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!