I came across these two lovely articles covering master accordionist Daniel Colin on his tour in Japan.

Musette Delivers Taste of France, from Friday November 20th, 2009, in The Japan Times Online. Written by Yung-Hsiang Kao. The piece covers French Accordionist Daniel Colin’s current tour there, and includes a little backup history on the mordinary (a better word for extraordinary) music that is Musette! Interestingly, the article also connects the Musette interest with Japan’s larger Francophilism: Louis Vuitton bags, french baking, and frog legs (just kidding about that one.)

“For 15 years now, there has been a comeback of the accordion and musette — trash musette, hip-hop musette — but with this group (with Colin) it is a more traditional French musette and chanson.”

Musette is an accordion-centered traditional French music created in Paris in the 1920s from a mix of sounds by Italian immigrants and Auvergne folk from the Massif Central region.

It is to France what jazz is to the United States, according to Cravic, a producer and guitarist.

“Musette was very successful until the beginning of rock ‘n’ roll,” Cravic says in English on a recent visit to Japan with Colin, an accordion player. “Accordion players were overwhelmed, so most of these guys tried to be more showy.

And the other article, Paris, Love Song for You, in Metropolis, written by Dan Grunebaum, from November 12th, 2009.

The accordion revival took hold in Japan in the ’90s, rooted in the continued popularity here of musette and its more sedate cousin, chanson. Among its exemplars are virtuoso Coba and young chanteuse Uri Nakayama.

“It’s an instrument that can be impressive even for young people. They are used to electric guitars, keyboards, and usually this music is not complex. But when we have the experience of playing in front of different musicians in France who are involved in rap or whatever, when they see and hear and feel Daniel, it’s very impressive for them. From the mid ’80s, accordion came back in all sorts of different fields. Now you can hear accordion players in rap or even punk.”

Enjoy!

Another post about Contemporary Accordion Classical Music

Another post about Communist Fighting Accordionist

Another post about World Accordion Trio

Another post about Bluegrass Accordion

Another post about my latest project

Another post about Guido Deiro

Another post about Richard Galliano’s recording Paris Concert

Another post about Accordionist Richard Galliano

Another post about Accordionist Maria Kalaniemi

Another post about Accordion Event Calendar

Another post about Octoberfest Accordion Babes

Another post about New Polka

Another post about Punk Rock Accordions

Another post about Busking

It’s not that hard! You can do it! I’m sure you’ve been dreaming about it!

What are princesses famous for? Most of them are beautiful (just like you), some of them have knights fighting for them (just like you, even if sometimes the knights call each other homies), some of them live in towers (sure), some of them are kidnapped by dragons – but what they all have in common? They all have marvelous shoes and dresses! Just like you?

Still looking for the perfect shoe to become the princess? Luckily for you, I’ve got four   f-a-n-t-a-s-t-i-c   pairs today for you! Pick…one!

Aren’t Pixie’s D&Gs TDF? Platforms rock, and the texture is eye-catching, isn’t it? Not spectacular enough? How about Lady Gaga’s Gallianos? Those must be good enough even for the craziest princess!

Haven’t found the perfect pair yet? No worries, here we go:

A cute pair on Diane and a classic one on Whitney. If I had to choose, I’d be in trouble, lol.

I hope there’s nothing more what could stop you from becoming the most beautiful princess in the area you live in

There is one in London...picture by me

]]> http://desdemistacones.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/20/ Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:46:03 +0000 desdemistacones http://desdemistacones.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/20/

COCO CHANEL

Coco fue una mujer independiente con un sentido genial de estilo y elegancia, y más allá de eso, alguien muy original. Entre sus clientes habituales estaban celebridades de los 50 como Brigitte Bardot, Katherine Hepburn, Jackie Kennedy, Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly o Marilyn Monroe.

Creía firmemente en que la elegancia de la ropa significa “libertad al moverse”; por ello introdujo el pantalón en la moda femenina de la época hasta la actualidad. También son más que famosas sus aportaciones como el Chanel Suit, el suéter con cuello de tortuga, las gabardinas y las french coat (antes solo para hombres).

MANOLO BLAHNICK

Este diseñador de zapatos canario dejó los estudios para mudarse a París con la intención de estudiar arte, aunque finalmente fue en Londres donde conoció a la editora de Vogue que le animó a lanzarse como diseñador de zapatos.

En 1971 se va a New York donde presenta a la editora de Vogue un portfolio donde había dibujos y diseños de sus zapatos. Asombrada por su talento, esta mujer fue quien le convence para dedicarse al diseño de calzado.

Comienza a diseñar y hacer zapatos para Zapata y más tarde para los diseñadores Ossie Clark, Perry Ellis, Carolina Herrera, Oscar de la Renta y Galliano. Pero su gran salto se produce cuando en la serie “Sexo en Nueva York” la actriz principal se declara adicta a sus zapatos.

Hoy en día, sus zapatos tienen nombre propio, los Manolos, y son codiciados por todo tipo de mujer.

LOUIS VUITTON

Actualmente es una empresa francesa que diseña ropa y complementos de lujo, fundamentalmente de cuero ; y principal patrocinador de la Copa América. Fue fundada, como su nombre indica, por Louis Vuitton.

Dice la leyenda, que Vuitton fue aceptando todo tipo de trabajos a lo largo de su larga travesía hacia París, donde comenzó a escribir su propia historia y la de la moda, especialmente a partir de ser descubierto por Napoleón III, quien lo contrató al servicio de su esposa, Eugenia de Montijo.

Su primer diseño, fueron sus ya famosos baúles con las inciales de su nombre, LV, aún de moda en la actualidad. De ahí siguió con sus más que conocidos diseños de bolsos y por último de ropa y complementos.

Φθινόπωρο / Χειμώνας 2009 – Autumn Fall 2009-2010

Comme pendant chaque changement de saison, j’aime penser à ce qu’il me plairait de porter ces prochains mois. Par contre, je ne sais pas si ce sont les fêtes et leurs tentations qui approchent, le manque de choses à mon goût en magasins, la frustration occasionnée par le “régime Loub” depuis cet été (= pas d’achats à moins de revendre, histoire de n’investir que dans de belles chaussures) ou encore le manque de temps, mais j’ai du mal à concrétiser mes envies esthético-vestimentaires du moment… A défaut de les montrer portées, j’en partage ce soir avec vous les inspirations, pour le plaisir des yeux – et en espérant pouvoir en livrer très vite des réinterprétations “tirées des fonds de placard”!

- Des matières et couleurs précieuses. Les premières sont un peu une constante, soie, lainage, cachemire, angora, j’essaie depuis déjà quelques temps de bannir les synthétiques; j’y ajouterais aussi des plumes, broderies, strass, fourrures, en détails le jour, en profusion la nuit… Les secondes se promènent dans la gamme de la joaillerie ancienne : bronzes, rouges rubis, verts émeraudes, vert-de-gris, ors… J’aime les images et associations qui évoquent des bijoux anciens, patinés par le temps, qu’on ne trouverait que dans des trésors de famille ou au hasard d’une brocante, mis en scène dans des ambiances boudoir ou carte postale début de siècle…

- Des noirs profonds, façon Belle-Epoque, relevés encore par une touche de “luxe” : brocards contrastés, empiècements ou broderies d’or, fourrure moelleuse et douce… Les plissés reviennent aussi régulièrement :

- Au moins une nouvelle tenue d’inspiration masculine; les variations fantaisie sont les bienvenues, comme les deux “héroïnes manga” des côtés droits…

- Remettre des chapeaux. J’ai passé l’été à l’abri du soleil, en tenues légères, et il était déjà temps de retourner à la fac, en se dépêchant le matin et en évitant les extravagances superflues. Mais les bibis me manquent, surtout depuis l’exposition années 40 qui en présentait de toutes sortes, et aussi à cause d’une élégante demoiselle chapeautée de plumes et plumetis, à Paris…

J’ai déjà ressorti les bérets, je pense customiser quelques vieux fedoras pour les féminiser :

- Une (très) (grosse) influence orientale : empiècements origamis, manches kimono, couleurs riches en associations inhabituelles, motifs floraux, broderies précieuses, bijoux de cheveux…

Au programme : des matières douillettes et précieuses, des jeux de textures, de la fourrure, du plumetis aux jambes ou devant les yeux, des ors, des bronzes, toutes sortes de verts et de rouilles, des teintes assourdies mais en associations éclatantes, un peu d’élégance épurée des années 40 d’un côté, un peu d’extravagance orientale de l’autre… Certains éléments peuvent paraître contradictoire, mais dans mon imagination c’est très clair!

Trouvés :

- des gants au poignet de fourrure bien touffu!

- une veste chinoisante, dans le tissu (un brocard satiné rouge) et dans la coupe.

A faire :

- un tri de mes chapeaux; certains seront mis à la vente. Dans le même rayon, décorer quelques vieux fedoras défraîchis…

- décorer des bas de perles et de rubans.

- (essayer de) coudre quelques jupes amples : priorité aux tissus précieux noirs, et aux tissus à motifs baroques ou contrastants.

- demander à ma couturière de réaliser une veste mi-longue à la coupe épurée, mais dans un tissu orné de fleurs de cerisier contrastantes. L’inspiration? Celui porté par les soeurs siamoises dans la dernière scène de “Big Fish”…

- rallonger mon manteau de soirée en brocard rouge un peu trop court avec un large galon de fourrure. Peut-être réaliser un col assorti…

- pour le soir, coudre une surjupe de tulle noir, décorée de bandes de dentelle ou de roses en tissu pour jouer sur les transparences – sur l’idée de la robe de Madeleine Vionnet, et dans l’esprit aussi de ce défilé Dior…

I couldn’t resist posting these pictures from Christian Dior’s 2007 Spring/Summer Couture Collection inspired by Madame Butterfly. Here’s a link to the Vogue Catwalk Report, including close-ups of the dresses.

This collection which was both praised profusely, and harshly criticized for its all-pervading Orientalism. While the fact that it’s couture needs to be taken into consideration, I can’t help but feel that these dresses mix the sublime with the ridiculous – a classic example of taking elements from another culture without any of the spirit behind it.

The collection has none of the  simplicity and restraint of traditional Japan, but the dresses are decadent and bold. It’s John Galliano doing Japan his own way, with Japan as the stage for his own fantasy ball. This is what makes it new, and what makes it interesting.

Runway makeup is one of my favourite things to gaze at for hours, just taking in the beauty and wonder of all the creativity and skill that makeup artists like Pat McGrath have circling around in their heads.

The pictures and footage from Paris Fashion week are always my favourite, the shows are so incredibly inspiring. The makeup seen on the models this year was an interesting mix of neutral, no makeup looks (as seen at Balenciaga and Stella McCartney), sexy sun-drenched glamour (Versace and Chloe of course), bold sculpted looks reminiscent of the 80’s and 90’s (Lanvin, Gaultier, Lacroix), the pale geisha inspired faces and red lips (Yohji Yamamoto, and who could forget the lips at McQueen!)… But then there was something different. Straying from the asian influences of past shows, Dior and Galliano (together with McGrath) emerged with a very old world look….

I find it so beautiful.  Regal and romantic, with metallic champagnes, golds and rust tones (alternative looks included silvers, fuchsias and plums) for the eyes and deep, berry toned lips in a perfect cupid’s bow, and soft pink cheeks that don’t take anything away from the amazing eyes and lips. I especially love the focus on the inner part of the crease and brow bone near the nose and how that opens up the eye and creates a perfect almond shape. Half lashes on the outside of the eye complete the look (the gold is cute too, just not an everyday look!) . This is something I’ll be adapting and putting my own swing on for sure!

Collage by Adolf Wölfli from here

Watercolor of an Aswang, a Filipino baby-snatcher who swoops into houses at night and drinks your baby’s blood with her entrails flap flap flapping behind her(!) Lynda Barry is always writing about Aswangs, so they must be the shit. This watercolor was painted by the astounding Hellen Jo, available for purchase here!

Claude Levi-Strauss passed away a few days ago, and in light of some of the things crisscrossing the blurry patterns of my days and weeks, I’ve been thinking a lot about questions of primitivism and sophistication–the beyond messed-up ways those terms have been constructed and applied. I’ve been thinking about the different forms of rage and insanity (Artaud’s raging and his insanity, at best, amuses me, but when I was a union organizer +/when I was a homeless organizer in San Francisco, the rage I encountered always broke my heart (to the dismay of my friends who probably thought I was a complete downer),) the idea of outsider art and how it privileges the outsider individual and excludes more meaningful notions of outsider-ness. Reading amazing blogs like Mimi & Minh-ha’s Threadbared always awakens the part of me that wishes my undergraduate days didn’t nauseate me from pursuing further academic study (ps, hi my MFA program, you aren’t a place of academic study, and you’re located in a freezing place,) so that I could better articulate myself on things that matter to me. Reading about the passing of Claude Levi-Strauss, especially this thoughtful obituary and this not-so-good whatever obituary, makes me yearn a little bit for academic institutions, or maybe just the 1% of the people who make academic institutions inspiring.

It also reminds me that a good amount of my fashion inspiration comes through contact with other cultures, other art forms, other ideas and images that are not necessarily generated from the terrain of fashion. Hopefully my inspiration does not come in the form of icky appropriation–Madonna, DIE, Gwen Stefani, your awful bindi and actually using Japanese girls as props for you, please die at least a little?

I’ve been watching Cantonese opera at my school library and online. Will you just look at these costumes?

Screencaps from this youtube clip

My Chinese isn’t good enough to tell you the name of this opera, and I don’t understand a lick of what’s going on, but how chill are those ladies standing stiff as trees with the amazing yellow tassels and the blue silk floor-length robes? Look at the shape of those lines created by the yellow against the blue, the intricate embroidery, the amazing flags behind the main gal’s head. I’d really like to go around wearing trembling flags behind my head and also I’d love to own some dresses in that shade of blue. I’m really into the idea of wearing something as insanely frilly and extravagant as the gowns these three are wearing and also holding a sword upright against your shoulder. Maybe because it reminds me a little of Qiu Jin, the Chinese feminist and revolutionary:

Or maybe it reminds me of my grandparents’ wedding photo:

They got married I think somewhere up in Heilongjiang, the coldest province in China (how many layers of clothing do you think they are wearing in that photo?) My grandfather is dressed up in his soldier’s uniform here, and my grandmother is also wearing pretty standard garb for women. She was active in the national feminist movement, and I like to think of her wielding a DAGGER like Qiu Jin.

I somehow have it in my head that there was a collection by Dolce & Gabbana many years ago (maybe in the late 90’s) that was very similar to the costumes worn by Chinese opera singers. This brocade coat that Claire Danes is wearing here (with the impish Leo!) at the premiere of Romeo and Juliet might be from the collection I’m thinking of:

from Life.com

Can anyone ID this coat or have any idea what I’m talking about? Of course, there’s so much to explore when it comes to Western designers appropriating ideas from the rest of the world. It distresses me that Western designers can have as many influences as possible and still be original, but fashion from the rest of the world is always ‘borrowing’ or ‘imitating’ or ‘deeply influenced by’ or ‘learning from’ American and European fashion.

I’m way too clumsy to lay out my thoughts on that topic, but this blog post by Mimi is a super good treatment of the issue of ‘influence’ and ‘inspiration’ when it comes to fashion. I especially like this statement:

Whatever the “controversial” garment or pattern in question –harem pants, kimonos, Indonesian batik– it circulates throughout political, social and cultural discourses that precedes the designer, that the designer does not author and is not their point of origin.

That statement shares a beautiful cosmic kinship to Strauss and his proclamation: “The ‘I’ is hateful.”

Does anyone remember the Pocahontas Collection by Dior in 1998? I think it was generally poorly received and taunted. This collection makes me want to turn into a punch factory so that all of my working arms and limbs can lay down the smack. Galliano! What the rotten egg splat is wrong with you!

From www.thefashionspot.com, more here

On a more positive note, I’m loving maximalist tendencies and florals upon florals. Maybe I’m suffering from some sort of horror vacui…

Another drawing by Adolf Wölfli from here

I visited Istanbul two summers ago, and I was really struck by all of the florals and blue tile mosaics in many of historic buildings. I wish I had some good photos to show you, but all of my photos came out terrible as usual. Here are some from flickr:

Blue tile mosaic in the Topkapi Palace harem in Istanbul, Turkey from geo boy’s flickr

More blue tiles from Chris Alsup’s flickr

And I’ve been feeling inspired by violent, vengeful (aka awesome) female spirits like these ones from Hellen Jo’s Asian ghost watercolors series:

The Kwishin spirits who sit on your chest while you sleep and paralyze you when you wake!

The man-eating Kumiho inspired me to write a poem making fun of Western male mystics

The white robes of the Kwishin are very much in line with my desire to wear white all the time. And um, foxtails on naked female spirits feasting on the guts of a man? Pretty neat.

Love, Jenny

Det var typ 10 år sen sist jag drack.. men ikväll så.. Halloween till ära! Var lite slö att fota dock så grädden hann börja sippra neråt… Men samma smak iaf HAPPY HALLOWEEN på er alla!

Det här behöver du:

Galliano 2,0 cl
Nybryggt kaffe 2,0 cl
Grädde

1.Koka kaffe och lättvispa grädde.

2.Fyll upp glaset till en tredjedel med Galliano och skikta därefter först kaffe och sen lättvispad grädde.

Tips skikta: Häll försiktigt på en upp och nervänd tesked som hålls vid ytkanten.

Bambi ögat får nöja sig med grädde i glaset i 20 år till typ..

…

…

You know how they say it’s a form of flattery to repost someone’s tweets (to retweet, as it were)? I’m going to do something similar here, linking to a post by our fellow reps Bernstein & Andriulli at their Spread/Art Culture blog. My friend there, Matthew Goodrich, alerted me to a studio visit that their blogger did with Roxanne Lowit (Matthew was her studio manager forever ago) in honor of her luscious 248-page book Backstage Dior. It’s a great post—very vividly written:

“The thick pages turn and the images jump off the page; the dynamic hues staging a full-on attack of the senses. In-your-face provocative imagery sets the tone for this look back into…Galliano’s reign at Dior as creative director. Since the beginning, Roxanne Lowit has been there to document his ascension into the annals of the most prolific designers of the 20th and 21st centuries.”

Nice, right? You can read the whole thing, and see more photos, here.

(Thanks, Matthew!)

…

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TARGET HAS JUST ANNOUNCED ITS NEWEST ADDITION THAT WILL BE ADDED TO THEIR DESIGNER COLLABORATIONS. GAULTIER WILL BE LAUNCHING ITS COLLECTION WITH THE SHOP GIANT, TARGET. I CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS. i AM SURE IT WILL BE FULL OF TATOO BODY SUITS, LACE AND FURS.

A totally STUNNING Hanii Y leather jacket. $249, less than 2 days left. Somebody is going to buy this.

Missoni Newsboy Cap. $170 with just under 2 days left.

Jean Paul Gaultier Mesh Print Shirt. Notice how the print is made look like you’re wearing and open cardigan.   $76, ending soon!.

Longchamp “Ceci Est Un It Bag” Canvas Hangbag. Currently only $65, ending tonight. Love it.

Somebody please purchase this Tory Burch necklace. This is just ridiculous. How am I going to not bid on this? $78 with 4 days left.

Chris Benz Cardigan. $40, ending soon.

Plein Sud Iridescent Skirt. $22.50 ending tonight. This is another one of those items I would be creating all sorts of excuses to wear frequently.

Jamin Puech Purse. $100 with 4 days left.

Dolce & Gabbana Metallic Skirt. Another piece for the anti-wallflower. $41, ending tonight.

Cynthia Vincent sandals. Retailed for $343. Currently just $36.50, ending tonight.

Philip Lim Dress.$26, ending tonight! Major bargain.

Prada Peasant Top. $72.02 with about a day and a half left. Go for it.

It’s Pendleton. It’s turquoise. I like it. Just $6.49, ending tonight.

Pollini Leather Jacket. I love the brocade fabric panels on the front and on the neck. Amazing. $80. 3 days left. Insane bargain.

This John Galliano jacket used to cost $3000.  Grab it tonight- currently $122.49 ending soon! Insane discount.

Charlotte Ronson Fold Over Bootie. $51, ending tonight!

Fendi Embroidered Clutch. Cuurently in high demand at $222.50, ending tonight.

It’s tough not to take advantage of this lovely Ya-Ya Aflalo top at just $40 with just under 2 days remaining.

J. Lhuillier Beaded Purse. Retailed for $949. Currently $57.05, ending tonight.

Alexis Bittar Turquoise Ring. Retailed for $345. Currently $100 with 18 hours remaining.

A gorgeous Dolce & Gabbana Tweed Jacket. Originally retailed for about $800. Currently, $61, ending tonight!

A sexy Anna Molinari skirt. Major steal at just $30 with a day and half left.

Rebecca Taylor Minidress.. practically being GIVEN AWAY at fixed price of $39… size 8… buy it!

I’m in love with this Nanette Lepore dress… I feel like the only reason I’m not bidding on this is because I’m trying to save money for Christmas shopping… $52, ending soon.

This is a $1400 Tuleh top, now only $104, ending tonight.

And here’s another Tuleh, $49.99 with 19 hours left.

This Oscar de la Renta coat is DEVINE. My mom would lose her mind for this, I swear if this one was her size I would pay anything to win this auction (Xmas gift).

Vintage Missoni Boots. The minute any vintage boot lover finds these, they’re gone. size 9. $120 with no bidders yet. I’d buy these if I needed any more boots right now.

MCQUEEN

VERSACE

VALENTINO

GALLIANO
DIOR
DOLCE & GABBANNA
GUCCI