :( ."

So go on now-- Open a new browser window to begin your world adventure, and start clicking away. But remember: There's no place like home.

Music Video of the Week

Kate Bush - Running up that Hill

Garçons, s’il vous plaît…

Finally, the time has come: Comme des Garçons Limited Edition collection for H&M debuts this Thursday. Comme founder Rei Kawakubo promises that the line is "very much Comme des Garçons to its roots." Thus, we can expect a black, white and navy palette, sleek silhouettes, and avant-guarde elegance. "Comme des Garçons" translates to "like the boys," which explains the brand's embrace of the androgynous. The Japanese couture staple usually retails in the thousands, but the Comme pieces for H&M will range from $14.99-350.00. 

If the success of H&M's collaborations with Lagerfeld, Cavalli, and Victor & Rolf are any indication of the demand, you better be reading this post from your tent in front of H&M.

Music Video of the Week

Grace Jones - "La Vie En Rose"

Speaking of Fasion Penis -

Remember when everyone used to be obsessed with Johnny Depp, before he got kind of old and reclusive and started dressing exclusively like his character in Secret Window? Well, I haven't forgotten him. And if we're going to start talking about internet crushes, it's time to break out some of those dreamydreamydreamy pictures of Johnny, the heartthrob of my teenage years.

"La Lettre"

Michel Gondry, a French film director (most famously noted for his work in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind as well as Bjork's music videos), exemplifies the fine line between mysticism and realism; he unleashes the tension between what exists concretely and what exists imaginatively. Through visual and musical media, in his emblematic manipulation of our visual frames of reference, Gondry's work is a tribute to an inexorably childlike perspective, a lens of innocence and boundless creativity.

In one of my most recent youtube tangents, I stumbled upon this short film he made called "La Lettre"... A meditation on weightier ideas like space and time and the role of an artist as well as simpler notions like childlike naivete and the inevitable disappointment therein. I believe these ideas are relevant to all forms of expression, including especially the realm of fashion.

Designers today--Erin Featherston's Spring 2009 collection, for example--are constantly inspired by the act of collapsing the binary between a more dream-like fantasy world and things more practical. Just like Gondry.

Only ten minutes long! Watch it! Ponder and enjoy!

-Kate

First Lady, Glamor Icon?

After eight years of Laura Bush's conservative -- some might say dour -- style as First Lady, the US is setting itself up for a turn toward a sophisticated style set by either Cindy McCain or Michelle Obama. Either way this country shows stylistic promise, although the two have distinctly different takes on the trends, McCain with a nod to high-end couture characterized by a conservative look punctuated with bright colors, while Obama offers a more forward, experimental look. Think McCain = Oscar de la Renta, and Obama = Maria Pinto (a Chicago designer whose work pushes the limits while maintaining a clearly Midwestern sensibility). The poised, refined image these women exude will clearly become a part of the next administration's public image, but both have also shown that they aren't merely interested in taking the sideline role that Laura Bush assumed, a powerful message about the state of women in the realm of American politics. Regardless of the outcome on Tuesday, America is set to have a new glamor icon in office for the next four years.