American Hotels And Motels
I’ve shared some of the fantastic postcards of Jordan Smith before – American Motels – and the urge came over me to do so again. No, I don’t know why but that’s all the explanation you’re getting for what you’re about to read. It’s the Alvyn Hotel describing itself as the friendliest lobby in town. Certainly, if wood gives you wood then you’ll be smiling too but even if you’re not some sexual deviant turned on by the smell of pine there’s a lot to recommend at the Alvyn Hotel; for starters: they have a rocking chair! And if you’re the sort of person that likes to listen to the TV but not watch it then where else are you going to find a chair conveniently located with its back to a supporting pillar facing away from the set in the room? Nowhere but the Alvyn Hotel, that’s where! This is the William Hilton Inn, Hilton Head, South Carolina and if you’re a fan of hotels with no troublemakers in them then this is the place for you as every guest is subject to police background checks and an interrogation by two federal agents before their bags are checked in. Since this policy was put in place the murder rate of guests at the William Hilton Inn has fallen to a record low. If you’ve ever wondered what it must be like to be behind the counter in the lobby of the Weatherford Hotel in Flagstaff, Arizona then this postcard should give you all the help you need. Should you pick up your book on the counter top? But what if someone comes in? Would they think you’re smart because you’re reading or would they be offended that you’re not staring at the doors waiting for them? Who can know the minds of people who would stay in this hotel? And what’s your favourite chair? Is it the blue one that you found down the street? Why would someone throw out a good chair like that? It doesn’t matter that it doesn’t match anything else! It doesn’t! Or do you like the chair with the head on it? That has got to be a good talking point to guests, hasn’t it? What else could you talk about? The weather? It’s Arizona! It’s hot! Why is there a head on a chair? Maybe you’ll pick your book up. Maybe you won’t think about the head on the chair any more. This is the Tropics Motor Hotel, Seattle, Washington and you’ll want to stay here; it’s got a kidney bean-shaped pool. Oh, other motels have kidney bean-shaped pools? Well, this kidney...
Fashion Faves – Louisa Kitchin
Via Fashionising comes this shoot of model Louisa Kitchin by Karen Woo. Lovely location for the shoot suits the style of the fashion and hair very well but it’s the interesting posture of the lovely Louisa that really catches the attention here. Coupled with the seemingly out-of-place footwear there’s a definite feeling that the model is saying “you can look at my gorgeous ensemble but if you come any closer I’m going to sprint as fast as I can out of here.” Ordinarily a very wise, precautionary position to take but she’s telegraphing the direction of her flight and it should be fairly simple to intercept her by making a diagonal move to the right. It’s the pose that got Angelina Jolie mocked mercilessly on the red carpet but the errant leg is pulled off with more subtlety by Louisa in this shot. This nicely-framed photo between the gates also showcases a dated, simple elegance in the long skirt and plain blouse, and the old, early-days-of-photography feel is carried over into the finer points of the picture; vintage Kindles (back then they were called “books”) and casual scratching of the neck indicating the onset of scabies (rife in the latter part of the nineteenth century) enhance the retro aspects of the shoot without ramming it down your throat. There’s a lovely contrast between the firmness and darkness of the leather chair and the lightness of the outfit worn by Louisa in this final shot. This also allows us to get a good look at the make up and styling by Cecylia Kee, Lanie Phelps, and Leesa Gray-Pitt; it all works well to be both modern and sympathetic to the era expressed in Karen Woo’s photos. Nicely lit too but the standout point of this shot is the attention to detail in highlighting – again, subtly – how women of the time were becoming tired of playing second fiddle to men; Louisa’s feigned inability to wear a bra is the transitional step between wearing a bra correctly and the suffragette movement. Nicely...
Fashion Faves – Lindsey Wixson
From perusing my various RSS feeds of fashion shoots over the last few months it seems that tiny-mouthed Lindsey Wixson has been appearing just about everywhere. Or maybe I’m just noticing her more because I can’t quite agree in my head how to pronounce her surname. An ‘s’ following an ‘x’? What’s that about? Anyhoo… Three shots from a shoot for Flare magazine by Max Abadian featuring a wide variety of styles captured and modelled to a high quality. Well, I’d hardly put them in a post entitled Fashion Faves if they were rubbish, would I? Or would I? I probably would. But I’m not doing so now. A modern noir feel that I would have liked to see with some classic noir lighting but that’s not to take anything away from this shot which is gorgeous. The dress is fantastic. It looks a little like a humbug but you certainly wouldn’t want to put it in your mouth. Because it’s not a humbug. It’s a dress. Also: it’s very large and your mouth is very small. Your mouth probably isn’t as small as Lindsey’s but that’s irrelevant when it comes to putting dresses into oral cavities anyway. What I’m trying to say here is let’s not go around putting dresses into our mouths folks. Just cut it out. I wouldn’t really have thought that this combination would work well together but it certainly seems to shine. I imagine it would be quite hot in there though and it seems as if Lindsey’s trying to control her temperature by controlled venting through her overly-small mouth. Stereotypically-speaking – my favourite sort of speaking – women do like to wear purple, a throwback to the period when they ruled the Roman Empire or something. It makes women feel powerful and stylish and makes them happy so us men should welcome a little purple on the ladies in our lives. Of course, women also like sneaking up on men and clubbing them with cudgels (say it isn’t just me this happens to) so any fashion outfit that also includes lots of squeaky, rustling noises whenever there’s movement is a big bonus too. I like the pink accent colour on the sleeve here but I’m not sure about the material; that seems a little anachronistic with the rest of the stunning outfit modelled by Lindsey. There’s a lovely, stylish, simple, and powerful look to the straight lines that’s captured from the shoes all the way up past Lindsey’s small mouth to her hair that oozes Dictator chic. Dictator chic is a thing isn’t it? Eh, you know what I mean though: the baddies...
Fashion Faves – Han Hye Jin
A trio of shots of model Han Hye Jin as photographed high up in the Andes for Vogue Korea by Peruvian-born photographer Alexander Neumann; the full set came from here. It’s a lovely, colourful, fun shoot as evidenced by this particular shot featuring Han Hye Jin leaping in the air. Or possibly riding an invisible mule. Difficult to say for certain. What can be said, however, is that it doesn’t matter who you are, how old you are, or what you look like, the first rule of fashion still applies: socks and sandals is an executable offence. The clothing style sported by Han Hye Jin for this shot borrows heavily from Spanish influence so the setting of Peru makes perfect sense. I love the modern take on the matador-style here contrasting with the traditional Peruvian llama-walkers. Llama-walking is a traditional Peruvian thing, right? I mean, what else are you supposed to do with them? The final shot I’ve selected to show off demonstrates lovely use of natural light and shade by the photographer and some wonderful attention to detail bringing together the colour of the large doors with the accent colour of Han Hye Jin’s skirt. It also shows that those seat covers with all the knobbly bits that are supposed to massage you/relax you/make you look like you’re ninety years old and suffering from piles: yeah, Peruvian door manufacturers got there first. Fashion and invention history folks! Fashion and invention...
Fashion Faves – Miranda Kerr
A selection of shots of Miranda Kerr, as photographed by Nino Muñoz for Numero Tokyo‘s June edition (via ru_glamour). The inspiration for these shots is obvious; American chic of the 1950s and early 60s is present in the fashion choices, the set decoration, and the style of photography. I particularly like the doll-like, distant stare that Miranda affects in this shoot. Not that I’m a weirdo that gets off on that sort of thing, mind. I mean, I’m strange but that’s just kinda...
Fashion Faves – Exclusive Conscious Collection
A few shots from the H&M “Exclusive Conscious” collection which combines simplicity and vibrant colours beautifully. Think of it as the Windows Phone 7 of the fashion world collections right now if you want. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to have the gorgeous Constance Jablonski showing off the new line to its full potential either. Constance is no stranger to this site, having appeared once before here. More photos from the collection and details of availability available at Fashion Gone...
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