April 2008

It’s unlikely that Prince Charles heads the Richard Rogers fan club, but Lord Rogers recently received validation from another luminary when the Royal Institute of British Architects named the Rogers Stirk Harbour–designed Maggie’s Centre the winner of its RIBA Stirling Prize 2009.

April 16, 2008. I.D. interviews Alastair Gordon about his forthcoming book, Spaced Out: Crash Pads, Hippie Communes, Infinity Machines, and Other Radical Environments of the Psychedelic Sixties. "I had colleagues, other journalists, who said, ‘Why do you want to dredge up that hippie crap?’" ...

The Winterhouse Awards, Design 21's design competition for the City of Kobe, Elena Manferdini's new exhibition at Sci-Arc, and more!

It’s unlikely that Prince Charles heads the Richard Rogers fan club, but Lord Rogers recently received validation from another luminary when the Royal Institute of British Architects named the Rogers Stirk Harbour–designed Maggie’s Centre the winner of its RIBA Stirling Prize 2009.

It’s unlikely that Prince Charles heads the Richard Rogers fan club, but Lord Rogers recently received validation from another luminary when the Royal Institute of British Architects named the Rogers Stirk Harbour–designed Maggie’s Centre the winner of its RIBA Stirling Prize 2009.

It’s unlikely that Prince Charles heads the Richard Rogers fan club, but Lord Rogers recently received validation from another luminary when the Royal Institute of British Architects named the Rogers Stirk Harbour–designed Maggie’s Centre the winner of its RIBA Stirling Prize 2009.

It’s unlikely that Prince Charles heads the Richard Rogers fan club, but Lord Rogers recently received validation from another luminary when the Royal Institute of British Architects named the Rogers Stirk Harbour–designed Maggie’s Centre the winner of its RIBA Stirling Prize 2009.

It’s unlikely that Prince Charles heads the Richard Rogers fan club, but Lord Rogers recently received validation from another luminary when the Royal Institute of British Architects named the Rogers Stirk Harbour–designed Maggie’s Centre the winner of its RIBA Stirling Prize 2009.

It’s unlikely that Prince Charles heads the Richard Rogers fan club, but Lord Rogers recently received validation from another luminary when the Royal Institute of British Architects named the Rogers Stirk Harbour–designed Maggie’s Centre the winner of its RIBA Stirling Prize 2009.

i just started scoping this site! it's really great.

Leigh Lezark and the Misshapes report from Coachella

Gwyneth's leggy look; the Misshapes in Coachella

Proenza Schouler gets shady in SoHo

Lancôme's Juliette Binoche on beauty

Esta vez, han llegado a mi blog* con una alerta.Todos somos conocedores de los estragos que le estamos haciendo al planeta. Todos sabemos del agujero en la capa de ozono, del efecto invernadero y del calentamiento global.Que la contaminación, que la tala de bosques, que el agua, las especies en extinción, etc. Pero de repente ha aparecido una nueva alerta científica hasta ahora desconocida. Yo creo que habría que llamar urgente a Stephen Hawking.¿Usted tenía miedo de las ratas? ¿usted pensaba que Godzilla era un animal jodido?Esto es PEOR! Primera búsqueda: "PAPEL HIGIÉNICO PARA CULOS BLANCOS"Y yo no noté la importancia de tener bien diferenciados los papeles higiénicos, hasta que llegó esta persona buscando sobre el tema. Sé que esto puede sonar racista, pero no tiene nada que ver ni con eso, ni con ninguna cuestión política.Esto es algo mucho, muchísimo peor.Ustedes ni se imaginan lo que puede llegar a pasar si teniendo el culo blanco usan un papel higiénico para culo negro y viceversa.¡El mundo conocido puede llegar definitivamente a desaparecer sólo por eso!¿Alguno de ustedes, gente de culo blanco, estuvo usando papel para culo negro? ¿alguna persona de culo n...

Acostada, leyendo el cuento La cabeza del perro (click), siento al mío moverse debajo de mí.A veces, mi perro se asusta por algo que, aparentemente, sólo él percibe.De vez en cuando, por ejemplo, viene a mi lado y se queda temblando de miedo y con la mirada fija en algún rincón.Nunca encontré la causa que justifique su temor, pero igualmente, siempre me sobresalta un poco esa reacción.Cuando estoy con algún libro y siento que se agita acelerando su respiración por el pánico, suelo dejar caer una mano al costado de la cama y para tranquilizarlo lo acaricio sin abandonar la lectura.Estoy en eso cuando lo veo entrar por la puerta del dormitorio, agazapado y gruñendo, dirigiendo la vista hacia donde están mis dedos, que creen estar acariciando su cabeza.

Sueño que un asesino serial, nos tiene atrapadas a dos amigas y a mí en su casa del medio del bosque.Todas las habitaciones están llenas de artilugios mecánicos para que cada vez que vaya a comprar provisiones no podamos escapar, pero una de las chicas logra sortear una de estas trampas y desactiva todo el resto.Libres y justo ahora se oye el motor del auto de nuestro captor que vuelve. Calculadamente, esperamos que esté dentro para atacarlo.Una le da un palazo en la cabeza que lo tira aturdido al suelo mientras otra lo golpea por todo el cuerpo.Yo doy la estocada final: le clavo sin dudarlo y sin sentimientos, una afilada y brillante cuchilla dos veces en el corazón.Me sorprende lo fácil que se abre paso la hoja a través de la carne. Como si entrase deslizándose en un pan de manteca.-hay que esconder el cuerpo antes de que empiece a llegar la gente -dice una de las chicas.Entre las tres sacamos el cadáver fuera.Cuatro niños que juegan entre los árboles nos acercan unas antorchas.-"quémenla" antes de que despierte -nos ordenan.Y quemamos a la bruja vieja con pelo de estopa amarilla que chilla y chilla mientras se derrite como se derriten todas las brujas, pero sin agua.-esto no está nada bien -comenta una de mis amigas- porque en realidad las brujas no existe...

I have come to the not so wonderful conclusion that my legacy has been helping people to be more vain.  People often remember me most for some beauty tip that I once gave them.  Whether its showing someone how to pluck her eyebrows or pointing out to another what clothes a chic mom might wear, I apparently love to dispense beauty advise.  How embarrassing.  The funny thing is that I am always trying to be less and less vain and embrace what my mom always said was the most beautiful of all: natural beauty.  So I guess I am not becoming less vain.  After all, desiring natural beauty is still wanting to be beautiful.  The only difference is that now I am less willing to work for it.  Every morning I just tell myself that I don't need makeup, although that doesn't stop me from putting on bronzer.  That my friends is the secret, by the way, to no-makeup makeup.  With bronzer you look natural, sun-kissed and healthy. (And I realize that real tans aren't healthy but they look like they are.)  And I'm not talking about the sparkly kind. Uggh! Please no.  Bobby Brown makes a great bronzer that totally looks natural.  Remember not to apply too close to your hair line or else the contrast between your white scalp and br...

The Misshapes' personal Coachella photo diary

You should excuse my long absence once again, since i was moving back to the states and had to do loads of boring stuff like unpacking, rearranging my room, etc…Taking into consideration that i had more than 100 kg of luggage, no one can blame me for taking such a long time
As i have promised, this post will be about Mdina dungeons. Mdina is the old capital of Malta, which is about 7000 years old. Besides being an outstandingly beautiful place, one of Mdina’s attractions is the dungeon museum. The underground dungeons of Mdina recreate the dark parts of the history of Malta, starting with the Romans and ending with Napoleon. The wax figures in the Mdina dungeons portray the ingenuous cruelty of human minds expressed in torture – the dramatic scenes from the ancient past and the characters who were either the victims or the executioners.
Mdina dungeons – the entrance

The Roman period
From early times, Romans treated prisoners with great cruelty. Torture and punishment adopted by them took many forms, and consisted mostly of flogging, beheading or crucifying. St.Agatha, who is reputed to have dwelt in catacomb...

One of VOGUE.COM's most loyal supporters, Paul Smith has now agreed to take up the role as our "man in the field". Travelling the globe week after week, he is going to report back on the things he's seen and heard, people he's met and what he's been up to. One of the biggest names in fashion, his mind is an encyclopaedia of information and inspiration - and every week he's going to share a little of it with us, right here...

February 29 2008 -I saw this graffiti on the way to work this morning - it was put up overnight after all the furore on the news about Prince Harry going to war. I just liked how relevant it was. Thought it might be fun for the site.

One of VOGUE.COM's most loyal supporters, Paul Smith has now agreed to take up the role as our "man in the field". Travelling the globe week after week, he is going to report back on the things he's seen and heard, people he's met and what he's been up to. One of the biggest names in fashion, his mind is an encyclopaedia of information and inspiration - and every week he's going to share a little of it with us, right here...

April 15 2008 - Any art lovers should make it down to the Slade BA show exhibition - I think May 16th is the private view. Then the BA and MA show runs from May 17 - 22 at The Slade. For anyone interested in the art world, it's a really good way to buy art at a great price and it's really interesting - it's also really where all the art dealers find the new stars.

The Slade School of Fine Art, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT.

Damon from Blur's girlfriend, Suzi Winstanley, works with her collaborator Olly and they are exhibiting at the Eleven Gallery on Eccles Street from May 1- that's definitely going to be worth a look, too.

One of VOGUE.COM's most loyal supporters, Paul Smith has now agreed to take up the role as our "man in the field". Travelling the globe week after week, he is going to report back on the things he's seen and heard, people he's met and what he's been up to. One of the biggest names in fashion, his mind is an encyclopaedia of information and inspiration - and every week he's going to share a little of it with us, right here...

April 29 2008 - We've always got a lot going on in Paul Smith land and May is looking really exciting. Simon Doonan, creative director of Barneys, is coming over to host his book launch in our Albermarle shop tomorrow night and it's going to be a great party. He's such a funny man and all the crowd will be there. We're hoping Manolo is coming, and Elton John is going to try and be there as it's in aid of his Aids Foundation. The book, Beautiful People, is hilarious - I think it's being made into a television series too - definitely one to watch.

Next up we'll have the 10th anniversary of Westbourne House, our Notting Hill store, to celebrate on May 15. Manolo has designed the invite for us and we've designed a special selection of pieces to sell on the night - a Manolo one-off painting, hand-embroidered...

May 7 2008
 
Once you get pregnant lots of things change... as I found out recently. Not only you can't drink and party like you used to, you can not dress like you used to either. I was fine in the first few months but as I am well into the sixth month now things have started to change.
 
You know when you feel down about yourself and you want to go shopping? Well forget that, now I go shopping and I feel even worse. My best feature used to be my waist - which has obviously gone (I hope not forever). My second best feature is my feet but I never get excited about buying flats.
 
My balance is starting to go now but I am still keeping my stilettos on - however, they tell me it is not for long.
 
So I had to totally rethink my style and change my silhouette. Luckily the smock, sack, baggy and loose dresses are still in (I am thinking Giambattisa Valli, D&G flower dresses and Lanvin), but when you put them on with a bump you can sometimes look - well just fat.
 
And since I would rather be dead then seen shopping in the maternity department of John Lewis I had to discover new designers: And here comes in my new favourite - Phillip Lim. His dresses are perfectly voluminous but sweet and cool...

April 24 2008
 
The best way to build your own fine jewellery collection is not by waiting for the right man to whisk you off to Tiffany & Co or Bulgari but by simply buying into real vintage jewellery.
 
Art Deco pieces are quite valuable and popular at the moment so you may pay quite a high price for them. Since I am personally not a fan of Victorian jewellery, I would say that good finds start coming from the Thirties and Forties onwards. The price of gold is at an all time high at the moment so go for it- invest in chunky gold jewellery! In the Forties they were particularly inventive with the use of gold - the war meant that diamonds and stones were in short supply and instead they played with metal and volume. So the pieces look chunky but they are actually quite light because they didn't want to waste too much material. They are very modern in design and, I bet, good investments.
 
With vintage jewellery you can really go bold since you are getting a lot for your money. Don't be shy and buy into statement pieces, colourful stones and unusual watches from the Fifites and Sixties. (Piaget did some great ones with Tiger eye, Coral and Lapis Lazuli).
There are quite a few good shops in London in the Bur...

Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Christian Louboutin is painting the town red, one flash of red sole at a time. Two new stores have opened in London this year - in Harvey Nichols and Mayfair's Mount Street - with more openings scheduled in Jakarta, Moscow, Madrid and Los Angeles.

Nestled in Mayfair's Mount Street between Scott's restaurant, Balenciaga, Marc Jacobs and the local optometrist and butcher, is exactly where Christian Louboutin wanted his biggest new flagship store to be.

While Mount Street has recently become a destination, it is still a residential neighbourhood with a distinct identity - a prerequisite for all Louboutin's boutiques.

The Mount Street store will feature more experimental styles as well as the catwalk collections - including shoes designed for Rodarte's New York catwalk show. Designed by New York designer Eric Clough, the store comprises three rooms including a mysterious hidden library.

While many brands in the UK are braced for tighter budgets, the store on Mount Street is Louboutin's largest flagship store to date. Maybe because London is more experimental, it is an important place to test new trends. Louboutin sees a flagship store in London as being at the forefront of Europe.

Despite en...

Tuesday, April 15, 2008
After recently sitting close enough to Madonna at a restaurant in Mayfair to see the svelte star's lunch of a single boiled egg, I wonder if the saying Blondes have more fun is really true.

Maybe it was in the age of Mae West or Jerry Hall but, far from devil-may-care, being a modern blonde requires vigilance, nuanced blending, and the best colourist money can buy. Today Marilyn's mono-shade would be frowned on as looking DIY.

With many going lighter or blonder for summer - myself a dark shade of chestnut and considering highlights - I decided to ask the experts to weigh in. Blonde vs brunette.

According to my hairdresser, who works with several famous blondes, natural blondes are practically an endangered species. You would never know it from a head count at the salon. Without a colourist's intervention, London would be full of "dirty" or "mousy" shades. My honey and ash blonde salon neighbours listened with disgust.

Far from being carefree, blondes require regular, expensive trips to the salon (approximately every two weeks for platinum and every four weeks for highlights starting at £150), and an obsession with roots brunettes might use to pick out the freshest parsnips at Marks and Spencer....

I like this classic concept! I have lived by this concept. Even when I was a young woman, I folowed my own style. To this day I don't think any look is classier than a good pair of jeans teamed with a classic blazer. Shirts or sweaters, or dressy tops, boots or heels, plain or glitzy jewelry, makeup....all optional to mix with jeans and a blazer.Where I sell real estate....often on country properties, I'd just look silly showing up in a business suit and heels. I show up dressed to walk the land and outbuildings, as well as show the home.And in summer....nothing like combinations of white and neutral colored cotton. With silver jewelry, and airy sandals. Keeps you cool and fresh looking.Good advice Suok3.

im lost as to who/what hannah murray or skins is, assuming thats a UK thing.

but im both into style and into fashion. but the fashion im into, is because of the style im into. for ex: balenciaga's jackets from fall blew my mind, the weird floral print dresses for spring, not so much. but thats because floral print dresses arent the style im into.

ohmagawd! i luuuuurve hannah murray! she is totally chawesome in skins! and i luurve cassie's style. i live in the states and i can only watch skins on youtube but the show is mad chawesome!

"It is those that are completely unaware of the 'official realms' of fashion that fascinate me. That they have an instinctiveness about them that can't be explained."

I love you for this post.

I feel like that all the time, but mind you, I go to a fashion school, and I feel alienated all the time.

<3 Yesenia

I love Cassie so much. Series 2 of Skins is getting better and better...she is so crazy. I think her fashion has toned down a little recently though...she is just wearing sheets and stuff cos she is depressed.

I so agree. We're bombarded by photos of celebrities wearing head to toe designer gear, but are they fabulous just because they can afford it and are fortunate enough to have outfits sent directly to them? (Never mind the celeb stylists' assembly-line approach to dressing their clients!) It's quite endearing that Hannah Murray has no qualms about admitting her fashion ignorance. I hope she can maintain it, it works!

I love Cassie! To be honest, I've never gotten all the fuss over Blair waldorf in Gossip Girl, since to me, Cassie>Blair, any day :).
That said, it's quite something to hear about such an instinctive take on style (which is, at the heart of it, what style is about- she sounds like the kind of girl who'd rather imagine herself into a character when dressing up, than fix on a particular 'fashion' label (i.e. seasons, labels, the whole caboodle).

I'll be brief and just reply with a big fat NO!

The guys clothing in this collection scared me.

I think the print on the fist dress is cute also! The like those two colors printed together, however I have not seen this dress at an H&M in my area yet. I found some great printed dress in my area though by searching on Brandhabit.com. Theres a boutique in my area called Dish that has very cite print dresses!

I love Cassie too :] And Hannah Murray seems like such a sweet girl in reality, with such an amazing natural style.
Series 1 of Skins was better, but its still a great show.
Shame she's leaving... :(

Of course that is not what I'm saying - that liking fashion with lots of knowledge is terrible.... and that being into fashion but being unaware is loads better!

I'm simply acknowledging that there ARE more ways of being into fashion and it's 'fascinating' to me as someone who is into fashion but laden with knowledge/facts etc to see things from a different perspective.

^
that's interesting. I wonder why they keep saying it's mostly her clothes then?

Anyway, as you know, I don't like Skins at all and I forced myself to watch part of an episode and it was terrible. I'm not sure I agree with everything you said. I think essentially what you're talking about it those who are born with a natural gift for style but aren't interested in the industry aspect of it and I don't think appreciating fashion from this perspective is better than any other (maybe you weren't saying this?). I just can't imagine loving style and embracing it but not knowing anything else about it or how the industry functions but....I guess that's me!

I think that's one of the great things about liking fashion - you can appreciate the way thinks look, or you can delve deeper and discover why it's that way - who the designer was, what their influences were, etc.

I'm happy in my own little bubble not knowing a thing about designing clothes or what designers made clothes. I enjoy your blog as I can still admire the clothes, like you said, but I also feel like I'm learning things from your huge knowledge of the fashion world. :)

I think at some point, even from both inside and outsider fashion viewpoints, it all really comes down to how the clothes look, and everyone can appreciate that :)

Asha: Some good points but in this particular case, I don't think it's Hannah Murray saying fashion is shallow therefore she hates it...she may just be genuinely disinterested and unaware.
What I'm trying to say is that if you are unaware and you haven't a clue about what designer is what, that doesn't automatically mean that you can't love fashion. It's just a different way of loving it.
The ol' 'Is fashion art?' question is quite a tired question and I'd answer it with a simple 'Fashion CAN be art' because to say all facets of fashion is art just can't be true.
Hence why I added the further distinction that for some people, it's about knowing STYLE because if they take interest in clothes for the pure reasons of developing their own personal style then in a way they are still engaging with fashion...just in a different way...
Of course you're right though... there are SOME people are deem fashion as somewhat shallow and of course it isn't about labels sewn onto some threads, which some people view as 'the evils of fashion'....

Re: the first season vs. second season - I think there were some cliches played out in the first one and the acting was a also a bit off the mark...but the second season, it seems there's more depth and they're taking risks which might not mean it's gonna be 100% easy-to-watch but it's certainly more interesting...

Re: Gossip vs. Skins - Just two wildly different shows that can't even compare. One is an exaggerated fantasy that is a little hammy... the other is trying to depict reality that is successful one some levels but not completely.

Re: Cassie leaving the show - WHAT?!? Oh dear....

Re: The main topic of the post which was knowing style as opposed to fashion - well I think I distracted the post a little with my Hannah Murray loving but I'm glad there's a few out there that hopefully understand that whilst I may go on about designers, it isn't by any means the only way of being into fashion... hopefully we'll get more commentors who perhaps feel like they know style and don't necessatily think catwalk knowledge is all that useful/great...would be good to see the perspective of another type of fashion lover...

ditto Yesenia's comment!...well, the first four lines anyway.

I do adore her style even though sometimes I find it a bit Topshoppy (Me thinks I need to get over my personal issues with Topshop)..... I like how comfortable and effortless she looks in her outfits......her personal style really suits her Skins character well...

Thanks for this post......im soooo paying a visit to Cornucopia!!!

AMAZING post. and so so true!