Pink, The Panther

I'm honestly still pretty pumped about the color pink. Of course, per usual with spring and summer comes my attraction to florals. I like to blame the fact that I'm a May Baby for that attraction, but really, i'm literally the last two days of May, so it's probably more of me being a cliché. I don't mind it one bit. I may fall hard in lust for the florals, but it's very rare I fall this hard on the pink.

While Fendi may have made me nostalgically think of The Queen herself, Ms. Spears-- Gucci is giving me a post-pubescent excitement. Their campaign itself takes me back to 70's & 80's slasher films and  their tasteless, yet memorable, objectification of women portraying teenage girls. Why does my mind immediately go there, you ask? Well...

...I guess these images just take me back to any Friday the 13th film; getting high, smoking cigarettes in the high school locker on the last day of school. The machista jock getting upset with his prude girlfriend, the virgin, who no doubt lives through it all-- damaged but, alive.

I'm not a total psychopath, but I sure do have a way of connecting the dots, well...my dots at least.

 

Baby Spice

I really stopped caring for the color pink sometime in 2006. It was no longer as exciting, shocking or surprising to see a guy in a pink, and to be quite honest I truly felt the color belonged to the one and only, Paris Hilton. Which, if you ask me, is still accurate (sorry LVP).

A couple months ago I began to feel a tingle in myself when I'd see a powder puff pink out on the streets. Whether it was a pink fur pom-pom on someone's backpack or the very popular Fenty Puma slipper. You know exactly which one I'm talking about. No shade, but at the same time it also felt a little contrived. Like everyone was trying to be shocking in their pink when the trend at the time was an olive bomber jacket and neutral statement pieces. Well, guess what? It fucking worked.

I am currently on a hunt for an all pink weekend ensemble, and possible powder pink beard, because yes-- i always go that extra step to be, well... extra. There's a good chance I'll settle for a pale pink short sweatsuit or even a preppy pink short and polo, at this point all I want for the summer are florals, pinks and a bad attitude. In light of this mood I decided to stick my nose in some magazines and look for something that made me sigh in relief, and of course, I found it.

Fund's Spring 2017 RTW has given me all of the nostalgia of Britney Spears 1999 Rolling Stone shoot and 70's Lolita flair, which really, should be the new sexy. I'm tired of these video vixens inspired looks. Give the world an overly innocent look and we'll find a way to make it naughty.

 You might also be asking yourself, so...why the random mention of the Fenty Puma slipper? Well, because as much as I loved it and felt that was pretty spectacular, we all have to remember we saw it with Celine first, and then Puma remixed it, but I think Zizi Donohoe perfected it in mink, and you can quote me on that.

Banking on Banks

A few of years ago I was lucky enough to see The Weeknd in concert at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles during his The Fall tour, he had only two opening acts which he interchanged between cities: Banks and Hasley. I had the pleasure to have Banks as the opening act at our show.

Banks, who's real name is Jillian Rose Banks, came onto the stage in a simple all black ensemble and began to put her spell on the crowd with her melancholy sound. Heavy in bass with deep R&B roots, she swayed and poured herself onto us. I was immediately entranced. I am a sucker for a sad girl and Banks was singing her broken heart to us that night. It was beautiful and, like I said before, entrancing. 

Enough about my falling in obsesssion with her, let's get to why I'm writing about her to begin with. Ms. Banks is releasing a new album at the end of this month (9/30), the album is entitled The Altar. The first single she released for this album was "Fuck with myself" which I will admit, sort of threw me off, especially compared to her first full length album Goddess. In this song she isn't just haunting us, she is really playing with our ears and her vocals...almost as in taunting lunacy. It's glorious, if you ask me...

 

I encourage you all to give her a whirl, and if you've already heard of her but never really got into her, or you didn't realize she was coming back... go dip into The Altar...

And don't pass up a chance to watch and listen to Gemini Feed, a single of hers that I absolutely consider to be a signature Banks.

Summer Night Dreams

I'm not much of a Spring or Summer fan, mainly because the Spring kicks my allergies up into full gear and I turn a year older in May; the Summer is just a flat out nightmare. I don't get a Summer break like I once did as a wee lad, all I get now is 40 hour work weeks and unbearable heat. With that being said, I hardly ever go wild for Spring/Summer lines because there's a good chance I'm not looking forward to it. I do, however, appreciate a good look when I see one and these days I have been really feeling billowing blouses and gowns, and don't get me started on my love affair with linen. Oh these summer night dreams...

Rachel Zoe - S/S '16

 

 

The Row - S/S '16

 

 

Billy Reid - Spring '16

 

 

Cadet - Spring '17

Heartbreak Boys

I'm always looking for new artists and music for my listening pleasure, and one of my favorite tools to do so has been Spotify's "Discover Weekly Playlist." They usually update it for every user on Tuesdays, I believe, I could be wrong so don't quote me. Anyway- this playlist has helped me on my quest for new music time and time again. This last month it introduced me to the trio LANY.

LANY is a Los Angeles based group that was formed in Nashville Tennessee. They have a very warm pop sound with lots of heartbreak. It reminds me of high school sweethearts and college romances that start with so much potential and end in heartbreak. Now, I don't want to make them sound like an emo band, because they are definitely not that. They have created a few upbeat songs with positive lyrics and vibes, but it's their 3rd EP, Make Out, that really got me loving them. Their hit song "ILYSB" (I love you so bad) is what sold me on the band.

If you like the sounds of Troye Sivan, Passion Pit, HAIM and even a little bit of Michael Jackson- you're gonna love LANY.

Bombs Away

I know it's summertime and I know that here on the westside we haven't had much of a fall or winter in a couple years now. Last summer was a record high for us in Southern California, but I can't help it, I'm a sucker for a good jacket. I'm sure some of you remember the crazy bomber craze last fall, everyone was going nuts over the olive and black bomber that Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid were seen wearing around town.

I personally felt a wave of nostalgia when I saw the images of them casually yet chicly. I was taken back to my obsession with vintage Members Only bombers that were once all the rage. I used to spend weekends hunting for the right one, only to settle for a slightly ill-fitting knock off. The Bomber craze is still pretty strong almost a year after it first re-hit our jacket-loving hearts, with several brands and designers creating their own take on the classic jacket.

Like Daniel Patrick with his Kimono take on the Bomber and a Sherpa bomber.

 

Or I Love Ugly's blue satin Coach Bomber which can be found at Revolve (see link).

Native Youth has a sweet faux suede Brushed Bomber also available at Revolve (see link). 

 

New brands have even arisen from this trend like the L.A. based brand, M.A.P.  with their pastels, velvet and embroidered Bombers, you'll feel sultry and chic as fuck.

And by all means, don't be afraid of a good printed bomber, it'll only show off some personality.