Batty for Banhart and Dotty for Dukoff...Oh Yeah, I Said It

All photos care of LA Times, copyright Lauren Dukoff

I saw these photos in the LA Times this morning and I went nuts. They're amazing, and that's coming from someone who was never a big fan of Devendra Banhart. It's not that I didn't like his music, it was just that it didn't really move me in either direction. But that was before I new about how stylish he was. Eeeevvvverrything's different now. 

These photos remind me of the Avedon portraits of Andy Warhol's Factory Family, in a way. They represent a group of artists creating a world for themselves, a community. With as much style as possible. I love the way these photos look, as if from another time, and I love the clothes, and the ideas, and the crazy people. I love that they've all known each other for years. Dukoff, the photographer, went to high school with Devendra.

I don't know. It's hard to explain. But don't these pictures speak for themselves?

PS: Go check out Banhart's website - I just did and it's so much fun! (Just to give you an idea, there is a Devendra Banhart interactive paper doll.)

*NB: Again, the photos have been cropped to fit the post, which is very irritating and I can't figure out how to fix it other than tedious resizing in photoshop before hand, which I don't have time for. Just click on 'em. If anyone can tell me how to make them stop cropping, please let me know!

1920s

I LOVE this coat...the details are so delicate and pretty. Very chic. And I love the illustration...the juxtaposition between East and West, and how each of them are super stylish in their own ways...so beautiful. 

Sorry I didn't post for a while, I was in Seattle visiting the boyfriend. Fun! So many amazing bookshops...

The Sartorialist Strikes again

I love this guy. I really do. What I see every day, he captures. Its great. My favorite of these is the red head; she's just beautiful, so sharp too. Elegant and daring at the same time. I also really like the beardy guy, I just love his face. It reminds me of a noble in Tsarist Russia or something...Count Vladonovich or something. 

I'm heading back to San Francisco today after my month long Newport Beach hiatus. Wish me luck.

we gon' do it again

source: google image search

hello and welcome to one of LA's best treasure troves. i love the rose bowl flea market! besides being absolutely massive and steadfast (rain or shine, second sunday of every month) it is impossible to imagine what odds and ends, golden wonders, and delightful trinkets you are assured to find. note: this event often amounts to a los angeles-hipster mega-magnet, so in addition to your healthy stack of dead presidents - you'll want to be generous with yourself - and arriving early (10am), don't forget to show up looking good & bring a camera. available wares include clothing of all types and prices, furniture, paintings, mirrors, home decor, shoes, sunglasses, musical instruments, books, food, vintage everything etc. etc. 

lucky for me, it is exactly 9:27 am on the second sunday of the month!!! so in about 15 minutes, you know where i'll be. 

The Sartorialist

Source: The Sartorialist

I love this blog, and it gives me inspiration daily. This man is genius. His name is Scott Schuman, and he works as a fashion photographer. According to his biography, he started writing The Sartorialist because 

"I thought I could shoot people on the street the way designers looked at people, and get and give inspiration to lots of people in the process. My only strategy when I began The Sartorialist was to try and shoot style in a way that I knew most designers hunted for inspirations." 

His original inspiration for the blog came from a photograph of a man on a street taken by German photographer August Sander. Incidentally, he is now involved in an exhibition of works that are in homage to that same photograph. 

I love the people he captures, the creativity and the confidence and the style...I love that these people don't wear the It Bag or even any bag, maybe. For God's sake, that woman in the last photo looks like she's wearing an entire family of rabbits on her back...and she looks fabulous.