Friday, August 26, 2011
Happy Friday: Moving
Tomorrow I move house. I've been living in my house for 3 years... I've gotten over two bad break-ups in that house, and shared countless dinners and cups of tea with friends there. We've had costume parties, Singstar parties and take-away and DVD box-set parties there. Strangely, I'm not at all sad to be leaving. That chapter of life is over. Time to start anew. I can't wait!
If only I packed this light..!
Worship At The Altar
I love this interview with Iris Apfel. I've mentioned her before and she is just such a bird. What an amazing woman. I think she's one of those women for whom the phrase "only in New York" was created.
The little pause after she mentions her mother is lovely. Precious. I also love her enooooormous glasses! Current obsession!
The little pause after she mentions her mother is lovely. Precious. I also love her enooooormous glasses! Current obsession!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Right Time To Flash Them Keys
I am also obsessing over warmer weather. Seriously winter - I've had enough out of you! It's dragged on for far longer than necessary, and been incessently cold. I'm going mental. So it's high time we thought about being on holiday with yachts, warm days and perfect outfits. Cue Louis Vuitton Resort 2011.
Current Obsession: Oversized Eyewear
I am also drawn to the 1950s cats-eye glasses of olde... But doubt I'd have the guts to do it myself. Prada has a fabulous pair, not so different from these (available here on Etsy).
But should I do it? The oversized glasses aren't been worn by many... And I think it takes a lot of guts to have your peepers framed in such a way. But I do so adore geek chic. And what do I care if no one else is doing it anyway? Since when??
The only irksome thing is, is that because not a lot of peeps are doing the oversized glasses thing:
(a) There isn't a lot of stock here... So I'm either going full-on costly (and there is of course a divine pair of either Viktor & Rolf or Christian Dior's that I have my eyes on - literally - and which each cost a very pretty penny that could possibly go elsewhere... Like my credit card debt!) or I'm going el cheapo, and they're not as pretty... Do we wait for more stock? But then be one of the sheep?; and
(b) The frames are more on the chunky side, which doesn't quite work on my face. Apparently it's because this trend is mainly for men ... pfft!
Dilemmas. Again.
Monday, August 15, 2011
The Girl With The Mirrored Everything
Remember Uppsala from the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo series fame? Well... it just got even more interesting, with the planning department approving the development of an invisible department store. Well... When I say invisible, I mean made of mirrors.
The designers responsible were also involved in the creation of a tree hotel in the far north of Sweden, near the small village of Harads and close to the Arctic Circle.
In Sweden, there is a legal right of access to private land, which means you can wander wherever you please in a wilderness packed with wild animals and exotic plants. The design philosophy for the hotel was to create a comfortable, well designed hotel which allows visitors to live in harmony with nature amongst the trees. Click here for room rates. Not for every hippy in the cosmos...
The designers responsible were also involved in the creation of a tree hotel in the far north of Sweden, near the small village of Harads and close to the Arctic Circle.
In Sweden, there is a legal right of access to private land, which means you can wander wherever you please in a wilderness packed with wild animals and exotic plants. The design philosophy for the hotel was to create a comfortable, well designed hotel which allows visitors to live in harmony with nature amongst the trees. Click here for room rates. Not for every hippy in the cosmos...
Man Crush
Yessss I'm crushing in a major way. AND it's a new season. So what better way to celebrate men and the advent of Spring than with a fruity toned man-spread (clothed, of course - we are not the other kind of establishment).
Topped off with a licorice all-sorts man. Yummy!
Topped off with a licorice all-sorts man. Yummy!
Friday, August 12, 2011
The Week Was In Fashion
Yes, folks it’s that breathlessly exciting time of year when ardent fashionistas blinkingly wake from winter hibernation, dust off the disillusionment of seeing once-shiny-and-new clothes crammed on to sale racks and start gleefully devouring Next Season’s Trends (yes… capitals: it’s that important).
Pushing us onwards and upwards towards a new season of manic shopping are our favourite, warring department stores, Myer and David Jones. Like identical twin sisters vying for the same man’s attention, we were treated to the best each had to offer in beauty, style, panache and general over-the-top great treatment.
First off the mark was DJs. Having gracefully recovered from last year’s messy break-up with CEO Mark McInnes, DJs was aiming for a delightful, scandal-free date with her admirers. And scandal-free and delightful it was… *yawn* Block colours, white teadresses, lace, and the odd bit of safari and animal print seemed to be the order of the day, with lashings of high-waisted, 50s style bikinis from Isola (Megan Gale's label) and some James Bond-inspired swimsuits from Jets thrown in for good measure.
While the sequins and beaded embellishments from Camilla and tribal queens from Romance Was Born provided points of interest, these were few and far between on a runway that was more about the faces (and breastfeeding breasts, let’s be honest) than the clothes.
Wearable? Absolutely. Exciting and pioneering… Perhaps less so. DJs is probably the girl you take home to meet mum, because you know she’ll look nice.
Having snatched sass & bide from DJs' wardrobe earlier this year, Myer sent a strong signal to her rival that she was ready to wage fashion-warfare. No more Miss Nice Girl, Myer dazzled with a cacophony of colour and gleaming beading that was wholly Australian in tone: burnt orange, warm pinks and dialed-up neutrals from sass & bide opened the show, with Myer’s face, Jennifer Hawkins, radiantly trotting down the runway in lively prints from her Cozi swimsuit collection.
Sharp loungewear, a bit of safari suiting for good measure and loads of silver beading ensured there will be no effort gliding from office to beach to cocktail hour in stand-out ensembles.
Myer's Spring/Summer 2012 is the girl you take home if your mum likes her girls sassy and vibrant.
In other fashion news: bright citrus tones appeared on the 2011 Teen Choice Award red carpet (big nod to Blake Lively, shake of the head to bumble-bee superhero Tyra Banks);
Kate Moss extended Mosstock celebrations from her wedding in the UK a few weeks ago to Splendour here in Oz to the cover of Vogue USA’s September issue;
Dianne Agron cut her hair and Christian Louboutin lost its battle with YSL over who owns red soles.
Pushing us onwards and upwards towards a new season of manic shopping are our favourite, warring department stores, Myer and David Jones. Like identical twin sisters vying for the same man’s attention, we were treated to the best each had to offer in beauty, style, panache and general over-the-top great treatment.
First off the mark was DJs. Having gracefully recovered from last year’s messy break-up with CEO Mark McInnes, DJs was aiming for a delightful, scandal-free date with her admirers. And scandal-free and delightful it was… *yawn* Block colours, white teadresses, lace, and the odd bit of safari and animal print seemed to be the order of the day, with lashings of high-waisted, 50s style bikinis from Isola (Megan Gale's label) and some James Bond-inspired swimsuits from Jets thrown in for good measure.
While the sequins and beaded embellishments from Camilla and tribal queens from Romance Was Born provided points of interest, these were few and far between on a runway that was more about the faces (and breastfeeding breasts, let’s be honest) than the clothes.
Wearable? Absolutely. Exciting and pioneering… Perhaps less so. DJs is probably the girl you take home to meet mum, because you know she’ll look nice.
Having snatched sass & bide from DJs' wardrobe earlier this year, Myer sent a strong signal to her rival that she was ready to wage fashion-warfare. No more Miss Nice Girl, Myer dazzled with a cacophony of colour and gleaming beading that was wholly Australian in tone: burnt orange, warm pinks and dialed-up neutrals from sass & bide opened the show, with Myer’s face, Jennifer Hawkins, radiantly trotting down the runway in lively prints from her Cozi swimsuit collection.
Sharp loungewear, a bit of safari suiting for good measure and loads of silver beading ensured there will be no effort gliding from office to beach to cocktail hour in stand-out ensembles.
Myer's Spring/Summer 2012 is the girl you take home if your mum likes her girls sassy and vibrant.
In other fashion news: bright citrus tones appeared on the 2011 Teen Choice Award red carpet (big nod to Blake Lively, shake of the head to bumble-bee superhero Tyra Banks);
Kate Moss extended Mosstock celebrations from her wedding in the UK a few weeks ago to Splendour here in Oz to the cover of Vogue USA’s September issue;
Dianne Agron cut her hair and Christian Louboutin lost its battle with YSL over who owns red soles.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
True Colours
News just in that a judge in the States has denied Christian Louboutin's request for an injunction preventing YSL from selling red-soled shoes in its 2011 resort collection...
In his ruling, Judge Victor Marrero noted that:
Because in the fashion industry color serves ornamental and aesthetic functions vital to robust competition, the court finds that Louboutin is unlikely to be able to prove that its red outsole brand is entitled to trademark protection, even if it has gained enough public recognition in the market to have acquired secondary meaning.
Marrero also admitted his admiration for the red soles. In his judgment, he wrote that: "When Hollywood starlets cross red carpets and high fashion models strut runways and heads turn and eyes drop to the celebrities' feet, lacquered red outsoles on high-heeled, black shoes flaunt a glamorous statement that pops out at once."
Interestingly, a similar battle was waged between chocolatiers Cadbury and Darrell Lea here in Australia over the colour purple, with Cadbury eventually claiming victory over the colour. (Note, however, that the "win" for Cadbury was never formally determined by the courts - an agreement was reached by DL and Cadbury whereby Cadbury was able to trade mark the colour, yet DL still used the colour.)
I digress... Back to the shoes. When reached for comment, Louboutin's lawyer stated:
We are profoundly disappointed in Judge Marrero’s decision. Although we are still studying it, it appears he has decided that in the fashion industry, one color should not serve as a trademark. While he acknowledges the fashion industry at large has recognized the Louboutin Red Sole as a trademark source indicator, he has concluded that the fashion industry needs to use colors on outsoles without restriction and this, despite a mountain of evidence to the contrary, including a recent decision by the 2nd Panel of Appeal at OAMI in the EU that concluded exactly the opposite, calling Mr. Louboutin’s adoption of the bright red outsole brilliant. We will evaluate all the alternatives available in the days to come.
Meanwhile, YSL's lawyer says:
We're gratified that Judge Marrero has agreed with YSL that no designer should be allowed to monopolize a single color for an article of apparel. As Judge Marrero indicated, YSL designers are artists and, like other artists, they should have the right to use the full palette of colors in designing their fashions for each season.
In their argument, YSL dismissed Louboutin's suggestion that he had pioneered the scarlet sole, arguing that the red soles were copied from King Louis XIV's red-heeled dancing shoes and/or Dorothy's famous ruby slippers in 'The Wizard of Oz'.
The offending YSL shoes
What do you think of the decision? Obviously it's going to be appealed, so there probably isn't much point in this conjecture, however... What do you think? (As non-trademark lawyers, of course).
A few years back, Peeptoe Shoes used to have red soles on its shoes, and then it rather smartly changed the colour to purple - presumably based on threats to litigate by Louboutin (totally guessing there, but it would make sense). Trade mark battles are among the most expensive legal fights to have, and can be a major distraction for a brand that is in the early stages of building its image as Peeptoe then was.
And what might the ramifications be for other brands. What would Tiffany & Co say?
In his ruling, Judge Victor Marrero noted that:
Because in the fashion industry color serves ornamental and aesthetic functions vital to robust competition, the court finds that Louboutin is unlikely to be able to prove that its red outsole brand is entitled to trademark protection, even if it has gained enough public recognition in the market to have acquired secondary meaning.
Marrero also admitted his admiration for the red soles. In his judgment, he wrote that: "When Hollywood starlets cross red carpets and high fashion models strut runways and heads turn and eyes drop to the celebrities' feet, lacquered red outsoles on high-heeled, black shoes flaunt a glamorous statement that pops out at once."
Interestingly, a similar battle was waged between chocolatiers Cadbury and Darrell Lea here in Australia over the colour purple, with Cadbury eventually claiming victory over the colour. (Note, however, that the "win" for Cadbury was never formally determined by the courts - an agreement was reached by DL and Cadbury whereby Cadbury was able to trade mark the colour, yet DL still used the colour.)
I digress... Back to the shoes. When reached for comment, Louboutin's lawyer stated:
We are profoundly disappointed in Judge Marrero’s decision. Although we are still studying it, it appears he has decided that in the fashion industry, one color should not serve as a trademark. While he acknowledges the fashion industry at large has recognized the Louboutin Red Sole as a trademark source indicator, he has concluded that the fashion industry needs to use colors on outsoles without restriction and this, despite a mountain of evidence to the contrary, including a recent decision by the 2nd Panel of Appeal at OAMI in the EU that concluded exactly the opposite, calling Mr. Louboutin’s adoption of the bright red outsole brilliant. We will evaluate all the alternatives available in the days to come.
Meanwhile, YSL's lawyer says:
We're gratified that Judge Marrero has agreed with YSL that no designer should be allowed to monopolize a single color for an article of apparel. As Judge Marrero indicated, YSL designers are artists and, like other artists, they should have the right to use the full palette of colors in designing their fashions for each season.
In their argument, YSL dismissed Louboutin's suggestion that he had pioneered the scarlet sole, arguing that the red soles were copied from King Louis XIV's red-heeled dancing shoes and/or Dorothy's famous ruby slippers in 'The Wizard of Oz'.
What do you think of the decision? Obviously it's going to be appealed, so there probably isn't much point in this conjecture, however... What do you think? (As non-trademark lawyers, of course).
A few years back, Peeptoe Shoes used to have red soles on its shoes, and then it rather smartly changed the colour to purple - presumably based on threats to litigate by Louboutin (totally guessing there, but it would make sense). Trade mark battles are among the most expensive legal fights to have, and can be a major distraction for a brand that is in the early stages of building its image as Peeptoe then was.
And what might the ramifications be for other brands. What would Tiffany & Co say?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)