Overalls and coveralls are fine on a hipster gentleman trying to go for the train operator look, but how appropriate is it on the Alexander Wang, Chloé and Proenza Schouler spring walkways? Even stylish women are making this their sartorial choice, styling it with belts and lace headpieces, sporting the piece in an variety of materials like silk, satin, and with nipped-in waists.

Even NY Times columnist Mary Billard, who noticed the trend on Manhattan streets appears to be befuddled: “What do daughters of Russian billionaires and Williamsburg scenesters have in sartorial common? Curiously, a penchant for overalls… Perhaps recession solidarity is behind overalls percolating on the street and trickling down from the runway.”

Recession or not, there are other trends worth perpetuating. I understand utility and masculine is always “rage” but I honestly wish this particular trend stays in the shops, farms and trades, and on the adorable children for which they are best suited.

Tiffany Blackstone, author of Glamour Magazine’s daily style blog, Slaves to Fashion, blogged her chagrin: “When overalls popped up at a few spring 2010 shows, I kinda hoped they wouldn’t make it off the runway. Apparently you can’t will a trend away by just ignoring it.” She went on to say, “never have I met a baggy, shapeless piece of clothing that’s done anything nice for a woman’s body,” despite the many new styles, materials and prints that were seen on the Spring 2010 runways.

Is this a trend you could see yourself embracing?

Ralph Lauren, Jean Paul Gaultier and Rachel Comey, Chloe, Roberto Cavalli and Ralph Lauren spring runways.

Photo Source: Slaves to Fashion.

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As posted on my Luuux.com features profile.

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Eco fashion is getting more and more mainstream with high end designers like Lara Miller and Bodkin adding sustainable, eco-friendly lines to their brands.

Last fall’s SS 2010 EcoFashion Week event, The GreenShows saw these designers debut their spring and summer wears with neutral palettes, experiments in proportions and textures, new takes on cut-out shapes.

Here are my personal favourites as captured by The GreenShows photographer Shayla Hunter. The Daily Green’s Gloria Dawson gives us the inside scoop on these designers, “cutting the edge” on sustainable fashion:

1. Bodkin

   “Bodkin’s Spring/Summer collection was full of neutral separates with draped and ruffled details. All of Bodkin’s pieces are manufactured in the U.S. using materials such as recycled polyester and organic wool and cotton.”

2. House of Organic

   “ House of Organic represents a group of designers with the understanding that “fashion cannot be luxurious, stylish, or sexy if it is not sustainable, environmentally sensitive and socially responsible.” This season their runway show’s vibe was hippy chic with a splash of Pocahontas: free-flowing pieces paired with lace-up moccasins and feathers.”

3. Lara Miller

   “Lara Miller’s collection included draped pieces with pops of muted coral, purple and blue. Miller uses organic cotton (new and recycled), hemp, vegan silk, soy fibers and other natural materials in her pieces.”

4. Izzy Lane
   “Izzy Lane by Isobel Davies is a leader in ethical luxury brands and animal welfare. The wool and knitwear in this collection is made with wool from 600 rare-breed sheep that have been rescued from slaughter.”

Not only do events like The GreenShows prove that eco-fashion is an industry with arty, design power, and that it, too, can breach the mainstream, but they also seek to bring awareness to the greater fashion community about important issues facing precarious and endangered eco-systems, and socio-ecological problems. By inching closer and closer into the mainstream, the industry can help effect positive change in the world, one garment and one fashion show at a time.

Additional resources: The Daily Green’s Green Fashion

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I think my fellow Detroit/MI blogger SuperGirl put it best in her article in response to the Dateline Detroit Special aired on NBC on 4/18/2010. I had to block quote the entire article here at thereafterish., but if you want to comment on it, do so at her website, Secretly Super Girl.

As much as I want to deny it, I can’t. Chris Hanson’s Detroit is a reality for many. Crime. Poverty. Abandonment. Bad schools.

If that’s all you knew about Detroit, you’d think we were a lost cause. You’d watch the Dateline special, tsk at the sad state of affairs, and wonder how someone like me can handle it.

Oh, and you probably wouldn’t pick Detroit as your next vacation destination. So, thanks Chris, for that blow to tourism.

The problem with the Dateline special is that it showed one part of Detroit. A real part, but one part. And frankly, that part isn’t the Detroit I know. It’s not My Detroit.

My Detroit is filled with 20 and 30 somethings who are educated and experienced. Who want to make the city better than it was when they came.

My Detroit faces unemployment. My friends — those same educated, experienced young professionals — have stood in the unemployment line and wondered how they might pay their bills. And they’ve survived. They’ve branched out on their own or found new jobs, but they’ve done it in Southeast Michigan.

In my Detroit, people don’t move. They stay.

My Detroit is the biggest small town you’ll ever know. On an average walk down the street, I’ll run into neighbors who I call friends. Does your subdivision boast the same friendliness?

My Detroit focuses on the positive and respects the diversity. It gives back. It invests in the community.

My Detroit is about action, not inaction. DD’s best friend was an integral part of a movement to change the way city council is elected. After all of the corruption of our former mayor and the insanity that has been many of our council members, we could have just stood by and accepted it. Instead, he and an entire group of concerned citizens made change. Their proposal passed in the last election and if all continues to go smoothly, it will improve the way residents are represented.

My Detroit votes.

My Detroit is creative and entrepreneurial. With a 9-5 job, I often find myself in the minority when out in groups. Many friends have launched their own businesses, returned to school, or found other ventures that aren’t your typical day job.

My Detroit is diverse.
It’s black,
it’s white,
it’s Indian,
it’s Asian.
It’s young.

My Detroit is an awesome vacation destination. It’s chock-full of fine dining restaurants, fabulous casino/hotels, museums, live theater, professional sports teams, and a recently named top urban park.

My Detroit has its problems, but it also has its bright spots. And I wish the Dateline crew would have focused just a bit more on the bright spots.

Amen. I couldn’t have said it better.

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No, actually, I’m obsessed with their accents when they speak. Liverpool, Newcastle, Belfast! Their accents are not the standard London accent we’re accustomed to hearing in movies. And the more and more I hear them, the more fascinated I become with them. (EDIT: changed “New Castle” to one word per Roland Haigh. Thanks, Roland!)

One of their songs, however, did manage to catch me.

After watching some of their videos, I did realize that one of them in particular had way more skill than the rest. The Irish songstress, Nadine Coyle, who actually won two Idol competitions (no one else in the world has managed to do that), is a surprisingly powerful singer. Not to be totally ignorant or anything, but it often surprises me when Caucasians can manage to belt as powerfully and ad-lib as skillfully as their African-American/African-English counterparts.

Other than Christina Aguilera, who do we have to compare vocal prowess? I grew up with the white pop phenomenons like the Spice Girls and Britney Spears; none of which have any vocal power and particular great skill other than their flashinesss…

Check out Nadine at tender age of 18 belting out her rendition of my childhood favourite song “Fields of Gold” by Sting on the Popstars finalé. Check her out at around 1:03 totally belting it out, and then the mad ad-libbing.

Too cute. TOOOOO CUTE! I’m sooooo entranced by her accent!

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Another one who is way too cute in this and is the youngest member, Nicola Roberts of Liverpool. Oh my Jesus Lord, she is the most adorable.

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Other things that make me smile:

Anjelah Johnson, comedienne known for her best character, Bon Qui Qui, is probably one of my favourite comics lately, because, well, she ain’t scared of brown ethnic humour… ’cause, well, I’m a little brown girl just like her.

I recently watched her 1 hour concert show “That’s How We Do It” on Netflix. I died.

Lots of stuff to smile about.

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Scarf, vintage. Cardi, F21. Jeans, BDG. MaryJanes, All Black, via Anthropologie.

Feeling like rubbish emotionally today. I rushed out the door this morning, and so therefore chose an easy outfit without realizing it wasn’t very stylish other than the shoes. Hence my iPhone images heavily edited in Picnik/Flickr.

The other day I posed some questions that I didn’t answer myself.

{ What is/are your favourite thing(s) to wear when you feel like shit? }
I make a point of making sure I’m wearing mascara on curled lashes and a bright shade of red on my lips to make me feel better about my face. A bit of black eyeliner can’t hurt, either. I also make sure I’m wearing a strong, statement-y type of shoe of some kind, because if there is one thing to instantly improve and transform an outfit–you know, other than posture, it would be a pair of shoes. Like what a great pop of colour on the lips does to transform an otherwise blasé face, a pair of shoes dramatically changes the tone of one’s clothes.

My ideal outfit in ideal weather would be a flouncy skirt, belted high, a comfy t shirt, sheer stockings, funky heels or flats, a beret and a cardi. Or pant-like leggings (I hate thin legging-leggings), a button down shirt/striped knit shirt, scarf, beret, big cardi, funky shoes.

Alas, this never works out. 1. because I live in MI, where we have weather, and 2. because I don’t own enough inventory of the above to make it a usual uniform.

{ What is your biggest pet peeve? }
Failure and bad self image. I also hate it when I walk about with socks on and step in something moist, water dripped onto the kitchen floor from dishes, water from a cup we used to water the plants, the spot where we cleaned up dog vomit. I don’t like it when people put in the toilet paper so that the paper falls from the back instead of the front. And I don’t like it when people willingly give in to ignorance, because it takes too much effort to be aware and informed and involved. I.e., refuse to listen to the news, read only tabloid magazines instead of news sites or papers, watch only reality TV, refuse to make an effort to go green because it takes too much brain power to remember to recycle, etc.

And when I forget to wear my wedding ring. I did that today. D’oh!

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In other news:

Let’s all say a prayer and give a farewell to our dearly departed friend, Yulanda Yee of Little Thoughts.

I have had a few exchanges with her through email, and we had agreed that we should meet up for delicious food the next time I was in Toronto. That chance never surfaced, because Yulanda passed away last Thursday after a brutal six month long battle with Lymphoma cancer. From what I learned through email and from her journal, is that she is an incredibly strong person, emotionally and mentally, with a fierce love for family and friends. She never once felt defeated or depressed about her disease, and always felt her chief concern was making sure her family was alright. She knew that pain was simply part of her condition, and she never let it corrode her self-confidence or awareness and love of the world. She had a delicate, feminine style and grace that I’ve always admired. Her pictures were always styled beautifully and simply, but with an elegance many other bloggers cannot match.

She was one of the brightest lights in the blogosphere, in my opinion and she will be missed dearly. Please pray for comfort and peace for her family.

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So sometimes I wax a bit lyrical on Twitter, and other times not so. For the most part, Twitter serves as a place for me to photo-whore; connect with other writers, style-bloggers, and runners; and retrieve and retweet informative, important news from other Green Activists…

**

But sometimes, the medium is useful for getting out bullet thoughts and miniature writing ideas. It’s easier to grab a handy micro-computer than root through a satchel for a pen and paper.

And you know what? Some of my best writing lately has ended up in Microblog form, probably because I hardly do any other form of writing.

We are all in this together. In a ship without a sail, toiling the ancient seas until we reach our distant home shore. #ManicMondays

Lazy, pathetically drifting snowflakes on sad wind currents.

Dear 2:30AM, you and I and whatever the hell this is needs to be over. You and I are not healthy or each other. We need a break. Goodbye.

11:38 PM Jan 29th from Twitterrific

Yes, ma’am, I am that madame! Who donned skin colored socks & skin colored shoes. It looked bad–but cold or warmth, what would you choose?

5:53 AM Jan 29th from Twitterrific

Peach clouds hang, downy, under clear cellophane skies. The wind at our backs, we trudge along, heads bowed, seeking warmth and shelter.

5:42 AM Jan 28th from Twitterrific

That same impetuous biting wind that shakes the tree boughs propels me along the salt chalked sidewalks under a dull metal sky. Ah, winter.

3:06 PM Jan 27th from Twitterrific

Cookies and tea do much to improve many situations.

39:17 AM Jan 27th from Twitterrific

Snow has stopped its weak & pathetic dusting, & the sky is a dappled sea under brushed steel clouds. A brilliant day in the neighborhood!

8:18 AM Jan 27th from Twitterrific

Most of the more “poetic” imagery comes as a consequence of the grey blustery clouds or salty, white-washed streets that result from crappy winters here in the Great Lakes Region. You’re stuck in a fabric cubicle jungle across from a window that only lets in weak, dull light. It gives you pause. And much time lost in sad rumination culminates in strong imagery. A much needed catharsis.

Most humans are, without question, affected by the changes in weather. Some of us are so strongly tied to the loss of golden sunlight that we develop Seasonal Affectedness Disorder (SAD).

On the greyest of days, I find myself even thinking in such language. But such is the way of silver skies and cutting wind and shining, cold diamonds on your windshield. We hole up in our warm blankets and pyjamas at home, cursing the sky and the wind currents and the dead trees, and thoughts fly into our brains a mile a minute.

If you get a rare golden day, with tolerably warm-enough weather, get out of your comforting little hole and run around under the clear skies, under the silver clouds, drinking in the brisk air. You never know what sort of change you may feel in your body, mind and soul.

Outfit architecture: sweater, BR; striped dress shirt, random boutique; belt, skirt, Forever21; stockings, Tarzhjay; Oxfords, Payless (yes, you read that right); Headband, GoJane.com; watches, Anne Klein, Random boutique. Yes, I AM wearing two watches.

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Computer games don’t affect kids, I mean if Pac Man affected us as kids, we’d all be running around in darkened rooms, munching pills and listening to repetitive music.

- Marcus Brigstocke

Uh, sir, many of us often times find ourselves in darkened rooms, drained of emotion, of all mental capacity. Our society does encourage popping pills as therapy to stem the tides of social and mental disorders. And our mainstream music stations are rampant with overwhelmingly similar, regurgitated styles that nothing is truly original anymore. On another hand–yet in the same vein–some of the biggest hits of the last couple of decades featured simple chord progressions, repetitive melody lines. I.e., Nirvana, Weezer, Rhianna (oh boy, talk about repetitive and simple melody!), and even decades back.

And we’re slowly yet surely starting to become aware of this netherworld of netizens on MMO games like World of Warcraft and social games like Second Life, which spawn Other Lives of people who refuse to fully embrace living in THIS one, the real world, with real face-to-face interactions. People marry in WoW and in Second Life, causing obsessions which often lead to addiction and, sometimes, even violence. (Hey, the first ever internet addiction clinics were for people who were too obsessed with WoW that they forgot that the physical, interactive world still existed outside of their computers.)

What do you mean the kids aren’t alright? Sure they are. Or they aren’t. Either way, they’re all a-Twitter about it. They’ll tell you everything they’re feeling in every sordid Facebook status update, down to the steamy, emo details. They’ll photo whore their every activity on Yfrog or Twitpic or DailyBooth.com. If they’re feeling depressed, you’ll be sure that they’ll be atop the timeline of the #depression trend topic.

And parents, where are they? They’re busy on their crack berries themselves. So there’s Wii and PSPs to occupy their kids. Don’t mind when their five year old gets brain cancer when he’s fifteen. At least he had something to do when he was a kid, right?

I’m pretty sure videogames and all digital media are inedibly tied to our new society. These devices and programs are the new way to entertain and communicate, and they are here to stay.

I can’t rid myself from Twitter and my 30+ tweets a day. I’m not going to try.

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Image Credit: I like to Fork Myself and Fashion Gone Rogue

To say that her death has shocked and distressed the fashion and fashion-admirer world would be an obscene understatement.

The beautiful, leggy, chameleon loved literature, electronica, photography and art. She painted, photographed shows behind the scenes, wrote her own columns in Korean fashion magazines. She modeled for the likes of Chanel and Yohji Yamamoto. Her mysterious and piercing stare gave her a larger than life presence in her many fashion spreads. Off duty, she was by turns audacious, flamboyant and impetuous, and by turns introspective, pensive and even at times morose. She had a flare for voicing many frustrations and insights of the fashion industry many would not voice themselves, and she had no fear taking to task critics who could not understand her perspective. She was a rare, clear voice in an industry which does not always show case the mind and vocality of its citizens.

She will be missed.

More Reading on Kim:
Refinery29
NYMag
Huffington Post

Image Credit: I Like to Fork Myself & Fashion Gone Rogue.

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Outfit Architecture: Tie-neck blouse, Forever21; Strip knit top, H&M; skinny twill trousers, Delia*s; boots, Bakers; leather satchel, J.Crew.

Speaking of things that are the greatest… don’t you love it when people grossly overestimate their own skills and claim they are the greatest??

Our pop culture is full of sleazy, skeazy freaks who are just trying to make a quick buck from a cheap pass at fame without any actual talent or valid claim to that fame (i.e., Speidi, Paris Hilton). Efforts toward this end can run the gamut, but are usually something like:

What do you know? Speidi hits ALL these keypoints. Hilton gets 9 out of 10 stars.

Anyway, on from point 2, there are a slew of other famous people who have tried a singing career, and here is a great list put together by our friends at BuddyTV.

SlideshowTop 13 Actresses Who Think They Can Sing

Some of my favourite quotes from BuddyTV:

…Even after becoming the laughing stock of bleeding-from-the-ears pop music lovers everywhere, Mrs. Spencer Pratt has continued churning out what she loosely categorizes as “music”…

…Ever wondered what Gwen Stefani might sound like if she woke up without any musical talent or integrity? We think it would sound a lot like Paris Hilton…

…Speaking of “should have stuck to her day job”… in 2007 actress Scarlett Johannson released Anywhere I Lay My Head…

If you feel like reading on, here’re some other things to see:
Weekending–Photos every hour post
Bests of (last) week
Get your booty on

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