Bookmarc. Catchy, isn't it? [image via Racked]

Did you hear that Marc Jacobs is in the book business? Yes, Bookmarc on Bleecker. He took over the lease of an existing bookstore. So I asked the sales person, "Do you have any Hemingway?" "Yes! Of course," he said and went over to look. "Oh, we're fresh out." (Yeah sure. Like you ever carried Hemingway.)

I suggested, "Maybe if Gristedes goes out of business, he could take over their lease, and call it 'Marctedes.' In the produce section, he could sell Andy Warhol-style bananas instead of real ones. You know, they would have zippers, because they're actually change purses."

I haven't seen this bag before. Marc by Marc Jacobs. Well at least he takes the mystery out of who made this bag. I do like the print however. And the fact that it's waterproof. It's important to be fashionable in the snow, right? She probably should have gone with a brown coat though.


I could file this under In Hot Pursuit of a Handbag, but since she was standing still and an easy mark, I will file it under Fashionable on the Subway Platform. Check out both series' if you'd like to see more good outfit ideas walking around on the streets of NYC.

Yes, I must have it. It is so shiny. And a perfect size to hold a lipstick and a chapstick. And just $14. And while I'm at the Marc Jacobs store, I am getting this too, if they still have any left. $5. [images from marcjacobs.com]

Marc by Marc Jacobs Pieced Wool Knit Dress

Remember Marc Jacobs' Piggyback Purse? It seems he's gone back to that concept with this dress. So clever, yet so unsettling. Somehow, these pieces remind me of parasite architecture.

an example of "parasite architecture"
[image from fakemuseum.egloos.com]

Dress by BCBG, available on My Designer Closet

How cute is this? A BCBG dress for only $42? Yes, and there is more where that came from on My Designer Closet, a shopping site which specializes in selling and consigning new and pre-owned designer clothes, shoes, bags, accessories, and jewelry -- all at a nice price, I might add. Like this Marc by Marc Jacobs dress for $40, and this Marni Gold Trench for $90. Hurry and shop because there is only one of each piece in a specific size. This site could be your Cinderella story.


Please note: My Designer Closet is currently having a BLOWOUT SALE, with huge discounts up to 90% off retail. According to owner, Renee, "I am trying to make some room in my closet for new items that will arrive very soon."

Hypothetically speaking of course. If I were in the market for a Marc by Marc Jacobs bag, this is the one I would choose. Please do not buy it. I am still deciding.

I must say, I am not the least bit interested in the bribery 'scandal' involving Marc Jacobs and the 69th Regiment Armory on Park Avenue and 26th Street. So what.

I am interested in a different armory on Park Avenue though: the 7th Regiment Armory at 67th Street. All month, I have been eagerly anticipating viewing The Art Show organized by the Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA). The exhibition, which includes work of all periods from 70 leading art galleries, runs from February 21-25. It is always a treat. I will be there on the 24th. Tickets are $20.

[image from WireImage by way of New York Magazine]*

Marc Jacobs? The center of a reality TV show? Well I would watch it in a second.

I seem to have a never-ending interest in Marc Jacobs. I just read this article and heard myself saying, "I like Sponge Bob too! I have iced coffee in the afternoon!" Let me explain. I don't know what it is about fashion designers and celebrity chefs. When I see once in person, I get goofy. I point and urgently hit my husband's arm and point and point, "Look, it's Valentino!!!!!!" (at Phillips de Pury) "Look look look! Isaac Mizrahi! In the navy and white striped shirt, and the sweater!" (at BAM last week seeing Happy Days) "Look! Todd English!! Todd English!!!" (at one of his restaurants).

And then I monitor their every move giving a blow by blow commentary to my husband where he cannot possibly get a word in until we leave or they leave. On Valentino, "He's looking at the Gurskys. I wonder if he owns a Gursky. He's over by the strawberries and champagne. He is really tan. Is that a model he's with? Look at that suit! I wonder what his art collection is like... He is really really tan." On Mizrahi, "I wonder if he'll come back for the second act. Hey he's back for the second act. I'm impressed. Is he here alone? I wonder if he likes Beckett or if he came because Target sent him the tickets. I think he likes Beckett. He did come back for the second act." On English, "He's talking to the assistant chef. Wow he is tall in person. Where did he go? I wonder if he'll be back."

Well anyway, I'd watch a reality show about Marc Jacobs.



*For some reason, this image was not constrained by the usual pixel limit of 400px height. I don't know why. It looks like a Chuck Close, practically. By the way, I also saw Chuck Close once in a gallery in Chelsea and freaked out in excitement. I had cocktails near David Hockney, and for years following drank the Pimm's Cup which was no easy task because no bartender had ever heard of it. If it was Hockney's favorite, it was my favorite too. I spoke Japanese with Takashi Murakami and told everyone I met him when his Louis Vuitton bags came out years later, including some sales people at the Louis Vuitton store, who could have cared less. I stood right next to Roy Lichtenstein at his last exhibition at the MFA, Boston which was pretty darn incredible, especially since he died so soon after, never to paint anything more. So I guess you could include artists in the above list. Yes definitely.

I will tell you a secret. The Marc Jacobs solid perfume in the irresistible white leather carrying case got the better of me the other day. I was walking home and there was Sephora, glowing (because it was nighttime), and pulling me in. I went in to browse aimlessly and maybe spend some of my gift card money on Decleor skincare products, although I was already fully stocked. Sometimes a girl just needs to browse products to clear her head. At least this girl does. But then I saw Marc! The last one on the shelf! HAHA!

It is mine now. And it only cost me $21.47.

[photo: mercurynews.com]

You can bet that this 'Piggyback Purse' which Marc Jacobs showed on his New York Fashion Week runway last week (not Paris, my mistake), will be on the streets in no time. And by on the streets, I mean at the knock-off kiosks on Canal Street and at the better tables on Madison near Barneys. Perhaps some may sneak into the hands of the guys who set up on 5th and 18th. They always get a few advance pieces of the hot trends, and at better prices than the guys on Madison.

While you may not love Marc's Piggyback Purse on first glance, don't worry. You will. When you see it carried by everyone and their mother, you will begin to covet it and you won't know why. And if they should delay the availability, or offer it as a limited edition, forget it. You will be hooked beyond belief. You will start to mentally coordinate outfits to wear with your new purse. You will imagine yourself in situations where you will elicit envious glances from other women. You won't know what you will do until the moment you can proudly call the Piggyback Purse by Marc Jacobs your own.

Models darting to their next show. Admittedly, I was focusing on the power cords
being routed from the Aggreko truck parked on 42nd Street over the fence to the Tents.

The little engine that could.
Aggreko provides the heating, cooling and electrical generation for the Tents.

Wednesday was the last day of New York Fashion Week at Bryant Park. And now it is off to London (September 15-20), Milan (September 22-29) and finally Paris (September 29-October 7), where, by the way, Marc Jacobs is showing this year, not NYC. Hmpff.*

Before it all went away, I took these shots of the Aggreko generators and all the massive wiring used to power the Tents. Fascinating. I learned that the Bryant Park venue requires Aggreko to provide enough electricity and air handling to support a 1.5-million-square-foot Manhattan office building. Wow.

Here is an interesting article in Architecture Week about the build-out for Fashion Week. It certainly is quite a production. Worth a read.




*9.20.07 Note: I had been hearing rumblings about Marc leaving New York, but it did not happen this year. He showed his Marc Jacobs Spring 2008 collection in New York, two hours late! Suzy Menkes was maddder than mad. Here is are more comments from Menkes. I just love this stuff.

People often ask me what designers I like (Marc Jacobs, Tom Ford, Karl Lagerfeld), and then after they have listened politely to my answer, love to get into the fine points of the designers they love or have heard of, or who are selling at H&M. For me, fashion is not only about the clothes, but also about the psychology, the packaging, the branding, the marketing, the mixing of pattern, color and texture and the resulting unique juxtapositions one can create, and the mining of cultures, time periods and other art forms for inspiration.

I am interested in Marc, Tom and Karl for the brands they have built, the style they create, and for what they have to say. I was sorry to hear when Marc checked himself into rehab, and was rooting for Tom to find new backers and design under his own name after he left Gucci. To read or listen to a Karl interview is a thrill. Did you read the March 19, 2007 in-depth article about Karl in The New Yorker? It is fantastic. I savored every word. Here is one outlandish quote, which gave me food for thought:

“I throw everything away!” he declared. “The most important piece of furniture in a house is the garbage can! I keep no archives of my own, no sketches, no photos, no clothes—nothing! I am supposed to do, I’m not supposed to remember!” He smoothed a gloved hand over the empty page in front of him and visibly relaxed.

I follow a lot of brands, and naturally a lot of trends; but I am most interested, as a designer myself, in the moments of inspiration before the final product. Sure, I can find inspiration in some clothes in some stores sometimes, but I get consistent ideas and creative excitement from the urban landscape, from art and sculpture, from the textures, materials and patterns in architecture, and in the juxtapositions of all of those things that cause me to pause, write in my notebook, take a photo, or publish my musings in the blog.

Whether you are new to my blog, or have been reading since my first entry on December 18, 2005, you can begin to understand from my various entries what interests me most about fashion and the world around me, and what makes me tick as a designer, writer, and assimilator/processor/re-processor of stimuli. I guess I am interested in the creative process in general, and the moments that lead up to the creative product. I am interested in other creative people's stories of what drives them to make what they make. For me, that happens to be clothing and accessories.

I am interested in the specific artfulness of clothing, but also in the artifice of clothing, or the manner in which people choose to present themselves publicly. But that is another post for another day. Suffice it to say, clothing gives the wearer a layered power of expression. And what specific personality or qualities about ourselves are we attempting to communicate with the facade we choose each day? Food for thought.

'Romi' Boot from Gucci [image: gucci.com]

Nine West's current campaign [image: ninewest.com]

Remember that warm crackle finish of Marc Jacobs' matte silver handbags last Spring? If you want to be up-to-the-second, you may want to retire that bag for the moment.* When it comes to metallics, there are more than a few high-shine silver and gold offerings on the horizon for Spring. From Gucci trickling on down to Nine West.


*For the record, I am not an advocate of up-to-the-second dressing. Plus, I prefer the silver with the warm crackle finish.

the Marc Jacobs knock-off

Why should Fred Flare get a feature on a Fall Bag Guide for this bag? This bag is an overt exact knock-off of a Marc Jacobs bag from last season. Not styled after, not inspired by, not based on, not a point-of-departure. None of Fred's own flare went into this piece. It is an exact copy for a cheaper price, capitalizing on the desire for Marc, and transferring it to Fred's own pocket.

And why reward a company with a press for a well-known copy? They didn't design it. I don't understand this. Why not feature a bag by Kristen Aronsson instead? She does beautiful work that is all her own.

the real thing by Marc Jacobs


the lovely "Dumpling Bag" by Kristen Aronsson

But must unpack first. I will be back later with posts and pics, but now to the unpacking from yesterday's Market NYC. Can I do it in 30 minutes? I will try.

I had quite the action-packed weekend. I showed my t-shirts to a new store in Brooklyn on Saturday, and then delivered their order the same day, in between the rain drops. Very exciting. If you are in the neighborhood, come check out their store, Dalaga. The decor is so striking! And the clothing selection is quite nice too. These two sisters have a great eye. (dalaga is Tagalog for a smart urban chic girl who has got it all together)

Sunday I did the Market and split the table with my friend Alyson who just moved back to Brooklyn from Boston. She was my intern 9 years ago and then my trusted production sewer for a number of years following. If I may do a little plug for her here, she is a graduate of FIT, and has worked for Marc Jacobs and Imitation of Christ before starting her own line, Redder Betty, which you can see a bit more of here. Her website is coming soon.

Don't worry, I am just looking. Both of these pieces by Marc by Marc Jacobs appeal to me. I didn't notice them in the store but I'm sure they were there. Find them online under Bags, Spring 2006 Women's. Why is their site so annoying? It kills the fun of sending links to your friends!
Here is the series of bags which that wristlet comes from. I cannot find that wristlet. It must be just an in-store treat. Go and look before it sells out! Isn't the metallic subtle and lovely?




And here is the strange chunky necklace I tried on for $35. I think you have to be very very very tall to wear this one. And I am not. I like the one I made better. Remember the Lucky Moon Necklace from a couple of years ago? I still like to wear that one in the summer.

The Marc Jacobs store is always an interesting visit. I got hooked on the fantasy last year that I too would someday own a Marc Jacobs bag. This one, but in teal to match my eyes, as my friend Jodi pointed out. So what if it cost much more than my rent? I went to visit that bag so often at Saks that the sales people all knew me.

Now back to reality, I still like visiting the store to be dazzled by the great designs. Currently, there are particularly lovely small pouch-like bags with wrist handles in subtle metallics. Under $200. Let me see if I can find them online for you. Forget it. The site is all flash. Maybe the bag is on saks.com? No not here either.

Well anyway, the strange thing I find about the store is that considering the rest of the high prices, there is always something ridiculously affordable in the accessories cases. Why? Bangle bracelets for $35, leather key fobs for $5. A chunky (buy weird) necklace for $35. Maybe he is just trying to be true to his Rock 'n Roll roots. I don't know. It is nice though. I have 2 bangles and a barette. Go check out the store near you. You will love the wristlet bag.

You don't have to miss the shows during NYC Fashion Week anymore. One way to see them is by live streaming feed. Another way to catch the shows: watch TV! If you are in the New York area, tune in to Channel 25 this week at 8pm, nightly, for full coverage of all the runways. Last Fall, I caught the Marc Jacobs show -- marching band and all -- just one day later.

How cool and distracting! I am watching Oscar de la Renta right now in the corner of my screen!