Sometimes life is unfair

Why oh why do these shoes only come in child sizes? I would seriously rock these everyday if I owned them. I don't care if my friends wouldn't be seen in public with me and I got made fun of by strangers. I'd have watermelon shoes! Maybe this look could be achieved with a pair of white keds and sharpies? Future DIY project?

This also falls into the dangerous category of "Things I Want to Buy for my Nonexistent Baby."

P.S. Maraithe arrives in Honolulu tomorrow so all three writers of Twixt Timezones will be together in the same time zone! Let the mimosa drinking begin!

Ugly Sweaters

Greetings, from my childhood bedroom.

My bedroom in my parents' house is a shrine to my childhood. It contains a pretty solid collection of young adult female fiction (read: NOT Twlight, I'm too old for that crap. I read the Princess Diaries and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, thankyouverymuch), teen magazines I can't bare to throw away (miss you YM!), some handkerchief curtains (future post? they're pretty rad), collage of places I wanted to go before I went anywhere on my closet door, and my various collections (owls, shot glasses, tiny bottles, candles). But perhaps my favorite collection of all is...my ugly sweater collection!

Thought this blog was all movie stills and runway shots? You were wrong, y'all. Very wrong. Now, for your viewing pleasure, my ugly sweater collection shot via webcam!

I call this one Rainbow magic. Thrifted from Village Thrift, Pennsauken, NJ. Perfect for when you're feeling fancy.

Are rainbow sequins too much for you? Fine, then how about gold and silver sequins in a wave/lightening bolt pattern? Thrifted at Village Thrift in Pennsauken, NJ.

I call this one the Molly Ringwald. Very Sixteen Candles. Due to the nature of crappy nature of webcam photos, the exact off-shades of ugly pastel purple and pink are lost to the viewer. However, I challenge you to find ANYTHING that will exactly match these shades.

If I EVER go to a Sixers game, I have a sweater just for the occasion. Because I went to school in Boston and I'm probably moving to New York and I actually don't really care about basketball, this one's staying in the closet. But when the Sixers occasion finally happens, I'm totally prepared. I forget where I thrifted this one.

FINALLY - I can be the token Jew at an Ugly Sweater Christmas party! Kind of like in kindergarten when everyone decorated green and red Christmas ornaments, and I decorated the lone dark blue one in the package. I didn't even have anywhere to hang it! Mom still loved it though! Haha! Also, a back view:

Gotta love that twist! Thrifted in Paris, France. My host mother washed this, and I'm sure she added this to the list of reasons why she thought I was weird.

This one's not too special, but I call it the Denise Cosby. I also have a matching sweater skirt to match!

Last, but not least, we have this beauty. Hot pink sweater with black bows and dangly black beads sewn on. Again, I have to point out that a webcam does not translate to how amazing this sweater really is. I found this last year at Beacon's Closet in Williamsburg. When I saw it, it was instant love and I knew I could not leave this behind. I need to wear this one out soon, for the sake of humanity. See you in September, sweater.

Red Lips and Silhouettes: Turn On the Bright Lights

Dramatic collars, alabaster skin, sharp lines, monochrome palette, chili pepper lips and kohl, kohl, kohl:

Blade Runner's tragic, classic, complicated Rachael.

Futuristic fashion plate. (Love this shot!)

guerre des étoiles existentielles

Assembling this rasterbated still from the Star Wars/Jean-Paul Sartre mash-up that has been making the rounds on the 'net was my Saturday undertaking. I am pleased.

If you haven't seen the (terrific) video, you will find a link below. You'll be able to find the link even if you have seen it.

THANKS INTERNET.

Existential Star Wars (In French)

http://homokaasu.org/rasterbator/

Orientalism

I have a friend here in Hawai'i that is pretty fascinated with orientalism. As in, it comes up with her ALL the time (although I guess it's not that hard to see wisps of orientalism in Hawai'i, the culture of which is profoundly influenced by the asian-american encounter). I tolerate it in the same way she tolerates my fondness for talk of produce, action/adventure soundtracks, and a constant, unwavering, absolutely inescapable tendency toward lateness.

Would she have socially-loaded orientalism-founded criticisms to offer regarding this new asian-inspired styles trend? probs.

What made me first really realize the East was In (or rather, In AGAIN - what it ever really Out? Am I even making sense anymore?) ASOS' East Meets West feature: Loveee the kimono inspired cape-like overwear, and I think the huge vibrant color splashes (while not something I'd be into myself) are interesting takes on styles that I usually associate with an atmosphere evoking the chill, unobtrusive and organic (neutral tones, minimal designs, simple details).

ASOS is also telling me that this is kimono-inspired... which I'm not really sure I agree with but - how fabulous is it??? It's the type of thing I would call a 'piece'. It stands alone, it's interesting without being over the top; in short, it carries an outfit - a sturdy, solid foundation, with an art-school-esque flair that makes it distinct. How to accessorize it would be the real fun! How not to drown it out, or turn it into an explosion of tasteless sensory overstimulation? How to complement the creative unorthodoxy without making it look like stage costume? Sigh. If only these were the types of first world problems that filled my life...

Here are some asian-inspired threads from Louis Vuitton (again with the technicolor...not sure I'm into that). None of these are really things I'm lusting after, but they're definitely interesting. I like how they don't just pull from the cliche cape-y kimono look and instead delve into the more traditionally masculine styles. Some pieces remind me of the stern lone samurai's boxy ensemble in a Kurosawa movie.





And all this reminded me of Liv Tyler's chic kimono robe from the Two Towers premiere back in 2002 (anyone else remember seeing this in Vogue way back when?). First of all, Liv Tyler is beautiful and always wears everything so well with her rock-and-roll-goes-sweet thing. But this classy, understated, exotic silky piece looks especially good with her pink cheeks and elvish(!) eyes.



And the beautiful satin-y Gucci kimonos from 2003. Love this ad campaign!



Overall, I'm wary of getting TOO into the 'insert-culture'-ally inspired. It can get costume-y. And caricature-y. I hated Amidala's overly-oriental costumes because they just seemed like comic book versions of historical earth clothing. Large and loud, yes - but done and seen before. I LOVE the SW costume designer Trisha Biggar, but I love her best when her designs are these amazing blends of a lot of influences, all seamless merging together into one absolutely other-worldy work of art.


Which is why I was such a fan of the gowns with a little more variance and obscurity in the mix. Or maybe the clothing being referenced just aren't as widely distributed in mainstream media so it's harder to pinpoint its origin to one specific country? Check this mad mix of African and Elizabethan lines/accessories or this Mongolian-inspired headpiece.

On another note, why don't we see more references to the gorgeous-insane thai spike helmets? I want more of that. Here's a teeny shot from Ong Bak 2, which features - rather inexplicably, actually - a lot of gorgeous Thai dancing and elaborate ancient Thai clothing.

And of course, what would an asian clothing post be without a couple utterly breathtaking wuxia motion pic shots? No one does spectacle like the Chinese filmmakers! Zhang Yimou's mindbendingly gorgeous House of Flying Daggers with the equally unreal Ziyi Zhang, and regal Gong Li from his Curse of the Golden Flower (as visually stunning as House of Flying Daggers, but much less enjoyable to watch...) in opulent period robes.



I am so getting lost and swoony in the luxe, flowy asian styles right now - such a departure from the somewhat-stuffy olde European styles we're so used to seeing in historical pictures. Let's just make sure we don't end up making like my elementary teachers and opting for these vaguely-asian-inspired patchwork sack dress two-pieces....

Random Asian-y shot! Here's a waaaay old picture of Ruthanne and me at the beautiful Byodo-In temple (location for 'Korea' in the show Lost) at valley of the Temples looking utterly style-less in our play-tourist clothes. Maybe we need a refresher pic in front of it when the girls visit at the end of this month...?

Models in Space

I am so into this beautiful pencil sketch of the Princess Irulan character from Frank Herbert's Dune universe right now (thanks, wikipedia!). I love how eerie, exotic and regal (the book mentions her "hauteur"!) she looks. Also, I never though I'd say this, but somehow she manages to pull off this weird gravity-defying eighties hairstyle... and who wants imperial high colars to suddenly be in style in the 21st century?!

Does she remind anyone else of a certain adorable aussie model? Those bold straight brows, pouty chin, baby lips, and flat exotic nose...

Gemma Ward gone sci-fi!

More cosmic modeling:

Lost in (cyber)space?

I'm trying to find this one perfect image from Vogue (must be an issue the better part of a decade ago, though). I think the editorial was themed by the places the model wanted to visit. Shalom Harlow wanted to visit home, another model wanted to go skydiving around the Taj Mahal... and one wanted to visit the moon! I remember she was standing in the rocky moon terrain, pouring loose glitter out of a big plastic bottle. The picture was taken mid-stream, with the glitter plunging in a line toward the floor, but hadn't yet hit.

It's driving me crazy! Internet, why hasn't someone scanned in every editorial from every Vogue issue yet? Or are my Google skills failing me?