The Fruits of the Baekeland family...

To say that the Tom Kalin film Savage Grace (based on the book by Natalie Robbins and Steven M.L. Aronson) is harrowing would be an understatement. Not exactly sure what compelled me to see a film about mother-son incest and timeless decadence last night but the one good thing that came out of this film about the true story of Barbara Daly Baekeland and her social climbing ways is that I got into a bit of a Bakelite searching frenzy. This material created by Leo Baekeland made his family rich but this fortune ultimately ruined the third generation Baekelands (Barbara was the wife of Brooks Baekeland, grandson of Leo...). I think I'll ignore the incest, murder, depression, adultery and suicide and concentrate on the shiny plastic accessories unearthed on eBay and Etsy...

Still, Savage Grace is a superb film even if it does at times make you feel so uneasy you need to look away. Everything is visually lush and it goes without saying that there's some fine clothes in it too, though probably more interesting from a menswear perspective...

A bit of cheap...

Whilst luxury brands are buoyant and many people are fast realising that cheapie Primark frocks have their consequences and are moving into a slower and more expensive way of buying into fashion, on the flipside, there seems to be a 'tendance' for the cheap and a bit of tackiness. I don't mean dresses constructed out of Tesco bags or such ironic 'cheap' statements but I'm talking about things like polyester getting a new lease of life, exemplified by the 100% Italian polyester dresses seen at Lanvin SS08 or the lux-tackiness expounded by Balmain's AW08 collection (I suspect there is one Christophe Decarnin-obsessed stylist dressing the whole world in Balmain but I'm not complaining...).

It's always a hint though, a subtle nod towards tackiness that doesn't veer right into universal bad taste. When I see Bjork & McElligott's AW08 collection modelled by Ben Grimes (no comments about her 'bigger' size please because I think she's a beaut....), I see that lux-tack vibe coming through. If I'm honest, some of the clothes do remind me a little of this shop called 'Selene' on my local high street back in North Finchley when I was a teen and I'd see orange lace shirts and black lurex dresses ahoy. I don't mean that in a derogatory way though because the great thing about lux-tack is that just as you think it's a little bit 'cheap' looking, you touch the fabrics and see the construction and realise that it's not. There's a certain accessibility about 'lux-tack' that is way less overwhelming than full on lux-lux. It's that awkward/sexy thing that I'm always attracted to, which springs out to me when looking at the collection...

Lily of France Bow Thong

It's hard to believe another week has gone by here at the Intimate Guide. It seems like just yesterday that we were featuring the lovely Opin Divin thong from Aubade. But alas, it is once again Thong Thursday and this week we have something that (by name) might seem similar to last week's thong, but is actually quite different.

While the Opin Divin thong is well suited for a romantic evening in, the Lily of France Bow thong is perfect for a casual night out. The low 4.5 inch rise is perfect for your low rise jeans and even if you do show a glimpse of waistband during a dance at the bar or concert, you'll only be showing off the flirty ribbon and bow print detail. The trim of this thong is scalloped and elasticized. As an added bonus, it's even tagless!

The Lily of France Bow Thong is available in nude (barely beige) with black ribbon, black with grey ribbon and white with black ribbon. The white and black is our favorite because the color contrast really sets off the print. It's fantastic in any color combination, though. You can get all 3 for only $21!

The Pointed Toe Returns

Manolo says, as the Manolo predicted earlier this year, the pointy toed shoe has returned!

Round-toes have pretty much ruled the shoe world for the past decade, with a tenacity that belies their innocently girlish appearance.

But a decade is a century in fashion years (like dog years, but longer and potentially more fatal if underestimated) so it was inevitable that the point should return at some point. And lo, it has come to pass.

At Balenciaga - pretty much the bellwether for trends that the high street masses will be adopting - the gladiator sandals it knocked out last season have been replaced for autumn/ winter by shoes so pointy they will probably double as weapons for the requisite eastern European villainess in the next Bond film.

Even Marc Jacobs, who is surely Coco Chanel's successor in his tireless promotion of the sweet and girly look, has pushed aside his beloved mouse pumps (literally, ballet pumps with little beaded eyes and whiskers fixed on the tip) for decidedly more grown-up and less rodenty pointier toes, at both his own eponymous label and in the current collection for Louis Vuitton. Similarly, the Lanvin woman seems to have matured from the pretty, round-toed mademoiselle she was just a few seasons ago to a full-on vamp, with black, sharp-toed teetering heels. “Round toes are on their way out and pointy toes are marching back into our wardrobes!” one fashion magazine gleefully announced this month.

And to celebrate the changing of the fashion guard, the Manolo recommends to you this handsome, comfortable, and reasonably priced, pointy-toed demi-d'orsay pump, the Cherry Hill from the Kenneth Cole New York.

Many thanks to the Manolo's friend Linda Grant, who keeps the Manolo abreast of the English media

What did YOU wear today?

finding out that such a fashion web 2.0 specific book was being published via Bits and Bobbins and reading the VERY stimulating comments that ensued because of her post, I literally got on the phone to the publishers and requested a review copy pronto. So we have a book called 'What I wore today...', the premise of a lot of fashion blogs that we all read and view with. The book isn't written by any particular author but by Korero the publisher. I'm not entirely sure who gets a mention in the book tough I'm expecting the likes of Style Bytes (*sigh*...), Wardrobe Remix, The Fashion Spot WAYWT ('What are you wearing today?' ah...I miss that thread....), Fashion Toast etc.... I don't THINK Style Bubble is in it as I never got any email asking for permission which is usually the norm with these things but then again the blog is not really of the 'What I wore today...' ilk either so I doubt I've made an appearance in it. It's the tagline 'Online Fashion Narcissism' which has sparked all the interesting controversy. As Tricia of Bits and Bobbins said, she's not entirely sure whether the publisher has used the word to shed a negative light on people sharing their outfits with the world via forums, Flickr, blogs etc but she asks a ton of questions relating to the topic of 'narcissism' on the web.

I have to be honest.... I do find blogs that purely consist of outfit posts with no accompanying text or perspective on things a little dull... whilst I'm all for pretty pictures, I like engaging with text too. People say that I blather on and am rather long winded here on this blog but I'm a thought expounder. It's very rare that I post images up with no contextual background or explanation. Yet I do feel the need to defend those of us that are posting images of ourselves. I'm not even seeing narcissism as a negative thing because that is someone who takes pleasure in looking at images of themselves as opposed to people who take pleasure in having other people look at them. I am concerned though that such taglines as in the case of this book, expound the idea that bloggers or WAYWT participants are doing it because they are keen to get their style out and say to the world 'Hey, my style is so amazing...check me out and send me praise because hip-hooray I'm so effing cool!'.

That couldn't be farther from the truth. At least in my case... It's true that for a lot of people, there's a confidence level in their own style that propels them to post pictures of themselves, be it conscious or sub-conscious. However, in my own case, sometimes, after the pics are up, I realise I'm getting 'it' (whatever that means...) completely wrong or things look godawful, yet I leave them up there. I'm not aiming to put the best of me out there or representing my style in the most positive light possible purely because that would be impossible and because I like things that are a work in progress. It's the documentation of a moment that is part of a progression or a thought process I was going through. The crux of it is that posting pictures of myself is an easy way of communicating the thought process behind the style decisions I take and with that comes an explanation, a description and something to back up the images. I think it's all too simple to write off people taking pictures of themselves as people just looking for a bit of praise and I don't doubt that there are those that seek that sort of gratification but for me those pics communicate not an just an image of myself, but an idea, something to do with the outfit backed up by the text (sometimes I suspect people don't actually read what I write but anyhow....), hence why I did faceless shots for such a long time and even now, the only reason you see my face is because the mirror that I use to take shots in gets dusty and sometimes the light just isn't that great for my poxy crappy camera...

Still, I'm not going to dismiss this book as lazy journalism yet without reading the content. If it turns out to insinuate what the tagline indicates then it's going up there in the banal chart of blog cliches along with that pesky question which I get asked most often...'Are blogs going to replace magazines?'...the less said about that one, the better...

Sarah Michelle Summer Break

Sarah Michelle Gellar

On March 10, 1998, Sarah won a Blockbuster Entertainment Award in the Best Supporting Actress - Horror category for her role in I Know What You Did Last Summer.

On August 12th, 1999, Sarah signed a contract with Maybelline to become the first celebrity spokeswoman since Lynda Carter in the late 70's, and can be seen in television and print advertising for the makeup company.

In 2000, she won a few awards given out by the Teen Choice Awards and the MTV Movie awards.

Sarah also enjoys rollerblading, ice skating, water skiing, and occasionally goes cliff diving. She was a competitive figure skater for 3 years and was ranked 3rd in the New York Sate regional competition. She has taken 5 years of Tae Kwon Do and is active in physical fitness. Sarah is an only child and considers herself a workaholic. She attended high school at Professional Children's School in New York and graduated two years early with a 4.0

Rating: 4

Nobody knows summer like Sarah Michelle. Tiered summer dress, check. Strappy sandals, check. ; Oversize satchel, check. Oversize sunglasses, check.

[Source]

Find your Supermodel Strut

(A public service announcement.)

There are times, days, and longer stretches when a woman doesn't feel her best. When this happens to you, whatever you do, don't lay around depressed. Get out there, do errands, meet friends or just take a walk. And no matter how you feel, exhausted, hot, sweaty, whatever—push through the “pain” and walk like you're on the catwalk. Yes, find your supermodel strut every woman has. May I suggest, unless you prefer not, wedges or heels as well. Put one foot in front of the other, quite literally, hold your head up high, and this is a time when it's okay (and will help you concentrate on keeping up the pace) to pout, also like on the runway. There might be a reason even models pout, they have woman problems, too, and it's a chore to walk so perfectly - yet while it's a chore it makes you feel as good as accomplishing such work. Despite that pout it will cheer you up, you'll feel your womanly power and you might even get to your destination more quickly. I also bet it's better than a leisurely stroll for burning calories and building muscle.

Find your inner supermodel strut and confidence will shine from you, and it will even seep into your mood!