bits and bobbins

a great video featuring my favorite trendsetting octogenarian, iris apfel. it’s basically a little bio on her, her tastes, her influences, her textile business. it’s chock-full of great old photos of her from “back in the day” and lots of sage, style/life advice.

i’ve been a big fan of hers since seeing the 2005-2006 MET costume institute show, rara avis, that featured selections from her fun, bold wardrobe.

seeing her free and bold use of color, shape, motif, and texture was incredibly inspiring to me. it’s still inspiring to me! she’s a woman unafraid to experiment and try new things when it comes to fashion, and at the same time, she knows who she is and curates her style accordingly.

love these quotes from her in the video:

“i just mix and put things to together the way the spirit moves me”

“the fun of getting dressed is that it’s a creative experience, sometimes it’s better than another time”

“freedom of expression, of expressing yourself is the most important thing; if you don’t you’re all bottled up and choking.”

“[be] free, free”

“you only have one trip [life], you might as well enjoy it”

…basically, i think she’s saying:

if enjoying [style] means wearing what you like, the way you want to wear it, when you want to wear it, then… GO FOR IT. and make no apologies.

wise words! iris, you are wonderful!

(via advanced style)

you might just wear your secondhand clothing, but sculptor derick melander uses clothing cast-offs as an artistic medium, wherein the clothing itself is both a metaphor for people/individuals/society in general, and a means to create substantial structures with which one can react to and interact with. they very powerful pieces, visually, as well.

says he, in his own words, about his work:

“I create large geometric configurations from carefully folded and stacked second-hand clothing. These structures take the form of wedges, columns, walls and enclosures, typically weighing between five hundred pounds and two tons. Smaller pieces directly interact with the surrounding architecture. Larger works create discrete environments.

As clothing wears, fades, stains and stretches it becomes an intimate record of our physical presence. It traces the edge of the body, defining the boundary between the individual and the outside world.”

i love the statement he makes toward the end of the little film, above:

something i constantly think about, since so much of what i wear and have worn, lovingly, over the years, has been secondhand.

i love to ponder where my clothing has been, where it came from, who made it, who wore it, what they did in that clothing, why they decided to part with it. so many things to ponder…it can make for quite a nice reverie, when the mind has an idle moment.

what about you? do you ponder where your things have been? is that aspect of wearing secondhand clothing attractive to you? why or why not?

how kick ass are these offbeat, incredibly intricate fair isle sweaters (and knitwear patterns) by etsy-ian good egg?

get this: they are HAND KNIT (the top and bottom one). wow. just…WOW. the cowl in the center is a pattern you can buy from ms. good egg, so’s you can knit one yourself.

all the trend-slingers say fair isle is back (well, i think it never went away, but whatever). but it makes sense, because a.) it’s winter, and we’re all wearing sweaters, knitting sweaters, blah blah blah. but also, b.) there’s this feeling of very traditional things being resurrected and exalted in fashion (and also interiors, really) these days…classic is back in.

but what i think is cool about these kind of fair isle pieces, what makes them so delicious? that good egg takes it to the next level…works with the colors, the contrasts, the patterning, so something classic is in the end wrought so perfectly new and modern. breathtaking. i haven’t seen anything quite like this around, have you? if you have, do dish!

(related aside: i so so so want to try my hand at fair isle…anyone else into it? good books or tips to suggest? danke!)