FRENCHIE PANTS

2010-04-06T20:15:00.002-04:00

I have been so consumed with work lately that i totally abandoned every side-project that was dear to my heart. writing? drawing? painting? taking photos? cooking? NOTHING. I have done nothing AT ALL.
It seams like all I do is work and crash.
No -no -no , my friends, I am not burning out, not going to quit, shave my head and split to an ashram in Pune India,( or should I....).
I always wanted to be a designer, always wanted a creative job such as the one I miraculously landed, but d the amount of work and stress I am currently under leads me to questions my motivations and my desires... For realz. On the deep.
Add to this the fact that Lee Mc Q hung himself, which really really fucked me up last month.
People will tell you that fashion is an all-bimbo bitch-fest fighting to get to the top. This is very untrue.
In my experience, people who work in fashion have one main thing in common: they are overworked, and exhausted.
Most of them had dreams of being creative and forward thinking... They end up working their skins off tediously manufacturing garments.
Fashion school doesn't prepare them for the ultimate disillusion. Some teachers will mention it, but as my friend Audrey ( who is now studying to become a pattern making TEACHER , instead of a tech designer) "MARC JACOBS C'EST TOUT DANS TA TETE" (* Marc Jacobs is in your head).
The death of my fashion idol, as I told you, really triggered some deeply rooted fears and doubts about my profession.
He of unlimited inspiration,He of unequaled talent, He of true vision, He of integrity, He of international acclaim.

I thought all of these (add to that the money, and the clothes!) were enough to make someone truly happy. Unfortunately, I was wrong.
And it got me thinking....

MY Tunes of 09...

2010-01-02T15:09:00.002-05:00

A selection of my favorite 09 tunes and beats and bands.
Music is my boyfriend, it keeps me fresh, it keeps me warm, it gives me butterflies, it makes me cry, it motivates me, it allows me to dream, and be me.
2009 was generous in good music. lets hope 2010 will be as rich.
the notwist

fever ray

she and him

animal collective

grizzli bear

the XXs

dirty projectors

the pains of being pure at heart

the gossip

sorry , imaginary reader....

2009-12-27T17:21:00.000-05:00

Many readers I dont have. But in case there is one of you, I want to say Im sorry....
I ambandoned my blog for more than a month!
Not very dedicated, am I?
Well, I have an awesome excuse.
I got a great job for a great company designing an up and coming womens contemporary line.
IT TAKES ALL MY TIME!!!!
Im enjoying my christmas break and swore to myself to go back to reporting what i dig to you, my imaginary reader.
Love, S

The greatest things happen when L.A and Paris meet.....

2009-11-20T15:19:00.000-05:00

Appart from moi-même, another great by-product of the meeting of L.A and Paris, is the Beck and Charlotte Gainsbourg collaboration. One of my favorite angeleno ever, the most ecclectic-weirdo-boogie-dancing-genius Beck went to Paris to produce Charlotte's album, IRM, which will be out in late december on Electra.

They made a song as a duo, Heaven Can Wait, and I dont know who directed the video, but its totally trippy and surprising in a way that I love.
I always liked Charlotte a lot,but as an actor more than a musician, because I found her tone a little whinny and whispery, and maybe also because of the adoration and love I have for her father Serge Gainsbourg's work ...im saying that with all the respect and admiration i have for her, she is absolutely the coolest French woman alive, and by far the most stylish as well. Love her, right... but her music until now, I have to say, was a little YAWN for my taste.
Until He, the masked avenger from California came along, gave her a little 70s funk flair, all the while keeping her melacholy, but with just enough spice and beat to keep my attention, and make me want more....
I never get tired of him; from his first to his last album, I think Beck is one of the most accomplished musicians of our generation...
I leave you with these videos to watch and love.

Green Porno is good for you.

2009-11-13T18:40:00.000-05:00

Everything Green is better, you know that by now.
But Porno, you think? WHAT???
Well yeah.

Green Porno is the genius GENIUS project that Isabella Rossellini directs and acts in.
Remember her? she was about the most beautiful model of the 80s, the face for Lancome for years.
Now he has a brilliant show on sundance, called Green Porno, where she teaches us, the uneducated viewe about animal reproduction.

I LOVE IT!!!
Its so creative, pretty, original, funny, smart and unexpected, it got me going for a while, laughing my head off, and to tell you the truth, I learned so much! Watch the shows, laugh with me, and enjoy your guilt free porno.

The 7th letter, or How Graffitti still tingles my sprinkles.

2009-11-12T18:06:00.002-05:00

Most of you who live in LA are familiar with Retna and El Mac's work. Some of you just don't know it. If you drive just slow enough, you might notice unbelievable works of Art -with a capital A- adorning the walls of ~~our~~ your busiest streets.
These guys are most definitely NOT vandals.
What they do, is make your and my life a little better, by putting some HI quality Art on the streets, available and free for all to see.
I am CRAZY about their stuff, CRAZY about Mac's portraits and Retna's calligraphic delirium, I love these cats.
I called them "cats" cause I do believe that's what cool people call each other, out there on the streets.

for the love of Art, go check out their stuff.

RETNA / The Mac from RVCA on Vimeo.

VIMBY - Retna

VIMBY | MySpace Video

Art moment: Sylvia JI's master work...

2009-11-11T14:39:00.000-05:00

You have seen Sylvia Ji's work on the cover of L.A weekly, and featured numerous times in Juxtapoz. I love her Calavera ladies, just creepy sexy beautiful.

Corey Helford Gallery is one of my go to places when Im in need of contemporary art in L.A... I miss Culver City and the galleries there, wine and cheese with the ladies.
They always have the best shows and great art. Go on their mailing list, and attend their openings!!!

Bitch music

2009-11-11T12:14:00.002-05:00

Its wednesday, I feel just a little bitchy and edgy
This is my
dont rub me the wrong way
morning
music
getting ready to work with good crisp bitch music
sing too loud for my own lungs, shake this body, feel better.
the bitch is tamed.
you're welcome.

bat for lashes

santigold
fever ray-as remixed by bassnectar
noisettes

yeah yeah yeahs

the kills

peaches

cat power

Ann Demeulemesteer+Patti Smith= me happy

2009-11-10T14:40:00.001-05:00

Ann Demeulemeulemeulemeule, ladies and gentlemen.
Another proof that all good things come from Antwerp.

I'll take one of each, please.

the coat? the pants? the shoes? I couldn't have dreamed better.

wear this jacket and run away.

sweet lord up on the cross save me.

Ann understood everything. Everything about life, death and the universe.

Its like she has a wire tapped straight into my subconscious, and thinks the thoughts I don't even dare.

And of course, her muse is Patti Smith.

wild

free

deep

LOUD

My feet are depressed.

2009-11-10T13:35:00.000-05:00

They need something to put some spring in their step.

i need shoes by maniishma featuring Jeffrey Campbell shoes

Items in this set:
Felissimo.co.jp shoes, 3,900 JPY
Jeffrey Campbell boots, $168
Dr.martens boots, $135
adidas sneakers
Urbanoutfitters.com boots, $78

Goopy Elemental?

2009-11-10T12:58:00.000-05:00

I made some little paintings for my neices who are turning 9 today.
Twins are so wonderful to be around and watch, all you do is notice the differences, like in those picture games from when we were kids.
It was fun for me painting them, I totally went in the zone after the boys went to sleep, and way into the night.
I really enjoy working with acrylic, its so goopy and elemental.
Here are the finished product. Im happy with it.

So fresh and so clean, clean.

2009-11-09T16:43:00.000-05:00

photo chantal michel from fffound ...ON DIRAIT GERALDINE,HEIN

We have a ritual at my house which is called Cinderella Sunday . You guessed exactly what it means, and so you can figure how my week end was. I got my boys to clean the fridge, I made it sound like a team sport and got them 50c each for helping, and lo and behold, the fridge was clean in less time than it takes to say " lo and behold", just a dollar later.
I am notorious on all 5 continents for my messes, and so today I am linking to a keeping your house organized post, in hommage to Anna, and all that she ever wanted to teach me!
In other good news, I actually got some pretty bad ass work going this week end. Late night sketching, good stuff. I promise to post my sketches. One day.

SOIS MOCHE ET TAIS TOI!!! (shut up and be ugly)

2009-11-06T17:51:00.003-05:00

My friend and wunderkind designer Charles Anastase created the Proud Of Being Ugly Group ( club des moches) on facebook, and I have to admit that I was a bit ...hurt....when I first got the invitation, until I was explained, slowly and nicely, that the point of the group was to let go of our beauty stigmas, especially in the silly industry we work in, and to underline the fact that we all look butt ugly at some point during our lives, and as far as I'm concerned, that happens every morning.
Yes, people. I too am proud of being ugly.
Isn't my non-beauty actually leaving just enough space for me to be charming, funny, deep?
I like to think so...
I'm not going to go all Kierkegaard on you or anything, but I have often pondered at my fascination with beautiful things, places, music, books,and my lack of interrest in beautiful people. I was always more mesmerized by the awkward, exotic, rare, hard faces, and I think I am proud to be sporting one myself...
If you are on facebook, and you too look like ass at some point during your day, join the group.
That being said, I was reading this style blog last time, called Balibulle, in which the writer, Charlotte Moreau, shows off different wardrobes and discusses style or whatever, and there was this whole post about her beauty daily routine, and how now that she is in her 30s, she has to buy and apply stuff to her face so that it wont fall apart Yeah. Thats what happens to most of us. We all reach a point when a good nights sleep and a lot of water are not enough to have fresh taught tight skin, and when we find ourselves perusing the aisles of our pharmacies looking at all these different products that swear to us, they will keep us young.
Ladies and gentlemen, I have bad news. Youth is not a creme. It is a moment in ones life, that is exciting and

worth while, but unfortunately, ephemeral. And no matter how tight our skin is, no matter how high our pigtails, no matter how short the cheerleader skirt, when we hit 60, we will be 60.
The creams might promise that this day will never happen, but it will and I really hope it does.
I am not saying to stop putting on the eye cream that you "patpatpat around the eyes, and never spread". I am not saying that wanting to keep your skin fresh in your 30s is a delusion, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND MOISTURIZING, and I understand why women, such as myself invest their hard earned dosh on creme.

No.What I am saying, is I want to grow old, gracefully and naturally. And when Im a Granny, I dont want to look like a tweenie.

Your man, My man, THE man Jonathan Safran Foer is at it again.

2009-11-06T11:40:00.002-05:00

J.S.F is such the sensation in contemporary American literature, and for some damn good reasons. His two novels, Everything is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close were some of the most captivating and marvelous books I read, ever. Truly ground breaking writter, if you did not read this books, get them. You'll thank me later.
My friends and I have this cult-like obsession with him, and we found a while ago this link to a documentary he made for goveg.com about Kosher slaughter houses.
Honestly I couldn't watch through the whole thing. It was gruesome and left me forever shaken. I was so comfortable under my kosher blankie I really thought the animals I was eating were "better" killed...... NNNNoooot.
I 'm not sure anymore if this was the drop that lead me to drop meat. Maybe?
Anywho, Safran Foer wrote a non fiction book.WHAAAT?!
Its called Eating Animals. WHAT??!!
Being that Jonathan is a regular on the New Yorker and the New York Times, they both have interesting articles about it, and I for one, will read the book, as a true fan does.
Although I am quite sure I will be traumatize once again.

Also while I'm at it, I will mention that JSF is also married to an AMAZING writer, Nicole Krauss who wrote The History Of Love, which is such a beautiful read. Together they form, in my opinion the absolute hottest New York Vegetarian Jewish Intellectuals with Good looks couple. They are young, talented, proactive, and inspiring. They make me nauseous they're so perfect, but I won't hate them for it.

Chillin with Schiele

2009-11-05T11:37:00.002-05:00

Honestly one of the perks of living in Montreal is that they have proper French bakeries, and cafes. Before I get to the store, I pick up some kind of croissant and a coffee.
Sensory memories galore.
Comfort zone.
If you give a french girl a croissant. Or something.
Well this morning, as I was sipping my coffee and munching on my pain aux raisins, reading my email, I get this invite to go see the FROM KLIMT TO KLEE exhibit at the Neue Gallery in New York.
As most of my friends know, I am a total sucker for German and Austrian Art, specifically in love with the work of Egon Scheile.
I really would love to hop on a plane and go to see this retrospective, and spend sometime in NYC while Im at it, but unfortunately I CAN'T, so I am here, chilling with Scheile, on a thursday morning, drinking coffee that taste like COFFEE.
This is why I like Egon so much:

He knows how to use white.

He is mad sexy

and so wickedly contemporary.

I found this editorial online from the magasine I-D , which is always a great go to for inspiration by-the by, and I think they totally rocked the Schiele aesthetics.

I totally adored it. What do you think?

ART+ART=ART

2009-11-04T15:49:00.002-05:00

I'm always awed when artists find a new way to flatter their art, and this french boy Reuno, an illustrator, associated himself to the indie folk band Uniform Motion Pictures, and together, they make animated music, or musical animation , as you wish. I'm so into this, the art, the music, all of it, this is dreamy.

Rain & Soil from Uniform Motion on Vimeo.

Today's fashion inspiration. Mc Queen

2009-11-04T13:43:00.002-05:00

Fuck me.
This guy is not normal, he comes from another planet.
Check out these prints!!!!
Check out the shoes!!!!!
SWEET LORD UP ON THE CROSS
What are you doing to me?????
I cant put everything here, but CHECK-a-CHECK-a-CHECKITOUT!.

from style.com

All play, no work?

2009-11-03T17:10:00.001-05:00

I really set out to do a bunch of work today,I really did.
I woke up this morning thinking this was it, D-Day, the end of procrastination and the beginning of my great artistic journey...
Not so much.
I spent most of the day reading blogs and articles on line, and doodling pointless little drawings. Not much work there.
Procrastination is the root of all evil...
Maybe I set out to do too much?
Maybe I am too impressed with the work load I set out to achieve?
Life is what's happening while I'm busy dreaming.
So now, I declare, I decide, I vow. Tomorrow, I will do some proper work. No facebook, no reading a million blogs. Me, the paper, the scissors, the machine, my head.
Meanwhile I will post the awesome song Creator by Santigold.
The lyrics should be my daily mantra....
Me Im the creator, thrill is to make shit up, the rules I break got me a place up on the radar.

she also has some wicked fashion steez, this Santigold.

PRINCE CHARMING

2009-11-03T14:22:00.002-05:00

Joe-joe sent me this link today. I don't know if you have ever had the pleasure of seeing this beast of music live, but it is truly an honor to be in the proximity of his undying genius.

enjoy.

FUCK ME

PRINCE & THE REVOLUTION - BIRTHDAY SHOW
envoyé par groovetaboo. - Regardez la dernière sélection musicale.

Beth Ditto, Godess by day, Rockstar by night

2009-11-02T16:58:00.005-05:00

I can't even begin to explain how much fun Lana and I had at the Gossip show.
Beth is really a generous artist, she gives every last piece of her on stage, and we were glad to be there to witness.
More than being what I consider to be the voice of this decade, she also always ALWAYS has the wickedest style. J'adorable.

Beth on fashion:

Beth in Action:

What I would wear today

2009-11-02T16:28:00.004-05:00

I finally gave in to the polyvore craze.
I made a little collage of cool clothes i would have liked to have so I could wear today...
A Helmut Lang Tux Jacket, I am dying to find one for myself. Goes with everything, dresses, pants, jeans...
The Pants are Martine Sitbon Rue du Mail( I used to live on that street in Paris!!!)They look comfortable, and gorgeous.
A pair of croc Dr Marteens HELLO
The Tee is Mc Queen, Marylin/skull.
A kiss ring, zipper earings, and I would be good to go.

Find me on Polyvore

Step 1:start.

2009-11-02T13:21:00.000-05:00

It's been four months that we moved here and I am just starting to get used to the fact that we now live in Montreal.
I still miss Los Angeles, my friends, the palm trees, the ocean and the laid back lifestyle, but I decided I would make the best out of it, and enjoy this new life as much as I could. I have been waiting a long time for the perfect moment to focus on my art and being more productive about it. Being here, in a smaller city, with less friends, confined in the house because of deadly temperatures, feels to me like the ultimate setting for an instrospective work of artistic discovery.
Here I will post some random sketches and different projects in progress, and links to things that move me everyday, articles, art, music, just my pool of inspiration.
The first two things I want to link to are Drawn! , a canadian illustration blog, that is my first go to spot for daily inspiration. Its a never ending source of visual pleasure.
The second one is the website of Keri Smith , an author and illustrator whose 100 ideas to get your inspiration keeps me going everyday, I love doing these as a little warm up before i get to the heavier stuff...find and print them from here
thats it for today... wish me luck.