Who Impressed Me at the Costume Institute Gala 2009?

....Not many.

To be fair, I think that this year's theme,"Model as Muse", was a wee bit nebulus to interpret. However, that really can't be the reason so many people bored me to tears. It is called a gala for a REASON. Let us go all-out, be crazy, take RISKS, celebrate!





Co-host Kate Moss looked divine, in my opinion. Although many slated her for the gold turban and looking "beat in the face", I think that her styling choices were inspired & reminiscent of Diana Vreeland & Little Edie. It was a little strange & unexpected, but her attitude worked it just right.





My absolute favorite- Russian catwalk queen Sasha Pivovarova. No one can touch that ensemble, not even La Moss. I mean- that coat!!! As a burgeoning feather fetishist, I am coveting hardcore. The choice of the tiara with the messy hair makes the outfit all the more madcap and perfect...

Fringe Appeal

Jil Sander Spring/Summer 2009







Totally stark, yet sexy & provocative without a drop of sleazy...

Fave-Rave Word of the Day #007

GRUESOME
adjective: inspiring horror or repulsion. Shockingly repellent

It's funny how the colors of the real world only seem really real when you viddy them on the screen.

Fave-Rave Word of the Day #006

SUMPTUOUS
adj. Of a size or splendor suggesting great expense; lavish.


"Colin Blunstone's voice is simply sumptuous, my darlings!"

"Give Them What They Never Knew They Wanted!"

So quoth DIANA VREELAND, my end-all, be-all maverick muse fairy godmother. Seriously, are the above pictures not the most inspiring & uplifting photos you have seen in yonks?




It is like she is commanding you with one of her genius "Why don't you...." -isms

"Why don't you tie black tulle bows round your wrists?"
....because why the hell not?!

Q: What's Black & White & Red All Over?

A: Yesterday's outfit. I felt like a bit of a French mime, but I can get behind that aesthetic.
H&M striped shirt // Blk pants cut into shorts // ripped blk tights // grey h&m over knee socks // Chinese Laundry thigh high grey boots // red thrifted belt // red F21 feather clip

Fabulous Fille: Kelly Wearstler

Interior Decorator, author, tv judge, former Playmate... Kelly Wearstler is effing rad!

A true glamourous eccentric to the core; Kelly crimps & curls her hair with reckless abandon, piles on the jewelry & thinks nothing of donning clothes deemed 'out there'.




Kelly is featured in Simon Doonan's amazing and inspirational tome, Eccentric Glamour. Her parting words?
.........
"I'd like to be gift wrapped for eternity."

Paris Picks

John Galliano // Louis Vuitton // Lanvin // Jean Paul Gaultier

all pictures from style.com

Phantasmagoric Inspiration

Yayoi Kusama's Fireflies on the Water (2002)




I'd like to think that "the other side" would look exactly like this. Wouldn't it be a fantastic place for your soul to flit about?

A virtual 360 degree tour of this stunning piece

Rogan-cum-Kahlo

Thank you, Vanity Fair, thank you.

Curioser and Curioser....

capped by arcadiaego in the lj film_stills comm.

Today's Rotation: A Post Punk Amuse-Bouche

The Monochrome Set // Eine Symphonie des Grauens


The Au Pairs // We're So Cool

Mona Lisas & Mad Hatters

While not exactly breaking the barriers of innovation each season, Anna Sui's vibrancy and happy-hippy attitude is second to none. In addition to a riot of rich harvest-colored patterned mini dresses, Sui topped models off with knit toques embellished with exaggerated plumes of feathers. Needless to say, I am adoring this fashion Pied Piper moment! It is definitely worth a DIY attempt- I don't think it would be too difficult to replicate this look...






I am also quite fond of the spangly crystal celestial toppers! A bit harder to recreate, but I can dream....

(all photos are obviously nicked from style.com)

Glamour Right Down to Her Ankles

I have a particular affinity for designer Doo Ri Chung, most likely due to the fact that her Spring/Summer 07 collection was the first runway show that myself & my two intrepid friends managed to blag our way into. I still get tiny little goosebumps when I think back on the thrill of making it into the tents, seeing Anna Wintour sitting front row, the dimming of the house lights & the way the tent's collective noise dropped to hushed whispers and the clack of photographers' lenses snapping furiously away as the first model turned the corner & strode down the catwalk.

As this week has been pretty hectic, I have only managed to slightly skim the NY f/w 09 fashion week coverage via TFS . So far, my opinion has been a collective "WOOF!"

However, Doo.Ri has lifted my spirits with these beauteous tights.





Those who know me well, know that I have a serious fetish for all things stockings/tights/knee-highs. The crystals on the hosiery sends them into the stratosphere of leg adornment. (Seriously, without them they'd just be another pair of ho-hum patterned hose.) It is almost as if the model was wearing some SERIOUS crystal bling bracelets or necklaces which broke whilst she was hastily preening & got stuck in the webbed pattern. Naturally, she looks down & noticed how amazing it looks, finishes getting ready & heads out the door. Serious lavish stuff.

(I think that's how fashion should be- the more fantasy, playfulness, lavishness, & irreverence, the better. Utilitarian & fashion should never be uttered in the same breath....)

pics from style.com

Fave-Rave Word of the Day #005

Imbibeto receive into the mind and retain; drink to take in or up.....

What would be my choice beverage to imbibe, you ask?


nytimes.com
A Harvey Wallbanger, bien sûr!

Wikipedia says....

The Harvey Wallbanger is an alcoholic beverage or cocktail made with vodka, Galliano, and orange juice.

The Harvey Wallbanger was invented in 1952 by three-times world champion mixologistCarlo Lanzillotti. Legend has it that the drink was named after a Manhattan Beach surfer. The drink has also been attributed to Bill Doner, bartender at The Office in Newport Beach, CA, and Robert Pratt, bartender at the Arlberg Chalet in Mammoth Lake, CA. The drink was little known outside of California until 1970, when it became briefly popular due to being featured as a cocktail on TWA flights.

Still I'd Rather Be Famous, Than Righteous, Or Holy...

valentine fillol-cordier nitot.org

Things are changing, shifting gradually here chez Suzy. Fun weekend nights tinged with semi-awkward moments (I revel in them), graphic michael kors wedges (sshh..normally don't like the MK, but these shoes are an exception), impending photo shoot & a new job to boot!

Scarlet & Merry Gold

katemossonline.com

Hazy Shade of Spring

sourced from tfs kate moss thread -> afpmanagement.com

I have always had a fondness for Stella McCartney's ad campaigns, and spring/summer 2009 is no different. Shot by my favorite, Ryan McGinley & watercolors by Dinos Chapman.

Today's Rotation

Stevie Wonder // My Cherie Amour (...I love how this was used in Almost Famous.)



The Zombies // This Will Be Our Year



Todd Rundgren // Hello It's Me

Floating In a Most Peculier Way

Gemini Moon

"In the lively, restless sign of Gemini the Moon's sway becomes more mutable and erratic. This does not make all Moon-in-Gemini children flighty, frivolous, and frenetic, but almost always indicates an active mind, an imaginative and creative personality, and someone who is inclined to intellectual pursuits......"

"In emotional relationships lunar Geminis display a certain free spirit. Here is where you are most intensely restless. You resent being subject to the whims and vagaries of other people's emotions, and struggle to retain independence...."

"A moon in the sign of Gemini inclines you towards loquaciousness and endows you with great personal charm. You have an enchanting vivacity that draws others towards you. Conversations with you tend to run off on unexpected tangents and take sudden turns and reverses....."

"At heart, a lunar Gemini is essentially restless and needs constant stimulation."

( excerpts from the wonderful book The Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need by Joanna Martine Woolfolk )

Are You There Spring? It's Me, Suzy

Little Moments

Feel Flows The Beach Boys

...Listening to this makes me feel like fully submerging myself in my bathtub. Time is suspended & everything is warm and weightless & you can soak the music up like a thirsty little sponge......(until you have to breathe.)

Hello, My Sweet

Dana Octopus Squid

Guess Who

corbis via TFS

One day, I aspire to have enough rings to wear comme ça ......

Righteous

A dreary day made better by the arrival of the "Lil Gentleman" shirts from the No Cats Allowed line I ordered from Brendan Donnelly Clothing


Also thrown in was a matching tote bag! Awesome. Every time I look at these, I compulsively start chuckling. Instant mood lifter! Clothing as an emotional bolster!

Plus the actual shirt is the perfect 'loose but not tent-like' cut & so soft. It is hemmed in tiny little vertical stitches, which I find endearing in a way..

Sufficed to say I'll be wearing this a lot.

Bedside View, Circa 2 am