Tuesday 30 January 2007

Men Style I like...Adrien Brody

Last week I watched "Love The Hard Way" with 32 year old New York born actor Adrien Brody. He was wearing this terribly distasting snake skin jacket and I recognized that he endlessly attracts me even with this horrible jacket.

He is definitelly a men I would love to just watch for hours. This whole person is so interesting even without saying anything. For me he is the actor of my time with the most sexual spirit. Apart from this spirit I like the way he dresses. He has three kind of styles the "Hip Hop Poser Style" (probably back to the roots),the "Creative Actor Style" and the "Gentlemen Style" (like he dresses for premieres). I would have done anything to replace Halle Berry at the Oscars in 2005...There is no man who could beat his coolness!

Fashion I like...Denim Chic...Marithé Francois Girbaud

Everytime I open a fashion magazine there are various new jeans brands recommended which are all recommended as so called "Must Haves". I tend to read this with a kind of resignation and I most of time miss my favorite jeans brand. Most of the prices for the "Must Have Jeans" are very much exegerated. I would never ever pay 200 - 300 EUR for a Seven jeans? Why that?

There is one french jeans label for whose jeans I would pay the price:

The Marithé Francois Girbaud Jean! Each of their pieces is an artwork, especially the jeans and the shoes. I fell in love with a pair of jeans last years summer. The original price in the shop was 370 EUR and when the got reduced to 180 EUR I had to have them. You can also buy their clothes online ...so if you want to pay that much for jeans try to invest in artworks and not in mass production.

Monday 29 January 2007

Films I like…Paris, je t'aime

Rainy Sunday afternoon…do you have any better idea than going to a charming old cinema with big candelabra and fresh popcorn?
Yesterday I watched the Film "Paris, je t'aime" as I kind of pleasant anticipation what will be avaiting me in 3 weeks….yes it is only three weeks left and we have neither a flat nor organized the relocation. Crazy but true. I tend to feel very uncomfortable from time to time but being a very impatient person I try to take this as challenge to therapy myself. If I go through all the worst case scenarios I now decided to tell myself "never think that far ahead!". Maybe this is the solution. But now coming back to the film...the original subject of this post.


Apart from my personal situation it was a wonderful film. It deals with the city "Paris" as main character in the foreground being divided in it's arrondissements and the destinys of different characters living or visiting Paris who try to get along with their personal situations. The film has the following construct: Paris, Je T’aime sets out to showcase the universality of Paris by allowing 21 directors from around the world to construct their own short films inspired by the city. No rules were established; the only criterion was that the films had to be set in Paris. The concept was set up by Emanuelle Benhiby and many famous directors and actors contributed.


Paris, je t'aime is dealing with the following urban districts:


  1. Montmartre - written and directed by Bruno Podalydès

  2. Quais de Seine - co-writtenn by Paul Mayeda Berges et réalisé par Gurinder Chadha

Love it because ... it is good to see that there are men who are able to see real beauty...


3. Le Marais - written and directed by Gus Van Sant

4. Tuileries - written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen

Love it because...it made me laugh.


5. Loin du 16e - written and directed by Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas

6. Porte de Choisy - co-written by Gabrielle Keng and Kathy Li and directed by Christopher Doyle

7. Bastille - written and directed by Isabel Coixet

8. Place des Victoires - written and directed by Nobuhiro Suwa

9. Tour Eiffel - written and directed by Sylvain Chomet

10. Parc Monceau - written and directed by Alfonso Cuarón

11. Quartier des Enfants Rouges - written and directed by Olivier Assayas

Love it because ... it shows how love could change from time to time.

    12. Place des fêtes - written and directed by Oliver Schmitz

Love it because ... it shows how unfair destiny is most of time.

    13. Pigalle - written and directed by Richard LaGravenese
    14. Quartier de la Madeleine - written and directed by Vincenzo Natali

15. Père-Lachaise - written and directed by Wes Craven

Love it because ... he reminds my of my boyfriend and she reminds me of myself.


16. Faubourg Saint-Denis - written and directed by Tom Tykwer

17. Quartier Latin - written by Gena Rowlands, directed by Gérard Depardieu and Frédéric Auburtin

18. 14e arrondissement - written and directed by Alexander Payne


The film was first shown at the Cannes Festival in 2006. Actors who contributed include Fanny Ardant, Juliette Binoche, Steve Buscemi, Willem Dafoe, Gérard Depardieu, Marianne Faithfull, Ben Gazzara, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Bob Hoskins, Olga Kurylenko, Aïssa Maïga, Emily Mortimer, Nick Nolte, Natalie Portman, Miranda Richardson, Gena Rowlands, Ludivine Sagnier, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Rufus Sewell, Leonor Watling, Elijah Wood and others.


My mood was changing during the whole film. It went from sad to happy to affected to funny. I don't want to comment on any of the scenes. I would recommend to watch the film and build your own opinion on it. I included film photos of my favorite scenes. I hope to say one day as well "Paris, je t'aime"...

Friday 26 January 2007

Fashion I like...Clement Ribeiro

Yesterday I came home from work and found a little notice in my letterbox saying that I could fetch a package by Yoox at my neighbour. My heart made a leap forward because I knew that all the nice things I baught at Yoox Sale have arrived. JIPPPIHHH...You should know that I did not buy anything for month because I was waiting for Yoox winter sale which is probably the best to get unique fashion. I still live in Germany and there is not a lot you can get here which stands out of the queue. Everything was perfect but there was one piece which was really outstanding: The CLEMENT RIBEIRO bermuda I got for 62 EUR (original price 250 EUR). I already noticed that Clement Ribeiro designs really special pieces which really apply to my taste last year when he designed a special line for yoox. Having said that I am waiting until February to get the RIBEIRO Wool jacket. It is really sweet and normally I avoid to wear "sweet pieces" because it really makes me look childish - but this is too sweet actually....and it is a Kat like me...


Thursday 25 January 2007

Fashion I like...Everything In Yve Klein's Blue

The style.com Stylehunter reports on http://www.style.com/fashionshows/stylehunter/editorial/news/data/style_hunter/122106.xml about catwalk news. One of the reports was dedicated to the "Yves Klein" blue, which had been used for many of the new designs. It is a wonderful nuance of blue which has been created and used very often by the french artist Yves Klein for his sculptures, paintings and drawings. Yves Klein belonged the artisic movement of "Nouveau Réalisme"founded in 1960 which was counted as "Avantgarde".
I visited a beautyful villa this year in Como (Italy) and found flowers which reminded me of that colour. I took a lot of photographs and told my boyfriend that I would use this colour a lot if I were a designer. As I am neither a designer nor do I have blue eyes I just make make a post about the PERFECT BLUE.

Gainsbourg Revisited


I recently baught the Gainsbourg Revisited CD. It was a tribute to his 15th day of death. It is a new musical interpretation of his songs in english language. Most of the songs still match to his original melodies and some have been recorded as electronic version as Tricky did with "Emanuelle". But no matter which artist did what...he or she did it perfectly. It is a wonderful multi facetted CD I would hightly recommend. Artists include Franz Ferdinant, Jarvis Cocker, Jane Birkin, Carla Bruni, Marianne Faithful, Portishead and more. You can find more information (like interviews and videos) on the homepage which has been exclusively built for this project: www.monsieurgainsbourg.com .

Monday 22 January 2007

Fashion Interview with Lisa Voelkl, 25 years, medicine student




KS: What do you wear today?



LV: I am wearing a top I baught in Rome from "BLUE SAND" combined with black Skinny Jeans www.littlebig.com (LTB - "Aspen"). I wear them in my Buffallo London Boots. Jewelery is vintage. The armreif is a present from my grandma and very old. I love it. It is one of my favorite pieces.


KS: What do you consider as key pieces a woman should invest in?



LV: I would defintelly invest in a pair of perfectly fitting jeans. I love jeans and my favourite buys are jeans. Furthermore you should not go without a pair of nice heels. It is important that those are comfortable so you could wear them day and night. Sunshades is something which needs a designer label because it is a statement accessoire. I am always searching for a unique and comfortable top I could wear for different occasions. When I travel for example it is nice to have a vest or jacket you could wear with an sophisticated top as well as combined with a casual shirt.



KS: What do you consider as key pieces a man should invest in?



LV: With the shoes it is the same as for women. A man should have a nice pair of shoes which could be worn day and night. A pair of sneakers is great but it should not be to sportive and casual. A stylish jeans is also important for a man. According to my opinion a man does not need to invest as much as a woman. He could look nice with just a nice pair of jeans and t-shirts. Designer Sunshades is a "must" for men as well.



KS: What do you plan buy next?



LV: I never plan! I follow my impulses.

Friday 19 January 2007

Fashion Week Milan 07/08...J.Lindeberg and Moschino

Watching the runway pictures of fashion week Milan I picked two favorites. I really liked what J. Lindeberg and Moschino were presenting. Let me know what you think...

Wednesday 17 January 2007

THE SKIRT..."AS FOUR"

While browsing through yoox.com I found this beautyful golden skirt by the New Yorker Designer AS FOUR. AS FOUR constists of 4 young designers who became famous because of its "Cicly Bag" designed for "Sex and the City". This skirt has been reduced to 340 EUR, which is unfortunatelly still too much for me. It is the skirt marching with the golden dresses of a former post.

J.Lindeberg Woman Milan 07/08

I really like J.Lindeberg fashion for men. When I saw the pictures of the women's collection at The Fashionspot I noticed that the women's collection is also wonderful. I like every single outfit of the pictures which have been posted.

Tuesday 16 January 2007

Jefferson Hack...A Modern Gentleman







Last week I got feedback from a male friend to include "Men Style" in my blog. I decided if it was possible for me to include it because I deal with women's style most of the time. I decided to start this section by finding a man whose style I really like. It took me 3 days to figure that out. This morning while browsing through www.dazeddigital.com, I finally got the satori. I like every single piece and outfit Jefferson Hack, publisher of Dazed & Confused and Another Magazine, is wearing. Again he is an english guy...I am wondering if I am obsessed with them but I guess not...of course I am only obsessed with my one and only man but I am not bound to say that I love the way english men dress. If I was a man I would prefer to go for english designers like John Richmond (wonderful ads), Alexander McQueen, Burberry Prorsum and Paul Smith. The problem with this style is, that you really have to be slim - as Jefferson Hack is. But isn't it the same with women's fashion? Why should only women suffer from eating less to wear all the nice cuttings? So to all the men: "Eat less and you will definitely look wonderful adopting the style of the english gents!"

Monday 15 January 2007

Fashion Week Paris Haute-Couture Spring/Summer 2007 from January, 22nd to 25th 2007


RANKIN

Rankin started taking photographs at the age of 20 while studying in Brighton. This was unusual because his parents were merchandisers and the would have liked their son to follow their foot steps. After his studies he decided to go his own way and published together with his friend Jefferson Hack the Dazed & Confused, a British style magazine. Topics covered in Dazed & Confused include music, fashion, film, art and literature. Jefferson as well as Rankin make a good combination. Jefferson had an eye for upcoming trends and talents and Rankin was the one who put this into pictures.
The current exhibition is called "Beautyfull" a series of photos of women such as Vivienne Westwood, Kate Moss, Sienna Miller and many more to explore female beauty. I personally like the series called "Tuulitastic - a photographic love letter" where he photographed model and girlfriend Tuuli Reynolds. The exhibition took already place in London at "The Gallery" on Charing Cross Road in November. All the photographs were taken by Rankin over a three year period and it is possible to see a development of style and attitude within them. It has now been published in a book you can order via
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0954491114/ref=nosim/schildnet0a
My favorite fotos are the photo collages of Tuuli. They are authentic, creative and sexy. Link to his website: http://www.rankin.co.uk/

Wednesday 10 January 2007

Super Sale at Le Train Bleu

I got the Le Train Bleu Newsletter today. The have started the "sale season".

Unfortunately I live in Europe and it would take too long to order the items and let them send to my home. If I would life in the US I would buy those two wonderful dresses with the matching shoes and this necklace.

Items:

1) Sabina Jersey Dress
$150.00
**SALE--Originally 250.00** Not too dressy for work, this style will also take you out on the town. It's a great one to play around with Fall's layering trend--the lightweight jersey makes it ideal for layering under or over things. And belts! It's the perfect style to wear with the new waist belts, as shown with the Mint leather belt, here. From Mint Collection NYC.

2) Louisa Bow Tie Heels
$39.00
**SALE--Originally 78.00**The prettiest little suede bow-tie heels with leather trimming.


3) Norma Polka Dress
$159.00
**SALE--Originally 345.00** You had me at Hello, Norma Dress, but then you had to go and charm me with your little row of covered buttons in back and those cool ruched sleeves and on top of all that you made me look 10 lbs lighter. Now I'm your girl and we are going steady. Made of 100% Micro Modal Jersey (soft, soft, soft). From Karanina.


4) Jaime Tango Heels
$68.00
Striking round-toe pumps with ankle straps and 3" stacked heels. Leather with sueded details. **This style ready to ship the first week of Oct.


5) Nicole Romano Mixed Fruit Necklace
$89.00
**SALE--Originally 169.00** It's hard not to yammer on about Sex in the City when talking about Nicole Romano, since her designs were so often featured in the show and ushered in a new era of fashion that is exhuberant and experimental. This necklace seems to epitomize the spirit with it's colorful hearts with cascades of gold chains.
This necklace is wonderful for summer. It would match perfectly with all the colourful dresses which will be available in summer season.

Tuesday 9 January 2007

The dandy strikes back = The Lady strikes back as well….

This article in "Times Online" (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,20029-1819675,00.html) made me think.

It deals with the "New English Dandy" (btw with Wade Crescent on the cover) a book by Alice Cicolini available at
http://www.amazon.com/New-English-Dandy-Alice-Cicolini/dp/2843237564/sr=8-1/qid=1168354433/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-8517710-7018407?ie=UTF8&s=books .
The english dandy is a man who takes his times for dressing with regards to details and who replaced with his look the muscle packed gym boy working out all day. His aim is to stand out from the crowd who is consuming what the mass marked - as a consequence of globalization - presents.



The article made me think of the theories by the french sociologist Pierre Bourdieu we recently discussed at University (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Bourdieu#Bourdieu.27s_theory_of_power_and_practice). "La Distinction" takes as its basis Bourdieu's empirical research carried out in 1963 and concluded in 1967/68. In his often densely-worded prose, Bourdieu discussed how those in power define aesthetic concepts such as "taste". Using research, he shows how social class tends to determine a person's likes and interests, and how distinctions based on social class get reinforced in daily life. He observes that even when the subordinate classes may seem to have their own particular idea of 'good taste'.


I personally tend to be facinated by people who are special and outside the crowd. This doesn't refer only to the way they dress…that would be really superficial I think. Though I try to search for unusual special things as special clothes, restaurants, hotels ( I totally defeat hotel chains), music, parties, people and so on. This is not an easy way of living because most of the people in our environments tend to do what "common people" do. I would call that a kind of "easy superficial" lifestyle which is uncomplicated to handle in this world full of overload information. For me it is the wrong way to life like this...Oscar Wilde said: "It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances." This is exactly what I think. …if you do the oposite you strike a more difficult path than searching for the extraordinary.


...Coming back to the english dandy now...The english dandy is divided in several types belonging to different sinus milieus in London but it could be assigned to any other european city as well I think:



Neo-Modernist
The role model: David Bowie
The look: Sharp, tailored suits with crisp, clean lines that subvert tradition
The Designers: John Galliano, Spencer Hart, Alexander McQueen
Habitat: Sketch, Modern Times Club at the Great Eastern Hotel


East End Flaneur
Role model: Jarvis Cocker
The look: Vintage, branded goods, bohemian, glam rock – and plenty of scarves
The designers: Maharishi, Vexed Generation, Jeff Griffin
Habitat: Kash Point club nights in London, Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club, The Bricklayers Arms and anywhere in Hoxton


The Gentleman
Role model: Bryan Ferry
The look: Quality informed by tradition, the epitome of sartorial propriety
The designers: Timothy Everest, Charlie Allen, Carlo Brandelli, Richard Anderso
Habitat: New Piccadilly Café (one of the last Fifties cafés in London), Sheraton Club, The French House, the racetrack, the casino



New Briton
The role model: Malcolm McLaren
The look: Mixing different cultural references with traditional tailoring
The designers: Vivienne Westwood, Paul Smith
Habitat: Multiracial suburbs, such as Queen’s Park and Brixton in "real London"



Casual
The role model: Liam Gallagher
The look: Giving classic labels new meaning
The designers: Pringle, Lyle & Scott, Aquascutum, Burberry and Belstaff
Habitat: The Phoenix Pub, Edinburgh, The King’s Arms Salford, Manchester’s Northern Quarter



Celebrity Tailor
The role model: Tommy Nutter
The look: Vibrant colour, sparkling fabric, idiosyncratic cut and embellishment
The designers: Richard James, Mark Powell, Ozwald Boeteng, John Pearse
Habitat: Savile Row




What I ask myself now is what would be the better half of each dandy? I mean do this kind of role models exist for women as well and what would be the matching ones to the types of dandys listed above?


David Bowie = Madonna





Jarvis Cocker = Kate Moss
Bryan Ferry = Dita von Teese
Macolm McLaren = Deborah Harry
Liam Gallagher = Irina Lazareanu
Tommy Nutter = Audrey Hepburn