comme des enfants

working the black perfectly/ and those louboutins. to be honest i thought i would get over the boots so quickly but theyve had the opposite effect on me. theyve made into my basics category.

olsens anonymous

material culture and dark souls

the musée d'art contemporaine in montreal is now showing .. well.. a lot of really interesting stuff. one of which is an installation by tricia middleton. dark souls considers the concept of 'transformation and destruction' of materials in art and life. commenting on our history of consummerism and wastefulness, she strips consumer objects of their aura and reduces them to their material value by scattering them in a discarded fashion on the floor, juxtaposing value and worthlessness; transformation and destruction.

she does this in a series of dark rooms (it is a lot darker, dirtier, and creepier than these images) that echo versailles, notre-dame cathedral, and the catacombs in paris.
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on a funny/personal note, the french security guard (who told marnie and i that we were standing too close to the art.. désolée! im an art historian, i stand close!) proceeded to talk to me about the meaning of the dark souls installation in detail in french. he could totally speak english, but realized i understood french so just kept going on. i was actually hanging on to his every word, partially because someone was speaking my third language in the DARK so i had to pay close attention, but also because i was so inspired that he cared about the art!

ftw

no words. the ever-stunning emanuelle, and her adorable daughter.

jak&jil

le plus beau vêtement

le plus beau vêtement qui puisse habiller une femme ce sont les bras de l'homme qu'elle aime, mais, pour celles qui n'ont pas eu la chance de trouver ce bonheur, je suis là-yves saint laurent

lately i have been thinking about the evolution of the yves saint laurent brand. i initially wanted this post to outline the aesthetic changes to their rich history, but where would i even begin and end? think of the changes over the years.. the le smoking tux, the art inspirations, the cross-cultural influences via tom ford, the perfect separates that stefano pilati has extracted from my dreams... its endless. so instead i thought i would post this quote which is so romantic, and teaches us that good fashion is an extension of life well-lived.

les chocolats de chloé

just got back last night from a quicky trip to montreal. it was just as lovely and freezing as i remembered it. last night before our dinner, we stumbled into les chocolats de chloé on avenue duluth est. the air smelled like heaven, as chloé and crew make all the chocolate products in this tiny space. i bought cocoa bars for the fam, and some stunning hot chocolate with vanilla. best paired with snow. merry christmas eve xo

i will write my dissertation in 15minutes a day

based on a book that ive never read, everyday i say that i will write my ma thesis in small intervals of time on a daily basis. today is day one. i open a new document, quickly develop a [tentative] title.. im usually pretty good with titles.

toulouse-lautrec: flanerie in bohemia
my heart is pounding at this point.. my outline all of a sudden makes no sense. i spend fifteen minutes reading it and visualizing the unraveling of my argument. also i look at some quotes.. and now im exhausted. after reading paish's day one experience i thought it would help to write about mine.
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quote of the day that is most interesting and least relevant to my paper:
"in the window of a coffee house there sits a convalescent, pleasurably absorbed in gazing at the crowd, and mingling, through the medium of thought, in the turmoil of thought that surrounds him.. finally he hurls himself into the throng, in pursuit of an unknown, half-glimpsed countenance that has, on an instant, bewitched him. curiosity had become a fatal, irresistible passion!” charles baudelaire, the painter of modern life (1863).
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image source

the row prefall

its not a good week as far as my degree goes.. but how much do these looks scream scholar chic?

dress for the academic life that you want, i say.

the last refuge of the complex

obviously, two seconds after i arrive in toronto i get sick... like clockworks. so sick that the thought of walking half a block (literally) to la bambouche pains me. the macarons above were brought to my attention by paish. they are the result of a collaboration with christian louboutin and ladurée.

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quote by oscar wilde from the picture of dorian gray... "i adore the simple pleasures.. they are the last refuge of the complex."

live and let live

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its true. i am back in toronto, and i got the snow that i wished for. je suis très contente.

everytime i am exiting/entering a plane, and i see these ads from hsbc, i get really excited. the media is telling me that the best way to look at the world is with an open mind ?? i have always thought that the best way for people to learn is to create extreme visual juxtapositions, and the person who designed these ads needs a raise. and needs to rule the world.

it deals with a visual language that i wish i could see more of in the media; intelligent recontextualization.

much like what i witnessed at expanding horizons.

the reason this is so successful is merely because it is not what we expect. its not tricking us, its forcing us to think and become self-aware. a much underated virtue.

(

only great minds can afford a simple style

this is what i want my existence to be. cant remember where i found these... but i had to post them for my own sanity.

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quote by stendal

there is no chanel collection without black. it will never exist.

who cannot live without some black clothes? i will be in toronto circa sunday. i am very very excited to see my friends and family, and immerse myself into city life again.

i am also excited to be inspired by my friends fashion choices in real life rather than over the internet.

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mosha via joeisthenewblack

quote by karl lagerfeld

hmm i wonder what to get magdalyn

this this this! just kidding. unless you are wanting to buy me a christmas gift. in which case i am not kidding. and in any case this is such a lovely gift idea. this book highlights 100 pieces of yves saint laurent and pierre bergé's art collection that was auctioned off this year. quite the keepsake for those who have a passion for fashion and art. a little piece of history.

i guess im just another runaway

layer it up kids, its getting cold. i like when it gets just cold enough that fur is actually a practical choice. i ended up purchasing the e&j wilderness blazer and it is the perfect furandwool addition to my life. perhaps i will blog about it when i get my life back this week.

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images jak&jil, garance doré

quote by the white stripes

speaking of white

its like the weather read my blog and graced victoria with some frost today.. not snow, but i got to wear my fur vest. one of the best things about snow, is the awareness of the snow from a warm interior. much like these, that paish sent me. i wouldnt even know where to begin.. the birdcage, bust, globes, frames on the floor, and the weird feeling that its wintery outside those windows.. its all very, very good.

click on images for perfect detail.