Rodarte, I love you.

I think Rodarte is one of those labels that I love personally but talk about infrequently on here. Perhaps it is because I love it so much that I don't saturate my blog with talk of it. I keep it as something to enjoy on my own, something for myself and not to be shared. However, I can no longer stay silent on the matter. Every day my tumblr dash throws more and more Rodarte goodness and I become more entranced, fall more thoroughly in love. And today, I got this (though I realise I'm almost a year late to the game):

Rodarte + unicorns + a score by Beach House + fantasy elements... = utter adoration.

I mean, how could I contain my feelings after this? Every twist and turn the brand takes, takes me along with it. One knows what the label is and means but never quite what form it will take. There's a wonderful balance of honouring the customer while exploring and taking chances. The choice in models and faces is always on point. The accessories, the details, the nuances, are just so perfect.

And this video (shot by three-time Rodarte collaborator, Todd Cole)? Perfection! Sidney Williams is exactly the kind of face that immediately entrances me and makes me want to wear the clothes. She's a wonderful mix of warrior-princess and boyish, awkward teenager (except also flawlessly beautiful) in the video. Everything I wanted to be as an adolescent. 

And the clothes! Oh, the clothes! Sigh. I'm kind of in love with ear cuffs again and I was so over them up until now. Gimme some floaty dresses, on point leather and perfectly tousled hair, 'kay?

(PS Vote for them in the Webby Awards http://pv.webbyawards.com/2014/online-film-video/general-film-categories/branded-entertainment-scripted/this-must-be-the-only-fantasy)

Very BtVS, non?

Other reasons to love them.

1. Using art prints - I mean, who else would Van Gogh there?

2. Making tie-dye fresh again. No, really.

3. Using images from Star Wars and making it look like this.

4. Dat hairband - making barbed wire beautiful.

5. The makeup and hair pieces from the A/W 2012 collection. Sure the clothes were gorgeous but the makeup was perf.

6. This image of Kirsten Dunst for their A/W 2011 campaign.

7. The styling of the S/S 2014 collection.

8. ...I mean, so wrong, yet so right.

9. Elle Fanning in a Pearl Jam tee for the Rodarte curation of A Magazine.

10.  The other videos.

Knits.

There has to be some upside to it getting so damn cold. And here it is: knits. This year, in particular, is a good one for wrapping up. From statement jumpers, to body-hugging dresses, to oversized jumpers with pencil skirts (I LOVE), to patterns, to fuzzy - there's something for everyone. 

Or everything for me? Yes, please.

The best of the best (aka what I dream of):

All photos from Vogue.co.uk/Go Runway.

More Creeping on the collections of Natalie B Coleman.

...because these are the clothes that dreams are made of. Or mine are, at least. Sigh. That palette, those silhouettes (bordering on the avant-garde yet super-flattering), that bomber, those oversize coats. Sigh again. Outerwear-wise, this collection has all the things I love. Such cool-girl clothes yet very chic at the same time. And on a super-weird note I'm pretty sure I used almost the exact same image or one terrifyingly similar of an ostrich head for a prize-winning poster in secondary school - sans fangyness mayhaps.

The clothes kind of speak for themselves so I'm gonna stop babbling like the fangirl that I am and let them do that.

http://nataliebcoleman.bigcartel.com/

P.S. Congrats to Natalie for being showcased in Brown Thomas - so deserved! 

Gah! So good!

Oh, bombers, shall I compare thee to a Summer's day?

Saint Laurent - Yves + Christopher Owens

http://www.ysl.com/en_US/introductioncampaign

So maybe he left the band to pursue a modelling career? 

Ex-frontman of Girls, Owens lounges around in beautiful settings and wonderfully composed black and white photography, largely without a shirt, for the newly relabelled label's A/W 2012-S/S 2013 / "Heralding of a new era" campaign. It's not the first instance of Saint Laurent without the Yves but it is quite a new direction for the brand. The campaign is really sexy and quite grungey (I'm loathe to say 'rock and roll') yet remains undeniably chic. This is a very modern Saint Laurent, this is the house moving towards a future, towards a younger clientèle. 

It's all very voyeuristic; it seems as if we are looking in on a couple in private, but without any note of seediness. Nescher, as the female lead in this scene, stares back at us wilfully, unflinching. It is she who meets our eyes and (largely) not Owens. Both are equally bare. There is a wonderful sense that this is more of a gaze for a new generation and not a traditionally gendered gaze. 

It's broody and moody - images that are darkly romantic - images you want to live inside. And I love it for several reasons: 1. I'm a sucker for musicians 2. I love that Owens tattoos become like an extension of the collection and its look 3. The introductory video uses a song (Just a Song) by his former band and I love them 4. The photography is just plain pretty.

Let's see where Slimane continues to take things!

Have a gawk at a selection of the images:

Coats and Jackets from Zara.

Zara, seriously, stop it. Your clothes are too wonderful and I don't have enough money to buy them all. No, really. SQUEEEEEEE.

Okay, I've calmed myself a bit. Zara's offering some amazing coats and jackets for this coming cooler season. Here are just some of the best of the best and my personal favourites:

1. The Sequin Bomber - Because I'm bomber jacket crazy and sequins often spell tack for me but here? Spot on. What kind of damaged individual would say no to a bomber that looks equally good paired with a tee and jeans and a party dress?

2. The Mannish Coat - Because androgyny is in and this coat will never, ever be out. This is a wonderful example of a timeless, wear-til-it-tears garment. A must-have for every wardrobe.

3. Oversized leather - Because it's very versatile. You can make this waistcoat punk, darkly romantic or It-Girl cool. Run with it. Or better yet, run to me with one. Right now.

4. The Achingly Modern Cool - Because you want to be what you wear. This linen jacket is another highly versatile number that is fresh, a unique take on the biker and an easy way to rock A/W pastels.

All can be purchased in stores or at: zara.com

Lazy Sunday post...

...not because I'm having a lovely, lazy Sunday but because I'm headed to work in less than an hour and only got in from it at 4 last night.  So here are two fashion related links I found interesting:

Dr. Martens Autumn 2012 campaign shows you how exactly to be a hip young thing. And how you'll never be as hip as these people. Nah, seriously though, it's quite emotionally stirring and captures being young quite well - even if it is a little contrived. It's funny to see the brand with such a high fashion style ad - just goes to show how far it's come.

The second link is to a gallery of images on vogue.it. It shows models in their day-to-day clothes and I LOVE seeing models on their days off.

http://www.vogue.it/sfilate/models-look/2012/09/get-the-model-look-primavera-estate-2013?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=marketing&utm_content=model

Enjoy! Hope your Sundays are more restful than mine.

Berry Tonal.

Zara's Campaign Films.

Go to Zara's site now. Do it. You won't be disappointed. 

The AW '12 films for the Woman, Man, TRF and Kids sections are gorgeous, cinematic things of beauty. 

Here are some screenshots from the Woman film. It's got the nostalgia factor that's been everywhere since a certain music video last summer but is charming enough to be saved from being too band-wagony. Think impossibly cool, chic and young France of the 60s and the movies of that era.

And, yes, I was too lazy to edit. Problem?