black & white & red all over

via fashion illustrator and blogger danny roberts. 
swedish model frida gustavsson on the cover of german vogue. i love this painting. and i also love the idea of the top depicted. imagine a simple, short-sleeved black knit top with a slit near the neckline for a swath of creamy silk tied just so. add a sexy red pout and you're good to go.

bless me blogger for i have sinned

it's been nearly two months since my last post. i have no excuse, really, other than maybe i just need a break. knitting-wise, i have been working on the same hat (HAT! for chrissakes...not a butterfly cami or intarsia quilt) since the beginning of spring. it's cute and all, but i just can't seem to get myself fired up to knit. and right now, it's so dang hot and humid in my little studio, i can't even bring myself to change out of my sweaty workout clothes. so not only is there very little knitting going on around here...but very little style to boot. i hope i haven't completely alienated my dwindling readership. i do love the bloggery and am sure i will be back at it with a vengeance soon! happy summer to all. xoxo kate

it's back (just in case you thought it left)

this just in from the stylistas at whowhatwear.com. it's always nice to see handknits resurface as a "trend" in the fashion press. even though we all know it never truly goes away. as a sidenote, notice the chanel dress on alexandra richards...look familiar? the article says she wore it to the tribeca film festival. which means it's probably the exact same dress we were trying on in chanel's soho boutique in april. which makes us a mere two degrees of fashion separation from...the stones. or maybe i should say it makes keith richards two degrees of separation from an old lady in a rocking chair clacking away on her knitting needles. as if.

minimalism

in addition to making me feel like i need to put on foundation immediately, this image from classic elite's new "picnic" booklet, makes me want to pick up my languishing needles and get smocking. not since bonnie have i felt the urge to smock so strongly. but forget about all that for a moment and look at how brilliantly this look works, basically by not "working" at all. it is completely devoid of accessories. the flawlessly fresh, minimally made up face with just a hint of color on the lips and the plaited updo are all that's needed to complement the detail in the neutral-hued sweater. this is truly a study in restraint that proves that the new less isn't just more. it's fabulous.

LWD is the new LBD

this image of alexa chung wearing head-to-toe chanel has been haunting me. everything from the little white dress to the heathered grey tights to the sky-high brown clogs to the quirky flowered bag and cross pendant screams cool brit chick. but i especially can't stop thinking about that LWD. i have looked and looked for anything with a similar silhouette, to no avail.

passing by the chanel store in soho recently, i worked up the nerve to go in and see if i could check it out in person. turns out they didn't have the LWD in question, but they did have an absolutely charming specimen that resembled a vintage knit tennis dress. my friends were happy to pretend that i was taking a picture of them rather than the intricate lacework on the hem of this piece. so lovely! and so expensive! as i recall, the price tag was over two grand.

the latest issue of interweave knits arrived in the mailbox today. flipping through, i came across two  dresses that immediately put me in mind of these chanel dresses. these would be LWDs with a particular emphasis on the word "little."

i've heard about grown women shopping for their own shrunken jackets in little marc jacobs. and quite honestly, i can admit perusing the boys rack at gap a few times. at five-foot-one, i'm smaller than most of my friends' 10-year-olds, but that doesn't mean i want to dress like one! still, i can't help but find myself coveting some variation of these dresses. rendered in a lightweight off-white cotton/wool with some up-sizing, three-quarter sleeves, and a straighter, less flouncy skirt, i believe even mr. karl might approve.

what's your most memorable jean moment?

nobody puts denim in a corner. not when it looks this iconic. the always-inspiring net-a-porter has put together the top 10 jean moments, in this wonderful video curated by fashion historian colin mcdowell. all this jean-on-jean action makes me want to start swatching with some dungaree-inspired fiber. i'm thinking a very fitted denim vest maybe. it also has me wondering: what is your most memorable jean moment? do you remember your first pair of jeans? what were they?

gimme some sugar

there is absolutely nothing saccharine about spring's obsession with neutrals. and these two beauties from marc jacobs and pringle of scotland, respectively, are no exception. yes, the SS2010 marc jacobs cardigan is girly, but its charming swiss cheese effect gives it a witty edge. take a closer look at the stitch here. it's enough to send me to my vogue stitchionary to find something comparable. any ideas?

not since the much-imitated cashmere yoke sweater from the AW2007 collection has a pringle sweater inflated so many goosebumps. i'm not quite sure what's going on with the shoulder treatment, but i definitely like it. it gives this classic ladylike cardigan a kicky twist. the edging is a very cool touch that is the knitwear equivalent to alexander wang's messy side braid.

i love how these images are styled and photographed with soft colors and lighting. note how the entire palette is pale and monochromatic, save for the pop of color on the model's lips. that's a good trick for making neutrals anything but detached. stick to one tone in your clothing and add a single dash of color in an accessory...say, a day-glo orange belt or a bright blue bag.

diy?

just in case you wanted to know how they made the spot below :) this might just be the most perfect blend of humanity and technology that i have every seen in the production of a tv commercial.

what a gas

as an advertising copywriter, this is one of those things that makes me go, "DAMN, i wish i'd thought of that." as a knitter, this is one of those things that makes me go, "DAMN, am i glad i didn't have to knit all that."

fashionably late

yes, i know the olympic flame has long been extinguished, but i am still on fire for these medal-worthy fringe knitwear designs from the always-golden rodarte. let's watch that in slo-mo here. suitably inspired? knit your own version (click through to second page in link) in a cream or other light neutral and layer over a stripey long-sleeved tee. it's a perfect 10 for a coolish early spring day look.

meanwhile, backstage at prada

via

thanks to my friend kate for tipping me off to this uber-chic cable-knit headband chez prada. i am in love with how the beige yarn mimics the look of a braided beehive. what next, alexander wang side braids made out of alpaca silk?

on your marc

check out this sweater from the marc jacobs fall 2010 rtw, which showed last night at new york fashion week. fair isle has never looked more modern, knit up in neutrals and paired with a below-the-knee-length graphic print skirt, and slouchy anklets. is it crazy to lust for fall weeks before the first bud of spring?

sho shtylish

 

behold the necklush: light, "infinity" strands of tubed jersey you can tie around your neck all kinds of ways. this immediately made me think of a skein of twinkle i had thrown over a doorknob in my knitting room. it also reminds me of these lovely handspun necklaces from the crazy beautiful laine zinzin. but even more than that, it made me wish these guys would make a yarn out of their ingeniously tubed jersey. the brainchild of brooklynites stephano diaz and troy mattison hicks, the necklush comes in over 50 styles, including prints and solids.

zoe inspirational

just saw this eye candy via rachel zoe's daily love letter to fashion. today's flashed a bit of brilliance from galliano's s/s 2010 rtw collection for dior. it makes me yearn for an updated take on jennie atkinson's equally brilliant butterfly cami from some years back.
























i love the idea of a large-scale lace pattern. rendered in sexy black, with strategically placed stockinette, it would be da bomb(shell) layered under a boyfriend jacket.

yeah, but can you knit with it?

i've just learned of a hair product from redken called "wool shake." the company's press says it is a "texturizer that imbues hair with the texture of yarn." um, okay.

stylespotting

check out the winter/spring 2010 knitscene for my latest "stylespotting" feature. recruited two of my friends to model cathy carron's gathered mesh polo and cecily glowik macdonald's panbe dress for four season-spanning looks. these are just two of the lovely designs in this issue of the mag which is getting great buzz on the ravelry forums. hope you like it, too!