industrial

work has been slow lately, so i've been puttering around the house. organizing, cleaning, rearranging, etc. i've also been helping my parents out with a few renovations, so i've been browsing online a lot for furniture and stuff.

i found a bunch of great metal industrial-feeling cabinets and lighting, which i love. we really need a floor lamp by our sofa for reading/computing, and a tall storage bookshelf or cabinet by our dining table. of course i would love to find some vintage industrial cabinet of some kind, but i don't really know where to look around here! so from what i can find online (besides $$$ 1stdibs) here is what i'm liking...


sundance skyler cabinet $1495


restoration hardware pharmacy cabinet $1595


anthropologie decker bookshelf $998


remember this post and these lights? a two-armed look-alike, the anthropologie enzo lamp $398


jielde look-alike...restoration hardware atelier task light $359

santos 10.5 months

i've realized i haven't been posting much about our pup, santos lately!

she's still alive- here she is playing with her favorite friend at the park, libby.


tug-o-war!


short-legged libby fighting back against her long-legged playmate.

winner!

congratulations to duskin (comment #6) for winning the paris vogue giveaway!

your free magazine will be sent in the mail.

thanks everyone for commenting!

seven samurai

(hedi slimane for vogue homme japan's 1st issue)

disclaimer: i will make no apologies for blogging about so many japan-related things.

you know how some people say they never have any regrets?

i do. have regrets that is. for my 4th year collection in fashion school i wish i went with my gut instinct, and took inspiration from a samurai armour exhibit i saw at the v&a in london. i took a trip to europe the summer before 4th year and as soon as i saw that exhibit, i knew i wanted to do something with the weaving and lacing seen in the armour. alas, my collection was nothing even remotely like this and i regret it till this very day. things happen (school happens) and i second guessed myself and did "what i thought is should do", which really kills me. i should have just done what i wanted and fought the instructors to the end. i wish i could go back.

ever since that summer i have been completely enamored by samurai armour, and was lucky to see some more in various museums during our 2 trips to japan this year.

one place that i wish we could have gone (well, we did go, but it was closed) is 'gallery samurai' in aoyama. apparently they have museum-quality samurai armour and other antique japanese curios for sale. i'm dreaming of a super-industrial loft with samurai armour on display... maybe one day!

gallery samurai
2-7-18 kita aoyama
minato-ku, tokyo
map here
go up the narrow winding staircase to 4F

visvim kyoto

i love the story behind visvim's new store in kyoto. while visiting kyoto, you can just feel the history oozing from the city and the buildings. i would be quite happy to sit in an old alley, close my eyes and smile for hours, imagining everything that happened here years and years ago.

hiroki nakamura's new f.i.l. store is located in the storefront of a 16-generation-old doll making shop. bought from the 90-year-old woman who spent her entire life working there, he gave her an apartment above the shop, and she comes to the store every day to arrange flowers. so cool.



i can't wait to see more pictures.



via a shaded view of fashion

giveaway! paris vogue

well, it turns out my june/july issue of paris vogue was just late, so now i have two copies. so, i am giving my second copy away! sent brand new in plastic wrap to one of my readers!



just leave a comment and make sure i can contact you if you win. contest is open to canadian and us readers.

i will close the contest in 1 week: august 19th at midnight.

good luck!

technicolour makeup explosion

i got my august paris vogue on friday and i love this shot. maybe in the future we will be able to morph our skin to all different colours like this.


(scan from tfs)

barbara i gongini

thanks to susie bubble's post today on barbara i gongini, i checked out the designer's website and discovered some amazing things that i would love in my wardrobe. i really love the styling, too. the ripped tights thing would have normally turned me off (a bit tired, non?) but i really like it here. maybe because you can only see a peek of it and not a full leg. the knit pieces are fantastic too. i'm currently working on recreating the ann demeulemeester knit scarves (with the chunky wool and braided bits) ever since i saw them on the runway, and the weight of this wool reminds me of that.

the hair is also cool- i'm strongly thinking of adding some black to my hair, either as a section like this or more of a fade to black at the ends.




















this outfit is the perfect lazy sunday attire- i wish i was wearing it right now!

i think it's about time i get my act together and start sewing again. i bought some purple lace yesterday. yes, purple!

6+ and direction

while in tokyo in may, i was really excited to learn that we were there to catch the 6+ antwerp fashion exhibition at the tokyo opera city art gallery. here is a little blurb from tokyo art beat (great site btw):

"Antwerp gained overnight recognition as a major center for fashion in the 1980s with the emergence of the "Antwerp Six." That success was grounded in the comprehensive education provided by the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, collaborations with photographers, stylists and makeup artists in building a coherent image, and the powerful sense of identity possessed by each individual designer.

This is the first exhibition in Japan to explore the attraction and creativity of Antwerp fashion. It covers the Antwerp Six (including Dirk Bikkembergs, Ann Demeulemeester, and Dries Van Noten) and Martin Margiela, who represent the first generation, and also second and third generation designers such as Raf Simons, Veronique Branquinho, and A.F. Vandevorst."

unfortunately no pictures were allowed (bummer!) and i wished really really hard that i brought my sketchbook so i could sketch some of the pieces from the antwerp royal academy of fine arts students, because they were truly amazing. you should check out their website to see the different years' work on the runway.

i bought the accompanying book, even though most of it is in japanese (maybe some day i will be able to read it)


















viewing their designs/projects made me remember why i got interested in fashion to begin with. i was previously involved in visual arts, but it was the craft of fashion that really fascinated me and spurred my interest in going to fashion school. manipulating fabric and other materials into fanciful creations of the imagination is what i was interested in. the artistic side of fashion. the conceptual. somehow over the years, as a result of the type of school i ended up going to, my current job, and perhaps even the city i live in, my love for fashion and my desire to be involved in the creation of fashion has been seriously waning. i've even spoken to a career counselor to try and work some things out and figure out what i really want to do. i'm still not sure.

some directions i'm currently thinking about are architect (but i'm not great at math), interior designer, fashion forecaster, historian (maybe to do with textiles or fashion history), archaeologist, researcher.

the other night i was up late thinking, and i tried to sort out what i want out of a career, and came up with this list:

- work with visual aesthetics in some way
- feel like i'm making a positive contribution to society or making some sort if difference in the world
- to work on projects that are more concrete and long-lasting
- the freedom to be truly creative
- to work with or for a small group of people i admire and respect
- to work on projects that are more 'big picture' or that have a more conceptual focus
- to have freedom or the ability to travel freely
- work involving research, analysis and synthesis of ideas or concepts
- work with my hands (something i really miss in my current job)

any suggestions? if there are any architects out there who can share some insight about their job, i would greatly appreciate it, as it is one field i am leaning towards.

proenza footwear

i've got to say i was drooling over proenza schouler's footwear for fall 2009. particularly the chunky boots. i had a pair strikingly similar, with a chuky wooden heel and platform, when i was in high school. i bet my mom still has them stashed away in a box in my parents workshop. i should find them and show you all, or sell them, hah.


i want theeeese. at least they would be walkable.




and these brocade ones...

i love the pop of yellow on these ones



i can't wait until it's cold enough to wear wool tights. i've had enough of the heat! bring on autumn!

new ikea ps

the new ikea ps collection is slowly making its way into north american ikea stores!



i will definitely be checking out this throw and picking up a meter or two of that dotted fabric. i think i'm going to stretch some on a canvas because it bears an uncanny resemblance to the art below, which i love.