Check One Two

(SHRUGGING OFF MY JACKET / THE HATERS).

blouse, suede skirt, fur coat, and bag - vintage // shoes - asos 

I'm pretty terrible at layering for the unpredictable bay area weather. In Los Angeles I handled the relatively simple arithmetic of top + bottom + jacket with great aplomb, but in order to get through the day up here you have to factor in cardigan + tights ÷ socks ± gloves × hat, and that could go on for ∞ and I do not like it. This little coat from Mercy Vintage in Oakland (hands down one of my favorite vintage stores) is a godsend in its warmth; I can just throw it over a naked blouse and call it a day.

This little 1960s top was on sale at Mercy as well, and such a steal that I immediately had to 'gram it. Someone on Instagram commented that it looked very Louis Vuitton S/S '13—that's definitely what came to mind when I spotted it, but I loved the force and simplicity of that whole collection, so it was a no-brainer to pick up something so referential to it. But of course, that collection, which is new, is actually referencing the era contemporary to this shirt, which is old... so... there's a bit of fashion-reference-ouroboros occurring here, and I'm afraid the space-time continuum will collapse if I elaborate any further. Some critics don't seem very excited about the impending umpteenth wave of mod-inspired fashion, but graphic prints have always been near and dear to my heart, and they're so hard to find when the trend is in low tide. I could do a whole series on the multi-faceted nature of my love affair with checkerboard—oomph, I just freaking might.

After all, black + white = duh.

Chillin'-tines

shag sweater, leather skirt, Ferragamo flats - vintage // coat - old UO // purse - eBay

Valentines day isn't very sacred around these parts, but I brought out my new little lips purse in perfunctory homage to the cheesy aesthetics of our most paradoxical holiday. The mister and I never plan anything, but I spotted this t-shirt while I was out thrifting in Berkeley (which I would have bought no matter what day it was!) and some kids were giving away roses at school, so I ended up giving him a little Valentine's gift after all.

I've had the most amazing thrifting luck lately—In only a couple of months, I've accumulated these shaggy knit sweaters in five different colors! It's obscene! I just might have discovered a new texture to add to my already-brimming bank of odd sartorial fixations.

Worlds Collide

As you  might know, despite my best efforts to wring some income out of this blog, writing about art is my trade, and I usually try to keep the two separate, because the Art World doesn't exactly view the fashion blogosphere as the bleeding edge of critical discourse. My dream is to parlay my art writing practice into more conversations about fashion—but opportunities to write about clothes outside of a thinly-veiled marketing context are few and far between, so I'm very excited about my latest gig reviewing fashion monographs at the Art Book Review. Fashion and art are increasingly in cahoots with one another, and while I admit that art and fashion are working at cross-purposes more often than not, collaborations between them are becoming a fact of of both worlds, so I'm a big advocate of approaching them with as much intelligence, integrity and creativity as possible. In this case, the collision is a three-way between publishing house Taschen, i-D magazine, and Rei Kawakubo. My review of the oversized tome is up now, and you may click here to read it.

*on a completely different note, thank you to everyone who cleaned out the For Show shop. There will be another update coming soon! I think!

The Time is Now

purse - h&m // everything else - vintage (natch). 

In between covering the Los Angeles Art Book Fair for ArtForum and conducting preliminaries for my thesis (it's on the concept of "middlebrow") I've been longingly flicking through the various tweets, 'grams, slideshows, and Vine posts from Fashion Week. Chlöe Sevigny's collections for Opening Ceremony are a perennial favorite of mine, but I was especially struck by this season's mish mash of 60s student activist mixed with 90s skater. I've said before that "good" sartorial inspiration—good as in it doesn't make you feel like shit about yourself or simply results in a shopping list—makes you excited about the possibilities of the things you already own. Scrolling through Susie Bubble's post, which is an nice mix of lookbook images and snapshots from the live presentation, I suddenly got excited about some of the more lovelorn pieces in the back of my closet: berets? DOYYYY Baby-blue fur coats? Check. 60s style ankle boots? Check. Mod coats in vinyl and leather? Check and mate.

When I bought this coat in Los Angeles a few years ago, I thought the cute collar and buttons were a nice counterpoint to the slick leather, but it was down to my ankles and made me look like an extra from The Matrix. Some scissors, a little fabric glue and a few clothespins later, I had got it down to a more manageable length, and it's become one of my favorite things to wear on a rainy day.  Or even just a quick trip to the liquor store for some Grape Vines.

For Show is For Sale

Okay, you guys twisted my arm. I thought good and hard about how to go about putting things up for sale here and there. Etsy didn't seem worth the investment, but I don't want to gum up the works of this blog every single time I want to sell something. Also—believe it or not—not everything I own is vintage, so I started a li'l shoppable companion blog - FOR SHOW / FOR SALE.

There's a few things up right now, and all the info you need is on the site. Pretty straightforward stuff—just make sure to click on "read more" at the bottom of each post for the full description and photos. And hey, we're all pals here, so feel free to make me an offer if you're like d-d-d-d-yyyyyyying to have something.

LET'S DO THIS

Perfect Little Dress

Valentino pre-fall 2013 // via 

Sometimes a dress just... gets you. How cool and pretty and sweet and strange are these numbers from Valentino? They incorporate just about every aspect of my wardrobe preferences into one garment—the length, the fabric, the silhouette, the neat pointy collar. Valentino holds a very special place in my heart for several reasons, not least of which is the way he incorporates punk references into his designs. Pyramid studs and patent leather find their way into so many of his collections, but he uses them sparingly; just enough to take the childish edge off of the designs, producing pieces that are unmitigatingly beautiful, and—to put it elliptically—that read as knowing. I saw him once, seven years ago when I worked at a fancy boutique in West Hollywood. If he had anything to say, he would said it to an assistant, who said it to another assistant, who relayed it to yet another assistant, etc. etc...  it went on like this until his words reached an assistant deemed lowly enough to talk directly to you. And I'm almost certain he drinks perfume. These are reasons to love him even more. 

I've been on a quest for patent leather as of late. The mister bought me this navy blue vinyl top for Christmas, which kicked off endless keyword searches on Etsy and more closely peeled eyes at thrift stores. When I was a Junior in high school I tried to convince my mother to make me a black vinyl gown for the winter formal dance. She declined out of sheer confusion, but nevertheless... the point is my love affair with impractical fabrics goes back a very long time. 

It Just So Happens

vintage top and skirt - thrifted // vintage coat - Mercy Now // shoes - ASOS

These were taken near out house in Oakland, but I'm actually in Los Angeles at the moment on assignment for the LA Art Book Fair. I'll be around all weekend, so If you see me and my big orange glasses, by all means, say hello!

My final semester is now in full-swing, freelance work is starting to pile up, and my bones feel like chalk after attending my first Zumba class in months. Things couldn't be better—save for the fact that pits stains are so much more apparent when you wear silk. Listen. The Hadron Collider is a noble pursuit, but if scientists can genetically engineer watermelons that have no seeds then perhaps some textile wizard can produce a nice raw silk shell top that doesn't announce your nervousness with dark, wet patches that rival Yeats' widening gyre. This is particularly a concern when I am out in the field, as it were. Speaking of which, I'm off to attend a lecture on the life and work of Mike Kelley... farewell, my fellow Sweaty Bettys.

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