Less Offensive Designs (2011)

Every time I revisit this ghost town of a blog I am immediately turned off by that last post. This is me giving in to OCD tendencies. Above designs were done in the Spring of 2011.

Busta Rhymes

Helloo again!
Here's another sketch from the same collection as the previous one. The one on the right is a mesh of different greys and periwinkles lacquered in plastic. The one on the left incorporates almost the same texture as those plastic pink calalilies you see in nail salons that you assume are fake but then realize are real upon closer inspection. The pants are draped silk fastened at each calf with a gold band of ____ (haven't decided yet). I'm off to San Diego tomorrow so posts this weekend are looking doubtful. Stay tuned, though.

xo Valentine

Reservation for Two

I'm still getting used to drawing models that take up whole pages so bear with me and the disproportional legs for a while (bought a larger sketchbook). This design is inspired by cruise-wear. I saw a photo of some woman wearing the most hideous dress while on a cruise with her husband and sort of fell in love. I took the flowing green chiffon and updated it by editing out any tacky rhinestones littering the waistband of the original. The end result is a Great-Gatsby-esque meets Palm Springs slip that will one day accompany me on a cruise to Barcelona.

Look at me getting all spicy-like with the borders! I chose not to color this one in because I liked the one before it a lot better without the watercolor. Ah well, no use crying over spilled paint. This dress is an emerald green vinyl fabric (not dissimilar from the previous fabric pattern except a lot shinier). Good for parties and festivities of that nature.

Here, have some Slim Aarons Photography

YODLE HEE HOOO!
Yeah, that's right I'm still here. Didn't just run off forever, although it did cross my mind a few times. Rather be out and about then with you miserable lot but alas, here I am. The convicted, trudging back to my ball and chain. Alright, enough internal chatter (I really could go on for days). The real reason I missed my last two posting days was because my internet's been shot. It's up and running now so I'll resume my regular posting pattern of every other day.

Stars

Christopher Kane S/S 2010 (aka A LONG TIME AGO)

Greetings!
I was planning on telling you all about stars but then realized I didn't actually know a whole lot about stars...aside from their sparkly and nocturnal tendencies. Fortunately this is a fashion blog, not an astrology blog, so rattling on about star speckled clothing is a perfectly acceptable conversation topic. Printed images on fabric is old news (here's the memo late if you missed it). Christopher Kane collections are expensive! Also, old news. 80's making ANOTHER revival in fashion- newer old news (it had that giant burst of life in like 2008-09 but fizzled out when american apparel/rave culture abused colored skinny jeans/neon leggings. This comeback is starting with denim jackets and colored skinny jeans/neon leggings). The result of all this oldish news is an interesting Australian brand, Black Milk. When I saw a friend of mine wearing this fabulous pair of galaxy leggings at school I just had to know where she got them. My queries lead me to a better version of American Apparel! Swimsuits printed with artwork, body suits made of neon pink plastic, leggings with galaxies printed on them! A cheaper alternative to a taste of last season Christopher Kane.
xo Valentine
*http://www.blackmilkclothing.com/

Walk in the Park

Me on a conglomeration of mushrooms in the middle of Central Park. I love Alice in Wonderland <3 In keeping with the whimsical backdrop I'm wearing a sort of gothic interpretation of what I reckon Alice would wear if she ever had a meander through these parts of the woods. My mum found the skirt for me at a BCBG sample sale- such a great find. The lace detailing on the bottom isn't as clear as I'd like it to be so I'll probably repost it another day. Not sure where I got the t-shirt. The tights are Givenchy, the only Givenchy thing I own :( And the small mauve and navy cardigan is Marc Jacobs.

AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!! IT'S FINALLY HEEEREEEEE!!!! Still catching my breath over the long-awaited Vivienne Westwood Oragami bag in Winter Tartan. It was actually a Christmas present from my parents that got stuck in England due to those wretched snowstorms. My Grammy finally mailed it over (it was chilling at her house for me) and well, the rest is history...

to my followers in the States. Just a little card I made for my mum :)

xo Valentine

"Wolf Like Me"

Topshop glasses and limited edition coat paired with a men's Vivienne Westwood t-shirt. "Too fast to live Too young to die."

As it happens my New York journey has a little more ground then I can cover in only one post. We'll get the educational one out of the way first. Oh the grueling task of scoping out art colleg- who am I kidding? Deciding to pursue fashion design is like those fluke days in class when your teachers are gloriously tired enough to just throw on a movie. You wallow in the loveliness of the situation...no work, an incomprehensible French film, chattering with friends in the back. The relief of doing something I actually want to do is overpowering in both instances. On my trip the four colleges I inspected were Rhode Island School of Design (Risd), which is conveniently right across the street from Brown (which means if I went there *I'd* be conveniently across the street from Brown *boys*), Parsons The New School of Design, which I'll talk about in a second, Pratt, and, of course, FIT. I figured Parsons would be the most interesting to you because of the whole Project Runway link. You always wonder what school has a giant runway hidden somewhere in it and the results aren't nearly as glamorous as I'd have hoped. The fashion school of Parson is crammed into a corner of the meat packing district a little ways away from the other schools. You see little fashion elves scowling the outskirts of the building smoking cigarettes in a uniform of high heeled combat boots, leggings, and over-sized black shirts. Get to the building filled with attractive gay men, skinny bitches, and asian trust fund babies and you know you're in the right place. Inside you'll see some diligent students pinning at their work while the majority eat. Photos of the senior collections line the bulletin boards and are, for the most part, quite impressive. I had a fleeting glance at one fantastically whimsical design in particular but alas I have no photograph. My little group of anxious college-samplers hesitantly explored the building's floors and found not a SINGLE RUNWAY. It's as if Project Runway doesn't even exist outside of filming hours. Before I could find a Parson's director to yell at for this travesty (I'm kidding, I really only watch PR when there's a marathon on. Shit is CATCHY) I found myself being enthusiastically taught how to make shoes by a professor! He shuffled about with unattached heels and swabs of leather pointing out all the different parts of a shoe and the process that each one endures before you can walk in it. His intensity was very inspiring and I wish I had caught the name to which I owed such wise words of advice. Well, that's all I have to say about Parsons- hope I didn't bore you :)
<3 Valentine

Culture Wars

Me again!
It's been awhile so I thought I'd do a quick post to spice things up on my ghost-town of a blog. Here's a quick update on how my life's been keeping: School, Sleep, turned 16 in February, Sleep, THE GREAT NEW YORK ADVENTURE OF 2011, Sleep.
Good life, eh?
If you can't figure out which of those I'm most excited about I'll give you a hint (THE GREAT NEW YORK ADVENTURE OF 2011). Five days of shopping, college-touring, losing my way on the NY transit system, and street-vendor food makes for a pretty overwhelmed Los Angelino. More on that in my next post.
THIS post is about Lisa Perry (took me long enough to get there, I know). I found her only store on Madison Avenue and walked out of it wishing I could afford just one article of adorable retro clothing. Honestly, if she opened up a retail store on Melrose that stuff would fly off the racks. You don't have to be a long-time follower of Valleybean to share my dangerous affinity for timeless 60's inspired clothing, nor do you need a plane ticket to NY. Interwebs have given us a link until Lisa Perry joins the west-coast http://www.lisaperrystyle.com/about.htm
xo Valentine

*last picture taken from the Lisa Perry website