style icon: Poly Stryrene

Some people think little girls should be seen and not heard
But I think -- oh bondage, up yours!

-- "Oh Bondage, Up Yours!", X-Ray Spex




Poly Styrene was the vocalist for punk band X-Ray Spex (awesome by the way). I'm going to dress as her for Halloween so I've collected some pictures that I thought I would share.

DIY Inspiration: Wide Stretch Waist Belt by Hache

I'm not entirely sure how I would go about making this belt but I think it could be done. I have a thing for snap-closure elastic belts and I love the pony hair detail, but not the price tag on this baby.

Any ideas? I have a similar wide elastic belt but it is plain so I think I could just sew on the detail.

It is available at Kick Pleat for $188

DIY inspiration: Bless Suspenderrip tank

I've been into D.I.Y. fashion for as long as I can remember, even before I was really into "fashion." There was no way my parents were going to take me anywhere to buy clothes so I had to work with the hand-me-downs, thrift store finds, and my mother's collection of wack dresses and coats from the 80s (in Korea).

These days, I do more fashion research and ebay searches than D.I.Y. projects, so my mind is teeming with ideas and frustratingly, I have no time to implement them. However, I thought I would start posting D.I.Y. inspiration so that I could have an archive of projects for that magical rainy day when I'm armed with zippers, fox tails, a sewing machine and nothing to do but re-haul my closet!
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This Bless shirt seems ridiculously easy to make and is also a very simple (but awesome) idea.
step one: attach suspenders to a tank top
step two: you're done! painless, wasn't it?





230$ at Ooga Booga

My Favorite...

I love to find small, eclectic thrift stores and antique shops to wander and meander in. Exploring hidden nooks and discovering forgotten or misplaced treasures is extremely thrilling.
I try to avoid the Crossroads/Buffalo Exchange type of atmosphere, which I find much less intimate.
One of my very favorite places to find vintage/cute/used clothing is The Painted Bird, located at 1201A Guerrero St (24th and Guerrero) in San Francisco. Only about two blocks up from Valencia (best wandering around area ever), it is extremely small and extremely homey (through the curtains of one of the dressing rooms you can actually see into the kitchen of the area the owner lives in).
They buy/sell/trade clothing just like any other consignment shop but it's much smaller than the more known ones and therefore has higher quality. The cutest (and most friendly!) girls I've ever seen work there. I'm always admiring their cool outfits out of the corner of my eye while I quietly look through the racks of vintage jeans and sweaters.
It's seriously the most awesome place ever, and it's small size does not indicate the amount of time you can spend inside (I've waisted many a day). Quality over quantity is definitely how they do business.
There's also a really cute coffee shop across the street with health foods...

strange chants coming from the upper fringe

(dries van noten 2008 via style.com)


(alexander mcqueen f/w 2008)


(comme des garcons f/w 08)


(benjamin cho f/w 08)


(derercuny f/w 2008)


(chritian lacroix f/w 2008)


(greth pugh f/w 2008


(prada f/w 2008)


(givenchy f/w 2008)


luella f/w 08

sergei mikhailovich prokudin-gorski

Drawing style inspiration from sources that are not directly fashion related is one of my favorite things to do. So, I present to you the photography of Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorski who was photographer to the tsar. Many of his negatives have been rendered into color. You can read more about him and see some images here. The photos are really fascinating and its just an added bonus that the clothes are interesting.