The Roving Gnome

Dearest Friends,
For a lot of reasons, I've decided to try to move my blog from Blogger to Wordpress. And so, without further ado, I would like to unveil my slightly improved site: www.sufferforfash.wordpress.com (ok, so it's pretty much the same. ha.)! I went and had some photoshopping fun to create a new header, but it's still far from perfect. There are just some features on Wordpress that I like, so I'm moving over. One thing about a wordpress page is you can search for things! I know that when I read other blogs and want to find a specific post and can't search for it, I get really annoyed scrolling through archives trying to find it. So I'm glad to have that feature. Update your bookmarks! Honestly, I'm stil in awe that anyone reads this. Keep reading, friends!

R.I.P. Ruslana

By now, most people have heard about the tragic death of model Ruslana Korshunova, who purportedly commited suicide in New York just last weekend. So sad. She will be missed.
image:source

From the Shows

Apparently fellow Paris Vogue-rs Emmanuelle Alt and Carine Roitfeld were seen sitting next to each other sporting the same Alaia stilettos! Mais non!

Ballet and Fashion!

I found this fun little bit of information floating around in various places and thought I would share it because my roommate is a ballet fanatic. It seems that designer Magda Berliner created special costumes for a piece in the New York City Ballet's first annual Dancers' Choice program. The performance was last night, and raised money for the Ballet Dancers' Emergency Fund. The clip doesn't really have anything to do with the costumes, but I thought it was kind of cool.

P.S. S- One of the pieces they did was Gerome Robbins' "Dances at a Gathering."

AA Branches Out?

I cringed a little when I found out that American Apparel is starting a line of "jewelry". As a jewelry designer, I am always a little appalled by how much really, really crappy jewelry is being made these days. I always wonder who makes this cheap (and i mean cheap-looking, I have no problem with inexpensive stuff) jewelry and thinks it is actually good in some way. And that's what I kind of feel about the American Apparel line. It seems like a waste of good resources. As Racked aptly put it, it's less a jewelry than just metal chains. Heck, AA didn't even make them, the "found them"! What does that even mean? Why?! Just...WHY?!?! Even if you wanted chains for your awesome Mr. T costume, why would you pay close to 50 bucks for them? Please, hipster "I'm so ironic I'll wear ugly jewelry because it makes me more hip" kids, stay away! Go to a thrift store or something. Those are hip, too, I think.

Something to Look Forward to...

I happened upon this site and discovered that The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is having an exhibit on Yves Saint Laurent's work, which is perfect, because I'm visiting Montreal this summer! I'm excited that I have at least one thing to do, because although I'm sure Montreal is an awesome city, I didn't exactly know what specifically there is to do. But victory! I have the beginning of a list!

All Hail the Kaiser

This is (partly) why I love Karl Lagerfeld. He is just so hilarious/awesome. This is a French PSA message. The ad reads "It's yellow, it's ugly, it doesn't go with anything, but it could save your life." And I absolutely love it. Hah.
image: source

Let the Games Begin

That's right, it's time for the Oscars of fashion...the Costume Institute Gala. Get ready for some fun fashion.

Movers and Shakers

The Times 100 Most Influential people for this year have just been named, and three fashion types are in the list (along with Miley Cyrus?...hmmm. who came up with that one?). Carine Roitfeld, Karl Lagerfeld (who I saw in Paris when I stopped by Colette!! It was amazing), and Takeshi Murakami were all given the honors. BTW, I <3 size="1">image: source

Lanvin + Acne?

Alber Elbaz makes jeans? Considering I pretty much worship him and his huge bowties, I'm pretty excited. Too bad it doesn't come out until next year, and the price point will be on par with the ready-to-wear. My wallet is not going to be happy with me.

Alexander Wang for Uniqlo

I so so so wish I was in New York right now, for one reason. Alexander Wang's designer collection for Uniqlo is out!!! Alexander Wang is one of my favorite designers. And he's from the Bay Area! That makes him even more awesome. He even went to a high school whose tennis team I played when I was in high school. I've already written about his fall collection, but I can't say enough good things about his work. I wanted that grey tiger intarsia sweater from the spring collection soooo much. His collections' color palettes usually consist of grey, black, and white, which I love. Yay dark colors! In any case, I am seriously lusting after his new collection for Uniqlo, and I really don't know what to do about it. WHY DON'T THEY HAVE UNIQLO IN SAN FRANCISCO?!

Rogan for Target

Ah, yes. Target's Go International line. The line I always eagerly await since the designers they collaborate with are generally pretty cool, until I see the clothes in store and go "oh...hm...this isn't that great." There are a few exceptions, and I have acquired quite a few pieces from the Go line. But something about the pieces never really makes me excited. I see the photos and they usually look pretty good, but in person it hardly ever lives up to my expectations. So with the release of the Rogan for Target line, I'm a little wary. The pictures look a little iffy (I don't think I'm going to be wearing zebra print minis anytime soon, that's more down my mom's line of dressing...seriously), but some of the simple t's and things look like they could be ok. Come May 15 I'll be there to check it out, but I'm a little suspicious.
P.S. Those shoes are so hideous. I'm trying to avert my eyes.

Comme on!

When I heard about H&M's newest designer collaboration with Rei Kawakubo for Comme des Garcons, my first reaction was to be really, really excited. I didn't buy anything from any of H&M's previous collaborations, mostly because I'm a lazy bum and didn't want to face the frenzy (and also because Roberto Cavalli's collection looked like the cheapest, tackiest thing ever...sorry). I haven't seen what the collection looks like, but I'm looking forward to it. Comme des Garcons isn't a label I get to see very often, and can't really afford much of, but I love Kawakubo because she constantly pushes boundaries and challenges the way we look at clothes. Also, Comme isn't a label that a lot of people know, so opening day might not be as insane (although now that I think about it, Stella, Viktor & Rolf, and even Karl Lagerfeld weren't really household names and they drew huge crowds). In any case, I'm excited to see what she can do with this collection. I hope she doesn't sacrifice innovation or design quality to appeal to the masses (*ahem* Target *ahem*). At this point I'm still optimistic about the whole thing. Hopefully I won't be let down.
(photo from style.com)

Check Your Facts

From style.com's blog: Karen Millen was welcomed to the U.S. market with open arms last night at the launch party for its Soho shop. Though the U.K.-based brand has stores in 30 countries, the Prince Street location marks the company's stateside debut.

Funny, because there's been a Karen Millen in the Westfield Mall in downtown San Francisco for at least a couple years. Looks like NYC doesn't get everything first.