monsoon saturdays

I missed Holi celebrations by a couple of weeks. So, this stunning pair
is in honor of that. Welcome spring and colours converge in the universe!

my bed is a pool and the walls are on fire

i want to walk around with you in summertime clothes.
nina ricci/spring 2010

wavy gravy, save a lady!

i am big time crushing on some of the opening ceremony
spring pieces from their new look book. the washed out tie dye
suede was a smooth move on those triple bow kicks.

grasping at the pretty straws

after coming up for air from a lengthy search that yielded
nothing desirable at beacons, this gilded chocolate straw hat
by stephen jones for marc jacobs spring 2009 show placed
itself in my path
an appropriate and very welcome precursor to
my newly trimmed bang fringe

death in this afternoon

(caution sign. this is an intense and descriptive depiction of what goes down during

a bullfight-so i would skip this one if you are uneasy or simply uninterested, i won't take offense)

because it was feria, the opening of bullfighting season and i was in Sevilla, where the substance

of the corrida was developed, my desire to witness a spanish bullfight had reached max capacity.

saturday morning in the centre, i found a taquilla and had a word with the hombre aqui.

he convinced me that evening there were tickets for prime viewing and i secured my seat.

on my way to La Maestranza, Sevillanos were gearing up for the rounds with with alcohol in

all the little bars in El Arenal. i picked up a striped seat cushion and made my way in.

of course, chaos spanish style. yo penso que they love acting a bit mad here.

the plaza de torreos was beautiful and the scene was unreal-ladies in their flamenco,

many and most in straw hats and nearly everyone with swatting fans.

at 18:30, we are introduced to the cast. tres matadors, their cuadrillas (helpers),

the picadores (on horseback) and banderillos parade in.

after a bit of paparazzi and fanfare, the saffron ring is cleared and things get under way.

the first bull, fiercely runs into the ring and is agitated by the banderillos with pink capes.

toro is getting pissed off and its obvious because he is chasing after the banderillos

and slamming his horns against the wooden barricades they hide behind.

a horn sounds and next up are the picadores and things get intense.

dos hombres on horses have long spear like sticks, known as picadores and their goal

is to stab the bull in the back of the neck to weaken him.

the banderillos coax the bull over and the picador takes his stab. the bull is bleeding

from the next and now trying to slam the horse into the wall. its hardcore and at one point

one of the horses has been knocked down and the picadore pulled out of the ring.

after a bit of this, another horn.

and its the banderillos go. each of three dudes have dos banderillas,

(little poles with barbed ends and colourful streamers)

they do a bit of preening, tip toeing and dancing around and then swiftly waltz up to

the toro and festoon him in the neck with these daggers. i imagine this must be a truly

courageous act, running up to an angry bull in your fantastic traje de luces,

(i quite fancied the naranja one!) and not much else.

another horn and its the real deal.

the matador with his pink cape comes into the ring. its just him and the toro and

things get quite mesmerizing.

the dance between the bull and matador is in slow motion and almost romantic.

each matador has a different approach-one quietly coaxes the toro to venga (come)

and lets the pink fabric fall over the bulls back, another lets the spanish machissmo

fly and juts his pelvis in the toros face and plum around for the spanish audience, who

are totally loving it. this matador did have the moves though, he literally jumped up in

the air and did this wild spin move.

so the matador has his flirt with the bull and then when he decides enough is enough,

he gets the sword. he has got to get the bulls head down and be directly in front of him

to make a smooth kill. matador in verde does just this, takes his cut and the bull staggers

and falls. i think he was deemed the winner, after his first round, the crowd was waving

little white kerchiefs in a sign of approval. (noone else got this, Sevillanos are notorious

for being hard to please in the corrida)

the bull is now tied to a band of horses and pulled out of the ring.

the whole scene happens five more times.

i found it to be fascinating and like nothing i have ever seen.

the spanish love it and are so visibly proud of this art.

trouser browser

not sure exactly what has soaked into me but i'm developing a penchant for

some fancy trews by Acne Jeans

pictured: zoom leather/zebra black/zaire/her stripe/zebra white

spring ahead with product placement

givenchy headband

tom binns necklace

fendi heel

louis vuitton heel

vbh leather bag

pierre hardy neoprene bag

a few curious accessories are emerging from the spring 2009 shows

the tom binns necklace reminds me of a fallen bird

leading a calm evolution

the ease of dries.

while not the obviously in your face fashion we have become accustomed to

this past few weeks, dries van noten offers the pared down.

in shape, colour and simplified geometrics.

its of his usual vocabulary and its welcome. so many women can wear this

because its easy and displays his respect for his greatest muse, the woman.

the look, the total look of dries is effortless and he does it with such beauty and ease.

a look, an aura that so many try to replicate-but fail.

dries is never revolution but i think its about a quiet evolution. his collections

undulate into the next, its never about out doing the previous or completely turning

his own ideas on their heads. he is respectful to his own history as its so well thought

out-everything he has done, from the very start.

this, is a lost idea in the fashions we are seeing-it sets him into a class of his own.

much of this fashion season has been overwhelming to the wearer-and us the viewers.

the thought that there is someone in the clothes seems to have escaped so many-the thought

that your personality can bring something to what you wear.

i think this collection gives the upper hand to the individual.

while not my favourite dries show ever, but its beautiful and in its whispering way its

bringing fashion forward leaps and bounds.

i'll forever be a fan.

and a word borrowed from my mum, jude-a dries lover of sorts

'i love dries van noten. or should i say i love what he creates for me.

choosing a great style is an emotional thing and dries somehow touches that among

a broad range of people. why? few designers can articulate their intuition so effectively

without getting lost in the process. it is very difficult to achieve.

so, why does this guy appeal to you...and your mother?

that's huge.

my feeling is this: dries van noten adores women, all women. he embraces the idea

of 'womanhood' and he does it with excitement and kindness. dries is unfailingly and

sincerely kind to women. wearing a dries is like having an artist paint your best portrait

and as you gaze at the picture, you see all in yourself that is good.

dries was made to do what he does. and it doesn't get better than that.'