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Tumble & Fall.

22 Feb

After being stuck so long looking at spreadsheets and data reports and other such delightful treats while working in marketing, when I finally decided to leave my job to go explore what it was that inspired me and head back to fashion school (where they demand you use your creative brain), I started to obsess over imagery.  Maybe it was because I was finally taking the time to look at things and how I reacted to them or how they made me feel without feeling the need to explain it to someone later on.  I didn’t NEED to analyze anything unless I really wanted to.  Or I could take something at surface and not have to concern myself with anything other than the visual.

Needless to say, this means that I get pretty hopped up on the sillies when it comes to sites like Pinterest and Tumblr, which both play to my increasingly short attention span and need to see a lot all at once.  So I wanted to invite you to join me in all of these mediums.  I like to share things that grab my attention…that’s what this blog is really all about…and I would like to invite you to let me!  So check me out up on these places:

Thrill of the Chaise Tumblr is a place where I am getting to be a lot more visual than I tend to be on this blog.  I love to write.  I love to communicate through the written word.  But there are moments when I just want to speak through images.  So check out the Tumblr and see what’s getting me inspired.

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I started The Coquette Costume while I was in Paris this past summer studying with Parsons.  We were each assigned a topic and mine was lingerie!  My first proper interview in London was for Agent Provocateur and I spent my entire freshman year at college writing a report on Madonna and her sexuality (based mostly around her ‘Sex’ book and her Truth or Dare tour), so it was ever so fitting.  I’ve always seen lingerie as something beautiful, delicate and a bit of a treasure that women can keep as secret as they please.  Now, that being said, there is a lot of filth on Tumblr so a word to the wise…if you search ‘lingerie’, be warned.  Maybe just visit The Coquette Costume to get the good stuff.

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Don’t forget that Thrill of the Chaise is all up on Facebook!  Hang out with us there.

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Tender Is The Night.

21 Feb

Source: imgur.com via Kathryn on Pinterest

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Anna Sui & Honor Fall 2013: New Wave French Fanatics.

20 Feb

So it appears as though two of my favorite design houses finally got hip enough to the fact that Anna Karina is the most badass bitch there ever was (overstatement, but she is fabulous) and French New Wave is the inspiration that was so cool and obvious that everyone forgot to make use of it.  I have had excited blog-based squeal fests over the gorgeous Anna Karina and everything she and Jean-Luc Godard created here and here.  When my eyes spotted a tweet that used all those previously mentioned buzz words along with ‘Anna Sui Fall 2013 collection’, I couldn’t get over to Style.com faster.

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Was it everything I wanted and more?  Meh.  I appreciated this collection.  And I may have gone into viewing it as slightly more Godardian and slightly less Anna Sui psychedelics.  So that was my bad.  But all I could really think was how much this collection almost mirrored what was sent down the runway for her Fall 2012 show…to the point where, without looking back at the other collection, I could have sworn that all the fabrications and silhouettes between the two were identical (though the absence of the knit owl hats was obvious).  The gold and black dress featured really caught my eye (below) but the rest was loved but not adored.

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Honor is a designer that I have really come to love and admire in the short time they have been kicking around (you can read my first post about them here).  And it has to be said that their Fall 2013 collection made-up for what I felt Anna Sui may have lacked when paying homage to Anna, Jean-Luc and New Wave.  I don’t even think it was their intention to use a similar inspiration but it happened, so let’s all listen for a hot minute and then move on.  Honor delivered what I wanted Anna Sui to. Though it does lack Anna S’ quirky, silly charm, it’s Honor, so that’s totally ok.

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(All images c/o Style.com)

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A Picture Worth A Thousand Words.

17 Jan

As I start to get back into the swing of things with the blog (and apologize for still being in a holiday haze), I finally get to share some of the great things that were a part of my giving and receiving!  Every time I stumbled across something I knew was too perfect to pass up as a gift for a loved one, my second thought was always that I wanted to share it on Thrill of the Chaise.  But as my parents and boyfriend proved to me with their impeccably curated gifts, they read the blog and far be it from me to let the cat out of the bag before they actually open their presents.

Surreal Birdcage

Chandelier

I came across photographer Elle Moss thanks to the lovely Astrid from Astrid Endeavor (who makes these beautiful necklaces).  It took me days to try to decide which photo I would choose to give as a gift and twice as long as that to choose which would I would get to give to myself.  Whoops.

Skeleton Dance

Merry Go Round

Horse Mask on Bed

Elle has such a beautiful eye and an obviously brilliant imagination.  Her images would make a great series (her smaller sized prints are perfect for this or she sells sets of prints) but can also stand on their own as a gorgeous focal point to a room.  From shots that could be fashion editorials to nature shots to some very cool food photography, there are hundreds of prints to browse through on her Etsy shop here.

Tree Lights

CLown

Flower Portrait

And while I have your attention…Astrid has some really stunning love tokens just in time for what feels like a rapidly approaching Valentine’s Day.  So cuuuuute.  Check out her Etsy shop here.

Astrid Heart Necklace

Astrid Love Brooches

Astrid Smooch Brooch

Astrid Face Brooch

(All Elle Moss images c/o Elle Moss.  All Astrid Endeavor images c/o Astrid Endeavor.)

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How Early Is ‘Too Early’ For A Holiday Wishlist?

27 Nov

Maybe it is because my schedule of ‘work weekdays, evenings and weekends’ seems to completely distort my ability to know what day it is on a regular basis.  Or maybe it’s because I just generally have an appalling sense of time.  But when I started to put this post together, I was asking myself if maybe it was, in fact, too early for a holiday wishlist.  I started to grow concerned that my posting of expensive things I know I won’t find under the tree but would like to dream about would register as nothing but greedy this far before the holidays actually arrived.

But then Black Friday and f**king Cyber Monday happened and actually, it appears I am way behind.  Apparently I should have been thinking about this all ages ago.  But I’m sure Santa will sort it all out anyway.  I mean, it’s his job after all.

And because I know he reads Thrill of the Chaise…Santa, if you don’t mind, I’ll have one of each of these:

Kooples Suede Buckle Boots

Chalkboard Sign from Lily & Val on Etsy.

Vivienne Westwood Harvest Necklace

Daydream Believer Dress from Bona Drag

Madewell Old Town Boot

Bulldog Lamp from Rockett St. George

Tim Walker: Story Teller book

London Watercolor by Fairysomnia on Etsy

(Click on any of the images to see where you can buy all these treats for me…or, ya know, whoever.)

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The New Marilyn. And A MAC Giveaway!

22 Nov

I am very excited to announce that I have signed onto an incredible project called The New Marilyn and wanted to share it all with you, giving you the chance to participate too!  ’The New Marilyn’ is a film in production about the legendary Marilyn Monroe that is giving fans the chance to participate and interact with the creation of the final product.  Cool, right?

We are running a contest called ‘Are You The New Marilyn?‘ giving anyone who has ever dreamt of playing the star the chance to audition for a role in the film.  With over 100 entries so far (you can still enter until November 30th) and tens of thousands of votes already placed, the top 10 voted Marilyns by February 28th will be invited to audition.  You can browse entries and vote on both Instagram (@thenewmarilyn) and on Facebook.

And even better…while we are working on putting the finishing touches on some great videos we shot while I was in London, The New Marilyn is giving away a gift set from the very limited-edition MAC x Marilyn Monroe collection!  The set includes a Marilyn Monroe nail polish, eyeliner and blush from this exclusive line.  Enter here!

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The Wonderful World of Hollywood Costume.

14 Nov

Oh hello, I’m still in London.  Which means I had to make sure to head over to my favorite museum, the Victoria & Albert, for their new exhibition ‘Hollywood Costume‘.  WOWZA.  I have been to some pretty awesome shows at the V&A (Vivienne Westwood, Kylie Minogue and Anna Piaggi, just to name a few) and this one ranks in the very top of my list.

Walking in, you are presented with an entire wall lit up with clips of scenes from all of the feature films you will see throughout your lengthy stroll (it’s a huge exhibit).  And it gives you goosebumps.  All these fascinating moments you saw on the silver screen are waiting for you in real-life right behind the wall of moving images.  It starts with Charlie Chaplin and the famous green velvet dress from Gone With the Wind.  A reproduction robe from The Big Lebowski gets and ‘A’ for effort but what’s the point of a reproduction robe?!

I had a minor fan-girl moment when we reached the Addams Family, just past the Fight Club set-up.  And then again when we got to all the Marie-Antoinettes and Elizabeth I’s that have ever made an impact in the world of film.  Have I ever mentioned how much I love the Cate Blanchett ‘Elizabeth’ film?  Well, I do.  LOVE IT.

As you move into the ‘Second Act’, there are the darker characters from the movies and even hologram-style interviews with directors and costume designers.  Tim Burton and his creations to Star Wars and a Robert DeNiro section.  It’s fun but nearly impossible to not want to run through to the third and final ‘act’ where you know they are hiding the biggest gems.

Moulin Rouge, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, one of Marilyn Monroe’s dresses from ‘Some Like It Hot’, Jack Sparrow, Spiderman, Superman, Harry Potter, Legally Blonde, Austin Powers, The Blues Brothers.  It was so expertly curated and to see all these outfits that you expected to see without even knowing you were expecting them really made for some incredible moments.

And it is all rounded out with Dorothy’s dress from The Wizard Of Oz and an original pair of her ruby slippers on loan from the Smithsonian.  And the famous white Marilyn Monroe dress from ‘Seven Year Itch’.  Stunning. It’s enough to make a girl giddy.

See more information about the exhibition here…and book your tickets in advance!  They are selling like hotcakes!

(All images c/o the V&A)

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Tim Walker & The Imagination I Wish I Had.

12 Nov

Since the moment I knew I was coming to London, I knew I had to go see Tim Walker: Story Teller at Somerset House.  One of the most inventive and darkly imaginative fashion photographers ever, this collection of his work and props creates less of a story and more of a testament to what a powerful creative force this man truly is.  It is quite an extensive exhibit and one that you really want to take the time to properly explore.

Actresses, models and designers are seen in fantastical ways…capturing fantastical moments that are the pure imagination of Tim Walker.  A huge swan shaped boat, a room full of sand, a band of oversized insects, a skeleton that hovers over top of you as you walk through and a massive baby doll are all features that you see in reality and as they are captured on film.  It’s like walking through a Gothic fairy-tale both in story and reality.

There is a juxtaposition between the light, airiness of the space in which the exhibit is held and the usage of white frames which make all the colors jump off the page, with the dark, eerie themes illustrated in the work.  It all seems other worldly and pushes the fashion itself to be as much a prop as the rest of the items in the frame.  Perfectly put in a review by The Independent, ‘It’s a world where magic exists and, though darkness threatens, it is never ugly.  Beauty rules here, because it is fashion, after all’.

What really struck me was the way that Tim Walker addresses the usage of the camera itself and the magic that seems to happen when he is the photographer.  The camera, to him, is just a box that holds that moment in time.  What he is doing is simply capturing a moment that is unfolding in front of him.  He isn’t the director…he is the humble servant of his creation.  And even deeper, he speaks of a photograph capturing something that will never happen again.  The frame will never look exactly as it just did and there is the ability to become immediately sentimental for the past as soon as that single image has been captured.

Great news.  There is a book documenting the exhibit.  And Christmas is coming up.  (That is a pretty major nudge.)  The exhibit runs until the end of January, get more information here.

(All images c/o Style Bubble)

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I Dream In Neon.

8 Nov

I’ve always had a fascination with neon lights.  The colors or the science behind them or somewhat sinister ‘creature of the night’ mentality they evoke. Am I reading too much into them?  Probably.  The are bright and pretty and fun to look at.  Ta da!  But the artist I want to talk about, Olivia Steele, would probably call ‘friends off’ with me (if we were actually friends) and has the ability to make you see these lights for so much more than bright beacons in the night.

She creates statements of love and of loss and of the painful magic that is life.  American-born but calling London and Berlin her homes, Olivia uses these otherwise commercial lights to create something really emotional and delicate.  An unexpected few words in an unexpected place, understated despite being made of the brightest lights and colors you can imagine.

I know I have a lot of grand ideas for my currently fictional home but I assure you, when it does happen, it will have a well-placed and badass neon light in it somewhere.

(All images c/o Olivia Steele)

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Skeleton Dance.

1 Nov

In honor of Halloween and Day of the Dead…

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