Sweet Meat:Jasmine Schuller

 

Artist Jasmine Schuller made these delicious looking sweets out of nothing but real meat. Our stomach and taste buds are seriously conflicted looking at these.

Taste the Rainbow in wannabe Chris Kane

It's not like we're trying to out-do one another, but one of our favorite things about the insane pace of fashion is being able to spot oncoming trends from miles away as a result of the studying the collections as they come out. Take, for example, the most recent resort collections. Originally conceived as a year round fashion "season" for those lucky few who might need a lovely nautical ensemble in the dead of winter -- to take with them on holiday.

These days, instead of cursing the idle rich, we do them one better: we'll cop those styles as soon as they debut and make use of the last few months of warm weather by sporting looks that won't be touted as "trends" until next year. That's the great thing about shopping vintage: while the rest of 'em wait around for Christopher Kane's resort collection to hit the stores, we jump the gun and approximate his tongue-in-cheek rainbow themed designs with this absolutely spot on dress from our collection. The best thing is, it's available now, so you can be the very first in the hood to be seen rocking what's sure to be a huge trend next spring/summer. We've done the legwork, and you can take the credit.

Wear it alone or under a black blazer for some good contrast. We're also loving the button up collar on this piece -- it's another design detail we're predicting is going to be everywhere soon. Get on this before H&M does; just sayin.

HOGG - TIED... Pam Hogg the Icon

Long before Gaga and Nicola were merging their realms of tranny-friendly fashion and pop-punk, there was one woman who, in the late 80s and early 90s, did it with waay more guts, grit, and gumption. Pam Hogg.

A highly influential figure in the London club scene, Hogg's designs gleefully dance the line between fierce and farce. Her punk-royalty-from-outer-space look has won its share of earthling admirers, from the likes of Kylie Minogue and Amber Rose to her BFF Siouxsie Sioux. After shaping the look of London's underground scene in the 90s, Hogg has continued to design and show during London Fashion Week -- filling the gaping void that was left in a thousand queen's lives when Heatherette shut down (no, not that gaping hole, geez).

If you dig this brass plate pendant chain necklace, then you're in luck. We managed tear this piece off of a Leigh Bowery doppelganger the other night at Eastern Bloc, while the floor was going crazy to a mash-up of Little Richard's "Lucille" and Escort's "Cocaine Blues."

From her "School for Scandal" collection from the early 90s. This show featured featured the London Vogueing group the House of Child featuring Les Child, strutting their stuff all over the runway. This necklace captures the in-your-face spirit that Hogg is known for, and if the crest with the crowned eagle clutching a skull doesn't do it for you, then I don't know what will. 

A true style icon for those in the know, Pam Hogg set the standard for what to wear when you're meeting royalty, royally rocking it, and everything in-between. 

     

Felling Inspired: Le Petit Chinoise

Giving you a peek from our mood board we've been putting together in preparation for a chinoiserie themed photo shoot. This is a trend that I feel is going to begin showing up everywhere, for we've been catching whiffs of the look here and there on the Spring 2011 runways: from Rodarte's nod to Chinese detailing to Vuitton's all-out Eastern extravaganza (which was reminiscent of Tom Ford's last collection for YSL in the FW show of 2004).

We like how the louche glamour of pajama dressing (hello Celine 2012 resort!) mixes right in with this aesthetic, creating an aura of exotic luxury -- just the thing when headed to the local high class opium den (or at least a Chinese restaurant by day // secret disco by night).

The alchemy of our Far East incarnation of dress includes abstracted references from Chinese gangster movies -- specifically Kar Wai Wong's Fallen Angels, Nobuyoshi Araki photographs, Diana Vreeland's interest in Asian exoticism, Paul Poiret's French Orientalism, 70s street style, Japanese rockabilly bands, and Claude Cahun's explorative self-portraits from the 20s. We feel that the modern approach to this style of dress involves mixing androgynous and grungy elements with luxurious silk brocade fabrics and a flowing, loose silhouette.

Check back in with us soon to see the fruits of our labors in editorial form, and in the meantime, these chinoiserie inspired pieces from our store are available now!

For Skins: Claude Montana Leather Gaucho

Ah leather ... the way it smells, feels, looks, and even sounds. Since the dawn of time man has swathed himself in skins, and that primitive, beastial approach to dressing persists to this day. Fair enough, 20th century leather has more to do with emitting tough vibes than it does with protecting oneself from the elements, but then again, 2,500 Hell's Angels can't be wrong.

In fact, our Vagabond circle of friends includes one very special girl whose specialty is mixing business with leather -- literally. Murphy Thiel, a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology's celebrated menswear program, specializes in custom pieces that combine her interest in all things leather (check out her blog, fuck pleather), with her skilled workmanship. She won Best in Show for the 2010 Future of Fashion show at FIT, and continues to indulge her passion for pelts -- complete with an homage to our favorite food. Leather pizza?! So good Murphy herself had to sneak a slice.

Murphy Thiel leather jacket

In conclusion, we urge you to jam this tune, and slip on these sweet leather gauchos from Claude Montana. Who doesn't look good in leather?