My Current Fix

Harris Tweed
image Stacy Reynaud

Quote of the Week - Eustache Deschamps

Friends are relatives you make for yourself.

Design Lover - Tree Slab Headboard

Hudson Signature Bed
platform bed with custom slab headboard
bucquet lamps optional

Facial Fur Has Hit Paris

Looking at the photos from the Adam Kimmel after party for his Fall 2011 menswear line I thought I'd been transported to a gig in Vancouver, or Seattle or Portland. You know what that means folks...

Oh, and it looks like Extra Happy Ghost released his 1990's Braindamage just in time.

For more images go here.

Quote of the Week - Leonard Cohen

Act the way you'd like to be and soon you'll be the way you act.

Oh look...

image Monica Feudi

Gucci is showing fuzzy mohair sweaters for Fall Winter 2011. Remember my post from December 15, 2010?

December 15, 2010

A Rather Handsome Mod Couple

circa mid 60s
on her - London Fog Maincoat, Chanel bag
on him - pinned collar, skinny-tie, sexy middle finger ring, hot hair, London Fog trench

I can find these vintage London Fog coats quite easily, so if you're interested in one, email me, and I'll try and find what you're looking for.

photo via ephemera

Style Inspiration - Vintage T-shirts a la George Carlin

My favourite is the one in the mug shot. In some larger photos it looks like two dogs with their heads back to back but who knows.
Wear with Harris Tweed.

Weekend Stuff

images Stacy Reynaud
cool men's hand knit sweater with wood buttons $13 - Burquitlam VV (in the women's section) go get it!

vintage crystal table lamp from the Salvation Army $19

my stylist JD at Suki's downtown

West Coast Modern house for rent on Palmerston in West Van - good price but obscenely huge for two people and two cats

a sweet VW

Keefer Lounge

Keefer Lounge test tube lights

I hope you had a good weekend.

We checked out Blue Valentine (oh my Ryan Gosling) on Friday night and then went for cocktails at Keefer Lounge. If you've ever been in, or are currently in, a long term relationship go see Blue Valentine - I couldn't sleep after it. Saturday was an extremely long day at the beauty parlour having the chlorine from our wonderful city water taken out of my hair (it goes green). I unexpectedly dropped by Gravity Pope to be unexpectedly greeted by the new Isabel Marant collection. I left with a top and some Filippa K trousers - that's what happens when you have a sales associate that knows your style! I've been dying to live in a house and stumbled upon one for rent up the road from our apartment so I checked it out. I must admit that after living in an apartment for thirteen years I might be a little freaked to live in a house. Sunday I felt guilty so we hit the thrift stores. Good thing because I walked out with some vintage Gucci tux pants ($15) and a Krizia sweater dress ($13).

Is it Counterfeit?

Brad came home with a counterfeit sweater yesterday. Not to be a braggart but I knew it was counterfeit the moment he took it out of the bag.

Two obvious reasons from ten feet away:

1. Ralph Lauren would have never done such a terribly cut neckline
   
2. It had the metallic sheen of acrylic

Up close:

1. The "100% cashmere" was closer in texture to 100% scouring pad
2. The label
3. The headless horseman
4. It melted when we did the burn test

He bought the sweater at a Gastown consignment shop and was royally choked when I pointed out why his new $75 sweater was counterfeit. He tried to take it back. He was told their 'fabric expert' decided it was probably a cashmere acrylic blend that had mistakenly been labeled 100% cashmere. Pardon my language but WTF? Strip that person's 'expert' title just for using those two words together. While I'm at it, strip that store of their business license for selling counterfeit products and arguing with customers for wanting to return them. Now he's stuck with a nontransferable credit note that expires in thirty days. Caveat emptor.

See my rant on cashmere misrepresentation here

Vintage Versace

1980

Quote of the Week - Charlie Chaplin

To truly laugh, you must be able to take your pain, and play with it.

Music and the Sense of Smell

I was deep in thought in the comfort of sauna car this evening when I realized something on the radio was taking me on a vividly pleasant journey back to a place of heavy air scented with dry ice, mildew, pot, and twenty years of spilled drinks. A small sweaty room filled with second hand leather jackets, skinny cords, running shoes and greasy hair - the mid 90s. I looked down at the face plate and it read, 1990's Brain Damage. That explained it, some '90s hour' on satellite radio and they're playing a recently discovered, unknown until now, demo track by Thurston Moore and his second cousin.

No. My vivid trip was courtesy of Extra Happy Ghost!!!. One guy. From Calgary. In 2010.

Thanks for letting me remember the 90s were really awesome, Mr. Extra Happy Ghost!!!.

play 1990's Brain Damage

Tip of the Week - Dinner Attire

mom & dad 1976
(my Grandma wrote on the back - Sonny & Edna in their best look)

Opt for midnight blue as it looks blacker under artificial light than black, which can have a greenish hue.

Men's Style Inspiration - Tom Ford

Why do I always picture Tom Ford with a short Rum & Coke?

Street Style - Don't let it Fool You

Marketers are everywhere.

Women's Style Inspiration - Stage Door 1937

The first thirty minutes of this film could be an entire collection. A must see.

What He Wore

On Christmas Break Walks

baggy knees, bushy beard, vintage jacket, vintage scarf, fiddler's cap

Quote of the Week - Lucille Ball

I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done.

Design Lover - Ico Parisi Valet

Mid-century Italian design in solid walnut with brass hardware by Ico Parisi. Available here.
photo via 1stdibs

How I spent the last day of 2010

As expected there was a lot of good stuff to be found. Particularly menswear. I only bought the Aquascutum coat, two women's vintage Givenchy suits, a vintage 1978 men's blue leather provincial champ jacket that I visualized Ryan Gosling wearing and some sterling tear drop earrings. If I was doing the Manhattan Vintage Show in February I could've stocked up majorly - however, I do have a great idea for a 'reality' show so email me if you know anyone I can pitch to.

vintage Aquascutum Harris Tweed Overcoat

exceptional vintage pinstripe suit - look at that lining and tell me where quality has gone.

vintage Rice coat with Borg faux shearling lining

industrial chair and 1970s RCA clock radio

disgustingly good but only twice a year - Japa Dog Veggie Terrimayo (no onions)

early 60s Italian alligator pumps

vintage hand made men's shoes

1980s Stacy Adams men's ankle boots

vintage 70s Kings of Lloyd (German) men's shoes

deep in visualization mode
images Stacy Reynaud

The Last Post of 2010

There is a tide in the affairs of men,

Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat;
And we must take the current when it serves,

Or lose our ventures.

- William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

A Cautious Men's Hairstyle Trend

caesar

Pet Shop Boys

via Jak & Jill

There was one particular men's hairstyle trend circa late 1980s, early 1990s that drove me nuts - but not in a good way. We called it the Caesar cut. I see it's back. If you're as smooth as Antonio Banderas go ahead, otherwise be careful you might come across as Lloyd Christmas

for more search early 90s Prada and Oasis.

Quote of the Week - Marilyn Monroe

I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best.

My Favourite Things

Fellow blogger Liberty and In Dependence inspired me to write a 'Favourite Things' list—which is much different from my 'Strictly Materialistic' list. Sorry, Oprah; it wasn't you.

So, here you go:

1. strawberry rhubarb pie - preferably for breakfast
   
2. body pillows
   
3. the first cup of coffee in the morning - made extra strong in my perculator.
   
4. very, very long walks
5. mid-century West Coast architecture
   
6. my new neighbourhood
   
7. driving my car like it's a sauna on wheels
8. robin songs at sunset
   
9. fond memories of things that once were
10. my Danskos and Birks
11. the smell of the Pacific Northwest forest after the rain

10 Tips for the Party Host

When your hosting skills are brought to the test, don't fail.

1. Take your guest's coat. Do not put them on the bed.* Hang them up. Small, unrealistic closet? Rent a sales man's rack or invest in one (I have two).
2. Your guest's shoes are part of their outfit - allow them to keep them on. I bring fancy house slippers with me just in case the dreaded pile of shoes is at the door.
3. Offer your guest a drink after you've taken their coat and before they're more than five steps in the door. Tip: have non-alcoholic drinks (soda, tonic and juice), red wine, white wine, bubbles, beer, vodka, rum, rye, scotch, tequila, gin, sweet and dry vermouth and cognac. Don't forget fresh ice, cocktail napkins, lemons, limes, olives and cocktail straws.
4. Never introduce your guest's boyfriend, girlfriend, fiance, spouse or whatever, as such. They have an identity of their own.
5. You are responsible for your guest's safety. Read my post, How to Deal with Drunk Guests.
6. Keep the lights and the music low.
7. If you're a couple, work tag team. Lay out each of your defined 'duties' before hand and cover each others backs with refilling drinks, conversation starters, toilet paper and hand towel checks, lit candles, cleared plates and stocked ice.
8. Never let them see you sweat. As far as your guest is concerned you're already the monarch of the mingler - they don't need to see the dirty dishes. Get some of those big plastic crates with tops and hide your dirty dishes in there until the guests leave. Throw a table cloth over it and they'll never know. I used to hide stuff in the bath tub of my ensuite.
9. Accept that you'll have a guest that snoops in the medicine cabinet of your bathroom. You know what to do with that stuff.
10. To prevent guests from over staying, lay out a start and end time in your invite. If there are still stragglers start unloading those crates with the dirty dishes in them.

* Back in the old days laying coats on the bed was considered faux pas due to bed bug infestations.