APR
2011 25

Xtina is First Gay Walk of Fame Inductee

Christina Aguilera got Dirrty last week as she was the first inductee for West Hollywood’s new Gay Walk of Fame. Forget her hands and feet, what should be covered in mud is this ensemble. Corsets and feathers and pleather, oh my! It’s like a 1920’s prostitute meets trashy 90’s lingerie (other stars who have tried this look include Rose Mcgowen and Dita Von Teese…thus this can be dubbed the “Marilyn Manson bait” look).

I know Christina has always pushed the class-less boundaries with her fashion sense (just Google “assless chaps”, you’ll find her) and therefore I shouldn’t even raise an eyebrow at this tragedy, but she is a mother now! I say she should just stick to ripping off Lady Gaga because then at least her scantily clad body would have a bit more art involved. Regardless, much like an awful car crash, she has captured my attention and I simply can’t look away.

MAR
2011 10

Celebrity, Clothing

Dov Charney is a Classy Businessman

Stay Classy, Dov.

American Apparel founder and CEO Dov Charney is apparently facing a $260 million dollar lawsuit this week alleging that he pressured a former teenage employee to engage in lewd sexual acts with him in order to keep her job at the fashion retailer. It’s gotta be the shocker of the year that the man who markets his business by taking back alley photographs of sex starved teenagers in spread eagle positions while wearing nothing but underwear in order to sell his products would turn out to be a creep. Is it just me, or should the mustache have been the first clue?

Sex scandal aside, they do have some great high waisted shorts.

N.B. The Manolo has asked his friend Trisha Marie to help him from time to time. This is the first of her contributions.

JAN
2011 13

Clothing, Manolo's Internet Friends

The Question is Not How…

Manolo says, our friend, the inimitable Miss Plumcake, gives us the lesson in how to wear the jeggings.

I have never been a fan of the skinny jean on big girls because it’s such a tricky look to deploy. Big girls, like Tolstoy’s unhappy families are all big (or unhappy) in different ways. Yet back in October my bff Meghan, who was also a plus-size model and is even more beautiful than I am (if you can imagine such a thing), was not just wearing but actively rocking jeggings. My tiny world was turned upside down.

DEC
2010 14

Clothing, Marc Jacobs, Shoes

Shoes for the Non-Retro Girl Wearing the Retro Dress

Manolo says, one of the Manolo internet friends has asked the Manolo the question.

Dear Manolo,

I have been in a bit of a style rut as of late. My style is not unfashionable, but it is very…safe. Good-fitting jeans. Nice sweaters. Simple dresses in the summer, like a wrap dress or a ruched-waist sheath — nothing objectionable, but I have really not been setting the world on fire. So, I have decided to branch out a bit by dipping my toe into retro waters.
Lisa Beverly Blue Dress from Heartbreaker Fashion

Visiting a friend’s shop over the weekend, I tried on this dress, from Heartbreaker Fashion, just for kicks ‘n’ giggles. Well, when I came out of the dressing room, my husband (who normally pays very little attention to my sartorial choices), sat up straight, smiled and said, “Okay, you’re getting that dress. You’re getting that dress, right? I think you should get that dress.”

Well, being no dummy, I bought the dress.

Only now, I have no idea what do do with it. I’ve never worn anything like this before. I know that the dress is on the mild side of retro, but I don’t want to tip it over too far into “costume”. My friend who owns the shop would wear it with a considerable amount of irony and all of her tattoos on display. Not being decoratively inked, I want to add SOME edge to the dress so that I don’t look like a Donna Reed wannabe. So, what shoes do you think would work with this retro dress while still keeping my overall look in the here and now? (Please note that the blue is about 2 shades darker than it appears in the photo.)

Besos,

Krista

The Manolo loves the spunky retro girls with their poodle skirts and sweaters, Rosie The Riveter attitudes and Hellish Angel Biker tattoos! Well, maybe not the tattoos so much, but otherwise, it makes the Manolo happy to see these young women with their Betty Page bangs, sitting with their young men, both dressed like the supernumeraries from the community theater production of Grease.

Such admirable willingness to buck the current world of blah!

Of the course, not everyone is cut out for the life of the 1950’s conformist non-conformity. Some peoples have jobs that do not involve motorcycle repair, freelance web-design, or car-hopping. Some people must work in the office cubicle farms where the savage rule of the corporate jungle applies, and superficial non-conformity is ruthlessly suppressed.

And so, if one wishes to adopt the article of retro clothing one must sometimes take pains to make it not too costumey.

Thus the Manolo would recommend…

This D & G peep-toe pump as being simple, feminine, and interesting, but not overwhelmingly so.

If, however, the Manolo’s friend is intent on being more edgy…

This is the Betsey Johnson Iris, the D’Orsay pump with the flowery decoration that lifts the shoe beyond the Donna Reedish ordinary.

JUN
2010 13

Ayyyyy!, Clothing, Fashion

The Destroyed Cotton Balmain T-Shirt

Manolo says, $1624!! Ayyyyy! Who knew that Army surplus clothing could be so costly?

P.S. Many thanks to the Manolo’s internet friend Margot for alerting the Manolo to this.

JUN
2010 08

Clothing, Manolo's Internet Friends

Undergarments

Manolo says, Mr. Henry considers underclothing.

Underpants – a comic masterpiece of a word. Just try maintaining a serious tone when saying the word “underpants.” In Britain you can’t even say “pants” without getting a clever-clever rejoinder. For them, pants are garments worn under trousers.

The German word for panties is “panties,” which when pronounced with a German accent sounds very, very naughty.

It’s difficult to know how to frame the argument about underpants. Boxers or briefs? Surely this is a false dichotomy.

And now you must go read the whole thing.

APR
2010 28

Clothing, Shoes, Trends

The Maxi-Dress Moment, Pt 2

Manolo says, it is the summer of the Maxi-Dress!

Here is the Regan Maxi-Dress from Lilly Pulitzer, the white strapless maxi with the so-called “burnout” tropical leaf pattern. And now, we must need some colorful shoes to add interest and flavor to the dish. The Manolo recommends pink!

On the left is the Metro T-Strap Wedge Sandals from Kate Spade. On the right is the Dolce & Gabanna Estelle Wedge Sandal (which you may recognize as having been recommended by the Manolo in the green color the couple months ago).

Of the course, you are not limited to pink with the dress such as this. Indeed, almost any vibrantly happy color will work.

APR
2010 27

Clothing, Fashion, Sandals, Shoes, Trends

The Maxi-Dress Moment

Manolo says, unless you are perhaps living in the cave in the Hindu Kush, you will be aware that one of the better trends of this season is the maxi-dress.

Here is the single shoulder, beautifully draped, Theo Maxi-Dress from Joie that will have you looking like the Pallas Athena!

And, for the shoes, pay no attention to what the model is wearing, you, of the course, will require sandals of great simplicity and unusual beauty.

Sandals such as the Blaze from Elizabeth and James, which have imbibed the spirit of classical antiquity, and yet suggest not the placid classicism of Attica, but the energetic rusticity of Macedonia. And thus not peaceable Pallas Athena, but Athena Nike, resting confidently at the head of Phillip’s horsemen.

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