Live Video Fruit Bats

photo by Dave Lichterman

Though he’s performed as a guitarist for The Shins, Califone Monster Beat Headphones Review, and others dr dre beats monster headphones, Eric Johnson has written charming pop songs for the last decade with his band Fruit Bats. On Tripper, Eric Johnson takes a more narrative turn and recounts stories inspired from a cross country trip, but the melodies are as sweet as ever. Fruit Bats recently stopped by KEXP beats by dre headphones review, on the day of the new album’s release, to perform live on the Midday Show with fill-in host DJ El Toro. Check out the videos here:

Longings Fulfilled

,Monster Beats Butterfly

>> I've somewhat lost my writing mojo due to a) my ears being boxed to death by the chilly winds and b) well... there's an odd subdued mood going around New York Fashion Week at the moment.  I'll be back to regular sized posts but for now... I'm thankful that lengths are getting longer... it's sort of like I'm willing skirt lengths to drop drop drop and what do you know,Monster Beats 2011, they have...  

Richard Chai A/W 10-11

Jen Kao A/W 10-11

Plenty of

>> Have you noticed that if I begin a post with two of these >,Gucci Hobo Bag, then it means that it's an itty bitty shorty shorty post?  And have you noticed that there's been a LOT of these >> floating around on the blog?  You can virtual slap me if this is an empty promise but I will hopefully try and get in some chunkier posts soon that also don't revolve around frippery (flowers) and outfit posts.  I know some of you say you like the outfit posts but it irks me when I can't really add anything to the dialogue other than "Here's what I wore"... STONE DEAD SILENCE...

As it happens,Gucci Sunglasses, I have no rhyme or reason for what I'm wearing other than I have many MANY layers on because it's frickin' cold in Paris at the moment with biting winds.  So that would explain the Michelin man effect I've got going on.  Actually I'm jealous of Michelin Man and would like to know the origins of his padded white all in one which I would gladly walk around in, albeit with my Giles nuts and bolts shoes...

(Vintage camel coat, Heal grey jersey zip-up top, vintage sheer dress, H&M black mesh top underneath plus two Uniqlo heat tech tops, Bebaroque embroidered sheer leggings, vintage shoes, Holly Fulton clutch, vintage leather gloves)

(Vintage aviator hat, vintage floral blazer, Dagmar woolen jacket underneath, Uniqlo poloneck, Uniqlo heat techs x 2, Michelle Jank necklace, Poltock and Walsh silk shorts with purple button detailing, Tabio tights, TUK creepers, vintage bag)

(Krystof Strozyna pale blue blazer, vintage beige cashmere jumper, two Uniqlo heat techs, Natascha Stolle skirt, Uniqlo lilac tights,Gucci Clutches, Giles Swarovski encrusted shoes, Mulberry x Gap bag, Accessorius cowl)

(All photographs by Phil Oh of Street Pepper)

Longer but Not Lither

I'm not entirely sure whether "lither" is a word.  I'm just assuming it is for my own greedy posting purposes.  Long and lithe is one of those word combos that just slips off the tongue pretty smoothly.  I'm sadly breaking that up though and not giving you the lithe bit.  I didn't post one of my annotated Topshop lookbook images where I had written "YES FOR LONGER LENGTHS" with a very long and very satsifying arrow (read that any way you want...hum).

Long, however is not necessarily some magical formula to stretching out and looking long-er.  Nope, I'm resigned to the fact that my cravings for long are going to somewhat stump me but the point is that I'm more in love with the fact that when walking there's material swishing about the knees and calves.  I'm even liking the fact that when you walk up stairs or get on buses, you have to lift up your skirts to do so which actually caused a woman behind me to make a small 'tutting' noise.  As in "Tut,Coach Wallets!  Who does she think she is?  The Queen of Sheba?"  (was it weird that I really tried to research WHO the Queen of Sheba was when I was seven when I first heard this phrase...?)

I'm currently liking layering different lengths to the volume.  So this slightly form-fitting Sretsis bow dress goes over the Margiela skirt...probably to disguise the latter's wear and tear from over-wearing...

Everyone likes a good BOOB BOW right?  And everyone just loves saying BOOB BOW no?

(Marks & Spencer black and cream satin floral dress, Sretsis bow dress, Margiela black and cream layered skirt, Acne shoes, Lanvin belt) 

Technically, these sheer dusky pink layered trousers isn't a skirt of course but there's SO MUCH fabric that it actually does require some lifting up.  They're Skirsers,beats headphones review!  Or err....Skrewsers!  I have to thank a reader for tipping me off about these trews on eBay where I got them for about £3.  I've had a hard time scoring things for under a tenner these days so this recent buy restored my faith that a £0.01 bid price is still possible in this day and age.  The Michael Angel skirt definitely tames the amount of billowing fabric down a bit.  The dusky rose shade also conveniently does a matchy matchy trick with the Emma Cook ruffled shoes.  I still can't quite shake those scrunchies away.   

In fact I was half tempted to run out to the ickle chemist just to see whether they had more of these manky black and white scrunchies to cuff the sheer trousers up into a quasi-bloomer shape so that the black and white striped stockings could peek out.  Weirdly enough, I hadn't run out of shampoo/talc/toothpaste/Lemsip (it's always ONE of those that is missing...).

(H&M black sheer top, Sonia Rykiel for H&M bra, Michael Angel striped print and mesh skirt, vintage dusky rose layered sheer trousers,Coolest Gadgets, black and white striped stockings, Emma Cook satin ruffle shoes, cheapie chemist scrunchies)

Flat Textures

>>Here's hoping you can make these out properly from my blurry pictures but at one of the Masterclasses here at the Arts of Fashion event in Philly,cheap monster beats, conducted by designer Aurore Thibout and Laurence Teillet (co-founded of Elemental, a vintage furniture store in London,monster beats by dre headphones, I snapped these prints on tracing paper that were meant to be inspiration images for their students who are doing a screenprinting project.

It was Laurence who had produced them and now I semi/sort of/vaguely/ know how Inside Out,Replica Holbrook Sunglasses, trompe l'oeil garment masters superimpose prints of garments onto clothes so precisely. There's something about the aesthetic of photocopied garments and seeing these entirely flat monochromatic images with the illusion of depth that make just these prototype tracing paper prints very impressive.

Not-So-New (York) Looks S S 12

>> Jamming the blog with collection reviews during the week is not my bag and New York in particular is a JAMMY type of week.  I've said it once and I'll say it again - four shows clashing w/ each other on every hour does make you wonder why there is so much chaff on the schedule.  Fortunately, pretty much everything I've seen thus far has not been chaffy.  In fact, better than that, I've actually been clasping my hands together and sighing, pumping the fists and basically looking like a right weirdo at several shows.  More about the sighing and fist-pumping later.

For now, it's all about new looks.  Or not so new looks one me.  There is an air hanging here in New York that sort of feels like it's about to drop on me.  It's called DOOM OF HUMIDITY.  In London, I was feeling all toasty and ready to wrap up in a bazillion layers.  Here, they've promptly been shed.  It probably has somewhat stumped my mission to look for New Looks for Diet Coke (to celebrate the can's makeover) a project whereby... I'm hunting for awesome looking people who can take part in a *ta da* billboard fashion show next week, with their pics to be beamed up into mahussive scale at Times Square New York.  That's either scary or brilliant depending on who you are.  I like to go inbetween and say it's hilarious.  Everyone participating will get emailed a pic of their mug up in the lights in Time Square too for that digital souvenir that will surely have friends and family lol-ing with them.  I think I've chosen good looks (as in outfits!) rather than new ones in this instance but we shall see come Thurs 15th.

My own looks for the week have somewhat fallen out of grace with the word 'new' as I'm just going for anything that's heat-defensive.  Weather.com did not fail me in predicting this mini heat wave in the city.  So out comes the sunnies, the colours and all the things that must make me look like some loon who doesn't want to let summer slip away... like a girl I once knew who used to wear tea dresses all year round with no tights and coats, bravely insisting she wasn't cold.

I rely on the trio Phil Oh of Street Peeper, Tommy Ton of Jak and Jil and Nam of StreetFSN (yes, that does make a somewhat Benetton-esque Asian streetstyle crew - Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean...) for pics in absence of a boyfriend photographer.  Ta very much guys... 

Look... WOO for UNBRUSHED STRINGY HAIR on Style.com....!

(Tommy Ton for Style.com)

(StreetFSN for Grazia.It) 

(Phil Oh of Street Peeper - Curated blue jacket, Louise Gray for Lulu & Co. dress, YSL bag, Fleet Ilya visor, Nichols Kirkwood flats)

All hail Yoox.com for this Rochas blouse that actually has a cut-away back... 

(Nam of StreetFSN)

(Phil Oh of Street Peeper - Rochas floral shirt, Jil Sander shirt underneath, ASOS neon lace skirt, Michael Angel x Manolo Blahnik shoes, Jas M.B. bag, Illesteva sunglasses)

(Phil Oh of Street Peeper - Rochas floral shirt,mexico Soccer Jersey, United Bamboo dress, Nicholas Kirkwood shoes, Jas M.B. bag)

**EDIT** Just to illustrate the cut-out back, here's one by Phil Oh for Vogue.com

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Trew Trio

I've always expressed my gripes over trouser-hunting.  Actually I'm now thinking rather than it being an real gripe or annoyance, it is in fact my laziness.  Given that I rarely try on things in store choosing to buy online or zoom into stores in super fast speed and shop n' go, this of course has contributed to the distinct lack of trousers in my life.  

Lately though, a trio of bottoms has come rushing in to up the trouser count, in an attempt to try and one up on the skirt quota which at one point I counted came to 250 +.  The yard sale I had of course depleted that number heavily and could there be a point that trousers vs. skirts will in fact be even stevens???  Surely this landmark needs to coincide with something significant in my life.  I am going to officially be entering my late-twenties in December and perhaps all along, the creeping number of trousers in my wardrobe is a metaphor for the growing weight of my years.  Handy to know I guess.

Along with trouser-life metaphors, I'm going to cram in some flat shoe buys that have also coincided nicely with the trew acquisitions.  Sadly they have nothing significant to say other than they come in handy when walking around town during tube strikes. 

Alas, I cheat a little as two of the three would be classified more as 'treggings' (I'm not even sure this word should even be floating about anymore...) rather than trousers.  Take these Shape Shiftr mustard riding trousers.  They do have a zip and a button at the top but they are heading into legging territory as well.  I love that the leather patches on the knees instantly add protection.  Like built in shin/knee pads for icy slip-ups (scrapes on knees are a weekly occurence for me...).

(Worn with Limedrop cloud print blazer, vintage shirt, vintage lace top with DIY beading, shoes from charity shop)

If you're not into riding or walking around with well-protected knees, Shape Shiftr's S/S 11 collection is a soft silk georgette-filled affair - all cut-away blouses, loose long skirts/dresses as well as a comeback from linen.  I'm having mine wrinkled because steaming the stuff can be a bitch...

The second pair of trews are even more dubious.  They are in essence leggings but I promise they are good and thick and feel adequate as trousers.  They're by film/fashion/art and fellow Hong Kong-er Makin Jan Ma, who's stocked in Beyond the Valley.  Supposedly they're for men but me thinks his clothes can definitely cross gender borders.  It's good to have stripes not going in one collection or in chevron-motion but traversing all over the place as they do here...    

Worn with COS leather sleeved jacket, vintage Breton top, Monki sheer stripy dress underneath bunched up, E. Tautz Breton jumper stolen from Steve and...

...a pair of JUICY red Rupert Sanderson patent loafers.  I'm going to be confronting my fear of red head-on very soon but these shoes are the wussy baby steps.  Plus I think the black studs are making a face at me when I look down on them. 

In other Rupert Sanderson news, I spied these pale blue python brogues that are NOT going into production for S/S 11 alas... it's a texture/colour/shape match made in heaven which is sadly not to be...

They also have a pair of shoes with a ponyskin print that can't be anything but a lava lamp in motion.  Come on, how many did you break?  Wasn't it sort of weirdly fascinating to see all that colourful gunk turn into an oily non-descript liquid in one shattering...?  Much like many disappointing teenage experiences, eh?  We're going ker-razy with metaphors and euphemisms here today aren't we...

Ah ok, we finally get down to the business of a PROPER pair of trews and I'm glad it was bStore who were the able providers.  They required zero trying on and because I'm not obsessed with trousers that do wondrous things to my arse or my thighs, I was happy to slip into these pleat-fronted and comfortable entities.  I think they're supposed to be unisex (I THINK these are the closest match...) which will balance out a lot of the girlier/frillier things going on up top...

(Worn with Moustache belt, Toga patent jacket, Whistles shirt, Topshop hat)

In other bStore happenings, the third issue of their in-house magazine has jsut come out where I get to see Darya and her mean-but-cool eyebrows plus Danielle Scutt A/W 10-11 being used (come on... we need to get Scutt back on the agenda...!).  Bless also shows that they can do some mighty chunky knitwear...

bStore's burgeoning moodboard in their store is threatening to extend to the ceiling... still I do love that they have one and diligently add to it...

The final note to this convoluted post are these studded and tongued brogues from Church's.  Studded and tongued makes it sound like I'm conjuring a lewd vision.  I stopped and gawped when I walked past the Church's store on Conduit Street as they pretty much reach some dizzy heights when it comes to the realm of brogues.  It's interesting that as Church's is owned by Prada, that Prada came out with semi similar brogues for menswear a couple of seasons ago and Miu Miu also have some mens studded brogues in at the moment.  Sharing the Church's love around the company is no bad thing though when you get studded brogue version 3.0 beta babies like these.   

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