R.I.P. Daul Kim

although this is certainly not new news, the entire fashion industry is lamenting the tragic loss of model daul kim. although she seemingly faced emotional distress in her personal life, she did an impeccable job of never letting it transfer into her modeling. an insightful, passionate, feeling individual, daul kim has left a powerful legacy of beautiful and artful photos. she will be missed terribly - my heart goes out to her family and friends.











image source: the cut

shopping your closet

i've always loved the concept of shopping my closet, but to be entirely honest, i've always loved the concept of just plain shopping even more. retail therapy is my true therapy of choice.

but, despite the fact that i spend 40 hours a week on michigan avenue, grad school has made shopping a near impossibility. that, combined with a heightened need for sleep that has left my coveted coffee/internet/outfit-styling ritual a thing of the past, i'm now faced with a need to instill a bit of creativity into a wardrobe that often seems tired, stale, and worn to death.

as the entire functionality of our lives moves to the internet, there's been an eruption of "how-to" beauty/styling videos posted by savvy individuals on youtube, to help people like me who are tired of their wardrobe, find creative and fun new ways to wear what they already have discotheque confusion posted a few on tuesday that are faaaabulous, and should definitely be checked out. she mentioned that fashion is supposed to be fun, and that that's often forgotten in lieu of looking good. i often fall into that trap, but this morning - as i was trying to suck down the only cup of coffee i had time for, while simultaneously talking to my mom, putting on eyeliner, and fixing my hair - it was kind of nice to throw on some pieces that i hadn't touched in a while: a cerulean short jacket with puffy, balmain-esque sleeves, over a black tunic, skinnies, black patent tux shoes, and a big old '80s-inspired pendant. comfy, and fun, my outfit gave me exactly the energy i needed to spice up the (still too busy) end of the week.

shop your closet! put a little creativity back in your life.

Sabrina Bacon from Stylelikeu.com from Stylelikeu on Vimeo.

Sophie Moscatello from Stylelikeu.com from Stylelikeu on Vimeo.

peepin

these shoes duly sadden and gladden me...as my pair of patent, loafer-esque shoes are quickly dying. but these headmistress peeptoes from anthropologie are an absolute dream. i've fallen hard for the masculine-inspired shoe craze, and i love myself a good peeptoe.

found on a new blog: ascot friday, via the ever-wonderful moodboard.

check out moodboard today - there's a special mention for sassafras that's tres exciting. thanks, kate!

blogger profile: moodboard

for one of my classes i was assigned to interview someone in the arts/writing field that i enjoy/admire/want to learn more about. and because i'm always curious about the blogger behind the blog, i was lucky enough to score an interview with kate, whose blog, moodboard, is one of my absolute favorites. she has lots of wonderful things to say, and a blog filled with inspiration and beautiful images.

enjoy!

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In the Mood: One Blogger's Quest for Inspiration

The task of keeping a blog is one that is often underestimated. While one post a day may seem like nothing, life has its way of disrupting extracurricular productivity. For some, perhaps. But for Kate, the blogger behind the style blog, Moodboard keeping up with the images and bits of inspiration that she posts up to 8 times a week is anything but work. Rather, she admits, it's pleasure, pure and simple. "I can't begin to tell you how much blogging has changed me. I feel that the possibilities are endless on what I can create and learn."

A proclaimed vintage aficionado, Kate began Moodboard in July 2007 after discovering a forum in which she could explore her passion for vintage, beyond flea markets and thrift stores. "One day while searching the Internet I stumbled across Lisa Congdon's blog, A Bird in the Hand. I was so excited to find someone that loved vintage items and talked about it in a personal narrative, and I wanted to be part of that community. I thought my blog could be a place where I could virtually pin things that were inspiring me." So Kate threw herself into the blogging world, posting images of vintage creations, as well as profiles of homes boasting unique interior design concepts, culling her material from magazines like Domino, Harper's Bazaar and Modern Home. As Moodboard gained popularity in the blogging world, its rapidly increasing readership implored Kate to share her perspective beyond vintage design - they wanted to know what she thought about all things style-related. She immediately responded by expanding her material base. "I started to include reviews, outfit posts, and magazine scans. After receiving several reader requests, it has grown to become a source for old magazine editorials."

The extraordinary thing about Moodboard is its multi-facted exploration of beauty through a visual aesthetic. Featuring images and narrative on everything from food to books, from music to international thrift stores, from DIY projects to wedding planning. In searching through Moodboard's incredible two-year archive, it's impressive to witness the breadth of material Kate has discovered and captured - attributing her sensational eye for design to the way she was raised. "I didn't have a conventional childhood, so I think that impacted the way I see the world. We didn't have much money growing up, but my mother fostered the idea of finding beauty in even the smallest things. Most of our things were bought at thrift stores and yard sales, and I think that is where I developed my eye. She still sends me hangers and garbage bags in colors she knows I like!"

A visual aesthete, Kate uses Moodboard to hone a knack for creativity that hearkens back to her childhood. "I had little collections of items that I would use to decorate our barbie houses (built out of cardboard boxes). At one point I made all the Barbies pink ear muffs made of cotton balls, trash bag ties and food dye." As an adult, Kate has refined her taste beyond Barbie accoutrement. When asked about her personal taste in interior design, she muses, "Let's go with Transient Eclectic. Currently I'm loving rustic wood pieces, patterns and lots of rich color." And her personal style? "A mix of masculine and feminine elements. Though I can tend to love fussy pieces I don't like fussy outfits."

A life-changing endeavor, Kate notes many thrilling experiences from her life as a blogger. "My most memorable moments have been when someone I admire contacts me because of the blog. I purchased a vintage dress by artist Vinette Varvaro and was horrified when it was altered too short. I hate to think I may have destroyed or went too far from the artist's original vision. Vinette left the most lovely comment on my blog and put my mind at ease about the dress." But its not just designers and notable icons Kate is looking to impact, "I would love to continue to grow and to be a source of inspiration for other people as well. "

inside the home of: mark west

this is the home of artist mark welsh, and i just adore it. aside from being an incredible clash of color, style, texture and aesthetic, the first thing i thought when i saw the editorial was "how could you ever be sad if you lived in this house?" it's so colorful and fun, and filled to the brim with such an effervescent personality.

shot for australian vogue living by ditte isager, this lovely bunch of photographs was taken from moodboard, one of my very favorite blogs.

monofabulosity

i'm really loving this pseudo-hipster/pseudo-motorcycle look - especially the over-the-forehead headband (a very favorite of my sister and mine), the slouchy leopard print harems, and the leather biker jacket. what i also really appreciate is her infusion very simple, yet chic heels, and a black version of the men's white hanes v-neck. so much look, but without looking messy, and definitively monochromatic, without seeming "goth." it sounds ridiculous to even mention that point, i know, but you'd be surprised as the amount of times a girl wearing all-black is automatically construed as gothic. a fate of mine from a different era, i'm afraid. that, and, being asked if my hair is a wig.

it's not.

xo bellas - go mix some fun pieces today.


le fashion

lady stone

oh lara stone...as the entirely stupid subject of her weight is brought up over and over again, she seems to defy it all by becoming increasingly transcendent. this editorial "style noir," shoot for the nov issue of vogue italia by paolo roversi is amazing and wonderful - so so chic. she's a brazen character, and i appreciate her more and more as she divulges more information about herself.

fashion copious

dead advertising

this is the fall ad campaign for auckland boutique, superette. featuring some amazing dead models, their tagline is "be caught dead in it." love that. and will do, please.

copyranter (run by a jaded ny copywriter, who humorously trashes different advertisements) followed up this post with some other ad campaigns invoking death (which i, in my creepy love for all things horror-inspired, am adoring):

kate spade

duncan quinn


jimmy choo



sarti tailors

copyranter

the moss

"The leopard dress is one of my favourites, as it was taken from a tee I used to wear all the time as a teenager and we've reinvented it for now!"
-Kate Moss



fashion roadkill

team zoe

because i'm lucky enough to have two besties who look identical to taylor and brad, the three of us went as team zoe for halloween. after cutting, layering and burning with a straightener my rachel zoe wig, we managed to make my non-blonde, non-waifish frame appear a bit like ms. zoe. this video with regis and kelly is hilarious (although we were definitely better).

note: red wine tastes amazing out of a starbucks cup. note #2: starbucks will give you said cups for free. you don't even have to tell them it's a costume prop.

tilda tilda tilda

tilda swinton is featured in acne paper's 9th issue: art and spirituality. i love this woman. i love her because she's creepy and honest and beautiful and so deeply artistic, but not in a contrived way - just because that's how she is. she's one of the few actors in the world who actually becomes another person when she performs, or models. editorials featuring her are my favorite thing. i could look at them for days and days and days.

images from stylefrizz via tfs

miranda kerr for CS

it's not exactly a secret that chicago's not the capital of the fashion magazine world. although there are always new publications emerging, ny is unquestionably the us hub for magazine publications.

chicago social is a free glossy mag that's distributed throughout the city that, per its title, features chicago culture. and i was delightfully surprised to discover their fab photo shoot with victoria's secret model miranda kerr - no doubt in homage to the new massive victoria's secret that's recently opened on michigan ave (accompanied by a ton of pop-up victoria's secret angel wing sculptures, in front of which aspiring VS angels can pose). in any event, it's a saucy shoot, and ms. kerr looks fab. i love the beauty shot they chose for the cover, and that ysl puffy-shouldered vest in the shots 2 & 3 is sensational (go to page 90 on the site to read the whole article). good job outta chicago social.

photos from fashion copious

daphne

ahhhh! exactly what i've been wanting: to see these iconic nina ricci wedges actually worn by a real person, in public, as part of the real world (daphne's real world, of course). so epic. i want to live in her world.

fashion roadkill