Films for Fashionistas -- C 'est Un Rêve!

Here's my latest fashionista film discovery:


Yves Saint Laurent - His Life and Times/5 Avenue Marceau 75116 Paris

This DVD contains two documentaries by the same director. The first is a fairly traditional sit-down-with-a-camera-and-interview-the-subject-and-those-close-to-him sort of summation of, well, his life & times. There are interviews with Saint Laurent himself, his business & personal partner of many, many years, Pierre Bergé, muses like Betty Catroux & Loulou de la Falaise, and other people who worked with Saint Laurent during his 50 years in fashion. The interviews are intercut with wonderful footage from past fashion shows, odd old black & white television advertisements, clips from interviews with Saint Laurent when he was a young, young man, and other fun historical nuggets. Saint Laurent talks -- quelle surprise! -- about his mother and in this film we actually get to meet Maman. (And she is lovely.)

It's a short film (the two together run less than 90 minutes) and far from a comprehensive study of Saint Laurent's influence and influences, but it's well worth watching. It's a little stunning to realize just how incredibly young he was when he took over Dior (barely 22).

It's also fairly apparent that M. Saint Laurent suffered from a mood disorder, undergoing bouts of depression that his friends speak of in guarded and elliptical terms. His struggles with substance abuse in the 70's and 80's have been well-documented, and he was hospitalized for "stress" and "exhaustion" and the like repeatedly over the course of his life. By the time this film was made (in 2001) he is obviously ill and at times seems terribly frail. There are many poignant moments in the film when he talks about his (happy) childhood and both the joy and sadness that his life in fashion have brought him. Saint Laurent seems all-too-terribly human in this film -- not a fortress of ego like Karl Lagerfeld or a marketing machine like Marc Jacobs, but an artist at times bewildered by his own talent and often hostage to his own demons and black dogs.

The second part of this DVD is the fashion documentary I've been searching for. Ten minutes in, I hit the pause button on my remote, marched over to my computer, and ordered the DVD from Amazon. I needed to own it. If you are a fiend for the actual design and construction of clothing, this is your movie. The process being observed is the run-up to one of Saint Laurent's final Haute Couture shows (one of the reasons YSL is so important to fashion history is that he is usually credited with being the first haute couture designer who opened a full-fledged ready-to-wear business, but he continued to design haute couture until 2002) and if you're a construction ho like me, it is absolutely enthralling. I watched this film like a 13-year old boy watches his first dirty movie -- on the edge of my seat, mouth agape, wineglass forgotten on the coffee table in front of me. This is hard-core fashion porn. Designs are followed from sketch to toile to final fabric choices, with models parading before Saint Laurent and Loulou de la Falaise (who wears a seemingly endless series of perfectly-fitting trousers and blouses with big statement-y pieces of jewelry tossed on in just the perfect way -- oh, I want to be her when I grow up!) and Anne-Marie Munoz, who worked with Saint Laurent from his early days at Dior. Bless director David Teboul's heart, he just plunks the camera down on a tripod and lets it roll, showing us long, uninterrupted, unedited takes of staring, judging, tweaking, and discussing the designs. You get a real feel for how painstaking and stop-and-go the process is as Saint Laurent and his sidekicks chat about the placement of a pleat or the shape of a collar. But it's not just talk. Teboul also goes into the workrooms and films the garments actually being made. We get to see the hands and hear the voices of the tailors and seamstresses who construct these beautiful garments. Saint Laurent , at least in this film, is a kind and respectful boss who beams at the employees who bring his designs to life and thanks them profusely. The appreciation seems reciprocated -- there is no disguising the pride of one of the head seamstresses as the gorgeous dress she has nursed into creation swings and sways and swoops across the salon in front of Saint Laurent, followed by a murmured string of his favorite compliments: "Ravissant! Ravissant! C'est un rêve!" It's by far the best representation I've seen yet of what goes on deep inside an atelier and made me want nothing more than to go and sit quietly on stool in the corner in that studio and just watch & learn. These men and women have already forgotten more about design, construction, ornament, fabric -- all the building blocks of fashion -- than I will ever learn in my lifetime. It's awe-inspiring, at least to me. Click here for a sample of what I'm talking about.

These films are definitely worth your time, especially if you're as big a fan of Yves Saint Laurent as I am, or if you appreciate the skill and time that goes into creating a truly artful piece of clothing. This DVD, especially the "Avenue Marceau" segment, is going to be one of my rainy-day movies -- you know, the ones you pop into the player when it's gray & rainy & you've got nothing to do but stay home and snuggle into the couch and entertain yourself with your favorite dish of cinematic comfort food. Highly, highly recommended.


Images: Guardian.co.uk, elle.com

The Other End of the Island -- YSL Resort 2010

Not too long ago, a couple of friends of mine went to Honduras for a vacation. They stayed on one of the islands and had a wonderful time snorkeling and swimming and all the things a person does on a tropical vacation. About midway through their stay, they found themselves on a charter boat ride with a bunch of folks who were at a different resort, one on the opposite end of the island from where my friends where staying. Everyone was talking and laughing and having a good old time, but mid-way through the cruise, something started pinging my buddy's hinky meter and he began to get a smidgen uncomfortable. Not much later, after some well-placed and careful questioning, his suspicions were confirmed. His new friends weren't just from any ol' resort -- they were staying at a nudist resort that's evidently located there.

Happily, the situation didn't go worst-case-scenario on my friends. The naturists were respectful of the fact that this was not a nudist-organized activity and kept their suits on. But it's hilarious to hear my friend tell this story, describing that moment we've all had where it begins to dawn on us that the situation we've just found ourselves in is not... quite... what we expected. Which is kind of the moment I had looking at the YSL Resort 2010 collection. Because about, oh, two looks in I found myself thinking, "What the heck kind of "resort" is this, anyway?"

I don't think we're in Palm Springs anymore, Toto...

While it's obviously not a nudist resort (way too many layers for that!), it certainly doesn't strike one as the sort of lounge-around-the-pool-with- umbrella-drinks vibe that one often associates with the idea of "resort." Obviously Pilati is not thinking of this collection so much as the clothes you pack for your midwinter getaway as simply clothes for midwinter.

Or not. I don't know. Honestly, I don't know what's going on here. I do know it's awfully directional for a mid-season collection. I thought Fall 09 from YSL was actually more filled with classics and "basics" (as basic as you get from Pilati) than this one, although this is far from bereft of gorgeous, timeless pieces.

All three of these have that classically chic Parisian thing I love so much. I wish I could get a better look at the fabrics (Attention, Style.com! Fashionistas everywhere beg you to please put up detail shots from the mid-season collections!!) and the jewelry, which looks fantastic. Also, Style Spy thinks she very much loves those oxblood closed-toe ankle wrap shoes. Mmmmmm, yummy.

I'm nuts for this trench, with its great big shawl collar and the trumpet sleeves. And goodness knows I love a good slouchy trouser. There's not really any woman, no matter what size or shape, who can't look great in something like this.

This pant is a familiar shape from the last few seasons.

They're quite high-waisted and a bit boxy and obviously not for everyone.

He's also still on this zouave thing which I know most people still hate and I still like. I find this terribly chic, with all the flowy layers and the sheer fabrics.

Even if you don't go for that, you couldn't hate this:

Although you might be a little skeptical of those... leggings? Jodphurs? Pants? I don't know what those are, but I don't really think I like them. The fabulous orange trench, on the other hand? Yes, please.

Speaking of orange...

Love the slouch in the jacket. And, huh. Lace leggings. I keep thinking we've reached the apotheosis of leggings whenever I see some new type in things like metallics or leather or sequins or macramé, but the legging tide continues to roll in. I like them in theory -- I like that they're a pretty low-investment item that can be used to radically change up a look. Strangely, though, I haven't bought a single pair for myself, even though I've seen some that made me think, "Ooh, cute! I really could work those!" I think for me it may be more about the weather than the fashion aspect -- it was over 100º here today, and we're only midway through June. (I do wear a lot of tights in "winter.")

There was more color in this collection than last (which isn't saying a lot -- if memory serves it was entirely black), and they're quite beautiful.

Amethyst and jade -- lovely, and I so love the brown with them instead of black. I wish more women would think more of brown as their baseline neutral, instead of black. It's warmer, and with a lot of colors so much better.

More green, emerald this time. My one quibble with YSL is that Pilati does work mostly in neutrals, especially black. Of course, this makes sense in investment pieces that you want to last for many years, but Style Spy loves color. Style Spy also loves an Important Shoulder, and this is certainly that. The entire fashion world still seems to be in love with shoulders, which is just fine by me.

More shoulder interest of a different sort. Good googly-moogly, do I adore this dress. This has everything that I love about YSL and love in a dress, especially an evening dress -- it is so sexy without being revealing, or skin-tight, it looks like it would feel dreamy to wear, you don't have to do anything to it to make it look great (no styling or belting or foofing around required, just put it on), and it is, let's face it, just a wee bit weird. I like a wee bit weird. Omigosh, do I want to stand around in that with a glass of wine in my hand and discuss art or politics or the price of apartments on the Left Bank (C'est un scandale!) or something equally grown-up. Augh!! Killing me! Killing!! Me!!!

Here it is in the chiffon print shown earlier:

Seriously -- could you just die? I think this dress is part of YSL's Edition Soir line. This line features 25 or so evening looks that can either be bought off the rack or semi-custom ordered in a range of fabrics and colors. (They're calling this "demi-couture." Which is funny. Because a lot of companies have been doing that for years: "Here's a sweater we make and you can choose what color you want." Sound familiar? Yeah. It's called shopping. Does that mean that Eddie Bauer and the Gap count as demi-couture?) But of course this line can't have a show all to itself because it's not really a season, so I guess some of them crept into the Resort Collection presentation, and...

Oh, I dunno. I give up. I know all these many, many "collections" are making a lot of designers crazy (although they're good news for all those up & comers spilling out of design schools all over the world -- more seasons mean more opportunities for more design assistants). Some of it is due to demand from retailers who apparently don't believe that their customers can be relied upon not to grow so bored in the space of one season that they stop shopping (gasp!) and so must be tempted with more & more new goods all the time. Some of it is pressure from huge multi-headed corporations who own fashion lines and whose bottom lines demand that sales stay up up up and therefore new goods must be churned out incessantly. I don't know how much longer this can be sustained -- pretty soon it seems like the irresistible force of these snowballing fashion shows is going to come up against the immovable object that is a globally depressed economy wherein luxury spending has taken quite a hit in the last year. (However, there are people who seem to think this is only a temporary dip and that we'll soon be back to our spendthrift ways.) What I know is this: fashion bloggers the world over are probably facing an epidemic of carpal tunnel syndrome as we try to keep our readers abreast of the newest & latest.

But back to the topic at hand, YSL Resort 2010. Overall, I'm going to give this collection a grade of "C." The thing about Pilati is, even when he's not at his best, he's still better than most of what's out there; but I've never agreed with grading on a curve, and this is not his best. There's some really good stuff, but it lacks the greatness I've seen from him at other times.

What do you guys think? Let me hear it!


Photos: Style.com

A Model of Restraint

I spent the Memorial Day holiday in Dallas with some dear friends. It was a lovely three-day weekend spent in the company of three of my most beloved friends, so even if I hadn't done anything besides sit on my butt in their living room it would have been great, but it was filled with fun. Saturday, we had dinner at a lovely tapas bar, where I ate a tuna tartare dish that made me nearly cry. (Yummy seasoned tuna over a pear slaw with a hazlenut/anchovy/olive purée. Seriously. So. Damn. Good. And these particular friends happen to all be big ol' weenies cautious when it comes to raw seafood, so I got to eat ALL of it all by myself!!!)

Sunday I finally got to go here:



This is the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Tadao Ando and filled with some mighty fantastic stuff. This building is... words fail me. It is simply spectacular. Even if it didn't house some of the best art I've gotten to look at in quite a while (more about which at a later date), it's worth visiting just to experience the architecture. If you live within striking distance of Ft. Worth and you haven't been there, hie thee over and take a gander.

And then... there was some retailing. Because... well, because that's what I do. (You may notice you've yet to read about me going on vacation at a beach or an isolated mountain cabin or anyplace like that. Quelle surprise.)

I was retailing both with a purpose and with great restraint. The purpose was to replace a bottle of one of my Top Three Frags at Barney's and sniff some new things I haven't yet tried & some old things I'm interesting in trying anew. (I'm on the hunt for something kind of specific, fragrance-wise -- again, more about which later.) The restraint was... a fact of life. Style Spy is not blessed (Dammit!) with unlimited funds and needs to be pinching her pennies if she ever wants to return to Paris. (Which she does.) So I was good. I was very, very good. What follows here is a list of things I resisted, for which I would like to receive some cyper-pats on my curly little head, thankyouverymuch. Because all of the things shown here were either in my hot little hands or on my hot little feet and, additionally, they were on sale. Everything pictured here was available at 40% or more off this past Monday at either Nordstrom or Barney's and I? Said no to ALL OF IT. (::Style Spy bends to make head available for patting here::)

YSL. These come in black and navy, as well as the burgundy, which is gorgeous.

Even more fun? Pink! ones at Luisaviaroma.

I want a pair of Tribute-based sandals of some sort so much I can practically taste them, but thus far I have refrained. I just live vicariously through Thumbelina. More patting, please.

Nicholas Kirkwood sandals that seriously make a gal gasp out loud. These I didn't even put on because I was pretty sure they'd never come off. And then I'd have had a situation on my hands.

They're available in purple at Luisaviaroma. Good googly-moogly...

Christian Louboutin Lillian in light pink. Oh, my.

Louboutin Hyper Privé in Shocking Pink. Yeah, buddy, these are PINK. Neon, crazy, not-found-in-nature pink. And yet? They work somehow.

I. Just. Want. Them. That is all.

In all honesty, the Loubies shown above weren't that hard to walk away from because they don't fit me. Louboutins are made on a very, very narrow last -- I have tried on exactly one pair of them in my entire life that I thought I could probably wear without crippling discomfort. These:

These? Are some pretty damned fine red patent sandals that would go with everything and never go out of style. Most yummy.

Also yummy. I do not understand how a bow can be made to look both girly and perverse at the same time, but they have managed it in this shoe. These were also available in burgundy, which is even better than the black and far more tempting to me. But I did find that even though these shoes made me instantly sexier and more sophisticated (really!), the top edge of the forefoot came up just a liiiiiiiittle too high -- if I wore these for any length of time they would rub me painfully. I was very surprised by this because typically I have great luck with YSL shoes, they're usually quite comfie on me.

Lastly, on pre-sale* at Barney's:

I put them on but I didn't bother to look at them in the mirror. It would have been too painful. They really are wonderful, but even on sale they're... well, frankly, they're ridiculously expensive. I could get airfare to Paris for the cost of these things, even at 40% off. Which is what I have to keep reminding myself. I have good shoes already. What I need? Is Paris.


How about you guys? Anything you're putting off in favor of something else? What's at the top of your list right now, and how are you faring in your quest to achieve it?





* "Pre-sale" is a concept that annoys the hell out of me. When things go on pre-sale, you're shown the items at their reduced prices and you pay for them, but you don't get to take them home right away. I do not understand the logic of this. I understand pre-SELL, when you put in an order for something that might not yet be physically available at the store so as to ensure that it becomes yours before all of them get snapped up. But pre-SALE, where I give you my real money (or my real credit card signature) for real items that you obviously have there in your real inventory, and then you keep my goodies hidden away until such time as you deem fit to release them to me? I think that's a little more Master & Slave than I like in my retail relationships, thankyouverymuch.



Photo: themodern.org


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Further Befuddlement

Somebody help me out here.

I do not understand this ad:


Um, what????

That ad does not make me want to wear Diesel clothing. All it does is make me nervous about going over to that guy's house. "Gee, thanks, Sebastian, I appreciate the invite, but Saturday is the day I... uh... push back my cuticles."

I thought perhaps I just didn't have the context, and so I took a look at the Fall 09 Diesel Black Gold runway show.

Nope. Not helping.

.

Still not helping.

Droogs gooly down the runway in Diesel platties!

Right, then. Well, still confused about the advertising (but completely clear on how much I don't want to wear the clothes). I will entertain any & all theories or clues the rest of you might be able to provide.


You know what makes sense to me? This:

This gorgeous navy silk kimono jacket from YSL, which is part of an exclusive collection of YSL offered currently by Net-A-Porter. It's a kimono jacket. With a drawstring waist. And a notched collar. It shouldn't be right, but it is! It's so, SO right!!! (::insert whimpering noises here::)

Also chock-full of sense, a thing of Aristotelean beauty, nay -- perfection?

From the same collection. The day that came to live in my closet might be the day I stopped shopping. Seriously, what else would I need?

Okay. My world makes sense again. Have a great weekend, everyone!


Photos: Diesel, Style.com, Net-A-Porter.com

Sense & Sensibility

Speaking of YSL...

I love these shoes.

They're from the Spring 2009 collection and they are starting to pop up in stores now. There are a few different variations available, but these are the most complete iteration of the look, which I find fascinating and super-cool. I like these because you could wear them in the cool weather with a tight, and you could also wear them in warm weather to give the proportion/look of a boot without dying from the heat (a major consideration here where I live). Oh, forget the justifications -- I just like 'em, okay? I think they're FANTASTIC.

I have the same feeling about those shoes that I had about these:




when I first saw them, on the Prada Fall 07 runway and these




when I met them in the shoe department of Neiman Marcus a few years ago. I fell instantly in love with both of these shoes, and eventually brought them home to live with me and have no regrets about either pair. They were expensive, yes, but I still wear them and I will continue to wear them for a long time, I'm sure.

However...

I'm less sanguine about that in this case. I'm worried that the cage booties are a little too... extreme to be a multi-year shoe. And those babies are expensive -- seriously expensive, they make the Manolos look like a bargain -- so they need to give me several years of wear to justify them. While the Pradas are instantly recognizable from their season (that's another shoe that was everywhere, editorially speaking), they are still, at heart, a pretty neutral, wearable sandal. The booties? I dunno. The ankle or mid-calf boot is a silhouette that comes & goes, it's never (so far) been one that stuck around indefinitely like the tall boot or the sandal. And while I always advocate wearing what you love regardless of whether it's "in style," there does come a point with some items where they are so hopelessly dated that I can't bring myself to wear them.

But, oh. They're so fabulous. And truly an archive piece. And I do love me some YSL. I harbor a secret and as-yet-unfulfilled ambition to collect at least one YSL piece from every season. I figure if I do that, by the time I'm 70 I'll be able to wear nothing but Yves Saint Laurent. Heh.

There are a couple of other versions available.

Probably the sandals would be the most wearable and longest-lived version. But. Honestly, they just don't speak to me in the same way. The thing I like about the boots is the extremity of them, the over-the-top-itude. The sandals are cool, but not really as statement-y as the boots.

There are also these, which are gorgeous:

These are on the actual YSL website, I haven't seen them on any other e-tailer. These scratch the itch better because they have that fantastic heel -- actually, I can see that I'd wear these a lot. They're pretty stunning, aren't they? But unless they came in black, I'd never wear them, because I just don't wear silver.

But lookit what else I found:

This is may be the best option of all. I'm pretty sure I would wear that for a hundred years. I do like a big bold piece of jewelry, and that certainly is one.

All of this is academic, of course. It's not like a have a pile of extra money sitting around panting to be spent on goods from Yves Saint Laurent. (Actually, all my money is panting to be spent on YSL, but things like rent & groceries take priority, dagnabbit.) Even the Luxury Tithe is spoken for at present -- it has become the Travel Tithe, in anticipation of a much-needed (much, much, MUCH-needed) vacation in New York this spring. But I do like to have a back-up spending plan, just in case a long-lost relative bequeathes me a princely sum in the next few months.


One more quick thing -- I have a new affiliate:

This is more news for readers in the UK, because it seems that they are not shipping to the US yet. This is a shame, because they have some sweet, sweet stuff on this site. If you are lucky enough to have friends in the UK who could receive delivery and then forwar dthem on to you, you'd be golden; however, their returns policy is only 14 days, and it's unlikely that you could get them here & back in time in case they didn't fit. So mostly, for my non-UK readers, this will just function as Shoe Porn; but it's pretty good Shoe Porn, so it's not the worst use of a few minutes of your time I can think of. I am particularly enamored of these:

Okay, everyone, have a good weekend! Today is the first day of spring - perhaps you should celebrate with a little retailing?