A New Kind of Love

A New Kind of Love is the story of Sam Blake (Joanne Woodward), an American fashion design thief who works for a popular department store in New York for which she "designs" clothing that she knocks off directly from renowned designers of the time (Lanvin, Dior, Balenciaga...).

In a trip to Paris to attend the shows of the biggest fashion houses and "steal" beforehand the designs, she meets Steve Sherman (Paul Newman), a sports journalist who has been sent to the City of Lights in order to calm down his ladies affairs.

A fashion chick flick movie in the line of Funny Face, not as big or important but yet as sweet and "real" when it comes to fashion matters. Quite funny the scene where she calculates the cost of a dress shown in a catwalk if made in a "sweatshop" back in America ...
Costume designs by our always fave, Edith Head.

A nice review here.












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Samantha (A New Kind of Love) narra la historia de Sam Blake (Joanne Woodward), una diseñadora de moda que crea diseños copiados directamente de los grandes diseñadores del momento (Lanvin, Dior, Balenciaga...) para un popular centro comercial de Nueva York.

Durante un viaje a las pasarelas de Paris para atender los diferentes shows y poder asi copiar directamente los diseños sin tener que esperar a que estos lleguen a otras tiendas de Nueva York, conoce a Steve Sherman (Paul Newman), un periodista deportivo que ha sido mandado como corresponsal a Paris para alejarle de la mujer de su jefe con la que ha mantenido un sonado affair...

Muy en la linea de Funny Face, una comedia romántica que no podía estar mas en voga que ahora que vivimos este período de pirateo sin fín..

Fashion From Panama City, Florida

... And back to the cold streets of New York City!

My trip to Panama City has been short but really energetic. 5 days of doing nothing, wandering around and going to the beach is quite nice.
Panama City is a quite lonely place on winter for the fact that is a 100% spring break destination. For this reason everything was very quite, and closed and a little decadent, the same way Coney Island becomes on winter.

As Odilean from Stylophile put it in her comment to my latest post, "i found the best stuff at a thrift store in Florida", I did so too when I used to go to Miami, being Florida a retirement destination par excellance, which means old people who doesn't need their winter clothing anymore and dropping really old and cool stuff to the thrift stores. For this reason I was very excited the day I went thrifting with my hubby to Panama City.

The sad truth is though that it was a total disappointment when we visited the two biggest thrift stores in the area and realized everything left was just junk, disposable clothing from nowadays, things people don't want that they bought just yesterday, nothing "vintage" or relatively old. Sure the places were huge and full of thibgs but we couldn't find even one thing to bring home with us.

This made us think that the years of thrifting are really going to an end because the closest we get to our time, the shitty the clothing, the most casual and sport, very few exciting items to die for.

In my way back to NY i bought the last issue of i-D magazine to read in the airplane and in an interview to
Chloë Sevigny I couldn't be more surprised when one of the questions regarded thrifting and her answer was so close to our thoughts while in Florida...

Q: But nowadays you can't shopt thrift because all that's left is all the disposable stuff. It's hard to find the great 40's or 50's pieces at those thrift stores.
A: That's where a lot of the great individual style came from. I think it's a generational thing about how Americans shop. Thrift stores aren't going to have that cool well-made stuff that we found as kids anymore. [...]

spring break paraphernalia stores in Panama City, FL

Panama City is, as I mentioned earlier, a spring break destination so all i could find were spring break stores... with names such Purple Haze, Wizards, Heat Wave, Ron Jon... this kind of stores have all kind of "beach crap" on sale, from bikinis to Hawaiian hula skirts (Hawaii is a big thing in this area, Tikis are everywhere), sandals, sun lotions, shells, coconut figures, beads, dolphin shaped beaded chimes...

I thought though these stores would be more fun to be in than they actually are so all I ended up buying was a princess crown that reminded me the movie I saw the night before, From The Terrace, where Joan Woodward wore a very similar crown herself...

my only purchase, a crown

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Y ya estoy de vuelta!

Mi viaje a Panama City, en Florida, ha sido corto pero he regargado pilas de lo lindo. 5 días haciendo nada mas que ir a la playa y dar vueltas por ahí, oye, se agradece!. :)
Panama City es un pueblo de veraneo, donde los estudiantes universitarios pasan lo que en inglés se llama "Spring Break", que no es otra cosa que soltarse la melena antes de empezar la vida "adulta"... imaginaos ordas de gente toda borrachisima, quemadisima por el sol y llendose de fiesta 24 horas al dia... Panama City esta ideado especificamente para ellos asi que en invierno no hay absolutamente nada, es como ir a la Costa del Sol en pleno invierno: bien poquito y mucha tranquilidad.
Aunque por esta misma razón es un sitio bastante peculiar de ir en fechas como esta.

El día que nos fuimos a ver tiendas de segunda mano fue una gran decepción.
Al igual que Odilean de Stylophile, la cual me escribió en el ultimo post que hice, "i found the best stuff at a thrift store in Florida" (la mejor ropa la he encontrado en tiendas de segunda mano en Florida), años atras encontré los mejores chollazos en cuanto a vintage se refiere cuando fuí de vacaciones a Miami, porque Florida es el destino par excellance de los jubilados aqui en America asi que las posibilidades de encontrar ropa antigua con rollo es bastante alta... o era!.

Para nuestra decepción lo unico que encontramos fue ropa actual que sus dueños no querian, basura basicamente, nada interesante, un panorama de lo más desolador.

Ir de tiendas vintage no es lo que era, aunque suene estúpido, por el simple motivo que cada vez nos acercamos más a épocas en las que lo que impera es la ropa sport y ya no hay ropa de calidad, se sabe que la ropa pasara de moda y por lo tanto la calidad de esta hace que dichas prendas no superen el año sin estar todas echas una ruina.

Lo mas gracioso es que al venirme a NY me compré la revista i-D donde, en una entrevista a Chloë Sevigny, esta se quejaba de exactamente lo mismo...

P: But nowadays you can't shopt thrift because all that's left is all the disposable stuff. It's hard to find the great 40's or 50's pieces at those thrift stores.
R: That's where a lot of the great individual style came from. I think it's a generational thing about how Americans shop. Thrift stores aren't going to have that cool well-made stuff that we found as kids anymore. [...]

Como ya dije anteriormente Panama City es una ciudad de veraneo especialmente dedicada a los "spring breakers" por lo que todo lo que se puede encontrar allí son mega tiendas con nombres de los más "hippy" como Purple Haze, Heat Wave, Wizards... estan bien surtidas de todo aquello que se pueda utilizar para ir a la playa o ir de fiesta: bikinis, faldas hawaianas (el rollo Hawaii se lleva mucho por aquí, puedes encontrar Tikis por todas partes!), sandalias, cremas para el sol, collares y todo tipo de parafernalia sexual... de todas formas suena más interesante de lo que realmente es, pensé que entrar en una de ellas sería una explosión de color, y lo es, pero hay cierto matiz decadente, no se... asi que acabé comprándome solo una corona de princesa que me recordó a la pelicula que habia visto la noche anterior, Desde la Terraza, con Paul Newman y Joan Woodward, la cual llevaba una corona bien parecida a la que yo me compré...

In Florida...

I came to Panama City, Florida, a couple of days ago to rest a little and gain strength for the rest of the harsh New York winter...
It's not very hot in here but it's nice to know there's nothing to do... i'm going today to see some thrift stores with my hubby and i'll keep you updated on what's going on in terms of fashion here...
Love from Florida.
x

another pic of me....

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Me he venido a Panama City, en Florida, unos dias a descansar y cargar pilas para resisir el crudo invierno NewYorkino...
No hace mucho calor pero se agradece el no tener que hacer nada... esta tarde me voy a mirar algunas tiendas de segunda mano, ya os dire lo que se cuece por aqui en cuanto a moda se refiere...
Desde Florida con amor...

Stylish People.- Screamin' Jay Hawkins

I'd like to start a series of stylish people through the history of fashion... and not only! because sometimes, many, is people who is "not" in fashion the ones who are more stylish because they couldn't care less of what's in and out... they're beyond.
Ladies & Gentlemen, let's start with the über stylish and creeeeepy Mr Screamin' Jay Hawkins.

Jalacy Hawkins was born in Cleveland, Ohio.

"I came in this world black, naked and ugly. And no matter how much I accumulate here, it's a short journey" (source)

He began his career as a conventional blues singer, there was nothing special on him... till the day he recorded his famous song "I Put A Spell On You".

Intended to be a blues ballad, the song ended up being one of the most "cannibalistic" songs ever made, the mother of what will be known as "shock rock".

The reason why this song ended up being the way it is and not the way it was intended to be was the everyone's surfeit during the recording in 1957: Screamin' Jay and the musicians got drunk and wild, they started to play and sing and this is what they brought... a song ahead of their time.
And what a great man.

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Me gustaría empezar una serie dedicada a gente con rollo, gente con estilo personal, alejado de modas y convenciones sociales... gente más alla de su tiempo.
Señoras y señores, empecemos con el inimitable Screamin' Jay Hawkins...

Jalacy Hawkins nació en Cleveland, Ohio.

"Llegué a este mundo siendo negro, desnudo y feo. Y a pesar de todo cuanto acumule aquí, la vida no deja de ser mas que un corto viaje" (fuente)

Empezó su carrera no siendo mas que un cantante de blues sin mayores pretensiones... hasta el dia que grabó la famosísima canción "I Put A Spell On You".

Dicho canción fue compuesta como una balada más, y acabó siendo una de las composiciones mas "canívales" de la historia, la madre de lo que llegó a llamarse "shock rock".

Si la canción acabó de esta forma y no de la manera en que se quiso fue por el simple hecho de la borrachero que los músicos agarraron mientras grababan el disco en la productora. Así nació uno de los temas más adelantados a su tiempo, que nos trajo lo mejor de Jalacy Hawkins.

Cool Designs. Cool People. Hands Down.

I don't know if it's only me but when I meet people whose work I know and like all becomes very awkward: I don't know what to say and my jaw keeps falling on the floor along the conversation (I'm in awe)... I always think that what I have to say won't be important anyway, thus I stay quite... (Jen and Wendy know this very well!.)

Being that my experience I was very anxious when I "arranged" a meeting with designer Olah Gyarfas and his PR Dragos Olea to see their label Rozalb de Mura.

Dragos contacted me weeks ago when they were in Paris showing at Prêt á Porter in case I was interested in stopping by their booth to see the collection.
I visited their site and got really interesting in their label but unfortunately i wasn't in Paris at the time.... no problem! he said... we're going to NY too!.
There wasn't scape... ^_^

The day we met they were in NY indeed, presenting their collection at The Train New York fashion fair, that is located, by the way, in one of the coolest warehouse buildings in Chelsea. (see below)

While I waited Dragos in the hall (we agreed he'd provided me a badge, don't tell anyone) I tried to calm down looking at the Minnie Mouse (Mice?) that were dressed by the better designers, here a pic to my fave...

Dragos showed up after a little while with the badge and the first thing he did was making me laugh... that ladies and gentlemen, is a very difficult task if we remember the kind of "meeting" this was (I knew and liked their work, see above).

From then on these two hilarious guys made me have the time of my life. They showed me the collection (see below some pieces I tried on yours truly, please forgive the bad lighting), really cool pieces, amazing details.
Then we talked about fashion, we laughed, they told me about Romanian fashion, we laughed, what it means to be "new" in the European market, we laughed, American fashion and so forth.

Days later we met again and I showed them the city, we ate at my fave spot and they showed me pieces of super talented jewelry designer Kuki Constantinescu and Romanian magazine Omagiu, to keep an eye on.

They left already but I hope to see them soon.
Now people, Romania has been add to my endless list of places to be.

The Work of Martha Rosler

Body Beautiful or Body Knows No Pain. (series)

This morning I went with Sonia and Pietro to the opening of Wack! Art & The Feminist Revolution at the PS1 Museum in New York, an exhibition that was held for the first time in 2007 at the MOCA in Los Angeles.

The museum was crowded as I haven't seen before and it was a very nice experience to enjoy an opening on a Sunday morning... can you believe there were people who dressed up for the event!. It was awing to see women in high heels and lipstick and hair-does at 1 in the afternoon. :)

The exhibition analyzes the international foundations and legacy of feminist art between the years 1965-80 with the work of 120 artists.

American artist Martha Rosler's work has been probably the one I paid more attention to, a whole room was dedicated to her collages and those included several images from fashion magazines.

Martha's work uses popular images from magazines, newspapers, TV commercials or ads to criticize the hypocrisy that rules the Western world, particularly with regard to the economics of agribusiness, U.S. cultural imperialism, the oppression of women, the war economy and the nuclear arms race. (source)

Her images have the beautiful quality of being visually pretty and politically charged. This makes them really appealing and you can't just take your eyes off them. I spent quite a few time in that room and never got tired.
Even the curators chose one of her images for the cover of the exhibition's catalog. (above)

Bringing the War Home- House Beautiful (series)

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Esta mañana fué la inauguracion de la exposición Wack! Art & The Feminist Revolution en el Museo PS1 en New York, que esta a un tiro de piedra de mi casa y alli me he ido con Sonia y Pietro. Nunca habia estado en una inauguración un domingo por la mañana (las inauguraciones son siempre los jueves y por la noche) con lo que ha sido raro ver a la gente toda arreglada y pintada cuando no eran ni la 1 del mediodía...

La exposición tuvo lugar por primera vez en Los Angeles el año pasado en el Museo MOCA y reune el trabajo de 120 artistas femeninas internacionales con las que analiza las raíces y la importancia del arte feminista durante los años 1965 al 1980.

Uno de los trabajos que más se me ha quedado grabado ha sido el de la americana Martha Rosler cuya obra esta realizada con collages de imagenes seleccionadas de diferentes revistas, anuncios y periodicos.
Martha critica cons sus imágenes el mundo occidental y su hipocresía, especialmente aquellos problemas relacionados con el negocio de la agricultura, el imperialismo Estadounidense, la opresión de la mujer, la economía de guerra y las armas nucleares. (fuente)

Le ha sido dedicada una habitación entera del mueso a la obra de esta artista, una obra que tiene la cualidad de ser visualmente bonita y politicamnte cargada, lo que la hace atractiva desde el primer momento que uno pone ojos en ella... incuso los comisarios de la exposición eligieron una pieza de Rosler para la portada del catálogo de la muestra.

Bringing the War Home- House Beautiful (series)

Vincent Gallo

I know I know, but still, I think he's fascinating...

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Sé todo lo malo que circula por ahí respecto a Vincent Gallo, al fin y al cabo compartimos ciudad y este mundo es un pañuelo... pero aun así, encuentro a este hombre fascinante.

Perfect Instance

The AW 08-09 fashion show of Danish designer Camilla Staerk was the perfect instance of how a "i-don't-know-what-to-do" invitation can turn into a really gratifying experience.

The presentation took place at one of my favourite spots for fashion shows, The Scandinavia House in Manhattan (the reason why i fancy this place is quite haphazard; let's say everything "Scandinavian" is just cool per se) and it was presented by Gen Art that broadcast the work of only one designer, Camilla, for the first time in their history.

The collection impressed me, I must admit. From the beginning to the end. I took notice of the styling for the first time in my life, which is funny when one is a stylist: all the pieces were put together in a very interesting way and there were some details, like the big hat at the end and some fabric combinations, that kept my attention excited. Actually as soon as I could I asked for Camilla's PR in New York to borrow clothing for my next photo shoot...

Although she once said "I am becoming too known for dark and melancholy, and I don't want to be" Camilla is back to her beloved black which I think is a good move: I find her more powerful designing black pieces than colorful. Or that was my impression after seeing her SS 07 collection.

In another note, I'd like to mention the fact that when I tried to find further information about the designer I stumbled upon another website also under the name Camilla Saerk and which look and font and navigation was exactly like the real one... the only difference was the designer, in this case an Epsom School of Art graduate (a place which website I couldn't find) named Roger Craig Searle.

It all got really confusing to me and thanks that I saw the designer with my eyes I knew she is a woman, otherwise I would definitely think that Camilla was Roger... I can't really talk about this because I don't know anything about it but i just guess they started a collaboration together, it didn't work out and Camilla decided to start her own new line.
It must be upsetting not to have full ownership of your own name, it makes me think of the great Jil Sander when she "lost" her name to Prada.

all images courtesy of dkcnews

Press Power to the Drain

I started milkshake chocolate because i was dead tired and frustrated of meeting really good artists and designers whose art was getting lost into anonymity for the fact that they weren't born rich or didn't have the PR gift given to them.

I am very aware and sensitive to the "lack of press support" in young and upcoming designers because after all I live with them.
For this reason I get mad and really upset when someone who has the power of being listened for the press just throw that power to the drain offering really unthoughtful stuff and things that anyone can find anywhere very easily.
Malan Breton's fashion show during fashion week was such a "packed with press" catwalk, "emptied with thought" show. My experience told here.
images by Alex Wright.


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Cuando fundé milkshake chocolate lo hice porque queria ante todo apoyar a todos aquellos jóvenes diseñadores y artistas que por unas razones u otras acababa conociendo y cuyo trabajo era digno de ver y de lo más interesante pero que iba directo al anonimato por falta de apoyo por parte de la prensa ya que o no habian nacido ricos y con los contactos necesarios, o les "fallaba" la parte de las relaciones públicas, que al final en este mundo lo es quasi todo.
El hecho de haber esudiado diseño me ha dado la oportunidad de estar muy cerca de artistas y diseñadores jóvenes que emiezan y que ven cómo falla a parte de apoyo. Al fin y al cabo yo soy una de ellos tambien. Por esta razón me cabreo cuando veo que alguien con poder mediático tira dicho poder por la alcantarilla, ofreciendo cosas que no inspiran nada y que pueds encontrar en cualquier lugar. No ofreciendo nada original.
Esta fue la sensación que tuve cuando atendí el show de Malan Breton durante la pasada semana de la moda... más criticas (en inglés) aquí.
Gracias Alex Wright for las imágenes.

Juergen The Great

Thanks to Claire from Enchant and Dorm that warned me about the opening in Lehmann Maupin gallery in Chelsea, NY, of Juergen Teller's latest work.

The opening took place last Thursday, February 7th and the place was packed, what was no surprise. The surprise was to see Teller himself, and Olivier Zahm, Michael Stipe... it was amazing to see so many indi stars all in the same room. Of course i didn't take any pictures of them... but if I tell you the truth I was longing for it.
Here comes Youtube to the rescue...

The show collects the latest work of Juergen Teller: ads for Marc Jacobs (the Posh picture is there and watching it so big and so close is quite interesting), pictures of Harmony Korine taken by Juergen for Purple magazine and the images he took in Ukraine that he was commissioned for to appeared at the Ukrainian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2007.

The same day of the opening I randomly bought the latest issue of the journal (it had a Teller photo in the cover so i guess i was in a Teller mood already) where the whole story about these images in Ukraine is told. It's funny because the magazine complements the exhibition like a tailored made glove: they should sell it at the gallery or at least having it for people to look at.

Another note I would like to add is my hands down for Lara Stone who models in almost all the pictures of Juergen while in Ukraine. They are images that need an open-minded and understanding person as Lara to get the point of it all and to make a good image out of it. She is a Top, for real.

Photos I took...

Os Acordais de Esto?

Este post esta dedicado a mis paisanos de lengua española que son los que se van a echar una risas viendo este video... os acordais? Fue el video ganador del Festival de Cine Independiente y de Culto (CINEMAD) del 2003.

No tiene nada que ver con moda pero una sonrisita siempre se agradece ... nuestro machito español en todo su apogeo... ** aviso, no para gente sensible y sin sentido del humor!

MI SEñORA de Juan Rivadeneyra

Unfortunately this post will be enjoyed only for Spanish-speaking people... sorry there's not a good translation for this video... It has nothing to do with fashion anyway, it is just a video that won one of the most important Independent Short-Film Festivals in Spain in 2003... and it's hilarious. It represents the "macho español" at its highest levels of testosterone...

Madonna Did It First

I used to be the biggest Madonna fan. Actually the first "public dance" I did (I was 8 years old when I did a school performance with my friends Etel and Isabel in front of our moms and all the school, choreography by ourselves!... I wish I had a video to show you! you would laugh out loud...) was with her song "Like a Prayer". To put it plain: I wanted to be like her (although my mom kept throwing the stockings that I, with a lot of care, was breaking and making holes to. Being 8 and independent was something my mom couldn't understand.)

Unfortunately the years passed by and Madonna became such a media product that i stopped thinking of her for good.

Then one day (yesterday), I was looking for some images to reference an upcoming editorial when several images of her came up... I have to admit that I was surprised and delighted to be remembered her wearing in the 80's and early 90's "hot" looks of today...

Madonna and her punk hair cut / Alice Dellal bringing the cut back

Latex = Madonna did it first

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Madonna fué durante toda mi infancia mi cantante número uno, tanto es así que el primer "espectáculo" que hice en el colegio fue con su canción "Like a Prayer". Yo tenía unos 8 años y prepare la coreografía con mis amigas Etel e Isabel... era una de esas fiestas de colegio, aun me acuerdo, que pena que no tenga un video para enseñarlo porque es digno de ver!.
El caso es que Madonna se fue volviendo más y más comercial hasta volverse insoportable y de la noche a la mañana decidí no prestarle mayor atención.
El otro día estaba viendo unas fotografias de inspiración para otro edito que estoy preparando cuando me encontré estas fotos de Madonna llevando (y estamos habando de los 80 y principios de los 90!) prendas y peinados que son lo más "in" de este momento, el que estamos viviendo ahora mismo... punk y látex.

I Should Pay More Attention

When I posted about blog. mode: adressing fashion, I didn't pay enough attention to realize I was posting about an exhibition, not an actual blog.... my friend Ainne advised me that it was an amazing show at the MET and to my shame I have to admit I didn't trust her until I went to the MET myself... Et voilá, what an amazing exhibition indeed!.

Blog.mode: addressing fashion is located at the Costume Institute inside the Metropolitan Museum in New York. The pieces were chosen under three categories: Technology, Deconstruction and Draping.
I had the fortune of arriving on time for a guided visit... it's funny I always fought against "guided" anything as I think being "guided" means they will only tell you what they want you to know instead of the whole picture and "behind the scenes". But I'm realizing more and more that you actually need someone to explain you at least what's going on because enjoining an exhibition just reading the little notes the museum posts is not such enjoyment really and you end up thinking, what the hell is going on.... and bored.

So there was this very sweet old lady who took us under her wing and I learned really interesting things, like...

** Have you ever wondered why the costume samples from centuries ago that Museums have are always so tiny?

You might think is because people back then was tiny but that's not the exact reason.... When a person is big, or "normal" weight, his/her clothing can be used and reused and make new dresses for younger generations, it can be passed from one person to the other, from one period to the other (grand moms to moms to daughters), doing the necessary alterations.
But when a person is tiny its clothing won't be able to be used and be altered as there is not fabric enough to do so... For this reason the costumes that serve as perfect examples of its period are very tiny because are the ones that were never altered.

The concept of the exhibition is quite interesting and it is even more for us fashion bloggers: Blog. mode: adressing fashion's curators wanted to open a blog so viewers could comment on what they were looking at. Fashion is probably the only Art that is truly democratic, everyone is able to comment on it because everyone dresses everyday, everyone is in contact with fashion on a daily basis.
When one attends an Art exhibition has the feeling that needs to read or study before being able to comment, no one feels in the mood of talking of a Picasso if it's the first time is been viewed. But with fashion is different and you, me and my mom can have a very curated opinion on a garment.

For that reason the blog was created and 10 computers were located at the center of the show where you can go and sit and comment on the pieces around you.

The show will be on until April 13th, don't miss it, is absolutely wonderful.









all images taken by me, surprisingly you could take picture if not flash was involved.