I never know how to start with blog posts when ever I want to write something of consistency and/or with a valid point. Typically I write a post while I'm eating or half asleep or watching 30 Rock or doing all three simultaneously ("if you want a shot, you're going to have to dance for it...") so I don't get my mental gears going like I should. But then when I sit in silence in front of a computer screen with a black text bracket flicking on and off and on and off, I remain stuck in my thoughts and eventually I just write a couple of sentences, upload some pictures and then go off and do something else. And here I am again doing the exact same thing, but now instead of the mundane repetition, I finally admit I want to talk about something legitimate. Or at least something that's been lingering in my mind for the past weeks, months, years. I think I'm just going to go with the flow and see where my mind takes me (you'll probably be in that twisted dark cave from the 1970s Willy Wonka movie by the end of it, just a word of warning).

Fashion is frivolous. I hear and see that in so many different ways, contexts, confused proclamations, concerned glances, condescending laughs - the list goes on. It took me a long time to understand it and even longer to accept it. These days I tend to ignore cynical things that are said and I won't let it get the best of me (I'm talking about things said about fashion, not personal style, because I'm at a point now where I don't really mind what is said about the latter). I've grown to learn that frivolity comes from a hazy subjective lens of a certain individual, ones who can't go "I don't get it but do whatever floats your boat" but instead declare the opposite.

I thought about this a lot after a quick but discerning conversation with a 76 year old architect that constantly comes into the restaurant I work at for coffee. When he asked me about my career path and I told him what my plans were, he congratulated me and wished me luck in whatever I decided to do with my future. 

"Well I'm actually considering something in fashion" I told him after his "good for you!"s and "stay in school!"s. I remember he just raised his eyebrows and asked, "what, like a designer? are you going to design ball gowns like Valentino?"

"Haha, no, I'm interested more in concept." 

"LOL. Fashion isn't concept at all, it's just for girls to look good."

At this point I started asking him if he knew any Japanese designers and he responded that no he didn't because they only became notable in the past few years to which I started mentioning early 80s Paris Yohji and Rei (I thought the architect cred maybe he would know some of them because of their store's minimalist designs? or it's most likely because I'm stubborn and don't let anything go) and it completely escalated to the point where we raised our voices a touch. Even though it was maybe a minute long conversation tops, the fact that this man denied that fashion had any concept at all got me so angry I could have burst right then.

This was last summer. Since then I've come to terms with the fact that someone could have such an opposing mentality, mainly because they don't see the thing you find as meaningful or legitimate to you the same way. I think why I got so offended by his "fashion isn't concept" was because the only reason I liked (and like) fashion is because of concept. It's naive to think that fashion is only just Cosmopolitan and TLC style shows because that is media fashion, not actual fashion. True fashion is it's own breed of art, complete with tinges of what society labels as general art within it - for example, some runway shows can be seen as a performance art (early 2000s McQueen and A/W 98 Chalayan come to mind almost immediately). Fashion is also one of the only arts that adds physical real human form and concept to create an overwhelming feeling in the back of your heart like you know you're staring at something miraculous. Look at the ballet dancers wearing CdG S/S 97 pieces, how they gracefully move their body and the juxtaposing tumour-like shapes the dresses create against the viewer's predetermined notion of form. "Dress meets body, body meets dress". Everything about this is in the concept. It takes a toll on us through visual means but that overwhelming feeling of uncomfortable, radical beauty is in the end a conceptual means.

This entire video is about the Lumps and Bumps collection (it's from a documentary on Rei in Japanese on Youtube, but skip to 4:05 if you want to see them dancing while wearing pieces from it).

A lot of opposition is a repercussion of personal subjective ideologies. But sometimes I just want to show a person a video such as the one I just posted or of other runway shows for them to realize that fashion isn't only that one street style blog they read and that one US Vogue magazine they bought eight months ago. But I don't want to seem uptight and pretentious when it comes to fashion. Maybe I am a bit protective of it like a mother to it's cub, but admiring something so much has also taught me to respect what others admire to (as long as it's not like beating someone up with spatulas or throwing dogs from the Empire State Building). 

I am getting tired (aka I'm not reading this back so if I come off as unintelligible I apologize) but here are some poorly lit pictures of what I wore a few days ago.

Harry Potter shaped-Willy Wonka TV room glasses. Also my hair is fading so fast, but on the bright side it's getting whiter fast which means I can dye it again but this time ANOTHER NEON COLOUR :D

Pinned my cardigan up because it's boring without being pinned.

Hiding behind lights and my fading hair :'c

Everything is thrifted except for the sunglasses and the maxi dress which are from H&M.

P.S. This is the most perfect thing I have ever seen ever EVER. It is my actual aim to look like this in negative 1 month. (Does anyone have a source to this? It would be much appreciated bbs)

LOL me and my promises for Miu Miu on the same day as a post (see: last sentence that is a lie in previous post). Anyway I feel like going back to eating tomato soup and watching Dexter so here's a quickie of my outfit from yesterday. Note my hair is literally non-edible cotton candy. It's kind of uneven but then again it's pink so it negates the primary fact. I just hope it doesn't fade out too quickly. Gonna ask the god of bubble gum locks to retain the colour (lol if there was a god such as this he would deny my wish on the basis of how bad that joke was).

Also if you think the black dress over top just chillin' is not entirely on, then you are absolutely correct.

Black dress just chillin', Urban Outfitters. Everything that is pink and the socks are from H&M. Black skirt underneath is thrifted. Hair dye is LaRiche Directions hairdye in Carnation Pink.

BAH this is what I wore last night. Sorry about the shitty Photobooth pictchas I forgot my Pentax at my school residence home. It's not krazyohshit but it's legit, y'know? (No not really)

I would have rather gone without the top jumpsuit part because it didn't really comply with the colour palette I was aiming for. I worked my outfit around the three tulle scarfs I knotted together and I felt it was too monotone for what was going on. But alas I had no clothes for they are all in Toronto and I am not.

A lot of people were all WTF IS GOING ON YOU HAVE 3 SKIRTS ON which was a legitimate question to ask but I was all I AM A SKIRT LAYER RING MASTA which no one understood and to be quite frank I didn't understand either.

I do love the jumpsuit top but now with scarf removal you can see how blurgh it is in comparison to the bright skirt/scarf aspect of the ensemble.

I tucked the skirt into itself because I wanted to make the socks noticeable (see: three pictures down) but I love love the pastel rainbow colour going on which is displayed when it's left in its originally intended state and almost reaches my ankles.

APRON :3 If this was a person I would have a crush on it. Yo FACK IT I do have a crush on it. And it is an inanimate object that should be used for cooking. Thus I have a crush on inanimate objects that should be worn while cooking.

Lol my posture in this is reminiscent of Gagz in Bad Romance circa spine-ful nude monster.

This is where I happily display to you my unintentionally uneven socks and somewhat unclean bedroom floor.

Floral jumpsuit, Topshop. Pastel skirt and pink apron and three scarfs knotted together, Courage My Love vintage in Kensington Market. Floral skirt underneath, Frvr21. Tights are my mothers, socks are my fathers. Bracelets are from a trip to Jamaica. 

SO YAH. Miu Miu later today promise k kool.

Quick post before I go to work (THEN THRIFTING BAH I MISS U SALVATION ARMS) but I've screencapped a lot of Miu Miu so I'll review that either tonight or tomorrow.

This isn't a life-altering outfit but I forgot about this blue dress from forever ago (I got it winter of 200and8) and felt I should take pics of it and stuff. The lighting in my bedroom is oddly amazing even though clouds are literally pouring buckets of cold water down upon the earth. And breathing heavily to boot. So like it's a mini (aka legitimate) hurricane outside right now.

Jacket, blue fitted dress, green tulle fabric scarf, all vintage/thrifted. Everything else is from H&M.

Also: I'm blonde! I'm not as content with the shade (I wanted it to be much whiter than golden) so I decided I was going to go back next week to dye it more. As I contemplated this I realized that in the past I've been eager to colour my hair either pink or blue each time I've decided I was going to change hair colours. In addition to this notion, I set a date several weeks ago to dye it pink (or blue) but things came up with the individual who was supposed to do it for me (+ I have no money to go to hairdresser + I'm afraid I'll mess it up if I try to do it by myself) so in the end I thought "why not fuck the blonde and go neon like you promised yourself at the start"? 

I'm tired of trying to comply with conventions (no I'm not in a REBEL FUCK SOCIETY! mentality but I just hate caring what people think), which eventually creates this fright in me to try things I've admired on others for ages. So fuck this, I'm going to do it. I'm bored with my hair already anyways.

Two points I will acknowledge in this seemingly quick post.

1) The Case of the Grinning Cat meets today's outfit

Everything is thrifted and vintage except for the rib shirt which is from shopwithasianstereotypes and the socks which are mismatched (deliberately) from H&M.

and 2) I dye my hair blonde tomorrow!!! Well, that's the first part, then I'm going to go pink, blue or fire truck red (with a hint of pink)... my roomate goes to school at Aveda and said she could do the blonde for free, so I was in no shape to pass up the chance.

I'm bringing in this picture from Proenza S/S 2010 because it's just about the same shade I want. The last time I was a blonde I was thirteen and it was nowhere near this white. I'm ecstatic right now but I'll probably get a bit shaky during. I'll post pictures as soon as I cannn

(via style.com)

Paris F/W 2010: Lanvin

Lanvin:

With the arrival of pre-fall collections several months prior and a sneak peak into what we would see during Autumn/Winter 2010, one of the most anticipated for me was whatever Alber Elbaz was concocting in his little studio full of whimsy perfection and whatever else it's like in there (I imagine flowers, rainbows and kittens... even though he's specifically stated before he watches news programs I can't help but imagining him rolling around with a plethora of kittens as he comes up with a concept... I envision it kind of like (well, exactly like) Jonah Hill in this video) I've digressed from my point, whaaat else is new? My point is that there is so much elegant obvious beauty in the clothes he makes for Lanvin each season. For Spring the atmosphere of the runway was similar, a dark greyish air hung over the audience and the models as they trotted down displaying clothes in monochrome then big frilly frock dresses made from loose fabrics of varied colours swimming with form as if this tulle was one with the body. For Fall he took the mood and carried it further, deeper, to the point where the link between Spring and Fall was a blur and all that could be seen was a slight shade of darkness.

There was a juxtaposition he created with the structures tailored and molded against the body. This is an accordance only with his past collection, for Alber's clothes always seem to compliment the female shape (even the thick jackets somewhat oversized in certain proportions). There was a rebellious vibe exuding from both the clothes and the models, with the chain necklaces and metals and rough texture of the black dresses. Adding onto this would be the colour palette; which seemingly lacked any true pop of colour, only in deep reds and browns, as the black coincided with the atmosphere. And yet, with all this so apparent edginess, there was an elegance evident in the way the dresses creased into one side of the hip, the creamy nude gloves, the simplistic overly-feminine shoes, etc. It was good to see the subtlety of paradox in the collection. It was almost like he retained a touch of the Spring collection and didn't entirely translate himself (which, believe it or not, can work to one's advantage sometimes).

In my opinion I'm not really sure if I liked the Spring or Fall collection better, but I'm leaning a bit more towards Fall. I think maybe the Spring weather that's finally creeping up is taking a toll on my taste. My point is (do I ever have a point, really?) that Alber, you did good kid.

(all images via style.com)

Paris F/W 2010 so far

Balenciaga:

Nicholas Ghesquiere, if I ever met you in real life I would have to fist bump you for all of the geometric things you're doing with Balenciaga. I know it is hallmark Ghesquiere, looking forward in time and space to the point where it becomes beyond futuristic (since fashion is all about looking forward by six months, always), most designers outdo their signature (see: Ball Mane) and it starts to become a repetition of the past, but it never, ever happens with Nicholas' work for Balenciaga. The odd fabrics combined with the industrial cutouts of different shapes was clearly looking beyond six months (sixty years I would say) even though it was an extension of the spring collection; most noticeable in the spiderweb pattern on the knit sweater and a few of the geometric dresses. Also, I loved the sweaters with geometric neon squares printed on top of one another so precisely cinched by a belt at the waist - I don't know why but it reminded me of the Stargate sequence in 2001: A Space Odyssey, mainly because the prints seemed to begin falling into this vertical abyss; the same sense of vertical oblivion seen in the film. (Note: I don't care if you don't see the link because it's awesome and Stanley Kubrick and I are dating so back off k)

The latter of the collection was basically large cutouts of what seemed to be newspapers, but with the large eccentric prints and neon-colours used I felt it was, again, futuristic (Nicholas bb did you travel back to the early 21st century from the future? I won't tell promise). And although some of the concept was maintained and it was a neat idea, I didn't really like the latter of the collection. It was too much of a stray away visually, from the geometric BAM! to the neon word collage 'yeah okay I guess' feeling I got.

But the greatest thing ever was hands down THE SHOES. LOOK AT THEM. I honestly can't even begin to express how awesome these are. I guess I'll have to retract what I said about fist-bumping you and change that into a full blown hug-kiss combination. 

Manish Arora:

The colourful sequins! Oh my god I think I died when I saw these. It's like if Columbia from Rocky Horror Picture Show met Rainbow Brite and they designed an outfit together that they would wear whenever they kicked some ass. Overall though I think my love for this collection stayed within the realms of the beginning looks. The colours and patterns blended together so well that I want to break into a dance. Which I did. In figurative sequins and neon wigs.

Issey Miyake:

Although there were several looks I liked from the latter (well, pretty much the last 50 looks) of the collection, I loved what Dai Fujiwara did with the first six or seven looks - how he took geometric tube-like knits and intertwined/layered them within each other. In my opinion I felt he should have integrated them into the collection near the end, instead of bringing the viewer (aka me) such immediate joy which I kind of lost by the end. The colour palette also reminded me of his Flying Saucer collection. Also, S/S 95.  But the reminder was only there in colour, not in concept or aesthetic. I mean I like what Fujiwara is doing but in comparison to Issey? Not at alll.

Vivienne Westwood:

Vivienne will always be that designer who always combines clothing with a sense of radical patriotism. There's no denying that she integrates her British roots into each collection, some more obviously than others. But the thing about this is that it always, always works. It's a British rebellion, a radical outlook on things, sometimes punk, sometimes merely not conventional. This blunt influential outlook is Westwood's signature method and in F/W she maintains it through prints, text, styling, color palette, etc. (For some reason I thought the make-up got influence from imagining Galliano as a trans? Do other people see this or is it just because I'm writing this at 3:28am?) But I love loved the styling and how well the colours coincided and everything was just great. For some reason it reminds me of an avant-garde film I saw recently entitled Jubilee (probably because it revolves around Britain in the future). It was weird but pretty good and plus, Tilda Swinton is extremely fond of it and she's on par with Zeus so like that means it's definitely good.

(all images via style.com)