My Kind of Parrot Heads
"Where have you been???" they scream at me when they see I have returned to post another rousing and inspiring bout of dither. I'm sure. I'm sure that's what you're screaming. And you have good reason... because while starting law school in the last two months I have come across something far more important than contract law or criminal statutes: East West Musical Instruments Co.
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| This is a "parrot head" jacket-- the most revered classic model from the brand. Do you see the parrot heads? Genius. Forgot Da Vinci, this is art. |
If you've heard of them you are either older than I, really cool, or both. East West was the makers of fine handcrafted leather-wears during the golden age of rock & roll. Their supple and tawny jackets, full of whimsy and bad-ass, were beloved by people like Hendrix, Jim Morrison, and the members of a band I am marginally fond of (obsessed with), Led Zeppelin. If these jackets are good enough for these gods, then they are good enough to substantiate my new purpose in life: to find and own one.
Easier said than done, for to achieve this mighty object I must either have a lot of money (at least $1,000 for a common model), or I must wait like the thrifting spider I am for one of these gems to fall into my ever spinning web of secondhand shopping. I must by necessity choose the latter route, though it will probably happen that I find the money sooner than a tossed-away vintage number I can afford at a flea market in Ukiah.
Why are they so pricey? They don't make them anymore. They'd kaput. Finito. Like all good things, East West Musical Instruments has gone the way of the dodo and the White Stripes... into the foggy mystery of things now extinct and generally difficult to find. This is why I have a new goal. I will find an East West jacket. Hopefully it will fit. If not, I will frame it and mount it above the hearth I am also looking for at every charity shop I pass. If you don't have hand-tooled leather steeped in rock legend in your life, what do you have, really?
Passports of the Rich and Famous
I found these online, I do not remember the site, but aren't they quite one?
Et Plus
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| I hope this is what we get to wear in the afterlife. |
I finally saw Dangerous Liaisons last night. John Malkovich may always be John Malkovich, but he can also be an abhorrent creeper. Glen Close is (intelligent) perfection.
And now for something completely different. More photographs of my adventures.
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| View North from the point at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. |
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| The waterfall and cove south from the point. That's real. I know. |
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| Moi at Nepenthe Restaurant in Big Sur. The Ambrosia Burger is aptly named and the view (not shown) might be the finest in the world... where else can you enjoy excellent food with 180 degree+ views of rugged coastline hundreds of feet straight down beneath you for as far as you can see? |
Belle Du Jour
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| I just think this is an amazing photo, k? |
The 27-year-old actress Olivia Wilde, whose ex-father-in-law was the supposed inspiration for Fellini's La Dolce Vita. With two movies coming out this month, Cowboys and Aliens, and as if Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford are not enough, The Switch-Up (forget Ryan Reynolds, but who doesn't adore Jason Bateman?), hers seems a dolce vita, indeed.
Big Sur, Yes Sir
1. The end of Arrested Development should be listed on the roster of the last decade's catastrophes.
2. Babydoll dresses should be reserved for one or the other, and never another.
3. Bardot-ian eyeliner is actual magic.
4. How long does it take someone on average to write an average length novel?
5. Below are some pictures from my recent sojourn to Big Sur.
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| High above the 1 coming over the mountains from Mission San Antonio de Padua. |
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| Morning americano at a gallery hundreds of feet above the Pacific. |
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| Pondering Pfeiffer State Park. |
Tom Ford...
On his current state of mind:
I feel that I don’t need anything for a good life. I grew up in New Mexico and the older I get I have less need for contemporary culture and big cities and all the stuff we are bombarded with. I am happier at my ranch in the middle of nowhere watching a bug carry leaves across the grass, listening to silence, riding my horse, and being in open space. So I have some sort of security that if I lost everything in my life, I would be very happy with the simple things because they are the ones that are important.
On living the glamorous Hollywood life:
I did have a tough time dealing with it and I have learned how to separate it. It is a performance; it is me playing a role. I am not saying that there are no aspects of it that I enjoy; I love beautiful women, beautiful dresses, and beautiful flowers. But all those things have to stay in perspective. There is nothing wrong with loving the fact that we are physical beings but you have got to keep them in perspective. It is just a diversion. It’s one of the nice things in life, like eating a great steak or kissing a good kisser – well, kissing a good kisser is maybe more valuable than all the other stuff – but these are things you have to leave behind when you leave the planet. When I am on my deathbed, I don’t think I will be thinking about a nice pair of shoes I had or my beautiful house. I am going to be thinking about an evening I spent with somebody when I was twenty where I felt that I was just absolutely connected to them.
-- from a recent article.
Comme Des Garcons
A friend of mine recently challenged me to take my fashion cues this coming season from the men's collections, and the idea stuck. I love androgyny in fashion and toying with gender norms, even though I do not really do it on purpose-- maybe it's because I'm tall, but I really like tailored menswear looks, which I feel are immediately feminized the appropriate amount if my hair is down. Voila. Or, actually, just if I'm wearing them, because whatever some of my friends may say, I don't think I look like a man. Usually.
Second disclaimer: I don't really do "trends," at least not on purpose. It happens by osmosis, but classic and cool always win, and can always be fun. Whatever you want. Whatever. BUT I got far too elated looking at just the first few Spring menswear collections, even just going down the list on gq.com in alphabetical order. I haven't made it past "B," in Paris, let alone to Milan or the Fall 2012 collections. Oh dear, another time suck. Here's my favorites so far:
The above three are all Acne-- Love them, from the relaxed silhouette to the colours. However, I actually where things almost identical to these often (definitely been into white shorts and red sweater for about 18 months), so I feel like it is almost cheating to put these up...
The rest are Balenciaga (I am gaga for Balenciaga, any time, any place, any decade, Ghesquiere or the OG).
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| Love the colours, the soft and luxe structuring. Clean and modern refinement. |
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| A little Star Trek, maybe-- but I prefer this color blocking over anything I've seen so far in womenswear this year. |
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| Chunky-looking knits with tailored suiting?! What?! Just yes. |
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| I am a sucker for a few things, including: peacoats, red pants, skinny red pants, and fitted peacoats. |
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| Virginia Mouzat, style editor of Le Figaro-- A quintessential Parisienne makes menswear styling tres chic and plus feminin. J'adore. |
Mon Chien
I have a new addition to my life. Her name is Eclair, well, Petite Eclair, and she is a maltipoo. She likes good food, spending time with friends, and long walks on the lawn.
The portrait is by Jean-Frederic Schall. I would like to do this, granted my dog's face does not look like a demon... and my hair doesn't hold a tease that well.
Rock & Droll
Getting cameras in working order for upcoming adventures! So I gathered these photos from a trip I took a couple months ago to San Diego to see The Kills-- magical. So magical, in fact, I am seeing Mr. Hince and Ms. Mosshart again in the fall. Who would guess that two people with mostly pre-recorded electro-beats could rock harder than most anyone else? Magic
Rock ready in Del Mar.
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| Tile art in Del Mar. |
"Trekking" Crystal Cove the next day-- Beignets at the Beachcomber.
Balmainstay
If the idea underpinning fashion's Resort collections is that they are clothes one wears on vacation, then I have found one vacation I'd like to take. And make permanent. If the so-called "Balmainia" of recent years has subsided as they say, it never did for me. Balmain's recent collections have been luxe rock & roll, and is there much better than that? Let's go with "not really." It looks like Christophe Decarnin's successor Olivier Rousteing is not going to jump ship on the house's prevailing themes, which is top news for me, because if I can ever afford a $400 t-shirt, I know where I shall go directly to obtain one.
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