Pearl Parfum

First Thursday - March

2008-03-06T13:16:00.001-08:00

As we all know, fashion and art go hand in hand. And tonight just happens to be the first Thursday of the month, which means most art galleries in the Pearl District will have extended hours this evening to display their new exhibitions.

The galleries generally don't charge admission on First Thursday, so think about coming :) Hope to see you all there.

http://firstthursday.org

Keith Richards Nowhere to be Seen

2008-03-05T16:47:00.000-08:00

Here's a great clip from Paris Fashion Week - Louis Vuitton's fall 2008 prêt-à-porter collection... no Keith Richards, but they do get several opinions from celebrities excursioning at the show. It looks like Kanye West wasn't kicked out of this one, though...

Leather Begets Leather

2008-03-05T12:58:00.000-08:00

So everyone and their grandmother has reported this (probably because it was kept a secret until today), but I think it's brill in a sort of messed up way.

Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones fame is the new (leather)face of Louis Vuitton.

Vuitton is supposedly trying to recapture older patrons who have begun to lose interest over the years. Richards is probably a good choice because of that; everyone knows his name whether you are 80 or 20.

"Some journeys cannot be put into words"

Personally, I think he looks like a raisin who has been in the sun for about 64 years too long (who would have guessed that he's 64? Wow.) I'm into classic rock sans The Rolling Stones, who I don't really hold a lot of respect for as musicians. But obviously, I'm not the target demographic for this ad campaign.

Two more unknown celebrities will become faces for Vuitton before the end of the year.

Hip Hop Couture

2008-03-04T17:54:00.000-08:00

So, with Paris Fashion Week (for Fall 2008 collections) closing up a few days ago, one subject came up that caught my interest. Namely, the possible merging between hip hop fashion and haute couture.

It won't be overnight, if it happens at all. What interested me is rapper Kanye West being denied entrance to the Balenciaga show. Apparently the fashion (power)house felt that Kanye's hip hop look "wasn't right" with the tone of the show. I would tend to agree with that, simply because hip hop fashion has no place in the world of couture.

At least right now.

Jennifer Connelly for Balenciaga - Spring & Summer 2008

Japanese fashion is merging towards hip hop fashion, with their own style twists. It's cute and bubbly hip hop in its own way; completely unlike American hip hop (or gangster) fashion. Perhaps that's why it is accepted as a true form of street fashion in Japan, closer to haute couture than anything found in an American city.

High fashion has been one of the only mainstream art forms that has kept celebrities at bay (unlike, say, a famous singer turned into an actress... merely because she is famous.) With people like Rihanna, a contemporary R&B star, turning to couture dresses and outfits instead of traditional streetwear, this could mean the start of a new hip hop-infused high fashion culture.

Like I said before, this really caught my attention... and I'm wondering what everyone else thinks. Does hip hop really have any place in high fashion, or even in ready-to-wear lines?

Agyness Deyn - newest "It" Girl of fashion

2008-03-03T16:09:00.000-08:00

Agyness Deyn topped Tatler Magazine's (a contemporary British mag) famous best dressed list, knocking over reigning queen Kate Moss in the process. I knew this girl is going places...

Agyness Deyn in the Spring 2008 Dolce & Gabbana RTW show

Her style is so rock 'n roll it gives me chills of pleasure. This is what we need in fashion, a darker, edgier rock look. And in perfume too.

Deyn in the Spring 2008 Anna Sui show

It's no wonder Miss Deyn was chosen as the Burberry The Beat spokeswoman. Deyn in the Burberry Fall 2008 Collection

Japanese Fashion Show part 3

2008-02-29T15:50:00.000-08:00

This is my last post regarding the Japan Night fashion show at Portland State, I should think. The last girls to go out were displaying Japanese schoolgirl fashion, which is extremely popular across the Pacific.

This is an extremely strange fashion - for my eyes, anyway. It kind of resembles gangster rap or hip hop fashion in America, except with brighter, more colorful outfits. Didn't catch the name but my Japanese friend told me the brand is "one of the most expensive in the world."

Here is a guy in otaku dress. These guys are so dorky they put American nerds to shame. Otaku guys are generally obsessed with things like anime, manga, computers, or video games.

This style is known as serafuku for girls, and gakuran for boys. It's extremely popular in Japan. Basically serafuku is schoolgirl uniforms, or clothing that looks like a schoolgirl uniform, blended with "sailor girl" characteristics (think Sailor Moon... for school.) Gakuran refers to the military-esque uniforms all boys are required to wear through middle school and high school.

This updated version of serafuku is known as bureza.

All things considered it was such a lovely show. I enjoyed every part of Japan Night and I hope you liked seeing what they came up with for the fashion show :)

Gwen Stefani is Haute

2008-02-29T15:33:00.000-08:00

I thought this would make a nice break from the Japan Night fashion show photos, very aptly in fact because of Gwen's ties to Japanese culture in general. Gwen's on the newest cover of the V Magazine looking so haute couture. I'm in love with the whole thing - the harlequin dress especially, but her hair and her body language are so yummy.

The whole photoshoot is gorgeous. And to think that she was probably pregnant when the photos were taken!

Japanese Fashion Show part 2

2008-02-28T16:32:00.000-08:00

Here we go... more photos from the Japan Night fashion show on Tuesday night. I'll probably make one more post to finish them off, there's 4 or 5 more styles after this post.

Another unnamed style (as far as I know); as opposed to the last picture in the last post, which was more 90s style, this style would be worn in the 2000s to present. The jeans and boots look very familiar... something that I see on the street every once in a while at present. Love the guy's style, it's very polished skaterboy-esque.

An unnamed style, again. I'm loving the shoes.

This style is called "visual band," with no real Japanese equivalent name-wise. It's prevalent with teenagers especially who are drawn to this kind of music and dress the part.

I love that brill crown chain, and the guy's hat on the left.

Japanese Fashion Show part 1

2008-02-27T14:42:00.001-08:00

As promised, here are some photos I took last night at the Japan Night fashion show. Unfortunately, the seats we were in had a blocked view of the end of the runway where most of the poses were, because of a huge metal bar holding up some of the lights.

I was slightly disappointed that they chose to stick with tame outfits, instead of plunging us into the darker world of Tokyo street fashion - I would have loved to see gosurori (Gothic Lolita, think dark Alice in Wonderland) or even ganguro (bleached hair, dark fake tan, miniskirts). For more information about the history Japanese street fashion check out one of my favorite books, Japanese Schoolgirl Inferno.

Yukata style, or "summer casual traditional style," many Japanese wear these kinds of clothes after taking baths.

Furisode style, or "formal traditional clothes for young, unmarried girls." These elegant kimonos are worn often at weddings.

I'm not quite sure of the name of this style, but my Japanese friend who came with me to the show told me that it's something that would have been worn in the 90s as opposed to present day.

That's all for now, more to come later :)

Japan Night

2008-02-26T22:07:00.001-08:00

Hey guys, tonight I attended Japan Night at Portland State University downtown. It was so much fun, the performances were amazing. I especially loved the taiko drum act - it was beautiful and powerful at the same time.

But what drew me there was the Japanese Fashion Show.

(!!)

Tomorrow I'll have pictures to put up of the fashion show so all of you can see some of the interesting fashions of Japan, past and present.

Stuart Weitzman Dissed by Cavewoman

2008-02-26T13:05:00.000-08:00

Stuart Weitzman, a renowned shoe designer, famous for his "Million-Dollar Oscar Shoes" he's been creating for celebrities for the past six years, has been publicly insulted by new Oscar winner (for original screenplay Juno) Diablo Cody.

Apparently Weitzman and Cody collaborated together to design these beauties:

However, once the big night came, Cody decided against wearing Weitzman's carefully crafted shoes because she didn't want to "give him the publicity." She thought she was being used. Honestly, Stuart Weitzman is a huge name in shoes, and he probably could have designed his Million-Dollar Oscar Shoes for any big name on the carpet. No, instead he chose someone he was a fan of, indeed, he had been doing her a favor.

Since Cody looked like a prehistoric cavewoman at the Academy Awards, it suits that her manners are similar.

Next up: Geico commercial

http://stuartweitzman.com/

More Oscars Fashion

2008-02-25T13:06:00.000-08:00

Here's Laura Linney, one of my favorite actresses, looking absolutely gorgeous in a Michael Kors dress and an ADORABLE Ferragamo handbag. Very tasteful ensemble, like they say - classics never go out of style.

Salvatore Ferragamo, you can sign up now on the website to win a $1500 shopping spree :)

The Oscars II (a.k.a. I wonder who will regret their hairstyle tomorrow)

2008-02-24T17:46:00.000-08:00

I noticed a lot of the "messy-chic" hairstyles on women this year at the Oscars - in some cases it works:

...and sometimes not so much:

She looks like a man... well. Just keeping up with the status quo I suppose. Beautiful jewelry on Mrs. Garner's part, though.

The Oscars (a.k.a. I wonder who will regret their outfit tomorrow)

2008-02-24T17:35:00.000-08:00

Here's just a little Oscar-night preview, with information on a few British nominees. I can't wait to see what the swag bags hold this year :)

For more information on the Academy Awards, check out their youtube channel.

The Beat (goes on)

2008-02-23T16:53:00.000-08:00

My favorite fashion house Burberry is officially launching their new scent next month, March 2008. Unofficially, Nordstrom's has had the novel fragrance in stores for the past two weeks as an exclusive.

I had to have some for myself, and after an hour or so of browsing, dealing with two pushy saleswomen who kept wanting me to buy Juicy Couture perfume, and $62 dollars later I have my very own adorable Burberry The Beat bottle weighing in at 1.7 ounces. (The bigger bottle at 2.5 ounces costs about $80.)

Agyness Deyn as The Beat spokeswoman

Personally, while The Beat isn't as sweet at first as Burberry Brit, it has decent afternotes (very light and clean) and hints of bluebell, iris, Ceylon tea, a hint of cardamom and a lot of (unfortunately) pink pepper.

The bottle is adorable :)

The Introduction

2008-02-23T16:42:00.000-08:00

Salut all. My name is Flynn and I'm an English emigrant to the USA - Portland, Oregon to be more specific. I've been here for six months trying to find my way around the city, studying for my master's degree at PSU, learning the culture and staying away from teenagers at the Lloyd Center.

I started this blog as a way to develop a hobby while discussing a few subjects I'm interested in. Namely Portland fashion, European perfume and chic handbags.