Favorite of the Day: Prabal Gurung

Yesterday was the start of Fashion Month, and though my fatigue caused me to spend a considerable amount of last season complaining, I'm sad that I'm not there. Walking three blocks so that I can finally wave down a taxi. Watching models remove their heavy makeup while waiting for the downtown train. Quickly and carefully finding the caterer carrying the tray of full champagne glasses.

So I've decided to spend a chunk of each morning making my way through the previous day's offerings and introducing you to my favorite designer that you might not have heard of. All three of you who read this blog with any regularity.

For day one, we have Prabal Gurung.

Modern and feminine with just the right touch of 80s.


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And So It Begins

Selections from a Gchat conversation this morning with a friend as I browsed the first of the New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2010 pictures:

Samantha: The ugly florals are KILLING me
S: I am not a laura ashley pillow
Friend: ooo ooo
F: as a kid i wore laura ashley
S: so did I
S: and I would like to leave that time in the past
F: ditto
S: there are so many people in NY breaking that "If you wore it the first time, don't wear it the second time" rule
F: hahahahahahah
F: dang
S: oh no, denim on denim. just no. no no no no no no.
F: NOOO

F: canadian tuxedo??
S: hahahahahaha
S: also, wait for it, cropped shirts
S: apparently we're making our way into 1992
F: hyper color?
F: please please please
S: oh, that's already happened
F: YES

F: YES

F: WIN!!!!!

Dichotomies

Printed Sheath:


Leather Sheath:

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The Gloved One

My love for specific accessories comes in waves. There have been high points for earrings, rings, scarves, necklaces, bracelets and headbands. The items are worn almost every day at first before settling into a normal pattern of use. And now that I can feel the chill of Autumn on the breeze, my focus has shifted yet again.

My mild obsession with gloves is well documented here. The pairs I long for now aren't as mesmerizing as the ones I had in elementary school with the pictures that changed color when hit with the cold, but I find myself equally drawn to them.

Yesterday while on a trip through a local store with a friend, I found drawers and drawers of pretty vintage pairs. Button detailing. Leather made soft by use and decades of existence. I pulled on set after set. The ends of many just reached my elbows. I tried to imagine the types of women who had worn these confections. How did they keep a pair of white gloves with lace detailing so clean? Not even the yellowing of age had infringed on their purity.

The last pair I tried on was beige with thin strips of brown suede that ran along the lines from knuckle to wrist. A small button snapped at the wrist on the palm side to insure against loss. (Much like every other accessory, I have lost many a glove in my time.) I contemplated them for a very long time. What would I wear them with? The color wouldn't go with any of my winter coats. And I would constantly be afraid of losing them. I softly placed them back in their drawer.

Unlike earrings, rings, scarves, necklaces, bracelets and headbands, I don't know if there's a place in my life for gloves like those.

Back to the Future (Again)

Let's talk about this 80s thing for a moment, shall we?

I was born in 1983. My early childhood was filled with stirrup pants and body suits and windbreakers and very, very bright colors. Denim on denim on even more denim. And the florals. My goodness, the ugly florals that I loved to death. I lived that time. Sure I was young and I wasn't really picking out my own clothes, but I wore all of the trends. And when their time passed, I was done with them. (This might explain why my wardrobe only contains white, black, blue, gray, pink and sometimes yellow now and is devoid of patterns.)

I was definitely not ready to see the clothes of that period return. It makes me feel old. Not that I am old. I'm not one of those young people who has no concept of the fact that she is, in fact, young. I know that I am. So let's rephrase that. Seeing 80s fashions return makes me feel older. But that only explains a fraction of my distaste.

During my adventures through stores of many stripes, I often try on things I would never, ever purchase, even if I were flush with cash. A recent trip to H&M featured a lot of this. I entered the fitting room and examined what I had picked up. A red and yellow striped tunic, or possibly dress if you're so inclined, completely covered in sequins. And a dress with the over-sized shoulders that have been everywhere since the early Spring.



I felt like I was playing dress up when I put them on. Or preparing for a Dynasty-themed party. I kept poking at the shoulders of the dress and watching as they collapsed slightly before I restored their shape. I became mesmerized by the way the sequined tunic made the light dance on the white walls before remembering that I utterly hate being the center of attention. And there would be no way to avoid that in such a piece.

For me, a lot of the clothing feels like costume. Fashion designers are always referencing the past. But many of the clothes I see don't feel like they are inspired by the 80s. They feel like they are from the 80s. Like someone opened my mother's closet or went through my sister's wardrobe, picked out some of their dresses and acid-washed jeans and blazers from 1985 and copied them stitch for stitch. And if any decade lends itself to quickly falling into the category of costume when not handled correctly, it is the 80s with all of its flash and all of its excess.

It's a fine line that few can navigate.


Photos via

Two Sides, Same Coin

Lady who lunches:


Lady who bikes:



Photos via

Pick Your Poison

It all started with these.



As the fashion editorials began to set their sights on fall, I noticed oxfords popping up everywhere. I placed this observation somewhere in the back of my brain as I do all things that are somewhat important but not necessarily relevant to my life at that moment. Until, that is, while doing a bit of online window shopping, I stumbled across this vintage Yves Saint Laurent pair. Maybe it was the fact that they seemed almost new. Or the soft pony hair. Or the jaunty way the model posed with them on, but I fell in love before I realized that they were not in my size. And that I can't afford them at the moment. (Maybe that should have been the first thought?)

I've been following my rule about staying aware of trends but not becoming a slave to them, but once a season, something enthralls me. This fall it is the oxford shoe. Oxfords have, of course, been around for a rather long time. I almost definitely had a pair that I wore with my little plaid uniform at Catholic school when I wasn't in penny loafers or mary janes. But as when any item from the past reenters the public consciousness, the shoe has been reimagined. People take the original and play with it. Twist it into something new. A piece that recalls the past but also speaks of the present. And because of that fact, there are enough iterations to satisfy everyone.

Classics:

J.Crew


NDC


Pedro Garcia


Spectator Style:

Candela NYC


F-Troupe


Christian Louboutin


Contributor by Rachel Comey


Rag & Bone


Metallics:

ModCloth


Repetto


Christian Louboutin


Brights:

Pour La Victoire


D.CO Copenhagen


Esquivel


minimarket


And Wang:


For me, it will probably end with these.



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