spruced by marlene

a week in fashion #84

By Marlene | Published: 18. February 2013

Ah, Sunday. What a lovely day – to get sick. The cold I’ve been having some tough negotiations with over the last few weeks finally got the upper hand today, so I spent the day in bed, laptop on my belly, stack of magazines beside me, thinking about… bulbs. Specifically, where I could find the kinds of bulbs I saw at the Capsule fashion fair a few weeks ago and really liked. And how I’d put them up in the apartment when I found them, since I’m apparently a traditionalist when it comes to lighting, as I only have lamps with actual lamp shades. Just one bulb over, say, the living room table? Or hang a few in a row in the dining room? What do you think? Do you have any exerience with bare bulbs? How did you decorate them?

*Something else I did today: Watch the Hollywood Reporter roundtables online. The magazine gets a bunch of actors, actresses, directors etc. together every awards season and sits each group down for an hour-long chat. My favourite this year is the directors’ group, with, among others, the delightfully crazy Quentin Tarantino, the lovely Gus Van Sant and the who-knew-he’d-be-such-a-great-director Ben Affleck.

*The Vanity Fair Hollywood issue weighs approximately eight pounds this year, but it’s worth every strained muscle from carrying it home for the Bruce Weber portfolio alone. The way he sees it is actually what I hope Hollywood looks like.

*They don’t make ’em like her anymore. And I loved this story about the infatigable Lee Radziwill in T Magazine.

*There’s a piece by Suzy Menkes in the same issue of T, in which she laments, very eloquently and entertainingly, what a circus the fashion shows have become since blogging has turned into a huge business. While I don’t agree that you need to work for a magazine to have an informed and valid opinion about hem lengths, I think she’s right in saying this about how the fashion world has changed: „There is something ridiculous about the self-aggrandizement of some online arbiters who go against the mantra that I was taught in my earliest days as a fashion journalist: ‘It isn’t good because you like it; you like it because it’s good.’” Discuss!

*On a related note, there’s a fantastic slideshow in New York Magazine showing street style stars before they were stars.

*The new issue of The Gentlewoman is here! And it’s got Queen Bey on the cover.

*More good news: Weekday have finally opened their online store.

*After seeing the Goodhood store on Freunde von Freunden, I definitely want to visit next time I’m in London.

*Have you heard? Phoenix have made a new album. The first track is getting it’s world premiere on Radio One, 7pm GMT, Monday. Am I excited? ONLY A LITTLE BIT!

Right, now I have to lie back down.

Have a good week!

P.S. And here’s the new Phoenix song, Entertainment. After listening to it 20 times, I’ve decided to love it. What about you?

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5 Comments

  1. Sandra Semburg
    Posted 18. February 2013 at 21:17 | Permalink

    Always looking forward to your week in fashion, also feel better ! Regarding Ms. Menkes’ article, she makes some valid points but also puts out some old-fashioned views, and really how many times have I heard ‘fashion circus’ before, was there really a new point in this article ? I would have been more interested in a longer more detailed piece of pros and cons or maybe a more elaborite comparison of the business now and then, I simply didn’t find it very interesting.
    Check out the Man Repeller’s response, it’s a long one …

    • Marlene
      Posted 27. February 2013 at 10:54 | Permalink

      I finally got around to reading the Man Repeller’s response to the article and she makes some very good points that Menkes indeed missed, the most insteresting of which I thought was that we bloggers have brought some of the criticism on ourselves. And while we’re being scrutinized in this new profession of blogging, perhaps unfairly and more so than the ol’ print professionals, I think that’s the discussion worth having: If we can’t, and shouldn’t want to, go back to the way things were before, where do we go from here?

      I also liked Susi Bubble’s take on the whole thing, a rare personal, behind-the-clothes-and-poses look at how a successful blogger is made to feel in the fashion world. It’s here: http://www.stylebubble.co.uk/style_bubble/2013/02/the-sad-clown.html

  2. Marleen
    Posted 25. February 2013 at 22:44 | Permalink

    Liebe Marlene,
    sister in mind!
    Phoenix sooo gut. Gentlewoman sooo gut. Bruce Weber sooo …
    THANK YOU, LADY.

    • Marlene
      Posted 27. February 2013 at 10:47 | Permalink

      Hallo Marleen, almost sister in name! Die besten Sachen werden ja nur noch besser, wenn man sie teilen kann. So, und jetzt muss ich mir Entertainment von Phoenix sofort wieder anhören…

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