bits and bobbins

before i launch into this most recent bunch o’ links, i want to say thanks for the HUGE response to my why do we wear what we wear? post early last week. i guess i touched on something there! i am constantly floored at how intelligent and creative and diverse you all are. thanks for reading! and for sharing and discussing. i’m constantly humbled by the fact that you stop by and are in some way interested in what i blog about or…really, anything i post!

now, on with the show!

-the bay area maker faire, put on by make: and craft: is this coming weekend, may 3rd and 4th, down in san mateo, california, at the san mateo fairgrounds. are any of you bay area denziens planning on going?

fun fact: i spoke about wardrobe_remix at last year’s maker faire! it was a blast.

and looks like they have a TON of great craft demos and crafty happenings going down this year too, including the bizarre bazaar. my in-laws are due to visit this weekend…maybe we’ll drag them down there for a look-see! *evil laugh*

-reason # 7658934563 that fashion trend pronouncements are a steaming pile of stinking TRIPE: the fashion industry (well, really, idiotic fashion editors, designers, and their ilk) is now claiming that the dress is “OUT” (via the new york times). seriously?? like people are going to stop wearing dresses because some dolt like anne slowey claims they are “out”??? just thinking about this and how inane and non-sensical such a statement is makes me want to slam my head against the wall repeatedly in frustration. (via a dress a day) dresses make up a very broad and diverse category of clothing, so to say all dresses are “out” as of this coming fall (??) just sounds completely moronic. like, are all brides going to forgo the trad wedding DRESS in lieu of wedding PANTS, for starters??

now do you understand why i constantly say “trends” are just a bunch of garbage? this kind of thing TOTALLY proves my point…if nothing else i’ve ever written to this end hasn’t worked in convincing you.

and a big old stack of the quick and dirty!:

-i love love LOVE this how-to on hand-dying trims, by a little imagination and a pile of junk. bright, and happy…and could be used in so many ways. your imagination is probably the only limitation! (via craft:)

-this knitted food by artist ed bing lee looks scrumptious! (via fly)

-check out this inspiring sweater recon by one pearl button. i can think of a million stylish ways to riff off that idea…again, the possibilities seem endless!

-some super-duper pretty dahlias made from rick-rack, by made with love by hannah. would be lovely as a brooch, hair do-dad, or hat decoration, methinks!

-threadbanger’s blog has a great round-up of ways to make handmade shoes…check it!

-the human ecology collection of the university of wisconsin-madison has an online archive of vintage dressmaking, fashion design, costume design, millinery (aka hatmaking), and sewing texts provided in full available for your perusal right here. an AMAZING resource for makers and designers, to say the least.

-check out this patchwork/collaged chair tutorial by dutch artist jane schouten on design*sponge. i’m literally drooling over it…so covetable, and so do-able!

-the coveted dishes out the deets on a slew of great ebay sellers who specialize in designer and vintage goodies. worth a peek!

-there’s apparently a new (to me?) SF street fashion blog, called san francisco style (via design that kills). what makes it different from the pack? a huge amount of commentary by the authors on the stylish who were snapped on SF’s streets.

-a reminder for you san franciscans/bay area denziens:

the 2008 discarded to divine fashion show and auction is coming up soon! it’s on april 26th, at 7 pm, at the academy of art’s building over at 601 brannan street, in the soma district here in san francisco.

i posted about the upcoming event way back at the end of february…i was planning on going, but oops, turns out i’ll be resting and relaxing on a beach in hawaii that weekend! so, i beg of you, GO! and report back!

get a peep at select, stunning garments that will be featured at the show by checking out sf indie fashion’s fabulous discarded to divine sneak preview!

according to the telegraph, fashion mags are now photoshopping curves onto skinny models and celebs in an attempt to deflect criticism concerning possible objectification of said skinny models in the recent past. wait, first these models aren’t skinny enough…now they are TOO skinny? seriously, WTF? i think this quote nails the ridiculousness of all this:

…Susan Ringwood, the chief executive of the eating disorder charity Beat, condemned the practice. “Altering models’ bodies to appear fuller-figured proves that the industry acknowledges there is a serious issue with projecting images of very thin models, but [it is] missing the point,” she said. “They should be using naturally healthy models in the first instance, instead of having to make them look that way.”

indeed. EMBRACE REALITY, fashion industry, it’s the latest trend!

-has the sartorialist has overstepped his boundaries as a street fashion photographer? not wanting to limit himself to merely concentrating on documenting stylish folks, he’s now moving on to ‘making over’ those who allegedly just don’t make the cut as fodder for his site. seems he’s wanting to make such folks conform to the sartorialist “look”, or make them look “better”…implying there’s a standard to conform to, stylewise. over 500 comments show that at least a few folks are questioning (and also supporting) this move of his…

for me, the post in question in turn begs these questions:

…should street fashion photographers dispense style advice? what is a street fashion photographer’s intention or job? to merely document, or dictate? should a street fashion blog be about celebration, or about dissection (of a person’s style)?

…can any one street fashion photographer be truly diverse in what they show or choose to show, given their own tastes and inclinations?

what say you?

and the quick and dirty (the all-sock edition!):

-these prep-tastic pom-pom socks featured on the purl bee are so deliciously cute. the pom-poms are completely reminiscent of bunny tails…and who doesn’t like bunnies? *grin* anyway, i think said socks could be super suave and more than a little subversive done in a really riotous color combo, like neon yellow paired with gray, or mint green paired with red-orange. natch.

-metapostmodernknitting is running a sock design challenge. the aim? to create an artsy and/or fashionable knitted sock for women. think you’ve got the knit wits and style sense to come up with something suitable? go to this blog post on MPMK for more details! (via craft:)

in a relatively recent post on one of my new fave blogs, a cup of jo, i was happy to learn about german photographer albrecht tübke. jo deemed tübke “the alternative sartorialist”…and, at first glance, i can certainly see at least some connection between the two. both photographers source people from the street for their subject matter, and aesthetically, too there are similarities: straight on, documentarian style portrait photography is their game.

tübke takes stunning photographs of everyday, (sometimes very stylish) german people. as i see it, though, what sets tübke’s work apart from the aforementioned style shooter is this: tübke seems to choose to scout a decidedly diverse cross-section of subjects who appear to be a bit more ‘ordinary’ than the fashion insiders favored by the sartorialist. one could say tübke’s work is kind of about fashion in an abstract sense, as his subjects are clothed, and their clothing certainly speaks to and supports the story of who these people are…but any fashion depicted therein appears to be more idiosyncratic and personal, sometimes and often utilitarian, but not always current. and that it’s not current fashion doesn’t matter. tübke’s main focus seems to be depicting the essence of an individual and what makes them such. fashion takes a supporting role, not a starring one (as would be the case with the work of the sartorialist).

some portraits from albrecht tübke’s portfolio:

(a related aside: when *i* look at tübke’s work, with it’s reverent, documentarian ethos/aesthetic, i immediately see parallels with the work of diane arbus…particularly because his work includes a series that focuses upon twins (see: arbus’s twins). unlike arbus, whose body of work focused heavily on individuals who lingered on the fringes of society (little people, giants, transvestites, and so forth), tübke’s work obviously focuses more on the everyday man, woman or child. but still…i see a link betwixt the two. just throwin’ that out there.)