I live on the North side of Chicago in a lovely little neighborhood that has no name — for locals, it’s not Ravenswood, it’s not Lincoln Square, it’s not North Center, but it’s kinda all of them. My particular block/corner is very familiar and small-town-ey. It’s probably because there is a Starbuck’s about a half a block from my front door. And I’ve met many interesting and really lovely people at my neighborhood Starbuck’s.

One of the many lovely and interesting people I’ve met is a woman named Linda. After a number of chats over late-morning weekend lattes, Linda made a couple of suggestions to me. One was to get Malcolm Gladwell’s Tipping Point, which I promptly downloaded onto my Kindle. The other suggestion was to check out a local photographer by the name of Erika Dufour. Well all I have to say is that my neighborhood Starbuck’s has yet to let me down.

Erika’s work often has a very physical element to it. She is a trained ballet dancer and also studies a form of Chinese Martial Arts called Wushu. Her interest in the way the body moves and the shapes that it can make are evident in her work and are undoubtedly part of what draws me to her. That and her ability to be super-girly (see those gorgeous beauty shots above!) As I’ve mentioned here many times, I am a very big lover of all things dance and I’ve been absolutely dying to do a studio shoot with a dancer — maybe Erika is the girl I’ve been looking for! 

all images lovingly borrowed from ErikaDufour.com

I have many celebrity girl crushes, but this story is about Princess Buttercup, Jenny… Robin Wright. I just love her natural, unkempt beauty. And she’s always had this sort of soft-but-rough edge to her that’s only gotten better with age. She is not the most amazing and natural model, but I still adore these shots of her by Peter Lindbergh for Italian Vogue.

So this could be anyone. But I just love how Lindbergh threw in this pop of color. And I think it fits with the whole story -- kind of undone "done."

Maybe my favorite shot, it's like seeing a famously beautiful actress in HD. Lines and aging are part of real life, baby. And she is beautiful.

Many thanks to Fashion Gone Rogue for the images and the inspiration.

Or a set, at least. I say it all the time, but I really love anything theatrical. I love dance, I love drama, I love comedy, I die for a good musical, I love GLEE (this week’s episode?? Um… Best. Episode. Ever. Madonna? The Like A Virgin number?? Loves it!)

And to bring it back to fashion, LOVE this ed from the latest Numéro, #112. Plateau 7 by Luciana Val and Franco Musso, featuring model Rasa Zukauskaite…

The prop styling and art direction seriously blows my mind. Like, whoa. And the filters and the framing. Just genius all around, start to finish, head to toe. One of the few times recently that I have picked up a magazine and something actually spoke to me. Thank you, Numéro.

images via Fashion Copious

Funny, but the word “fresh” has been taunting (and haunting) me a little for the past few months. So I find it ironic that it seems to me to be the perfect title for this post.

On Monday, Arlene and I shot our cover story for May with the fantastic Karl Rothenberger and an adorable model from Factor, Rose. 

the lovely Rose, wearing Rachel Comey skort and blouse and N.D.C. boots

Rose’s mother told us that Rose wants to straighten her hair. Can you imagine???? You should of seen — and heard — the reaction in the room when that came out! Apart from her disappointment with her curly lot in life, this young model (she’s a mere 14 years old) takes her modeling very seriously. We asked her who her favorite model is and she said Karlie Kloss. Which is even more ironic because Karl just showed us this Karlie Kloss story from Vogue UK, shot by Alasdair McLellan, as inspiration for an upcoming summer cover story (to be shot in NYC, stay tuned!)…

{I swear I sat on a floor just like that in a room just like that and watched Richard Nixon’s resignation speech on a TV set just like that. Classic Americana.}

Born in the USA images via Fashion Gone Rogue.

I’ve been loving Emma Watson lately. She’s been popping up all over the place for the last few years and is proving to be a fashion force to be reckoned with. She’s been shot by the likes of Mario Testino, Ellen von Unwerth, and Karl Lagerfeld, is the beautiful and fresh face of Burberry, and has graced the pages of fashion tomes from Vogue and Bazaar to Crash and Vs. Pretty impressive resumé for a 19 year old. 

Burberry campaign, shot by Mario Testino (she's no Kate Moss, but I do like her as the face of Burberry.)

from Crash, shot by Karl Lagerfeld (Doesn’t she kind of remind you of Tilda Swinton here?)

from Vs., shot by Ellen Von Unwerth…

                                                                                                                   Vogue Italia…

Italian Vogue, Mark Seliger

And just every day in the life of a 19 year old British girl…

Seriously, how cute is she? I can’t wait to see where she pops up next. 

images borrowed from: Fashion Gone Rogue (Burberry), Stylefrizz (Crash), La Couturiernyc (Vs.), and everythingfab (Italian Vogue). 

Today is March 31st. It is 5 days after what would have been my mother’s 76th birthday. She died unexpectedly just over a year ago. I am very sad and I miss her very much and today I am feeling very melancholy. She was just the most amazing woman — so kind and warm and loving and generous and fun and funny and full of life. I wish that I could give her a tribute. She deserves one. I don’t know what it would be, but I’d love to think that I could actually write a book. 

Anyway, I was sitting here surfing and going through folders of images and editorials I had collected and I came across Steven Meisel’s haunting and beautiful tribute to the late Yves Saint Laurent, Silent. And then I started thinking about Alexander McQueen. What a sad and tragic loss. It just makes it all the sadder because he took his own life.

Why do artists always have to be so tortured? And I mean that as an honest and sincere question. I suppose it’s because the most talented artists put all of themselves into their work. They bleed for their art. They are sensitive and emotional and delicate. I was an actress for a long time and to be really good at it, you have to completely strip away your outer layer and make yourself as vulnerable and open as possible. That’s some scary shit. And fashion is really no different. When you look at McQueen’s clothes, you can see him in it. He certainly left a legacy in the world of fashion that will live on for generations to come, I am sure.

So, since I have no tribute of my own, I will give you Steven Meisel’s. To Yves Saint Laurent, Lee Alexander McQueen, and Betsy Hansen, my Mom. 

from Italian Vogue, August 2008; images from slideshare.net.

Let’s face it, there’s really not much more that Arlene and I love than easy fashion. Pieces that can be easily worked into your wardrobe, basics with an edge, things we can easily layer, dress up, dress down. That’s us in a nutshell. When we discovered Chrissie Miller’s line, Sophomore, last Spring, we knew we had stumbled upon something pretty great — something that would transition seamlessly both into our individual wardrobes and into our shop. Sophomore celebrates downtown New York, rebel without a cause, bad-ass easy style. Chrissie Miller and designer Madeline von Froomer know that easy, effortless dressing never goes out of style.

“Lower East Side style of the ’70s and Lower East Side style of today look almost the same — people never stray from the basics.”

“In a one-dimensional world of basics, SOPHOMORE brings a fashion twist, soft washed fabrics, perfect fits and a New York vibe that will make the line a clothing staple for years to come.”

True to the label’s sensibility, Chrissie does things her way. With friend and frequent collaborator Cass Bird, Miller presented her Spring10 line in an entirely new way — as a short film that premiered at Sundance. The film features a  bunch of New York hipsters talking about getting arrested, busted, grounded and generally thumbing their noses at authority. Filmed on the boardwalk at Coney Island and complete with fashion, fireworks and beer, she’s created quite an innovative way to showcase her wares.

Sophomore Spring 2010 from SophomoreNYC on Vimeo.

Pieces from the film will be available in our shop later this month. In the meantime, it’s not too late to grab some of the looks from her Fall09 collection.

all images via sophomorenyc.com

This Aneta Bartos editorial featuring Tiiu Kuik has been making the internet rounds lately after being posted on Fashion Gone Rogue. I had never seen it before and instantly fell in love with it. 

I just adore anything with a pin-up girl, film noir,  or old Hollywood feel so this really spoke to me. I was taken with the photography and also the model and came across a few more amazing shots that I just had to share.

These are from another editorial featuring Tiiu, this one from Numero 49, L’Ange Noir.

Love that hair and make-up. The drawn-on eyebrows and the black lipstick — so dramatic.

And a few more from Ms. Bartos…

I love the lighting and the treatment she uses. Just makes me, once again, realize that I was seriously born in the wrong decade.

images from fashiongonerogue, modelcouture, and Aneta Bartos Photography

I’ve been very obsessed with color lately. Maybe it’s because we’re in the throes of gray season here in Chicago, or maybe it’s just because there’s so much darn cute color out there! Either way, I’ve found myself drawn to much different things recently. I’m paying a lot more attention to art direction and set and prop styling. And I’m also really into hair and make-up right now and the way they add to a photograph. It’s fascinating to me to try and wrap my head around all the things that go into creating a shot, not to mention an entire editorial. Stumbled across this bright and glorious story from photographer Chris Nicholls. Lots of cohesive, well-integrated color. The eyeshadow, the nails, the background, the styling. So pleasing to look at.

images via chrisnichollsphotography.com

the original Alice, as illustrated by Sir John Tenniel

`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
  Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
  And the mome raths outgrabe.

-an excerpt from Jabberwocky, Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass

I love, love, love Alice in Wonderland. It is my very favorite story ever. I even played Alice once (back in my theater days) and Oh. My. God. did I have fun. I was a brunette Alice, too. I’ve very proud of that!

Well, with the upcoming release of Tim Burton’s remake of Lewis Carrol’s masterpiece (3/5/2010, a very important date!), the world of fashion is fully embracing Alice and her Wonderland. Rumors are swirling about Alice designs to come, including the quintessential Alice dress reinvented by Alexander McQueen, Ann Demeulemeester, Christopher Kane, Haider Ackermann, Maison Martin Margiela, and others for the Printemps department store in Paris. Can’t WAIT!!! I searched all over for pictures, but it appears that none have yet been leaked. What can be found on the internet are images of a few of Tom Binns’ designs based on various Alice characters.

really digging on that Red Queen necklace

Binns’ pieces are broken into 2 collections: a fine jewelry collection with pieces ranging from $1000-$2000 and a collection for Disney with prices at a more attainable $100-$500. But seriously, $100-$500 for Disney jewelry???? I get that it’s Tom Binns, but something about it just doesn’t sound quite right to me. Although, I did see a big red heart necklace that reads “We’re all mad” that I’m hoping, hoping is part of the $100 Disney collection (I know, I’m a walking contradiction. I’ve learned to just accept it.)

Hollywood/Disney mega-power aside, I am very excited about Alice-inspired fashions. The fantasy, the outrageousness, the non-sensicalness, the whimsy… What a fantastic place to find inspiration! Zac Posen found some, as evidenced by his 2010 pre-fall collection that he calls “part Lewis Carroll and part Paloma Picasso.”

Just came across this in the Dec/Jan issue of Numero. Wonderland shot by Dusan Reljin…

And who can forget Natalia Vodianova as Alice, shot by Annie Leibovitz with a host of famous fashion designers appearing as Carroll’s imaginative characters??

Olivier Theyskens as Carroll…

Viktor & Rolf as my faves, Tweedledum and Tweedledee…

Marc Jacobs as the caterpillar. Perfect, because the caterpillar smokes. And it’s also funny to be reminded of Marc Jacobs back when he was scruffy and always had his hand bandaged…

and of course, the Karl…

There are so many places in Alice in Wonderland to find inspiration. I can’t wait to see what pops up next. And in anticipation of the movie, I’ll leave you with Mrs. Tim Burton, Helena Bonham Carter, as the evil Red Queen. 

images from Elle.com, Style.com, Numero Magazine and Vogue.com