Dope Ambition

A little like three blind mice…! Well, perhaps only syllabically. Pardon my inner English-nerd.

While winter weather in New York has been remarkably mild (just the climate change taking effect, no big deal), I still can’t abandon the idea of traipsing through the city in a beautiful winter coat. I actually don’t have one at the moment; my winter coat is more like a heavy fall jacket that dearly wants to be a winter coat. However, it lacks warmth and inner layers, and most importantly, it lacks stripes, something I’m obsessing over a bit at the moment.

With the mention of the word “stripes,” one might recall nautical-themed Yuppie ad campaigns, or Where’s Waldo lost in the world (word to Kanye West), or the Cat in the Hat. But this season, stripes are cooler, more tailored and anything but the default pattern for those afraid of taking risks.

Take for example, the Acne farrah-stripe coat. The rounded neckline is perfect for those of you who love peter pan collars, but the belt and the length are easily dressed up or down for those trying to optimize their wardrobe. (mucho expensive)

This Alice + Olivia one is fun, with a detachable faux fur collar for if you’re feeling a bit fahhhncy. (kind of still expensive)

This last one was a Polyvore find that is totally affordable…if you have a job and a little extra money to spend on things like striped coats.

Just in time for the return of Mad Men, Meghan Collison channels her inner 1960s housewife in an editorial for Vogue Russia’s January issue, photographed by Ben Toms.

Her look is a bit harsh, but the ensembles are dreamy in creamy pastels and innocent prints.

COME BACK MAD MEN!

via// fgr

Karlie Kloss (a fellow St. Louis native, NY transplant!) has had quite a tremendous year. To top it off? A series of superb photos by Hedi Slimane. Can someone take a tape measure and hold it up to her legs? Her thighs alone, I think, span the entirety of the majority of my body.

Head to Hedi Slimane’s diary to view all the images of the series.

If you’ve followed my humble little blog life since the beginning, you know I don’t pronounce style crushes freely. Saying I have a crush on the way a woman puts herself together is almost as sacred as saying I love you (ALMOST!). I take it too seriously to go throwing the words “style crush” around frivolously…someone could get hurt! However, I’ve been following (read: drooling over) Christine Centenera’s style for years now. In an environment where many editors are severely put together, she always has a detail or two that’s a bit off, and she wears it like a badge of honor.

The fashion editor of Harper’s Bazaar Australia, Centenera was at the forefront of the street style explosion back in 2009, and has since gone on to win the hearts and admiration of the masses…especially Kanye West. Yeezy even asked Centenera to consult on debut fashion line, DW…results notwithstanding.

Aside from the back story, I came across this photo on Stockholm Street Style and my soul fluttered a little. Centenera gets it right because she doesn’t strive but perfection, but rather opts for some messy hair and minimal makeup with a startingly beautiful white coat. P.S. Does anyone know who designed these shoes?

Spotted this on The Ones 2 Watch. Everything about it is a YES.

Photography by Amos Fricke
Styling by Jade Leung & Philipp Humm
Hair by Taichi
Makeup by Yuko Shimada
Model(s) April Johnson @ Red Model Management

A few images from the 1950s-themed Prad S/S 2012 campaign starring Boardwalk Empire star Michael Pitt. Photographed by David Sims.

images via fuckingyoung

It’s been almost a year since I’ve posted an editorial starring Marloes Horst; she’s one of my favorite blond models. Because she has an undeniable sex appeal, though, she is usually thrust in front of the camera in over-sexualized ensembles we are meant to oogle at and drool over.

Here, Marloes plays a badass school girl for Intermission magazine‘s F/W issue, donning some oversized varsity jackets, innocent pins and a glare letting us know she’s not a girl, not yet a woman…or something. Whatever. I love it.

For the full spread, head to fgr.

It seems only weeks pass after a fashion runway season before labels’ ad campaign images come flooding in by the dozens. When I first began following fashion, I was always excited to see the newest arrivals of glammed up, glossy-legged models in angular poses with the latest bag draped over their shoulder and a smoldering gaze burning a hole in the camera lens. But perhaps I’ve grown jaded or overly critical; I am no longer excited by most of the ad campaigns, in which designers seem to recruit the same photographer talents and work with the same color palettes and concepts.

I understand there are restraints as to how far one can push creative boundaries when it comes to selling products, but varying the use of filters, photographers and models might be the answer. It seems contradictory, though, that the large fashion houses constantly pushing innovation and progression with each passing runway  season, remain so stagnant when it comes to their own ad campaigns. Versace’s Spring 2012 campaign, for example, doused in blue with a tanned and toned Gisele, reminds me of the Gucci ads for fall, (both shot by Mert and Marcus), but with blue instead of fall’s reds and oranges.

Many campaigns I’ve seen this season deliver the same scenario: models draped in front of <insert x> scenery (mountain, beach, car, boys), lounging on one another and looking utterly pleased with themselves for fitting into <insert y designer>’s sample sized garments. Call me crazy, but shouldn’t these campaigns be treated as permanent editorials? After all, (and especially for the two-page ads), these images live on in magazines for a couple issues at least, and are often a prelude to the actual content. If I were a designer, I would want the reader to linger as long on my photos in the first 100 pages as they do on the last 100 pages of the magazines, where fashion directors take liberty to style daring shoots, even if they’re tacky, over-styled or otherwise. At least they’re entertaining. The batch of Spring ad campaigns, on the other hand, are not.

A few campaigns caught my eye, however, and are a welcomed break in the monotony of Mert and Marcus and Camila Akron and Inez and Vinoodh and so on. Perhaps I’ll change my mind when more images start to roll in, but I feel like perhaps I should just lower my standards. It’s not about surprises anymore, it’s about selling the products in an easy, safe way.

Leave it to Nicolas Ghesquiere’s Balenciaga to deliver a quirky ad that lets the clothes do most of the entertaining. Last season, too, welcomed a rather boyish Gisele, seen awkward yet strong in a campaign that showed her in a new way that strays from her supermodel-esque appearances. You don’t have to like it or find it aesthetically pleasing, but at least Ghesquiere matches his collections, which always push boundaries and eschew prettiness for progression.

Cushnie et Ochs also had a simple yet enticing geometric-inspired series of ads by Hugh Lippe.

And then you have the illustrious Iris Apfe for MAC cosmetics which, I have to say, is fucking brilliant. That perfectly red pout with those old-lady red nails, styled to the heavens and unnerving blue-green eyes shielded by those sigature glasses. Yes yes yes.

image via// oyster 

It’s almost as if winter casts a perpetual shadow over our personal style compass, and we go from the flirty silhouettes and punchy colors of summer to the melancholy color palette of fall and winter. I’ll be the first to admit my winter wardrobe mostly consists of black, cream, tan and navy…in other words: the neutral rack at any given store. What we often forget is that texture is our friend, especially in a season consisting of so little else that will interest the eye.

But then I remembered: that cozy, fuzzy, throw-it-on-and-wear-it-out wardrobe item that should be a staple in everyone’s closet… the fuzzy sweater. Worn over leggings with motorcycle boots and a cross-body bag, you’re laid back and comfortable but still maintain a degree of chic. Worn with patterned tights and chunky platforms, you’ve successfully transformed your fuzzy knit from a daytime top into a dress of sorts for the evening. (Seen on Alexa Chung, the navy textured sweater takes on new life when paired with a pleated organza skirt; a modern take on the old classic school girl). And seen peeking out from under some weather-appropriate layers, it’s a texture tease, and will still keep you warm once you peel off your outerwear.

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Carey Mulligan has had an incredible year: she starred alongside Ryan Gosling in Drive, one of 2011′s most talked-about films,  she got engaged to Mumford and Sons’ Marcus Mumford, and I recently saw her shine in the new Steve McQueen film, Shame, starring Michael Fassbender. She has seamlessly transformed from my favorite indie queen into a big budget star, but still has the quirk and spunk to keep me interested in which roles she’ll take on in the future.

I usually hate employing overused words like “flawless” in my description of anything, but she really does embody the word on the cover of W magazine’s January issue. She’s shrugging off a Nina Ricci tweed blazer from the label’s polished but flirty spring 2012 collection. Bravo to Edward Enningful (previously of Vogue) for putting Mulligan right at the intersection of sexy and timeless. Brilliant.

To see all the photos, check out W Magazine’s site.