cherez la femme

{top} vintage sailor top from Wasteland {skirt} Dear Creatures- high-waisted ruffle top sailor skirt {shoes} Forever 21- patent t-strap mary-janes {glasses} Vintage- model's own {model} Ten Terrell {styling} Me

"These glasses belong to a dead person," Ten says darkly. Then she cracks a smile, the sort that is reminiscent of the sun breaking through the clouds. "Sometimes I think of vintage rather morbidly." She struts down the street discovering secret gates and wild flowers. Her look is equal parts quirky gal and vintage gamine (think Jane Birkin meets Zoey Deschanel's title character from "500 Days of Summer"). "What if the glasses are magic," she proposes, "vintage things always seem to possess a mysterious quality. Perhaps I can see the future, or maybe just the past."

Dieppa Restrepo

{Photos from DieppaRestrepo.com}

I'm a glutton for menswear inspired shoes. When I was ten I begged my parents to buy me classic Bass penny loafers. It was definitely not what all of the other kids were wearing, so my parents were a bit confused. Shouldn't I be pleading for the latest Nike dunks, or LA Gears (wow, that was a hot minute ago) but all I wanted was loafers, oxfords and saddle shoes. After a good report card, I finally got my dream shoes and boy did I love them. My Pops said that I was "so 50's" since he wore similar shoes when he was a kid. He even put shiny new pennies in each of the slots for me, to make the look "authentic". Granted I later graduated to beat-up Keds and Chuck Taylors, but I am still an absolute fanatic for loafers and oxfords, and Dieppa Restrepo makes the most perfect ones imaginable.

This video says it all.

Silverlake Jubilee

{fig.1} Event flyer in a shop window {fig.2-4} Marvelous Toy plays the main stage {fig.5 & 6} Festival food! Lobster on a stick followed by a sea salt chocolate cookie ice cream sammy from the Cool Haus truck {fig.7 & 8} Street vendors- Tiger Moon Designs feather earrings and $10 Vintage {fig.9} Kate Micucci (half of musical duo Garfunkel and Oates) {fig.10} Festival goers

Always a fan of street fairs and festivals, I found myself ecstatic at the prospect of heading to Silverlake this weekend for their jubilee. The neighborhood is home to artsy types and hipsters, as well as some of the best coffee in LA- Intelligentsia, yum. The uniform is vintage duds from shops like Squaresville and Pop Killer, and the place to spend your evenings is checking out the latest indie music at The Echo, Spaceland, or Silverlake Lounge. Naturally the Silverlake Jubilee was a delicious pastiche of all of these aspects. The best food trucks were gathered- Cool Haus ice-cream sammies, yes please! Vintage clothing and artisan jewelry were a diversion from a brilliant line-up of up-and-coming indie bands like Lady Danville, Crystal Antlers, and my personal fave Marvelous Toy. I was introduced to the latter by my friend Camille, the band is friends with her roommate therefore I eventually found myself at one of their shows at Pehr Space. I was hooked, and began referring to Marvelous Toy as "glockenspiel band" to friends, thanks to their copious use of...well glockenspiel. It was a special treat that they were playing at the jubilee. After their set, my friend Amy and I wandered the festival people watching, taking in all of the fabulously funky fashion and catching an adorable set by Kate Micucci on her ukulele. Amy found the most perfect pair of hand-made feather earrings at one of the many stands and then we capped off the day with a stop at Intelligentsia.

STREET FAIR STYLE: Silverlake Jubilee

Trends at the Jubilee included:

• vintage and fringed handbags
• showing off the back with peek-a-boo cut-outs
• suede moccasins and vintage loafers
• booties and boots: particularly lace-up and western styles
• floral dresses and rompers
• vintage decade dresses
• bright orange lipstick
• high-waisted denim cut-offs
• patterned and ripped tights
• funky bralettes peeking out of sheer tops
• tie-dye and southwestern prints

Know Better, Learn Faster

I need you to be better than me, I need me to do better than you... Her voice carried across the hip Silverlake crowd at The Echo. She strummed her guitar and stomped her vintage-cowboy-boot clad feet to the music. We danced, she sang and when it was over it was obvious Thao Nguyen and her band The Get Down Stay Down were forces to be reckoned with.

Memories from another wonderfully fun night at The Echo from last year. I saved these pictures for a post because I loved Thao's stage wear and the experience of seeing her live was quite amazing. At one point people in the audience actually shouted up to the stage asking where she got her vintage-inspired peplum dress. Surprisingly, the answer was Urban Outfitters.

Spring at the Getty

{dress} Chris and Jaime {belt} Sunshine & Shadow {socks} Hansel From Basel - strawberry top knee-hi {shoes} Cynthia Vincent for Target wedge sandal {ring} Turquoise from Venice Beach Boardwalk

Deyrolle Pour Opening Ceremony

{fig.1} Deyrolle Pour Opening Ceremony Spring 11 Lookbook {fig.2} The short fox print dress from openingceremony.us {fig.3} Deyrolle Paris interior via Opening Ceremony Blog {fig.4&5} More from the Spring 11 Lookbook {fig.6} Alexa Chung in the long fox print dress.

the TREND: Trench Coats

{fig.1} Model Hanne Gaby Odiele (via touchpuppet) {fig,2 & 3} Alexa Chung in Burberry trenches, love the ombre! (via CharlesAnastase1979 and IWantToBeAlexaChung) {fig.4} Rachel Bilson in a casual look on a rainy day. (via fabsugar) {fig.5} LA street style, I spotted this lovely gal at the downtown LA Artwalk and had to snap her pic. Check out the puff-sleeve detail on her jacket and that perfectly jaunty beret. {fig.6 & 7} My trench interpretation. H&M mod trench coat, Rokara polka-dot blouse, 7 for All Mankind jeans, Kristen Lee for Tenoversix shoes, Luella sunnies {fig.8} Alexander Wang silk trench from the Spring '11 runway (style.com) {fig.9} Opening Ceremony's unique take on the classic trench. (available at www.OpeningCeremony.us)

I am a shameless trench coat aficionado. Perhaps it's because the trench strikes me as mysterious, the uniform of secret agents and mod super spies. Maybe it's because the classic Burberry silhouette is timeless and elegant, bringing to mind perfectly rainy London days with Big Ben in the background. It may just be a simple coat, but it is easily romanticized, even on the silver screen- think Audrey Hepburn in Charade, Inspector Clouseau, or even Bogey in Casablanca. The trench may have had humble beginnings as a military raincoat created by Thomas Burberry in 1901, but today the options are endless. Take a cue from Alexa Chung's ombre effect coat, Alexander Wang's spring runway version in flowing silk or get funky with Opening Ceremony's oversized design. There isn't a more perfect transition piece for spring when April showers will be bringing May flowers.

into the woods

{dress} Opening Ceremony {belt} Rachel Comey {wooden platform heels} Jeffrey Campbell {bracelets} Free People, vintage {model} Chelsey Cole

Comic Con

{fig. 1} Actresses Paula Labaredas as Barbarella, Pheobe Price as Wonder Woman and Alicia Arden as Aeon Flux {fig. 2-9} Cosplayers at San Diego Comic Con 2010

Pow! Boom! Swish! San Diego Comic Con is coming up again in a few months, the perfect time to post some cosplay inspiration from last years Con. I had the honor to do some directing for a documentary about cosplayers which features actresses Paula Labaredas, Pheobe Price, Alicia Arden, Bridgetta Tomarchio, and Adrianne Curry from America's Next Top Model, to name a few.

Comic Con and cosplay in general brings up the subject of fashion in regards to character design in comics and video games. Obviously there is a certain amount of sex appeal prevalent in the designs, but a character's uniform can often tell you a lot about their personality and the powers they possess. One could say that the genre has actually been very fashion forward through-out the ages, inspiring interesting silhouettes and pushing the envelope. I can see comics being a great source of inspiration for designers and making a fluid transition from comic book to couture.