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Jessica : Cracked-leather paneled shorts , Ambient Viscose Blazer, Puckered Lace Cami Top all by Helmut Lang

Cracked-leather paneled shorts, Ambient Viscose Blazer, Puckered Lace Cami Top all by Helmut Lang

Jessica: Combo Cracked Leather Jacket in Black

Combo Cracked Leather Jacket in Black

Rachel : Mid-rise jersey-panel legging jeans

Graphite-print jersey tunic

As promised, here are a few more outfits from Helmut Lang, three pieces of which I was able to get commentary on directly from the designers Michael and Nicole Colovos.

In the first photo, Jessica is wearing a pair of Cracked Leather Panel Shorts. Inspiration for these was derived from an old pair of military shorts. Cut up lines, added seams, and plays on the pocket size break the piece away from a classic military aesthetic and add that signature Helmut Lang modern, architectural touch . The idea was to make them a luxurious pair of shorts with a beaten up texture, hence the "cracked" name.

In the second series, Jessica is wearing the Combo Cracked Leather Jacket designed to be worn as a modern sweatshirt. The expensive cracked leather dresses the jacket "up" and the jersey simultaneously dresses it "down" via the comfort factor of a traditional sweatshirt material. The theme of contrast --one the Coloveses work with often -- is evident with the 3D texture of the cracked leather when displaced against the flat jersey fabric. While it's designed as a leather jacket, it's still not so precious that you can't dress it down.

In the second series, Rachel is wearing signature Helmut Lang denim/jersey legging jeans, best summed up in one word CONTRAST--a recurring theme in the Colovoses designs. Contrast the texture and wash of the denim with the flat jersey fabric. Contrast the the traditional workman fabric (western wear) made modern via sinewy lines for flow. Contrast traditional plain stitched denim with denim that has interesting wavy visuals, a result of the curvy jersey/denim stitching. It all flows together on the body for comfort and maximum visual interest.

It was a pleasure to meet and greet with everyone at the Helmut Lang team. All the way from Holly and Shaye straight to the Colovoses themselves. Thanks!

Helmut Lang cropped stretch leather leggings.

Merlin Spie's "La petite musette, casquée (2002)", the inspiration behind the Helmut Lang Stain Print chiffon top

Helmut Lang cropped stretch leather leggings, zipper detail

Helmut Lang Inferno Print, seams draw the eye in

Helmut Lang Skull Print dress

Helmut Lang Skull Print dress

While you may have seen Helmut Lang designs on Beyonce or Blake Lively it's not often that we associate Helmut Lang with the word PRINT. Recently I had the privilege of spending about 20 minutes with Helmut Lang's designers Michael and Nicole Colovos to figure out what the inspiration was behind a few pieces in their collection.

In the first photo, Celia is wearing a red chiffon top inspired by Belgian performance artist Merlin Spie's "La petite musette, casquée (2002)" In that image above, the person is facing a wall and breathing with the assistance of special diving head gear; yet, she has a cigarette in her right hand. It all symbolizes the passing of time. Michael mentioned how images like this help him recognize his mortality and inspire him to live and embrace life to the fullest. The seams on the back bring the eye in and the nude colors help soften the profoundness of the variant hues of reds. It's instances like these, where you get to sit with the designers, that you are filled with a passion and reverence for their art.

You also see that Celia is wearing the cropped "strech leather leggings". The seams on these were designed to "bring the eye in" with their "sinewy" and "architectural" weaves. They have some really cool zippers in the back too right above the ankles. I imagine you could have some fun playing with those. Some models I've talked that were wearing Helmut Lang mentioned how comfortable the strech leather pants were, an express goal of the Coloveses when they designed them.

The Skull Print dress actually obtains it's initial inspiration from X-rays and pictures from various medical journals. The result is an abstract collage, fine tuned to add a special color element that breaks the color down. It's not black, it's not white, and it doesn't have strips of colors either. The textured shades of grey (or red in the Inferno Print) result in a distinctive mood that's enhanced by the softness of the fabric it's made out of. Instead of being straight down, there are gatherings of fabric around the waistline, draping the body in beautiful curves where curves are wanted. It's made out of 2 light layers, the inner layer holding the outer layer's gatherings in place.

I think I left the Helmut Lang studio on cloud 9 as my depth of appreciation for their labor of love was awakened. This is just the first in a 2 part series, so stay tuned for more!

It is a morning when my twins are at basketball practice.

Alexis and I are home alone, as Little Billy had gone to work on this day with his Daddy.

I am in a rush, as I have to go pick the girls up at their school and I scream down the stairs, "Alexis - you have to come and get ready to go. I'm going to pull out your clothes and you need to come and get dressed."

She heard what I said and yelled back, "I'll pick out something - I want to pick it out," and she came running up the stairs as fast as she could run - so as to catch me before I picked out her clothes.

I stopped looking in her closet and turned to leave her room. I turned back and said, "Okay - but don't pick out anything WEIRD - just pick out some pants and a shirt."

As I was walking down the hallway I heard her say, "What do you mean 'Anything weird?'" in her little diva voice, like how-dare-I-insinuate-that-she-has-no-taste!

I just smiled.

On the upside ... She did okay picking out her outfit on this one day. But ... for future reference ... anything weird includes:

• Capri pants or shorts ... when it is 40 degrees outside.
• Flip-flops ... when it is 40 degrees outside.
• The brown sequined jacket - that should really not be worn ANYWHERE!
• Your white patent-leather Sunday shoes with anything other than your Sunday dresses.
• Your black patent-leather Sunday shoes with anything other than your Sunday dresses.
• Your leopard print gymnastics leotard with any sort of tutu.
• Your black cowboy boots with anything other than blue jeans.
• Any Princess dress from your dress-up trunk.
• Any pajama bottoms that sort-of look like pants.
• Blue or red or pink or purple bandannas wrapped around your head or waist or wrists or ankles...

Do I need to go on ...

As captured in Nolita during castings.

leather jacket -- Charlotte Ronson
leather pants -- Preen
boots -- Max Azria

Despite the relentless snow as pictured in this photo, blogger May Kasahara stuck to her guns and still wore some true designer pieces. To get a better view of her Balenciaga bag and to learn more about her fashion tastes, visit mayk all day every day .

leather jacket with epaulettes -- Balenciaga
bag -- Balenciaga
ring on right hand -- Vivienne Westwood
3.5" heeled boots -- Fornarina

When I was a kid ... we went to church all the time.

We went on Sunday mornings.

We went on Sunday afternoons.

We went on Sunday evenings.

We went on Wednesday evenings.

Billy and I have not been as diligent about taking our children to church.

But, we do go.

Just not every time the doors are open.

It's not easy getting the mom in the family up and going on Sunday mornings.

It's not easy getting 2 teenage girls up and going on Sunday mornings.

It's not easy getting a 10 year old boy, up and going and easily convinced to wear nice slacks and dress shoes - on Sunday mornings.

Alexis .... on the other hand.

She is up.

She has picked out her pretty dress and has it on, before the sun rises in the sky.

She has her ruffled socks and patent leather shoes and hair bow to match her dress and purse - ON!

She often wanders into her parent's bedroom - at the crack of Sunday-dawn ... stands beside her sleeping mother's bed - taps her mother on the shoulder - pushes her mother on the shoulder -- SCREAMS, "ARE WE GOING TO CHURCH - IT'S TIME TO GO TO CHURCH," like the loudest church bell you have ever heard!

On the upside ... I get up - we go! I often tell people that Alexis is our family's moral compass - these days, as she seriously loves going to church. I'm not sure if it's for the Sunday school lessons or ... because she just likes wearing all the going-to-church clothes. I also think she has a bit of a crush on her Sunday school teacher - as he always Oohs and Aahs over her when she walks in the classroom. It could also be those snacks. Whatever the motivation - I have to believe while she's there - she might just be learning a thing or two about God - that's good. It's okay if she likes to look pretty doing it.

Me ... I'm sooooooooo over the patent leather shoes. I do appreciate a nice little snack, though.

TREND for SS17: androgynous eyebrows, glamorous metallic eyes, slightly paled out natural skin tone via Pat McGrath. Glossy shine wet look hair via Guido Palau

While editors may have paid attention to how Jac moved to Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona's Te He Visto Pasar while on the runway at the SS17 Prada show, my curiosity made me wonder how she would've looked wearing her own leather jacket while moving to the other soundtrack Eins Fine Grand by It's A Fine Line -- which is what the musicians themselves refer to as non-conformist (and therefore a better match for her Off Duty look)

Hosted by Cecily and Mama Geek

It's true ----

I have lots of shoes.

I have shoes in just about every color.

I have flat shoes and tall shoes ...

I have lots of ... tall shoes.

And ... I have boots.

I have tons of boots - in brown leather and black leather and off white and tan and red and leopard print. Lots of boots.

I have shoes in polka dots and checks.

I have shoes adorned with rhinestones and sequins and gems.

I have not worn all the shoes I have.

There ---

I said it.

I buy them and sometimes I don't ever even wear them.

Like these purple shoes:

I bought these shoes last year for $10.00. I've never worn these purple shoes anywhere, but I had to buy them because ... they were only $10.00!

I have to say - these shoes don't look too awful bad in these photos, but in real life - they look like elf shoes. The toes are an odd point and the bows are tweed.

I have yet to wear these purple elf shoes, but ... I'm still keeping them - you never know when or where I might wear them.

I think shoes definitely make an outfit and can tell you an awful lot about a person.

(These are my Queen shoes - I wear them with my furs, diamonds and tiara - hee hee).

I LOVE these shoes. I also have them in black.

I am one of those people that you never know what shoes I might be wearing.

I am honestly toooo old to be wearing some of the shoes I choose to wear - but - I don't care - I still wear them.

I'm also probably toooo un-cool to be wearing some of the shoes I try to pull off - I don't care - I still wear them.

Then - there are those shoes I think are cool - that really aren't - and, my kids don't hesitate to let me know how lame they are.

I wear some shoes - honestly - that have way more personality than I do!

I do like shoes.

I have said it before - I do not have enough places or opportunities to ever wear all the shoes I own and yet ... I keep all of them and ... continue to bring home more shoes to add to my collection. One day ... my shoe closet is going to be so heavy that I am afraid it might just fall right through the floor into the garage below.

When that happens ...

I'll have to walk all the way downstairs ...

To get my shoes.

-

Yet another day in New York City that is cloudy and chilly. It made me think of this leather and lace tunic combo worn by Women Management's Dorothea. An easy way to mix masculine with feminine while on the run.

A birds eye view of the showroom. Note the oversized bean bags in the back that were provided for people to lounge in while watching James Dean's Rebel Without A Cause

Strong leather accessories were everywhere

a bag

jewelry

animal print platform loafers for her

belted shearling ankle boots for him

belted collar on winter coat

belted collar again, only this time not so visible

patent black leather belt

double strapped partial belt collar detail

food and beverages were served in abundance.

miniature POP champagne bottles were served by waiters

bartenders stayed busy by making Rebel Rouser cocktails, with Medea Vodka, white cranberry juice, topped with Sprite and white grape garnish

Medea Vodka bottles had a built in digital ticker tape that scrolled Kenneth Cole. Goody bags were given, each inscribed with a special Kenneth Cole message

Then Kenneth Cole showed up and people flocked around him.

Kenneth gave a brief talk on his collection and the event

Kenneth managed the usual obligatory photos with elegant aplomb. Here with Karen of Where Did You Get That (L) and Christina from Trop Rouge

And here with Sonia from Runway Hippie and Karl Edwin Guerre from Swagger360

Ingo Wilts, Kenneth Cole's Creative Director was also on hand to mingle and answer questions

Power bloggers were also present: including Style Caster and Connie Wang from Refinery29. WWD.com and Elle.com were also there to name a few.

After Kenneth talked, people mingled. Check out the "blogs love traffic" helmut, for use on a moped.

A giant Twitter screen updated itself in real time, dramatizing the speed and virability (sounds like a word!) at which information flows on the internet. Glamour.com's Tracey Lomrantz tweeting.

according to Runway Hippie, Kenneth Cole doesn't like french fries

after everyone mingled, people picked up popcorn (Lime Salt, Truffled Parmesan, or Cinnamon Butter) and prepared themselves for the movie.

witty sayings on the pillows

Rebel Without A Cause then played

waiters served refreshments during the movie

James Dean

THE END

Last night Kenneth Cole held his second consecutive Blogger event celebrating the roots behind Kenneth's FW2011 line as found in James Dean's Rebel Without a Cause. Bloggers enjoyed exclusive previews of Kenneth Cole's FW11 line at the Kenneth Cole studios on West 50th street.

The pictures pretty much tell the story. Clothes were admired, champagne was served, Kenneth Cole mingled with the bloggers, popcorn and refreshments were served, and people watched James Dean's Rebel Without A Cause. Thanks to the Kenneth Cole team for everything!

Bruna (Women, NY) chose to pair her leather shorts and rockin' ankle boots with a more feminine sheer Green shirt.

Denim top with leather shorts as seen at Milan Fashion Week.

Erin appeared alongside model icon Lauren Hutton in the 2008 Lord and Taylor campaign, walked the 2008 Victoria's Secret fashion show, and is the June 2009 Paris Vogue Calendar girl.

leather jacket -- Balenciaga
bag -- Chloe
scarf -- Alexander McQueen

In September at New York Fashion Week

Out shopping in SOHO in mid December

The first time I met Leigh was at New York Fashion Week in September. She was wearing a wool jersey top from Zara, her mother's belt made of twisted rayon rope and lurex yarns, and heels from Dries Van Noten.

Surprisingly, I ran into her again 3 months later while she was on her way to APC while shopping in Soho. Her leather jacket is from Helmut Lang, her top with the asymmetrical hem is from Inhabit, the scarf from Hong Kong, and her boots are vintage.

I liked this picture not only because of his style and haircut, but because the shutter speed I had the camera set at blurred the motion of the truck in the background. If I could have had him move over to his left just a bit, it would have made nearly perfect composition within the grids of the street.

Fur coat, striped tights.

The haircut, the glasses, the leather jacket, the slim fit pants, the shoes. Cool look.

I've mentioned before that I am a ... list maker.

Lots of lists.

Lots of stuff to do.

One of the mental lists I have going right now in my head is the Kellan Needs To Do List.

It is different from my other To-Do lists in that it has only to do with those things I know I need to START doing or those things I need to STOP doing - you know. Like how I need to stop saying the word sh*t every time I drop something. That has been on my Kellan Needs To Do List --- for YEARS!

Still doin' it!

Need to STOP!

So ...

Currently on my Kellan Needs To Do List is ...

• I need to START getting up earlier in the mornings.
  
• I need to STOP being so fat.
  
• I need to START walking.
  
• I need to STOP eating so many daggum RED HOTS!

So ...

In an attempt to address all of these current issues - try to get myself to get moving and motivated to address these problems ...

I went ...

SHOPPING.

I went to ROSS.

I got up early ...

Skipped breakfast and left my jar and bags of RED HOTS at home, and ...

I WALKED all over that store!

Okay ...

I did buy some sneakers ...

You know ...

For walking (*Kellan's heart begins to race at the sheer thought of actually ever having to go on a real walk - for exercise - *gasp* - *shortness of breath* - *gasp*).

After I bought my new pair of tennies ... I went back and bought me another pair.

Now, I have two pairs ...

Of brand spanking new KEDS.

I do love a brand spanking new, really white, clean new leather - pair of tennies. I do love KEDS. I got a deal on these KEDS at Ross and could not resist buying a second pair.

Now, they are beautiful and they are clean and fit really well, but ...

These KEDS are NOT made for walking!

I know that.

I know that these are not proper walking footwear attire.

These are not walking sneakers.

I don't care!

They are cute.

And ...

I am not investing in a pair of serious walking shoes until ...

I actually begin to ...

WALK!

For now ...

I am walkin' around in my KEDS.

I put them on my feet and walk everywhere in them - see ...

Here I am - walkin' around my room.

Here I am - walkin' from my bedroom out onto my deck.

Here I am in my car on the way to the dentist office.

Here are me an my KEDS arriving at the dentist office.

Here we are in the dentist office waiting room - me and Alexis and my new KEDS!

One day ...

I might actually walk away from my house ...

Into the neighborhood ...

Down roads and paths and sidewalks and ...

I might even work up a bit of a stride.

A bit of a sweat.

Maybe even work on my form.

*tee hee - Kellan begins to work up a sweat just thinking about ... working up a sweat*

On the upside ... I'm working on it! I'm taking baby steps - in my KEDS. What I really need to do next is ... just get out there and go walking *gasp*. Or ... better yet --- go shopping again. Put on those pretty new, white KEDS, walk out to my car, drive across town to Marshalls, walk right in and and buy myself some cute new ... walking clothes.

*hear off in the distance the entire On The Upside family laughing their heads off*

I am standing in the checkout line at Big Lots. I'm scanning the store (shelves and bins near to where I am standing, far off items on high upper shelves, jewelry in the case just behind me) - so as to make sure there wasn't something I missed that I truly must have. It's not enough that I have two baskets full of stuff (most of which I didn't even need - I only came in for a Birthday card) ... when ... my eyes spy a woman. She's right at the end of the isle, about to cross my line of vision. And then ... she does.

"Oooooh my goodness," I think to myself. "She needs to rethink her wardrobe."

She is an older woman, maybe about my mothers age, and she is in a not-so-striking, bright purple suit, patent leather red purse and shoes and a hat - ooooh the hat. It was tall. It was red with purple trim around the brim. It had a large flower.

The woman continued to walk out of my view, I checked out my $108.91 worth of Big Lots crap and headed out to my car.

There ... off in the distance, coming out of the Chinese restaurant down the strip from the Big Lots ... are six or eight other elderly women ... all dressed in bright purple and red outfits - including interesting hats.

I was suddenly oh-so-relieved for the woman I had seen in the Big Lots ... concluding now that she was part of some odd hat-wearing-club and then began to quickly feel as though I was in the middle of a Dr. Seuss' Go Dogs Go riddle: "Do you like my hat? I do not like your hate. Good By. Good By."

On the upside ... Those ladies were perfectly happy in their bright colored outfits and fancy hats. One day, maybe that will be me with all my girlfriends ... eating Chinese ... wearing gaudy hats and patent leathered shoes and someone elses daughter will be thinking, "Oh my ... she needs to rethink her wardrobe." I think that might just be happening right now. Good-by, Good-by.

Fingerless gloves, stud accessorized skirt, structured leather jacket....mixed in with stiletto heels and a soft scarf makes me think Arizona was mixing masculine with feminine here.

User generated street style sites helped spawn the era of the personal style blog. Lookbook.nu and Chictopia collectively created enough social media attention to pave the way for the individual personal style blog phenomena. In an unprecedented move, L'Oreal Paris has created a new niche for user generated content: yourstyleyourstudio.

And it's all about Haute Hair.

Fashion Night Out in New York City inspirations:

Your Style Your Studio, blog landing page

WIN THIS MARC BY MARC JACOBS cross body strap bag

Win the above Marc by Marc Jacobs Cross Body strap bag filled with the above L'Oreal products

L'Oreal Paris recently approached me to help them launch this new hairstyle lookbook--Your Style Your Studio. To my knowledge, there exists no user generated hair style site like this--YET.
Lindbergh may have been first to cross the Atlantic,Earhart the first woman to do so, and now Your Style Your Studio is first in the niche of user generated hair style inspirations.

The site is all about YOUR inspired hair and YOUR individual style from bold colors to daring cuts to fashion forward looks. The look book, inspired by the brand's studio line of hair products as seen in the photo above, is meant for both men AND women. So if you are a guy, go forth and upload your own pictures.

I believe in this site so much, that for the first time in the 4 year history of altamira, I'm doing an exclusive giveaway sponsored by L'Oreal Paris. Not only can you win 1 of 2 Marc by Marc Jacob's leather cross body totes, but you can win it stuffed full of the exact L'Oreal hair styling products seen in the photo above. I will personally select 2 winners.

To be eligible to win 1 of 2 Marc by Marc Jacobs cross body totes stuffed full of L'Oreal products as seen in the picture above, you must:

UPLOAD A PHOTO TO YOUR STYLE YOUR STUDIO--upload your own Haute Hair style inspiration photo to the Your Style Your Studio look book. The picture should be horizontal in format and a minimum resolution of 560 x 370 pixels.

LEAVE A COMMENT by Friday, September 16th 2011 8 am Eastern Standard Time
With a URL link to your hair style photo. Make sure the URL works correctly and that it goes to the Your Style Your Studio site like this link HERE

CONTEST CLOSES on Friday, September 16th 2011 at 8 am Eastern Standard Time. The contest is open to anyone anywhere in the world. Winner to be announced on Saturday September 17th, 2011. I will personally select 2 winners based on the editorial QUALITY of the picture you upload. It's all about Haute Hair. Artsy, Avant Garde, Creative. Have fun with it. Be creative. Make your photo's better than mine as seen in the links below--as if you were submitting to Numero or Vogue.

You won't be alone in uploading images to the lookbook. I'll be uploading additional images too! Here are some of my examples but remember, you want to do better than me:
A Clean Sweep
Mod Squad
Perfectly Undone Pony
The Modern Bouffant
New Wave
Braids Envy

Rachel Alexander is in the Diesel Spring/Summer 2018 campaign alongside Alexandra Richards. Yes, it's actually this cold in New York right now.

leather jacket -- boyfriend's
boots -- from Barney's
bag -- Balenciaga