Litttle Lord Fauntleroy Fashion

Obedient Sons Shorts Suit For Men

Is this the end of western civilization as we know it?

So, we've gone from men as perpetual adolescent waifs to men as perpetual little boys.

The best comment on Ann Althouse about this picture was

Proof, once again, that you can get models (and actors for that matter) to pretty much do, or wear, anything.

Savvy Shopping or Buying into the Sell

Also from WSJ this article on bling and the hot jewelry designers.



Today, the question ‘Who are you wearing?’ is just as likely to apply to your jewelry as your clothes.

So, like with clothes, bags and shoes, jewelry designers are selling a lifestyle or rather a narrative promoting an aspirational lifestyle. Is this anything new? Hasn't Cartier, Van Cleef, Harry Winston and Bvlgari always been doing this?

Well actually no. The great jewelry houses sold beauty, originality, quality and intrinsic value...sometimes with a named designer and sometimes not.

Now it's all about the cult of personality. Stephen Webster's rock and roll lifestyle is as important as his designs to the aspirational buyer.

Webster isn’t a rock star—he just channels the lifestyle of one. As a jewelry designer, he is part of a cadre that’s challenging the way people view and wear contemporary pieces. His crystal pendants, cocktail rings and diamond cuffs are part Punk, part Harry Potter. And his clients (including Madonna) are as interesting as his backers (financier Ron Burkle invested in the business in 2007). All of this adds up to commercial appeal: He sells his collection, priced from $2,000 to $250,000, at stores like Neiman Marcus.
Beyond the gems is an image that fans find consuming. “I really try to put everything I like into my jewelry—driving a motorcycle or listening to certain music, socializing and being with certain people,” Webster says. Customers “need to know what they’re buying into

I think Stephen Webster jewelry is awesome, particularly the Crystal Haze Collection. But it's pretty clear to me that wearing it isn't going to get me invited to parties at seaside villas on exotic Mediterranean islands with the rock stars and Ron Burkle.

I just love the line "Customers need to know what they are buying into". What the hell does than mean anyway?

And...

Once again the lack of interest in the "It" bag is mentioned.

In the past, fashion designers provided that lifestyle association. The $2,000 “It” bag is the most recent example. The point was to create demand for a purse that everyone would wear. Today, with bag overload, some women are seeking items that are more individual, more lasting. Jewelry fits the bill. By way of example, in June, Saks Fifth Avenue said sales of trendy bags had softened, while high-end baubles were moving swiftly.

Roland Mouret on Fashion in the WSJ

I guess that is was only a matter of time before the Wall Street Journal came out with a glossy.

As the print media looses its luster to the internet while the glossies stay strong, the new WSJ, both in print and online, is a great hybrid read magazine.

This edition has an interview with one of my favorite fashion designers, Roland Mouret.

Here are the highlights

The fashion industry has become like pushers, creating a need, a desire to have an item immediately. Also, in some cases, they sell it so cheaply that you can throw it away again next season. If you are buying a T-shirt for $4, somewhere along the line someone is losing.

We create fake trends for the sake of selling—not because they have a meaning in our society. The concept of the “it” bag is a proof of the fake trends. Bags don’t have meaning. They are just a sales tool. New season, new bag. Designers don’t have to work or think about how to make their customers look good with a bag. That’s why it’s an easy choice; the only differentiation is in the price—now there are $20,000 bags!

How can fashion be all about being just one size? Nobody has any curves anymore. Body fascism is endemic. We can’t take a risk to redefine ourselves anymore because we are all worried about our shape. No wonder young people are beginning to re-create the excesses of the eighties: Wouldn’t you do the same if you’d lived through the attempted “perfection” of the ’90s and the noughties?

Also, don't miss the video of Mouret pulling a project runway type task of creating one of his incredible dresses out of WSJ newspapers.

Around Town - Garnier for the OC Great Park in Laguna Beach

Laguna Beach

Jacques Garnier Photos (no they aren't actually this tiny)

So, tonight it was another "First Thursday Art Walk" in Laguna Beach. Every first Thursday of the month all the art galleries are open and there's a lot of activity in sleepy little seaside Laguna Beach .

After a short wrap up committee meeting for the Jewel of Orange County event for the Great Park Conservancy at the Peter Blake Gallery, we were treated to a short presentation by photographer Jacques Garnier. Garnier is in the progress of creating a photographic documentary over a 15 year period of the evolution of the area that will become the Great Park.

I was fascinated by Garnier's project not only because he documents historical change, but because he does it with the eyes of an artist.

Savvy Shopping - Craving a Cardigan

So we've just finished an August with no sun spot activity and now we've got a predicted colder than normal winter ahead.
Could it be too early to start shopping for my Fall fashion essential?
No, I didn't think so.

Besides, even if the predicted cool weather doesn't arrive and we have a moderate 75 degrees all winter long, the temperature in my office is still something akin to Northern Maine, rather than sunny Southern California.

Thus, the overwhelming need for a cardigan...or two...or three.

Richard Chai for Target $27.99

95% Cotton, 5% Cashmere perfect for California

Urban Outfitters BDG Boyfriend Cotton & Wool Cardigan $54.00

Nordstrom Soprano Rayon & Spandex Boyfriend Cardigan $36.00

Urban Outfitters BDG cardigan...too slouchy
Nordstrom Soprano cardigan...too tight
Richard Chai cardigan...just right