right mum, I’m off to work then

Why male models, why? Why do you not grow as human beings? You look so sad. Is it because it looks like your mother dressed you? Is it because you have not learned to walk with grace? Is it because you know that your good looks are being used for evil instead of good? I know that this isn’t what you had planned when you decided to give yourself to the world.

The Young Naturalists Society

A wood burning titled The Young Naturalists by artist Genevieve Dionne :

don’t worry, easter is just around the corner

I have a bit of a hangover today and I can’t really think of anything inspiring to say. So, I’m just going to show these pictures of things that soothe the soul. Pretend there’s soft music playing while you’re looking at them.

Bottega Veneta

I really love this Bottega Veneta dress for spring. It has some of the same qualities as the Rachel Roy dress I showed in my January 25th posting. Great volume and drape. It’s funny, I found a picture of the model wearing it backstage at the fashion show, and I think it really comes alive in a candid photo. It looks a bit boring when she wore it on on the runway.

I heart Italy

I am quite crazy for everything Italian these days, and the shows are proving no different. Other than Prada, there are some really pretty things being shown for fall 2007. Not so drab and (trying to be) serious as the Americans, the Italians really showed off some interesting colour and (of course) great fabrics.

Here are some highlights (I have to admit that I have a soft spot for a certain kind of vintage look which is quite evident here):

Maurizio Pecoraro

etro

Alberta Ferretti

shrugs and porcupine quills

I was a little concerned when I read about Giles Deacon’s new collection in the NY Times. Giant oversize knits, porcupine quills: this all sounded like our hometown girl Hajnalka Mandula. She’s been experimenting with those materials for years.

Well it turns out, I should not have fretted, the Giles Deacon collection was nothing like Mandula’s. Mandula has always incorporated these very organic elements into garments in wearable ways, while Giles Deacon showed them as goofy eye catchers for the runway show.

Here’s a picture of a quite crazy knitted shrug from the Giles Deacon show that has stuck with me:

And here is a picture of Mandula from last year (she better update her website www.mandula.com soon because I have no idea what she’s been up to since last year).

I quite love the Mandula line; I can’t always wear it (it has a habit of wearing me) but it’s glorious in it’s construction:

I am an old lady on the inside

I love silk scarves. My favorite part of thrift store shopping is digging through the scarf bin because there is always the possibility of finding some silky treasure. Today I accidentally came across this website dedicated to someone’s scarf collection www.scarfcollector.myby.co.uk/index.html.

I wish that the scarves were steamed before being documented so that I could get a better look (odd that someone so obsessive about scarves would be so cavalier in their presentation), but here are some real beauties.

Days of Heaven

I don’t know how I’ve come through life without ever having seen this film until now. It has to be one of the most exquisitely photographed films ever. And it has Richrd Gere in it! He’s becoming a bit of a theme for me (check out my February 2nd post).

Long shots of wheat blowing in the wind, black horses with a dusting of snow over them, and a kid with a crazy voice narrating the whole thing. I don’t even know where to start with the costumes, but the sun-burnt, sharp-featured girls in dresses and boots are a knock-out.

Kate Spade

Kate Spade has the best ads. It makes me crazy because the whole “perfect lady” thing she has going on is a bit precious for my taste, but then the ads are such a bull’s eye. This month’s ad in Vanity Fair is a wicker handbag with a bunch of carrots sitting on top of it. It’s like they can read my mind and I don’t even like the bag, but with carrots on it, well, now all of a sudden I do.

Here are some other ads that made me want things that I don’t want:

Case Da Abitare

This has to be one of my all time favorite magazines. So original, with incredible styling, and very very cheeky. I haven’t been able to find it recently, but I have been assured that it is still being published. They did a shoot with tea cups and red yarn a few years ago that was so tender, fragile and pretty. I couldn’t find any pictures of that shoot, but I have included a photo of a cake from a 2004 issue . It has inspired me to start baking.