Archive for the ‘Fashion’ Category

With a lovely, long holiday weekend what else would you wanna do but sit on a roof top sipping mimosas with friends and shopping for pretty little things. Williamsburg!

Hey it’s Easter so why not start at my favorite  boutique of girly wonders. “Catbird” ! If you love strange, earthly, delicate jewelry inspired by the natural world this is your store. So much eye candy, my basket overfloweth.

I love to ogle the precious gems, sculpted silver and brass things.

The swan earrings and little bird wristlets make me swoon.

Great little plates for just about anything in your boudoir.

I love these little doll arm hooks.

Who wouldn’t feel like a Goddess with this opulent octopus ring on?

Soooo pretty but I couldn’t get the posts to stay in my ears. So I got these little cicadas instead…

Such a sunny cool day, we found a great cafe, Juliette and made our way to the roof top.

So nice to finally feel the sun on our faces…

The food was good, the place was” hopping” with mimosas for all!

After taking communion in the sun we set out to find more curiosities of delight.

This boutique b conte had lots of great silk dresses, billowy tops and accessories galore. This girl was so much fun, showing me around and telling me about the new merchandise.

Ironically, everything was expensive at “In God We Trust”. I liked some pretty little necklaces with messages that made me giggle in a dirty little girly way. They also have a great selection of vintage inspired carpet bags and engraved flasks.

If you Like Vintage…

Amarcord has some great finds.

Monk Vintage : a huge place with a lot of personality. I thoroughly enjoyed these red phone booth changing rooms. What an awesome idea for a boutique.

Then it was Up to East Village to Tokyo 7! My favorite Designer consignment shop.

This awesome  jacket was on the mannequin for a cool $1,800. I was smitten. Turns out it was custom made for Britney Spears, which made it a little less desirable.

I walked away with this really cool scarf instead. I can’t wait to wear it over a tank top and jeans, sooooo rock n roll.

My companion walked away with this wicked cool T-shirt, it’s one  part Rorschach and 2 parts burn out photo x-ray of lungs. I totally dig it. I would have snatched it right out her grubby little fingers if I had any sense about me. Word is, she cut the cap sleeves off. MURDERER! ;P

Those were the highlights of Williamsburg Easter 2012 street style shopping my Samurai Mamas!

I’ll just leave you with this ethereal window decor bathed in sunlight. Meditate on it a while…Do you feel that? It’s Spriiiiiiiing!

Check out this hot bustier and peplum skirt from the 2012 Garrott collection. It’s called “I a Dior You” and it’s a classic. Now available for wholesale and retail contact garrott@garrottdesigns.com for details.

The first look from the new Garrott collection is a hot little number called “Dominique Deco”. It’s bamboo viscose jersey with leather accents make this an easy breezy little rocking thing to wear just about anywhere. Check out the whole collection at garrottdesigns.com The store will be up soon, until then email us with order inquiry at garrott@garrottdesigns.com

Now available for whole sale and individual order. Inquire at garrott@garrottdesigns.com

My posts have been sparse for the last 2 months, and I am  so very sorry about that. You see, I was completely absorbed in the studio with the Garrott 2012 collection and multiple freelance projects.

Claudia Kiss, my muse and model at the hands of the brilliant photographer, Damian at SCIsquared ,made this season’s collection a truly “Garrott” conceptual vision for spring 2012. I want to thank them, it was a great shoot and a pleasure to work with you. I also cannot WAIT to show all ya’all the whole look. Seriously, it’s amazing and I am not just saying that cuz I designed it

Here is a little tease shot, for your pretty eyeballs!

More soon, stay tuned lovelies!

I’m no make-up heathen, in fact I don’t really know how to put it on. My mid-western mother never really showed me. Much to her credit though, she was freaking gorgeous anyway and didn’t really need it. I’d like to think the same of myself but honestly, I never attempted it because I don’t want to write a check my face can’t cash in the morning.

My “make-up” routine consists of Benefit Lip Stain and mascara. I hate the gooey feel of red lipstick though I LOVE, love, love, the vampy retro look with a smokey eye.

If I looked like that I’d probably die, but anyway, recently, some cat-eye notion has been creeping into the back of my mind. Leading to a committed purchase because of this Lucky magazine page.

And the recent death of miss authentilicious Amy Winehouse. Cuz she “is whut she is yo”! That said, what runs deep is true, so I HAD to try it!

Even my “girl crush” Angelina Jolie does it, so I guess it’s “a yes for me” Miss Osborne .

So I gotz my hands on some Revlon Liquid Liner only to make a damn mess of myself. Reminds me of the time my grandmother caught me in the closet with her make-up. Presumably, I said to her before she could scream “Don’t say nutzen”. There is a photo of me smeared with lipstick to prove it! No wonder I have resisted all these years, eh?

So anyway, girlfriends, if yall wanna come over here and teach me how to be a girl I’m all ears, lips, and eyes. Seriously, I need HELP!

Alexander McQueen is the single most significant designer and influence in my life and career as a fashion designer and artist.  McQueen’s rise coincided with my education from 1997-2004. I recall some of the most significant images and designs as I collected reference and struggled to build my own artistic identity. I can’t begin to tell you how significant it all was and still is, but I can tell you how amazing it was to visit the exhibit Savage Beauty at the MET. ( Showing through August 7th)

Cameras are not allowed in the exhibition, however, the initial crowd was such that I was able to get away with a few shots of my own. (sorry MET I hope you understand) But the book sold at the exhibit and on Amazon has amazing photos in it and well worth the purchase. It has a cool hologram cover that will enthrall you.

McQueen’s impeccable tailoring and draping are unparalleled. No one will ever have access to the education and knowledge he had. The resources, sadly, are disappearing from the world and virtually non-existent in the United States.

Here are a few of my favorite pieces from the exhibit. I love the way he did asymmetrical pleating and draping across the body. It’s definitely a design element I incorporate into my collections.

As well as his use of leather and skins…

A conceptual designer; he told a story in all of his collections with a head to toe look, accessories were as much a part of the design as each garment.

He pulled as much from nature as he did from the technology of his craft…

He could merge culture with tradition, the sublime with the macabre and reinvent the standard of beauty in the doing and undoing of it all. For the first time fashion had feeling not just mood.

It will be interesting to see how Sarah Burton, McQueen’s understudy for over a decade, will continue the house. It will also be interesting to see how the future of fashion is changed by the death of what may be the last of quality and informed genius.

“He created a world for himself where he could do anything he wanted to do, with no constraints, no merchandiser coming upstairs and asking, ‘Where’s my three-button jacket?’ That’s very rare in fashion.” – Sarah Burton

It’s true, the commercial side of fashion will always demand functional, cost effective product that targets a variety of consumers. However, I hope that fashion will continue to value those who put forth a creative and experimental approach to what can be done in fashion. It is an art, and to many, the forefront of personal expression.

Check out this interview with NPR’s Leonard Lopate and the MET’s curator for the show Andrew Bolton, here.

In case you didn’t know, fashion illustration rocks my freaking world. I tend to choose consumer products based on artwork. Illustration communicates a mood the product is selling and I’m a sucker for it. I love illustrating products and clothing in watercolor it’s so moody and versatile. Which is why when I got the chance to watch Bil Donovan paint at the Society of Illustrators I damn near lost my cookies.

Bil Donovan has been illustrating forever, When I was designing at Magaschoni his art work graced the walls of the entry way which always elicited a moment of silence as I passed by. Seriously, his watercolors are so dreamy. The 3 hour demo was awesome, intimate and thrillingly inspirational. Bil answered questions as he sketched and talked about how he began (an exclusive contract with Dior, geezus) he even did a sketch of me, Swoon!

Bil started with warm up sketches while observing a model. Sketching with the brush, he shows how “easy” it is…

…to work the watercolor in a lucid wash fusing passages with expressive blooms and lost edges.

(please forgive the blurry photos I was just too damn excited and couldn’t hold the camera still)

The model as “muse” is no joke, these models were amazing and inspiring, I wanted to draw from them myself.

Donovan is such an energetic painter, you can see while he works how much he loves doing this. He interacts with his models and captures the spirit of the pose.

Using mostly flat brushes he nails the gesture and suggests the features of the face so perfectly. I tend to use all rounds myself, but I will be sure to try some of the techniques he showed us.

It was awesome to meet and watch one of my all time favorite illustrators at work. Thank you Bil!

(thank you Damian at SCIsquared for the above photo)

While roaming the streets of Manhattan in constant pursuit of fashion, Mimosas and chocolate covered espresso beans, my companion and I spotted this man. What a fabulous look!

Summer 2011 is coming out with a slew of comic book movies and I’m too freaking excited about it. Why? cuz last time comics hit fashion it was pretty cool. In 2008 The MET exhibit “Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy” rocked my world at least a dozen times, and the Costume Institute Gala inspired celebrities to pull out the most amazing couture.

Iron Man

In fact, my favorite piece from the Gala was this Givenchy dress worn by Christina Ricci. Very Wonder Woman of her, I adore it!

Freaking Fabulous!

Gisele Bündchen in Yves Saint Laurent blew me out of the sky as well.

And isn’t Zac Posen just adorable? Seriously!

I don’t see why some comic book inspired fashion trends end up so cheesy.

Some times, even when the movie totally sucked, the clothes are utterly worth a reinterpretation.

In fact, I knocked this dress off in 2003.

Obviously, Jean-Paul Gaultier saw something worth salvaging from the terrible film debacle of 1998’s Avengers. Unlike, Star Trek, an excellent movie both for fashion and film. I’m not even a Treky but I’d totally borrow from Uhura’s closet any day.

Trends don’t always have to be too literal, for example, my all time favorite comic movie, Watchmen, inspired my obsession with Rorschach motifs.

My Hero!

But why not be a bit literal every once in a while? I mean, who doesn’t want to be both Lois Lane and Superman sometimes?!

Even one of my real life heroes, Ms. Diane Von Furstenberg has a hero to look up to.

And if it’s good enough for DVF it’s good enough for ME!

I can’t wait for these movies to come out, and I don’t care if they are bad, there will be plenty of eye candy, what’s not to like? Thor, Green Lantern, Transformers, Captain America, Conan the Barbarian, and X-Men.

And just in case you don’t have the right dress to wear to the premier, worry not, get your Garrott on!

It’s a dirty job but someones gotta do it! Shopping: staying on trend, finding new ideas, colors, silhouettes etc… Fashion is fast, if you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you might miss it.

Not for the faint of heart, we go all over Manhattan stopping only for mimosas and chocolate covered espresso beans.

This time, we started out at South Street for a power brunch but soon made our way to Soho, Nolita, and East Village. Some of the coolest boutiques are here, peppered with a few vintage and home goods stores it’s a moving mood board of inspiration.

Some of the coolest places we went are:

Eva This very cool boutique has tons of what we call “convertibles”, clothes that you can twist, drape and change to get about 5 different outfits from. Awesome, awesome stuff. They also have very cool runway worthy jewelry.

Tokyo 7 Designer consignment you’ll find Japanese designers like Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto as well as Zac Posen and Dolce & Gabbana.

Bio Emerging designers and a fab little floral designs service called Castle Pierpont the decorator showed us tons of great interior ideas and different ways to use vases when flowers aren’t so fun. Way cool girl, the place alone could be a color story for a mood board.

Love, Adorned is an eclectic place for jewelry, art, home goods and freaky weird things. If anyone want to get me the dinner set of my dreams, this is what I want (mom)

Ina NYC another designer consignment shop that carry one off’s in random sizes.

Rogan A cool men’s and women’s boutique with indie jewelry and leather designer goods. The guys in the boutique are really cool and we even got a few new bands to listen to after our visit.

But the place that killed me was this fragrance shop. Now, I’m not an expensive perfume kinda girl but THIS place just may change me forever ! Le Labo when  the perfumer spritzed a little of this jasmine on me, I about died. I was almost willing to pay ANYTHING for that bottle, almost. I will NEVER wash the scarf I was wearing again.

Sketching is key, most of the time I find a bench round the corner and scribble down the details I can remember. I’m not here to knock things off , but design details and interesting cuts get my brain thinking in different ways.

Road sketches are never pretty and I’m probably the only one who knows what I mean by them. They are really meant to remind me what I saw the next time I am draping. Sometimes I’ll even write down construction details if it’s put together differently than one would expect.

Believe it or not shopping requires strategy and planning, we don’t just go out all willy-nilly like mall rats. Generally, we have a decided plan for what we want to see, then we choose and area to explore. New York is great for this because every neighborhood offers something different. But when we’re visiting other cities or countries we research the lay of the land before heading out.

Some excellent resources for this are:

Lucky Magazine has a map guide for just about every shoppable city check it out here

New York magazine lists the top 25 boutiques and also posts updates for sample sales in the area. (oooo samples sales)

Daily Candy will send you email updates of things to do in your city including current sample sale posts (oooo sample sales).

New York Post lists sales and samples sale events through out the city (have I mention how much I LOVE sample sale season?)

Shopping day is always inspiring and sort of re-lights the flame that forces us to draw and drape all day. With new ideas, and tricked out on espresso beans we settle in for some dinner, drinks and conversation. It’s time well spent and recharges us for the days ahead in the studio.

If you’ve got some favorite shops, or shopping resources in your area we’d love to hear about them, leave a comment.