"I Want to Go To THERE"...

Have you ever stumbled upon a store, or a window display, or a well-curated section of a thrift store and thought... Everything about this scene is ME INCARNATE!!! The french have a term for window shopping...and with such streets as Avenue Montaigne, Rue du Faubourg, and the Champs Elysee, its only natural their word for such a pastime:lèche-vitrine, literally translated means "window licking". For me though, my latest obsession is London based design team duo James Russel and Hannah Plumb, or James Plumb as they call their collaborative effort.


One of their most recent commissions was to design the interiors for London based boutique Hostem, a progressive, somewhat dark, somewhat gritty sort of upscale menswear emporium. Located in Shoreditch, the new London bohemia...prices in Chelsea have skyrocketed since the bond-boom...its the sort of store that maintains that gritty fleet-street-esque unassuming industrial brick facade 1930's depressed worker's housing aesthetic with a tim-burton hilt to it.

...exposed old-fashioned light-bulbs & a floor that looks like it hasn't

seen the likes of a broom since King George IV went mad...

..and that undulating ceiling is interesting, which is more than we can say for the shoes...definitely a detour from that pseudo-Victorian modern aesthetic...

It was not only the look of the store, but the lifestyle they were selling which really got me excited. after flipping through their lookbook, I've decided I need them to style my life please. The looks are very dark and in some respects luxuriously pesimistic? I felt sinister was a bit too far. But most importantly there's a graceful dignity to the clothing that seems like it would let one be different, edgy, and new without being completely unrecognizable to the general populous as some progressive brands do. hem* hem* Rick Owens, but as demostrated below...every single image they've created for their lookbook makes me want to throw fits on the floor for them not having an American operation...

...theres a certain gracefulness to a longer form of clothing...

...lately an obsession of mine: mixing Black & Navy...

...okay, honestly its only acceptable to have

cropped pants when you've high boots on...

... ubiquitous hipster uniform, but still cool...

...simple clothing makes you find the details in

texture, materiality and subtle colour changes...

...I've always wanted to be able to operate in a

single colour sceme, but I'm to random for it so

images like this are eternally out of my grasp...

...but I want to! I so want to!!!...

...sure its simple, but its still evocative don't you think?

...and my personal favorite...not the most wearable, but definitely

underscores the "incognito-chic" look I feel they're going for...all you'd

have to do is unzip the jacket a bit and it'dbe slightly less formidable...

Their other artistic works are also very ethereal and evocative. Their furniture design almost seems Edward-Gorey-esque? Their whole approach to design isn't so much to create these "creepy" pieces of furniture and objects, but rather to use objects of the past, objects often overlooked and forgotten and to give them new life without coating them in modern paint colours, or restoring the pieces, but rather to leave them in their existing state, to maintain their inherent age and dignity, but to do so in a way that serves its function as a chair, or a chandelier...I'd offer this explanation...its like they're inviting us to live in this forgotten world of memories, sure it may be tattered at the edges and suffer cracks and discolouration, but its a dignified re-use of what most would simply have chucked into the trash-pile...I'm getting so inspired I may just start carting back broken "curbiture" to my apartment to cobble together new furniture pieces...my poor roomates.

...reminiscent of Coraline's upstairs attic dwelling acrobatic neighbor much?...

...with a few good pillows this could actually work, but I think

from an artistic perspective its absolutely pitch-perfect...

...some find it creepy, others bizarre, but in the words of Christian Boltanski : "Objects are waiting for love - for someone to say "I want you"...well James Russel and Hannah Plumb...you make me want to go to there, live in it, wear it, Eat Live and Breathe it!!!

Sartorial Sunday

Sundays have always been my favorite day of the week. Some people dread it like the plague, being the last day of freedom before Monday rolls around. Some people prefer Fridays for its festive nature signaling the end of the work week and the beginning of their time for post-work debauchery...Saturdays have a cool sophisticated air, perhaps the benefit of being situated between the Licentiousness of Fridays and the Sanctity of Sundays. Its a day of strolls in the park, brunch on terraces overlooking tree-lined avenues and sailing along the Charles...But Sunday. Oh Sundays really take the cake...

Being that Sunday is a day of worship, one is especially expected to dress in a manner that they don't usually aspire to. While I'd say I'm usually conscious of what I wear most every day, its Sundays that give me carte-blanche to engage in the pursuit of sartorial gains. Boston in general certainly may not be the most sartorial of cities, but at least on Sunday you'll see people wearing things a bit nicer than they usually tend to...the leggings are gone, the madras stays at home, and every once in a while you'll see a blazer or a tie. As for myself, and being that its so ungodly hot today, I chose to keep it simple this Sunday with a light blue western, some professional looking raw-denim, Gucci horse-bit loafers, the crocodile attaché, a good pair of Persol, and my light blue Hermes belt...the closest thing you'll ever find to me wearing that features a monogram of logo from a designer brand...I buy things for their quality, not for their social prestige...

I attend services at the Arlington Street Unitarian Universalist's congregation of Boston. Apart from having truly mind-blowing sermons they also have strong ties to the Symphony and the Longwood conservatory, which often means some truly amazing performances. This Sunday's piano-piece was Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy. Its an old classic, but I thought you'd enjoy the modern way in which its presented...

...heres to a wonderful Sunday...

SALE!!! Allsaints

Newest kid on the block, Allsaints of Spitalfields, which opened its doors to Boston's Newbury street masses not two months ago is already having its end-of-season SALE! I took a mosey on through the store when it first opened and was quite frankly shocked at the prices they were asking for some, if not many of the chicly distressed a-symmetrical garments they carry. The quality seems good, tight seems, good textures, well curated graphics by season, and the line seems to be a younger, slightly more publicly palatable Rick Owen's-esque luxury basic, which is a hard thing to do in a recession when the spend-thrift masses tend to tread more conservative waters...

Needless to say, there are quite a few leather jackets, some A-symmetrical zip hoodies, and a proliferation of neo-1890's-esque-hipster-hiking-boots I've had my eye on...which is why I practically jumped for joy the moment I saw their sale signs out in the window. While I still may not even be able to afford their wares at the deeply discounted 70% off in my currently unpaid status as intern, it just goes to show there's still hope for me next season. So if you've the luxury of a job that pays you legal tender, then I'd soundly suggest a trip to your nearest Allsaints of Spitalfields...

Boston Location:

122 Newbury Street between Dartmouth and Clarendon...or just have a look at the fine map I drew especially for this occasion!!!

Thou shalt not covet women's sandals...

I know I'm not supposed to, and everything in the very fiber of my being says NO! NO! NO! Avert your eyes lest you become tempted and become hegemonically debauched! But I. Do. CRAVE. a ...[*tear***] yes you guessed it, Women's Sandal! Just hear me out on this one guys...

...after seeing this photo posted to one of my all-time favorite blogs, Jak and Jil, I just couldn't stop thinking about these sandals. Clearly its a woman we see in the shot wearing the, yes you guessed it, women's designer brand sandals, but theres just something about those rough hewn leather straps and that primitive canvas ankle cuff that I just can't get my mind off of...

...Being the relentless google-search-hound I am, it didn't take me long to pull up dozens of photos from nearly every angle...and I'm going to share them with you and hopefully you'll feel the same way...Naturally being Chloé...they're extortionately expensive. As an unpaid intern for a Boston Design Center showroom, I'd ironically have to sell my own legs [feet attached] just to pay for these sandals...which I'd then be entirely unable to wear...what then? electrical tape mantle-piece ornament perhaps?

...I've always liked that militaristic look, and these sandals have that aesthetic pegged perfectly... but what I don't get is why women get to delight in such innovative detailed footwear. Normally I'm a loafer-wearing, chuck-toting, wingtip-scuffing, top-sider-boating kind of guy, but for some reason designers seem to put so much effort more into a proliferation of women's accessories, shoes, hats, etc and we all get why...men hate to shop. But still...it leaves me in this awkward situation in a Barney's shoe salon where I'm doing my best not to steal furtive glances towards the gender-bending sandals I so dearly adore...

...I think its the looping belt-buckle like straps and the mixture of texture, material and colour which are what I find the most appealing about the sandal. And because the canvas part ultimately loops around your ankle it provides a certain ability for one to alter the look of the sandal. For example, take the sandal pictured above...doesn't it almost look like it might have stepped out of World War I with that height they've given the ankle cuff, whereas the one pictured just below the Barney's Ad looks much more...[dare I say it to please myself...yes.] Masculine?

...At the end of the day, what with my current financial status, [I work literally for sun-chips, free fabric and the odd carpet sample] I wouldn't even be able to afford a heavily discounted pair on sale let alone the full priced $595. However, as with many things I so severely covet, I think someday, someday soon... I'll spend a lazy-Sunday feverishly tearing apart canvas bags, stripping leather belts, and sewing a cobbled version of my own to love and to cherish for all the cobble-stone sidewalks of my days...

Lanvin Menswear - Fall 2010...

For some reason there has always been a great divide within the Fashion industry which perpetuated a disjointed aesthetic between Menswear and Womenswear. For some reason the looks walking down a menswear show beared little resemblance to their womenswear counterparts even insofar as having completely different inspirations, stylistic themes, colours and construction. However, thankfully enough, that has begun to change. More and more designers are looking to create an aesthetic which unites both menswear and womenswear under a unifying vision, or quite literally the "perfect couple".

"The perfect couple", you ask? For so many of the great fashion houses who've always been known as leaders in the womenswear field, this drive to create the "boyfriend, of the girl who wears (Insert Designer name here)", is a welcome change from the previous collections of recycled tired old suits, ties and the odd shoe simply to please the investors and keep duty free stores stocked full of ties, watches, and cufflinks that have little to nothing to do with the brand's aesthetic. When a menswear collection can hold its own against its zeitgeist making womenswear counterpart (Balmain, Givenchy, etc), that is a truly rare designer. This is why the new Fall 2010 Lanvin collection is such a welcome change from the norm.

The women's collection began as being loosely inspired by the North African desert regions, yet managed to infuse an ethnic albeit thoroughly modern urban aesthetic into the collection. The mens collection, maintains this modern ethnic vibe and expands upon it from a men's perspective. As is to be expected from Alber Elbaz, the Lanvin women's collection naturally is a billowing, well draped and graceful collection even if it has that hard urban warrior edge to it. From the men's perspective I got much more of a...hate to say it...starwars vibe here.

Now just hear me out on this one...

One of the first looks down the runway features this very tribal metal piece under

a suit which for me helped set the stage right off the bat as more of an ethnic collection...

...But modernity quickly became apparent once one took a closer look at the shoes; a sort of snake skin ethnic / modern age version of a wingtip with those modern adjustable straps in place of the traditional shoelace...

...And this was where I got that Anakin skywalker-esque

North-African inspired merchant-mercenary-airplane pilot look...

...With the billowy striped shirt and the pants that looked like a parachute material?...

...And the stringy, laced-up canvas satchel...

...North African merchant-mercinary modern interpretations of the leather duster?

...sort of an interesting gauze-like sci-fi-esque shirt...

...cut-off sleeves, longer tunic-like over-coat reminds me of a blacksmith,

or possibly a mechanic within this post-apocalyptic vigilante desert world...

... definitely a tunic...note the rough construction and a

wrinkled quality to both the pants and the vest...

...The materials call to me the most as being very

aeronautically related, but in a futuristic sense...

...wonderful juxtapostion of the rough and satin like textures, reminds me

of a tuxedo...the most modern sort of paired down sense of the gesture...

...True to form they did have suits, but even these re-enforced the design aesthetic...

...Saw this shot. Loved it. Its not entirely the sort of thing you'll ever see me personally walking down the street in, but it has that rare moment when everything comes together. The photography, the billowing overcoat in the background expressing a lightness and a movement, the rough, almost unfinished quality to the cuff of the sleeve and the lightness of the pants which seem to have been in some sort of explosion or near an awful lot of sparks judging by the singed holes in the pants, and the fanny pack? satchel? that adds a utilitarian harder edge to what would otherwise be a very airy-looking delicate shot. perfect combination...

...This was my absolute favorite shot in that it captures more of a refined look. Theres a much more constructed quality to the garments, less of a loose edge to them, but still a bit rough around the edges. Wonderful mixture of textures, colour and pattern. This shot to me was the most Mechanized-Machine-Age-Post-Apocalyptic-Sky-Captain-Meets-Star-Wars-esque with all the straps and laces to the satchel, the rough, but refined motorcycle jacket, and mostly the pixelated hexagonal gilded pants really reinforced this vision...