from “The Witch’s Christmas” by the wonderful Norman Bridwell.

Why men and women button on opposite sides:

“Two theories have currency: One is that men of a different era had to be prepared to retrieve a sword or pistol from inside their clothing at a moment’s notice. A left-side-over-right-side orientation allowed the easiest access for the right-handed.
Another theory is that “proper” ladies were once dressed by their maids; a right-side-over-left side buttoning best accommodated a right-handed maid. ”

- 101 Things I learned in Fashion School by Alfredo Cabrera with Matthew Frederick

AHA!

“Geeky Dragon” series by MATTIAS ADOLFSSON.

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Adolfsson is a freelance illustrator living in Sweden. How adorable would these be framed?

Tomorrow is Wag-O-Ween! Ollie will be getting all dressed up and we’ll head downtown to visit all the shops that give out free treats!

Ollie has been a skeleton for the past 2 years, but this year he has gotten too big, thus this shark costume:

I added “evil eyebrows” and some bloody teef. He seems to not hate it too much.. although these pictures seem to suggest otherwise.

Stumbled on these animated GIFS aka menswear photoshoot by Pamela Reed and Matthew Rader, with clothes by Petrou!

via Dazed Digital

I really loved the colors and patterns introduced by Richard Chai in his Spring 2011 collection. He cites military, grunge, and California surfers as inspiration for the collection, which can be seen in the olive green tones and his signature layering of garments.

What bothered me about the collection was pairing his thoughtful fashion with a classically heinous fashion combination: the sock and sandal.

Living in Savannah, I see the sock/sandal combination all too regularly on the feet of middle aged men trudging down the cobblestones looking for Paula Deen’s fried chicken. I may think they look ridiculous, but it has become commonplace, almost even acceptable to see such offensive footwear combinations. Likewise, it has become the norm to see white tennis shoes paired with dark slacks on a woman rolling down the street on her Segway tour. However, if that ever becomes a trend in New York Fashion Week, I may just cut off my feet altogether.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending an informal lecture by Scott Schuman, “The Sartorialist” and the chic, funny, talented, AND wonderful, Garance Dore.

While much of the attention was for Mr. Schuman, Garance happily perched beside him on an uncomfortable stool, smiling and chirping in to answer questions in her lovely french accent. She spoke of her early frustration when her fashion illustrations were not being taken seriously, and how that led to a creative outlet through her blog. I have long made her blog a regular read. I love how she really tries to engage her readers through questions and little stories. Here are some of her wonderful illustrations:

One concept that Garance and Scott both agreed were very important to an emerging artist is the idea of editing yourself. They said that it is important to take a step back and really look at the work, which to me reinforced the idea of quality over quantity– something my professor has been drilling into my head this past week. Overall, I was so happy to have skipped a mandatory work meeting in order to sit front row and become mesmerized by the world of Scott Schuman and Garance Dore!

Who need coffee when you have Crappy Taxidermy to wake up to?

I love Vampira.

I was looking for some photos of her that I had not yet when I stumbled upon this blog, Retroatelier. Unfortunately, most of the blog is in Russian, but I am pretty sure in my assumptions that it is a very talented photographer and post production-er that recreated convincing photographs of a Vampira look-a-like:

The rest of the blog is stunning.. If I had not known that they were modern photographs, some of them would really fool me. The photographer takes a lot of time to recreate perfect backdrops, appropriate costuming/makeup, and even get beautiful period cars for his shoots. More examples:

Many more images and an English manifesto can be found at his website.

Just trying this out..

Follow my blog with bloglovin

Dear Mom,
Just wanted to Say hi. And I am soo glad that you called to ask how me and chris were doing. We are doing so good here. How are things down their? Thanks for checking my Blog for grammer errors. And spelling errors, to. I no that you just want me to practise correct english. But, sometimes It get’s annoying! Hear is a little something i thought you might like.

During my first few days attempting the South Beach diet, I’ve already had to make several omelets for breakfast… only to realize that I am no good at making omelettes. I keep making them too thin and they turn into a scrambled mess! After another debacle today, I decided to look up what the master had to say about cooking the perfect omelette.

It is pretty much a well known fact that Anthropologie is the most beautiful and inspiring non-boutique store right now. It is impossible to step into a store and NOT want to jump into a beautiful night gown, light a capri blue candle, and just move into the elaborately decorated house scenes.  It always makes you wonder, “Where do they FIND these things???” Well.. now you can see the man behind the gorgeous installations, Keith Johnson, on his show “Man Shops Globe”

Keith Johnson has the best job in the world. He gets to fly around the world looking for new crafts and designs, etc. to feature in Anthropologie. That is his job. Yup.Each episode features Keith in a different country on another “mission”. The first episode I watched was filmed in Sydney, Australia and showcased many amazing artists. One woman made handmade porcelain bowls that were cast from her pregnant belly. Another artist created ornate rococo inspired picture frames, chandeliers, and tables entirely out of cardboard. Here is a clip from another episode that was filmed in Cyprus. Keith and his accomplice for the episode visit a gallery in which ancient looking women were weaving baskets by hand. One woman is so happy by their enthusiasm that she breaks into dance.. watch the whole clip!

Man Shops Globe airs on the Sundance Channel.

Bringing the “crazy cat lady” to a whole new level:

Photos by Miles Aldridge for Vogue Italia

I finally got my chance to venture into “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter”. I have no problem admitting that I am a big Harry Potter fan. The books became popular when I was 9 or 10, and I really grew up with the books being a constant in my literary life. I attended the park with my friend Janna, with whom I have attended almost every midnight screening of the film and midnight release party of the book. She lives in Orlando, and I knew that if I didn’t go with her soon, she would have gone without me and that just would not be okay! Janna wore “silver” and green to show her love for Slytherin, while I went a little more neutral in black in white, thinking I represented good and evil, Harry and Voldemort. Apparently, not everyone thought that deeply into my shirt, and as one “Hogwarts Student” put it, I “looked like I had just escaped from Azkaban”. Oh ha, hah.

Here we are, waiting in a 30 minute line, already in the park, to get into Harry Potter Land.

First Glimpses of Hogwarts.

Enjoying my Butterbeer.. tasty and definitely a must try, however, pretty sweet and probably not the best choice for a sweltering summer day.

Enjoying a real beer and Fish & Chips at the Three Broomsticks and Hog’s Head pub. The Fish & Chips were pretty good, however the tarter sauce was kind of a joke.. super runny and thin.

Ahh, the sun setting with Hogwarts in the distance.

Quite a successful trip. The rides were amazing, the scenery was believable. It was a pretty surreal experience. I have a few qualms about some of the details left out, but also have a lot of praise for some of the details that DID make it. I think my favorite little detail was that the character of Moaning Myrtle, who haunts the girls lavatory in the books, made  it into the real ladies’ room at the park. A very nice touch.

Tomorrow I have to present 3 different mood boards for my Apparel 3 class. Out of the 3, 2 will form the direction that I will be going in for my final 2 projects in the class. The concepts I’ve been thinking about aren’t exactly original, but they are things that I have never personally explored. I probably will come up with a few more before tomorrow, but for now I’m looking at inspiration based off of mummies, stripes, and eccentricity.

Great summer song

We are so excited for our updated look on this here website and blog!
Chris of EliteSouth Web Design really got a sense of our website needs and what was needed on the website and then ran with it! Thanks again, Chris!

Some of my older blog posts were deleted in the process.. but I’m glad to have a fresh start. Hoping to gain some new followers, too, so spread the word!

Thanks for checking us out.
Love,
Jessica
Ox & Oak

And speaking of couture… Jean Paul Gaultier was just stunning.

I would seriously consider spending $100k on any of those pieces.

This is “Jersey Shore” castmember JWOWW:

This is Dior Haute Couture:

Apparently, JWOWW + Couture = “Filthy Couture”: a new line of raunchy cocktail dresses and beyond risque bikini’s making up the reality star’s debut as she ventures into the fashion world.

The merging of the two words “filthy” and “couture” quite possible have become the best oxymoron since “accordion music.” I would have believed this to be intentional , except that I can’t believe JWOWW can even spell “oxymoron”, let alone come up with one as a brand name for her “fashion”. Regardless; to call this crap filthy is quite fitting for the garments, the designer, and most likely the intended buyer. To call these fabric scraps posing as dresses “couture” is as dumb and unbelievable as JWOWW’s orange tan.

Take this bikini:

The description from filthycouture.com reads:
Look out boys! This sultry yellow bikini with purple lace trim will make it impossible for you to go unnoticed at the beach. A small purple bow with a center rose and a scrunch back bottom completes this flirty look, ready to make a splash

Can you imagine that description as part of a haute couture review on style.com? What would an interview backstage with the newest couturier be like?
INTERVIEWER: Yes, Ms. JWOWW, what would you say was your inspiration behind this collection?
“COUTURIER JWOWW”: Well, you know, i looove to PARTYYY (woooooo!) So I just thought of tha colors of shots I like to take when I PARTYYY and they became the dresses. You know, like tha red dress was inspired by my favorite shot, the red headed slut, while this blue dress here is inspired by the blueberry breeze.
INTERVIEWER: And what about that orange dress over there?
“COUTURIER JWOWW”: Aw, well that one’s actually inspired by my best gal Snookie.

CLASSY.