My other favorite wardrobe piece, a blazer/jkt… OR any form of outerwear I can quickly grab to polish up a bit.  Throwing one over practially anything gets you in ‘ready’ mode you know?   Thank you so much to Ms Jen from GAR-DE who unknowingly sent me into a spin… falling head-over-heels in love page after page.   GAR-DE is a small group of NYC designers, artists and producers who take their cue from their “urban terrain” and their “sometimes subversive sense of humor”.  I knew then, I’m gonna like this line!  Now let’s take a look at these beauties again! 

I would most definitely give some serious consideration to the new FW09 fine jewelry collection designed by German designer Michael Zobel for Acne. Giant chunky rings, cuffs and pendants that make me drool. Each piece is a showstopper in itself and is guaranteed to make a statement no matter what you may be wearing. The collection debuted back in February but just now came across our radars. I am a sucker for a great piece of costume jewelry and typically shy away from the finer pieces because they are usually so dainty — the bigger they get, the more expensive, obviously (Don’t get me wrong — I do love and own fine jewelry and wear a diamond-chip studded chunky “B” around my neck on an almost daily basis.) Leave it to Acne to say, screw it if it’s expensive, we’re going BIG!!! In my dreams, I will be sporting these gorgeous baubles all around town. Actually, all around the world — I mean, if I can afford a $60,000 cuff then surely I can afford to flaunt it in Lake Como with George Clooney and Ibiza with Jade Jagger.

The big disc ring with the diamonds running through it??? Um, YEAH! And I’ll take one of these diamond box rings, too, please

I’d also like to point out the plastic pant in the background of shot #1. Nobody does it like Acne.

It’s no secret to those who know me well that I’m a big, big fan of Queen Michelle from Kingdom of Style (not to overlook the fabulous Queen Marie, of whom I am also a very big fan). Queen Michelle is a crazy risk-taker. As she puts it, “ I like the challenge of pushing a piece of clothing to its limits, particularly for someone my age.” And pushing limits she does indeed.

One of today’s posts (It takes a lot of visits to keep up with those crazy blogging Queens!) was all about her new kitty mask. That’s right, you heard me — kitty mask. She talks about her love of playing dress-up and all it takes is one look at these images to know she’s having the time of her life. Thank you, Queen Michelle, for starting my week with a smile. 

To see Queen Michelle’s post in its entirety, click here.

Amongst the street fests, bbq’s and baseball games there’s also PREFALL09!   The wishlist is in:

#1  OMG…ABSOLUTELY!!  ACNE leather vest

#2  love the urban basics from Sophomore

#3 Irresistible gold cuffs by Wendy Nicol…seems like the model above is sporting a silver version

#4  But really tied for 1st…shoes, of course!  I’m zeroing in on the over-the-knee boot this season…flat, wedge, open toe, suede, leather, it’s all goood!

blk wedge, Opening Ceremony; blk open toe wedge, Opening Ceremony;  taupe suede, Loeffler Randall; flat taupe suede, Chloe

I fell in love with up-and-coming model Rachel Ballinger from our Opening Ceremony lookbooks. She has the most amazing vibe — just downtown and cool — and has the capacity to rock absolutely any article of clothing. I feel like I am always showing her to the models we work with as an inspiration, but nobody else seems to get it the way Rachel does. Keep your eye on this girl because she is definitely going places!

Some more shots from the Sophomore Spring 09 lookbook…

and from the FW08 and SS09 Opening Ceremony lookbooks…

A while back we posted about an upcoming shoot with Karl Rothenberger. Well, we shot with him and all we can say is, WE WANT MORE! Here’s a little behind-the-scenes action to get you ready for our next cover story. We shot at the gorgeous Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool behind Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo. It was such an amazing location and we couldn’t have possibly asked for a more beautiful day. 

Our fabulous interns, Tessa and Amanda.

The amazing Amanda rode this bike all over town for us (in some serious wedges!) on the off-chance that it would make its way into the story.

And a little taste of the finished product…

I just need to share with you all this amazing editorial photographed by Steven Meisel for Vogue Italia (Dec 07) I happened upon it via an equally amazing blog, Inspire the Starling.  (via XS.com)I wish I knew the stylist, prop stylist, hair & mu to share with you as well.   I’m drawn to look at every tatoo, each pattern, the perfectly glossed lips over and over again!  Genius!!

I am McQueen-OBSESSED and always log on to drool when it hits Gilt Groupe. Tomorrow is my birthday and even though I will be 43 years old, I can still expect a little birthday money. The irony (other than the fact that I’m still getting bday $ at the ripe old age of 43!) is that the money will not come until long after all the discounted Alexander McQueen is but a memory. I think the universe is definitely trying send me a message. I have received said message, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t still drool…

My first choice:

A leather suspender dress??? I would wear that thing all the time! I am pretty sure that I’ll be wearing it later tonight in my dreams

Many other drool-worthy pieces I could easily add to my wardrobe:

A few items still available, but you better hurry!! And if you do score something fab, be sure to tell me all about it!

XOX,

McQueen Lover

Every season we look forward to Opening Ceremony.  Actually, it’s probably classified as ‘a need’ now!  They just do that effortless ‘edge’ vibe just right and they do it in the most unexpected ways….a pants onesie?   In the last couple of seasons, the creativity has gone through the roof and there are racks & racks after glorious racks to peruse through in their showroom.  Expect lots of Opening Ceremony fun this fall!

We recently decided to add a new section to our website where we have a fabulous friend from the blogosphere style something from our shop. We are thrilled to unveil this little project with our first guest stylist, Sarah of Public Personae! We just adore Sarah. We discovered her a number of months ago when she was in the midst of her 30-day challenge. We were so impressed not only by her fantastic sense of style, but also by her sheer courage. She is a force to be reckoned with. She consistently brings new things - designers, trends, bloggers, artists, stores, and even cat photographers - to our attention. We love her smart, unique, yet practical take on fashion and are always interested to see what she’s into next. 

Here’s Sarah…

And here’s the item she styled for us…

One of Sarah’s takes…

See the rest of Sarah’s styles here. And don’t forget to check out her blog, Public Personae. She’s always up to something good! Thanks, Sarah!