Eyelashers

The Elegant and The Cool

2010-12-18T01:24:00.000-05:00

8 Days to Christmas

2010-12-17T23:44:00.008-05:00

Fascinating Words!

2010-12-16T22:35:00.001-05:00

My gentleman just alerted me of one very intriguing service Google is now providing. It's called N Grams and while browsing my favorite words, it taught me that many of my favorite word trends were popular in 1580's, the 1630's and the 1930's. how fascinating!

Head Wraps & Turbans for Self Expression

2010-12-12T21:50:00.000-05:00

PHOTOGRAPHER Victor Gutierrez

MODEL Bella LaGosi

The head wrap is a perfect way to spruce up any outfit, and poses as an excellent opportunity to express your personal beliefs and style. I tend to use silk scarves for my head wraps, but cotton is used around the world because it stays put much better. If you aren't sure what your head-wrap style is, there are several places that you could look to when drawing your inspiration:

You could go theatrical: Carmen Miranda was quite the character! In her films, she expressed herself with wild eye rolling, dancing and grand gestures, all the while singing. But what she ended up being most famous for was her elaborately embellished head wraps and particularly the fruit covered head dresses. Her brash head wear illustrated her sense of humor and her taste for theatrics. You have to admit, if you saw all that walking down the street, you'd definitely have to give it a strong stare if not a double take. Woo-woo!

Today, people are still donning head wraps and turbans. Though maybe not always quite as wildly as Carmen's, they still seem to have the ability to draw attention, either politically or aesthetically. No one can resist the allure of a woman in a head wrap.

Or you could look to some of the world's cultural heritage. Men and women of African decent are currently paving the path for the modern head wrap in America. They associate it with their rich cultural background; often wrapping their heads, in traditional African prints and following wrapping styles that have been used in Africa for hundreds if not thousands of years. Modern women take great pride in their head wraps and often get quite creative with the styling and prints that they use, to show off their cultural flair.

If spiritual is your quest, then a turban might be a good way to describe it. Should you find yourself more inclined to attach your head, as well as your head gear, to spiritual matters, you could look to the Middle Eastern tribal cultures, and religions for your turban styling design. There are thousands of tribes, each with their own style of turban wrapping to express their heritage, religious beliefs, social status, and even their territory. You might consider creating your own while coming up with a head wrap that suits you.

Whether you're wearing a head wrap to create and feel connected to your cultural and spiritual heritage or to dress up a blasé outfit, you will surely be making a strong statement. The more you embellish, work with pattern or color, or create an original wrapping style, the more you express yourself to others. Most importantly, it will tell people that you have a sense of self and that you take pride in showing it. What more could anyone want from an accessory?

The Tasting Room: Haute Barnyard Dining

2008-04-20T22:47:00.024-04:00

PHOTOGRAPHER John Michaels

SUBJECT The Tasting Room's Colin Alevras

What to eat has suddenly become as important a question as where to eat. Until recently, all we needed to know to eat healthy was that fast food is bad, cooking at home is best, and a night out at a well-regarded restaurant meant a quality gastronomic experience. No longer. With all the investigative reports coming out about our food industry, even savvy eaters find themselves faced with a major dilemma when it comes to eating a decent meal. While shoppers wander around the grocery story perplexed with questions of quality and origin, those who don't cook have an even more complicated mystery to solve - detailed information about ingredients isn't generally disclosed on restaurant menus, and when you ask a waiter he often has no idea where the ingredients have come from.

While localvores believe they have come up with the best solution, time and convenience remains a major issue for those who can't realistically pass the "localvore challenge" on a daily basis. This is why I began searching for restaurants in New York City that claimed to be local-organic. As of late April, not many can present a menu that comes anywhere near a localvore's standards. I feel lucky if I can find a lonely grass-fed burger on a menu. That's partly why The Tasting Room has become my new standard for dining out. Welcome to Haute Barnyard Cuisine.

The Tasting Room's co-owner and chef, Colin Alevras, presents an amazingly complete, wonderfully imaginative dining experience. He and his wife, Renée, opened their first Tasting Room Bar & Cafe November 29, 1999, with a menu of fine wines paired with smaller dishes. Expanded in 2006 to a second establishment, Renee now runs the dining room and business end of their restaurants, while Colin is left to experiment with every culinary oddity he can get his hands on. His curiosity is his guiding principle; his menu changes nightly to reflect his finds. Colin loves the process of hand picking the best ingredients in New York City's farmer's markets and goes out weekly to get most of his produce from local, organic farmers. He's fascinated by the rarest flavors that genetic diversity can provide and prides himself on working with farmers who still use the older, heirloom lines of plant seeds and livestock. The venison he uses, for example, is an old species of the Royal Scottish Red Stag which one of Colin's New York farmers imported to raise as an exotic. Now, this line of deer is threatened in its native Scotland due to accidental hybridization, making purebreds of this variety hard to find.

Colin gets his seafood from a local Japanese fisherman who often offers him local fish he's never seen sold at market, mostly due to lack of mass popularity (this has the additional benefit of encouraging biodiversity by avoiding the over-fished popular varieties). But this particular fisherman can only offer the names of the fish to Colin in Japanese, which poses some difficulties when trying to prepare a menu. He'll usually jump on the Internet and figure out what it is, what it tastes like, and a way to serve it. More than fish, his Japanese vendor brings him unusual herbs and vegetables from Japan that add new flavors to his menu. Colin has no problem with using items from other places around the world as long as they're not grown here. "People used to trade goods they could not get locally," Colin shrugs.

Colin and Renee's exquisite taste extend beyond his cooking. When sitting at the bar, I noticed that the coaster my drink sat on, which appeared to be made out of recycled brown paper, oddly began collecting a smudging of wine-colored glass rings. But I wasn't drinking red wine - I was sampling Tasting Room's pale homemade cola-soda, (a recipe that tastes better than Coca-Cola, to this palette anyway). The rings are, in fact, engineered - Colin and a friend designed the coasters to imitate red wine stains as they become wet. The Tasting Room logo, too, is a pattern of red wine stains, something they came up with after a night of wonderful food, red wine, and good friends. The paper on the table at which they'd been sitting was marked all over with red wine glass rings, which in Colin's mind was a sign that the meal had been thoroughly enjoyed.

Above the bar hangs what I like to think of as the restaurant's mascot - a life-sized coelacanth fish cast in amber created by Rachel Burwick. And that is not the only notable artwork on the walls. The collection is curated by artist, Michael Joo, and includes works by notable artists such as Damien Hirst. The collection comes off as playful and fun, some pieces bordering on childlike (the Hirst looks as if it were made on a children's Twirl O Paint machine). And especially in this setting, with the raw wood floors and brick walls, the large, heavy silverware, the country-style chairs, and the tables covered in craft paper, the artwork takes on a natural and comforting feeling. Colin pays for his art collection in food, giving the artists a restaurant tab equal the value of their work.

One need not consume much of this kind of food to feel fully satisfied. At the end of a meal at The Tasting Room I experienced a euphoric high. This is something I've noticed fresh, nutrient-rich food does to me. The highly researched, labor-intensive dishes do not come cheaply, however. I can only afford to get the full three course meal experience on rare, celebratory occasions. But the prices can only be considered fairly when you consider what you're eating: there's rich gustatory history in every bite; the highest quality hand-selected ingredients; a lifetime of vino-cultural experimentation in every glass of wine; museum-worthy art to rest your eyes on; and so many other well thought-out details to absorb and contemplate. When the bill comes I can only think of the amazing value that I've received. When I'm really craving the quality of The Tasting Room (and I do so pretty often) without a huge dent in my wallet, I will go in and treat myself to their Old MacDonald Burger. At $23 it's something of a bargain. And while I'm at it, I'll have one of their home made sodas. If nothing else, I suggest just coming in one day to try the coffee, which I promise you will be an exceptional experience in itself.

Balancing Act

2008-04-02T22:12:00.064-04:00

PHOTOGRAPHER Victor Gutierrez

SUBJECT Kiren

ALL CLOTHES thrift store finds

My model, Kiran, is a perfect example of a lady who can maintain her poise while connecting to the many influences of contemporary life. She comes from a traditional South Asian family, but is a first generation American. She recognizes the need to honor her family's cultural traditions; surrounding herself with textiles and tapestries with ethnic distinction and ancient spiritual references, and maintaining much of her mother's traditional cooking as a major part of her diet.

Yet she also wants to create her own path. She's influenced by the American society around her, where women have taken on new, powerful roles in the many relationships in their lives. She regularly re-evaluates where her traditional and modern values clash to create harmony within herself. As she likes to put it, she's "expressing her diverse cultural identity: to be both South Asian and American... one culture does not have to negate the other."

Kiran works as a teacher, where she's confronted daily by the newest generation of students. In her attempt to encourage her students' interest in learning, her work requires her to embrace the culture of a new generation. She also needs to keep the students' and her own emotional states in check and her classroom in order. She needs to be - and appear to be - a professional, authoritative figure. Her personal interests can often diverge from this classroom persona. In the classroom, she generally wears heels and professional separates, while her weekend appearance, with it's ethnic-hippie flavorings, might jar her students who look to her expecting stability and sobriety. Thus there are times when she feels her clothes are at odds with her complete being, giving her a bit of a wardrobe identity crisis.

I offered to help Kiran address this issue, creating Spring looks that express her personal interests and passions using color, textiles, and accessories, while mixing in structured, tailored silhouettes to address her professional need to look stately, mature, and polished. I see no reason why the two can't be in harmony all week long if approached the right way. I suggested that she ask a couple of questions when she got dressed for school: Do I look like a caricature of one of my high school teachers? On the weekend: Do I look too New Age-y in these combinations? Do I look like too typically "Indian" in this outfit? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, I suggested she follow up with: What item is pushing this outfit too far in the direction of either stereotype? Once the troubling item is pinpointed, trade it out for something from the opposite side - if leaning toward school marm, throw on a colorful batik scarf. If leaning toward hippie, throw on a blazer. Mix it up so no one theme overwhelms any other. After all, there's no one obvious theme resonating within most people's being.

She may not be wearing tie-dyed tights to class anytime soon, but I hope that our experiment encouraged a new way for her to look at dressing for work and life. There's no reason why anyone should ever feel disconnected from themselves while they're trying to keep up with other people's expectations. The more in line your appearance is with your heart, mind, and soul, the better the universe will know how to receive you in an appropriate manner.

Bohemian Gold

2008-03-16T22:42:00.001-04:00

PHOTOGRAPHER John Micheals

SUBJECT Petra Aurelia Langerova

You see before you Petra Aurelia Langerova, a captivating woman with deep, mysterious waters swirling beneath the surface. Her unique style could be described as abstract-modern with flashes of the surreal. But it's the many ways she expresses this style that point to her true bohemian nature.

Upon entering Petra's home, one encounters a number of curiosities. Most of the art works on the walls are random objets trouvés that she has transformed: discarded card stock from denim pattern-makers, balls of packing straw, little bits and bobs of antique lace... Petra somehow has the ability to give a beautiful second life to things that look like rubbish to other people.

Maybe being raised by a Slovak family with long cultural and intellectual history has something to do it. The Patriarch of the family, her grandfather, was an activist, idealist, scholar, and philosopher. As the founder of a Slovak human rights organization, he devoted this life to fighting for humanity and justice. This led to his exile to Vienna. From Vienna, he communicated to his family regularly via letters, directing his family's religious, moral and philosophical training. Petra actually never met the man during her childhood, but he had a huge impact on her upbringing and beliefs. She was named by her grandfather, who felt her name would be an integral part of the woman his granddaughter would become. "Petra" is Greek for the word rock, and "Aurelia" is Latin for golden.

Her Father functioned similarly in her family, upholding as an ideal the pursuit of creative inspiration and purpose. He is a rare breed of craftsman and sculptor, who devotes his life to creating and restoring the architectural detailing in many of the older Royal family homes of Eastern Europe.

With the men of the family busy, Petra's mother and grandmother raised the next generation. Her mother, a ceramic art teacher, chose to let her children grow up in a way that would give them a mindset without boundaries, and the freedom to explore their imaginations. She reinforced the ideals that her husband lived by: follow your heart's desire, and pursue creative expression as the utmost priority in life. Her Grandmother, with her traditional Catholic beliefs, directed Petra to lead a life on the moral high ground, daily reinforcing messages that Petra's grandfather sent in the mail. And while one would never know it by her constant expression of individuality, Petra has a twin! This fact is only hinted upon in the rare occasions Petra mentions the emotional pangs and dreams she and her sister experience while the other is going through difficulties on the other side of the world.

Some of Petra's tales sound more like fables than real life:

There's the story of Petra at age 17, when she decided to visit a friend in London whom she had met while wandering Slovak streets. The two of them had made a verbal agreement that they would meet in London on a certain street, at a specific time in a year. With the near arrival of that date, Petra told her mother she was going to London. She climbed on a boat alone as her mother waved goodbye, and landed in Glasgow, Scotland. From there she hitch hiked her way to London. On her arrival in London she paused momentarily and thought, "How did I get here? What am I doing in this foreign city?" Shortly thereafter, her friend showed up just as they had agreed, and the girl whose dirty, dishevelled appearance she had pitied when they first met was actually British aristocracy!

Petra's ability to break through boundaries has led her into some unusual life experiences. In need of a place to stay, she moved in with a friend's Muslim Pakistani family who adopted her and her first child as honorary family members. She often found herself wondering how this family could let her into their lives with such generosity and kindness. Not only was Petra an active family member, helping with the cooking and daily chores, but she ended up becoming someone that all the family members could freely confide in!

Petra's audacious spirit has her constantly looking for new experiences in life. Her biggest adventure started when she was a year away from graduating Architecture School in Slovakia. Luck handed her a chance to study in United States and her curiosity could not turn down an opportunity to see the world. After she finished her year study, instead of heading home as per the original plan, she headed to New York City. Upon arriving at the airport, she didn't have a penny to pay for the cab she rode in. Again, she paused to ask herself, "How did I get here? What am i doing in the foreign city?" But she was too inspired to be discouraged. To this day, she has yet to return to Slovakia to finish her Architecture studies. Life in New York has taken it's own course, and Petra's swum along with it!

Her intuitive heart, romantic abandon, and exceptional upbringing has made her who she is today - a fair-minded but shrewd businesswoman, an amazingly talented designer, and a wonderful role model as a single mother to her two children. She raises her kids in her family's proud tradition; to inspire creativity, freedom, and fearlessness with a plan for making their future a bright adventure.

Looking at her, I get the feeling she is living out a beautifully written, intriguing tale with a preordained destiny. But regardless of destiny, Petra will continue to march into her future looking straight ahead. And on the path behind her will be a trail of golden dust.

I hope my readers found this portrait as inspiring as I find my dear friend, Petra. Please feel free to add your comments and suggestions about how to lead a golden bohemian life.

Best wishes,

E.J.

Return of The One-Piece Swimsuit

2008-02-26T22:16:00.016-05:00

PHOTOGRAPHER John Michaels

MODEL Katherine McLeod

What has happened to the one-piece bathing suit? It seems to have disappeared from pool sides, sea shores, and swimsuit racks around the world. While there was a time when it epitomized chic, it's now only reserved for a select few soccer moms, plus-size women, or seniors who would rather not show everything off. Are these the only women with any modesty left?

Recently, I decided it was time to join the ranks of the modest few, though modesty had little to do with it. The reasoning behind my decision? If everyone else was going to wear bikinis, then a one-piece had to be most stylish the way to go. Don't get me wrong, I've been known to don an itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny, but after seeing women, their babies, their mothers, and their mother's mothers wearing skimpy bikinis I came to the conclusion that this trend has run its course.

There was a time when girls around age 12 understood that wearing a bikini signified their passage into teen-dom. But that time is no longer. Back then, little girls ran around in a one-piece suit or just bottoms dreaming about the day their mothers would allow them to wear bikinis. Now, there seems to be no age requirements, as tots happily strap on flappy little triangle tops that never seem to stay in place for the obvious lack of anchorage.

The same goes for women. Ladies used to draw a line somewhere around age 25 that signified their ascension into Womanhood. Once out of their early twenties, they decided that it was much more dignified to wear a one-piece suit. Dignity? Who needs that? We've got freedom! Where has it gotten us? Well, for one thing, women are left in a rather awkward position when ordering a drink at the poolside bar with everything just hanging out. If that woman is not you, then you're most likely staring at her.

In this respect, the one-piece is the true liberator. You don't have to worry if anything is falling out, or if anyone has noticed the way your tummy wobbles when you walk. You can relax and be the image of self confidence every woman should be when showing their figure off. And let's face it, wearing a one piece is not exactly the same thing as wearing a curtain. When asked, men like ladies in bikinis, one-pieces, nude, whatever. Most guys aren't that picky. The female figure is sexy however you want to display it.

But aside from the freedom from self-consciousness, the one-piece offers several other advantages: for a lady who is more well-endowed the physical support that many one-piece suits have to offer is unmatchable in a bikini top. Some one-piece suits come engineered with additional structure built in to help avoid that unflattering chest flattening, and to help support our feminine form. Secondly, many one-piece suits present a woman's figure as athletic even when she is not so inclined. The one-piece is still the silhouette of choice for Olympians and ballerinas alike. That reference to health and fitness is one most women should love when putting on a bathing suit.

Then there is allure. Admittedly, most women want to draw eyes when they put on a swimsuit. But in a sea of bikinis and belly buttons, there are very few women who actually can draw any attention without making a spectacle of themselves. However, the one-piece bathing suit strikingly stands out amongst all of the bikinis with its bold, block silhouette. It creates mystery, leaving much to a viewer's imagination. I'd rather leave people wishing to see more than begging to see less.

Here's where many of my readers might say, "But I'm wishing for more..." sun, that is. The biggest argument most women have with the one-piece is the tan line. I'm personally too fair to bother with tanning, slathering on 30+ sunblock in order to avoid skin damage, wrinkling, and cancer. But for those ladies who do tan, I would suggest trading out multiple suits with different neck and back lines to avoid the same tan line repeatedly. Same rule applies for your bikinis, and you could even interchange your bikinis and one-piece suits to make sure that you get that even tan you're working towards.

I hope this has gotten some of you ladies out there to reconsider the one-piece swimsuit as an option. Please let me know if any of you still wear a one-piece. I'd be interested to hear about any additional benefits that I've overlooked.

Best wishes,

E.J.

Bespoke Bride

2008-02-09T01:30:00.016-05:00

FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER John Michaels

DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHER Correna Starbuck

MODEL Bella LaGosi

DRESS, ACCESSORIES, HAIR & MAKE-UP Starbuck Sister Collaboration

For many brides-to-be, picking their wedding garb is an intense process. What a woman wears to begin her new life can say a lot about her, but quite often finding the right wedding gear is nearly impossible. Many dresses lack originality and fail to describe the brides that will be wearing them. And when one actually finds a dress that does express something of oneself, it usually costs far more then any reasonable bride would spend. Much of the wedding industry counts on the likelihood that brides will be utterly unreasonable.

This was the dilemma that this young woman faced. In the end, she decided to make her own dress and asked for advice on how to go about doing it. Hers was going to be a beach wedding, so she wanted her dress to be comfortable, and not so tailored or formal. But this is a Lady of Luxury, and polish, so casual was not going to cut it either.

First step: INSPIRATION. She began to collect ideas, pulling magazine pages, searching for heroines that she identified herself with, and finding scraps of fabric for colors and textures that she liked. After weeks of gathering images and materials, she finally landed on her inspiration from a rather surprising source: Jessica Lang as the Bride of King Kong.

Not typical by any means, but she liked the tribal styling of the gorgeous, revealing gown. We also thought this look was achievable because it allowed us to approach the design in a Paul Poiret way: simple in form, with the fabric, color and embellishment being the main emphasis (coincidentally, Poiret - like my sister - claimed that he could not sew well). She ended up choosing champagne colored silk charmeuse for the base with a matching silk gauze for the accent to add a light and airy effect.

Next came the construction. For years, I've kept long wide panels of silk on hand as main accessories; they could be turned into turbans, sashes, and even halters when necessary. I decided we could start with the easy-to-sew sash structure to create the base for the drape of her dress. I instructed her to buy 6 yards of wide fabric, cut it directly down the center, length wise, and make doubled tubular panels out of each half. This gave us 2 sashes to work with that were about 1.5' x 6 yards in dimension.

To drape it, we put one sash over each shoulder, extending them evenly down her front to the floor. Then we made knots at the high point of each shoulder to make the panels narrower through the bust. From there we decided to attach the two panels together at the front from the waist to the floor so that the skirt would be closed down the center front.

At the back of the dress, we criss-crossed the panels under her shoulder blades and wrapped them in opposite directions around her waist, creating a sash and a trim waist. While wrapping her waist, we made sure to leave enough fabric for her train to be at the desired length. We tied a knot at her center back, tucking and overlapping the two panels into the sash to make the appearance of one center back panel. The knots all played a crucial role in anchoring the dress and keeping it from shifting while allowing us to avoid extra sewing, zippers or other closures.

This drape left us with a loin cloth effect at the skirt, and we decided to use the silk gauze to create hip panels. We attached the silk gauze to a shell-beaded belt, to go over the skirt of our dress and cover her hips in a feminine, flattering way. The end result was a skirt with four full panels that overlapped enough so that the dress was demure when she was standing still in the ceremony, but would move and give flashes of her legs when she danced at her reception.

The last details were the accessories. She decided that a feathered headdress would best suit her style. I offered to make this part of her wardrobe, since headdresses happen to be a passion of mine. With purple being her favorite color, we decided to incorporate purple into the braiding of the headband, and felt that albino peacock feathers would be a good replacement for a white veil. To complete her look for the actual wedding, she incorporated the sea theme by adding shell bracelets and a long strand of black fresh water pearls clustered around her neck.

I hope this gives viewers an idea of how it's possible to create your own vision, even with a normal budget and minimal sewing skills. All it takes is inspiration, a small amount of know-how (or the advice of someone with it), and the determination to see your project through. If you have any questions about how-to or any other examples of home made dresses, please add them to the comments. Bella completed her dress in one month's time. Not bad for someone who's about to get married!

Congratulations Lady!

Best wishes,

E.J.

Wedding Dress Resurrection

2008-02-05T23:19:00.001-05:00

Queen Victoria in the wedding gown that made white

the new standard color for brides.

Victoria, 50 years later, reusing parts of her wedding gown for her

Diamond Jubilee.

PHOTOGRAPHER John Michaels

MODEL Caroline Casey

DRESS found decaying on a hanger in a Brooklyn brownstone after the former tenant died.

For millions of women around the world, their wedding day is one of the most significant of their lives. This makes the wedding dress potentially the most obsessed-over garment that a woman will ever wear. But why is it that we ladies spend so much time dreaming up a dress that we most likely will wear only once? Historically, women have often designed their wedding gowns to be worn again as their Sunday best, or as a party dress after the fact. Even Queen Victoria wore the lace over-skirt of her wedding gown to her Diamond Jubilee Celebrations 50 years after her wedding. Today's woman has simply lost the foresight to design wearability into her dress.

But, if you really love your wedding dress, why shouldn't you be able to enjoy wearing it again, instead of watching it decay in your closet? Let's start by getting past the concept that wearing a gown warrants an extremely formal event. If Ginger Rogers could wear floor length ball gowns nightly as if she slept in them (which she likely did), then we have every reason to go out in a gown on a date Friday night. Just clue your husband in so he can make the appropriate dinner arrangements for your attire.

The brides-to-be out there might want to think ahead and try to find a dress that is timeless. I suggest you ignore whatever dress you saw such-and-such wearing in the tabloids. If it's in the tabloids, that dress is yesterday's news! First and foremost, pick a dress that is flattering to your figure, in a color that complements your hair and skin, in a classic fabric that you love enough to want to wear it again.

Let's consider the potential of altering your dress. For instance, I personally would take the dress shown here and dye it a deep indigo blue. After that, it's no longer a wedding dress, but it's practically Dior! And as an indigo blue dress, you have less to fear when your train gets dirty after an evening of dusting the floors. Another option would be altering the dress. If you can take another dress and combine the two, a la Victoria, you can come up with something new, and no one will be the wiser.

The last part may be the hardest for a sentimentalist. Many brides can't bring themselves to make alterations to their dress after the wedding, but, ironically, these are the women who most likely wish to wear it again. While, I applaud the originality behind the recent idea of throwing a Wedding Dress Ball, let's face it ladies, there's something slightly twisted about wanting to recreate a single moment in our lives over and over again. Think of Mrs. Havisham. This is the reason it's socially frowned upon in the first place.

If we are fabulous enough to desire a regular appearance of Royalty, what's holding us back? I hope this gave you Brides out there some great ideas. Tune in for my next post, were we tackle the possibility of making your own dress, easily, with details that speak to you. Viewers, please share any stories you have about how you revamped your wedding dress to be worn again! We need all the inspiration you have to offer!

Best wishes,

E.J.

Mad About Plaid

2008-01-29T01:31:00.004-05:00

PHOTOGRAPHER John Michaels

HAIR & MAKE UP STYLING Gabriella Starbuck

MODEL Caroline Bruzuszek

Think of plaid, and images of kilts and WASPs spring to mind; what we may not see is the complex cultural richness this basic geometric pattern has to offer. Plaid originated in Scotland, where wool tartans distinguished between royal families, clans, and degrees of social status. During the British colonization of India, the pattern was transferred to a lightweight cotton from Madras. Adapted to the vivid colors of the vegetable dyes used locally, the Indian take on the Scottish tartans were beautiful, colorful and exotic. Madras plaids became widely popular in the UK and the US in the 1930s, and cotton plaids took on the familiar "Madras" label. The Indian vegetable dyes used in the patterns fade into gorgeous soft colors upon being washed; after an initial negative response to the change by consumers, the faded madras was cleverly marketed as a look of good breeding and maturity. Shortly thereafter, it became the quintessential Ivy league pattern.

Plaid got really interesting in the 1960s and 70s when the rebellious rock & roll set turned to psychedelics and spiritualism and headed into India where the complicated, colorful plaid fabric began to take on new meaning. The mystics of r&r used it to express their disillusionment with reality and their general mental weirdness. In the late 1970s and 80s, when punks, surfers, and skateboarders began wearing it as a mockery of traditional Anglo culture, plaid became an emblem of rebellion - an inversion of the traditional values associated with it. In the 1990s, Seattle's grunge scene took lumberjack flannel plaids, then associated with the working class, and wielded them as an anti-fashion statement (which of course quickly became a new fashion trend).

When displayed in hypnotizing, bright colors, plaid stands out in a crowd like few other patterns can. It clashes, matches, and shocks all at the same time. Wear it to invoke the various cultural connotations it brings to mind, and you can bring about your own Royal Psychedelic Revolution in your day-to-day life.

Shown here is an eclectic plaid mix using garments found at the thrift store. Being an historical pattern, some of the most beautiful examples of plaids are acquired in used or vintage clothing stores. Readers, how do you wear your plaid? What does it mean to you? Please share! I hope you enjoy plaid as much as I do.

Best wishes!

E.J.

Deco Nouveau: Recycling Fashion

2008-01-27T01:56:00.001-05:00

Styling Caroline for the shoot.

PHOTOGRAPHER John Michaels

HAIR & MAKE UP STYLIST Gabriella Starbuck

MODEL Caroline Bruzuszek

The Art Deco period was one of those sparkling moments in design history when form was created to be timelessly elegant. The marriage of Nature and Geometry gave Deco fluidity, structure and balance, creating a sense of Modernity and Luxury that was unmatched. Here is a vignette I've put together with a hand-me-down dress, grandmother's home made quilt, and my home-craft feathered head dress to illustrate an eclectic take on Deco.

One of the nicest points of reinventing Deco is that you can gather almost any item that is minimal in style and apply surface treatments such as geometric shapes, patterns, mirrors or lacquer to invoke Deco's sense of glamor and luxury. Because of its minimal attributes, this is still a style that can be easily obtained with a little-home made arts and crafts.

Readers, please give us your tips on how you recreate the Deco aesthetic in your lives.

Happy Deco-rating!

Best wishes,

E.J.

Modern Mata Hari

2008-01-25T00:21:00.001-05:00

Margeretha Geertruida Zelle, the original Mata Hari, a woman who challenged

the Norm.

PHOTOGRAPHER John Michaels

HAIR & MAKE-UP STYLIST Gabriella Starbuck

MODEL Caroline Bruzuszek

A Cultural Provacateur of her time, Mata Hari was a master of style and expression. In telling her wild and often tall tales, she would make the fantastic appear out of thin air, creating a sense of mystique which she used to her advantage. Her unabashed free spirit, and constant defiance of the current fashions made her stand out in a crowd. In her approach to life, she embraced all that was provocative, taboo, and exotic, and in doing so, she cast a spell over much of Europe's cultural elite. Her exotic dress, when she wore clothes at all, always bore signs of her unique sense of style. Here is a look that a Modern Mata Hari might sport today.

Consciously creating our appearance allows us more control over how the world perceives us. And dressing as individuals makes us identifiable as independent thinkers. Either you choose what you look like to become what you are, or someone else will do it for you. To stand out in a culture that constantly encourages us to follow trends requires a critical eye and a richness of spirit: an appreciation for the things that cannot be bought, an understanding of the true value of objects, a sense of pride in our difference, an inner joy that must be expressed, and an occasional sneer in the face of Polite Society.

Readers, please share! I'd love examples of how you express the spirit of a modern Mata Hari.

Best wishes,

E.J.

Spring Victorian

2008-01-23T23:26:00.001-05:00

Preparing for the shoot...

PHOTOGRAPHER John Michaels

HAIR & MAKE UP STYLIST Gabriella Starbuck

MODEL Caroline Bruzuszek

Spring has always been one of my favorite times of year, when flowers and plants begin to grow again, and we can all shed our winter coats. Here in New York, it's January and still freezing. While I wait for the warmth to return, there are still some comforts in my home that give me a tropical fix in the dead of winter: my house plants.

For the Victorians, indoor gardens were the epitome of decorative art - they displayed in living form one's taste and culture. Plants weren't the only way those Victorians showed their refinement: their clothes were utterly elegant, too. Their attention to detail and their fascination with the occult led to some very dramatic ideas and styles. Here's a look I've put together for Spring - my modern take on the Victorians.

Plants are fabulous in a home. They can add a splash of color to a room, give you something attractive to rest your eyes on, add humidity to dry air, and filter the indoor pollution from your home. Keeping some plants alive can require work. But most of the time, indoor plants just need a little careful attention to stay healthy. I've found the best way to avoid disaster is to cultivate the right kind of plants. For most people, low maintenance plants are the best solution. While my sister makes growing orchids in her bedroom look easy, I prefer simple-to-care-for large green foliage. Ultimately, the plants you choose for your indoor garden should express your eye for composition, balance, and decor.

Readers, please send in your plant tips, especially for caring for the exotics.

Best wishes,
E.J.

Treasure Hunt

2008-01-13T16:21:00.001-05:00

PHOTOGRAPHER John Michaels

Treasure!

I grew up in a family full of fashionable women. We all coveted each other's wardrobes and hoped and prayed that a sister, mother, aunt, or grandmother would decide that her wardrobe was too full, and that it was time to clean out the closet. This was a happy day for all of the recipients but often these events were few and far between.

Thrift shopper taking a break.

Finding new clothes for the season was always a miserable venture with the hideous, generic styles that one would find at the department stores. We wanted embroidery, jacquard, beads, silk! So we finally got wise, and started heading to the thrift stores at the beginning of every season.

The beginning of the treasure hunt.

The thrift store was a wonderful place full of possibilities and treasures to be found. Okay, the musty smell always made me sneeze, but my discomfort would quickly melt away once the excitement of the hunt took over.

Thrift stores are often color coordinated, featured here is the black skirt section.

But the prize items were not always easy to find. There are tricks to shopping second hand. Many people find their first few experiences disappointing. I remember the first time I went with my older sister and could not find a thing, while she walked off with cocktail dresses and mink trimmed coats! "Thrift store shopping is a skill. Not everyone has it." she told me. Through the years, I have learned this skill, and I will pass on some tips to my readers on how to acquire it:

Searching for skirts today.

1. Always go to the thrift store with what you're searching for in mind. Thrift stores can be huge and daunting: if you don't know what you are looking for, how will you ever find it?

Sizing up a garment.

2. Check the labels. I recommend making sure the fabric content are natural fibers. And if you can find designer name labels, once on the garments are better than the hanger appeal would suggest.

3. Look for original price tags. This is oddly common. There are actually people out there who buy things, never wear them, and send them to the thrift store untouched! Shocking, but I'm always happy to take it.

A dress, turned into a skirt, and an interesting harness another shopper found.

4. Try on everything and anything that looks vaguely interesting. What may look like a mess on a hanger could be art in motion - think COMME des GARCONS.

Trying our finds on in front of the public mirror.

5. Wear under-dressing that you don't feel shy about showing. Leggings and a snug t-shirt under your street clothes always works well. Make sure you can feel comfortable stripping in front of the public mirror, which usually functions as the dressing room.

Admiring each other's finds.

6. Try on the "old lady" clothes. If it looks like something that your grandmother would have worn, chances are the tailoring is immaculate. Most clothes used to be tailored to be form-fitting and flattering. Old school design houses such as Balenciaga, Prada, and Lanvin still use the classical tailoring methods. But the companies that produce the clothing that reaches the majority of shoppers have now given up on tailored fits, and instead try to fit every garment to all body shapes. So try on some of those older styles, especially if you're trying to achieve a more polished or sophisticated look.

Trying on "PETITES".

7. If you're thin, try petite - this used to refer to anyone with a delicate frame. The vintage version is not the same fit as the Ann Taylor petite of today.

Doing the damage check.

8. Check for damage. Stains, holes, broken zippers and missing buttons can render a great garment unwearable. Some stains you can remove, and if the garment is really good you can even make minor repairs.

A goat coat we found at a thrift store while traveling in Argentina.

Photo by Toshi Yano

9. Seek out-of-the-way thrift stores; visit thrift stores while on vacation or in other countries. Remote location thrift stores usually carry amazing varieties of vintage. What you find in different cities, climates, and cultures will bring a whole new flavor to your wardrobe.

A basket of the finds of the day.

Once you've found all of your new treasures, you get them home and, well, quite frankly, they smell like a thrift store. While some things can be washed in the laundry to get the smell out, many of the choice tailored goods require dry cleaning... I don't do that. How many times have I sent items to the cleaners only to get them back two inches shorter than when I dropped them off? I also have no intention of paying someone to coat my clothes in the toxic chemicals that are used in standard dry cleaning . While new Eco-cleaners keep appearing, I am wary of their "GREEN" techniques. And the expense of those Green Cleaners is astronomical!

Home dry-cleaning methods. Photo by Toshi Yano

So I have devised my own methods of dealing with this dilemma. I like to call it "home dry cleaning". Here's how I do it: I make a sprayable solution of strained lemon juice, white vinegar, and water and put it in a spray bottle. Then, I thoroughly spray down every garment, inside and out, on a hanger in my shower. On stains, I have found sprinkling baking soda on the spot and then spraying it with my cleaning solution will lift the stains; then, I pat the excess off with a cloth.

The cleaning airing out on the line.

To finish, I hang it all out on the line to dry in the sun and breeze. All of this seems to remove the funk from the thrift store, and I usually don't have to iron anything when it's been drying on the line. Readers, let me know if you have any great tips for home, non-toxic dry cleaning. Enjoy your new-found treasures. I hope they last you all a long time!

Best wishes,
E.J.

Good Morning, Tomorrow!

2008-01-05T23:14:00.001-05:00

"Eliza Red/Blue" photo by John Michaels

Hello All,

I'm very excited to be starting this blog. Although my thoughts are continuously rattling around my head, I will do my best here to hone them in the hope that I make some kind of sense. I wish to offer my friends and readers quick studies of culture, fashion, and decor, which are ever linked with social consciousness in my heart.

"Stop" photo by John Michaels

In a time when ordinary consumption is tearing the planet apart, maybe our best foot forward will be one that can nimbly navigate our frighteningly unknown future. Armed with hearts of gold and an understanding that solutions may change as quickly as the climate, we hope to have some positive effects. But can my winding, vague, run-on sentences even make a mark in such a climate? My husband regularly tells me that my rhetoric makes no proper sense. I'll admit that I wield the English language as if it weren't my own, but I hope that the readers can make me out anyway. Readers, please let me know your opinions and what you make of my scratch. I will take it all with a grain of salt and post all comments that keep this a friendly forum for open minds to meet.

"Boxer" photo by John Michaels

To begin, I present to you my new favorite photographer, John Michaels, He is a man who can photograph even the most insignificant-looking subject and turn it into something meaningful. He approaches his subjects honestly, and in doing so he points out that everything in life can be beautiful when looking through an open lens.

Best wishes,
E.J.