detroit to brooklyn

sexy bitches

2010-04-16T09:50:00.000-07:00

a pitbull is the best accessory a girl can have. with dualing origins as nanny dogs and fighting dogs, they aren't the easiest jewels to wear, but if you can get and keep a good one, you'll be the flyest girl on the block. they also keep away wimpy men and attract not-so-wimpy ones - bonus! these Victorian ladies knew that.

BFF

2010-04-01T14:54:00.000-07:00

from some dude's couch to the Whitney: it's war

2010-03-28T18:33:00.000-07:00

a couple months ago i had the dipleasure of watching The Hurt Locker in a Bed-Stuy living room full of disaffected ex-film students. they smoke a lot of pot, produce a lot of awesome Brooklyn musical showcases, and wear combat boots from Opening Ceremony. they also interjected "funny" dialogue during one particularly poignant scene involving a lone Capri-Sun.

i wonder if they would make the same jokes about Nina Berman's Purple Hearts series?

of which "Ty" was featured in Friday's "My Turn" series at the Whitney:

probably.

Examining the current Ladies Walking Mile

2010-03-26T08:29:00.000-07:00

today, for a class, i am going on a self-guided tour of the 19th century "Ladies Walking Mile" of historical department stores, which is bound by 14th st, 6th ave, 23rd st, and Park ave.

i'd rather just watch Peter Singer's shopping spiel in Examined Life again.

ps, if i ever meet Cornel West i may be apprehended for sexual harrassment.

my fashion weak summary

2010-03-09T13:40:00.000-08:00

the only Fall 2010 shows that *wow* were in Paris and go like this:

best in show:

TAO

and the perfect marriage:

comme des garcons & yohji yamamoto

the end.

this pretty much sums up how i feel about my male peers here

2010-03-04T11:59:00.000-08:00

LATFH

how did i almost miss this?

2010-03-03T15:24:00.000-08:00

Coco de Mer has an NYC store now!

the original coco de mer ;)

i went there today. i expected an aria and a Betony Vernon lookalike to greet me, but it really is just a classier (and much pricier!) fetish cove ...with Vernon's coveted "tools":

SANS

2010-03-02T06:57:00.000-08:00

means without.
and is an "eco" line made by Lika Volkova. it was a part of Pratt's last exhibit, where it stood out as the most forward thinking in design and precept.

pretty.

lynn lynn lynn lynn

2010-02-27T13:53:00.000-08:00

lynn upson, aka l upson photography is a good friend and good photographer. she always has something fun to take you to, which is why her people photos are fun too. she's kind of the coolest. like her detroit.

still quite sober

2010-02-19T10:36:00.000-08:00

i was shocked to see this in the window of St. Marks. i dropped the $19.50 because wow! it took me two weeks to sit down with it because just flipping made me sink into deep homesickness. but. while i appreciate the effort, the best parts were Corine Vermeulen's photo series (see my post), the Carhartt article, and Vaughn Taormina's quote "So if you think Detroit is a shit hole, fair enough, but we think your city feels like a shopping mall."

the Queen is dead

2010-02-13T13:28:00.000-08:00

son of a taxi driver and school teacher, Alexander McQueen never gave an interview i didn't like. i'm sorry he was too sad to think ahead of the pain. R.I.P. Lee/Alexander McQueen. self-made, destructed.

(NYC store, tonite)

Oh Eric

2010-02-04T12:27:00.000-08:00

you're from Livonia. you're shaved blond. you wear too-talls. cut grass. feel nothing yet feel it all. and drop your g's just like me. can i nuzzle in your lanky shoulder yet?

my favorite David Lynch "Interview Project"

the beautiful dustbowl that only lasted 2 seasons

2010-02-02T18:27:00.000-08:00

i'm rewatching the first season of Carnivale and loving it even more now that i already know what's going on. i hear that was its problem with not going to #3, but i can't see how a show so unique conceptually and visually could die unfinished, but alas. if you like the styles of the Depression and carnies as much as i do, it's parfait.

and it has the best opening sequence i've still ever seen:

"ancient marks" video

2010-02-01T18:00:00.000-08:00

so simple, so not-so-simple, so beautiful

why can't it be Forever21 instead?

2010-01-19T12:36:00.000-08:00

Yohji Yamamoto going going ....

where pretty goes to die

2010-01-11T14:04:00.000-08:00

Detroit, MI:

thanks C.

the real way to wear "tribal" prints un-ironically

2009-12-30T07:10:00.000-08:00

be in 1989. and really hot.

what i got myself for christmas

2009-12-16T14:43:00.000-08:00

it killed my first school project idea, but is already a long time coming: congrats to Amelia Klem Osterund!

imagine a new year where our rulers were less, um, uptight.

i can only take credit for the hat.

i know you think you're the queen of the underground

2009-12-05T14:39:00.000-08:00

but these ladies have you beat.

see more at the City Reliquary and this lovely slideshow

and you can have your shot at Miss G train next year...

because everyone loves soft porn.

2009-11-30T10:34:00.000-08:00

ponyxpress is one of the best all-photo-no-text art/fashion/sex blogs out there: monothematic images of beauty and scum and beauty and scum and beauty -- and naked chicks -- it just doesn't get old somehow.

Valeria Priano photo

just say no to Black Friday

2009-11-27T08:00:00.000-08:00

say yes to Buy Nothing Day and Reverend Billy

if you live in America, it's impossible to not shop sometimes. but the fact there is a national holiday surrounding it is sick. if you need to get things, always practice creation, trade, second-hand, collectives/farmer's markets and independent business first -- if not only.

and if you need to buy a christmas present, this makes a good one:

give thanks to the american indians

2009-11-26T09:27:00.000-08:00

and the beautiful costume that was all but destroyed with them.

Edward Curtis photos

a homesick photo series

2009-11-23T18:47:00.000-08:00

c/o brian ulrich. and the midwest. i moved here 2 weeks too late...

see some sad fashion symbiosis

2009-11-13T12:51:00.000-08:00

Hair India Sunday nite only at AMNH

Schmatta the next few days on HBO

the Current TV of fashion?

2009-11-10T11:35:00.000-08:00

COLORS "a magazine about the rest of the world" is just that. the current "teenager" issue features a truly worldwide exploration of sub-places and people.

along with the glossy (available at St. Mark's bookstore), the online version is vast and includes lots of user-uploaded content. can't wait for the next one...

EV Day does Deitch - and the opera.

2009-11-05T03:02:00.000-08:00

you can see it for exactly four hours tomorrow

O, really?

2009-11-04T07:56:00.000-08:00

although i love Diane Pernet, and her blog, i'm not so convinced this is a commie revolution. actually, i'm puking.

Master and Creator and Couture
Collection #1: Holes - A Different Fashion of Fashion

An interview with Simon de Boer. By Simon de Boer

trick or treat

2009-10-31T07:00:00.000-07:00

smell katie's sweets

everyday is Halloween for juggalos

2009-10-26T09:59:00.000-07:00

oh, Insane Clown Posse.

when i was in eighth grade, i was in love with my friend's much older (17!!!) brother, M. M had somehow already acquired an entire body of tattoos and piercings, had a full part-time job, and chain smoked like a union boss. he also listened to ICP in his car, which i was blessed to sometimes be driven to school, Taco Bell, and exotic downtown Royal Oak skate shops in. i tried to like them for his sake, but was, um, a girl who read books and stuff. but like most other Michiganders who grew up in the 90s, i can't help but have a soft spot for this hometown duo:

juggalos, as the family of ICP fans are known, embrace their freakdom as putting an in-your-FACE on the underbelly of the (mostly white) lower class.

part thug life, Satan worship, Lord of the Rings nerd alert, and just plain ridiculously terrible music, the hidden part of ICP is they are international fashion capitalists; a true juggalo owns enough ICP t-shirts to go under enough ICP hoodies to match his ICP shoes so he can kick back and read an ICP magazine with ICP ads for more ICP stuff.

as much as the Williamsburg art crowd like looking like they don't have a trust fund, i don't think they will ever co-opt this particular mode of anti-bourgeoisie.

or begin to understand it.

somewhere between Goths and Victorians

2009-10-22T11:18:00.000-07:00

PS 1 continues to be awesome

2009-10-16T06:30:00.000-07:00

(Robert Bergman exhibition started yesterday)

how i feel a lot

2009-10-15T11:08:00.000-07:00

after school

brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

2009-10-14T06:13:00.000-07:00

it's so cold in new york, squatters are starting to move south. danielle levitt captured some in a summer studio.

don't turn away from the terrible name

2009-10-03T13:01:00.000-07:00

buying making supplies at jo-ann's, micheal's, etc. is kind of like buying groceries at wal-mart to make an organic meal. save-a-thon (east harlem and brooklyn) takes a step back into ye olde era of regional retail:
...a little oasis with most basic fabrics, plus a lot of fancies that range from cheesy formal satins to trendy stretch lace to nice africana cottons and extensive "home decor" bolts. they always have a big scrap sale table and other random supplies on sale. but, it's all incredibly normally cheap! and most everyone working and shopping is hispanic and seems to really know their stuff. on top of all this they offer sewing classes.

my last trip gleaned 5 balls of nice taupe boucle yarn for $2, a yard of ethnic-print flocked organza for $4, a big scrap of buttercream ultra-suede for $6 -- and i put back a super sale 3-yard wad of black sparkle stretch lace, because i still haven't used the almost-as-cheap textured cream stretch lace i bought the trip before last. if only i was still unemployed and cloistered on cass ave, i would be a very happy busy bee. alas, i'm in the collecting and dreaming stage known to sewers with lots of patterns and nothing to wear.

even gummier

2009-09-29T12:02:00.000-07:00

u can knock Gummo all you want, but it's a good movie. and Chloe Sevigny did the wardrobe, making it great.

words like "disturbing", "unwatchable" and "new horror" are often used to describe it. well, there's something even worse: Trash Humpers, Korine's new film. if you don't want to see some real dirty birds losing their minds i don't suggest going to the NY film festival tomorrow. if you do, get me a ticket.

happy almost sorta halloween

2009-09-28T06:01:00.000-07:00

dazed (and confused) digital is better than the paper version because there is SO MUCH STUFF uploaded everyday -- and its free. this "scrapheap" (discarded objects recycled into snazzy photo ops) challenge is also part of the new "Franken-fashion" print edition.

i don't like Chanel, but maybe i like Coco

2009-09-27T06:57:00.000-07:00

Olive Oatman

2009-09-25T09:36:00.000-07:00

was a Mormon teen captured by Yavapais, traded to Mohaves, and retraded back to Whites (arguably not of her own desire). existing in the mid-to-late 1800's as a tribally tattooed lady, she lived in Detroit for a few years! The Blue Tattoo, a new book by Margot Mifflin (author of Bodies of Subversion: A Secret History of Women and Tattoo) is an engaging read of her life and legend.

yes, Pink

2009-09-24T12:56:00.000-07:00

i like Pink. always have. really do. she's a thick white girl who has kept her oversized nose ring and femipop consistent. in the name of trying to drink less, i applaud her song and style.

put on your bedazzled quilted piecework asymmetrical tunic vest

2009-09-23T09:09:00.000-07:00

and head on over to the annual American Sewing Expo in Novi (the Detroit suburb of suburbs of suburbs)

along with vendors selling multiple versions of the same mom patterns and tired DIYers showing you how to put 2 rectangles togethers to make a skirt (or tote bag!) there are also some cool things:

-Kenneth D. King
-Koos van den Akker
-Burdastyle
-Material Girls (one of few independent Detroit-area sewing stores, great vintage kimono and new africana fabric, and vintage repro patterns)
-a lingerie fitting workshop
-Threadbanger's Re-construction Zone

-The Baby Lock Passion for Fashion Sewing Challenge (Project Runway inspired, always a few great winning pieces on display)
...and last year there was an amazing fiber arts group exhibit, not sure if it's there this time around...

Shonibare's last Sunday

2009-09-19T15:47:00.000-07:00

tomorrow at the Brooklyn Museum

Alhamdulillahi

2009-09-17T05:54:00.000-07:00

Leon Bonnat, An Egyptian Peasant Woman and Her Child, 1869; aka, the most beautiful painting in the MET

her markings and dress look Bedouin (an ancient nomadic sect), much like this striking lady:

female chin tattoos are found all over the world in tribal communities. markings generally signify family line and social status, an instant visual between peoples who don't call one place home.

the perpetual influence of such "primitivism" is found in this week's debut of Rodarte's SS10:

Basquiat's New York

2009-09-14T18:47:00.000-07:00

three great things about this film:
it's a "watch instantly" on Netflix
1981 was a great crossover year for art punk style
the Lower East Side in the 80s looks like Cass Corridor now

this post-mortem dramatization is nice too -- and you have to love Ms. World as she was when she was.

a black renaissance

2009-09-11T06:33:00.000-07:00

the new kehinde wiley exhibit in new york

not to be confused with the old alexander melamid exhibit in detroit

SOA is SOL

2009-09-10T17:06:00.000-07:00

Sons of Anarchy premiered its second season this week on FX (yes, i forgot it was a channel too).

it's nice seeing a classic heart-throb (Charlie Hunnam) with unstylishly unstyled long locks and a thick neck (no skinny jeans and colorful coy-fish forearms here, nope!)

Ron Perlman (Hellboy) is formidably sized enough to sorta pull off club president, but Katy Segal (Peg Bundy) really shines as his wifey. her clothes are always a little perfectly too tight, too low, too sheer; her novelty accessories from Hot Topic meets JC Penney; her skunky post-punk dye-job 5 years behind the time (unless you hang in certain east Detroit burbs) -- and she wears it all really well on a killer 50+ year old bod.

and HENRY ROLLINS debuts as a competitive white separatist, dapper in minimalist skinhead workwear.

despite the wardrobe department attempt to rough these guys up, they look pretty clean for the most part: shampooed hair, strategically placed tattoos, newish leather, good teeth, good skin. although a couple of the older dudes do appear to be real alcoholics. the youngish women who show up as extras in the rowdy "clubhouse" scenes actually look most authentic, with imperfect bodies, tackier attempts at trash glamour and glazed expressions. too bad you only see them for brief flickers between getting mock cunnilingus and just plain drunk with the boys. ah well.

Chelsea girl?

2009-09-08T12:14:00.000-07:00

riding the L this weekend i noticed a lot of very pretty girls with very pretty half-shaved heads. then i opened Self-Service and saw model Alice Dellas:

i like the dramatic asymmetry, especially with long hair. and i like it because it's punky,

singer Cassie

singer Rihanna

sported by kinda cool popettes,

and has tougher roots

co-opted from Native Americans.

felt! felt! felt!

2009-09-07T05:39:00.000-07:00

i found out about the fashioning felt exhibit at cooper-hewitt at the last minute and luckily got in to see it at the last minute.

felt goes back eight thousand! years and is a truly sustainable material. from start to finish felting is a relatively simple, low impact, and democratic process, still traditionally popular among the nomadic peoples of central asia -- who use it for rugs to booties to saddle bag flair. the exhibited contemporary artists use felt as a form for creatively utilitarian objects and a lot of wearables, to simply pretty ephemera.

an inspiring show of raw material and talent.

some of my favorite pieces, of course, were the dresses.

francoise hoffman: her shapes happen organically (nope, no sewing here), through fusing, often with fabrics like silk.

ps: a nice high felt blog

free headshots

2009-09-05T13:28:00.000-07:00

The Walk-In Portrait Studio by Femke Lutgerink (interviews) & Corine Vermeulen-Smith (photography)

From Tuesday April 14th until Saturday April 18th, 2009 the Walk-in Portrait Studio on 13106 Klinger Street, Detroit, MI opened its doors from 11 AM - 5 PM. Inspired by the famous Walker Evens photograph of the License Photo Studio in New York we set out to create a studio on Klinger Street. The studio was set up in a formerly foreclosed house that is currently being renovated. Over the course of 5 days around 85 people came in to have their portraits taken. The next week the portraits could be picked up at the same location.

aida

jamal

rema

kawaun

renee

tina

willy

zana

good morning androgyny

2009-09-04T07:15:00.000-07:00

lonely abundance, a puce moment indeed

2009-09-03T17:34:00.000-07:00

if you've never seen this Kenneth Anger short

read
watch
go

only a rich celebrity could say

2009-08-31T15:03:00.000-07:00

"The people with the best style for me are the people that are the poorest. Like, when I go down to Venice beach and I see the homeless, like, I'm like, 'Oh my God, they're pulling out, like, crazy looks and they, like, pulled shit out of like garbage cans." Alexander Wang's model-muse Erin Wasson tells NYLON.tv

yup, pretty crazy

anna's not so bad, she's worse

2009-08-28T11:42:00.000-07:00

if you haven't yet seen the september issue, don't.

from ghetto to fabulous?

2009-08-22T18:05:00.000-07:00

my love

meet my new love