Zahra Saeed
Gah, I love this White Lotus dress by Zahra Saeed. I guess I usually don’t take most stores directly on Rittenhouse Sqaure seriously, because they always seem like places to outfit a child, Pomeranian or overpriced condo of privilege, and I have none of the above. When I’m (window) shopping, I generally don’t venture past the Barnes and Noble on Walnut Street.
But I’ve been missing out, apparently. Philadelphia Magazine did a story on the Moorestown designer’s second collection, and I was super impressed.
The Pakistan-born Moorestown resident (whose personal history includes an arranged marriage, a divorce, and moving her way up the corporate ladder at a South Jersey mortgage bank while raising two daughters; she self-financed her fashion business) is constantly inspired by the fabrics she finds around the world. And with the wholesale success of her eponymous lines throughout Europe and the Middle East, she sees quite a bit of it.
While I generally appreciate color and pattern more, and there are quite a few pieces in the collection that use those fabrics from around the world extremely well, what I especially like here is what this woman can do with plain ol’ white:
And what’s more, she has a way of keeping balance when employing interesting silhouettes and structural bits so that the wearer looks like she’s wearing something neat that you haven’t seen before, but doesn’t look like she got lost on her way to the Met Costume Ball (OK, the one on the right’s a little bit Swan Lake costumey, but I still like it).
I’m not gonna lie, though: her website doesn’t work very well (at least, not on my computer), and if you click “home” you’ll get blasted with unwelcome music. Whatever. Just wander past the Barnes and Noble next time, and check out all this gorgeous stuff from a for-real local designer.
Zahra Saeed, 1905 Walnut St.
Life’s a game
So I’ve been cleaning up the (blessedly minimal) effects of having my identity stolen for the last couple of years, and as I ran around town for the last couple of days printing things, faxing things, collecting other things, getting things notarized, etc. to deal with the latest thing that’s turned up, I tried to burn off some of my frustration by thinking of my situation as one of those LucasArts adventure games I loved when I was a kid. They also tend to involve one large goal, which is accomplished by doing hours and hours of smaller, seemingly unrelated tasks until you stumble backasswardly upon the princess or the secret of Monkey Island or whatnot. This was just like that! Except how I can’t stop playing and it’s frustrating and expensive.
Anyway, I came home with the idea of my life as Sisyphean, no-fun video game still a bit on my mind, and happened across this pair of polygonal shoes by United Nude, which seemed sort of perfect for the moment. The style probably looks pretty familiar to anybody who played video games during the rather quick evolution of computer graphics in the late ’90s:
The United Nude Lo Res is part of an new semi-automatic design method by United Nude. An object is digitially scanned into a 3-D computer model and re-generated into various resolutions. The Lo Res shoe is part of an automated design revolution.
So in celebration of having hopefully faxed my last document and rescued the princess (if she’s not in another goddamn castle), here’s a bunch of stuff based on 8-bit nostalgia that doesn’t cross over into literal video-game territory, like so:
Even though I do find that shirt funny. Anyway, here they are!
Floral rose prints don’t look quite so grandmotherly when they’re pixelated. Digital-print scarf and dress, from Matthew Williamson’s fall 2008 collection.
Stolen Jewels, by Mike & Maaike. They used google to ’steal’ lo-res images of some of the most famous and ornate jewelry in the world (such as Imelda Marcos’ ruby necklace and this image of the Great Chrysanthemum, on which I believe the above is based:)
and then converted them to tiny leather pixels as a statement necklace.
8-bit dress from Modcloth, vaguely evoking some mod-as-hell Space Invaders.
The Icon wristwatch; numbers would have ruined the effect.
OK, yeah, this one’s literal, but it’s just too cute. From Erin at A Dress A Day.
Broad and Market
Have I mentioned how pleased I am that Maggie, of the street-style photography blog Broad and Market, came back from Japan and started shooting Philly again? The blog has been back and regularly updating from Philly for a couple months now, but every time I try to post on it I remember that there’s some event that night I need to mention or some or Chase Utley hits another home run and I forget… but now!
What I especially like about Broad and Market is… well, you know how there was that funny flowchart about How to Get Shot by the Sartorialist over at Refinery 29:
The Sartorialist, while it certainly is great and what street-snapshot fashion blogs everywhere aspire to be, kind of has a type. I was briefly considering starting to do something similar as an occasional feature for this blog, with the brainstormed title being “OMG, your outfit is amazing!” Not “something I would wear”or “something that looks like it came out of Vogue,” although those wouldn’t hurt, but more like “not something I see every day, and you clearly made an effort to make it that way,” although that title is a little long.
That’s the reason I like Broad and Market so much: I ended up scrapping the idea for a great many reasons, but I feel like Maggie does almost exactly what I would have done. Because while the photo I started the post off with would probably ring the Sartorialist’s bell, there’s also this guy:
And this lady:
And of course this lady, too:
Which: not something I’d wear, nor something that would be in Vogue. But it’s definitely not something you see every day, either.
Say what you want, but there is so much amazing layering and pattern/color play going on here – plus dreads, eyebrows, and the custom baseball cap. If you click either image, you can see the extra huge version for all the little details. For real, who picks out a fitted pastel-quilt pattern hoodie and rocks it like that? This is real good.
Exactly!
What Mean Girls taught me about Halloween
Karen: Why are you dressed so scary?
Cady: It’s Halloween!
Mean Girls is one of my favorite movies. There– I said it! Hilariously written and directed, it stars a then-teen ‘It Girl’ Lindsay Ho-Han (pre-public deterioration) and has amazing comedic supporting roles by Rachel McAdams (The Notebook, The Time-Traveler’s Wife), Lacey Chabert (Party of Five), Lizzy Caplan (Freaks and Geeks, True Blood), Amanda Seyfried (Mamma Mia), Neil Flynn (Scrubs), Amy Poehler (Upright Citizens Brigade, SNL) and– the one and only — Tina Fey.
Fey, who also wrote the script, touched on an amazingly accurate unwritten rule of “Girl World” about Halloween: “In the real world, Halloween is a night when children dress up in costumes and beg for candy. In “Girl World”, Halloween is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it. Unfortunately, no one told me about the slut rule.”
I’ll go ahead and say that in some ends of pop culture, this rule isn’t just for high school. Don’t believe me? Go to any state college campus or Old City this weekend. In honor of Emily G’s Unnecessarily Sexy Halloween Costume Roundup, I’ve decided to share a favorite scene. Enjoy:
Inspiring Fashion at the PMA
Inspiring Fashion: Gifts from Designers Honoring Tom Marotta presents a collection of runway styles donated by 17 designers in recognition of the creative legacy of the late fashion visionary Tom Marotta, who was vice president of couture at Saks Fifth Avenue. Obtained through the auspices of Saks Fifth Avenue, the garments are all gifts to the Museum and have become part of the permanent collection.
Designers include Peter Som (that’s the purple one above), Ralph Lauren, Valentino, Diane von Furstenberg, Michael Kors, Carolina Herrera, Burberry Prorsum, Badgley Mischka, Ralph Rucci, Nancy Gonzalez, Oscar de la Renta, Donna Karan, Zandra Rhodes, Missoni, Marc Jacobs and Zac Posen.
Neat! And why’s it at the PMA, again?
Tom Marotta (1933-2007) was born and raised in South Philadelphia and spent more than 40 years working in fashion, including many at Philadelphia’s highly regarded Nan Duskin specialty store. He worked in Los Angeles in the late 1950s and early 1960s as road manager for singers such as Fabian and Frankie Avalon; after marrying a Philadelphia native, he returned to his hometown and began his career in fashion. After working in menswear at The Blum Store in Bala Cynwyd, he started work at Nan Duskin, first as a tie buyer, and eventually rising to senior vice president. In 1994 Marotta was hired by the luxury department store Saks Fifth Avenue as vice president of couture; responsible for overseeing the buyers of over 50 department stores, he insisted on maintaining Philadelphia as his base.
OK, then! Cool!
Dr. Moreau is so hot right now
I guess this spread in French Vogue with Raquel Zimmerman is supposed to herald the return to trendiness of animal prints and fur (ugh), but frankly all I can think of looking at the pictures is, firstly:
But wait, deja vu; where have I seen the confluence of French Vogue, Raquel Zimmerman and fur before?
Ha, oh yeah, right, the big “Fuck Yourself, PETA” spread in August 2008.
Shewolf
Vanity Fair has posted pictures of the photo shoot with the gorgeous Shakira. The accompanying article explains that the reporter found her howl from Shewolf oddly alluring by the end of their time with her.
Continuing with the real bodies theme, ESPN Magazine is going to publish pictures of athletes in the buff. BET is especially excited since the magazine will feature pictures of several high profile African-American athletes including Serena William’s cover picture.
Glamour.com asks “How do you apply your makeup?” Using a brush to apply liquid foundation makes a world of difference. We already knew this since some of us at PW Style aren’t especially artistic yet yearn to be creative. The brushes help with this.
Courtesy of InStyle.com - This bag is called Big Buddha
Want cheap accessories? InStyle has you covered, with their list of handbags, scarves & sunglasses under 100 bucks. Nice.
Lastly, Stylecaster is excited for Sloane and Eric from Entourage to tie the knot. They’ve gone ahead and picked out what Sloane should wear for her wedding.
Philadelphia Fashion Week: Friday
I mentioned last week that I thought it was slightly fishy that all the out-of-town designers scheduled to show at this new Philadelphia Fashion Week thing (and more than half the designers are not from Philly) seemed to be stocked by Matthew Izzo and no other boutiques in Philly that I could find, which seems like less of a coincidence when you note that the creative director of Philly Fashion Week is also Matthew Izzo’s head buyer.
In any event, I only had time to do a rundown of the first night, so in the interest of completeness, I’ll do a brief guide to the designers showing on Friday and Saturday nights as well. Friday today, Saturday (which looks to have far more legit Philly-based designers) tomorrow…
FRIDAY
DESIGNER: Street Star Custom Clothing
BASED IN: South Philly! 12th and Snyder, specifically
DOES: Mostly men’s tattoo-inspired t-shirts with Swarkovski crystals glued on, several of which have catchy slogans like “Satisfaction guaranteed” or “Wanna take a ride on my disco stick!” …except they’re $140.
ALSO: $140 is on sale. And I’m pretty sure this is going to get me furious emails from this guy or his publicist being all “WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT YOU PHILISTINE” but christ, Ed Hardy.
DESIGNER: GAR-DE
BASED IN: Manhattan
DOES: Androgynous womenswear
PHILADELPHIA CONNECTION: Sold at Matthew Izzo
ALSO: I keep wanting to tag the syllable “SIL” onto the end of their name.
DESIGNER: Nine Days
BASED IN: New York, as far as I can tell (their site is one page); at least, designer Donwan Harrell’s other lines, PRPS and Akademics, are based there, and it seems that Nine Days is a less-expensive sub-line of Akademics.
DOES: Fancy denim
PHILADELPHIA CONNECTION: Sold at Matthew Izzo, cites Diplo buddies M.I.A. and Santigold as inspiration
ALSO: According to Harell, the main inspiration for Nine Days is the story of Little George:
In 1730 George Scott in the sloop, Little George, sailed from the Guinea Coast with a cargo of 96 captives, 35 of whom were men. Days later the captives slipped out of their shackles and chaines, and at 4:30 in th emorning, attacked the ship and crew, successfully overpowering and imprisoning them in the cabins below deck. The men took control of the ship and guided it back to Sierra Leone coast in NINE DAYS. Where, after exchanging the freedom of the 96 slaves for the freedom of the captain and crew, they abandoned the ship.
Those nine days were about successfully rebelling against a system intent on keeping others in a box… we will never allow ourselves to be slaves. Slaves to stereotypes, labels, and limitations… This nine days is about celebrating you and other like-minded individuals who revolt against the machine. I shout to the world, “I am ruled by no one!”
Really? Is drawing a direct line between “being a slave to fashion” and “being a literal slave on a slave ship in the 1700s” really that tasteful an idea? This goes doubly if your other denim label is marketed as luxury and ultra-exclusive and starts at $250 a pair.
DESIGNER: S.Love
BASED IN: New York
DOES: Men’s and women’s clothing, scarves
PHILADELPHIA CONNECTION: I actually can’t figure this one out; S.Love doesn’t list any stockists in Philadelphia and google’s habit of seeing “S.Love” as “S. Love” makes it very difficult to turn up much but results about LOVE Park and the With Love, Philadelphia campaign.
ALSO: Made and hand-painted in New York.
DESIGNER: Triple 5 Soul
BASED IN: Williamsburg
DOES: A LOT of neat streetwear for men and women.
PHILADELPHIA CONNECTION: This one is sold in a bunch of places, as it’s a legitimately large wholesaler (so much so that they don’t list all their stockists); their T5S footwear line is based in Philly.
ALSO: We like.
Fame Kills
While her tour with Kanye – Fame Kills, maybe be canceled Lady Gaga is still busy. She is working on releasing a new line of headphones. As this article from Teen Vogue states, Gaga thinks that her headphones are unisex, but we think that’s up for debate.
NBC10 has a slide-show featuring Where the Wild Things Are styles. Most of the outfits avoid furries territory, while some of them veer towards the dark side.
The Princess Diana Exhibition, Diana: A Celebration opens today at the Constitution Center. Make sure you check out some of this style icon’s memorable pieces.
NBC10 isn’t sure if they think leather is trashy or sassy. They also recap Teen Vogue’s Young Hollywood party. It doesn’t come anywhere near Perez Hilton’s coverage featuring correspondent Coacha’s red carpet interviews of the same event. Coacha tops NBC10 because Coacha has no idea who anyone is. Happy Friday!
The Wrinkles Just Slip Off
If you love to shop and want to receive daily e-mails about sales from top designers, or hate stores and never want to step foot in one again, Current TV Tech reporter Sarah Lane has some suggestions.
The Ground Report discusses why it might be good to have oily skin after all. This article reminded me of my grandmother, who says that she doesn’t have wrinkles because her skin is so oily, and the wrinkles just slipped off.
There’s a blog that illustrates the New York edition of ‘missed connections’ as featured on Craig’s List. It’s pretty interesting. The New York Times is a fan too.
The Frisky highlights celebs with tattoos, Glamour helps a girl pick out a handbag that costs a small fortune, the New York Times gives a review of Milan’s fashion week, which isn’t as flashy as it once was, and NBC10 asks whether backless dresses are trashy or not.