les femmes de sargent

Last week I was reading an article about Tilda Swinton, and thinking how extraordinary it must be to see your great-grandmother painted by John Singer Sargent, as Elizabeth Swinton was in 1897. Sargent's Madame X is one of my favourite paintings and I try to go see it whenever I'm in NYC...

The same day, I was scrolling through The Sartorialist, and saw this photo he took in the Jardin de Tuileries a few days ago:

As he says, she looks as though she has just stepped out of a Sargent painting. Supremely elegant. Her time traveller style reminds me of another Sarto picture from early spring. This latest one is my muse for November I think.

Photos: Met Museum, Sartorialist

guernica

Guernica on leather. Her blue hair and fish patterned top provide an amazing contrast and remind me of Picasso's (much earlier) blue period.

Photo: The Sartorialist - London

time traveller

My muse for March.

(click to enlarge)

Photo: The Sartorialist - London

belle babushka

from facehunter

timo ja jopsu

Last May, I saw the above photo on Hel Looks and meant to comment on this couple's inspired Japanese-cum-Finnish style. Happily, Jasmine from Pike/Pine spotted them in Helsinki last week. Check out Jopsu's sock, shoe, rolled up pant detail:

deep breaths ladies

I'm writing a long and scary paper on Ancient plagues at the moment, but in case you have a more exciting weekend lined up, here is a little shoe porn to get your Saturday on fashionable track.

Photos are by Tommy, fellow Torontonian, and extreme style hunter.

Any favourites? My boot brain automatically yearns for Stella McCartney's sculptural wedges, while the fashion beast within rages for the Rodarte spikeys.

Back to buboes. Have a fun weekend.

here's looking at you, kid

Need I mention that these children are European?

The little girl makes me think of spring. I love her daisy chain, orange neckerchief, and pink tights... The boy is too cool for words.

source: German girl, British boy

il fait tout gris

Monochrome love on the streets of Berlin...

(hello, legs)

(hello, smoochworthy coat)

somebody's muse

I love this femme. The first thing that jumps out at me is the green dress. Colourwise, it's an unusual choice... green can be difficult to wear, but it looks beautiful on her. Next, I notice the sleeves of a red blouse peeking haphazardly out from her voguish leather jacket. Finally, my eyes travel up past the slim zebra tie, past a perfect pout and mussed hair to eyes shaded with purple. This girl is gorgeous and deserves to be somebody's muse.

copenhagen calling

Hej hej beautiful readers... Sorry for the recent spell of silence. Thank you for your emails and comments, and don't worry, I'm not dead! Life has been very full (and freezing) in recent weeks, but things are looking up- I'm going to Denmark for my birthday in April! In fact, if anything can be blamed for my absence, it's that I've been off researching everything I can about the historical and modern style scenes of Copenhagen.

I have a few fashion related obsessions that will be blogged about soon, but for the moment Copenhagen is reigning supreme in my daydreams, blocking out all other fashionable thoughts. I'm wild about the street art...



and of course, the sidewalk muses:


Danes are quite stunning, non? More can be found here and here.

** If you have any recommendations for places to see in Copenhagen, please let me know!

coruscating colour

There are three specific groups who immediately come to mind when I think, "who can pull off orange and fuschia together in one outfit and not look like an '80s inspired scenester on crystal meth?".

They are:

1. Dutch. I say this after noting all of the deliciously bright Oilily fashion present in Holland.

2. Indian. To quote Diana Vreeland, "pink is the navy blue of India". Orange is also a popular shade and I have never seen women look more beautiful in it.

3. Brazilian... ('nuff said).

I wish her nails were fuschia too, but the back more than makes up for any miniscule faux pas...

Now I am not Dutch, Indian or Brazilian, so I would really like to have a dress similar to the one above, only in black (#7 by Bi La Li).

checkmate

- Paris -

- Liverpool -

Now I realize that you can't see the front of the Parisienne's outfit, but in my [thoroughly biased francophile] opinion, girls in Paris typically outmatch girls in Liverpool hands down, so let's give her a chance...

source: gritoland, hoy

glamourous grunge

There is an art to pulling off shabby clothing as chic ingenue wear. Generally, being small and pretty like this femme does the trick, however it amazes me still (as this is not a new look) that one can go to a fashion event dressed in what is essentially casual pajamas, pull a fur or leather jacket over their shoulders and stand out as belle of the ball. I've seen very fashionable women dressed like this at fashion weeks in Paris and NY, which of course has caused me to examine the style more carefully, but it still looks more like an outfit to chop wood in than anything else. Any opinions? Do you prefer more tailored, classic glamour or do you subscribe to the bedraggled beauty aesthetic?

** I do give kudos for the knit hat though. Next to boots, beanies are my most dire addiction.

//At Matt Irwin's photography exhibit in London//

louis does laundry

So, I realize that the giant, checked shoppers commonly carried by elderly ladies in Chinatown have suddenly become fashionable thanks to Louis Vuitton's spring collection, but like Chanel's trash bag tote, it doesn't work for me. Maybe this is because my mum used the exact same oversized, plasticy bag to take clothing on international laundromat adventures, or perhaps I just can't shake the image of an 80+ year old woman on the subway today- stooped and wearing a wide hat to ward off the winter sunlight- who had a red and blue one hooked onto her trolley. Regardless of my opinion, the boxy bag is evidently here to stay for a month or two and I'm curious to hear what the general consensus is... are these 'too cool for school' or should they be reserved for grocery hauls?

The Ukrainian femme can be found here.

jolie jaune

This colour is growing on me...

Perhaps it's the flashing contrast created when a bisque shift is worn with metallic accessories... or maybe it's because Jil Sander had a few stunning yellow pieces in her last lineup... or it could just be that I saw Little Miss Sunshine tonight and am feeling cheery. Whatever the reason, yellow fever is running rampant in the fashion world (check the cruise collections), and I'm happily infected. This is the only shade I've really avoided for most of my style-conscious life, but come spring I'll be dressing more like the girl above. What is your opinion?

images: panda head, jr blog

update: It's catching on in London too, but what I really love in this picture (click on the link to see) are the motorcycle boots! Not surprising, given my bootaholic tendencies...

bangkok beat, and other travels

I haven't died... Xmas and the New Year have been brilliantly busy with visitors and travel, and I am just back to my little apartment, relishing in silence at last with a mug of mint tea and my sleeping Finnish cat. I hope you had a voguish holiday season. Mine involved two stellar pairs of boots, one chromey motorcycle (not mine), and a plane ticket to Northern Europe, set to depart this spring. In other words, perfect. Thanks so much for your comments and emails. Bonne chance et beaucoup de bonheur pour la nouvelle année!

Kyssa, A

PS. Have you met Bangkok model Alien yet? Yes, her actual name is Alien. I like my stony Eastern Europeans, but the modelling world could use a Thai femme or two. I hope to see more of her this year.

source.

espresso vivace

Another sweet brown dress (this time on Kersti in Seattle). Her white tights would normally remind me of a nurse's uniform, or Alice in Wonderland illustrations, but they work surprisingly well in contrast to the brown in her APC ensemble. This is also the first time I've seen a headband being worn by someone who doesn't look like they are emulating Mary-Kate Olsen. Definitely the cutest girl on Capitol Hill.

fly femmes

Two very sharp lookers at the screening of Words Remembered, the latest installment of fashion films by DVD/magazine Fly. I love how the femme at left paired her brown Marni-esque babydoll with yellow leather tote and jet black shoulder length earrings. Demure and edgy. Her friend (whose boots I would kill for) reminds me of the Paris Vogue girls.

from the lovely bobble bee

beer and a butterfly...

Sometimes that, and a bit of red polish is all a girl needs.

what's up buttercup?

Few femmes would dare to wear a yellow miniskirt with shimmery tights and a plaid jacket. Fewer still would attempt it during wintertime in Eastern Europe. Except Olya. Somehow she manages to pull all of this off and not freeze to death while standing out like a ray of sunshine in a grey Ukrainian street. In fact, while it seems that us North Americans are embracing head to toe woolens, the fashionettes actually from babushka land are going for colour and originality...