POST OFFICE REALNESS

(Shirt - Rick Owens DRKSHDW / Pants - Kaylee Tankus / Boots - Veronique Branquinho)

I'm trying my best to keep up here...although most of the time I feel like my day-to-day actions aren't quite interesting enough or aesthetically intriguing to post here. But perhaps they are? I've documented the highlight of my day, the ceremonial pilgrimage to the post office, bringing with me a sack full of packages so large I might give Santa (on an off-day) a run for his money! Enjoy?

Today's haul includes 8 packages, flying out to Australia, London (2), California (2), Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands


The modest Ikea bag...or the next trendy oversized tote?

HOW DID I LIVE WITHOUT YOU?

In an attempt to play catch-up with the blog, may I share with you my favorite dress as of recent - I picked it up some time ago, but for whatever reason never photographed it properly. It shouldn't be a surprise that its by my longtime favorites Pleasure Principle. The older I get, the less tolerance I have or fussy clothing, which is why I appreciate this piece so much - while feeling like a simple tank, its asymmetrical drape of chiffon elevates it beyond a basic. (You can buy it online at OAK)

Other important developments:


Shiny new hand press for riveting leather! I am still proud to say that aside from the online shop, my business runs 100% on hand power, without the aide of any electricity.

Should I have had these for years? I know, I know. At last I have business cards, thanks to my design angel Char Alfonzo who not only created my logo but formatted everything nicely for me.

I am disgusting, I know. Trying really hard to start a coffee habit instead, although I've never particularly cared for the taste.

I've been pretty out of it when it comes to concerts in NYC, so when I spotted that the legendary band SWANS were reforming for a continuation of their band's concept AND playing in Brooklyn, I scrambled to get my hands on a pair of tickets. This led into manic a shopping spree on ticketmaster, and now I'll be seeing Grinderman in November, and Einsturzende Neubauten twice in December too!

LEATHER + RAIN

(Jacket - Theory / Shirt - Acne / Leggings - Audrey Cantwell / Boots - Ann Demeulemeester)

I've realized that some of my recent favorite garments, the ones that I go to first in my wardrobe & wear repeatedly - have never actually made it onto the blog. I'm working on changing that, starting with what you see here: a simple uniform for welcoming the oncoming autumn (my weather app predicts four days of rain this week!). Along with victorious consumption of pumpkin beer, I will be wearing plenty of leather, unabashedly donning several pieces at once.

Looked up & saw this; thought the lines of the chair plus the strewn harnesses worked quite elegantly in a haphazard way.

SERIOUS DECORATION

Ever wondered how to store your harness? Have you wanted to display it regally without making your bedroom look like an S&M dungeon (aka my apartment)? Well look no further! Take some inspiration from my leather ambassador Alejandro and how he has mounted his pieces on the wall (from L-R, Francesca, Orion, 3-Wing). Do you store your leather creatively? Have a favorite outfit for your harness? I would LOVE to see! Shoot me over a pic to ilovegarbagedress@gmail.com

MAGICK & MARIOS

I feel a bit bland by posting runway photos from style.com onto my treasured li'l blog, but fuck it cause I'm not in London, and I'm pretty obsessed with Marios Schwab's collection that he just showed! Aside from the hair and makeup (which I've kindly covered up with Schwab's occult star of choice), I thought the styling was spot on, the color palate enjoyable, and the amount of detail work completely awe-inspiring!!! I was loving it even before I got to the harness-inspired looks - the leather solidified my admiration. When it comes to intricate detailing and hidden imagery within clothing, I usually turn to Tsumori Chisato as master - however in Schwab's collection, the chosen iconography appeared in embroidery stitching, lace, corsetry and print - an intricacy of customization rarely executed! After a disappointing season in New York, I was holding my breath for London to inspire, I guess I found what I was looking for.

Although only present for one look, these stitched shoes really sung to me. Perhaps it's because I have a soft spot for detailing over the top of shoes, to me they are so spot on and subtly wicked.

SOMETHING SUBTLE

(Dress - Zero + Maria Cornejo / Necklace - Chris Habana / Shoes - Dolce Vita)

Enough fashion week collections for right now! Lets talk about what I'm wearing. This Zero + Maria Cornejo dress is a recent find and a new favorite. Its a great addition to my growing collection of voluminous dresses that probably won't get me laid, but make me endlessly happy due to their complexities, shape, form & movement. This one in particular is extra fun due to its option of double armholes - I opted to wear it tank style as apposed to short sleeve with exposed shoulder, as is already a lot of fabric and the least I can do is get my body credit for having arms!

Would you believe that my hair is actually shoulder-length when pulled straight?

These Dolce Vita wedges have been a complete lifesaver after a couple of foot-related injuries. For me, this is as close to a flat as I can wear and it honestly feels like there is no wedge at all! While I do indeed own more than several pairs of shoes, I have a lack of comfortable ones that are NOT boots. Void filled, I will wear these all day and have happy feet.

ASHER LEVINE SS11

There's a scene in '24 Hour Party People' where Tony Wilson's character recalls being at the first Sex Pistols gig in Manchester. He says "There are only fourty two people in the audience, but every single one of them is feeding on a power, an energy, and a magic." Call me a romantic, but I couldn't help but feel the same sort of excitement when viewing Asher Levine's presentation of his newest works last week.

Having only seen his prior collection in photos, I was not prepared for the amount of thoughtfulness and precision shown in person. There is a certain softness present in many of his pieces, yet they continue to maintain their masculinity. The fabrics he used echoed his sentiment towards transformations found in nature; an impeccable fish skin leather jacket, distressed dyed linens, silk treated in a way to resemble jellyfish. Two jackets were shown, and then unsnapped & rezipped to turn into full body jumpsuits. All together, there were an aggressive 24 looks.

I plan on harassing Asher until he lets me visit his studio (I joke, we've discussed & agreed this before), so that I can accurately portray his talent and the beauty in his works. I can see big things coming for this one, just you wait & see.

(Hi, call me)








Watch out for this face!!

HANNE + HARNESS PT2

Photo via Mr. Newton


A big thank you to all who have forwarded me links & photos over the past week. Don't know what I would do without your eagle eyes! First & last photos are courtesy of the LURVE blog. The harness that Hanne is wearing is for sale HERE.

AN OPEN LETTER TO JEREMY SCOTT

Hey Jeremy. You probably don't remember me, but we met briefly in San Francisco once and have a few mutual friends in common. When designing your SS11 collection, you probably didn't realize that you were in fact making my dream dress. It is simply the most perfect GARBAGE DRESS that I have ever seen, free of any extraneous bells & whistles, perfectly in line with the flat minimalism of the Parisian runways yet solidified in my heart with the red pull-tie hemline.

I will make you all sorts of leather harnesses. I could probably even make one that has words build in, I could make one with your name out of straps - and I know how much you love self-branding! From one garbage gal to another, I am not asking much...just a moment of consideration to make my life complete.

Your future friend,
zana

RAD RAD WORLD

I didn't go to many shows during this fashion week, but one in particular that I was excited to see was Rad Hourani! The show itself was actually RAD by Rah Hourani, the 'unisex' diffusion line, as the mainline is now shown in Paris - nonetheless, my excitement remained. The first few looks followed the aesthetic that Rad has set for himself over the past few seasons - a leather pant, draped structural jacket, a zip here & some paneling there, all worn on either lanky boys or androgenously flat girls. And then...it was done! I think a few of us were momentarily left blinking. Was that really it? We have seen this from Rad before. And I'm not saying that I didn't like the clothes - I think I can speak for many of us when I say that I would love to wear any of his pieces & enjoy feel like his aesthetic is perfectly 'right now' - but when I view a runway show, I expect progression.

Perhaps it was the context that did not work for me. Firstly, RAD by Rad Hourani is meant to be a simplified and more accessible version of the main line, so showing the it before Paris makes little sense to me. And unless a diffusion line becomes its own entity (Miu Miu & Prada, Y-3 & Yamamoto, Marc by MJ & Marc Jacobs etc) then it does not really need its own runway show. I think the garments would have sung louder in a presentation type setting. Lastly, the choice of models. I understand developing a brand's image - I enjoy it when labels use their same models over and over, but I am kind of turned off and frankly bored by the same flat-ironed severity that we see season after season with his shows. I appreciate his focus on androgeny, but using a cast of models who almost entirely span that middle area of gender ambiguity (for the Nth time) has me finding the clothing less and less accessible.

Under the "about" section on the website, it states "Hourani's objective is to create garments that can be worn by anyone at any time". I know what his clothes look like on androgen's, now show me what they look like on breasts, hips, muscles and men!! My critique comes from a place of love, I hope I can eat my words after the Paris show of the main collection.