the ebay

>> Argh me maties!!  Shiver me timbers, but have I got a golden treasure chest for ye lassies...  the John Galliano Pirate jacket (left) from his Fall/Winter 2001 collection.  It's easy to get your hands on one (cheap too!), but don't worry, there's a catch.  You have to make it yourself. 

I came across a great site today, showstudio.com, which  provides the pattern for the Pirate Jacket itself.  Personally, I like the Union Jack version that SHOWstudio made (right) much better than the runway version (Eep!  Did I just say that?  Sacrilege!  Burn her!).  I don't think I've seen a pattern I'd more like to make in all my days of looking through Butterick, Simplicity, and even Vogue pattern books.  I'm so tempted, to start on this... if only I wasn't leaving the country in three weeks.  The corset detailing (I'm such a sucker for corsets), the decontructed look, the flap on the front -- it's all to die for.  And I know that it's possible -- a couple of regulars on craftster.org recently pieced it all together.  And for those of you who are up for the task, they left behind some priceless instructions -- SHOWstudio may be great with the patterns, but they're horrible with the directions.  It's all there for the taking -- so Godspeed, ye landlubbers and wenches.

For those of you who would rather walk the plank than don anything by the Dread Pirate Galliano himself, as you wish -- SHOWstudio's design_download section has graciously provided you with a few other options -- an absolutely gorgeous kimono-inspired jacket (left) from Alexander McQueen's Fall/Winter 2003 collection, a cape from Yohji Yamamoto, and sometime in the near future they will be adding a pattern from Junya Watanabe's forthcoming Fall/Winter 2005 collection.      

>> Last month it was Citizens of Humanity...this month True Religion...what will be next?  Tsubi? Sass and Bide? Le Temps de Cerises?  All I know is that the age of designer denim has returned; an age in which people are willing to pay $200 and up for one pair of jeans, as long as they're the "right ones."  Yes, I'm talking about that pair that performs a butt lift and liposuction on your thighs, falls to just the right length at your ankles, is comfortable to wear, and even rolls over and plays dead if you ask it.  There's been so much hype, they're even making movies about magical pairs of jeans that fit four very different sized girls well.  It seems as of late that the perfect pair of jeans has become everyone's new Holy Grail -- I mean, even the "fashionistas" at Time Magazine have taken notice -- they recently wrote an article mocking people who pay bigtime for their jeans to have the bejeezus pounded, ground, scrubbed and ripped out of them.

I don't know about you, but I'm getting pretty damn tired of seeing A pockets every two seconds.  At least try out some Stitch's... or some Paige Premiums, people.  Or better yet,  go out on a limb.  Eliminate the jean-dependency that seems to be so prevalent, especially now that jeans becoming more and more acceptable in the workplace.  I'll be the first to admit that I'm just as guilty as you are at wearing jeans every other day, if not more often.  But think about it -- once you put on a pair of jeans, half your outfit is made.  That's why everyone likes them so much in the first place.  Not only that, but pretty much everything goes with jeans.  On the flip side, however, you're losing some of your creative potential -- it's almost lazy to put on a pair of jeans. You could be wearing a skirt or pants that are much more likely to make you stand out from the rest of the denim-wearing populace, but instead you (and I) go for the easy route...the security blanket.  No matter how much you pay for the jeans you're wearing, at first glance, all jeans look like...jeans.  So join me, doff those crazy expensive i-know-five-other-people-that-have-these-jeans, and try a few other looks on your bottom half.  Really, in the summer you don't have an excuse -- skirts are much cooler in the sun -- so use that as your crutch, if need be.  This isn't the '80s, and Brooke Shields isn't a hot young Calvin Klein model -- so you don't have to listen to her any more -- it's okay to let something come between you and your jeans.

If you simply can't wean yourself off your denimy fetish, at least join the "Jeans of the Month" club at grettastyle.com and keep up with the Joneses.  The president of the club, Gretchen Monahan, tries to "look for under the radar styles, sleeper styles."  That way, at least, you won't be like the rest of mankind.   

** sources: international herald tribune, ny times, msn money

>> Newsflash!  For those of you who were interested, the koshi illustrated bags are now available.  They run from $145 for the small shoulder bag to $375 for the large satchels.  Honestly, I'm kinda disappointed with the new selection -- I really liked some of the older ones, but I didn't really see anything that I absolutely had to have in this batch.  And I feel like they're slightly overpriced for what you're getting, especially since she buys the bags to draw on from Fossil or elsewhere. But check them out for yourself...see what you think!

>> Psst.  Come closer.  I have a secret to tell you about   Houston.  Everyone will tell you to go shopping at the Galleria, which is fine and dandy if you want the big dogs like Chanel, Dior, and YSL, but the real bargain deals are on Harwin Drive between Fondren and Gessner, an area known as "Bargain Mile" or to people like me, just plain "Harwin." I'm not gonna lie...you will have to dig through tons of what looks  like cheap knockoffs of the Paris Hilton Collection -- we're talking grotesquely tacky here -- but if you have a discerning eye, you will find the good stuff, trust me on this one. 

And for you label whores out there, don't you worry your pretty little faces -- there's plenty of designer handbag knockoffs to satiate your every desire, you just have to ask.  The ones out on display are not very good, but if you ask the shopowner, they'll usually point you in the right direction.  They're just wary and like to gage interest first, since they do occasionally get raided for selling designer knock-offs.  And just in case you were wondering, I don't approve of the whole knock-off thing, but to each his own. 

In any case, the store I suggest starting at is called "Unnecessary Objects," I believe -- it's on the north side of Harwin Drive.  They have some of the best selection for the best prices -- I found some bamboo bangles there for only $1 apiece and a pair of big green sunglasses at the top left for $4.99, for example.  All the pictures throughout this post are items I bought yesterday, so you can see the good stuff that is out there to be found.  I think I spent ~$60 total for about 20 different things, none of them over $5.  Not too bad for such cute stuff.  And with that, I recant (somewhat) -- while normally I would say, "Houston, I have a problem (with you)," I have found that even here, deep in the heart of Texas and all that other good stuff, there are treasures waiting to be found.   

>>  Don't worry, you ninnies, we're not here to talk about Dita Von Teese, burlesque artist and fiancee to Marilyn Manson, even though Harpers & Queen magazine did name her as the #2 best dressed woman in the world in their May 2005 issue.  I just felt like playing off of her name.  But let's get down to the good stuff. 

Summer is finally here with Memorial Day weekend just behind us, and I bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow there'll be sun.  So what am I saying here, Annie?  It is serious sunglasses season.  Eek, but I don't have any sunglasses worthy of wearing -- what to do?  Fortunately, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, who must know something, since John Galliano looked to them to inspire his fall collection at Dior, have provided us with the perfect answer -- Dita sunglasses.  These vintage-inspired frames are a big hit with MKA (surprise, surprise), and they go along with the huge sunglasses trend that has been ubiquitous as of late.  My personal favorite style is the Supa Dupa (left), because if you're gonna go big, you might as well just go all the way.  It's backordered until late June at 80spurple.com, available for $165.  Other styles, like the bestselling Isola ($150), are available at disrespectacles.com. 

For those of you who like the vintage-inspired sunglasses look, but aren't so ready to splurge, fret not.  80spurple.com has a great selection of vintage-inspired sunglasses, each for $22 -- so you can still have bug eyes if you want them. I'm a sucker for the 60's Vintage Inspired Sunglasses (right).      

**sources: of the minute, askmen.com

>> So I've never been a Marc Jacobs fan.  But see what you think of the man himself after reading this interview from Butt magazine:

That National Geographic collection that you did for Louis Vuitton men’s wear this summer, was that your intuition? I love that collection.
MJ:  Yeah, me too. You know I’m very happy with the team that does men’s wear for us, with Keith, and with Olivier and Willy and Peter. I sometimes wish I were more involved. but men’s wear is not something I’m really good at. In fact, men’s fashion frightens me. I really find men who are fashionably dressed terribly unsexy. I think fashion is something for women. It’s a terribly sexist thing to say, but I just don’t find fashionably dressed men attractive, and men who take too much time in the bathroom and spend too much time on their body, I find a bit poncy and silly. It just doesn’t turn me on. So I let it go to the people who find it a turn-on and who are really passionate about it.
It’s weird to have your name put on the collections they make, isn’t it?
MJ:  It is. I feel a certain amount of shame. I feel a bit fraudulent in saying that I’ve been doing this men’s wear collection when I haven’t had daily involvement in it. Although I can say very honestly I don’t do every part of the women’s collection, I am involved in every aspect of the women’s collection. But with the men’s, it’s a bit different. I feel like a bit of a fraud, and that’s what’s tough for me. I don’t know what other designers feel, but I just don’t like to pretend that I’m something that I’m not. I’m not superman and I don’t do everything.

So maybe I'm biased, but after reading that I just lost a lot of respect for the great American designer that is MJ.  You feel slightly "fraudulent," MJ?  Obviously you don't feel too poorly about taking credit for another's work.  That's what most of us call "cheating" or "plagiarism."  Now that's just wrong.  I mean, it's one thing to lead your design team and have input like all the other designers do, but just leaving the whole line to your team of unknowns, and then stamping your name on the final product is another thing on its own.  And why the heck are you dabbling in something you're not even passionate about?  Stick to what you know and love -- there's a reason Manolo isn't commissioned by the army to do combat boots.  

And then I came across a recent interview with Phoebe Philo, creative director of Chloe, in The Observer.  The girl just puts MJ to shame. 

Ms. Philo gave birth last December, and had been on maternity leave.  Her team was left with the task of designing Chloe's Fall/Winter 2005 collection, which was "bursting with the label's hot sellers: billowing bodice-front dresses, neat little jackets and military inspired coats," according to The Observer.  Come March, when Chloe's line debuted on the Paris runway, Ms. Philo took a front-row seat to watch the show and let her design team take the bow and applause.  When asked about her decision to temporarily take the back seat, she replied:

I did not feel like bullshitting, to be honest.  It was not my work and I was not going to walk out at the end.  I wanted to do it, it felt right, and part of that was me saying it is OK to be a mum and take time off. It's normal.

I hate to be biased, but I just laid it out for you to make your own decision.  Right now, I'm really leaning towards the cool Ms. Philo.  I like her designs better anyway.  But for all you MJ fans out there (and I know there's a lot of you) that I just royally vexed, I leave you with an MJ quote from the same interview that I can actually respect:

...I don't believe in fashion dictatorship, and I find that anybody who follows the dictates of fashion is a bit lost.  I'm excited by style, not so much by fashion. 

I like this one too:

I don't really find clothes terribly sexy...I find people sexy.  Clothes to me aren't sexy.  Like, a dress isn't sexy.  Maybe the girl who wears it is sexy.

See?  I appreciate MJ, too....sometimes...

>> Dear Filip Arickx and An Vandevorst... or should I say A.F. Vandevorst,

You have created a monster.  And by a monster, I mean a necklace that looks like its about to eat the model.  I'm surprised that she can even hold that thing up, being it's so heavy, and she's so light.  What would Wilma Flintstone  have to say about all of this?  I mean, it's one thing that you steal her tattered white dress and her big honkin' necklace, but did you have to go and make her best friend Betty's dress into a jacket?  Come on, guys, that's just down right cold.  Not to mention the lack of originality -- it's pretty bad when you have to steal style ideas from a couple of stone-age cartoons.  Think modern times, guys, that means in the now.  Not when people's foreheads jutted out like cliffs.  Guess we'll just have to wait all the way until Spring/Summer 2006 to see if you can do it.

I'll be waiting (not),

fashionologie

Dear Nina Neretina and Donis Pouppis (aka Nina Donis),

I must comment on the quality of your products.  You let this necklace be sold to this poor, naive woman, when clearly it is flawed.  But I'm being too nice.  Flawed doesn't even begin to describe the problem we have here.  I mean, Jesus in a jumpsuit, the thing has a tumor growing on it!  You gotta take care of these things, guys, tumors don't just disappear if you close your eyes and wish them away.  This calls for some serious surgery and follow-up chemotherapy.  Stat!  We can't have your so-called creations exploding festering pus all over their wearers!  So call 911!  Or at least call this woman and inform her that she has some serious fashion victim potential.  I mean, chunky necklaces are good, but bigger is not better.  No way, no how.  And coming from a Texan, that's saying a lot.

Yee haw,

fashionologie

**sources: kto-V-chem.ru, grudge-match.com

>> A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... (Sorry guys, couldn't resist, I just saw the final Star Wars last night.  And yes, you're free to call me a big dork if you want to.  I'm okay with that.  It's been accepted and I've moved on.) I was reading the March 2005 edition of Nylon... a magazine I adore (and you should too), and I came upon a wonderful photo editorial.  Not only was Miss Valerie Avdeyera (the model) wearing the droolworthy 40's-style ivory corset belt and dotted skirt from the Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche Spring/Summer 2005 collection, but also the most adorable little hand-knotted nylon wrist gloves, as well.  Which have stolen my heart (for the day at least, or until something equally glamorous comes along).  They're very feminine, consummate 40's, and yet something about them is very time-transcending.  Perfect for adding a little bombshell bang to your outfit.  Oh, did I mention that their maker, La Crasia, sells these lovelies for $8 a pair, and they come in three lovely colors  (black, white, ivory)? 

While I'm gushing, I might as well continue... Miss Avdeyera also wears teal crochet driving gloves by Miss Dater, which are slightly more expensive at $48 a pair, but well worth it for all you leather-coveting ladies out there.  Unfortunately, it looks like the teal is no longer available, which trust me, I'm just as disappointed as the next girl -- teal/turquoise/blue-green is my favorite color.  But there's still some other great options available.  So pay homage to Jean Harlow, Marlene Dietrich, all those old bags... and get some compliments, too.

So yeah.  Couple of side notes -- if you prefer the fingerless glove look like I sometimes do, La Crasia has a couple of great options.  And as La Crasia doesn't have a shopping cart set up on their site, purchasing information can be found here.

>> "Get koshi : be unique" is her slogan of choice.  And I can't say that it's not true.  koshi began in 2003 with the release of a paper zine, "koshi is... too cool for school."  But the greatness didn't start until 2004, when koshi creator and fashion illustrator Joanna DeVoe launched her line of fabulous one-of-a-kind hand-illustrated bags.  Maybe it's the thought of a custom-designed bag, or just the fun cartoonish drawings that cover it -- all I know is that I am absolutely and utterly smitten.  Joanna herself informed me that she typically sells  the bags before they can even make it to the web, but she has a new batch for iluvkoshi.com that will be going up this week.  Or you could always commission your own bag ($100 and up based on size of the pre-bought leather or denim bag) -- I'm sure she would be happy to oblige you.

You can contact Joanna at iluvkoshi@yahoo.com, and more examples of bags that have already been sold are here.

>> Mon dieu!  Alber Elbaz has been doing wonderful things at Lanvin -- the Spring/Summer 2005 collection alone has outfitted the likes of Nicole Kidman, Diane Kruger, and Natalie Portman (looks worn by each to the left, respectively).  And Lanvin's booming popularity doesn't just stop at the dresses -- his accessories are just as coveted.  The tulle-swathed pearls that everyone wanted back in 2004, anyone?  Don't worry if you didn't get yours last time around -- the pearls are back with a vengeance for Fall 2005, this time more sumptuously decorated and wrapped in orange or black velvet ribbon.

While pearls are all good and well, the Lanvin Fall 2005 runway accessory that I really wanted to spotlight is the headband.  Nearly every model wore one, and coming after a flurry of headbands on the Spring/Summer 2005 runways, I wouldn't be surprised to see them popping up on heads everywhere.  Whether that is the case or not so much, it's still a great look -- so inexpensive and streamlined.  Go with a simple wide black band, or add a brooch left over from last  season for a sleek look.  Or fold a scarf and tie it behind your head, for an Anna Sui/hippy-inspired version (right).  If you prefer classic Chanel, braid three strips of cloth and then tie those back (left).  Whichever you prefer, try it, even if you haven't worn a hairband since the second grade.  If Mr. Elbaz knows one thing, it's what looks good.   

**sources: style.com