What I love about... August

Must See: Plywood at MoMA

Ongoing at the mecca for design in NYC is "Plywood: Material, Process, Form". Popular Science in 1948, described plywood as "a layercake of lumber and glue.” It has also given 20th-century designers of everyday objects, furniture, and even architecture greater flexibility in shaping modern forms at an industrial scale. This installation features examples from around 1930 through the 1950s complete with archival photographs that detail the process of design and manufacture.

The Creatives: An Interview with Katherine Nolfi

Katherine Nolfi is one of a small group of film makers redefining what we expect from the independent film world.  Her debut feature film, UPSTATE (co-directed with Andrew Luis), premiered in competition at the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival where it was selected as  “Best of the Fest” by LA Weekly. She has written and directed several short films of note, including UNLIMITED (co-directed with Andrew Luis), which was an official selection of SXSW 2009, MOUTH BABIES (co-directed with Lisa Duva) an official selection of the 2011 Slamdance Film Festival and which won Best Short at the Seattle True Independent Film Festival.

Her current screenplay, THE WORLD OF MEN, was a finalist for the 2012 Nantucket Film Festival’s Tony Cox Screenwriting Award.  When she is not behind the camera, she works in various capacities within the film and television industry. Like the other smart and compelling women featured in The Creatives posts,  Katherine has a easy and effortless style wholly her own, part gamine, part downtown, and utterly covetable.

What do you see trending in fashion now?

High-waisted everything, head wraps, clogs.  Did I just describe the cover of a Vashti Bunyan album?

When was the last time you had a fashion epiphany?

Recently I watched Andrzej Żuławski’s POSSESSION.  Isabelle Adjani spends the whole brilliant freak-out of a movie running around making love to invertebrate creatures and luxuriating in spilt milk on the floor of a subway station.  She wears a blue dress throughout and it gets pretty gnarly towards the end but she still looks glamourous.  I guess my initial epiphany was “Be Isabelle Adjani.”  Short of that miracle, I think the clothes slowly form to you so don’t stress about it so much.  Is that an anti-fashion epiphany?

What is your favorite High brand? And your low brand? How do you mix high and low?

There’s not a lot of High in my life, but I do occasionally throw a seriously crisp cream and white Theory blazer over my usual T-shirt and jeans.  Major fairy godmother results.    Add the perfect Yves Saint Laurent black flats scored from eBay and I rock a real Working Girl vibe on my way to the train in Queens.

What is your go-to uniform for a day of work? The weekend?

You’d think after after twelve years of catholic school I’d never want to wear another uniform again.  Alas, every day I can be found in my school colors: white T-shirt, blue jeans, blue shoes and frankly sometimes my old penny loafers.  I do throw on a non-regulation pastel-marled cardigan for when I get the chills. 

What is your favorite ILR piece and why?

I’m currently losing it over The Couplet Ring.  I love the modern design offset by the hand-forged details, both of which make The Couplet Ring feel really alive.  It’s like seeing Zeus’ fingerprints on a lighting bolt.  So dope.

Who are your style icons? 

As a broke young woman my grandmother drew black stripes down the back of her legs so it looked like she had nylons, she raised six kids, briefly ran a vintage store that provided the props for my childhood fantasies and fed the raccoons even though everyone said they were a nuisance.  Oh and she looked good doing it all.  She was one of those people who could pull off a jaunty hat, you know what I mean?

What are you living in these days?

The perfect white V-neck T-shirt that will disintegrate on my body, Raleigh Denim, blue suede oxfords (see above uniform).  Now that the mercury is rising, I’m mixing in a wide-stripped jersey pencil skirt and Sanita clogs for this Spring rain.

Ilsa Loves Rick at Shop Sixty Five

I am thrilled to announce that the Ilsa Loves Rick line is now available at Shop Sixty Five, in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Located at 53West State Street you can find more information on line at:

www.shopsixtyfive.com

What I have been reading...

The Creatives: An Interview with Elisabeth Harris

Like so many of the styling gals who are featured in Creatives posts, Elisabeth and I go way back to before she studied documentary film at Vassar College and forged a stellar career in the documentary film industry. I knew her as a scrappy 15 year old, smart as a whip with pluck and ambition to spare who ended up shepherding docs on topics including Arafat & Sharon, 9/11, The Beatles, Elvis Presley, and Paul McCartney, which have aired on The Discovery Channel, NBC, ABC, and PBS. She has worked as a field producer on "48 Hours" at CBS News. Her award winning independent film "The Hermit Of Manana" has traveled to numerous film festivals.  She also produced the independent feature documentary “My Mother’s Garden” which toured major festivals and aired on MSNBC.  And she had the great privilege of working on CBS tributes to both Walter Cronkite and Ted Kennedy.  Elisabeth produced a two-hour CBS documentary special, and best selling DVD, called "Elvis By The Presleys" and most recently has been a director & producer for the PBS show “History Detectives.”  When she is not the doing the heavily lifting of film producing, she is a gal about town, every bit the urban style guru. 

What do you see trending in fashion now?

The skinny jean with knee high boots trend doesn't seem to be going away and I am fine with that.  But now that spring is here I've been seeing a lot of sandals and colored jeans, sometimes with the cuff rolled up, circa 1993.  The jury is out on the cuff rolling.    I've also been seeing a lot of really large, chunky colorful necklaces which look great.

When was the last time you had a fashion epiphany?

I just bought another pair of boots with heels that I was afraid to wear because I had a feeling they would be really painful by the end of the day but my feet felt great all day long and I felt like the shoe gods were smiling down on me.  Maybe comfort and style can live in harmony after all?

What is your favorite High brand? And your low brand? How do you mix high and low?

I have a black pinstriped jacket from Elie Tahari with red silk cuffs that I am in love with.  I dress it down with Lucky jeans and boots.

What is your go-to uniform for a day of work? The weekend?

My best pair of jeans, boots, fitted jacket, and scarf.  And most importantly layers - because my offices are either freezing cold or steamy hot, depending on the day, so I have to always be prepared for both!  Also, as a freelancer, I see a broad range in wardrobe: I find that women in smaller, more independent production offices dress casually while in some of the more corporate offices I've worked in, women tend to go all out with heels and dresses.    The weekend - I like wear some crazier things I might not wear to work like silver polka dots or rainbow striped tights.

What is your favorite ILR piece and why?

I love the leather wrap cuff.   It is right up my alley of grownup tom-boy style and the color choices are perfect!

Who are your style icons?

Gwen Stefani, Twiggy, Michelle Obama

What are you living in these days?

Yellow Anthropologie jeans  and some new short brown boots.

What I love about....July