everything I cannot see

photo by guy bourdin

'tis the season for a hooded turtleneck....

architecture meets fashion

photos by richard avedon, 1998

turtlenecks for the future...intellectually designed by hussein chalayan.

volume and form

photo by steven meisel

signature architectural dresses and coats designed by hussein chalayan...looks complicated, yet surprisingly easy to wear.

charlotte avec beck(s)

photo by jean-baptiste mondino

'and these songs that I sing do they mean anything to the people I'm singing them to people like you'....c.g. (5:55) indeed, they do....it has been 4 years and the day has finally come for charlotte gainsbourg's new album IRM, produced and composed by beck....there is such a sultry style to this record from the sound to the unique album photography.

more charlotte...

'she has a quality, a charisma that's unique....she reeks from neurosis'-woody allen




stardust memories (1980)

charlotte rampling has always been the ultimate dark beauty...combining sexy with existential.

etsy revisited

i have reopened my etsy site. if anyone is interested in buying some art please stop by, even if its just for a browse. http://www.etsy.com/shop/ehbf

take a bow

photo by andrew macpherson

today is our 1 year blogging anniversary...to mark the occasion we celebrate with one of our favorite 90's supermodels meghan douglas in a classic vivienne westwood bow-shaped dress.

bow legged

totally not my style....but makes me think of a modern day version of marie antoinette.

shoes on film

marie antoinette (2006)

its all the little details...like an exquisite pair of shoes that make sofia coppola's marie antoinette.....

a single man

we saw, and we loved. so much style in every aspect.

crimson and clover

how lovely is this sweater photographed by garance dore? not something i would usually pair together, but i love the deep red, and chocolate brown combination. so sumptuous together.

mirror mirror on the wall

photo by gunther, 1966

the two faces of actress natalie wood...there's something so alluring about an actress applying make-up. this photo got me thinking about mirrors and how they can be almost like a daily, religious ritual, especially for women....this particular poem comes to mind:

Mirror I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions. Whatever I see I swallow immediately Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike. I am not cruel, only truthful- The eye of the little god, four cornered. Most of the time I meditate on the opposite wall. It is pink, with speckles. I have looked at it so long I think it is a part of my heart. But it flickers. Faces and darkness separate us over and over. Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me, Searching my reaches for what she really is. Then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon. I see her back, and reflect it faithfully. She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands. I am important to her. She comes and goes. Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness. In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish. -sylvia plath 1961

here kitty

will cat eyes ever go out style? not in my world

head-wrap

perhaps, I read too much national geographic, but I love the look of a turban with the perfect outfit...there's is something so fashionable and sleek about a headdress.

kandahar

photos from the makhmalbaf film house

kandahar (2001) is a film of importance and beauty.... directed by iranian director mohsen makhmalbaf, it is set in afghanistan during the rule of the taliban. The film is based on a story that is partly true and partly fictionalized of an afghan-canadian journalist named nafas who returns to afghanistan after receiving a letter from her sister, who was left behind when the family escaped. in the letter, she learns that her sister plans on committing suicide on the last solar eclipse of the millennium. as nafas takes a journey through afghanistan, to find her sister, she soon gets a clear and disturbing portrait of the the taliban regime and the effects it has taken upon its people. a very serious film, but style everywhere...some memorable moments include the colored burqas, the floating prosthetic legs, and the desert beauty of afghanistan.

like a geisha

photos by patrick demarchelier

a look that I will never forget...madonna as a japanese geisha, inspired by arthur golden's book memoirs of a geisha. the look works on every level, from the dark razor straight hair, the porcelain skin with make-up by laura mercier, and that striking red kimono...who could forget her video to 'nothing really matters' (1999)? I recently read that madonna marks this look as one of her favorites, I can see why.

seeing red

photo by patrick demarchelier


photo by daniel feser

1999 was the year, I started to appreciate the color red especially in photography....it all started with this harpers bazaar madonna editorial and pedro almodóvar's all about my mother....two major influences. I love the contrast of wearing black against a red background. a couple of years back while on vacation in vienna, I purchased this one of a kind black lacoste hat and felt inspired by the red walls of the hotel...I had no choice, but to put the two together and style my own version.

part III: pleats please!

photos by irving penn

complex geometry...classic and colorful issey miyake shapes.

stage one

here is one of john galliano's preliminary sketches. its already beautiful. lately i've been doing lots of sketches similar to this. i'm set on designing from scratch, and looking at clothing from a functional perspective rather than only aesthetic. lets see what me and my sewing machine are capable of.

viva casta!

photos by cédric buchet

model and actress laetitia casta takes on the role as guest editor and stars in her final editorial for the january 2010 issue of vogue paris...a delightful and charming layout with a quaint and rustic feeling.

tuscan style

stealing beauty (1996)

laetitia casta's countryside editorial got me thinking about bernardo bertolucci's stealing beauty...especially the cinematography of that italian landscape as well as the interiors of that beautiful tuscan home.

the simplicity of it....

photo by chadwick tyler

If I were a singer-songwriter....I would make this the cover of my album.

under the black light

photo by willy vanderperre

I'm so two thousand and late...I can't seem to get over the modern-minimalist beauty of jil sander/spring summer 2009, especially those body hugging fringe dresses.

a big birthday

in a few hours it will be danny's birthday. we have been celebrating since friday, but nonetheless we rejoice! we also devoured my homemade vegan red velvet cake (natural food coloring isn't as bright as red no.5) but lets still call it red. happy birthday!

waisted

the portrait of a lady (1996)

I love a silhouette with an emphasis on the waist...a very inspiring fashion moment from jane campion's film the portrait of a lady.

auf der maur + theyskens

photos by thomas schenk

I was just thinking about the early days of fashion designer olivier theyskens and his collaboration with former hole bassist melissa auf der maur....together they created such a dark and edgy look. i've always loved melissa auf der maur's style... she is a bit renaissance, victorian, and goth all rolled into one, which is very much the look of olivier theyskens.

so rochas...

the piano (1993)

lately, I have been thinking about the style of jane campion's film the piano.... there is so much beautiful imagery, which contributes to the romantic atmosphere of the film. If you look closely at the details of the costumes they almost remind me of olivier theyskens when he designed for rochas...both have a fitted shape, a strong waistline, and a trailing skirt which trumpets out toward the floor....a look that only olivier could do.

a simple kind of life

extremely simple design, that looks elegant and tasteful.

fabinoche

photos by richard avedon

the allure of french beauty juliette binoche....a talented painter, dancer, and actress. who could forget her performances in bleu (1993), the horseman on the roof (1995) and the english patient (1996)... truly fabinoche!