Film Still

Actually just one of David Terraza‘s beautiful photographs of Madrid, but doesn’t it look like the beginning to a story? It’s so perfect, it’s almost clichéd. The scene, any scene, just writes itself.

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You’re Lost, Little Girl…

I love this shoot from the winter issue of Wonderland. The combination of the colours and textures are so opulent, especially in contrast with the  black backgrounds, and the black photographs.

I’m also interested in this because I realised that I’m not really sure how to react to these photographs. It’s funny to me that the head scarves should read so differently to me– reminiscent of turbans and Eastern European headscarves in the coloured pictures, but then dangerously tinged with controversy in the black-and-white pictures. It’s hard to tell where or what the story is in this photoshoot, especially with the one photo where her hair is uncovered and big.

Maybe I’m just reading more into this that I ought to be. My dad moved to Saudi Arabia about a year ago, and since then, I’ve become more aware of the roles that head-coverings play in women’s rights and expressions. It shocked me once I realised that my stepmother has to cover up like this any time she wants to leave the compound. Still, the images where the faces are veiled had an immediate shock effect when I first saw them. It’s funny how a piece of cloth can be so steeped in politics.

Also, here above: a niqab, a navel and a bare leg, all in the same shot? Can’t quite wrap my head around it. Love the gloves, though.

The model is Darya Kurovska, and the photographer is Xevi Muntane.

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(Soundtrack because I can’t resist, and because Strange Days used to be one of my absolute favourite albums:)

Fashion Faces

I love these “Fashion Faces” that I came across on Overdose de Moda, Patricia Lima’s wonderful blog . They remind me of a cross between African masks and the images to be found on Faces On Inanimate Objects. They’re delightfully humourous. I’ve always been a little too fond of anthropomorphism, a little too prone to adopting objects I see looking “mournful” in vintage stores. These clothes, formed into faces, take this to a further point.  I can totally imagine them having great conversations, the one above and the bottom one booming out wise sayings. So cute!

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Cobalt

Masters of the Universe

I was going to ring in Christmas with my triumphant return to blogging, but was cruelly foiled by a crappy internet connection that kept breaking down whenever I tried to upload pictures. Also, the dog ate my wireless router. Excuses, excuses. Actually, my family just adopted a crazy one-year-old Lab with serious abandonment issues, so that last one was almost true, but no. He’s not allowed anywhere near electronic equipment. Or me. Apparently I start whining and shrieking like a two-year-old when jumped on a few two many times by a creature my size. And I thought I liked dogs.

ANYWAY, rambling pulled slightly back in to focus on the subject I’m at least attempting to lead in to, Christmas is a time for family and reminiscing and all that. My poor fourteen-year old brother had his baby pictures forcibly shown to a female friend of his. He claims to not be scarred by the experience, which shows that he has a far stronger psyche than I do. I went into my childhood room and was reminded of what a dork I was in seventh grade, courtesy of a class picture that I had banished from memory.  We did the big Italian family get-together thing, and many other small meetups. It was very lovely, despite the fact that my time there was cut in half by the evil storms that plagued the Northeast last Saturday, when I was meant to fly out. I love being around my family, and I love digging through my old stuff to see what treasures I come across.

This time around, I was reminded of my undying love for Masters of the Universe, which I used to think was absolutely the best thing on earth. Being a tomboy, I would charge about all over the place, crying, “By the power of Grayskull!” Screw She-Ra. I wanted to be He-Man. I think I was rather confused about the ol’ gender identity thing as a kid, although I did concede that her head-dress was infinitely more badass than his poncey hairdo. Anyway, I was absolutely delighted when I was looking about on Behance the other day and came across Adrian Riemann’s take on the characters, reimagined as hipsters. It’s a little bit precious, but also funny as hell, so I thought I simply had to put some of these up to share.

He-Man!

Skeletor. The person I wanted to be if I couldn’t be He-Man. He was so sinister and cool. He had a SKULL for a head. Come on.

I now recognise that She-Ra is badass.

Man-At-Arms had the coolest name.

Ok kittens, I’m actually at Heathrow right now, waiting to head back to New York. I just got the dreaded “Reserve Battery Power” notice on my screen, so I must run, but you can find the rest of them (with outfit descriptions!) here. Please check them out, and the rest of Adrian’s portfolio. They’re awesome.

Eye Candy

Ok, I’m tiptoeing back from being a bad blogger. Slowly. Here’s a beautiful man to help ease me back into the process.

Just gaze upon Streetcar-era Brando and forget all about my sins.