exquisite accident

To me, this is a perfect candid photograph that captures the elusive, carefree element of summer. Beyond the lovely printed bias cut dress (I'm always looking for those on ebay...), look at how the heel of her right shoe meets her shadow. I love that this couple -snapped in 1930 by the invisible friend whose shadow you can see in the foreground- is playing around on the beach in California, but they are still dressed to the nines. Check out his spats!

photo from the MoMA via lux lotus

conversations with my mother part III

Scene: phone conversation- she is visiting America, I'm in Toronto.

Mutti: Hey giraffe, guess what, I found a pair of pants down here! They have a belt of some sort attached, and you know how belts rarely work on me, but these look great on, and only cost $18, so I decided to pick them up.

(concept of mother buying clothing is very exciting for me, so I try to respond with tremendous enthusiasm)

Moi: Oooh. That's great! I can't wait to see them. You know, you can always get pants that cost more than $18. I mean it is worth it if you are going to wear them a lot right?

(I should note that my mother is not cheap in the slightest- she just doesn't see the point in spending money on clothing)

Mutti: Hmmm. Yes, but why would you? I mean, no one needs clothing that costs more than $20. It's silly really.

Moi: Uhhh. (Deciding now is not the time to propose using her credit card to purchase items in the online saks sale.)

Mutti: ...anyway, it is time to cull my closet a little. You know how I try to maintain an "in-out" system. (this means that if something comes into her closet, something must go out. She owns roughly 8 items of clothing in total. All of her worldy possessions could fit in a cardboard box.).

Moi (with utmost affection): Yes, I know you psycho anti-materialist.

Mutti: [Laughs] I got something that you will be excited about though- sport socks! Tons of them. Black ones and white ones, and expensive ones with special padding for running.

Moi: Delightful. Mum, couldn't you bring back stuff like... oh, I don't know, YSL booties, a Vanessa Bruno dress.... SOMETHING overpriced and fabulous that I can't wear to the gym?

Mutti: Just you wait, you're going to be begging to steal some of these sport socks.

Moi: Uh huh.

Mutti: Sometimes I wonder how I ended up with a fashionista daughter.

Moi: Je ne sais pas.

Mutti: Mais, je t'aime.

Moi: Je t'aime aussi. Though you are fashionably hopeless.

Mutti: Thank God!


My mum and her beloved cow in India. Needless to say, designer clothes weren't a big part of my upbringing :) She is an expert though on the salwar kameez.

chain query

The Duffster was in my neighbourhood this past week. That in itself is not important as chihuahuas and flipflops aren't my thing, however I love Ms. Hilary's necklace. Do any of you design savvy femmes know who is responsible for this creation?
Merci beaucoup...

horse tail accessories anyone?

Oh dear...



Givenchy's fall ad campaign is not working for me at all. Have you ever read the "Sleeping Beauty" erotic trilogy by Anne Rice? Because that is what all the humans-acting-like-horses activity here reminds me of. Liya's horse tail doesn't help to dissuade the unfortunate connection.

Stella's hair would be understandable if she was a Celtic warrior heading into battle c. 60 AD or something, but I don't believe that is the intended look, so someone fire the hair and makeup person stat.

And Mariacarla... I guess being muse to Riccardo Tisci (current designer for the house of Givenchy) means you get to ride around on people's backs a lot.

Whatever happened to this?:

(Audrey Hepburn, iconic in Givenchy, c. 1961)

campaign pictures from tfs, audrey pic

black orchid

Little Carine (aka Julia Restoin-Roitfeld) is starring in Tom Ford's new Black Orchid fragrance campaign. This would normally be yawn-worthy news to me, but for two critical details:

1. Mert & Marcus are in charge of the photography (see below blog entry)
2. It is Little Carine we're talking about here! Her mama is up there on my idol list, so I have to show some respect- at least until I see the campaign...
More details can be found here.

louis loves latex

My what lovely latex you have...


[and this is but a sampling]

Eeek. Do not attempt unless your name is Du Juan, and you are a 6 ft Asian supermodel. Though not a fan of fetish garb as outerwear, I must say the bright latex does make for a cool effect. Perhaps not the most practical apparel... it must take a long time to peel that plastic off!

From "City Slickers", the Vuitton shoot by Mert and Marcus. Featured in W magazine Aug/06.

regina rocks...

Right down to that fuschia thumbnail. Da, she is Russian (already a plus in my style books), but really, how many femmes can look sexy and tough in neon trainers? Not many. Of course, like any devout high heel addict, I am sneaker phobic, but Regina pulls her Nikes off- along with the graphic splashes of colour throughout her outfit- the way I imagine Anna Mouglalis would (if La Moug ever deviated from her standard noir...)

спасибо: look at me

amidala has nothing on me

Wow. Sometimes I wish I ruled another planet so that I could dress like this every day. (From Pier Lim's collection at the Fashion Institute Student show in Manila- via manila style).

The only reason I ever watched Star Wars and Star Trek was to see what the ladies from space were wearing. As the light sabers flashed around like irritating neon mosquitoes, I gazed transfixed at the never ending parade of elaborate gowns and headdresses thinking "who designed that?" Do they have couture week on Planet Nabu?... If it was up to me, I would put Patricia Field to work on a new TV series called "Sex in the Spaceship". Maybe in a few millenia...

squeaky chic

When it comes to apparel, I do not often equate "cute" with "chic". By cute, I'm not referring to say.... a marimekko floral dress. I'm thinking more along the lines of slingbacks with a little mouse face at each toe. We are all in agreement that this is absurdly cute, non? The kind of cute that is adorable for a 6 year old but a bit silly for fully fledged femmes- even those intent on embracing their inner child? Never mind that these flats are by Marc Jacobs- they have ears people! When I saw them for sale online, I smiled but couldn't quite imagine anyone pulling them off. Enter Spanish model Laura Ponte. Somehow, despite the overwhelming cute quotient, she manages to look fiercely chic with mice on her feet. Her dress, with its '70s wallpaper pattern, and in particular, it's pairing with this year's ubiquitous black leggings, had the near inevitable potential to look affected, but somehow Señora Ponte pulls her bit of whimsy off as well as any icon would- Chanel bag on one arm, and newborn daughter on the other. Señora, I salute you. Who knew that mouse flats could be so indomitably chic?

**Thanks to Mrs. de Winter of Sobre Moda for the post and pictures!

guess who

From today's NY Times... "She does not put a finger in the wind to judge trends: she is the wind"...... yep, you probably guessed right.

ethereal gloom

The CFDAs took place on June 5th, but [via missDior] I just recently watched the mini film that was presented prior to the bestowal of Womenswear Designer of the Year award . These films seem popular at the moment... Erin Fetherston created one for her collection and Zac Posen brought his new designs to life in Ma Vendeuse. The CFDA short stars the stunning Eugenia Volodina, Natalia Vodianova and Hana Soukupova, wandering around every inch of the gloomily lit New York Public Library, their long gowns (by Proenza Schouler, Francisco Costa, and Marc Jacobs, respectively) trailing behind them. Bjork's Bachelorette is the perfect accompanying track.

Several of the mini fashion films I have seen in recent months share similarities in that they feature ethereal looking femmes swanning around dark and curious locations that would otherwise be quite creepy, but are made beautiful due to their 6ft tall, couture clad inhabitants. I always wonder where they are meant to come from (the femmes and the dresses) because there is never any one around except them and miles of empty, candlelit corridors. It is like a melancholy version of Alice in Wonderland, but with much better clothes, and minus the white rabbit.

The CFDA film will be available from iTunes soon, but can be viewed now at dna models - women - Hana Soukupova - videos.

open letter to zac posen

Dear Zac,

E over at Letters to MJ has inspired me to write a letter in the hopes that the request I am about to make may come to fruitious reward -if only in my fashion fantasies- or at the very least, serve to chronicle one of my many style obsessions. So, straight to the point... I hope it doesn't seem conniving or overly shallow, but I loved your resort collection so much that I thought I would write and ask if you had any extra pieces lying around in your studio? If this happened to be the case, I would be very happy to take them off your hands and wear them to death (everything donned by Masha S. in your show was particularly perfect- not that I'm picky or anything).

From a business perspective, perhaps you could look at this as free advertising? From a fashion god perspective, you could look at this as aiding a deeply devoted follower who cannot (yet?) afford your creations. After all, you give samples to celebrities n'est pas? Via a recent issue of People magazine, I noticed Paris Hilton gyrating most obscenely on a NY bar counter while wearing a beautiful ZP summer dress that I doubt she paid for. This incident made me want to leap into the glossy pages and rescue the garment from its unfortunate fate. Believe me, I would be much more appreciative and loving of one of your dresses than many individuals on your freebie list. If truth be told, there there is a little place in my suitcase reserved for a ZP garment, just in case one magically appears between here and Paris. I always have faith in those kind of fashion miracles. After all, how did penniless Carrie Bradshaw get a hold of all that couture, just when she needed to look fabulous?

I should leave it at that. Congratulations again on a superb resort collection. The perfectly cut dresses were made even more divine by those wide buckle belts and/or masterful shirring. I wait with baited breath for your next show.

much love, A

modern opium den

Regular readers have probably ascertained by now that I have a big thing for miu miu. Whenever I happen upon one of those "oh I love it!" items in a designer sale, it invariably seems to have a miu miu label (well, Roland Mouret, Rick Owens et al haven't found their way into the shops here yet!). My beloved handbag of the past 2 years is a miu miu (or moo moo as a friend calls it, due to the material) and I've posted before about daily footwear. That said, the last miu miu collection was a disappointment, but Inez & Vinoodh have worked their photographic magic and created a stunning set of shots for fall/winter 07. Modelled by Dong Dji and Zhou Xun, the whole campaign is a contrast of '2046' hyper elegance and 1970s disco sleaze. It almost looks like Wong Kar Wei had a hand in the art direction for some of the photographs. Overall, I love the campaign, but laughed and had to agree with commenter captain_hook that "...this shoot is so cool. It's like a bunch of beautiful wealthy alien prostitutes". You have a point my friend.



The rest can be found here.

dublin dressing

Whilst exiting a shop today, I passed a funky redheaded femme sporting a belt buckle that proclaimed "Dublin Your Fun". Corny? yes- but it fit well with her eclectic overall look. So, after that encounter (and the fact that I know someone travelling through the Irish city right now), I had Dublin on the brain, and discovered upon opening my laptop that elle selected it as their street style destination of the month. I gather from the photographer's choice of subjects that boho still reigns supreme, while graphic rock tees and well worn hoodies are close runners up. Surprisingly, tutus also seem to be rising in popularity... The two femmes above look unique among the sea of Siennas, Avrils, and Madonna c. 1982s.

After a little searching around, I was relieved to find that there are a fair number of Irish fashionettes who choose heels over flats, tailored waists over baggy tops, and chic accessories over wood beads. These are my kind of femmes!



picture sources- clockwise from top left: 1 2 3 4

from mini finland with love

Hyvää Paivää! In the wee hours of a wet morning last week, La Femme began an expedition to a very Finnish town in the far reaches of Northern Ontario, Canada. I am here now- after a flight on what was quite possibly the smallest airplane known to humans- and suffering horribly from lack of espresso and internet access. If there was such a thing as mini Finland, that is where I am. Everyone's surname is Kangas or Heikkinen (including my grandparents, who came from here) and have saunas behind their homes. The main street is dotted with Finn-port stores and Scandinavian delis, and chunks of pavement are painted with marimekko flowers (similar to the ones susie noticed in Antwerp). This is about as hardcore urban as it gets however, and away from picking up licorice and egg bread rusks on the main street, my daily activities have included pulling rhubarb stalks and stacking wood (beam me up Scottie, pronto). Prior to arrival, I assured my mother that I have the perfect hiking boot for traversing about in the wilderness (I didn't think the 5" heel would be too much of a hindrance), but we went "nature walking" today, and I don't think any ballet performance has caused my feet to hurt as much as they do now. Ah well, style is everything n'est pas?.

Modern fashion doesn't really exist up here buuuut Laplander hats do (as well as an interesting assortment of traditional Scandinavian wood jewelery- Viking femmes were wearing wood baubles long before Sienna Miller!). If you don't know what a Laplander hat is, then you are in for a treat (I'm not joking- they are quite charming). If you are really curious about them, then I might post a pic of La Femme wearing a Laplander bonnet- the traditional headdress for Lappish femmes- but now, I must sign off and go chop some wood. In my miu miu lace ups.

Please bear with my intermittant posting until I get back to the land of cappuccinos and high speed internet next week! Kiitos!