Lanvin's Going Bag Lady Chic for Pre-Fall 2010

I feel like such a ninny opinionizing Pre-Fall this late in the game, but I’m just going to come out there with one point before I get on with it. Can we for just a sec all agree that the in between collections are like 4000 times better than the big kahunas of Fall and Spring? Balenciaga! Givenchy! Each collection was more perfect than the next! Agreed?

Anyways though, what I really wanted to talk about is how awesome Lanvin’s bag-lady extravaganza was. While some still cleave to minimalist simplicity, I always prefer a collection that embraces an ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ type of haphazard layering (lets not forget my undying love for Edie Beale either...) I can certainly see myself in Elbaz’s animal print-tastic overdone outfits and the fact that he is said to have been inspired by the ‘leopard lady’, a Parisian woman who is never seen without her leopard coat, even during 90 degree temps, tickles my particular fancy!

Reading Rainbow: Sara and Rebekah Maysles' Grey Gardens

It seems funny that although I've been on the reading train for the last few months, I haven't been able to quite figure out how to express what I loved (mostly) and what I didn’t love (just a little bit) about the books I was reading. Between Simone de Beauvoir’s Les Belles Images (total existential snore), Michael Chabon’sThe Mysteries of Pittsburgh (amazing and addictive as usual), Philip Roth’s Goodbye, Columbus (great but out of date in poignancy) and J.D Salinger’s Franny and Zooey (Franny kind of irritated me but Zooey sounds like a babe) – the one thing that really stood out as perfect for The Katie Girls is Sara and Rebekah Maysles’ ode to all things Edie, Grey Gardens.

The beautifully put together art book is half stream of consciousness sketches, collages and Edie to Edie dialogue and half memorabilia from their father and uncle’s archive (which apparently is in a pretty Beale-esqe state itself these days!)

The pages are full of even more Beale anecdotes and witticisms than in the film, like the evil prediction Little Edie got from a horoscope machine in Grand Central Station, "I'll never go near a computer again as long as I live. Never! I'll absolutely run!" Also, there is a disc at the back with even more forgotten Edie dialogue! Hilarious, enchanting and wild...I honestly couldn't love the Edies more if they were my own relatives!

How To Dress Like: Edie Beale

We’d all agree that having a modicum of a fashion sense would involve a bit of marching to the beat of your own drum…but that shit gets tiring! Sometimes it really is easier to throw on a sweatshirt and call it a day. It’s still cold outside. In these times of need, though – all you need is a bit of a reminder that looking weird is fun!



Just take a que from Little Edie, who if you don't already know (how can you live!) was the sickest dressing spinster to ever live. Once the most popular debutante of New York high society, Edie ended up living a Cinderella-esqe existence with her overbearing mother (Big Edie…naturally) in a dilapidating mansion cohabited by cats and raccoons in East Hampton. Though barely any of her outfits actually resembled real garments, Edie was pretty clear about what she did and didn’t like.

Because Edie's magpie look actually fuels that 'I just want to frolick in the grass' spring fever we've all been feeling - I've broken her look down into 5 easy steps!


Step 1: Grab a towel, sheet or sweater – wrap it around you face and tie the ends behind your neck (if you are using a sweater…just stick your face straight through the neck hole and tie similarly)






Step 2: Grab a massive brooch (the bigger and sparklier the better) – pin it either on-top of your head or at the base of your neck







Step 3: Break out a bathing-suit or a leotard (avoid 80’s colours though…that’s not really what she was about) and even though its still cold - who gives a shit…






Step 4: If you have a sarong, great! If not…a scarf will do. Now wrap it around your legs and pin it or tuck it into the leg of your suit (a trick I picked up on Halloween…)







Step 5: Simple, wide flats (a tad of a heel is good!) are essential to Edie’s look – she was a deb, after all.






Et voila! Dilapidated Hampton's Chic!

Grey Gardens vs. Grey Gardens

Like any Edie Beale (both Little and Big!) enthusiast, I've been awaiting HBO's remake of the 1975 documentary (how can you remake a documentary?) Grey Gardens for quite a while now...and the trailer is finally out! The original was so wholly unique and fascinating that it's really hard to picture that kind of replication, especially as Drew Barrymore, aka Josie Grossy as Little Edie. Like really? In any case, there's no use getting my knickers in an knot quite yet! Let's just compare and contrast, shall we?