Slate.com’s article on the decay of plastic and its effect on arts preservation.
A topic I find most interesting as there is a side of me that finds the obsession with preserving art to be perversely morbid.
Cintra Wilson’s review of Solange Azagury-Partridge for the NYTimes Critical Shopper column.
After I read this I went directly to the jewelers website and immediately lusted after the diamond beads. Absent of their usual tacky high-shine, the beads have a mysterious, unrecognizable murkiness. I would love to wear this ring and have no one know that it was actually a diamond.
Milky Moon. Price unknown, although probably unforgivable.
Also in the Times:
Chandler Burr’s review of Menthe Fraîche (perfume) by Heeley
I love Burr’s perfume reviews. His rare ability to translate scent into text always makes me want to run out to the perfume counter. Recently, Mr. Burr unwittingly pointed me to Guaiac by Red Flower, thus perhaps ending my many years search for the perfect citrus scent. I confess to paying $17.95 to order the teeniest, tiniest little sample vial on the internet. I love it. If I had the $186 to buy the full whopping 15ml bottle, I would.
These reviews give me a sad case of Veuve Clicquot tastes on an Eau de Municipal budget.
Alice and Kev
This is an amazing Sims social experiment. In sum, UK game design student, Robin Burkinshaw created two homeless Sims and it is uncanny how their circumstances reflect real-life homelessness and abusive co-dependent relationships.
One Piece Flow vs. Mass Production
This is a great video that examines the efficacy of these two modes of production in manufacturing. Useful for anyone who needs to make or assemble a lot of one thing.
Despite having not liked my uniforms in school, I’ve always wished I had one as an adult. I think it is incredibly powerful for someone to wear the same thing all the time. It really welds to their identity and makes them seem more centered and confident.
Many artists have done uniform projects, notably Andrea Zittel’s “A-Z Six Month Seasonal Uniforms”. I am really enjoying following Sheena Matheiken’s Uniform Project as well. Her uniform is actually pretty great. Not only is it cute and flattering, Matheiken really uses the dress as a canvas to her creative accessorizing.
so many ways! –Matheiken’s Uniform Project
I myself am currently undergoing a huge closet weeding. I would say I’ve given away, or consigned about 50-60% of my clothes since January and am still working on it. The ultimate goal is to have continuity and modularity in my wardrobe. In addition, I am trying to focus on quality over quantity. For example, one truly warm cashmere sweater that matches everything over 5 sort-of warm sweaters I bought on sale that I don’t even like that much because the colors are too difficult. Colors are so problematic that I don’t really feel like dealing with it anymore. I am trying to stick to whites, grays and blacks in my slacks, dresses and tops with maybe one or two punchy tops to break it up. My accessories are still fun. I pride myself on a great sock and brooch collection and a fondness for orange.
OK, I just was about to go to bed but unfortunately ran into a project on the interwebs and felt compelled to blog. But after that to bed for real. I am very tired.
SO! Drop everything and go HERE
I love it because it basically just shows how in actuality, we are very boring. One of fashion’s myths that drives me crazy is the idea that you can wear different clothes and set yourself apart. But unless you have gobs of cash and are Bjork, you are not setting yourself apart at all!
When I was young and full of myself (i.e. in high school) I had convinced myself that I was so unique because I wore “crazy” outfits and had “weird” make-up. Then I went to a hippie college and I, and likely most of my entering class, had a mild identity crisis, whereby we realized that we weren’t particularly special. Oh well.
Fashion, daily dress for the most part is just a nice shorthand way to quickly figure out what bands a person is into without having to go through the trouble of actually talking to them. It’s very convenient. However, it would be nice to get on with the future already and invent those matching spandex outfits so we can all stop worrying about this nonsense.
Guys! Guys! Guys! How freaking sweet is this robot, Tron-esque sweater and dress by fashion designer Louise Goldin!?! I totally want the grey sweater!
This semester I had the opportunity to teach a continuing education course for Tufts Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. I have two more classes to go until the end. The class is called The Architecture of Fashion. Here is my description:
Initially the study of dress or fashion is met with apprehension. Dress is considered too ornamental, having no real purpose other than to satisfy vanities. However, upon closer inspection, dress is deep surface. Dress lends a hand in creating physical, philosophical and social boundaries, all of which must be negotiated on a daily basis. In this course we will explore the nature and philosophies of clothing via an architectural lens, looking deeply into their parallels. We will begin by exploring the foundations of materials and shape and how ultimately these configurations contribute to our overall sense of identity and place.
This has been my first time teaching, and I almost feel sorry for my students as I personally feel so green! Every week I have a bit of anxiety planning for my upcoming class. I am happy that I may get the chance to teach the class again in the Spring. I think it will be much better and more fun since I have already laid down a lot of the foundational work, ie comprehensive lecture notes, slides, etc. I also have a better sense of who my students are and what they are looking for in the class. I definitely wont be requiring them to read the entirety of Mark Wrigley’s White Walls Designer Dresses, and I may reconsider the Heidegger piece on dwelling. I think both these readings are excellent, but I think my students prefer contextual historical information to theoretical and philosophical information. I personally love theory but I know it’s not everybody’s cup of tea.
One thing my students love is the documentaries I show and my slides. I feel somewhat conflicted over documentaries. On the one hand they are great and really show more insight into the fashion designer or architect than perhaps I can, on the other hand I don’t want to just rely on the documentaries to do my teaching for me. I really liked this little short doc on LeCorbusier. It was just what I needed. We were doing a lot of reading about him and this film really summed up his philosophies nicely and was only 26 minutes. I do wish there were more docs on fashion designers though. So far I have showed Yves St. Laurent: His Life and Times, which is fabulous. And Notebook on Cities and Clothes, which is about Yohji Yamamoto, which is very good, although Wim Wendell, the director, is a little self-indulgent when it comes to the way it was shot. I know there is a doc on Issac Mizarhi and I caught a little bit of it on cable, but I really didn’t like it. I am excited about the new one on Karl Lagerfeld. Hopefully it will be on DVD soon, or show in Boston.
