It’s that time of year again where it feels like you need a New Years Eve Party Dress. Here are a few styles to help inspire your holiday wardrobe!
Platinum Paiette by Scala
Golden Samantha Sequin Dress by French Connection
Tried and Blue Dress by ModCloth
60′s Green Party Dress from La Vintage
The Christmas season is one that is full of joy, laughter, and happiness as well as stress, hustle, and sky-rocketing gas prices. In the midst of all the Christmas commotion, there’s nothing better than coming home to the scent of a freshly cut and decorated fir tree. These days it seems Americans lean towards the pre-lit, store bought, perfectly symmetrical, mass produced Christmas trees. In my own home there was talk of ending the tradition of a live tree after this year! Blasphemy. So for all the Christmas traditionalists out there, here are the best trees to buy for your home!
Balsam Fir
Balsam Fir’s are known for their wonderful scent. They are very similar to Frasier Firs and are not very expensive. They hold their needles very well so they are perfect for a tidy home.
Blue Spruce
Blue Spruce trees are also a great choice. Many consumers consider Blue Spruce trees to be the most attractive you can buy. The down side is they are notorious for shedding their needles endlessly! But, if you don’t mind a little extra vacuuming they can add the perfect touch to your family room.
Scotch Pine
Scotch Pines are known for their fantastic bright green coloring. They hold their needles well, but aren’t great if you have an overdecorated tree or lots of very heavy ornaments.
Happy hunting!
This year’s Emmy’s brought a parade of beautiful dresses, as well as a few absolute failures. Here are my pics for best and worst dressed this year.
Nina Dobrev looked stunning in a red strapless creation from Donna Karan. The Vampire Diaries star is a virtual unknown compared to the other women on the carpet, and still managed to outshine them all.
Jayma Mays also shine on the carpet in a gorgeous pink tiered dress by Zuhair Murad. This elegant and feminine look was combined perfectly with Jayma’s soft hair and makeup.
Not everyone can get it right. Gwyneth Paltrow is usually stunning and classy on the red carpet, but this year her midriff bearing see through Pucci gown was an absolute disaster.
Someone needs to let Christina Hendricks know that there IS such a thing as too much cleavage. See exhibit A below, created by Johanna Johnson.
Jackson Pollock was one of the most innovative artists of his time. His work was outside the box, and nothing like it had ever been appreciated before. Many still don’t see the beauty in his creations, and some will tell you that their 5 year old could do it better. Some said he created the most exciting and artistic creations they had ever seen.
Pollock was involved in a fatal car accident on August 11, 1956. As a belated tribute to his life and art 55 years after his death, here are a few of his more famous and beautiful pieces.
Male and Female – 1942 – Philadelphia Museum of Art
Lucifer – 1947 – Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts
Easter and the Totem – 1953 – The Museum of Modern Art
The old saying is true, and sometimes impossible to abide by. When browsing for a new book to read, a cover can be as convincing as the material inside. Great covers can catch your eye, and bad covers can turn you off to a book in an instant.
Here are some covers that I think are brilliant, eye catching, and force you to break the rule.
We Are the Friction by various artists and authors, cover art by Lizzy Stewart and Jez Burrows
Pygmy by Chuck Palahniuk, cover art by Michael Collica
One Red Paperclip by Kyle MacDonald, cover art by Kyle Kolker
Leather Maiden by Joe R. Lansdale, cover art by Peter Mendelsund
An Ethics of Interrogation by Michael Skerker, cover art by Isaac Tobin
When Lady Gaga first burst on the scene a few years ago, I wrote her off as a passing fad. Certainly no Madonna, Cher, or Elton. Perhaps I judged an over-decorated book by its cover. Lady Gaga has become increasingly more popular and outrageous. Gaga continues to dress in the most scandalous and over the top costumes and outfits possible. Going to get coffee requires a full wardrobe department and makeup team. Behind all of the crazy outfits and makeup, Gaga has become a true champion for the under appreciated. On her latest album, Born This Way, she preaches that we were all born the way we are and that God, or ‘capital Him’, always accepts us. She has become a cultural phenomenon, and there’s certainly no denying her catchy tunes. Even the skeptics like me have started to appreciate her eclectic wardrobe. Here are a few of my favorite pieces from her collection.
Lady Gaga wore this bubble outfit during her last tour. She sported a similar look on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.
Gaga accepted an MTV Music Award in this red lace ensemble.
That same night Lady Gaga sat in the audience wearing this headpiece.
Gaga walked the red carpet at an event with this giant black leather bow on her head.
Armani designed this beautiful dress for Lady Gaga to wear at the 2010 Grammy Awards. This look is definitely my favorite, combining just the right amount of Gaga with Grammy.
Lady Gaga may be extremely out of the box and sometimes a little too over the top, but it doesn’t look like she’s going anywhere any time soon. While she’s here, we might as well sit back and enjoy the show!
Jeff Lewis has been a fixation of mine since his series, Flipping Out, premiered on Bravo in 2007. Lewis and his quirky staff flip houses and generate profits, laughs, and awkward silences. The self proclaimed OCD narcissist is often times placing himself in the middle of conflicts that I love to watch unfold. Last season (in a less dramatic scenario) Lewis was honored by House Beautiful when he was asked to design and create their Kitchen of the Year. The kitchen Jeff designed was modern, clean, and beautiful. Using dark, rich tones throughout the kitchen Jeff created a room that has become the envy of every housewife and Martha Stewart wannabe in America. Take a look at Mr. Lewis’ masterpiece.
In his House Beautiful interview Jeff Lewis states, “The kitchen is number one. It’s what really sells the house. It doesn’t matter how nice your living room is, or your dining room. Don’t spend the money, because people are going to end up in the kitchen.” His logic certainly rings true in my experiences. People seem to constantly gravitate towards the food!
Here we see Jeff using a wine rack as a divider to break up the room. This creates not only a beautiful aesthetic look, but also a talking point for guests at dinner parties. If you look in bottom right of the photograph you can see that the microwave in this kitchen is placed in an unconventional location – under the counter! At the push of a button this Jenn-Air microwave opens like a drawer for easy access and a less cluttered look.
Lewis also included specific touches like these customized drawers. These pegs can be removed and reorganized if you were to update your kitchenware.
The kitchen table was by far my favorite part of the room. With one end of the table resting on the counter top, the table became more dramatic. The large slab that is used as the table is very masculine and strong and serves as a great contrast to the rest of the kitchen. I was also struck by the intricacies and fantastical design of the light fixtures throughout Lewis’ kitchen. Jeff leaves the readers of House Beautiful with one tip to a quick, cheap, and easy kitchen remodel. Lewis advises that a simple change of your cabinet hardware can completely change the look and feel of any kitchen. Guess it’s time to head to the hardware store!
I found myself watching a rerun of the MTV Movie Awards in an effort to lull myself to sleep last night. Instead, I was enchanted by the shows elaborate and fantastical set this year. The Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California was transformed into a magical wonderland filled with butterflies, jewels, caves, moss, etc. The creative mind behind this transformation was MTV’s production designer, Leroy Bennett. The obvious front runners in any MTV race are Twilight and Harry Potter, and the set accurately reflected the themes of these movies. The set would have fit in perfectly in any werewolf, vampire, or wizard world. Eerie trees and billowing fog created a beautiful and picturesque backdrop for the evening’s events.
Here are a few shots of Bennett’s work.
Here 35 year old Reese Witherspoon accepts the MTV Generation Award for her body of work.
Introduce yourselves, friends, to the Vibram Five Finger Shoe.
Pretty awesome, right?
It’s been quite some time since I’ve seen such a startling and attractive shoe design. Specifically, this is a running and outdoor shoe – with each toe getting its own little pocket the wearer is going to get more balance, more grip, and more traction. And it’ll feel like you’re barefoot the whole time!
I know I’m gushing, but this is really quite a brilliant shoe. I tried a pair on up at Mountain Outfitters in Monteagle, TN, and I loved the way they felt as much as I love the way they look. Check out the Vibram Five Finger Shoe here.
Here at Basis we take a special interest in the annual Academy Awards. With the caveat that all awards shows are essentially meaningless and nominations truly are an honor, it’s fascinating to see how public acclaim, critical acclaim, and industry acclaim all merge into one glitzy explosion of self congratulation and, yes, acclaim.
We’re a design blog, and we’re addicted to the big show, so this week (the Academy Awards are on February 27th, a Sunday) we’ll be looking at a few of our favorite categories: Cinematography, Art Direction, and Costumes. Today is Cinematography. Here are the nominees for this year:
Black Swan (Matthew Libatique)
True Grit (Roger Deakins)
The Social Network (Jeff Cronenweth)
Inception (Wally Pfister)
The King’s Speech (Danny Cohen)
This is a very interesting list indeed. The King’s Speech is an exceptionally odd choice, as the camera work in that film is about as dull as dishwater. Nothing against the movie itself; but there is certainly no outstanding artistry in how it was shot. While Inception was a very good movie and the special effects were tremendous, one has doubts whether the actual lighting and camera work had much to do with the look of the cities folding in on themselves, impressive though those sights were. (This is why no pics of those films).
In the humble opinion of this humble blogger, only Black Swan, True Grit and Social Network are nominees worth considering in this category. And they’re all quite different.
Black Swan depends on changing colors, film stocks and focus depth. It’s a wild and inventive visual ride, and matches the movie itself thrill for thrill, intensity for intensity. It reflects the emotions of the movie, projects them for the audience. It’s definitely the most obvious, the most showy, of the nominees, and it’s a major achievement from Matthew Libatique.
True Grit is another outing from the Coen Brothers, Joel and Ethan, and their magnificent Director of Photography, Roger Deakins. Deakins, I am convinced, can do anything. The cinematographic style in Fargo, O Brother Where Art Thou?, The Big Lebowski and Intolerable Cruelty could hardly be more different. He’s a master of all looks, all genres and all techniques. In True Grit he goes for a natural look, but a hard one. He photographs vistas, battle, and most impressively, the flight and plight of a pure black horse on a pure black night, ridden to exhaustion and beyond.
The Social Network is diamond cut. Precision is a David Fincher trademark, and his DP, Jeff Cronenweth, makes it happen. He also shot Fight Club – The Social Network uses the same colors, the same subterranean lighting, but removes every bit of grime – precise as a computer. It’s extremely effective in the film.
In the end, while the choice was hard for us here at Basis, it had to be made.
Congratulations, Matthew Libatique – you are the winner of the first of our fake February Oscar Pre Game Awards! Black Swan is gorgeous, harrowing, and a major thrill. Next up: Art Direction!
