Citispiration

Driving up the California coast is one of the most beautiful sights in the Western U.S.



Here are some of my pictures from last weekend in Big Sur and San Francisco. As always, I post personal pictures to give inspiration for personal style. How, might you be wondering, does a photo of a giant redwood teach me how to dress? The colors in nature are the original color palette! To say nothing of the layering, or antiquarian ways one must adopt while camping.

No, your Golden Girl hasn't taken too much acid and gone all Merry Pranksters on you. I just firmly believe that we should draw inspiration for our style from all of the things that surround us. If you're bored with those surroundings, change them! But if you can't change them then just look at my pictures and go to your happy place.



Your Golden Girl,

Olive

The San Francisco Treat

Memorial Day weekend was spent up in San Francisco. It was not my first time to the city, but it was the first time I went exploring for unique additions to my ever-expanding wardrobe. If you think San Francisco style means hippies leftover from the days of free love, think again. It is home to the GAP brand (which includes Banana Republic, among others), as well as several well-known fashion schools (FIDM, Apparel Arts), a burgeoning fashion week, and as many indie designers as you can stash in your Birkin.


My favorite discovery of all was a little lingerie shop on Haight, called Dollhouse Bettie. Began in 2004 as a side project for the owners, Michelle and Eric, Dollhouse Bettie has since grown into one of the most loved lingerie shops in the San Francisco area. What caught my eye as I passed by the shop was the window display: a tuxedo bra and panty set accessorized with a flask-holding silk garter. I knew I had to go inside to further investigate the good humor.

Once inside, my breath was taken away by the attention to detail in every little nook and cranny of the store. The layout and displays had a million things to look at. No white cotton undies here! The influence of theater and pin-up girls was obvious, from the silk chaise lounges positioned just so outside of the Parisian-style dressing rooms, to the one of a kind 50's bra and underwear sets. The majority of styles seemed to be vintage, or new-to-look-vintage. However, they do carry some mainstream designers, such as Betsey Johnson.

My favorite in-store item was the kimonos fit for any 50's starlet lounging around her dressing room. Made in silk or velvet and adorned with feathers around the cuffs and neck, in a variety of colors and patterns. I also fell in love with the peacock feather boa. But as a young woman seeking help for her addiction to impractical accessories, I decided against buying one.


Dollhouse Bettie is the perfect bold and original San Francisco treat. After all, truly stylish women know that what really matters is what's underneath it all.


Your Golden Girl,


Olive

Cannes of Worms

The excuse to hang out on yachts in the South of France that is the Cannes International Film Festival is in full swing.


Usually the stylings of Hollywood starlets puts me right to sleep. Afraid they'll embarass themselves if they dare to dive into their own personal style, most actresses work with stylists and appear on the red carpet in carefully planned out, pretty-but-snooze worthy ensembles. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see acts of creative dressing by several of Hollywood's safest players. The beachy lifestyle and free champagne must be making them uninhibited. The best dressed red carpet darling in Cannes comes not from the world of high fashion, but right here from my own backyard in Tinseltown.


I cannot get this Andrew Gn dress worn by Elizabeth Banks to the premiere of Spring Fever out of my head. Dare I say it's one of my favorite red carpet gowns of all time? The unique cuffs and soft forties curls complete this look and make it an instant classic. Kudos are deserved not only to Andrew Gn for this masterpeice of lines and beading, but also to Ms. Banks for looking like a modern-day Marilyn in it. Oh, to be invited to fancy events that require this type of traffic stopping dress!




Another stunner was worn by Michelle Yeoh, in Versace. I'm highly critical of anyone attempting to pull off earring-to-train emerald green, but she did it with style. The grecian-inspired detailing across the front of the chest is to die for. A fashion experiment gone well.
Abbie Cornish, Eva Longoria, Georgina Chapman and Robin Wright Penn all made valiant efforts, but so far nobody has topped these two. With four days left in the festival, though, who knows? Stranger things have happened at the Festival de Cannes.
Your Golden Girl,
Olive

Images courtsey of fabsugar.com and bastardly.com

Chanel Cruise 2010

Karl Lagerfeld debuted his Chanel Cruise Collection this year on the beach in Venice, Italy. In keeping with his city-hopping theme of cruise collections past (previous years have had shows in cities from Monte Carlo to Miami), Lagerfeld immersed himself in the surroundings of his designs debut, pulling inspiration from the nautical city and its historically rich past.

The show was a typically over-the-top Chanel affair, held on the beach with guests sitting in deck chairs. Models took to the runway with their hair styled in a messy homage to Roaring 20's fingercurls. If only Mr. Lagerfeld knew my hair looks this way when I roll out of bed every morning! The predominant footwear was lace up, open-toed boots, ranging from a red and white stripe with blue Chanel logos, to black and gold platforms, and clear with black laces. A Chanel show would be incomplete without the signature LBD's and boucle jackets. The latter of which were featured this time around in a variety of colors and patterns, from the dominant red, white, blue, and gold to the warm-weather friendly bright pink and orange. After seeing a few ethereal looks sprinkled throughout the show, the finale look was an appropriately show stopping silver and gold gown with pronounced shoulders and swaths of fabric extending from the hips. The perfect close to everything the show had been hinting at: history, art, and beauty as told through fashion. Classic Chanel fused effortlessly with both a nod to its predecessors and a look to the future.

I've included shots by Davide Maestri from the WWD website of some of my favorite looks from the show. I'm especially in love with the black and white hatbox purse, and a pair of sunglasses seen with a couple of different looks. The sunglasses remind me of those little binoculars people use to watch operas from the balcony. A few commenter's have pointed out that they're also reminiscent of masks worn to masked balls. Either way, it's Italian and I've never wanted an impractical accessory more! See the rest of the shots I go to sleep dreaming of owning here: WWD Chanel Cruise Slideshow

Your Golden Girl,

Olive

Uhhh...No. Porkpie hats.

I'm not really clear on the specifics, but back in the dawns of time, somebody somewhere invented the hat. It was a simple piece of material, designed to keep the sun from beating down too hard while you rode your horse to check on the serfs working in the fields. It was also great for keeping rain off your head during monsoons and for hiding bartering goods under during violent tribal upheavals.


As the years went on, the hat took on many forms. Tophat, cowboy, beret, helmet, newsboy, fedora, skullcap, ski mask... Each served a purpose, and served it well. Then, in the 1980's, something grotesque happened. Some designer high on cocaine and Crystal Pepsi came up with the porkpie hat. Looking like the illegitimate crack-baby of a smashed down tophat and a crooked fedora, porkpie hats were by far the ugliest head wear trend of the 80's ('Blossom was in the 90's). Like everything else in the Reagan era, it seemed awesome at the time, but once everybody came down they realized that they were doing something they were ashamed of. The porkpie hat went the way of Wham!, buildings painted in bright mismatched colors, and the Dolorean, and faded from our minds into oblivion, where we were safe to laugh at our youthful experimentation.


Unfortunately, one of the most startling trends as of late has been the return of the porkpie hat. Sported by hipsters as some sort of ironic nod to the past, porkpie hats are worn by males as well as females. Since when did Samantha Ronson and Ducky from the Brat Pack resemble anybody whose style was worthy of envy? The porkpie hat this time around represents far more than something ugly sitting on ontop of someone's head. It represents an entire demographic of rude, Clove-smoking, entitled brats that actually think they've started a revolutionary trend in fashion! They and their porkpie hats must be stopped immediately!


As with every new incarnation of a trend, this one comes with its own spin. I have witnessed porkpie hats in materials as diverse as leather, tweed, even plastic. In addition to flattening the top of the wearer's head, porkpie hats in the aforementioned materials take the "Uhhh...No." factor to soaring new heights. These hats look flattering on absolutely nobody, and should be removed from all stores and heads at once!

"Uhhh...No." is brought to you this week courtesy of porkpie hats, and all of the sadly misinformed people that believe they look good in them. Join me, Golden Girl Olive, in saying "Uhhh...No." to porkpie hats, and encouraging their demise for the second and final time.

Happy Friday!


Your Golden Girl,


Olive

Style Icon: Lou Doillon

She has served as a fashion designers' muse since the age of nine, when she would wear Indian print leggings with Grateful Dead t-shirts and dreadlocks. By the time she was twelve, she had tattoos and a tongue ring. At fourteen, she began modeling for high end designers and has since been the face of Chanel and Givenchy.

Living life in the fast lane is nothing new for the twenty-six year old Parisian. Lou Doillon works as hard as she plays. Life can really only go in one of two directions if you've already experienced more before age thirteen than most people do at forty. The free spirit lists mother, actress, fashion designer, and musician legitimately on her resume. Although the clothing company she was designing for went bankrupt last year, it was not before Doillon's designs received rave reviews from the fashion community. Of course, what more could you expect if your mother was Jane Birkin and your father a famously tempetous French film director?

Known for her original way of wearing clothing and rebellious personal choices, one gets the impression Lou Doillon is used to not caring what other people think of her. In 2008, the bony renegade posed nude for the French edition of Playboy, once again giving the conventional ideal of beauty a middle finger.

Lou Doillon has been in the public eye since childhood. Certainly she has never shyed away from demanding the attention of everyone in the room. But she does so in a manner that convinces onlookers she has something to say. This is one Style Icon that's not afraid to live loud, in all areas of life.

Your Golden Girl,

Olive

Current Wishful Drinking: Thigh High Boots

I've been dreaming about owning a pair of these pretty puppies ever since the first time I saw "Pretty Woman". I was four and did not realize what a hooker was. I only know that I begged my mom to no avail for a pair of my very own tall boots, and was sent to my room with no dinner after she caught me playing dress up in a pair of her high heeled boots that went up to my waist, red lipstick slashed across my face, speaking in a Bed-Stuy accent about "my clients".

After seeing them featured in several major fashion media outlets over the past few months, my shameful childhood dream of owning a pair of thigh high boots seemed to be a tangible reality. Finally, my mother can rest easy because these over-the-top boots I covet to this day are officially making a triumphant return with fashionistas everywhere. No longer just for strippers, several designers have jumped on this bandwagon and have come up with their own take on thigh high boots. Chanel, Gucci, Miu Miu, Sergio Rossi and Balenciaga all have gorgeous versions.

Although probably not comfortable for everyday wear, thigh high boots can be a fabulous addition to an otherwise conservative minidress and cardigan ensemble. Or, if Agnes Deyn is your Style Hero, then you might try them with short shorts and a loud top. Perfect for dancing on tables. For fun. Not for your job. Naturally, the boots transition easily into winter, as leggings and skinny jeans are easily tucked inside and the look is topped with a blazer, shrug, or pea coat.

Your Golden Girl.

Olive

Kate Moss, kicking off the trend in 2007 in suede Chanel boots (image courtesy of urbanfashionista)

Sergio Rossi's embroidered boots from last season (image courtesy of shoegeek.com)

Lindsey Lohan, April 2009, weaing Chanel boots (image courtesy of NYLON Magazine)