coutorture --

If Not Things, Then Content

coutorture — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 10:02:50 -0700

The twenty four hour news cycle is filled with constant and consistent regurgitation. Americans peep and peck at the beak of the all American newscaster, preferring to have information gathered and digested for them. We consume in tiny little bits at regular intervals like a baby bird being nurtured in the nest of international news without ever bothering to spread our wings. Just as with actual digestion, a little bit of bile is often the result of this process. One of our favorite by products of this process this summer? The constant obsession with the economy and/or the recession.

Now of course defining a recession is pretty cut and dried, but that doesn't leave much to fill the gaping maw of America's desires. Because if we can't consume things we must consume content. We often wonder that if in attempting to keep up appearances, as the beloved Simon Doonan points out in his piece on dressing during a recession, we as the fashion content industry has gone completely overboard in our efforts to sate the appetites of our constituency. We know you aren't buying as much, we aren't buying as much either.

Thus we continue to supply useful pieces on consuming no matter how large our debt to China grows. Instead of consuming products you consume ever more useful pieces of content on fashion. We show you how to shop online, or how to avoid sample sale madness. We are complicit in the ever growing obsession with constantly consuming, no matter what the product. And you know what? We are going to keep doing it.

In the rat race of online publishing we must constantly polish the rhetoric of consumption such that you are always wondering what new and digested manner of shopping we will provide to you next. In fact, we already have a new series in mind that makes use of the kitschy buzzwords of the recession content watch (we are going on staycation folks), but we just wanted to let you know that we are aware. Even our hyper vigilant efforts to remain aloof from the other yammering folks churning out content online (no boring ogling of persons of non-note for us) are not immune from the process of constant product. So we have to at least admit that we know we are doing it too.

Reclaiming Paris for Americans, Again

coutorture — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 09:31:36 -0700

The nostalgia and yearning of city life has been an inspiration since antiquity. While pastoral idealism has certainly had its impact on many creative processes, fashion has always sat squarely in the camp of urbanism.

While Atonin Dvorak's Symphony No. 9, in E Minor "From the New World" is our favorite for a certain kind of longing and aspiration that speaks to the hard scrabble world of American immigrant urbanism that built our textile industry, there is another kind of urban symphony that speaks to American dreams.

They are dreams are not of longing, but of completion and success. Naturally we are referring to George Gershwin who is our go to guy when it comes to a certain era of cosmopolitan creation. It is inspiration for those that have already made it. He plays on a kind of perky insouciance that says there is no hoping only being as the kind of cocky optimism that plays out across the American cultural heritage. He gave us An American in Paris which practically defined the genre of American cross cultural ownership of the urban landscape. Strangely nothing is more American than a pretty lady and her beau swanning about Paris claiming French haute couture for a certain quirky American constituency.

But with the Euro beating the dollar the kind of naive ownership that American style have long had over modern cities even beyond our borders is crumbling. We cannot borrow and reinvent against other's cosmopolitan culture anymore. We simply can't afford it. We say however to let go of Dvorak and go again for Gershwin when dressing in our American Not Quite in Paris staycation attire.

Let us hope that these style inspirations help us remember more of the Gershwin and less of the Dvorak in our urban landscape. This kind of confident ownership is sure to turn our currency around and annoy the crap out of the Parisians as we again claim rights their crown jewel. Even if we have to do it from a café next door on our staycation we say emulate the Parisians. After all, we are a nation of comeback kids and second chances. We say be dressed to be an American in Paris, since any day now a chic pair of black pants and a black shift might be required as we traipse about humming Gershwin on a wild spending spree at our favorite Right Bank boutiques.

Four Corners Without Leaving Your Four Walls

coutorture — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 08:28:11 -0700

Your editor just came back from a very curious little vacation. She went on the ultimate search for the ultimate bar food munchie: the chicken wing. This strange journey upstate to Buffalo is somewhat indicative of the perplexing situation of plenty amongst the possible ruins that typifies our current climate.

Though not everyone is able to take a vacation this summer. In fact, we have taken a shine to a phrase that is all over the news media. Many of us are supposedly going on staycations to save on gas, airfare, and other overpriced travel problems.

We find this humorous because fashionistas have been playing at escapist fantasies without ever leaving our four walls for years. That is why we play dress up in the first place as far as we are concerned. But its nice to know that our ability to play with perception is finally gaining credence with the rest of the world. Thus we give you are first attempt at the escapist fantasy dress up game in our staycation series.

We love deserts, rafting, and cowboys. The allure of that lifestyle is one we continue to chronicle. Thus we give you Four Corners Without Leaving Your Four Walls. Cheap dungarees, fast fashion southwestern themed accessories (totally called that one) and one very pricey but awesome Phillip Lim western shirt will take you to a dive bar that plays both kinds of music (country and western) or maybe a movie night at home. May we suggest a few dude ranch westerns?

Shout Out: Network Partners to the Rescue

coutorture — Tue, 13 May 2008 09:11:39 -0700

Yesterday we were in a brooding mood as we pondered the effect the economic downturn would have on our fashion choices. However, we've since turned our frowns upside down, as we realized that the fashion world doesn't have to become a virtual strip mall of homogeneous, low-quality goods. While we're still aware of its pitfalls and are sleeping with one eye open, we've found solutions for the fashion-craving girl or guy on a paltry budget. Our network partners show us the way.

We found inspiration in the form of a puffed shoulder, via Kingdom of Style's tale of victory on eBay, where she scored a unique bolero jacket that sent her over the moon with rapturous joy. Her jubilant photo spread with said jacket proved to us that you can still sate your high-fashion appetites. You just have to know where to look. Even if bidding wars aren't your thing, there are many virtual stores on eBay that don't require you to engage in high-speed clicking battles with an enemy mouse. For the uninitiated, these stores allow eBayers to buy and sell goods at fixed prices.

If it's indie accoutrements you crave, Etsy is pretty hard to beat. As a marketplace for independent designers to showcase their wares without the costs associated with a brick and mortar shop, it's a go-to if you're looking for unique, one-of-a-kind pieces that you won't see everywhere else. Plus, it feels good to support a fledgling designer and stick it to our mass-producing culture. Network partner Stereoette makes and sells her own jewelry at her Etsy online store. She also recommends Gavin & Lily, and Holly Stalder.

If it's vintage you seek, our network partners have you covered. Shrimpton Couture is a treasure trove of vintage finds and is currently offering 15% off of everything on the site until May 31. Debutante Clothing lets you know where to find the great vintage styles and tips you off to the best eBay and Etsy shops. Zuburbia always features an enviable vintage pick of the day and provides a well-edited list of links to vintage resources.

Perhaps our economic woes will force us to become better, more resourceful shoppers. There will always be a niche to serve those discerning consumers who won't be satisfied with what traditional retailers try to peddle, and as long as we continue to seek it, the market will respond accordingly.

Shout Out: Catwalk Queen Shows Us the Future

coutorture — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:57:46 -0700

The ominous news on the economy front has given us a bout of the blues. While the downturn won't exactly mean breadline poverty for us all, it'll most certainly affect the choices of all but the upper strata.

Where will the fashion-starved turn once our everyday indulgences become unattainable luxuries? Many a fashion lover who feeds her habit with reckless abandon has had to face this reality, whether it's brought to our attention at the gas station, grocery store, or stock market. Practical considerations will almost certainly prompt a reevaluation of spending habits, with less disposable income allocated for the guilty pleasures and non-essentials. Save for the occasional treat, we'll either be shopping less, or shopping lower. If our favorite designer clothing becomes out of reach, less options may mean more time spent trawling the wares at Forever 21. Will the already ubiquitous diffusion lines and mass market retail become our daily bread?

Before you shudder and picture a Manhattan bursting at the sidewalks with a hideous amalgam of khaki and day-glo teen clones, consider the possibility that such a change might be an impetus for designers to get innovative in order to produce reasonably priced, fashion-forward designs. One would hope, but perhaps the more real possibility is that cutting corners in order to cut costs, so that we may continue to consume at a pace that our economy is clearly telling us is unsustainable, will result in a decline in the overall quality of the goods we consume. While you may love the feel of premium cashmere grazing your skin, you might have to get used to a scratchy substitute. When we relax standards out of what seems like necessity or a lack of options, our acceptance indicates to manufacturers that we'll settle for substandard, inferior products. If this becomes a trend, it could yield a worrisome outcome in which the consumer is left little choice but to purchase whatever the market offers.

Such a shift in consumer spending habits may just prove to be a boon for vertically integrated companies like Zara, which has proven its ability to continuously provide a steady stream of new styles to a fashion-conscious but budget-minded populace. It'll be interesting to see how much they stand to gain or lose as pursestrings are tightened. Without further ado, here's what you might be wearing come Fall/Winter 2008, brought to you by Catwalk Queen, who got a sneak peek at H&M's press preview over in London and shows us some of the trends the mass merchant will be shilling. Love it or hate it, it might just be one of your only options.