Christmas Presents of Inspiration

Merry Christmas Everybody! My inspiration folder for December is really full, so I thought y'all would enjoy getting to take a peek at what's been exciting for me this month.

Amazing black and white photos.

Beautiful makeup photos. I love the big experimental makeup looks.

Childhood Daydreams Come to Life

This may be too obscure for some people, but did anyone else read Maurice Sendak books when they were a kid? Holy hell was I obsessed with these books! I think I had every one ever written, and some of them are still on my shelves today. Every last one of those books is absolutely on its last legs from being read and re-read so often. If you have not read these books, I'm telling you right now, add these and this to your Christmas list now. I don't care how old you are, and if you think you're too cool for kids' books- you probably read Harry Potter, and these books are so much cooler than Harry will ever be.

When I found out that they were making a movie of Where the Wild Things Are, I was ecstatic. When I found out Spike Jonze was directing it, I did my happy dance with glee. And then when I saw these stills from the movie that were recently released- well, I almost passed out with

giddiness.

I don't think I've been this excited about the release of a movie ever. I will be there on opening day to see this one.

The only thing that concerns me (and kinda makes me laugh a little) is that at screenings, evidently kids were running out crying and screaming. Obviously, this makes the studios a little nervous, so the film has supposedly done some reshoots and editing to make it more kid-friendly. But I don't want kid-friendly. These books are intentionally weird- that's what I loved about them as a little weirdo kid, and that's what makes me return to them as an adult. I hope that there will be a DVD release of the original version, and I really hope that the new version hasn't been too kiddie-fied to make it unrecognizable to its original fans.

In short, buy Maurice Sendak books NOW, and get yourself educated in the awesome weirdness before this movie is released. I'll see you on opening night- I'll be the one yelling "Let the wild rumpus start!" and wearing my crown.

Burberry Pre-Fall 2009

Christopher Bailey KILLED it with this collection. Usually I don't do pictures from just one collection, but this one was too good not to share. Plus he included more of the pants like the ones I'm coveting from this post, but in a great fall fabric. He also made those weird bucket hats from the spring show work.  What have been your favorite pre-fall collections so far?

Inspiration Folder for November

I keep an inspiration folder on my desktop that I fill with images that I pull from all over the internet. They're from websites, emails, ads, editorials, basically anything that I can find. Anyway, to make some space I've been trying to organize them, but I thought that I'd show y'all what has caught my interest lately. These have all been pulled over the last month.

This photo is currently my background on my computer. It reminds me of the place I went to camp as a kid.

Getting in the holiday spirit. 

Moody glamour. I never realized the similarities in color and lighting until I put these all together.

Devon Aoki and Daphne Guiness in Chanel. 

The Lion, the Witch, and Stuff I Need in My Wardrobe

The other day, someone on another blog posed the question, "What five things do you wish you could add to your wardrobe this fall?" I thought about it, and came up with more than five, and I thought I'd share them with you. 

This looks like a pirate took on the ubiquitous fall blazer. I mean that in the most awesome way possible. 

Coming Soon by Yohji Yamamoto

The chicest sweater/sweatshirt combo you'll ever see.

Hogan by Thakoon

I love the hood on this jacket. 

Ever

This may be the coolest purse ever. That's not hyperbole either... COOLEST. EVER.

Alessandro Dell'Acqua

If you saw these on the runway, you know they make your legs look a gazillion miles long. When you're 5'3", that makes them a must-have.

Burberry Prorsum

Could these be any cooler? I dare you to find a way.

Christian Louboutin

I need a black tie event that I can wear this dress to ASAP. I'm not sure I'd ever take it off.

Alexander McQueen

Thank you, America

Random, but Funny

If you have a dog, you will understand why this is so funny. FYI, this dog is eleven months old.

Why, Topshop, Why?

For Christmas, my dad and stepmother are taking my brother and I to New York City. I'm really excited about this for lots of reasons, but I was really excited that the US Topshop would be open in time for my visit. Instead, Topshop in New York won't open until spring 2009. Why must you break my heart?

Instead, I'm stuck e-shopping the topshop.com website. Look at these two beautiful booties I found.

I realize that this are total Louboutin wanna-bes, but they're also beautiful, so I'm trying to tell myself I don't care.

These are YSL-esque in the best way possible. I think I'm in love.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen...

May I interrupt your day to bring you this HOLY CRAP THIS IS F*ING GORGEOUS moment.

That is all. Resume your activities.

Quick Notes....

Sorry folks, I know I've been absent lately, but I've been having some medical issues that are pretty much taking up all of my time getting figured out.

However, big news:

1. I'm getting my camera fixed. While I refuse to turn this into a "what I wore today" blog (mostly because you'd see a lot of t-shirts and jeans- I don't feel like getting glamorous when I'm sick), lately I've had the urge to take some snaps of stuff around my house for you to check out.

2. I'm going to learn Photoshop so that I can collage stuff for y'all. Does anyone know of good tutorials online? I'm looking at probably using Photoshop Elements, if that helps any.

An awesome picture to tide you over until I can get my ass back in gear, from Vogue China (not sure of the issue, but it was this summer prior to the Olympics):

Two Quick Questions...

1. I'm slow with the updating lately because I've been having a hard time getting the pictures on style.com to load. Is anyone else having this problem, or is it just my computer?

2. I feel like such a loser for asking this, but does anyone have an invite for the Fashion Spot forums? There have been several occasions where I've wanted to ask questions that I feel like could be best answered there, but I don't know who to turn to other than my favorite readers! I'll send you something awesome in return... although I have no idea what it will be yet.

Thanks to you all!

Edit: Thanks Wendy!

The Story of My Disappearance

If you follow this blog, you may have noticed that I dropped off the map for a couple of days towards the end of New York Fashion Week. I didn't gush about the Oscar show (classic and flawlesss, as usual) or tell you about my favorites (Boy, Donna Karan, Marc Jacobs). If I could, I would spend the next few weeks going through the detail and beauty shots of all of the shows (and if you haven't, you must go through the detail shots of the Marc show because there is so much to look at and take in and it's all gorgeous!), but instead I took a break for something special!


I was lucky enough to grow up in BB King's hometown, and so I've been able to see this amazing performer in concert since I was barely old enough to walk. This weekend was the grand opening of the museum built in his honor, and I went home to celebrate. It was an especially big weekend because, once upon a time, I worked for the museum when it was just in its infancy.

Let me tell you, a lot has changed. People, this place is amazing. Indianola, Misssisssippi is a town of about 12,000 people, but the museum could easily stand next to any museum in Atlanta, New Orleans, or any major city. Everything is absolutely beautiful, the displays are all fascinating, and you really come away feeling like you understand the story of his life and how incredible it is that a man who started in smalltown Mississippi has millions of fans throughout the world. Check out this article in USA Today about the opening of the museum..

We also got to go to the gala opening, where we saw Keb' Mo' , Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Bobby "Blue" Bland, and others share the stage and play an incredible, once in a lifetime performance that absolutely blew everyone away. It's truly a performance that I will be telling my grandchildren about one day.

I hope that if you are a fan of the blues, or just of music in general, that you'll go check out the museum. Find out more about it here.

Congrats on your opening, L!

Has This Ever Happened to You?

I can't be the only one who has spilled nail polish on their carpet? It's truly a moment of panic, especially if you're like me and you rent your house. I just dumped about half a bottle of dark plum polish on my (rented) cream-colored carpet. What did I do? The same thing most of my generation would do... I Googled! And guess what? IT WORKED! Plus, the ingredients used in the stain remover can be found around your home.

If this ever happens to you, here's a solution that worked on my carpet:

1. DO NOT APPLY NAIL POLISH REMOVER. This will only smear the polish around your carpet. I would have had much less to clean up if I hadn't immediately tried polish remover.

2. Coat the stain in rubbing alcohol. If you have a spare toothbrush laying around, use it to scrub the liquid all the way down to the base of the carpet weave. If not, you can also use your finger.

3. Blot the excessive liquid up with a towel.

4. Spray the stain with Windex (I used Windex brand, so all I can do is guarantee that this type of window cleaner works), then scrub it in with the toothbrush/finger. Blot up the foam with a towel.

5. Cover the stain with hot water, and blot. 

6. Alternate between Windex and hot water until the stain is out!

Tomorrow I'll be back with an awesome post about why I suddenly disappeared in the middle of Fashion Week! Something unusual but special for the music fans.

*I can only vouch for this method working on a light-colored carpet. I'd try this in a tiny little corner to be sure that this doesn't cause discoloration on your carpet!

** If you're curious, I spilled about an hour ago. My carpet had a deep purple stain. It now looks like this:

WOOHOO!