the moments of perfect bliss

one Sunday morning as he contemplates the perfect moment:

a warm summer breeze from the garden, the scent of cherry blossoms, the chatter and giggles of his two young children from the nursery, and the sight of his young wife sitting at the kitchen table, sipping coffee and reading the newspaper.

Münster “suddenly felt pain creeping up upon him: a chilling fear, but also a realization, that this moment must pass.

This second of absolute and perfect happiness—one of the ten to twelve that comprised a whole life, and was possibly even the meaning of it.

(read rest of article here)

Chicago in spring

feet dangling off the bar stool

seated by the kitchen countertop.

chinese stir fry and 25 dollars prosecco

dancing shadows cast by moving vehicles

tall bay windows and muted greys.

when the universe and all desires collided

to create a silent moment of absolute perfection

(Picture from here)

Tres Chic

The ballerina theme really seems to be taking off this season!

What a great video to put one in the mood for a spring road trip. Vanessa Bruno and Lou Dillon; potent chic combination.

Ha ha ha

This made me laugh...Happy Monday!

(picture from here)

all you need is love

(Jackson Eaton portfolio, more here)

I don't even know what I was running for - I guess I just felt like it.

In 1937, JD Salinger was a student at Ursinus College and fellow students remember him striding around campus in a black chesterfield with velvet collar and announcing that he was going to write the Great American Novel.

Arguably, he has.

And then he wanted to move on. But the world didn't want that and incessantly probed his quest for solitude and silence. They call him the American Tolstoy.

Quest for fame, fortune and recognition; everybody gets and it is, to an extent, not interesting.

To seek anonymity, not as a passive aggressive ironic way of getting more attention but a real sincere wish to be left alone and not recognized, that's too strange and hence much too interesting to respect.

Bliss of eternal silence.

"It's funny. All you have to do is say something nobody understands and they'll do practically anything you want them to. "
-- The Catcher in the Rye

J.D.Salinger. RIP.

Catch the Dream!

“I had a friend I’d go skateboarding with. He was American, actually. Jason. He came to Japan to get rich. Jason was always asking me, ‘Do you know any kind of new business I could get into?’ What did I know? I was in high school. All I knew about was skateboarding, so I said, ‘You could make a skateboarding video and sell it.’ I mean, as if! Some crappy video of us skateboarding, who’s going to buy that? But he was like, ‘OK, let’s do it!’ And he went and bought a video camera and there he was, the next day, filming. He was like, if you get an idea, do it, right away! Now he’s got a bakery and a whole bunch of mobile bread shops. Trucks that drive around town selling bread. He taught me to walk the talk. If it weren’t for him, I’d still be in the same place now as I was six years ago, saying, ‘Yeah, wouldn’t it be cool to have a café.’”

Takao Yamasaki, the unlikely restaurateur. Read rest of his column here.

Smoking Guns

Be a character in a Raymond Chandler novel, hanging out with Philip Marlow
International woman of mystery
Be a spy and solve mysteries, in the perfect trench with nary a hair out of place
Soft waves berry lips
Silk dresses sharp heels
Give me my own gun...actually just the Dior python detective briefcase with attached gun and holster will do, thanks!

(Dietrich, Bacall, Inimitable Gong Li in 2046, Charlotte Rampling in adaptation of Farewell, my Lovely, 17 years old (!) Karlie Kloss in Dior s/s 10 campaign, dream bag swoon)

Pink ballet shoes

It's always interesting to read about the creative process and what inspires designers and artists because what they do is so visual and (relatively speaking) immediate that scrutinizing the synergy between inspiration and end product is to my geeky nature at least, so much fun.

Dossier interviewed Rachel Antonoff recently and it's one of those interviews which really shouts out to me and had me furiously nodding my head (virtually of course) in response to the answers given. The notion of fashion as costume and playing dress up may be nothing new, but that sense of wonder and whimsy really does seem to come through her designs in general. I used to really love Mooka Kinney and it was definitely boo when they shuttered the brand. But as they say, you can't keep good talent down. The s/s 10 collection for her eponymous brand is lovely as it is. But knowing that she was inspired by ballet, and specifically ballet through a child's eye and all "the things that people love when they are five through nine", one can certainly see the inspirations infused in the pastels, short pouf skirts, the touches of peter pan collars and pockets on pants which were all part of a child's wardrobe growing up in the enid blyton era.


And it's almost scary that just as I have been recently inspired by the entire film noir theme in fashion and thinking about how to incorporate elements into daily wardrobe (that's subject of next post!), Antonoff spoke of how private detective theme is the inspiration for her next collection and spies and trench coats. Oh gosh, inspiration telepathy! Or great minds think alike! Or maybe we all spend too much time reading the same things. Hmm. On that note though, the only part of the interview which did not shout out to me was when she spoke about The Lovely Bones and how "If you read it without crying you might want to go to the doctor". Erm, I didn't cry, thought it was cliché in parts and frankly was bored to bits while reading the book. Lack of empathy?

(See more of collection at Rachel Antonoff)

Ying Chun (Welcome Spring)

The enterprising nature of the Chinese is probably considered one of those cliché Asian traits that is oh so true and in many Asian countries, it is actually fairly common for sole proprietorships or small businesses to work through the year without taking any significant breaks at all save for the traditional Spring break during Chinese New Year.

Chinese New Year marks the onset of Spring and it is a Chinese belief that Spring is a most important season to welcome as it signifies new beginnings and sets the tone for the year to come. Thus in the lead up to the occasion, homes must be thoroughly cleaned, accounts all squared off and vacations to be taken to signify a better year ahead.

It is fitting therefore that when Prada commissioned Chinese artist Yang Fu Dong for a short film as part of the advertising campaign for Prada Men spring summer 2010, he chose the theme of spring and conceptualized and directed the short film, "First Spring", inspired by the chinese belief that the whole year's work depends on a good start in spring.

The film itself is a stylish affair; moody, languid, lensed in black and white with film noir flavour. In a seemingly timeless yet distinctly pre-war Shanghai, men and women clad in Prada wander through the city searching. Like a dream they appear to walk through different time periods and encounter men and women from eras long past like the Tang and Qing dynasties. Juxteposed with scenes of men carrying mesh umbrellas floating through the city and it makes for a compelling dreamscape.

The young wanderers are hesitant, uncertain and on the move. The figures from the days past in contrast appear to be placid, comfortable and in command. The irony of course is that their reality has been swept up by the onslaught of time and China's rapid modernization and it is the present day youth, confused as they may be, who are thrust forward. Perhaps not in control of their fate but certainly not unwilling participants, no matter how much nostalgia there is for the past.
This is a film that bears repeated viewings; for its beauty and perspectives.

As an aside, the growing art scene in China and the increasing attention paid by the luxury labels have lead to some wonderful and provocative pieces being produced. While the golden standard would still be the "Dior and Chinese Artists" exhibition in 2008, one hopes for even more examples of such seamless collaboration between art and fashion down the road and that this is hopefully the advent of a spring of sorts of such artistic collaborations.

While I do regret not having had the opportunity to catch the Dior exhibit, I was luckily able to view another exhibition of one artist's works from the series - Quentin Shih's The Stranger in the Glass Box. In the juxtoposition between Dior haute couture and the bleak industrial landscape of China, Shih serves us his own interpretation of the price and tension of modernity. See rest of series here.

we already teeter this sheer cliff so high

Delicate line between heaven and earth...
The calm of the ages,all the world's worth.
Such minuscule measure,while we think it so grand...
Just five specks of smallness,This soft quiet land.
So frail and so fleeting,in the end you will see
Simple dreams were Horatio's philosophy.


For all the truth,
all creation,
all secrets of yore
Can be told in an instant,
by then they're no more.

-- Misao Fujimura

(Entire poem can be found here)

(Pictures from ffffound)

another kind of heaven

(Picture from here)

mind in time out

In big floppy hats and chubby furs
Make believe on a permanent vacation
And see with joy and curiosity

Always

connect the connections

I looked up
And it was you
Always has been
As it should be
What about you?

(Picture from here)

Intoxicating. Infuriating. Impossible. Love.

Looking forward to The Last Station.

About the last years of Tolstoy's life when he increasingly turned his back on his well heeled life and life long companion, in search for some peace and purity of thought and life. In running away from home at the grand age of 82, he wrote his wife, "''Along with everything else, I can no longer abide these luxurious conditions. What I am now doing is what old people have commonly done - leave their worldly life behind to spend their last days in peace and solitude."

This nebulous thing call love. A lifetime of joint memories and endeavors, support and passion, and it pitters to a silent ignoble end.

(Christoper Plummer and Helen Mirren as the Tolstoys)

(the originals)

Solitude and loneliness are but 2 faces of the same well worn coin.

Sofia Tolstoy wrote this diary entry in 19 November 1903:

"I went to [my husband's] room this evening as he was getting ready for bed, and realised I never hear a single word of comfort or kindness from him nowadays.

What I predicted indeed has come true: my passionate husband has died, and since he was never a friend to me, how could he be one to me now? This life is not for me. There is nowhere for me to put my energy and passion for life; no contact with people, no art, no work – nothing but total loneliness all day."

Catch the trailer here.

Read more of their lives together as captured in Sofia Tolstoy's diaries.

Added bonus – Christopher Plummer as Tolstoy. I’ve always nursed a secret crush for Captain Von Trapp, even if he did reportedly despise the role.

(as Tolstoy)

(as Captain Von Trapp)

(just plain heartthrob)