Open quote

Did you know that count Dracula, the Marquis de Sade and Cinderella all lived in the same house? I didn't believe that either until I came across the fascinating classical book by Walter Benjamin called: "Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction". In the book Benjamin explains that since we live in such a media exposed environment we lose touch with the real origins of things and start to imitate imitations. One example that kind of blew my mind was that the "Disney" fairytale castle's shape is actually based on the house of the "Marquis de Sade" (who is, let's face it, not exactly Prince Charming). The animators at Disney didn't actually know whose castle they were imitating; they themselves were bombarded with so many images from books, television and commercials that for them the castle was just the way people saw mythical houses.
Benjamin calls this phenomenon "quoting" and separates it into different kinds of categories like "Pastiche" and "Simulacrum", which you can click to check on Wikipedia. There's a fine line between "quoting", "copying" and "creating you own version". Since I read Benjamin's book I have developed a little fetish of collecting "quotes" that stumble my way which you can see below. Once you start noticing them it's really amazing to find how common they are. For our part, Nina and I decided to create our own version of Tamara de Lempicka's paintings. Lempicka is my favorite cubist painter and one of the only women cubists in the movement. Tamara herself was quite fashionable and certainly deserves her own post but this will have to do for now.
"Gabrielle d'Estrées et une de ses soeurs" by an unknown artist and quotes by different artistes





La Mort de Marat Jacques - Louis David (on the right) and a quote by fashion photographer Eugenio Recuenco



Violin by Man Ray and a quote by Viktor & Rolf



Vermeer's Painting "Girl Reading a Letter by an Open Window" and a quote by fashion photographer Eugenio Recuenco



Jon Galiano's Nefertiti for Christian Dior Haute Couture Spring 2004 and the source an old Egyptsian statue of Nefertiti



The Marquis de Sade's castle and the Disney version


Nina's version of Tamara De Lempicka's painting "Girl with a book"


Tchelet's version of Tamara de Lempicka, Portrait de La Duchesse de La Salle, 1925

The first Braids and Bows DIY project

Ever since I can remember myself my mom was sewing, knitting or embroidering, so I could see how an idea forms into reality as a beautiful piece of clothing. Luckily I inherited my mother's passion and a few of her amazing skills, and I love designing and creating myself.
Usually I don’t have much time for big projects, so I love making simple fun things like this cute shopper bag.

1. This is what you will need: a simple cotton shopper bag that you can buy in places that sell non plastic bags- mine was bought in “Arta”, pearls, a stamp for walls or a stencil- I bought the bow shape, black textile color, thread and a needle.




2. Color the stamp and press against the fabric, there will probably be areas without color, so I just filled it with a small brush. You should follow the instructions written on the color bottle, for example, I ironed the area after it was dry.




3,4. Stitch the pearls to the bag





5. Stitch the pearls on the top of the handle.




Voila! Here is the bag!

Fashion games

It's winter presentation time here in Israel and I seem to find myself running to three or more fashion shows a week. That would be fine if it wasn't for the fact that I am running out of new and interesting things to wear, kind of a job requirement for a fashion reporter. That's however when " Polyvore" comes in.
To anyone who isn't yet addicted, I highly recommend to plug your self into this wonderful world of fashion collages. Polyvore allows you to mix and match designer clothes and watch other people do it as well. I usually get inspired by the unique color combinations I see in the site that I later translate into my own wardrobe. Granted that I can't actually afford all the wonderful designer duds that I see in the collages but the general color skim is easy enough to imitate. After an hour on polyvore I seem to rediscover all kind of hidden gems in my closet that I didn't wear for years and that suddenly look relevant again. The pink and black collage is my own doing (Nobi is the name of my dog) the other one is made by some one called "uckynumber13"- I extremely recommend to look here up in the site since she does a wonderful work.


Dress- Dorit Sharon
Stockings- HM
Shoes- Nine West
Bag- Second hand Chanel

Skirt- American Vintage
Shirt- American Apparel
Shoes- Mango
Bag- Second hand Chanel

The Uniform Project

Is it possible to wear the same dress every day for a whole year? Well, the Uniform Project proves you can, and even shows you how.
Sheena Matheiken started the project on May 2009 with 7 identical dresses- one for each day of the week- that she wears differently each time. Sheena layers the dress cleverly and adds vintage and handmade accessories, which were all donated for the project.
The Uniform Project is also a fundraiser for the Indian Akanksha Foundation whose goal is to bring education to the children living in the slums.
So, next time before complaining that I have nothing to wear (which happens almost every day) I'll try and see how I can wear one piece over and over again…

Threeasfour

Every once in a while I discover a new brand that just feels like it is going to be a permanent influence on me. I had that feeling the first time I saw Rodarte and Boudicca and now with my favorite and latest discovery "Threeasfour". Although they have already unleashed a new and fabulous winter collection my mind still seems to be drawn to their previous summer collection. There the clothes had a nautical feel with sea shells and mother of pearl mixed into the opulent flowing fabrics with their curving seams, draped layers and floating hems. Though I just discovered them, the brand has actually been around for a while and is the work of avant garde fashion label designers Gabi Asfour and Angela Donhauser.Rumor has it that the treo is going to collaborate with the artist Yoko Ono in a new jewlery line that will be revealed during the upcoming New York fashion week.

To wear or not to wear

Like many others, one of the things I love to do the most when I am abroad is shopping- I guess everyone would unanimously agree with me. However, after the shopping comes the big question: should I wear it while I am still abroad, or should I keep it until returning back? the classic “To be or not to be” question. Well, I used to be a fan the second school- keeping the brand new clothes packed until landing back at home, but today I have to wear a piece of clothing as soon as I buy it! (I guess my abillity to restrain myself has deteriorated over the years).
So, here are some photos from Moscow. The skirt and the shoes were purchased in Moscow just a day before I took the pictures, and the tank top, the bag and the necklaces I brought with me from Israel.

Top-Top Shop

Skirt-H&M

Necklaces- My design & vintage watch necklace

Bag- Flea market

Shoes- River Island