Wednesday, July 29, 2009

McMenamy's Vorticist Malfunction


Fashion Gone Rogue has alerted us to the July issue of Vogue Italia which contains a feature on Kristen McMenamy. For one photo Steven Meisel shovs her into some houndstooth potato sacks, anti-radiation gloves, and Leigh Bowery hand-me-down boots. She looks like a vorticist's wet dream.

Houndstooth Auditions


A still from Fabulon, a.k.a. heaven's archives. Dietrich is looking sympathetically at the fashion impaired in their duotone bleakness, and bleeding inside. Streisand is concentrating on balancing a goldfish bowl under her hat while trying not to fart. And the remainder are waiting to audition for the part of "MOST SERIOUS WOMAN #1".

Houndstooth Deconstruction Tees


Trust Young Lovers to come up with a an all too clever riff on houndstooth. I like this vampire teeth versus houndstooth but everybody has been riffing on houndstooth for some time now (including hatebrand) and it is becoming clichéd and tedious.

A Pig t-shirt over at the Skate Warehouse.


A Burton logo over at Tactics.

Stan Peach tie Tee.


Distilled's houndstooth Spirotee.


And of course the houndstooth queen Gwen Stefani has to have her say with this fading houndstooth LAMB Tee.


And on... and on... and on...

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Betsey Johnson Skulls

From Betsey Johnson's 2009 Fall RTW. We've seen this skull textile in previous Betsey Johnson collections but I love it so!

I must be in a positive mood. That's two back-to-back posts of me actually liking things! Something must be wrong with me! More BJ skulls below. Maybe I'll do Westwood skulls next week. And then Tarina Tarantino skulls the week after that!!

Friday, July 24, 2009

Talbot Runhof Gets Houndstooth Right

Munich's Talbot and Runhof nailed houndstooth in their Fall 2009 RTW collection. Enough liquid distortion to nullify the obnoxious math of the houndstooth pattern. It's like stretched fishnet without any sense of vulgarity. And the typically harsh white and black monochrome is softened with what looks like cream or tan. Dreamy.



Go to ELLE to see the rest of the collection.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Saks Sucking in Vanity Fair

Groooooaaaaan. Found this ad in Vanity Fair this month. How embarrassing! From the plain and grumpy diva in the Dr. Strange cloak to her ridiculous consorts in their dollar store Venetian carnival masks. Flatter lighting than Lagerfeld's worst photo-books. Saks' desperate attempt to soften McQueen's edgy talents thoroughly undermines them and makes these outfits look like discarded costumes from some Von Sternberg B-roll.

Forever Freaks


Forever 21's latest collection on fabsugar.com. Houndstooth still in forefront. Hurl.

"Forever 21 is bringing a new twist to fast fashion with its exclusive Twist Collection. Starting Wednesday, July 29, you'll be introduced to a whole new whimsical, circus-inspired world of sassy frocks, tulle skirts, cropped jackets, and fancy tees. Lighthearted prints include oversized polka dots, houndstooth, stripes, and checkers, while silhouettes are entirely poufy."

They should have looked to Tod Browning for their circus themed inspiration.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Tundra Fashion


JD and I were stumbling home from Chill Winston when we ran into Steve who hails from somewhere in the Northwest Territories. He picked up this houndstooth igloo t-shirt up there. He was a class act and I actually have to admit liking the shirt... despite the houndstooth pattern. It is just such an unusual design that it works for me. Fashion on the tundra. Not the run-of-the-mill houndstooth deconstruction you see everywhere. But it does worry me that houndstooth has travelled that far north. Means even the cold winters won't stop the spread of this virus. We are doomed.


Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Lady Gaga as the Surinam Toad


Lady Gaga on German television. Only she would have the balls to look to the Surinam Toad for fashion inspiration. I still think she's a dreamboat though.


From the Honolulu Zoo website:

"With her back near the water surface, the female deposits 60 to 100 eggs. They are fertilized by the male and distributed over the back of the female. Eggs adhere and sink into the sponge-like dorsal skin. Within 24 hours, the female's back begins to swell around the eggs. By 10 days, each egg will be embedded in a chamber, producing a "honeycomb" on female's back. They remain on her back until fully metamorphosed (12 to 20 weeks), then push out through the membranes covering the pockets."

Houndstooth From Scratch


FauxBrains.com has a tutorial on creating your own photoshop tiles for the houndstooth pattern. These alchemical secrets should be inscribed on stone tablets and buried in an impenetrable vault below the caspian seafloor never to be revealed to the human race. The knowledge is just too dangerous. End houndstooth for good! Long live paisley!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Invasion of the Straw Fedora

"There's no way of escaping the revival of the Panama hat" - a dire warning from Bill Cunningham's "On the Street" in the New York Times.


Laura, Michelle, and Megan straw hatted on stylecaster.com.

I'm always suspicious of trends so popular street vendors are hawking them for $20 bucks and they bob up-and-down on the dense rivers of people flooding downtown sidewalks like detritus from a lumber mill. There are people who wear and have always worn these hats as part of their general personality and it fits their attire and their character seamlessly. And then there is the cheap accessory thrown thoughtlessly on top of the head, snatched up to conform to the trend. These people look like they picked up the hat at a child's birthday party and forgot to take it off when they left. Straw burns. If I haven't convinced you... maybe Adrien Brody will:

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Juicy Couture's Bacon Bag


The Juicy Couture Narda Houndstooth Bag. Tethered strips of brown bacon that form crude houndstooth silhouettes evoking the sepulchral craftwork and dead skin masks of serial killer Ed Gein. I admit there is a striking and admirable ingenuity to this bag and its carefully controlled colour palette of compressed jerky dog treats and stale excrement, but I think we can find you something better for carrying your tampons and cocaine. The Purse Blog also shows a more springy version in weathered bone and corpse pallor shades.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Leighton Meester - Dracula Popsicle


Leighton Meester deconstructing houndstooth at the premiere for 500 DAYS OF SUMMER. I remember my favourite summer treat when I was little child was this gooey vampire popsicle that you could buy from the ice-cream man. It was blood red and dark purple. Leighton reminds me of this. But she needs yellow bubble gum eyeballs and the colors of her dress need to drip down her popsicle stick legs after two minutes of sunshine. Mmm... craving one right now.

Friday, July 10, 2009

70's Houndstooth Suave


glen.h plucked this image from way back in 1974 and uploaded it on his Flicker 70's photostream. They've walked among us for decades!!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

King Willy's Hippie Headband


King Willy begs to differ with my hippie headband conclusions. To each his own I guess. But being a cat he thoroughly recognizes the evil inherent in the 'houndstooth' pattern.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Mixmag Houndstooth Bikini


Houndstooth is kinda like an Ibiza club mix woven into your bikini. Just an inane...

BOOM CHAK BOOM CHAK BOOM CHAK BOOM CHAK BOOM CHAK BOOM CHAK BOOM CHAK BOOM CHAK BOOM CHAK BOOM CHAK BOOM CHAK BOOM CHAK BOOM CHAK BOOM CHAK BOOM CHAK BOOM CHAK BOOM CHAK BOOM CHAK BOOM CHAK BOOM CHAK!!!

Friday, July 3, 2009

The Hippie Headband


Stylelist.com has a disturbing slide show of headband photos featuring one with Lagerfeld and Lohan. I think it was at this point that Lagerfeld denied Lohan the Chanel model contract.

This headband revival has been going on for some time and I'm still shaken-up by the disastrous attempts at wearing them that I see going on this summer. 74% of Omiru's readers accept the headband and say they would wear them. I just don't think it is a good idea. There is a such a fine line with headbands. It is like wearing a stick of dynamite on your head. Think about it...
A hippie headband has got to be subtle. It has got to be honest. They betray a certain personality type and if you aren't of that personality and character they clash and look like costume jewellery. Your entire wardrobe has to integrate seamlessly with the item because it is so flagrantly and undeniably wrapped around your face. It is a crude anachronism better reserved for Halloween or Grateful Dead reunions. When they look too new they are gimmicks. If they sport a designer logo they are gimmicks.

I have only ever come across one single girl who has executed the wearing of the headband with enough precision and expertise for it to be almost transcendentaly part of her being. I was seeking a sandwich on commercial drive and decided to drop in at my favourite sandwich spot. As I walked up to the counter a blonde counter girl approached me. She was wearing a thin, brown leather headband and asked me what I wanted on my sandwich. Normally at this point I would have asked to be served by someone else because of the headband but she had such an aura of confidence and tranquility about her that so perfectly matched the skull wrap. She recommended the Mexican salami cured in tequila. I accepted. And I'll never forget that day. The day I actually realized that in some strict circumstances the headband could be an acceptable fashion item. Still to this day I wonder about what exactly made the headband appropriate to her personality. It could have been the sandwich. It was a good sandwich. But I think it was something more. Something deeper.

Example: See how Yukio Mishima's Hajimaki matches his samurai physique and his stern and confident stance. See how his Seki no Magoroku blade and white fundoshi are natural compliments to the headband. It works. And you get the sense that he's been wearing these items throughout his life. His outfit is a natural extension of his inner character and he would not be out of place wearing these shopping on Robson or pounding them back to the beats at Fabric.