longwave – secrets are sinister.

the album came out in 2008, but i just ordered mine.

longwave – “sirens in the deep sea“, from their “secrets are sinister” album.

 

alexander wang v. acne.

all the [fashion] blogs are getting weak knees over a new shirt/blouse by acne, as well as other sorts of DIY shirt shoulder do-away-with-ing. ..

personally, i feel my initial excitement was given to alexander wang‘s version… in spring 2009.

harumph.

acne shirt worn by caroline of "carolines mode".

alexander wang spring/summer 2009.

*first image property of  carolinesmode.com; final image property of style.com.

i need a whiskey…

…colored leather jacket.

gucci resort 2010.

alexander wang jacket with train; unknown editorial.

balenciaga jacket; photo by caroline blomst.

salvatore ferragamo crocodile leather jacket - $10,000.00 retail; currently on e-bay for $2,000.00

*photos property of gucci, an unknown source, caroline.feber.se, and anonymous e-bay seller;  respectively.

a tiki island christmas.

finally… new photos!

will threw a “day-after-christmas“ potluck in tiki island, galveston. old friends, new friends, good food, cinnamon sticks, apple cider, the customary accidentally broken glass (mazel tov!)…all the right ingredients for a successful night. “a tiki island christmas” is up on Flickr!

"christmas season seasonings".

*photo property of g.cheng & imunlisted.wordpress.com.

dark winter days.

what is it about winter?

maybe it’s just me, but ever since the weather turned truly “wintry“, i’ve found myself wearing and buying a lot of black and other darkish accessories.

i recently bought a sterling skull ring and vintage celtic sterling armor ring. according to the seller of the latter, she’d bought it herself in scotland 10 years ago – while the mysterious past that accompanies most vintage items accounts for much of their charm, to know the history of one is just as charming. i also happened upon a pair of cut-out black suede lace-up wedges by deena & ozzy.

sterling skull ring & vintage celtic sterling armor ring.

deena & ozzy black suede wedge.

a few days ago, mandy and i were at the houston galleria, where we found ourselves ogling a girl’s accessories in neiman marcus – mandy had her eye on the girl’s black yves saint laurent “y” tote, and i was entranced by (and very jealous of) her asymetrically cut, distressed leather jacket. it reminded me immediately of rick owens‘ leather jacket from this f/w 2009 season. it retails for around $3,300.00 USD; the one pictured below [which is not mine] is currently for sale on ebay for $1,999.00 USD.

rick owens f/w 2009 leather jacket.

*center photo property of g.cheng & imunlisted.wordpress.com; all other photos property of their respective sellers.

i’m loving…

hermes fall/winter 2009.

jil sander fall/winter 2009.

3.1 phillip lim fall/winter 2009.

celine spring/summer 2010.

*images courtesy of style.com

better late than never.

i just e-browsed dior homme fall/winter 2009.

the spring/summer 2009 collection is already out, but since i’m a fan of the simple and have a special place in my heart for blacks, whites, and grays, i must admit i tend to prefer fall/winter collections. also, i absolutely fell prey to men-shoe-envy (which…despite my closet being equally full of loafers and teetering heels, happens a lot…) when i saw the black leather lace-ups with the white detail. *squeal* it reminds me a lot of proenza schouler‘s yellow-piped ankle boot…which i also want. in fact, ever since i was in middle school, if a shoe i wanted or needed came in boy’s or men’s, i would buy the male version; girl shoes always seemed to come in blech shades like pink, red, lavender, or baby blue, when boys got the (literally) cool colors, like navy, black, hunter green, gray, silver, maybe the occasional splash of yellow, or dream scenario – all white. i can’t be the only one that wipes my white shoes down when i get home, could i? …er…rhetorical question. below, a few of my favorites:

dior homme fall/winter 2009: 1-3 of 8.

dior homme fall/winter 2009: 4-6 of 8.

dior homme fall/winter 2009: 7-8 of 8.

dior homme vs. proenza schouler.

*[menswear] images courtesy of gq.com.

ute ploier.

i’m adding a new menswear line to my favorites list.

first brought to my attention via modeman, i thumbed through the past collections and discovered i liked most of this eponymous line. restrained, modern, with a clear, detailed, and forward-thinking hand at work. ute ploier presented its first collection in the fall of 2005, and is designed by its austrian namesake, a woman with great aesthetic taste. ploier was a student of well-known belgian industrial/fashion designer raf simmons at the University of Applied Arts of Vienna, and launched her label after she won first prize for “best men’s collection” at Hyeres [french fashion festival]. to be honest, i was surprised to find that the gepetto of this line was a woman; pleasantly surprised, that is.

here are four of my favorite looks from fall/winter 2009:

ute ploier fall/winter 2009: 1 & 2 of 4.

ute ploier fall/winter 2009: 3 & 4 of 4.

here are some personal past favorites:

ute ploier fall/winter 2008: "3D: Military"

ute ploier fall/winter 2008: "3D: Classic"

*images property of uteploier.com.

heart of darkness.

just a few of the things i’m coveting for fall.

1. helmut lang “anaconda” leather jacket – $1450.00

2. rag & bone “kato” wool jacket – $415.00

3. acne “smith” raw edge leather jacket – $869.00

4. R13 distressed leather jacket – $1599.00

5. alexander wang leather & velvet jacket – $1325.00

6. f-troupe perforated suede & patent paneled leather oxfords – $165.00

i’ve categorized this under both men’s & women’s fashion because some of these items have identical mates for the opposite gender, or can be either worn by or serve as inpiration for men as well. (unfortunately, la garconne does not stock menswear.)

…and for those of you who thought the title for this post was cheesy, i’ll have you know it’s actually in reference to joseph conrad‘s 1899 novel of the same name. excellent read; get on it.

all images courtesty of & items available at online boutique la garconne.

meet charlie banks.

such a nice fellow.

i rented “the education of charlie banks“, and mandy came over to watch it with me. yes, this film is directed by fred durst, and yes, it was excellent. a drama with a coming-of-age storyline, it touches on love, fear, violence, understanding and realization, class differences, and also offers deeper reflections in regards to education, and how, if it can, effect change in someone. this film also has a great cast – many will and should recognize jesse eisenberg (the squid and the whale, adventureland), jason ritter (swimfan, w.; son of the late john ritter, of popular 70’s tv sitcom “three’s company” and the more recent “8 rules for dating my teenage daughter”), eva amurri (saved!; daughter of susan sarandon), christopher marquette (the girl next door, the invisible) and sebastian stan (the covenant, rachel getting married). the reviews i read were from opposite ends of the spectrum – ranging wildly from as little as 0 to as much as 5 stars. i think it is largely due to the mass amount of lofty literary references, which, understandably, most wouldn’t catch: the characters are ivy leaguers who banter about schumpeter‘s “theory of creative destruction”, the musings of french philosopher jacques derrida, political theorist hannah arendt, make references to raskolnikov, fyodor dostoyevsky‘s protagonist in “crime & punishment“, musician nick lowe, and consider calling someone “antigone” a commonplace insult …and all to a great soundtrack. once again, highly recommended, if this genre and subject matter is your sort of thing.

*image property of anchor bay entertainment.