Walter van Beirendonck, who is tied with Baroque artist Hendrick Ter Brugghen for coolest Dutch name, unveiled his Summer collection in Paris a few days ago. Fashion buffs know that Beirendonck always delivers color, sex and fun in his shows. Just look at his previous collections: eXplicit, sexclown, and gender?.
Uh. Maze. Eeng.
So when a call for "bear" models started to circulate this past Spring, we knew something great was in the works.
When Messer handed me a clear plastic envelope containing a PR kit and a tiny piece of colorful be-stripe-d cloth I thought she was joking. The brand name of the product under my review was clearly labelled PanTz.
I'm sure you can appreciate the difficult position this assignment placed me in.
Every year, Texas has the honor of hosting the longest-running anime convention in North America: Project A-Kon. I go every year. For three days, a Dallas hotel hosts more than 10,000 attendees attracted by A-KonÕs eclectic mix of parties, games, concerts, and Japanese animation in a grand celebration of anime and sleep deprivation. Anyone expecting wall-to-wall geekery at an A-Kon is sure to be surprised at how diverse the crowd and its interests are, and itÕs this diversity that brings me back again and again.
In the United States, animation is largely limited to sitcoms and childrenÕs shows. In Japan, it encompasses all genres, especially science fiction and fantasy. It is this cross-genre nature of anime that gives it such wide appeal and attracts such a variety of attendees to Project A-Kon. There is the geek stereotype, to be sure Š introverted teens and young adults opening up in the company of their own kind Š but there is also the older crowd who were into anime before anime was cool, professionals and parents who may have kids to bring, to get the next generation hooked. A-KonÕs programming has something for every kind of anime/SF/fantasy fan: Players of video, board, and roleplaying games congregate in the gaming rooms, collectors scope out merchandise from all over the world in the dealers room, aspiring artists and writers attend panels on honing their craft or sell their wares in the comic market, and everywhere there are the costumers.
Once upon a time in 1995 there was a beauty shop on East 14th Street in New York that became one of the first theme bars, the original Beauty Bar. Taking over the Thomas Beauty Salon just as it was closing allowed the pickers to use a lot of the original nail polishes and bottles and potions in the decor, along with the old hairdryers, made available for lounging. It was before cigar/champagne bars spread out of Soho like the plague, and after Jekyll & Hyde, which was a tourist place with moving barstools anyway, so it didn't count. "Living-room" bars had already been around since the mid-Eighties and everyone was tired of going to Nell's, also on 14th Street. So the Beauty Bar joined dubious contemporaries like No-Tell Motel, Babyland (domestic space with oversized furniture), and Barmacy (apothecary bartenders) in the burgeoning theme-scene, and was really the only interesting place to go early. The best part was that after hoisting a new, pink martini called a Cosmopolitan, one could actually wander over to see Mrs. Thomas, who would hold court among the ancestor-hipsters doing soaks and polishes until eight o'clock on week nights.
If you ever find yourself disgruntled because high-fashion uber-futur ensembles for men perfectly match your personality, but are unsuitable for your admittedly non-model body type, count yourself lucky. I may be thin enough to wear Prada, but that doesn't mean I'm within a mile of being able to afford it. As much as I'd love me a JUUN.Jdraped trench circa 2052, I'm equally unprepared to max out another credit card.
Life presents an interesting challenge to the modern thin male. There are seemingly droves of new trends to adopt, but few within budgetary reach. You're also persona non grata to the likes of Banana Republic if your waistline resides anywhere below a 30. In short, you can't buy clothes that fit (because you can't afford them), and you can't buy clothes that are affordable (because they don't fit). So what to do?
You actually have myriad options, they just require a little more ingenuity:
First: Get acquainted with women's clothing. I'm not talking about wearing dresses or the latest additions to the ladies department of Ross Dress for Less. And please don't ever, ever think that capris are trending for males, even if you spent last summer in Spain. No, you're going to have to accept the fact that American clothing manufacturers have banished your waist-size into the 2-4-6 domain of women's sizes and live with it, especially for denim. The good news is that ladies' denim can be ridiculously cheap. A skinny pair of size 4 black denim from Just USA can run you under $40. Try Goodie Two Shoes (1111 S Congress, 443-2468), where more than a few skinny male musicians have been outfitted. Yes, I have shopped in the Nordstrom Juniors Department and I am no longer ashamed to admit it. Be prepared for the sales associate to shuttle you over to the men's dressing room for the sake of cultural norms. Also, keep in mind we're talking about trendy, hipster-style digs. You will not find textile bliss in a Lane Bryant.
Thing I've Neglected to Notice #432: The tiny worlds created by the random dents and other indignities that befall a piece of good paper. The ones pictured here may be precisely deliberate, but I'll see dowager paper with more love now thanks to the forgotten spaces of German artist Simon Schubert.
My new obsession with paper art started with an image of a pleated and sliced card-stock architectural model for an industrial campus. You could almost smell freshly-sliced paper through the Plexiglass protecting the severity of this hopelessly fragile, unblemished thing. Then someone showed me Peter Callesen's Down the River (2005) and I find myself falling hard for the art of Papercut. Like Kara Walker's famous stenciled silhouettes, the "shadow" created by cut-outs is often a comment on its owner, and in Papercut, subversive use of negative space suddenly becomes three-dimensional. The gentleman in Callesen's Looking Back (2006) looks like a Magritte-worthy, human-shaped grave the more I look at it. The task-obsessed will appreciate the irony of Jill Sylvia's "empty" ledgers. One aches for a blade.
My friend Brenner posted a link on Facebook to the typographic mobiles of artist Ebon Heath. These sculptures in thin air are irrepressible works of graphic art that refuse to be two-dimensional. They grew from dismembered poetry and remnants of song lyrics that want to be heard though lost to their stanzas. For some, they represent still-floating wisps of ideas not written down in the middle of the night.
The Great American Retail Blow-Out otherwise known as Memorial Day is here once again, but as wallets are slimmer and our favorite retailers are feeling the pinch as well, we're hoping for some good deals in unexpected places. Here are a just few ideas for your weekend shopping that will keep you off the beaten track. After all, that's where the fun is, and you can run those workday-dreary errands at the mall later:
SCARBROUGH'S
Scarbrough's may not be the first place that occurs to us when we bounce out to shop, but they've been an Austin institution for more than 100 years, and still carry some of the best clothing, shoes, and accessories in town. Tucked away on north Lamar next to Central Market, they're taking 25% off of selected early-spring merchandise. 4001 N. Lamar Blvd., #400, 452-4220. www.scarbroughs.com.
LOBO
Do you really need a reminder to stop in here before the fun starts? You couldn't forget your friends Andrew Christian for "Show It" technology, Ed Hardy for flash, and Dirty Fukker for exquisite support. LOBO also carries hard-to-find Ginch Gonch, among other treasures for your tush. Check out the sale rack where you'll find Rufskin and more for 50% off. 3204 Guadalupe, Ste. A, 454-5406. www.lobooutlet.com.
GLBT512
Monique Jamail has her own vinyl cutter, right next to the hot press that she's waiting to crank up just for you. What this means is custom, on-the-spot T-shirts in 100% organic cotton for any occasion. With Gay Pride coming up in just a few weeks, you'll also be glad to know that this is your one-stop for all things Pride. Buttons, stickers, magnets, bracelets, keychains, hats, belts, wallets, baby bibs, and custom onesies, all handmade locally. Also hit her up for cool, studded leather accessories like cuffs, collars and gauntlets that are both pretty and hard. Get there during June for 20% savings on Pride items. 3204 Guadalupe, Ste. A (inside LOBO), 454-5406. www.glbt512.com.
MARTIN + OSA
Named for Martin and Osa Johnson, an adventure-seeking couple in the 1920's who captured America's imagination with their accounts of adventure in exotic locales, the concept here relies on sturdy play-duds in natural fibers for men and women at prices that won't break your travel budget. Note the house-label denim, since dark washes that fit are so hard to find in Austin, especially if you don't want your back pockets blinking like the Vegas strip. Stop in over the holiday weekend and you'll get25% off your $100 purchase. The Domain, 11410 Century Oaks Terrace, #132, 973-9665. www.martinandosa.com.
The Japanese lingerie company Triumph International launched its newest bra-gadget, the ticking Husband-Hunting Bra, at the Tokyo Ryutsu Center in Tokyo today. Japanese government data show that 57% of Japanese women under 34 remain single, and with the marriage rate still plummeting among young Japanese, Triumph is making this statement of support, so to speak, for matrimony.
Triumph is also known for 2008's energy-friendly, solar-powered brassiere that generates enough energy to charge your phone or iPod, and 2007's My Chopsticks Bra, whose cups runneth over with not only your own bounty but with Chow Mein and rice as well. With holster-hoops on the sides of the cups and a "stick rest" in the cleavage, this over-the-shoulder boulder holster keeps your hands free for other demands, like fishing for your keys or produce shopping. (The Chopsticks Bra is socially purposed to promote the use of reusable chopsticks.)
Atelier of Madame Gres at the Place Vendome in Paris, circa 1938.
Photo by Robert Schall
The cocktail crowd was well-heeled and out in force at Spazio Interiors Thursday night for Austin-born clothing designer Sergio Guadarrama's fashion show to present Celestino Spring 2009 in support of Dell's Childrens Hospital. Rave reviews at New York's Fashion Week notwithstanding, one doesn't always expect to see inspiring, collectable clothing in a benefit show. It's almost always about a good cause, seeing friends, and a bit of theater. So after two glasses of the bubbles and a spin through the treasures in Lytle Pressley's showroom, our heads snapped to see clothing we want right now in highly wearable occasion-dresses and separates marching down the runway. Celestino's Spring '09 line, entitled "From Edo to Gres", takes as its inspiration the Japanese Edo Period, reinterpreted via the 1930's-era glamour and drape characteristic of Madame Gres, the often overlooked but hugely important French designer who dressed the Duchess of Windsor, Jacqueline Onassis, and many in between. Considering the proliferation of pleats and angles evident in so many Spring and Fall '09 collections, this makes eccentric, but perfect sense.
The success of the line hangs on keen proportion in sumptuous, sometimes unpredictable juxtaposition of fabrics and trimming, such as satin bordering prints, geometric shapes, and understated hardware for evening. While the Japanese influence subsides and resurfaces, references to Madame Gres were evident in every garment, from the liquid swank of a blushy silk satin shirt-dress, to the gravitas of an inky silk crepe and satin, matte on slink, floor-length gown worthy of Joan Crawford in her prime. Guadarrama, an FIT graduate, proves versatile enough to provide the second surprise of the evening: Options for both the gamine and more seasoned customer in equal measure. To wit, heavy black scalloped beading covering a pencil skirt and dress returns in the form of a clever yoke on a younger number, an authenticity that is refreshing at a time when "age appropriate" means Juicy Couture strollers. We expect Mr. Guadarrama's future to be as bright and sassy as his clothing, so remember, you heard it here.
Enjoy this video of Guadarrama's spring collection and see if you can decide which numbers are for the ingenue in your crowd and which ones your mother-in-law would crave:
