Introducing ‘The Many Sides’ A New Destination for Edgy, Indie + Global Fashion

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If it’s one thing I love, it would have to be supporting independent + edgy designers + the site ‘The Many Sides‘ (TMS), does just that but with their own special twist.  Besides it’s founder Rita Sheath’s previous occupation in corporate, with a stint in PR, she has an impeccably well-edited eye for design, from apparel to accessories.

I had a chance to pick Rita’s brain on what makes ‘The Many Sides’ unique + necessary + here’s what she had to say.  

CY: With so many fashion blogs out there, what would you count as your  checklist to make it unique + stand out?

RS: I think while its obviously important to think about what your readers would find interesting, I do think that what makes a blog unique is the voice of the writer so ultimately you have to find your voice + try + make that carry through the content + style of the blog.

CY: How do you decide on which indie designers to carry?  Do they approach you or vice versa?

RS: I always look for clothing + design that makes me think. it sounds strange but I like the designer to be inspiring in some way, thoughtful in their construction, that have a message they tell through their clothes + to see a common thread that ties the collections together in a cohesive way. I also pay a lot of attention to quality manufacturing + attention to detail. I have been approached by designers but I also seek designers out if I like their work.

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CY: Would you say picking clothing is a lot easier than accessories?  Why?

RS: No they are both difficult. Actually accessories can sometimes be harder – its hard to make truly unique  accessories but still pay attention to durability + wearability.

CY: Other than an eye for fashion, do you have any other talents, like as a photographer, stylist et al?

RS: I do dabble in a bit of photography + I like styling – the blog has styling tips + I think thats important. I used to spend a lot of my youth working for both high street shops + designers brands from Dior to Prada + so I learned on the shop floor about merchandising, styling, customer service + other retail tasks which have come in very useful. 

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CY: Name three of your favorite designers + why?

RS: I would have to say that the designers I feature are some of my favorite. I only feature clothes I would like to wear + own myself. But if you are talking about established labels I like Mary Katrantzou, JW Anderson + of course Prada – but there are so many talented designers its hard to choose just three! ( I feel her pain!)

CY: Did these fave designers play a role in picking your merch?

RS: To an extent yes – i think what they have in common is that they are all exceptionally creative, edgy + appeal to style risk takers. They experiment with color + pattern, textures + cut in really interesting ways which is something I find really exciting.

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CY: How old is TMS?

RS: We just launched it this year.

CY: What are your short term + long term goals for TMS?

RS: I would like to carry on adding exciting, unique fashion pieces for women that like to express themselves through their style. Maybe in the future we may do a capsule collection of our own – who knows! 

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CY: What three items do you consider timeless + why?  Feel free to add more if you so decide.

RS: Definitely the white shirt – which is an absolute classic but doesn’t need to be boring – we have two styles right now that have a little edge to them. Leather Jacket – again if you have a good one it never goes out of style + goes with everything! The last one I would say is your favorite piece of jewelry – something that says something about you + reflects your personality. That’s why women love jewelry – its so personal! I like pendants but a ring also can be that special piece.

CY: Your ‘match + clash’ style sensibility, is this a personal style mantra of yours?

RS: Haha, no not exactly a mantra. What I mean by that is that too often people buy things to match something else + then they are wedded to wearing it in exactly that same combination. But I think what is fun about fashion is that you can combine items in new ways to create a totally different look + i want to encourage people to take some risks + have some fun! 

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CY: That said, what do you love to match + clash?

RS: I love combining textures like leather trousers + a cashmere top. I also love mixing hard + soft like a pretty dress with masculine boots. When combining prints you have to be a little careful – you need to find a common thread to unite the look. I have done a post on this using Solange as an example (above). Styling is a lot about balance – you need to make sure the look is balanced even though it might not ‘match’ in the technical sense.

CY: Do you think celebrities have ruined fashion + why?

RS: No! I love celebs! I think they have brought more attention to fashion + what we wear and I think celebrating design + workmanship (like celebs recently wearing more Balmain) is a good thing. I think that is great as long as people realize they don’t need to copy them but to use it more as an inspiration to wear what they want in a way that expresses themselves + not be like everyone else.image

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CY: TMS is still fairly small – ever planning on including shoes?

RS: Yes totally! If there are shoe designers out there that would like to work with me send me a message!

For more on ’The Many Sides’, click here + buy yourself a holiday gift – you deserve it!

Minimalist Shirts With The Subtle Hint Of Surprise

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The thing I love the most about the simple white shirt is how easily it can take on more personalities than the most fragmented of selves.  But Nendo‘s two shirt collections have pieces that are special in how they can wear themselves without the use of much, if not the shirt itself.

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The men’s ‘Fuse’ collection includes five different designs, described by Nendo Studio as ‘a men’s shirt collection born from the concept of gently fusing things found around shirts into the shirt itself’, like the tie above being integrated into the final design.  At plain sight, it looks like a separate tie of the same color + fabric, yet, it’s attached to the shirt.  I usually hate things that come with attachments, like a patch of fabric attached to the deep plunge of a sweater, making it look like a peeking camisole, but in this case, I totally approve.

Nendo told dezeen,’Things ‘fused’ include accessories like neckties + sweaters worn with shirts, as well as products often found close to shirts such as glasses + pens (above, pic 1).  We made an effort to include details that would seem ordinary at first glance, but bring surprise when viewed more closely,’ + who doesn’t love stylish surprises?

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Then the blank canvas of the shirt is altered with motifs taken from stationery pattern markings.  You have stripes that align with a ruler + then you have a checkered pattern mimicking graphic paper.

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For the women’s collection, the cuff links below are used to assemble the shirt.  Influenced by the accessories typically used to fasten the cuffs of men’s dress shirts was then reiterated as the idea for the plackets, where you get a 3D effect of sorts.

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The ‘Cufflinks’ series includes four designs, with the first using colorful fastenings at the top of a simple shirt.  A wavy placket formed by offsetting the cufflinks creates a detail on another shirt as seen below.

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The second, the bottom of a long shirt doubles back like a dress shirt cuff + joined at the side in a similar fashion.imageThe final design has a turtle-neck collar designed to look like a cuff, with the fastening to one side + more buttons along the yoke.  This collar reminds me of a pete pan collar that shifted throughout the day, to just chill on your shoulder.

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Nendo Studio told dezeen that ‘a variety of buttons in different colors were used so that wearers can change the ‘cufflinks’ colors according to their mood – bringing one of the traditional pleasures of wearing cufflinks to these shirts, too.’ 

(via dezeen)

KOSLAK Mixes Old Craftsmanship With Modern + Edgy Design For PROJECT: ZSHI’ (4) THE CRAFT OF MY ANCESTORS

PROJECT: ZSHI’ (4) THE CRAFT OF MY ANCESTORS by KOSLAK, combines traditional craftsmanship with contemporary design + edgy fashion, to create unique wooden pieces that not only talk about the people from the Ladakh region, but also about their hopes + their Buddhist beliefs.  Utilizing the special skills from the local Ladakh craftsmen + using traditional Buddhist motifs as the foundation of most of their designs, each KOSLAK piece appears to carry a sense of an old world amulet with the ability to ward off evil, like ‘The Silver Druk Necklace‘ below.

imageThis hand-carved wooden neck piece with two dragons guarding the dharma wheel, is suspended from a pure Silver chain. The piece, made of Himalayan wood is finished with a dark black glossy wood finish.  I would so wear this neck piece backwards with a back baring look.

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Then you have ‘The Auspicious Chos’ Khor Wooden Bag‘ below, designed to be used as a minimal accessory bag.  The CHOS’ KHOR, meaning The Dharma Wheel, is skillfully hand carved with two dragons guarding it.  The wheel has eight spokes, representing the Eight fold Path of Buddhism.  This bag would definitely be a timeless addition to anyone’s accessory arsenal.

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What’s even better about this project is how 10% of sale proceeds go directly to the artisans in Ladakh.

For your very own KOSLAK original piece, you can go to Wowcracy for purchase.

Secretly, I’ve always wanted to be a DJ + or producer.  Some of you might think that one doesn’t have to do with the other, but, the latter is simply an organic progression, if you’re any good.  Now, why didn’t I pursue that dream, you ask?  Simply, money.  To be the best I needed a lot of different tracks from so many different genres, just to find my own voice + style,  + that was when it was sounding more + more expensive.

But, am I unhappy to not have followed in that path?  Not terribly, but often, I wish I could create remixes out of thin air especially when I hear a good track that I know can be that much better, with a tweak or two.  I rather leave it to those a lot more skilled like in this exclusive clip above of ‘I’m Tryin To Tell Ya’, the footwork documentary by Tim + Barry featuring DJ Earl with ‘Beat This’.  To see DJ Earl start with a few sounds, playing around with their tempo + creating layers on top of layers on top layers, is just amazing, when you hear it all together as one cohesive piece.  Now, it’s not a mind-blowing + complex piece of work, but a lot of the time, simplicity is a lot harder to achieve well, like my man DJ Earl does here.

The documentary started in 2012, documenting Chicago’s Footwork Scene which according to Purple is ‘a scene ingrained in the lineage of the City itself, filled with effervescent dancers, storytellers + beat makers. The documentary features key players on the scene, such as DJ Rashad, DJ Spinn, Manny, Traxman + Arpebu.’

Click here to view the full length documentary.

Enjoy!

(via PURPLE)

David Gulden Captures An Animal’s Personality Through His Wildlife Portraits

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In the book’s foreword, short story writer + novelist Susan Minot says ‘We rarely see wild animals as individuals, for lack of a better word, personalities,’ which is precisely what is captured in ‘The Centre Cannot Hold’ by David Gulden, published by Glitterati Incorporated as black + white portraits.  With Gulden’s innate passion for simply wanting to take photographs that no one else had taken before, it took him no more than the last fifteen years to live up to that dream by placing himself + his camera ‘in the right spot at the right time for the story that nature wants to reveal.’ 

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Many would agree, thanks to programming by the Discovery and Nat Geo Wild channels, that there is always magic happening somewhere in the wilderness.  But when looking at the various images shot by Gulden, you’re emotions run wild (couldn’t help it!) on seeing such majesty + beauty each animal possesses, frozen in time.  Then of course, your jaw drops numerous times, in trying to figure out how David managed to capture wildlife in his own unique way.  Now it goes without saying that David, being the genius that he is, created DIY equipment to be at the ready to capture up close + personal pics of his unsuspecting wild subjects.

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But Gulden also manages to photograph his surroundings with the same focus, like this piece of wood below, almost giving the viewer the illusion they are looking at some animal’s wrinkled skin.  ‘The Centre Cannot Hold’ by David Gulden, published by Glitterati Incorporated is a book that will definitely bring countless smiles every time you open it, for to see David Gulden’s arrestingly beautiful wildlife photographs, over + over, just gets you that much closer to being with the animal side by side.

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‘The Centre Cannot Hold’ by David Gulden, published by Glitterati Incorporated is available for purchase at glitteratiincorporated.com.

Santa Goes Designer For The Holidays

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As old school as he looks, the folks over at Joint London reimagined Claus as a modern fashionista, had he been created by Coca Cola. Still bearing his Norman Rockwell-ish painted face, he was styled with only the best + hottest fashion brands around including a Kenzo hat, an Alexander Wang ensemble + plenty more.  But don’t get it twisted, my man Santa is decked out from head to toe in all his looks, like seen here in Hood By Air.

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But if you’re not the kind to buy holiday cards complete with artificial sentiments + cheesy imagery, you can download all of the cards, like the one above, to print out for yourself just by paying with a tweet or Facebook status message.  

Now how’s that for Santa giving back?!

(via FAST COMPANY)