I used to hate Karl Lagerfeld. His fan bugged. Now I love him, and I don't know if it's because of his weight loss, his collections or his mouth. Maybe it's all three.

P.S. I know you won't believe me, but the September Harper's Bazaar is a great read. Yes, I said READ. Of course, there are all of those ads to flip through too...

sorry i haven't posted in so long. i've been buried under the september issues. but, in the immortal words of jerry blank, "I'VE GOT SOMETHING TO SAY!!" so stay tuned...

When I get a little bored at the computer, one of the things I often turn to is the People and Parties page of style.com. But other than my boredom, I can never figure out quite why I keep going back. The photos aren't particularly juicy -- no exposés of Britney Spears dangling Michael Jackson's child over the Komodo Dragon area at the zoo. It's not even as good as my favorite, if thrillingly boring, "Stars - Just Like us!" section of Us Weekly. But I think that the pictures are at least similar in spirit to the latter. You get some stars or models or designers (along with, in the case of today's photos, some 80-yr old socialites in 20-yr old body parts and clothing) spending time in their natural element -- that "natural element" being parties where they get free things.

These photos reminds me of another thing that, as a left coaster, I just can't figure out, and that's the Hamptons. From what I gather, people either spend bucketloads of money to rent a house, or barrelloads of money to buy a house, and then they spend hours in traffic every weekend in order to try and rub shoulders with Lizzie Grubman. I've never been to the Hamptons, so maybe there's something I'm missing. I'm not trying to re-ignite the coast wars of 90s rap here, I just really don't get it. I'd rather spend money on clothes.

Watched Eyes of Laura Mars last night. Not to be confused with Veronica Mars, although the two women do share an affinity for crime scenes. It's a 1978 thriller written by John Carpenter, starring Faye Dunaway as a psychic fashion photographer and a young Tommy Lee Jones as a NYC cop. I wouldn't call it a good movie, but the real star of the movie are the photos, shot in real life by Helmut Newton. If you want to see where Tom Ford got all of his ideas for Gucci, look no further than these photos. Oh, and as an additional carrot to the gays, the theme song is sung by Barbra Streisand.




People really liked to brush their hair back then. It seemed like everyone had a little of that halo hair thing going on, just in case someone wants to photograph them with a backlight and then they'll have that nice hair glow action. Contrast that with the frizz-free desire of today. Don't know what it means; just reporting on it.

Once again, it's time for Thursday Styles, with your left coast sherpa, sfstyleboy. In a better world, I will also comment on the NYTimes Sunday Style Section, but I was on vacation, and frankly, it was really really boring except for one article on men's shorts (to sum, people laugh at shorts).

So let's get to work. While I didn't report on it, you might recall from a few weeks ago that the Times declared the teenage intern as the "hot new accessory". In the paper's relentless pursuit of the Truth, they found three or four people in all of Manhattan with teenage interns. This trend is HUGE!! Well, not only have teens now have infiltrated the style ranks, they also want to BUY CLOTHES!! Worse, these teens can now be found in stores like... Forever 21 and J. Crew! Why, it seems like just yesterday that these stores solely catered to the well-heeled retiree. Next, these whippersnappers will be shopping at Hot Topic. What next?! WHAT NEXT?!

Honestly, I love me the NYT Style Section, but increasingly, I find that it is more ad than article. Granted, the line between editorial and promotion in the world of fashion is thinner than Kate Moss after a weekend bender with Pete, but so many of these articles have an air of desperation. I imagine these writers, faced with a 5pm deadline, staked out at a corner in the LES or somewhere else officially hip. The writer sees two people go by with the same bag, and a story is born. Back in the cubicle, a couple of calls are made to market research companies, who will confirm anything to get a quote, and a trend is born. The article is published, and the bazillion people who weren't on that corner at that hour now realize that they are hopelessly out of it, and a desire is born.

But are teens REALLY just getting into shopping? Honestly, by my calculations, I first became conscious of fashion in the fourth grade. I had just transfered to a new school, and immediately became aware of how my clothes did not match the preppy outfits of the rest of the students. I went home and immediately demanded some Lacoste polos and some 501s, which I'm sure my working, single mom just loved. That was probably as amusing as the look of disgust on my face when I received some JC Penney Hunt Club polos and Sears Toughskins instead. My point is, fashion is typically about fitting in. And no one wants to fit in more than teenagers. Sure, what's hot this year might be different or more expensive than before, but kids never stopped buying clothes.

Anyways, enough of my tirade. What else? Hair dye may or may not cause cancer. I sure wish they'd hurry up with those stem cells.

Kate Moss is naked in many magazines. Which is kinda funny considering these magazines sell clothes. I'm more puzzled by this new ad that she does for Christian Dior. Something's going on with the depth of field that makes her look like an alien from the mystical planet of Galliano.




Cathy Horyn, where are you?

Two looks that are so wrong, they're right. They're spring '07, giving me plenty of time to develop muscles on my legs. As someone who is less than 6 feet tall, I'm happy to see shorts in the pipeline with smaller inseams. But I must admit that I'm most excited about the shoes. Both are so tacky -- they're hitting me right in the same place as Gwen Stefani's "What You Waiting For?". You know, where you spend the first week totally despising something, and then somehow that hatred slips over into adoration.

The first is from Prada Spring 07 RTW. The second is from Gucci Spring 07 RTW. Photos courtesy of style.com

It's Thursday, and you know what that means?!! It's Thursday Styles day at the New York Times! What does the paper of record(TM) have to tell me about the world of style today? hmm...

-swarovski is in trouble. quick, someone put on a stage production of 'showgirls' so that we can keep this poor company afloat through the creationg of bejeweled nude body stockings!

-an article about redundant skin. don't you just love that term? i'm sorry, what's the point of this article? "i'd really like to lose weight, but I'm just so darned concerned about the scarring from body contouring surgery!" puh.leez.

all in all, a very unsatisfying episode of thursday styles. maybe everyone's just resting up before Spring 07 fashion week. or maybe it's just too hot to work in new york right now.

Wow, so much has changed in the world of fashion since my last post! That was meant to be sarcastic, but on second thought I guess things have changed. People are getting tired of Hedi Slimane. Olivier Theyskens had the rug pulled out from under him at Rochas. Jane's favorite label, St. John, has undergone some image makeovers.

Perhaps it's the influence of this song, but my mind's been on shoes lately. Sadly, I'm a frustrated customer. While the universe of womens shoes seems to be expanding at an increasing rate, the selection for men is, as they say in the industry, sucky. I have been to 80% of the shoe stores worth visiting in San Francisco, and it's either a) tired re-issues of "classic" sneaker brands, b) shoes I can't afford, or c) shoes I already own. Actually, I should give slip-ons their own category as well, as they are unavoidable. Maybe there's something waiting for me at one of the remaining 20% of stores. In the meantime, I get closer and closer to going tranny just so I can justify owning this boot from Louis Vuitton Fall '06.