WH-WH-WH-WH-WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT?

Check it out: www.kathigginsmusic.com

It's a sort of work-in-progress-labor-of-love-new-obsession-therapeutic-experience-all-whilst-trying-to-entertain-you-and-you-and-you...

Bear with me, there will be lots more soon.

*Styx, signing off

I'M NOT LOVIN' YOU THE WAY I WANTED TO, SEE I WANNA MOVE BUT CAN'T ESCAPE FROM YOU

I may be biased here, but I'd like to think my son is pretty darn cute. And Hecate and I discuss, on rare occasion, the trouble that's in store for us (I say us, because she's the 'dad' in this relationship) when Junior reaches young adulthood. Trouble by the name of 'girls'. It'll be quite a feat for any little chica to wow the kid, because he's seen a lot at the ripe old age of 4- and by the time he's in his teens, there probably won't be much that will impress him (let's just say he's a worldly little dude-- in the best sense). But then I came across this photo and thought: ok, this'll work. Junior- meet your future wife:

Of course, I have no idea if she's into the rock 'n roll jams you like, or if she's as big a fan of tofu as you, or even if she speaks French like you (ok, you're not really at the "speaking" level as much as "absorbing", but we're getting there), so at least she's got the style thing down. I mean, she is ROCKIN' that leather/tutu/tennies look. And as we know, this is a big one in mama's book.

Then, there's mama (me, keep up....) For various assorted reasons, I'm content going it solo, forever more amen. BUT, in my lovely dreamland I'll be marrying him:

Let's not trouble ourselves with choosing which of the above will be my future (dreamland) hubby, I'll make the choice when hard pressed to do so. In the meantime, I'll take both. Because unlike reality, in my dreamland you can never have too much of a good thing. (Which is why I'll also have a few Ducati's in my fairytale garage) ((Can you tell I've been watching too much "Barbie: Enchanted Castle" with the little guy lately??))

*Styx, signing off

(images courtesy of hanneli.com, thesartorialist.com)

THE KIND YOU FIND IN A DREAM, AND DREAMS ARE SO REAL FOR ME

A few of my favorite things:

1. my sister (Hecate) ((Irish twin sister, to be exact))

2. my Irish twin's hair

3. St. Patty's Day spent enjoying Guinness with my Irish twin

4. red lips

5. Grandma Punky's fur

6. springtime in Minneapolis

7. frolicking outside in the Minneapolis springtime with Junior

8. this totally rad (and random, but postworthy) photo of Junior

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1

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2, 3

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4, 5, 6

fur- vintage, shirt- RVCA x Erin Wasson, hat- vintage

dress- BCBG runway, fur- vintage, boots- Jeffrey Campbell, hat- vintage

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8

Wishing you all the smiles and optimism 60-degrees and sunny has given me. Huzzah for Spring! And Guinness and rouge lips and furs and boots!!

Love you sis.

*Styx, signing off

(images courtesy of moi)

SOMEWHERE FAR ALONG THIS ROAD HE LOST HIS SOUL, TO A WOMAN SO HEARTLESS

Well its official, another Fashion Week in the can. And while I'm still waiting for my Balmain, Isabel Marant, et al, invites to arrive in the mail (gee, those carrier pigeons sure are slow moving these days..) I've continued my old routine of blog whore-dom, scouring daily those which consistently deliver for my seemingly insatiable fashion week appetite. But this season, I felt far more compelled by the off-the-runway musings than what was being snapped in the shows themselves. Take a gander at some of my front-runners:

So slouchy, comfy, and amazing Christian Louboutins to boot (nyuk nyuk).

Just.... oh god...

Yep. This is pretty much me from the neck down.

Oh look, there's me again (teehee).

Great shoes.

Great movement here, and the green pops to perfection.

Leopard done right. And that ring? Gorgeous.

The cut of Mme Alt's blazer is positively magnifique! Brava.

Yes, Alexander, yesssss.

What I love about this shot is the radical parka. She's losing me with the shoes... a little height to create some length would've had me sold.

Nice.

*Styx, signing out

(images courtesy of blogs.lexpress.fr/cafe-mode, jakandjil.com)

YOU'RE CLOTHES ARE ALL MADE BY BALMAIN, AND THERE'S DIAMONDS AND PEARLS IN YOUR HAIR

I have made no secret of my complete preference for Paris Vogue over America's prosaic counterpart. Emmanuelle Alt, fashion director of Paris Vogue and style guide to many of the premier European fashion houses, is a huge factor in my affection- and here's a great example of her genius. From the March 2010 issue, styled by Alt, photographed by David Sims, we have "COMMANDO":

Military inspiration? Check. Balmain? Check. Leather, studs, and shredded within an inch of its life? Check. I'm in love. With Mme Alt and this entire ed.

*Styx, signing out

(images courtesy of thefashionspot.com)

I WAS WALKING ALONG MINDING MY BUSINESS, WHEN LOVE CAME AND HIT ME IN THE EYE

Just do it: yessssssss

The shoes in Tommy Ton's latest installment of Fashion Week street style are positively prodigious. (sigh)

*Styx, signing out

DON'T PLAY WITH ME 'CAUSE YOU'RE PLAYIN' WITH FIRE

We've been malled. Malware, to be exact. Sorry if you've visited in the last few days and have been redirected to a site displaying women with abnormally large... ehm... assets. We're up and running again, and we promise not to post our.. well.. nevermind.

But other juicy, nay jaunty, tidbits will arrive shortly.

WHERE DID YOU COME FROM BABY? HOW DID YOU KNOW I NEEDED YOU?

As is always, and I mean always, as in without exception, the case in le fashion monde - the 'old' becomes 'new'. Not necessarily within a couple few years of trend termination, but at some point 10 or 20 years down the line, all trends make a comeback. Can't say I was hip to the shoulder pad thang back in the '80s (though Ma Dukes toooootally was, this I remember fondly, and painfully all at the same time). So the resurgence of shoulder pads a la Balmain doesn't drum up any nostalgic sartorial feelings for me. But the latest "what's big in 2010" definitely does: Military style. According to trendhunter.com:

Military fashions are super hot for spring and the Vogue US March 2010 issue is taking it pretty literally. The designer looks include pieces from Burberry, Prorsum and Chloe and feature the models in a variety of neutral shades.

Army green trenches, beige cargo pants and playful wrap dresses are standout pieces from this military-inspired shoot and my favorite is definitely the green coat with intricate sleeve detailing and shoulder fringe.

Trenches! Cargo pants! Burberry! Chloe! What fun! I fondly recall being head over platforms for the military trend back in the early 2000's, and remember that lonesome (but strangely style-changing) night in my Warehouse District loft where I decided to venture out to the little corner store, buy some Chips Ahoy cookies and a bottle of vino, and the latest ELLE magazine with Erin Wasson on the cover. The clerk asked "Is that you?" referring to the cover of the utterly flawless Wasson. Shocked and speechlessly flattered, I said no, and blushed my way back home. (He must have mistaken me for a friggin' supermodel, I told myself, because the hat I was wearing was similar to that of Wasson.. Or maybe it's just because we're both white.. Whatever the case, I'm still flattered to this day.) Fingering through that issue on my bright yellow futon, stuffing myself silly with fake cookies with Guru's "Jazzmatazz" in the background, was magic -- Adriana Lima was fitted in loads of military-inspired looks, lots of baggy pants with little jackets, hats, hard core platform boots.. It was one of the more inspirational articles I've paged through in my time, and so I'm loving the resurgence of the look.

Here's what the latest Vogue had to "say" about the military look for 2010:

I'm just glad I hung on to those Miss Sixty baggy cargo's that I nearly wore to shreds years ago. (Although I had a much bigger booty then, so it's almost like a whole new look this time around!) Bring it, Spring! Bring it!!!

*Styx, signing out

(images courtesy of trendhunter.com)

CHIVALRY IS DEAD BUT YOU'RE STILL KINDA CUTE

Burberry is the coolest kid on the block. Just my opinion, but daaaaaaaangit, these are all so radical (Burberry A/W 10/11):

(I'm having a heckuva time getting this formatted, so instead of banging my IT-impaired head against the table, just head to Style Copycat to check out a nice, distinguishable image.)

((Sorry for the extra hoops))

Truly, I want spring to come as much as the next Eskimo, but a couple of these que ridiculo coats and deliiiiiiiicious boots.. and I might be ok with winter for a little longer.

*Styx, signing off

(images courtesy of stylecopycat.com)

WE'VE ONLY TASTED THE WINE, WE'RE GONNA DRAIN THAT CUP DRY

Great new (to me) blog: Taste Memory

This gal's got a delightful prose for every delicious, fresh food on earth. She has some great ideas, uplifting messages, conveys her passion for epicurean indulgence beautifully, and has included loads of tantalizing recipes for immediate use. I love the imagery -- Lately, I've been trying to get all my "stuff" in a row:

And now, for no apparent reason except that I can (kinda like my justification for smoking, blogging, and flirting with the devil), I think I'll go whip up a quick batch of her Raw Cookies. Mmmmm.... coconuts...

*Styx, signing off

(images courtesy of tastememory.com)

IT'S THE GOOD ADVICE THAT YOU JUST DIDN'T TAKE

Oh, the irony of it all:

(click to enlarge)

Have a lovely weekend! I'm headed back into the studio to finalize the tracks. And now I'm inspired to go Alanis Morissette on you folks and get 'ironic'...

Awww yeeeah!!!

*Styx, signing out

NOW I'LL RELAY THIS LITTLE BIT, IT HAPPENS MORE THAN I'D LIKE TO ADMIT

Shopbop, you're a dream. My wishlist, realized: shopbop.com-black&gold

Those Ash shoe/boot/whatevers? I will conquer you. Just you wait and see.

And in other completely unrelated worldly news - my band can attest to all the reasons why I MUST have this head in my life (pref. before our next gig..):

So wonderfully demented, I love it.

*Styx, signing off

(image courtesy of hellogorgeousblog.com)

MONEY, YOU'VE GOT LOTS OF FRIENDS CROWDING ROUND THE DOOR

Do yourself a Wednesday morning favor and go here, now: YUMMY MID-WINTER GOODNESS

Streetstyle photog Tommy Ton offers some of the best inspirational shots for those of us stuck anywhere short of NYC, and in need of a good creative jumpstart. Billie Holiday couldn't have said it better, with regards to my voyeuristic need for creatures like Tommy Ton around the fashion globe: "God bless the child!"

Ok, that was fun. Back to work (yawn).

*Styx, signing off

MISTER! LOOK AT YOUR GIRL, SHE LOVES IT!

It's runway time again, with Fall 2010 RTW in full swing out in grand 'ol NYC. Perusing the fashion show recaps on style.com, here are a few that catch my eye for various assorted reasons (the men aren't terribly difficult to understand).

Thakoon, with a nice serrated edge:

Zac Posen, always so prim and polished:

VPL, with boots to cry for:

Y-3, exhibiting what my imaginary 'man' wears on any given night, or day:

*Styx, signing off

(images courtesy of style.com)