Happy Halloween from Christian Dada!

Happy Halloween!
We thought the Christian Dada collection would be a perfect post for tonight as the show was the darkest and eeriest of Tokyo Fashion Week. The lighting was very dramatic and intense as was the collection. It had a certain something that reminded us of The Cell, a movie by Tarsem, the director of The Fall, which is a favorite movie of ours. There were life size bird cages, metal-work face masks, long flawy dress, and an elk antler wedding dress. We really like how the pictures turned out!!! Do you think they are Halloween spooky?!

Ambell Spring 2012 Tokyo Fashion Week

Ambell was a really mellow, fun show that happened in the evening later in the week. As we were generally so busy during Tokyo Fashion Week, it was a nice change of pace. It was held upstairs at the Mercedes-Benz Connection, the same venue where the Vantan & Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe Presentation had been. Everyone gathered upstairs and grabbed drinks at their leisure and then wandered in and out among the other viewers and the mannequins donning the collection. We had the pleasure of meeting Bunzo Kadono, the designer for Ambell. He was very nice and said that the 1920s was a big inspiration for him in this collection and that he liked the era because it was a time where a lot of innovation was happening in women's fashion. We, of course, loved this, as this has always been one of our favorite eras as well. The collection consisted of some bright, colorful floral prints as well as intricate lace work and also classic cuts with white and navy blue stripes. And obviously, the bouquet hats were very fun :) We hope you are enjoying the Tokyo Fashion Week photographs!

Vilnius, Lithuania: Fashion Infection Casting

Berta Zubrickaiteskirt -- self designed/made, fabric from Shanghai



Ieva Gurklyteshorts -- Primarkshirt -- Only



Dainora Salaviejute blazer -- Bershkapants -- Morganboots -- Marco Polo



Mall Casting for the Vilinius Fashion Festival otherwise known as Fashion Infection

Alina Lu shows her number to the designers.

So I'm doing a short Baltic State Tour which included a 3 day stopover in Vilnius, Lithuania during the Vilnius Fashion Festival Castings, which were held at a local mall.

These types of mall castings are very interesting, because this is one way a lot of models are discovered--whether here in Eastern Europe or even in Saint Louis Missouri. Julija Step for instance had no intent of being a model, but someone convinced her to attend a mall casting while she was there after school and look what happened to her career. In this case, there were over 400 contestants all vying for a slot in the coming Vilinus Fashion Festival/Fashion Infection shows.

Will one be the next Edita? Stay tuned for pictures from Riga coming soon.

A Degree Fahrenheit Spring 2012 JFW

So A Degree Fahrenheit was a very cool show with some great dresses. It was the first show on Tuesday the 18th at Japan Fashion Week Tokyo. The show had wonderful ambiance with eerie ambient music with crackley percussions and creepy pianos playing as fog floated across a dark runway. The models emerged through the fog one by one, each revealing a new garment, each one equally as beautiful as the one that proceeded it. They had very intricate lace work in the garments as well as tights that matched the patterns. We hope you like the photos :)

Meet Me Halfway

(Stylemint tee c/o Stylemint, Collective Concepts floral tank, random tights & lucite statement necklace, Milor bracelets, Amrita Singh bangles, F21 chains, H&M hat, Alexander Wang shoes)

Layered three different necklaces together for a chunky and playful effect!

Jourdan Dunn (Women, NY)

Erin Wasson x Marie Claire

photo credit: Marie Claire, TFS

jpegs and tacos

My friend Tim has been shooting me for the blog for over a year now. He is truly the definition of a great friend. I tried to write this entry like five or six times because it was actually extremely hard to put into words just how much I adore this man. Although sometimes we bicker like an old married couple. Let's just say... his laissez faire sense of direction has gotten me into more than a few vehicular predicaments. He's always there to pretend to listen to you complain while watching sports. Also, to share jpegs and a couple of tacos with.

Tim is the Creative Director of SOMA Magazine. You can follow his Tumblr and Twitter.

banks violette

Make as much art as you can. Do it while you still have something to say. Do it while it's all you have (but not until there's nothing left). To live your life and to give yourself a reason to live for. All we have is the work we do for ourselves, but most of all, for each other. The end.

Daria Strokous (Women, NY)

P E N N I E S & P O P P I E S .

(Marcs Top, Zara Coat, Random Jeans, Vintage Necklace, Steve Madden Shoes, See By Chloe Bag)

A beautiful afternoon spent roaming Wall Street and various other places near by with Luke in New York City. We were tempted to catch the ferry around The Statue of Liberty but after finding some cute lavender bushes lining the ferry docks we decided to relax and take in the view from a far instead. It was the perfect temperature for warm winter coats and Luke's bear hugs to keep me nice and cosy on the waterfront. I couldn't have been more content at that very moment. Here's a better view of my black patent loafers too. Really simple and so easy to throw on with basically anything. Shortly after purchasing these I discovered there's actually an endless supply of patent loafers in NYC and was torn between a penny loafer style I spotted at J.Crew. The style was more structured but had an additional $180 price tag, so I was happy to stay with my Steve Madden's. I've always felt really young and little when I wear ballet flats (is this just me?) so I just love how easily these loafers have replaced them and instantly added a preppy and polished feel to my outfits. Not that they need to get any more preppy but you know what I mean. I'd never say no to more man style dressing. Next stop, Brooklyn Bridge and their unbelievable flea markets!

Matohu Spring 2012 Tokyo Fashion Week

Matohu had a very intimate show set at the designer's store in Shibuya during Tokyo Fashion Week. There were stools set around a small cobblestone walkway that led up to the store, at the back of which was the photographers pit. Guests were seated around the shop as well as in the walkway with another group standing along a narrow alleyway that brought one towards the back of the store. The models began in the shop and exited through the front door to pause just outside the entryway as the cameras snapped away like fire crackers. They then proceeded down the alleyway around to the back of the shop. The collection was our first (though we did not know it at the time) introduction to wabi-sabi (more on wabi-sabi later). It was very minimal and chic in a traditional Japanese fashion. Very clean, simple, elegant lines. And the shoes! The shoes were beautiful. Nice two-toned flats with a gradient that started at the toe and faded back.

P R E S S & P R I N T .

A few places Gary Pepper Vintage has been spotted recently - Marie Claire US, Cosmopolitan Australia, Who Magazine, Barneys New York, The Cut (New York Magazine), Refinery29, Whowhatwear, Elle.com, Vogue.com.au and Chictopia. It was surreal coming home to see a few features I had done months ago had gone to print like 'What the fashion pack are wearing this summer' for Cosmopolitan magazine and guest judging for Who Magazine. As well as seeing my interview with Barneys New York go live which was easily the most intimidating, daunting and hardest interview I've ever done. You can also see what I wore to NYFW on the two days I was there. It was bizarre seeing these features as I honestly spent 3 hours on site in between sight seeing and holidaying. Hopefully I can go back next year and do it right though. A special thank you goes out to Chictopia for the Influential Blogger of the Year Award nomination. This was the first of its kind and I was honored to be a part of it. I missed out on the title but was so happy to see it go to someone so deserving. Congratulations to Folake of Style Pantry for the wonderful win!