I. Love. Rumi Neely.

This is one of what will undoubtedly be many posts dedicated to the incredible chicness that is Rumi Neely of Fashiontoast. I read her blog daily and frequently find myself wistfully wishing I was a waifish half-Japanese girl living in California. sigh.

I had to post this photo because it is just such perfection. I love her nail color; it's so passively hip. That ring is in the same vein. She's been growing her blond hair color out for months and it's turned into this great ombre multi-colored mess. In my dreams I do my eye makeup this well. And that black lipstick is just too fierce. I mean, WOW. Plus, she looks so graceful applying it with a Chanel compact. Ugh, just LOVE.



You can see better detail in the bigger version of this photo on her website here

My Most Fashionable Movies

Fashionista really stole my thunder on this, but I've been collecting pics for a while now of stills from movies whose fashion I find inspiring and/or breathtaking. Let me know if you agree/disagree or think I left something out

(1) Bonnie and Clyde: The most beautiful, glamorous, effortless gangsters I've ever seen. Warren Beatty's suits are impeccable, and I've never seen a woman so naturally beautiful as Faye Dunaway.





(2) Cat on a Hot Tin Roof: Elizabeth Taylor as Maggie is too divine for words in this slow, southern tale. I couldn't find any good stills, but she spends the first half of the movie in tight, knee-length skirts that accentuate her incredible curves and impossibly cinched waistline.
P.S. Paul Newman is a super babe in this movie. God love beautiful, tortured men.

(3) The Talented Mr. Ripley: Matt Damon, Gwenyth Paltrow, Jude Law, Cate Blanchett as rich young Ivyleaguer brats sunning themselvesin Italy for the summer in the 1950s. Everything is crisp and white on perfectly chiseled bodies. Matt Damon wears the greatest glasses, Gwenyth is painfully beautiful, and the mens' haircuts are superb.

(4) The Royal Tenenbaums / The Darjeeling Limited: Both Wes Anderson movies with the same cinematography and color palette. I love the vintage feel of everything but also the bright vibrant colors. P.S. Those suitcases were made specially for the movie by Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton.





(5) Breakfast at Tiffany's: I mean really, how could you do a list like this without Tiffany's? I'm simply wild about Tiffany's! Always chic, always classic. Audrey's outfits in this movie are so simple, often involving a solid black piece of some kind. But they're absolute perfection. So is her perfectly coiffed hair.

p.s. I still have not figured out how to work this blog. The stupid thing keeps screwing up my formatting! Too tired to fix now. Will straighten up tomorrow. sigh.

UPDATE: Ta da! Fixed. But note to self: putting a ton of pictures artfully in a blog post takes 4 hours longer than you expect.

in response to CGs post:
harssh. Of course I agree that it's ridiculous. What's more important, here? 'paying your dues' and essentially being stuck in what happened 5 years ago, or writing something meaningful and candid that actually creates its own following out of nothing? The reason she's become so popular is because she is able to connect with the true audience of fashion; not just a bunch of editors pontificating to each other. A good writer is a good writer. Period. Unless the whole Tavi thing is as contrived as Sh*tMyDadSays (as funny as it is)...
lol @ "she's been 13 for like, the last 4 years" in that article

Ouch, Joe Zee.

There's been a lot of talk lately back and forth about the legitimacy of fashion bloggers. I can't say I'm surprised that most magazine editors despise them - nobody likes having their thunder stolen and their salary threatened. But come on, lay off the hating. Readers understand that Tavi isn't Anna Wintour. Let the kids have their fun and circulate their "unrefined" "uneducated" opinions. Fashion isn't only about history and professional viewpoints - in fact, I think it's more about how the average man/woman wearing those clothes feels about them. Who's to say that "people who have really done this their entire lives, who've really covered fashion, who really understand fashion" have a more valid viewpoint than me, Sara, Tavi, or Scott Schuman?

His most offensive quote?

"It's absolutely true: if you don't know what you're talking about, then do you really have the credibility to talk about it?" - Joe Zee, creative director for Elle Magazine

After spending nearly an entire day dedicated to reading in the sun on April 1st, I realized that this is the warmest April I can remember. I’m still waiting for Mother Nature to show the joke’s on me and deliver a hellish snow storm as her punch line. In the meantime, I’ve decided to revisit all my favorite spring/summer looks now that I’m sunburned and ready to bask in the happy thoughts of warmer times. My bi-polar style identity seesaws daily between the gritty bed-headed bombshell in a pair of perfect jeans (Guess jeans ads) and the sleek urbane trophy wife (Ralph Lauren/Oscar de la Renta). I always want a mix of both.

I want:

• a romper, but one that doesn’t scream 70s. I used to be a romper-skeptic, but after trying them on, and realizing the comfort and ease of them, AND how surprisingly flattering some have been, I’ve warmed to the idea. (Comfort doesn’t always seal the deal, as was the case with gaucho pants, yuck).
• a gold swimsuit. No other bells or whistles, ties, or anything like that. Just. Metallic.
  
• a replacement for my favorite jeans- a pair of Mossimos from Target that hung on me all through high school and only now fit me the way they should. They are worn paper-thin and full of rips, tears, holes, and the constant threat of more to come. Yep, these jeans are close to 10 years old. I love them so much that I no longer think buying pre-ripped jeans is fashionably immoral- this way I won’t have to work for 5 years to get them promoted to ‘favorite torn-up jeans’ status. Anyhow, I haven’t retired this old pair yet, but I think I’m sewing and patching the rear back together for the LAST time; of course, I’ve been saying that for over a year.
• More prints/patterns that aren’t flannel or paisley (see above Ralph Lauren). I love the concept of mixing patterns and somehow making it look put together- a talent I have yet to acquire.
• tan-framed sunglasses. Not completely cat-eyed, but with a vintage feel
• Long hair. It was really fun to cut off 15 or so inches, and then cut off more, and then choke the life out of it by dying it some reddish color and then blonde, but I’m back to my brunette self and I’d like to get minimum 4 more inches real quick. I’ve never tried extensions, so I’m just poppin’ the ‘hair, skin, and nails’ biotin-packed vitamins, and reminding myself that patience is a virtue.

I totally agree with Sara. Her post immediately flashed me back to the May (or June?) 2009 issue of Vogue where they did a feature on Iris Strubegger. Hardly anyone had heard of her until she cut off all her hair and dyed it bright red. Now she's one of the hottest runway models, she's in almost every Vogue editorial, and she landed a huge campaign for Valentino last season.

BEFORE
theSartorialist.com


AFTER
Vogue.com

Maybe the girls on ANTM should listen up and stop crying every Makeover episode when Jay and Tyra make them cut off their hair. (Sara, do you suppose they're reading this?) Even if they do look like awkward 12-year-old boys. Most of them have bodies to match anyway!

I’ve been a big fan of ANTM (America’s Next Top Model, for the non-superfans). I admire the judges’ ability to see beauty in a variety of looks. Now it seems like lately they are hard-pressed to find quality new girls with unique looks. Watching ANTM winners and seeing the darlings of the runway who land the highly-coveted shows makes me wonder: what makes an it-girl in the fashion world? Thanks to Kate Moss, I know for sure that it’s not always about being as tall as an NBA player. But seeing some of these favorites really makes me wonder more than ever. And at the moment, I am almost certain that
the fashion industry loves stupid haircuts. And ANTM knows it (Poor Salicia).

Agyness Deyn rocks the 10-year-old-boy-with-bedhead look. I'm still on the fence about whether or not it's a step up from the private school girl look she used to have.

Tao Okamoto is a beautiful girl, and whoever told her to cut her hair like that clearly knew how to propel her into the spotlight, because that seems to have been the trigger. But you can no longer see half her face behind that bowl-cut. Her look has gone from refined to vacuous.

Anyone know who Ranya Mordanova is? Not YET. But she’s got haunting eyes, an incredible pout, and if she maintains the same boy crop, she can ride it all the way to the top.

My AW10 RTW Loves

I love fashion for two reasons: either (1) it's beautiful or (2) it's the way I want to look. I was going to make a post of all my favorite looks and shows from the AW2010 season, but it ended up being like 70 images and several pages of gushing long since Fashion Month is over and I have way too many designers choose from. Instead, here is a sampling of my favorite looks that fall into either category 1 or 2 (or both if I'm feeling really brave).

Marc Jacobs - perfectly refined, absolutely beautiful work clothes


Louis Vuitton - femininity at its best


Chanel - god I love sweater dresses, leggings, and boots


Marchesa - frothy deliciousness. this is what i would wear to prom as a very rich 16-year-old.



Alexander McQueen - hands-down my favorite designer of all time. this is art.


various beautiful gowns (Valentino, Versace, Andrew Gn)


Burberry Prorsum - i. love. boots. especially thigh-high ones paired with military jackets.



Christian Dior - oh so romantic.


And a very honorable mention to Andrew Gn. I honestly would buy every single piece he showed - from belted LBDs to evening gowns in midnight hues. But I think my internet will crash if I try to add any more photos to this post. You can check him out for yourself at style.com.