So long

Long jacket dress by TV

Ballet flats forever

Masai ballet pumps from Parisian Ballets

I don't care what the trend reports or Vogues of the world are saying, ballet flats rock, and this is one of my favourite makers. I do like Oxfords, but ballets are timelessly chic. Plus they travel flat - perfect for frequent fliers :)

Lettuce and Lines: Salt and Pepper shakers

by David Shrigley, £79, available at Culturelabel.

p.s. Culturelabel, in beta, is a platform for limited-edition, artist-designed goods. Wait a minute - "artist-designed"? Don't artists create? Finding the ubiquitous, unexplained use of this term a little disturbing...

Sunglasses for Asian faces

If you're not Asian, or are but be blessed with a high-bridged nose, you may not be aware of this, but most Asians have really flat noses and super curvy, headband-like sunglasses just refuse to sit on our faces. We (or I, anyway) are usually made to settle for boring wire-framed glasses with wobbly plastic nobs at the nose (dunno what they're called sorry). So I'm quite pleased to find someone trying to fill the gap in the market - quite liking the Amelia aviators I must say.

Purple suede deck shoes

from Tailorable, a Korean men's brand with super-slim, colourful casual suits, polos, leather and shoes. They have this in size 38-42, so big(ger) footed girls like me can get their share too, BUT I can't get through their online shopping process and I can't find an email address to contact them at! Boohoo :(

Juicy Bling

Matina Amanita - jewellery by sister of the designer behind the Thai label Sretsis (reverse the spelling for the meaning), which has some chic city girl gear. She has costume and fine jewellery lines - more in the former category on her website, but I don't know what the proportion is like in reality. The flagship is at Gaysorn Shopping Centre, Bangkok.

The Magazine Rack

I absolutely love magazines. No surprise that I'm firmly in the "print is not dead" side of the debate, though I won't go on about it here. Let's just say, film and TV didn't kill theatre, so why will the internet kill print?

Here are my favourite magazines at the moment. They're surviving (and maybe even thriving) for a reason. Go figure, Conde Nast.

Sea of Shoes for Urban Outfitters

Capsule collection at Urban Outfitters by Jane at Sea of Shoes, one of the most talented 17 year-olds around. I love it when she writes something along the lines of "gotta go and revise for finals" at the end of her haute shoe-drool photo posts.

On another note, an interesting move for UO to tap into blogger talent...

See Jane's blog for more (also on my blogroll)

Jeffrey Monteiro FW09

Summer's barely arrived, but I don't have a taste for warm weather, so am looking to the future...

http://www.jeffreymonteiro.com

Jewellery: Paper to Pearls

Sustainable, micro-entrepreneurial jewellery from Paper to Pearls - they reuse waste paper, and help women in Uganda gain a source of income, and you get to take home some pretty beads and necklaces. What a delightful combination :)

GAP X CDFA award nominees

Wish I was in the States - I would totally consider lining up outside a GAP store for this...

According to Racked LA, GAP is collaborating with CDFA award nominee Alexander Wang this time

edit: dress actually by Vena Cava, not Wang (source). Sorry! And the dress is now available online (shipping to US addresses only though, bummer)

The Art of shopping

Para/Site Art Space, Hong Kong, Franz Ackerman Edition
Three layers of screen printed patterns on printed poster with hardboard backing

Indian dreaming

Oh dear, I really need to go to India...




Kora cashmere shawl, from CoutureLab (for US$1,264!!! omg! I bet it's half the price in Delhi...)

To hell with iPhone

Now this is true Imaginary Boutique material - a concept.




This beautiful thing, if it were to be developed, is a true iPhone killer, as Core77 rightly says.

Designed by 23 year-old Parisian designer Fabien Nauroy.

My Imaginary Real Estate Agency

I love the modernist rec room look of this cafe/beer garden in Berlin. Can a boutique sell property? Do I need to change the name of this blog to "My Imaginary Real Estate Agency"? Maybe I'll start one as an April Fool's prank!

Will have to stop by next time I'm in Berlin.

Golgatha
Dudenstraße 48
10965 Berlin, Germany
http://www.gmss.de/Golgatha-Biergarten

Oh, my love...

"Or is it lust?" she ponders...

JF & Son, available at Refinery29

Something for the home: 3D typefaces

by Karina Petersen

The typefaces appear differently, according to the angle you look at it. Awesome.

Cosmetics: Argan oil

Just learnt about the company Kahina that sells argan oil skin products made by a women's cooperative in Morocco.

I love an ethical company, and I love the idea that the product is made by women, to be used by women. It's like an international beauty forum of the most basic, non-internet kind.



According to Wikipedia:

"Argan oil is an oil produced from the kernels of the endemic argan tree, that is valued for its nutritive, cosmetic and numerous medicinal properties. The tree, a relict species from the Tertiary age, is extremely well adapted to drought and other environmentally difficult conditions of southwestern Morocco.

[...]

The unroasted oil is traditionally used as a treatment for skin diseases, and has found favour with the cosmetics industry. An Irish sufferer of the skin condition Psoriasis, claims that Argan oil has helped greatly in clearing up the physical manifestation of the condition."

Interesting - and it's not too expensive either. The facial lotion is US$55 a pop and 10% of profits go to improving the lives of these women. [edit: I just tried to buy online and the payment gateway kept trying to tell me to pay $69 for for the lotion... whoops. Hope they'll fix it all soon!]

So I guess charity can make you beautiful.

Bags: more sailcloth

Haven't been on Etsy for aaaaaages, and was pleasantly surprised to find RAGGEDedgeGear, a mother-daughter outfit that makes bags and accessories out of juicily coloured sailcloth.

Something for the home

On a fairly recent visit to Venice, this was the thing that I most wanted to take home.

Alas, it's an exhibit at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.

Changing Place, Changing Time, Changing Thoughts, Changing Future
2003, neon tubes, Maurizio Nannucci

Bags: Sailcloth tote

Recycled sailcloth tote by Canadian Red Flag.

Interiors: Optical Illusion Carpets

Love these carpets by Pravdoliub Ivanov!

Gram shoes

If only they'd produce in smaller sizes for women...




366g By Swedish brand Gram. The shoes are named by how much they weigh. You can't buy these anymore because they're from the S/S 2008 collection :(

Here's something from the A/W 2009 (current) collection. The leathers, though seasonally sensitive, don't appeal to me as much as the utilitarian cotton denim.



You can get them at their own shop, or from asos.

Cameras: Polaroid 4 in 1

Why oh why is no one producing Polaroid film anymore?

4 shots on one Polaroid pic - camera available at Polarpremium.

On another note, I don't know if this actually works, but please sign this petition to save Polaroids! I would love to (imaginarily) sell them.

Furniture: Jean Prouve vintage school desk

Jean Prouve school desk. I've no idea how anyone might use this at home, but it's awesome.
from Antiquites de L'Isle Saint-Louis (Paris)

Handbags: Large

I was going to name this just "bags", but given the bag freak that I am, if I had a store, I would have to separate the buying into:

• handbags -> large, medium, small
• luggage
• clutches
• wallets
• eco shoppers

So, the big bags...

Proenza Schouler PS1 (link goes to collection at Barneys NY): If there were such thing as an "It" bag still (there isn't, get over it), this one probably comes close, and despite the hype, I'm actually liking it. Simple, classic, and unlike an It bag, will last through many seasons.

Aridza Bross (Paris & Lille): laptop friendly, but not one of those ubiquitous black IBM bags. Available at aerLUXE, and probably other places too...

Lingerie, corsets and the like

Let's start with the sexiest (literally) department...

Cristina Linassi (Venice), who can custom make slips and nightgowns in beautiful lace

Ditu (New York) corsets from the S/S 2008 Angkor Apsara Goddess Collection


Kiki de Montparnasse (New York, LA and beyond), my (almost) eternal, fail-safe favourite for underthings. This is the silk chiffon Wrap teddy


Coco de Mer (LA and beyond): French lace knickers (not liking much of the collection otherwise)