Ick

Hard not to feel a little upset by this picture, taken in Bangalore. Maids are seen in front of a Louis Vuitton ad, hanging callously in a city (and country) racked by poverty. Almost as crass as the Louis-clad elephant from the Keira in Africa Vogue layout.
NYT

Le weekend

I'm off to San Francisco for Memorial Day weekend. I hope to be swept off my feet by a reincarnation of Jimmy Stewart under the Golden Gate Bridge while wearing a beautiful creation by Edith Head.

xo,
Ailsa

Geishas for Obama

A woman dressed as a maiko (apprentice geisha) walks down a street wearing Democratic Party candidate Barack Obama campaign buttons in Kyoto, Japan May 20, 2008. - Reuters

Necessity Is The Mother of Alteration

I mentioned a few posts ago that I had taken scissors to some old dresses. Here's one of the products of that experiment. Basically, I've collected about a dozen cheap dresses from various charity shops. Most of them are circa 1985 and fairly unflattering (mid-shin length... shudder). Because I'm going to be in hot, hot places all summer, I knew I'd be wanting some summer dresses. But because I'm pinching pennies for the actual traveling, I don't consider buying more clothing an option.

This dress was actually from my grandmother's rag bag (she's an avid quilter and collects tons of old clothing to harvest). I salvaged it and then forgot about it.

I chopped about 16 inches off of it, left it unhemmed, and sinched it with an old Army Surplus belt. I wore it with some gladiator sandals today and my roommate said that all I needed to complete the outfit was a trident.

The crazy people on the bus seemed to like it. So did the greasy pervert who asked me if I'd like to keep him company. If I'd taken my roommate's advice and carried a trident, I would've impaled him, in true gladiator form.
I have four more altered dresses, so I'll try to post pictures when I can get around to it.

In the mean time, I recommend taking scissors to any boring old dresses you may have collecting dust in your closet. Reuse and Recycle!

Forward Thinking Fashion

Only in Europe. The U.S. is too regressive to catch onto something so progressive as teaching inmates skills and trades to reincorporate them back into society as contributors.

"A model displays a creation during a fashion show in San Vittore prison in Milan, May 14, 2008. A group of fashion designers have created a local cooperative called 'Sartoria San Vittore' to help prisoners learn job skills. Female inmates have learned tailoring skills from cooperative members and have made costumes for theatre and television." - Reuters

Pretty Pictures

I wrote a few weeks ago about my delightful afternoon with La Femme. She has posted a lovely pictorial of her trip to the Pacific Northwest. Check out the adorable seals, killer Burberry platforms, graffiti art and fluffy pink blossoms.

Rant Rant Rant

Once upon a time I scribbled out a rant that, as it grew, morphed into an "I Hate Generic" manifesto. Then this blog was born. It was created as a forum for blowing off steam. Over the last (almost) two years, it has become many other things.

But forgive me while I return to my roots.

I've been in a frenzy trying to complete my final projects before graduation, while simultaneously trying to pack up my life (I'm moving out of my place the same day I graduate and also the same day I fly off into the wild blue yonder for two months).

I had a brief window of opportunity this evening to run out and buy a pair of sandals for my summer travels. I did some research online to figure out what I wanted so I wouldn't end up wasting more time and energy than necessary.

What I want (in a nutshell): good quality sandals that will survive ambulating around Mexico City and through Mayan ruins and then all around Manhattan. Not so difficult, right?

I despise the mall with my entire being and in the last three years I have only gone three times (three times too many). I found some shoes online at Nordstrom that looked promising, so despite my mall-phobia, I huffed it to Nordstrom with my very specific mission.

I detest the snobbery of Nordstrom. It's not like it's Neiman Marcus or Saks or Harrod's, but for some reason it has a superiority complex.

I went wearing exactly what I'd been wearing all day: cut-off shorts, my grandfather's old flannel shirt, and a pair of flip flops. I walked straight to the sandals I had seen online. I saw two preening salesmen fops glance at me and curl their lips in disgust. Ignoring them, I picked up the shoe, and to my dismay, it was a flimsy piece of crap. The sole was a piece of stiff plastic and looked like it would snap after two steps. The straps had shoddy stitching that was already sprouting in places.

I walked over to one of the fops and said, "Hi, I'm just wondering if you have a similar sandal in another brand."

"Hmm... uh..." (eyeballing me up and down) "noooooo."

"Okay, do you know if another Nordstrom might? I'm just looking for a better quality shoe," I said.

He smiled condescendingly at me, his nostrils flaring slightly, and said, "Are you looking for a specific designer?"

"No, I just want a shoe that's not unraveling already," I said, involutarily aping his facial contortion.

He stared at me coldly without responding, his arms crossed impudently across his chest. Silence.

"Is that a no?" I asked.

"Mmmhmm," he purred.

Right. Here's the thing. I'm not a cheapskate, but I'm thrifty (I just converted four winter dresses into sundresses so I wouldn't have to buy summer clothes). I like quality, but I'm not a label snob. I'm anti-recreational shopping and firmly believe in only buying items that last, thereby avoiding falling prey to the culture of obsolescence.

But wow. I'm kind of stunned by the whole mall experience. That place is soulless, full of stale air, heavy with migraine-inducing (well, poisonous) fragrances. It was full of chintzy, ludicrously overpriced crap that is designed to only last one season. According to multiple sources who study consumerism, 99% of all purchases in the United States are trashed within six months.

What is wrong with people? I'm really not trying to wax philosophical or get all Don DeLillo White Noise or something, but the whole picture is just dismal. People go and shell out hard earned dollars for trash. Literal trash. And the buying experience is trash too. There's no joy in it and it makes me feel filthy.

Anyway. That's my rant. I still don't have sandals. Can anyone empathize?

Fashionation

Coming soon from The Cool Hunter: Fashionation

If Money Grew On Trees...

...I'd climb trees in these shoes.

Balenciaga
Burberry
Source

Shoes I Don't Understand

If I wore these I'd feel like an elephant wearing fur anklets.
Calvin Klein/Source

summertime

After seeing this beautiful woman on The Sartorialist, I'm inspired to finally get out my summer clothes.

Old School Coiffures

The Face Hunter snapped this photo in Moscow and I couldn't help but be reminded of the eternal and international influence of Vidal Sassoon.

Steve & Barry's

The Times has an article on ultra-cheap clothing chain Steve & Barry's. I've never been to one because, well, there isn't one near me and I was worried about the whole sweatshop thing. (Apparently they don't use sweatshops? Is this possible? I'm not convinced).

Anyway, I'm curious to know if anyone has shopped Steve & Barry's and is willing to review the quality of the clothes?

xo

un après-midi avec La Femme

I spent yesterday afternoon with La Femme and we had a lovely (if taxing) walk around Seattle, capped off with lemondrop cocktails (we couldn't find mojitos).

Before La Femme went to India last winter, she asked me if I wanted a souvenir. I asked her to bring me back something red and gold (my favorite combination). She brought me back a whole bag full of beautiful red and gold items, including pillowcases, bangles, earrings, a table runner and a sari.
I'm spending six weeks traveling in Mexico this summer, so I've promised to bring her back a whole bag full of Mexican loot as a thank you.

On another note, sorry for the lack of blogging. I'm getting ready to graduate in June, but I'm also going to be traveling quite a bit in the coming months.

Here's my schedule:

May: San Francisco, Santa Cruz, San Jose
June: New York City, Mexico City, Cuernavaca, Acapulco
July: New York City, New Jersey, Connecticut

I hope to blog about my travels, so check in periodically.

Much Love,
A

Checkers

Gustave Doré looks fantastic with his variously checkered raiments.

How To: Gold Accessories

"Kashmiri Muslim women prayed outside the shrine of Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani, a Sufi saint, during the saint's yearly commemoration, in Srinagar, India." - New York Times

Quote of the Day

It's been awhile since I posted on Lou Doillon, but because she was recently in the New York Times, I'll post my favorite quote from the interview.

"What attracts me is something broken, something a bit off. I never comb my hair or make anything pretty. When people look too beautiful, it's too easy. I know I'm dressed wrong if the businessman turns his head. But I like to think that after an hour of sitting next to me on the train, he'd look. I'd have grown on him... Someone suggested I design men's wear. I should. I have such trouble dressing up as a girl."

Frolicking Belarussian Child Models

Ekaterina Atrakhimovich's show in Minsk. The creation on the right looks a little Sesame Street-ish, no?
Reuters

Burberry Afghan

That is to say, an Afghan wearing Burberry...
Reuters

Vivid Nepalese Textiles

Women in Nepal line up to vote. When I went to the polls last month for the primary, I can assure you the line looked much more bleak.
NYT

Sudanese Sartorialism

My friend is working for an NGO in Sudan, where he took this picture. I'm totally fascinated by this woman's dress, but I can't figure out what the picture on it could possibly mean. Any ideas?

Happy 100th Birthday, Bette Davis

A Nomad in Jammu

This woman is a nomad near Jammu. I feel I've seen this look on innumerable hipsters.
Reuters

Should Annie Leibovitz Be Taken To Task?

I know I posted on this a few days ago, but I'm still kind of stunned by it. It would take a great stretch of the imagination to believe that brilliant photographer Annie Leibovitz's could produce such an offensive photo in a strange fluke.

People had been comparing the cover to King Kong, but look at it next to this old racist propaganda. Look at the savage brutalizing the lily-white damsel. "Destroy This Mad Brute"?? My God, Leibovitz. I want an explanation.

Source