Ruffles and Scrumbles!

Okay so I know the Pipeline kind of beat me to the chase on this one, but I was super psyched to see all of the crocheting happening during fashion month! It definitely makes me feel more validated for sitting in my room for hours, aimlessly making granny squares (and circles and hexagons and triangles.) Here are some of my faves!

Rodarte


Missoni


Hussein Chalayan



(Images from Style.com)

Mew Mew!

Where oh where do I even begin? Miuccia Prada slapped cat prints (and a few choice brooches) on just about everything in her Miu Miu show today. I am particularly excited about about the shoes and I will do whatever it takes to get my hands on a (steeply discounted) pair. This probably means obsessive trips to Century 21 or Loehmann's or whatever but I know that it will be worth it. Because if I don't, they will wind up in that little corner of my mind where all the clothes that I should of bought but didn't live. I wince whenever I think about those things. It's kind of like remembering embarrassing moments from middle school. I refuse to let the cat print Miu Miu platforms join the Eley Kishimoto ostrich cardigan, the ocelot peacoat from a vintage store in Roswell, that XXL polyester muumuu with glittery kitten appliques from Value World. Over my dead body.

Lifesize Liberty

Purveyor of all things floral and dainty, Liberty has taken their prints to a new level by covering their Carnaby street store in the famous "Betsy" print. To make things even more adorable, Liberty lovers are encouraged to dress in their finest florals and gather under the store on August 13th at 6pm. Aside from a bit of history in the making, the best outfits will be rewarded!



These darling sunglasses will be available for purchase tomorrow, the perfect topper for your floral ensemble. In my book, there's nothing wrong with a little head-to-toe libertysplosion!

Secret Garden

Love this subtle kitty flecked floral rug and the price makes it even better! Seriously, is it me or are cats dominating the design scene this year? Maybe I'm just noticing because I've been on the lookout but it's kinda making my heart explode...







WANT!

Cat Fancy: Kittens in Paradise

A few weeks ago I went to an afternoon barbecue and was overcome with jealousy when I spotted this amazing dress on my friend Diana. This beauty actually blows my mind; kittens playing/screaming in an island paradise? Genius! I offered her a very pretty penny for it but she politely declined. Oh well, I guess I'll just need to become a textile designer so I can make amazing prints like these (Joanna are you out there?).





Just to clarify the kittens are not silk-screened on, they are a part of the print and pop up in a few other locations on the back of the dress. I just can't believe that this fabric ended up on a cute day dress, rather than a muu-muu the size of Texas. Although I guess it would be cool to find this fabric made into a giant muu-muu because you could maybe transform it into a dress, purse and scarf. Wow. Thrift store find of the year!

Textile Geek: Louise Goldin

I am trying to refrain from fashion week overload here at Cat Party, but I cannot resist talking about Louise Goldin's new collection. I haven't been this excited about knitwear since discovering Clare Tough. These complex, fully fashioned knit pieces combine many techniques that are familiar to me (as a fellow machine knitter), and they are used together in a wonderful, beautiful, exciting way.

Rowan Knits: Swallows and Amazons

Hidden treasure! Bria Phillips, lovely owner of Le Train Bleu was kind enough to share this awesome knitting book featuring a super young (and super adorable) Kate Moss. The inspiration for the collection was the children's book Swallows and Amazons, published in 1930 by Arthur Ransome. Stylist Karen Harrison created a beautiful story, it's amazing to find such a treat in a knitwear pattern book. More recently, she has been working for Toast (http://www.toast.co.uk/) and making everything look dreamy as usual.

I know I'm probably not the only one who's considering the cool factor of fuchsia waffle-knit hotpants.

"Oh, soon we'll hear the Old Man say,
Leave her, Johnny, leave her.
You can go ashore and take your pay,
It's time for us to leave her.
Leave her, Johnny, leave her like a man,
Leave her, Johnny, leave her.
Oh leave her, Johnny, leave her when you can,
It's time for us to leave her."

Textile Geek!

I am always ridiculously overcome with joy when I see a designer use a technique I've learned about in school. In the Fall 2007 Balenciaga collection there were some beautiful dresses (pictured below) which perfectly utilized a dyeing technique called Ikat (pronounced eee-kaht.) Ikat is very complex and delicate and involves dyeing or painting the yarn before it is woven with.




Here is a crazy old Indonesian textile that uses Ikat!

Is that guy getting his junk eaten by a lobster!? I feel bad for him!!