Peace is the Way

Walking with Alfred Hassler, Thich Nhat Hanh and Sister Chan Khong Official Film Trailer from FairSoul-LIVE...ACT..BE on Vimeo.

From http://www.peaceisthewayfilms.com/ , you can find your way to the IndieGOGO campaign.

Where to start on the Indieness of Audrey Hepburn - Holly Golightly?

50 Years Of Breakfast In A Little Black Dress

by SLOANE CROSLEY

EnlargeChristie's Ronald Grant Archive/ AP

This photo released by Christie's auction house shows actress Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 film, Breakfast at Tiffany's. The black Givenchy dress worn by Hepburn sold at auction for $807,000.

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October 5, 2011

Sloane Crosley is a writer. She lives in New York City.

Here is what you can't do anymore in New York: climb the Statue of Liberty's torch, gain access to Gramercy Park without a key, or sip a martini in The Oak Room at The Plaza Hotel.

Now here's what you can do — and just about every little girl in Manhattan knows it: You can always have Breakfast at Tiffany's.

It's a perfect combination that exists so long as the demand for jewelry stays as consistent as the demand for breakfast pastry. And today that pastry should have a birthday candle in it.

For today marks the 50th anniversary of Holly Golightly. Rather, it's been 50 years since Audrey Hepburn brought her to quixotic life in the award-winning film.

Novella Holly (the Holly of Truman Capote's novella) was introduced to the world in 1958. Therefore America's most beloved style icon has just a few more wrinkles on her. But who's counting? Especially when it's the movie that sticks. And I mean that literally. For every boy with a poster stuck to his dorm room wall bearing the image of John Belushi in Animal House, there is a girl down the hall with a Breakfast at Tiffany's movie poster tacked above her bed.

Now, at first glace, the human beings sleeping beneath these images have as much of a shot at dating each other now as John Belushi and Audrey Hepburn had when they were alive. Let thatvisual sit for a second. If a romance between them seems unlikely, the book is not to blame. It's those first images from the film.

Skye Parrott

Sloane Crosley's most recent book is How Did You Get This Number, a collection of humor essays.

You know that romantic sequence of events in which a taxicab pulls over on Fifth Avenue and releases a Holly Golightly into our imaginations? She's a vision, holding coffee in her gloved hand, engraved in our brains like letters on a ring from a Cracker Jack box. She is in the midst of the single most famous walk of shame in cinematic history.

Holly Golightly may have had a place at the fraternity house after all.

Yet when we think of Breakfast at Tiffany's, we choose not to recall the no-name slobs or minor league prostitution. Sure, those come to mind when we sit down and think about it. But today, you'll remember, is supposed to be a birthday party. A celebration.

And after 50 years of trickle-down iconography, we have come to know the guest of honor largely by her packaging. But remember — she is not so unlike the Statue of Liberty's torch or the gated Gramercy Park. Just because you can no longer get inside doesn't mean it's not there.

http://www.npr.org/2011/10/05/141080177/50-years-of-breakfast-in-a-little-black-dress?sc=fb&cc=fp

Help me make a decision

 "Glitter" leggings from Lindsay Lohan's 6126 collection online. 

This magical piece is a fusion of two of our favorite trends: sequins and leggings. Slip on your favorite city-girl shoes and be ready to glisten and glimmer all night long. 

Is this an Indie "yes" or "no"? I feel the type of shoes implied are not sneakers or those flat orthopaedic-looking unsupportive leather shoes, which leads me to doubt the Indieness of these leggings.

• ·         Front and back sequin panels

• 
  

  ·         Sold black sides

• 
  

  ·         Elastic waistband

• 
  

  ·         Modal/spandex

Are elastic waistbands some sort of new feature of leggings which I hadn't previously known about???!!!

Playing Beatie Bow

deconstructing and drawing inspiration

“when you don’t dress like everybody else, you don’t have to think like everybody else”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/25/fashion/iris-apfel-90-stylish-and-on-hsn-up-close.html?pagewanted=all

why can’t I show the top of the page like links on facebook.

Indie of the Week, because the week starts on Sunday

Which is the Indiest one? it's Evanna Lynch, the Irish girl who played Luna Lovegood in Harry Potter. I mean DUDE! sweet pants - puffy style but not ill-fitting. Hard to come by. And the belt! And it was well done, the tight top with puffy pants and not too naked because of the cardigan. It's not grungy at all! I am only frowning because the hair needs a bit of a trim and too be off her face. She's so cute and looks full of beans for a fifteen (?) year old. Man, the more I look at this picture the more it cracks me up.

Zebra Micro Mini

Are you an Indie whose signature look is animal prints? I think not. Animal prints are not florals, which is why they are not what first comes into your mind when you think about Indie patterns. And I reckon this is because they are seen as unnatural and fake. They do not conform to the Principle of Organics. Animal prints decidedly belong to a couple of looks and that has been an unquestioned point in society. But today I am daring to challenge. Because I have seen a photo on the Internet of the Indie Icon Françoise Hardy in  a zebra miniskirt.

source: http://www.listal.com/viewimage/2421771

xoxo

Indie Inspiration

I had to force myself to sit down and write this blog post. Sometimes things are such a drag and one is surrounded by the type of energy that blocks up the joke pipe and/or system of progression of ideas. But it's okay now because I've tied back my hair in a way I haven't done in a while and have been drinking Turkish apple tea from the special glasses which were a gift from a friend a couple of birthdays ago. But anyway, I was really inspired a few days ago reading a post on beautyfool.net about how to do fake dreadlocks with hair gel. (Note: Indies are always being inspired by this or that.) From there I went to find some images but was quite unsuccessful. 

So anyway, the dreadlocks style is rooted deep in ancient history and have been worn by many religious groups. Just look it up on Wikipedia. According to that one unreliable source (with questionable information on Australian breakfast under Australian cuisine), reasons for wearing dreadlocks are to express "deep religious or spiritual convictions", "a manifestation of ethnic pride", "a political statement" and as "a fashion preference." But that was hardly new knowledge. Dreadlocks are totally a mark of commitment to something. Like, they take ages to form, so it would be unwise to embark on the journey and decide half way through that you no longer wanted to be making whatever statement you supported before.

Dreadlocks are an iconic fashion statement among rebels. In the fifties, the Mau Mau rebels lived in the forests of Kenya growing dreadlocks and fighting against British rule. And of course the Rastafarian wearing of dreadlocks to, apparently, rebel against Eurocentric ideals about beauty and the way things should be cannot go unmentioned.

These days the dreadlocks look is associated with hippies, cults and new subcultures I didn't know existed until I saw them mentioned on Wikipedia and had no desire to look at their page. So pretty much, they are worn by people who are hard-core and are displaying their rebelness. And their inspiration was possibly the reggae vogue blah blah blah Bob Marley, a staple on the Facebook profile of Indies. The rebelling is probably against commercialisation of everything in society and the absurd triviality of society's routine (such as cleaning your head).

image: http://themusicsover.com/2010/05/11/bob-marley/

Online, the alternative can congregate together as a community on sites such as dreadheadhq.com. And purchase accessories, hair care items and synthetic extensions (I get this image of opening up a drawer in the dark and landing my hand upon fat coils) at dreadlocks.com.au. And the impatient dreadlocks lover could always get a salon dread perm using chemicals, which I reckon is what they did for the Argentinian brand Complot's verano 2009 collection. (Ha! And they've got all these pages about backstage, which is an Indie like, because it's a peak into the Industry.)

images from http://lomejordelamoda2008.blogspot.com/2008/10/complot-primavera-verano-2009.html 

Indie Travels: Ann Siang Hill - Singapore - part two

Can you see the skulls (or is 'skullz')  on the wallpaper on the outside of this shop? Unexpectedly powerful.

Classic blend of old and new.

"Cakes and Knick Knacks" is definitely a misleading understatement. It's actually a fancy patisserie and Indie/Vintage shop. I think the shop on the left of the door with the cross is a vintage clothes shop.

Inside the Indie shop. Just to list a few things for sale: Polaroid cameras, Indie Christian cards, small selection of vintage frocks, books that are people's opinions on some global issue, collectibles, vintage coke bottles and this seriously Indie children's magazine. Oh, and the patisserie.

Hipster Houses

There’s something in the air that must be influencing you to ask yourself big questions about the nature of things, such as what happens to an Indie Child when they get kind of old and have already been living as an adult for a while? Well, I’ve been thinking about it a bit and researching the topic a bit and I’ve concluded that the natural path is becoming a Hipster and building a house. Built on big land, their children can be cultivated in the best possible way. It is then appropriate for them to start cooking hearty, rustic meals. (Living near the water is also very desirable.) You will doubtlessly have seen many pictures of these planned homes in magazines and online at places such as Unhappy Hipsters. There is therefore no need for me to describe them.

I’m not trying to rain down on their creative sparks or anything like that, but I can’t help noticing that seeing as Hipsters seriously dig the Nordic style, isn’t their style quite “off the shelf”? Hipsters probably love things to be crafted for them by craftspeople/furniture makers. So my question is whether it is they themselves who design their chair to an interesting geometric shape, or do they buy pieces from designers who specialise in interesting shaped furniture?

And you have noticed their passion for storage space, have you not? Utilising nifty storage space is an example of Hipster minimalist values, as they’re keeping the clutter out of their lives. Though they are not actually having few possessions.

Hipster homes are a living art-space. Creative people live in them and do creative things. Hipster furniture tends to be large and minimalist. So balancing big and small is important and composition is an art form. An example is leaving storage shelves of the open variety empty, with the exception of a small object. And having a tastefully artistic home breeds further creativity in all ways.

When I set out to write this blog post, I thought I knew what I was going to write about, that I had a clear point, actually, perhaps just a point. Now I’m just plain confused and feel that all I have grasped is that if you are in the situation of thinking for some reason that you fit into the Hipster category but aren’t confident letting your own innovativeness create your home, you can read the catalogues and visit the store of Swedish furniture company IKEA (which I’m thinking you probably already like.) In the scheme of things, it’s probably best to let others judge you and your taste by the brands you buy. DIY meets design. Hahahaha.