according to caroline

It was about five years ago that Isaac Mizrahi debuted his first collection for our favorite of chain stores, Target. Yes, it was a shock at the time and I, as a fourteen year old girl could not resist. My mother and I drove to our nearest store in Charleston, West Virginia to stock up. These pieces were like treasures in my wardrobe--my first with a real name on them. The most memorable, an infra-red rain coat, boxy in construction, perfectly proportioned and lined with white polka dots on the inside. This, a piece that I still wear to this day, especially on those oh so rainy spring days as an intern, ironically at Isaac Mizrahi couture. Did he know he was sparking a design revolution at the time? I'm not so sure, but I'd like to dedicate this post as a retrospective to all of my favorite designers who have held temporary stints at Target since. 

Paul and Joe, 2005: All a girl really wants is some great French fashion--after all, it's those ladies who we admire most when it comes to effortless style. I still wear my sea-foam green and ivory cable-knit caplet. 

Luella Bartley, 2006: The commercial, as you may remember, took us around London with beautiful girls in these undeniably British clothes and charming little accents. My favorite piece: a strapless tuxedo-esque bodiced party dress with an endlessly poofy skirt.

Patrick Robinson, 2007: One of the less public collections, this one was insanely flirty, gorgeously earthy and visually luxurious.

Proenza Schouler, 2007: Perhaps the most memorable for me, this one was unmistakedly Proenza. These boys have all the girls squealing with excitement from season to season, myself included, and this Target collection was no exception.

Erin Fetherston, 2007: Oh so girly, deliciously cut and with a recurring heart motif that was nothing short of adorable--not only is she is cutest designer around, her clothes are too.

Thakoon, 2008: As if the Michelle Obama buzz wasn't enough to have us swooning, this collection certainly got the flame going. The spotty floral print on black is to die for, as are all of the prints for that matter.

Alexander McQueen, 2009: Perhaps the very most anticipated, this Central Saint Martins alum pleased us all with a razor sharp edge and the delightfully clever ads--the collection modeled on wide-eyed Blythe dolls.

Anna Sui, 2009: So maybe this one hasn't quite happened yet (due out in September), Ms. Sui has dedicated the entire collection to the four leading ladies of Gossip Girl. Two of our favorite things--GG and Anna Sui, all wrapped up in one short little dress!

Let us not forget that there are many other designers to be recognized in this bunch, and many more to come in the future. May Target always remain our style utopia. 

And I'd like to thank Mr. Mizrahi infinitely for being such an inspiration to our pockets and our wardrobes. Although he is no longer with Target, I insist that you check out the amazing things he's doing for Liz Claiborne.

photos courtesy of: Target

I have a theme song. Every time I conduct an interview, that's the only question that remains constant. So maybe I wake up to Someday by The Strokes everyday and maybe for you it's something totally different. There are just some songs that I associate with certain people, D.A.N.C.E by Justice for my friend Laura, anything by Ferraby Lionheart for Ellen, yet that seems to be the toughest question to answer. Well, my friends, perhaps there's a perfect song for everything. 

You're walking down the street and it's sunny: Young Folks/Peter Bjorn and John

It's a boring day and you're stuck behind a desk: Learn to Lose/ Hockey

You need a vacation: Paris is Burning/Ladyhawke

Today is Thursday and you're staying home for the night: Underneath Gold/ Black Before Red

You wish it was summer and you were driving a convertible with no place to go: How Bizarre/OMC

Maybe you're in New York City for only a night and you're dressing up for a night out: She's Expensive/The Virgins

I asked a few friends with good taste to tell me what their theme song of the moment is:

Abbie: Love Game/Lady Gaga--It's so up-beat and fun. I just want to dance

Luis: Just Like Heaven--It's simply beautiful

Otis: There's No Home For You Here/ The White Stripes

Laura: Jai Ho/ A. R Rahman--It makes me feel like I'm in India. It's AWESOME.

Lindsey: Impetuous Me/ The Apathy Eulogy--It's pretty much my life right now. 

Gillian: Wonderwall/Oasis--It reminds me of summer and I never get tired of hearing it.

Molly: Richman/3OH!3--It's way fun to dance to and get pumped up to.

Chelsea: Young Folks/Peter Bjorn and John--Whenever I listen to it, it makes me want to jump around and to me is like the essence of the young years. 

There you have it, the kids just want to dance.

Please now, music lovers of the world, use your music to your best advantage, your ears and your soul will thank you. 

photo courtesy of: ladyhawke, our favorite songstress

The best thing about art in New York is Chelsea on a sunny Saturday afternoon and after many Saturdays of gallery hopping and art admiring I've got one that I just HAVE to share with you...and it's Tony Oursler's Cell Phones Diagrams Cigarette Searches and Scratch Cards at Metro Pictures until April 11th.

There is something about viewing art, especially in a gallery. You walk in and usually don't know what you're in for as the windows are probably frosted and you maybe haven't heard of the artist. Your first impression is one of two: you're either underwhelmed or incredibly exhilerated. At the point you choose to venture further and explore the walls of the space or you take a few glances and move on. By the time you're finished three or four blocks of spaces you've got a temporary catalog of work in your mind, with usually no more than two or three stand-outs--the ones worth taking notes on and re-visiting. Tony Oursler was just that. I've been back twice now and I'll tell you why...

So many artists are experiementing with lights and projection. Performance art is working its way back as a force in the industry just as film is also. The thing is, ones eyes can only appreciate so many neon light fixtures or trippy projections on a white wall. When you walk into the first room at Metro Pictures the immediate environment is one of a bizarre and distiurbing playhouse where you are initially greeted by ceiling high pillars with images of buring cigarettes projected onto them. They continue to burn to the floor, and the subtle sound effect put you in a smoky trance. After weaving through the room you continue on to a twitching face on a dollar bill, a womans talking face and a hole in the wall--peer into that wall and you'll see a little house with little white people moving about and interacting with eachother. All of that--and it's just made up of lights and images meticulously projected onto white objects. Strategically placed pieces fill the walls, corners and empty spaces of three room. In the final on you're confronted with three giant scratch cards on the floor with an imainary hand scraping away at the paper. Oh how fun it is.

If you happen to be in the neighborhood, I nearly demand you visit this spectacle--you haven't a clue what you're actually in for. And if you're already in New York and haven't spent much time exploring the recent art scene, shame on you--there are an infinate number of amazing things happening.

photo courtesy of Metro Pictures.

It's a curious topic really: the band opening for a major performer, the preface of a book, the various notes in the front or back of a magazine, the artist in the smaller room in the gallery. There's this whole sort of cultural sub-culture of openers and unforgettable supporters. 

I've lived in New York City for about two months now, and by far the most amazing part of it are the musical opportunities for a listener like myself. My perfect night out is a good show here in the Village or in Williamsburg then some sort of happy adventure afterward. The funny thing is that for most of the shows I've been too I've been most impressed with the opening band rather than the main attrations. Example: Born Ruffians opening for Tokyo Police Club, Nickel Eye opening for the Raveonettes (okay, not quite--but nothing is better than a Stroke on stage), Ferraby Lionheart opening for Noah and the Whale. The list goes on. And on the 21st Matt & Kim opens for Cut Copy--thus being the initial reason why I bought the ticket. To me, the opening act is perhaps the most important part of a show--without a good one the mood is destroyed and the listeners are left scarred by the sounds of a weak amateur.

It's actually quite terrible.

The same goes for many things. Andrea Zittel has a show going on right now at the Andrea Rosen Gallery. When I visit the 24th street gallery soon after it opened I was quite unimpressed but instead more affected by David Hesidence's Rose Laughter: Winter Holiday--a limited series of paintings, all in alizerin crimson presented in the smaller room in the back of the space.

People say that the firsts are usually an artists best work, espcially for musicians and film directors. But I'd like to believe that's false.

photo: that's the original cover of the Strokes first (and considered best) album, Is this it--not the less racy US version--a close-up of particles in a bubble chamber.

For some people it takes decades to find their calling. For others it comes naturally.  For Chrissie White, it's almost automatic.

While searching the net recently, I came across something unusual: a fifteen year old girl who takes photos better than just about anyone I've seen. Not only that--she also has an enormous internet following on her flickr page and numberous blog posts featuring her emotional and raw portraits of American life.

It seems that this girl, as interesting as she seems, gets bored by normal teenage life easily.  She embarked on a project where she took one photo every week and is constantly uploading something new...including a series of new installation projects done in her own home. Chrissie collaborates with her friend Clara and uses her own  friends as models. This girl was perhaps born in the wrong generation as she creates landscapes of an older time. Vintage clothes, dreamy landscapes and free-spirited beauty...oh how lovely! It all looks like something straight out of an Anthropologie catalog.

Yes, she is only fifteen, and that certainly comes as an enormous surprise as her work shows signs of immense training and experience. The only indication of her age are her semi-self conscious comments that she writes about her photos...it's good to know that this girl is actually human.

These two are perhaps my favorites, however, with the seemingly infinite amount of frames that she's added online, it's nearly impossible to choose as they are all mezmerizing and interesting to the eye. This girl, in her oh so young age knows what she's doing. She's got a very definitive style to her work...something that most artists don't develope until they're quite seasoned.

For the time being, Chrissie is stuck in Washington...that's a feeling I know much too well. Eventually she'll leave, come to New York City like all dreamers do and hopefully gain the recognition she deserves. In the meantime, I hope she'll keep doing what she does best--creating awe-inspiring depictions of what goes on in that young mind of hers.

check out her viewbook: http://chrissiewhite.viewbook.com/portfolio#/12/

and her flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/prettypony/