Latest Inspiration : APIECE APART

OK, when I saw this photo on Pinterest, I knew I was on to something; or at least I wish I were. And boy, was I right!

This New York label is spot on my newfound minimalist/classic casual/timeless wardrobe crave as of late. I mean...clothes with traveling in mind - who wouldn't want that??

Loose clean lines, clothes that look like lab coats, unbleached linen (and other stuff that would remind someone of sack cloth) , splashes of monochromes (salmon anyone??) AND one of the most dynamic studio look books I've seen lately.

It may be a New York thing, as all things new and curated vintage I've been swooning over lately seem to be based there. Hmm...maybe it's time for a move? Or just bringing some of that spirit back to old classy France.

Here's how the designers describe the label and I have to admit I'm not even close to doing an equally decent job at it.

APIECE APART is a line of elevated basics – building block pieces that are as versatile as the woman wearing them. The label is brought to life through clean lines, chic, simple shapes, impeccable tailoring and beautiful fabrics. It balances the simple with the sophisticated. The classic with the modern. APIECE APART was born during a trip to West Texas for the designers’ 30th birthdays. 

Inspired by the austere and beautiful landscape, Starr Hout and Laura Cramer conceived of a simplified wardrobe, one that could be packed into a single bag - simple items that could be mixed and matched to go anywhere and do anything. 

APIECE APART’s SS13 collection creates a space where Scandinavia and Japan meet. The collection mixes Danish modernism with the imperfect, raw edges of Wabi Sabi.  The cool and modern combine with the warm and natural. Modern silhouettes are presented in natural fabrics and classic silhouettes are reimagined in forward fabrics. SS13 features Italian technicals, Spanish burlaps with crisp, clean cottons.

The line is currently produced in New York City and is designed by Laura Cramer and Starr Hout.

Monday Musings : film snapshots and a riding pant outfit, again

 

60s shirt : vintage

sebago boaters : thrifted

kids parka : thrifted

riding pants : american apparel

Well, here they are again : the infamous AA riding pant. This is probably my third outfit post wearing them ( see them here and here). I guess that says a lot, doesn't it?

I sure got my cost per wear down on these babies! Yeah, they make my thighs huge and my derrier even bigger than it already is, but i do love them to pieces.

Maybe because they're hands down the most comfortable pants in the world? They're like leggings but with more style and somewhat make me feel like a naked alien, which is always cool.

I wish I was getting paid to be writing this, but this is my sincere love letter to the pants I've been stalking on sale online for like a week last year, then tried a few pairs in store and since I managed to snatch another pair on sale (steel grey in XS).

But I kinda still love these better; maybe because I went a size up and the waist is abnormally high like I like it?

After one year of intense wear they do have a little pilling and a couple of snags, but they've been more than sturdy so far. Plus they're super light to pack, warm AND I managed to squeeze in a pair of thights under my tighter pair last winter!

I'm still fighting the bulkiness when tucking things in, but I'm completely sold and I would totally get another pair.

Of course I could never look as cool as Anais from everyone's fave The Time Is Grey, but I definitely feel good in them.

While still trying to fight the heat and keep my plants alive ( Kait, sorry for your babies!) , it's nice to look at these shots from last spring and winter (the snow ones are actually from March!) and try to conjure rain.

Home scenes, a rare friendly cat (who seems to like coke) and the inevitable sunset shots. I'm still mindblown about the colors those slides can bring out! Too bad developing them can be so pricey!

Anyone thinking autumn already? I still have a lot of summery things I'd like to do!

 

Film&Fashion Fridays: Frank Tashlin's The Girl Can't Help It

It may be because I live in a place like France (where Jerry lewis is sincerily considered a genious) that I learned to love Frank Tashlin's movies. And what a delight they are!

Of course they could be considered trashy, campy and maybe a little ridiculous, but in the end isn't that what makes them so great?

The Girl Can't Help It is no exception; while his collaborations with Jerry Lewis are among the most memorable, this film is certainly exceptional - not only does it have the most surreal colors (and all this while not being in IB Technicolor, which is sincerely minblowing) and the best rock and roll groups but it also features the ultimate bombshell with a simply unreal figure Jane Manesfield.

The story is pretty simple - mob boss hires washed out music producer to make his untalented hot dame into a star. Then we have a series of the best night club scenes, the ones that only exist in the movies with incredibly chic decor and those divine sparkly blue curtains, featuring rising rock and rollers like Little Richard, Gene Vincent and The Chuckles, crazy plot twists, broad 50s humor and of course probably the best line in the history of cinema - Ask my agent!.

No matter your reasons, it's just one of those things you HAVE TO see. Be it for the music, the boobs, the gowns, the suits or simply the colors, it's definitely an incredibly entertaining classic.

The costumes in Tashlin films are always amazing, but this one is particularly special as they had Charles Le Maire, famed costumer who use to work in vaudeville and is also responsible for other 50s classics such as The Seven Year Itch or An Affair to Remember. They also collaborated in another Mansfield showbiz picture,  Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?

The DVD that I found also has an extra commentary by John Waters which is insightful and delicious as always (man I love hearing that man talk!) and the colors are as insane as can be. Of course I would LOVE to see a nice print of it, but I don't know when that's gonna happen. You can find the DVD here.

Antique Paris Postcards and more pretty parcels (and breaking into your own apartment)

This heat is really making me brain dead...it's too hot to stay in, too hot to go out and pretty much too hot to do anything. At least the laundry dries up fast - ha!

Speaking of laundry, yesterday we went down with a few bags and of course one of us forgot the keys and by the time the other asked about getting the keys, the door just slammed behind us. And you know what that means? We were locked out in full blast afternoon heat with two huge laundry bags.

After various attempts to break into the apartment, we finally caved in and called the cheaper locksmith for help. We basically paid this guy 60 bucks ( euros! that's like 80$) to open our door with an X-ray.

Now I don't know which is worst - the part about the money or the sudden realization that it's SO easy to break into our place and we absolutely MUST lock the door at all times.

So there you have it. I'll start wearing my keys around my neck from now on, just like when we were kids.

Aside from this (probably) heat-generated anecdote, I've been meaning to photograph the parcels I've been sending from the shop out lately for a long time. I try to recycle as much as possible, so when I'm using old envelopes , instead of pasting tons of paper to cover the old address on the front, I simply wrap the whole thing in a Paris metro map and just paste the new address on top of that.

Looks pretty neat, huh? The ladies from the good post office (the one 4 metro stops away) have been complimenting them a lot.

In the end I think it's cool to get something colorful in the mail.

Of course, I kept the same ribbon+lavender+plain paper wrap for the inside, only now I upped my game a little and finally bought some washi tape and that, my friends, pretty much makes all the difference.

I also invested in a bunch of antique and vintage postcards last time I went to Puces de Clignancourt to send out as thank you notes; they're all from Paris, some are blank, some have the prettiest hand writing and a lot are colorized/hand tinted. A lot of stuff from the '10s and earlier, and what I assume to be re-prints of older stuff.

Pretty much all very old and very cool.

On top of that, for the added cinephile bonus, I've been going to the movies more lately and collecting those cool little poster programs they put out every time they they have a re-release. All those little repertoire cinemas around St. Michel and La Sorbonne (think Le Champo, La Filmotheque, Grand Action, Le Desperado and Action Christine ) who all play classic movies in the original language, either on film or borderline decent DCPs, put out cool A4-sized glossy posters, with little essays about the film on the back.

I always take a few and use them for decorating; my friends from home like getting some as well.

And lately I started sending them out with the orders well; I don't know how much people really appreciate that, but I would love getting local oddities when ordering from Etsy. Maybe I'm too much of a fetishist after all...

Either way, at the moment I have a lot of Jerry Lewis ones ( you how the French love Jerry Lewis), an older Rebel Without a Cause, An American in Paris, La Dolce Vita, Seven Samurai and other cool stuff. Of course, if you would like a specific poster with your order just let me know.

What do you guys like getting in your parcels? Do you have any more cool packaging ideas?