Erdem Spring 2011

Just a quick update, there aren't enough words to describe this collection anyway. Enjoy!

(all photos from style.com)

"I've got your memory, Or has it got me". Cat Power @ the Opera House

"Rock music should be played in grungy little pubs with small crowds, no offense-- thats just what I think. Look how far away the stage is, I can't get in the mood this far away, I like standing when I'm listening to live music." So stated the Irish tourists sitting behind me at the Cat Power concert last night. Clearly they weren't aware of who Cat Power is and what kind of music she plays. Though the venue was probably not the most obvious choice you've got to admit the Opera house is impressive just to be in, people go to the opera house to listen to music, not throw beer bottles and heckle (ala Blues Brothers and *erhem* grungy little pubs), and of course people listened. With little noise coming from the audience except for the wall of noise created by the applause after each song the audiences silence may have been disconcerting to Cat Power, who whispered into the microphone at one stage "are you nervous to be here too?".

The moment she broke into her set, supported by the brilliant Dirty Delta Blues band I and seemingly the rest of the audience were entranced and attentive. The Irish tourist behind me shut the hell up-- except at one point in the middle of the first set when they whispered to each other "I didn't think it would be like this!". Even now, a day after the concert I'm having a King Lear moment-- being unable to say exactly how amazing it really was, I could easily say "you had to be there" but for the purpose of this sad excuse for a review I won't be that annoying and cheapskate about this. After all Cat Power's performance deserves more then "it was amazing, but you had to be there".

Every song she sang was captivating, she has the ability to pull you into this strange, strange world in which these songs emerge with every lyric she sings-- as though you were there. But even so, without knowing the background struggles of Misses Chan Marshall you're... transported emotionally from beginning to end. Before you give up reading this because it sounds as though I'm trying to be poetic and professional, I don't intend to make you cringe-- I can only really describe last nights concert in this way, giving it the approach it deserves.

When the concert was seemingly over the applause kept going and alas! after 5 minutes of clapping, shouting (finally!) and foot drumming they returned from backstage and generously played about 5 more songs... each one as brilliant as the last. I didn't think there were any sound problems, I thought it sounded great-- unlike Cat Power who kept walking up to the sound desk and asking them to fix something or other throughout the entire concert. I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the guys on the sound desk. There were a couple of faster, more "rock" songs in this set, as well as some sound-scape songs as opposed to the soulful blues she played in the first, however it was a wonderful combination that tested the skills of the band (they were great in everything) and when combined with Chan's beautiful voice heartbreaking... even though I'm not particularly sure why.

Given the chance to go to another of her concerts I would like a shot. Her music is magnificently good but so underrated. When telling people I was going to her concert the majority didn't know about her, but I predict that more people will. Even with her 15 years in the industry her sound is so new and different, yet so obviously inspired by blues, folk, soul and perhaps even pop. I'm not sure how that even works but it's interesting to watch and even more to listen to. Given 3 more years Cat Power's presence will be more prominent the ever, I don't doubt it for a minute that her fan base will grow to "Indie famous" proportions but for now, it's nice to know I've at least seen her live before her tickets start selling out in minutes.

Snake Valley

My god the styling for this Topshop collection is good.

Unfortunately I can't find a better word for what this is, so I'm going down the eclectic route. I could also use the word "ethereal" but pretentiousness isn't my thing no matter how good I am at it.

So lets start; the look-book is so much more stimulating then looking through the key pieces, it is really the styling that makes this what it is. The combination of leather and tie dye, granny squares with aztec prints and outer space with paisley somehow works and looks thrown together in a way that's so effortless, random yet clever.

Most of all this collection is clever, because the idea is not new at all. The majority of pieces are reminiscent of the 1970s or even past trends (remember the tie-dye trend, or the fringed trend?). Of course there is a tacky element to the pieces individually, but tacky is in right? And not necessarily a bad thing, it just plays with that idea of eclecticism. Also, I found that (although it is a new collection) the clothes look worn, used and loved. They look like they could be picked up from a second hand store and worn till they're ripped at the seams. It also looks like the clothes could have been picked up individually from somebody's worldly adventures. I only wish the look book could have been shot at in a desert in Arizona or in Machu Picchu, but the block colours work too I guess.

To describe my feelings about Snake Valley I could just type "Love" over and over again, I could also run onto the street singing and dancing.

References?

Easy Rider, Frida Khalo, David Bowie, Woodstock, Crochet, John Lennon, Nevada Desert, Nebulas, Mosaic, Dream Catcher.

Click image to enlarge.

Also, I'm in love with this album.

After Hours.

Have you ever heard it? Its this wonderful little song by the Velvet Underground, sung by their Drummer Maureen Tucker-- Not Edie Sedwick (contrary to popular belief). Thats two references to the Velvet Underground in one day.

You know what else After Hours is...?

Its this wonderful editorial from the November British Vogue, Photographed by Lina Scheynius.

I want the stylist to marry me.

I want Jessica Stam to marry me based on this.

I want to be the woman in this shoot.

Oh, it is LOVE!!!

It's very "boredom chic", perfect for the upcoming school holidays, its also SO INCREDIBLY SIMPLE. It's not poesy or "glamor", this whole shoot could have been stills from a documentary from the 60s, which is why I love it (I also really love the house it was shot at). The last photo is my favorite, but they're all amazing.

This isn't current, so I was hesitant to blagg about it-- but fashion and photography that stacks up well should be able to look wonderful even a couple of months or weeks later. So as of NOW this blog is totally non-linear in its content.

Ring, ring why don't you give me a call.

I think my distinct lack of cool, has something to do with me getting this song stuck in my head:

Speaking of rings...

(and bracelets, and necklaces).

Take a look at these!!!

A collection of jewelry from: House of Harlow, MANIAMANIA, Disney Couture, Forever21, Topshop, YSL, Dannijo, Pamela love and Low x Luv. I also found some of these by typing "amber ring" into google, but that should cover most of it...

Also, I love the new MANIAMANIA campaign:

Reminds me of the footage of the Velvet Underground performing at the Factory with all the projections on them...

Uninspired.

WARNING!

TEENAGE RANT ABOUT THE HSC AND LACK OF LIFE AHEAD.

TERRIBLY UNINTERESTING.

HSC is difficult, people say it every year, yet I thought they were just over exaggerating. I thought I'd be one of the people who don't have a life and just manage their time around school work, surely thats how you survive without exiting High School with a paranoia complex about school assessments being due. But strangely, I've actually had a life these past couple of weeks, which means style.com isn't getting the attention it usually receives. I'm going to a black and white themed Film Noir event at the MCA tonight, I'm not sure how it will go-- anything that promise free "mocktails" sounds a bit dire, but I'll probably go anyway-- assuming I get my beautiful assignment over and done with, which at the moment is sitting in a pile on my desk looking a bit like this.

Also Louise Brooks is gorgeous. Prompting the question "what would Louise do?" when I'm behind on school work-- thats probably not a very good approach as I'm sure Louise would just say "damn the work load" and go to some swanky club, drink swanky drinks and dance the Charleston.

oh my.

Yesterday, purely by chance I ended up in the new Sydney Westfield, it happened to be the opening day and it seemed like everyone in Sydney was there, and honestly, I can see why. I'm not actually a big fan of shopping malls, I like individual shops off streets, I'm not the "all in one place" type of shopper, or you know... a shopper at all-- but theres something about Sydney Westfields that makes you want to spend a heap of moolah. Zara is opening up in there, so is Miu Miu which sort of takes out the desirability factor of those shops--I spent a lot of time in Zara when I was in Europe and I dragged my Mum into the Miu Miu boutique when we were in Melbourne. Now they are relatively close which gives me an excuse to actually consider buying the clothes that have caught my eye, making it plausible for me to own them. The shops they have are a nice combination of cheap chain stores and high fashion, which means if you're a a poor teenager who isn't good at saving up to buy something special, its quite nice to say you actually bought something. But even the cheap chain stores are decorated and done up to look just as nice as the expensive ones (interior wise), the window displays all look as though someone had put a lot of thought into them (which I suppose they had, because it was someone's job, and the first day of opening). So at the end of all this, did I buy something? No... my friends and I were in too much awe of the space odyssey esque building and the amount of people to go into many shops. But I plan to go again when all the shops have opened, armed with Christmas money and gift cards, and not on a weekend either.

So, without knowing exactly all the shops in Westfield Sydney, my wish-list goes as so:

Front-Pleat Trousers (Zara) $40

Hadley Clog (Rubi shoes) $40, I'm not quite sure why I like these.

Zelda Ring, $79, Tilkah

I was going to add to this but looking at what's stocked in the way of "luxury" is depressing and not at all achievable.