Have a Dramatic, Decadent Weekend...

Editorial: Evoluzione della specie. Magazine: Elle Italia. Issue: November 2008

Model: Kemp Muhl. Photographer: Ruven Afanador

Lust List: Current Top 10

Are you dreaming of the holidays yet? You know, the season of giving...and getting? I am. Just a little. I've already finished most of my holiday shopping, so I figure why not start thinking about my own Christmas list? I'm in love with these things right now [though I know I will not be getting the Annick Goutal perfume unless Santa received a big tax rebate this year]...

A great color, chunky heel, and great price. These lace-up beauties from Urban Outfitters are calling my name. Can you hear it?

This gorgeous wreath would satisfy my love for all-things-peacock, and I could step outside of the traditional red/green holiday colors.

Everyone feels like a wallflower sometimes. These pretty little wall sculptures are a great alternative to framed pics.

Hands down, no one makes more interesting, unique, complex perfumes than Annick Goutal...and this Ambre Fetiche bottle would look so lovely on my dresser.

A Taschen book in every stocking! That's my motto. I've started collecting the "All American Ads" series, and this is next on my list!

Shapeways lets you create your own objects -- like these light poems. Choose a favorite poem or quote and they will turn it into a light!

I really dig the navy and peach in this slightly mysterious art-deco-ish print.
Jezebel's Gilded Lilies fine art print.


I don't even smoke anymore -- but these could persuade me!
Nat Sherman's Fantasia Lights.

Danger dogs Nepal Art Calendar. I just love the name -- and the kitschy feel.

What animal is cuter and sillier than Llama? Such an underrated animal!

Lusty Llamas by Dolamakes.

The Mannish Overcoat

[Hi all...I am in Nashville for the Modernist Studies Association conference right now. Nerdy, bookish stuff galore...so, I might be a bit slow for a few days answering comments, etc. I will have one more post tomorrow, and then take the weekend off. Enjoy your week my friends!]

I am loving the idea of a masculine overcoat with long, slouchy sleeves [good for rolling up], a deep neck, and low-slung buttons. It has such an 80's Wallstreet vibe. So far, all of the examples I have found are WAY out my price range. However, I'm fairly confident that with a good bit of thrift-store shopping, I can find something quite similar in the men's department, for much less cash. Do my lovely readers have any suggestions?

The Topshop version is perfect, but $310 is just not wallet-friendly!

The new Burberry Prorsum F/W 08 Collection had several mannish overcoats, but all for [*gulp*] thousands of dollars...

If I Were a Room, I Would Wear Red...and Purple, and Blue, and Orange...

How would you "dress" if you were a room? Would it reflect the way you dress in real-life? Or, would it express a different part of your personality? I tend to veer toward subdued colors, solids, and minimal accessories for day-to-day dressing. But, I LOVE dramatic colors, exotic patterns, kitschy and eclectic accessories, and odd, surprising details in my rooms. I have been gathering decorating inspiration for a while, so I thought I would share a few. If I were a room, I would dress something like this:

[My favorite -- Very Victorian]


[I like the Moroccan influence here]

[The collection of low-hung, antique silhouettes is so unexpected]

[Feels like Mexico...Frida would approve]

[So kitschy! love the 40's vintage feel]

[WOW!]

[The giant framed wallpaper is so fun and whimsical]

[Dark purple -- gutsy with the stark white; very gothic-Lolita]

[My favorite colors -- seafoam greens, blues and cherry red]

[I love the idea of a library and dining room in one]

[The stripes and the dark, antique-y pictures remind me of a cabinet of curiosity]

[Brown velvet with bright stripes? why not?]

[This is actually Coco Chanel's Paris home -- so wild!]

Somehow orange and black doesn't look like Halloween, but looks glamorous and cozy!

Like Alice in Wonderland on an Art Deco acid-trip.

A red bathroom is so sexy and unexpected!

Suffragette Sally

I just had to share this ensemble put together by the lovely 16 Sparrows over at Behind the Curtain. She was inspired by the Gibson Girl / Suffragette look of the 1890's... [click on her link for outfit details]:

Of course, the Gibson girl and the suffragette were quite scandalous, so the only other thing this bad girl needs to complete the look is an Eagle Bicycle [how did people ride these?] Click here for an interesting little article on how the bicycle liberated women.

Suffrage literature and the history of women's suffrage is one of my areas of interest, as well as fashion history [particularly 1890's-1930's]. So, I thought I would post a few images to continue the theme -- just for fun...

Some more scandalous suffragettes and their cycles...

An 1890's sporting/riding costume with bloomers...

Some dressier ensembles from the 1890's...

[Les modes parisiennes : Peterson's magazine. 1890's]