stella!!!

For you kids out there who are blogging @ the age of 13, you might not know that reference. Then again, you wise old souls, you probably do. Marlon Brando, a Streetcar Named Desire... oh, never mind.

Just wanted to let you know on the off chance that you didn't already: Stella McCartney has done a line for the Gap, which launches today in the states, tomorrow in the UK & Europe, & the 11th in Japan (and is online now). I've always admired her commitment to vegetarianism. She never uses leather, fur, or animal products in any way. This is a big beef with me (sorry): the way real fur is bad, but leather, which we all wear without a thought... how is that not just as bad? I posted on a pair of Stella's shoes (life imitating art) and while I sometimes don't share her taste in her women's line, I really love what she's done for the Gap (which - sorry, I'm an American girl, born & bred - really is my ultimate favourite brand, and always will be. Nothing comes between me and my Gap jeans).



Even if you don't have kids, the good news is, this line is for up to 12 year olds. If I held my breath, I might just squeeze by.. damn, I could go far with the pink tutu under that fab black military jacket, and, on my feet, her fabulous black faux suede ankle booties!

Have a lovely night, boys & girls, and mind the Gap.

don't shoot me, i'm only the photographer (it's so zen)

Okay, so far, not doing so well with my contest to come up with a faux phrase to set loose in the blogosphere, altho I do like Sid's new colour name: electric shock therapy blue. Instead, I've been accused of falsifying the truth, and giving myself airs. Someone who goes by the name Anonymous has accused me of NOT coining the phrase Underwear as Outerwear, on the basis that he or she has 'heard that expression countless of times and honestly doubt you had the slightest influence on it.'

It stung a bit, to wake & get a not so nice message, but as Mr. Dot pointed out, it's an occupational hazard and I should basically pull my socks up. And it's not like I'm posting shots of myself every day, which I personally feel is far braver, and opens oneself to all sorts of scrutiny, insults, and worse. In fact, to show just how brave I can be: here I am. Rip me to shreds, girls!



Just to set the record straight: I'm not claiming to have started that underwear as outerwear trend. I'm just the messenger here. I simply happened to notice, since starting this blog last spring, that some cool looks were springing out of exposing one's undergarments to the elements. I could have sworn that phrase 'underwear as outerwear' came out of my little old head, as I don't recall seeing it elsewhere. If anyone can show me an example of it having been written prior to my first post, go ahead: make my day!

It's not like I get royalties each times it's used.



Anyway: this is Diandre (top shot), a lovely woman from Korea who lives in London and shoots for a private Korean subscription only blog. She was going round shooting people @ fashion week, and at the same time, people were shooting her cause she's so stylish & gorgeous. Self included. And she asked to shoot me. But I can't see the shots she took, as they're on the private Korean site (if at all).



I contorted my feet for the shot to show off my lovely handmade tights, by Jun the sleek geek, who was one of my early blog friends (she hasn't posted since August, I don't know why: she's young, and perhaps school and life took over). She had custom made these tights & posted them in the most wonderful packaging, and I was saving them for a special occasion, but wore them this day to LFW. Alas, when I went to hand wash them that night, I discovered she had drawn my name in Chinese in non-indelible ink, and they ran like tears down the drain. I've saved them, and cherish Diandre's shots, as this is all that's left of their once perfectness. It's so Zen.

Oh, credit where credit is due:
sequin motorcycle jacket: Topshop. black skirt: model's own. tee: the Gap. pompom ballet flats: Topshop
handmade chinese calligraphy tights: jun, the sleek geek

coral tango mall

At the place where the two forks of Long Island meet (the North Fork, and what has become the Hamptons, on the South Fork) is an idyllic area with a golf course and a park, and the start of a river. That port, which is no longer used as a port, is the town of Riverhead. And in recent years, it has become known for one thing and one thing only: Tanger Mall.

Tanger Mall is, to my mind, a freaky, scary place, where people come to shop til they drop. There is every brand, including a Barneys and a Brooks Brothers. As interested as I am in fashion and trends, I always feel that every minute I spend there is a minute spent away from the beach, the pool, or relaxing with family and friends. I have inherited from my mom a dread of shopping.

So it was a lucky surprise to spot Manuela, from NYC, in Banana Republic, looking like a sultry young Penelope Cruz. When I asked to shoot her, her face transformed to this pearly smile. In her own words: 'Yes my pink cardigan was from Gap, my headband from Roberta Freyman (its actually a sarong but I made it into a headband), then my white tanktop and my shorts were from J Crew and my shoes from Sperry Top Siders.'

mind the gap

The other day I posted a shot of a girl in a coral bubble skirt, and I was wondering where she got her boots. A few days later, I found a similar look in the Times Sunday Style section, as '...every fashion editor's most-wanted footwear: £98, from Gap'.

(This was clearly written by a British editor, because every American girl worth her salt knows it's THE Gap. And I'm not linking the site as I've looked: no boots there yet.) Anyway, it's not the same heel - I love the heel on the Girl with the Coral Bubble Skirt - but it's still really nice, don't you think?

me & my BFF michelle obama

This was shot at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday, up on the wall by the gates, waiting for the Obamas to arrive. For a change, I knew how it felt to be dotted: great, frankly!

And it couldn't have been more opposite to what was going on in the City on the same day. Everyone was so happy. And so quiet. A thousand or more people, and you could hear a pin drop. Waiting, having fun, being stylish and blase. Living life in peace. And when the First Couple finally arrived.. a magic moment. Just like that John Lennon song.

But life is strange, and because of an item of clothing, this photo - and others shot by photographers at the same time - have now appeared in so many papers, from the Guardian to the Telegraph to a big spread in Time Out - and now, online, with this cute thread about the 'girl' in the tee shirt. Someone from ABC News interviewed me on what we think of Michelle here in London, which was fun (answer: everyone loves her). Oh, if anyone's interested: I wore riding boots from Blue Velvet (King's Road), white jeans from the Gap, tee shirt, my own design as inspired by Karin Robinson and the London Underground. But we're much more interested in what Michelle was wearing. And she was dressed in Gap for Number Ten, so we're clearly on the same page.