Spring!

www.bandofoutsiders.com

rockabilly

An androgynous influence on the french twist. Dolce & Gabbana was experimenting with gender play for fw11

the kills

 

Kristen McMenamy

 

Talk about silver fox! Kristen McMenamy has transformed herself many times throughout her 25 year modeling career but I have to say that her recent incarnation is one of the best. And she is definitely working enough to prove it. We love her!

twist

Fusing Art Deco and a classic Oriental style Marc Jacobs nailed this look. The hair, pulled into a tight side twist accents the collection so well. Can it be true that hair color is coming back? After the last few years of boho beach tresses and mermaid hair I would like to see a return to structured cuts and bold, solid colors.

wood

barriewentzell.com

I had a lovely visit with Mr John Steinberg the other evening, looking at old photos and chatting about creativity. Here is a vintage shot, styled by him and photographed by Barrie Wentzell (never seen before). I love the dramatic lighting and her silhouette.

Couldn't help but draw some parallels. Here we have Rick Owens

Erin Wasson What!!??

Gotta love that handsome hair!

handsome hair 101

true grit and justice for style in the wild west end

 

LOVE the Coen Bros. affinity for the wild west aesthetic (see O Brother Where Art Thou, No Country For Old Men), so with the latest release of True Grit it is clear they've got it right again; wind and sand worn leather, rain beaten hats and unwashed, wax-groomed hair. So obsessed, I had to excavate some of the cinematic inspirations they mined for this current release, and came across “The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean” (1972), an eccentric, epic jewel of a western. I was captivated by the young Jacquline Bisset, defiant in the role of a beautiful, gun-toting frontierswoman holding down her father’s fading legacy for justice. 

She's a parallel character to Hailee Steinfield in True Grit; a young, fearless, whip smart daughter out to seek justice for her father’s murder, suited up in a belted wool jacket cut for broader shoulders. Stylistically we've been channeling the spirit of the frontierswoman, who lays down the law in rugged style. It's only fitting that heritage brand Pendleton's collabs have been sported around the shop as we hold down our own legacy of justice for style in Toronto's wild west end. 

pendleton for levis

pendleton for opening ceremony

ghost blonde

ok, i think these women have finally put to bed the dumb, perky stereotype of the blonde;(sorry Taylor Momsen, you are just proving it in your own irritating way) shoegazey, psychadelic, doomy-noise pop duo 'no joy' are blondes navigating a moody, typically brunette territory, and are leading us musically to some darker places down the beach. currently touring with lo-fi, so-cal trio 'Best Coast', Montrealers Laura Lloyd and Jasamine White-Gluz are conjuring dreamy, longing visions of the ocean side far away, like a faded photo from a '70's trip to California. A ghost of summer? 'Ghost Blonde' is an apt title for their current release. Oh, and i love LOVE their hair!

"heedless" by no joy

http://nojoy.bandcamp.com/

charlotte forever

One of my major style influences for many years has been the demure and understated Charlotte Gainsbourg and her decidedly anti-Hollywood presence. As an artist she is a true example of quiet grace, vulnerable and powerful all at once. Actress, chantuesse, muse of Balenciaga, mother of two and recent survivor of brain surgery (her 2009 Beck collab. IRM draws heavily from themes of the latter) Charlotte’s career is a slow burning fire. Though her haunted eyes and whispered melodies carry the spirit of her late father Serge, her disheveled locks and easy style not unlike her mother Jane Birkin, she embodies a rare beauty all her own. 

charlotte + beck in "heaven can wait"

http://vimeo.com/7691034 

the men of boardwalk empire

The men's styling in Martin Scorsese's new HBO series 'Boardwalk Empire' is taking us back to a gold mine of timeless cuts. It's a great source of inspiration for me when asked “what’s new for men?”. These kings of 20’s prohibition style were lean and mean. Steve Buschemi balances ruthlessness and sensitivity as the lead Enoch "Nucky" Thompson, who has Atlantic City by the horns. He is always groomed to perfection when he faces his public. No excuses.

Jimmy Darmody, played with brooding intensity by Micheal Pitt, sports a cut so unforgiving, so disconnected it’s basically a waxed down mowhawk, with one blunt line cut at the occipital. There’s nothing ‘faux’about this guys. If you want to walk the razor’s edge, we’ll be fading out that surfer shag, tapering that rocker mop and slicking that floppy mod bang right off of your forehead. No messing around, see? No place to hide.

 
As for the curly haired lads? Sicilian Lucky Luciano, portrayed with mischief and mayhem by Vincent Piazza, never has a kink out of place. No more cutting it off ‘cause you can’t handle the frizz’, we’ll grow and sculpt that mop into finger wave perfection. 

Clean. Groomed. Timeless. No guff outta ya.

$O$ style

Yo-Landi Vi$$er of Cape Town’s Die Antwoord is freaky-fierce enough to pull off this cut. Known for her sexpot stage persona, decked out in gold lame leggings and hand drawn crop tops, her music is punk, hip-hop and most definitely zef! What’s zef? Yo-Landi explains: "It's associated with people who soup their cars up and rock gold and shit. Zef is, you're poor but you're fancy. You're poor but you're sexy, you've got style." Rapper, artist, mother, collaborator, seems there’s nothing she can’t do. I even read she’s published 3 romance novels!? Go Yo-Landi! 

"zef side" by die antwoord

(yo-landi magic at 1:20) 

http://www.dieantwoord.com/

flapper

Can I just start with saying how sexy Paz de la Heurta is. I mean this image speaks for itself, she has a body and she's not afraid to flaunt it. However, her exhibitionism always reads as artistic rather than trashy.  I even think that her character's name was Nude in Jim Jarmusch's latest film, "The Limits of Control." Here she is, now flaunting herself in Scorcese's latest work Boardwalk Empire. The production value on shows coming out of HBO is stellar and it is inspiring image makers to revisit all the shapes and styles of past era's. In this case, the flapper.

Another example of a current 1920's influence is this Prada teaser for SS2011. It's so playful, we love it!

Hair Art

I have to admit that I often find the idea of "hair art" or "art as hair" rather pretentious and out of touch. "Hair Fantasy" is another term that gets thrown around a lot in the hairdressing industry. Encouraging stylists to think creatively and to be grandiose. But what is hair separate from an overall look or concept?

There are of course exceptions. One of them is Shoplifter. You might recognize her work from Bjork"s Medulla album. She has created many installations, some of them on human heads, some of them on walls or floors. But always incorporating hair, whether natural or synthetic it is her tool of choice and we love her

red hot

There is definitely a comeback of the redhead! In saying this I realize that not every complection allows for it, and we all know how it can fade. Reguardless, when done right there is just nothing else that can both scream indie grunge queen (think Claire Danes from My So-Called Life) or smokeing bombshell, as Christina Hendricks here so perfectly defines.