The Sartorial-twist

It's summer, so I have plenty of time in my hands and not enough energy to actually do something even mildly productive. In fact, I've spent a probably unhealthy amount of time refreshing The Sartorialtwist, a random fashion generator made of street style photos of the famous Sartorialist. A head here, a torso there and a pair of random legs and voila, a surreal fashion snapshot. It's all in good fun, and certainly addictive.

Anything to distract me from the sweltering days we're having, really.

Cocktail Season

"When there's a drink, there's a story."

That's exactly what Orr Shtuhl and Elizabeth Graeber thought a made a pretty book about the origins of famous cocktails, along with recipes and pretty illustrations. In their own words:

"Strong, sweet and bitter- a good cocktail has the intrigue of an alluring drama, the joy of a salty-sweet dessert, and the sin of a vice. From the raucous innkeepers of the 18th century to the gangster bootleggers of Prohibition, liquor has always had a dark side, and cocktails are the keepers of its lore. Some creation legends include tales of the New York gangster and poker hustler Jack Rose, the famous matador film Blood and Sand, and a club dancer named Margarita Carmen that eventually became the pin-up actress known as Rita Hayworth."

It's summer, cocktails are on my mind and I can't help but covet this 38-page adorable book. You can buy it here.

Natural Beauty

Natural Beauty is a video mady by the Dutch duo of directors Lernert & Sander. Their mission statement? "We wanted to apply 365 layers of makeup in one day to see how much is needed to go from a natural look to an outrageous one."

And an outrageous one it is. The directors used 7 bottles of foundation, 2 bottles of creamy eyeshadow, 3 lip pens and 2 bottles of blush, all Ellis Faas products.

You can see the video below, found on Nowness. Behind-the-scenes images here.

Lernert & Sander: Natural Beauty on Nowness.com.

And if you're still reading this, go enter my giveaway before it's closed!

DIY LBD

Always wanted to design your very own black dress? Continuum does exactly that, by applying an app that allows you to draw your dress and turn it into a 3D model. The people behind this project are Mary Huang and Jenna Fizel in New York. Their initial idea was for the user to design their dress, have it produced in their own measurements and buy it. Unfortunately, the project failed to reach the funding goal, but the ladies promise to keep trying. Nonetheless, make sure to try it, it's really fun to watch your dress take shape. Watch the video below for more info.

In the mood for a giveaway

Oh yes, it's giveaway time again! This time, one of my favourite movies of all time: Wong Kar Wai's In the mood for love. Specifically, the 2-disc Criterion collection dvd edition.

How can you win it? Simply, leave a comment on this post and a way for me to contact you if you're the winner. For my fellow Europeans, keep in mind that it's a Region 1 dvd, make sure your player/computer can play them.

Giveaway ends Thursday, June 30 and the winner will be picked at random. So, comment away and spread the word!

Christian Tagliavini

Cromophobia, Mother's Day. 2007

Christian Tagliavini, born in 1971, lives and works in Switzerland as a photographer and graphic designer. He has been published in numerous magazines and art books. I recently came across his work and it took my breath away. Amazingly rich photographs, exploring the human psyche and also his creative spin on contemporary art and more.

Aspettando Freud, Gustave. 2006

Dame Di Cartone, Cubism III. 2008

1503, Cecilia. 2010

I only chose one picture from each of his collections to feature here, but make sure to head over to his online portfolio to see the rest.

All photos courtesy of Christian Tagliavini.

Lucky, lucky, lucky

A big thank you to Dora Christidou and Lucky Magazine, for featuring my blog and work in their Web Pages column. Greek readers can click on the image to read the small article, or better yet pick up a copy of the May issue of Lucky! Suffice it to say, this has made my entire month.

Pretty In Pink: Iona

I have to say, I love watching old movies and seeing the different style back then. Today, Pretty in Pink! Molly Ringwald is the star and she's the one who usually gets all the accolades about her style, since she wears all these vintage pieces and makes her own clothes too. But Iona (Annie Potts), her friend from the record store steals the show for me. She has a totally different style in every scene she is, some outfits scream 80s and others have a more timeless quality. See for yourself.

Vivian Maier

Vivian Maier, a nanny, lived and died in Chicago in 2009. After her death, her amazing talent came to life. She was a street photographer, with more than 100,000 negatives and film rolls discovered at an auction. Her pictures are amazing, proving she had a great eye for detail and an impressive skill for portraits.

The IOU Project

I got an email by The IOU Project recently, and thought it was a lovely thing to share. Founded by fashion designer Kavita Parmar, their goal is to create unique clothes handmade in Europe using fabrics handwoven from Indian artisans. You can visit their site to watch a pretty little introductory video about their work and join their mailing list.

In their own words:

IOU is a clothing brand that brings together people who celebrate uniqueness, artisanship and design. Each one of our beautiful products is unique and handmade in Europe using fabrics handwoven in India. When you buy one of our items you'll notice that it has a unique id. Using this IOU code, you can see and meet the people involved in making your garment- from the fabric itself to the finished piece. We believe clothes should be made in a way that is responsible towards the environment and respectful of the people involved. We believe in your right to verify authenticity. We believe you'll enjoy meeting other people who think like you.

Isn't it a great idea? Make sure to follow The IOU Project on Facebook and Twitter for more photos and the latest news.

Harold, Maude and Mrs. Chasen

Mrs. Chasen (Vivian Pickles), now that's a weird choice for style inspiration, right? However, when I watched Harold and Maude again the other night, I instantly loved her classic, elegant style, especially the headwear she rocks. From long silk scarves to bath caps, she looks impeccable in every scene.

Helmo

Helmo, aka Thomas Couderc and Clement Vauchez, is a French graphic design duo based in Montreuil near Paris. They met in 1997 while studying in Besancon and founded Helmo in 2007. The work shown here is from their Pronomade(s) project. Love their depiction of both urban and natural environments with a playful, trompe l'oeil twist. Enjoy!

All photos courtesy of Helmo

Françoise Dorléac

If the name doesn't look familiar to you, I'm sure you know her sister, Catherine Deneuve. Françoise Dorléac was an actress, like her younger sister and they also starred together in the musical Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (picture above). You can see she was absolutely beautiful, a perfect example of the famous French elegance.

ÜBerlin

ÜBerlin is a great new song off R.E.M.'s 15th album Collapse into now. I've been a huge fan of R.E.M. for such a long time, so I can't help but get excited every time they come out with new material. For this album they are also releasing accompanying videos for each new song, like the video above which is directed by Sam Taylor-Wood and stars a dancing Aaron Johnson.

Enjoy!

This is not porn

Anthony Perkins and Audrey Hepburn trying to get a fawn drunk?

This is not porn is a site that collects rare photos of famous people. I just spent a lot of time going through the archives, and I'm sure you'll get hooked as well. It was so difficult to choose what pictures to post here, so if you like these ones (which I'm sure you'll do), go over there and check the rest out.

Stenciled hair

Found this picture on the Nylon blog and all I can say is wow. It's from the Betsey Johnson Valentine-themed runway show and it's one of the coolest things I've seen lately. Feel like I'm stuck in a hair rut these days and in desperate need of some inspiration. Stencil on your hair. Love it.

Put on your new pants and move out to France.

Just a quick post, my current favourite song to let you know I beat the cold and to thank you for all your wishes which definitely sped up my recovery.

Until next time,

xoxo

My good luck charm

I'm nursing a cold these days, so you can guess I'm feeling pretty miserable, hence the lack of posts. However, despite being in this pathetic state, Tatty Devine still managed to cheer me up! My lovely, lovely horseshoe ring came this morning and I haven't taken it off since. Isn't it the cutest? Hope it brings me luck and helps me get rid of this stupid cold. But maybe I'm asking too much from a piece of jewellery.

Off to sneeze.

Pop 5

The last days of 2010 and the first ones of 2011 have been quite prolific in terms of pop culture consumed. So, today I'm presenting you my Pop 5.

Aces

Couldn't be happier 2010 is finally out of the way. Let's start 2011 with a song. Karen Elson used to be one of my favourite models and now she's a singer/songwriter and still fabulous. Also, I want her hair.

Have a spectacular new year!