Chris in Vintage Mink

Elodie on State Street

All the different textures in this outfit go together beautifully.

Christkindlmarket Chicago

Every winter Chicago does it's own version of a German Christmas market in a pavillion downtown. It's set up to look like a European village with little wooden stalls that sell crafts and  German food and drinks. This woman fits right in, looking part hansel and gretel with her scarf beautifully draped over her head, and part soldier with her green overcoat and amazing leather mittens.

Elegant Woman in Bakelite Earrings

Mario on State Street

Mad for Plaid

Mia LeBlon in White Tights and Black Frames

Accessory of the Week: Fold Up Ray-Bans

These are the classics, but WAY cooler. You can get yourself a pair on the Ray-Ban site.

Andrew in Fur

Let it Snow!

I spotted this lovely lady coming out of the very cool boutique Sarca in the Gold Coast. The over-size buttons on this coat are beautiful and I absolutely LOVE her boots. The fact that she is wearing them while out shopping on the icy street demonstrates a true commitment to fashion. Soldier on sister!


Read the Chicago Streetstyle Scene interview with the owner of Sarca

Maggie in a 1930's Monkey Fur Collar

Runaway Veil

Annie Hall Meets Annie Lennox on Rush Street

Jane was visiting from Florida and looks incredibly pleased to at last, be able to pull out this fabulous Armani winter coat!

Follow my blog with bloglovin

Samantha in Lincoln Park

Samantha is a jewelry designer and vocalist.  Her two different chandelier earrings and head wrap are super cool.

Trés Awesome Gives Garmental a Little Street Cred

I am thrilled to announce that Garmental.com will be featuring street snaps from Trés Awesome every Wednesday in a segment called "Street Cred". Check it out now!

If you haven't already heard, Garmental is a super cool fashion site that provides sartorial inspiration while showcasing the finest independent retail Chicago has to offer. Every weekday they pick an outfit of the day from a different locally owned boutique which they post on their site.  View today's look

This ensemble is from Art Effect in Lincoln Park. View the look

Hannah on Chicago Avenue

These leapord shoes are totally fly with the green leather jacket.

The Fabulous Illustrations of Irana Douer

I stumbled upon Irana Douer's Flickr page and instantly fell in love. Her drawings are brutal, elegant and so stylish! You can take a look at more of her work at keepinmind.com.ar

These stickers are only available in a shop in Mexico, but you can buy ones that are even better for only five bucks on Etsy!

This t-shirt and many others are available at Blood is the New Black.
I wish they would print some more using the above illustrations.
I would buy them all!

Andy in the Gold Coast

Rainy Day in Chicago

I ran into this beauty as she was coming out of my favorite coffee shop, The Worm Hole (they have a Delorean in the window and the coffee is delicious).  I love her whole look, the motorcycle boots, the hooded faux fur piece and the weird flip mittens. The jacket was a gift from her boyfriend! What a lucky lady.

Check out more photos of this lovely lady on Chicago Looks

Let's make some art!

I am involved in a ton of image making in my day to day life. I am an art director at an ad agency and this blog thingee I am doing certainly falls under that category. However it's been a really long time since I made something to just look beautiful or interesting and not to communicate anything specific or have a bunch of rules associated with it.  I forgot how exciting and fun it is.

I made all these images using photographs I have taken over the past six months or so. The Gaudy God (and some of his clothing and accessories) and Benjamin Bradshaw of Sisterman Vintage appear in several of them. Enjoy!

More Secret Shopping with The Gaudy God

The holidays are fast approaching, and if you're like me, you probably have some discerning fashion divas on your list.  Get them some uniquely trashy and fabulous items from The Gaudy God, run by film/fashion student Matt Kasin.

Kasin runs the The Gaudy God from his apartment in Wicker Park. He is co-hosting a party brilliantly called Drunk Mall next month with fellow underground boutique owner Benjamin Bradshaw of Sister Man Vintage(amongst others). Check out all the details here!

Without a doubt, the best thing that Gaudy God sells are these tank tops with family snapshots from the 80's printed on them. They are evocative and weird, and showcase some pretty spectacular get-ups. Check out all the styles here.

I bought the one entitled "FU Wedding Rehearsal". The Gaudy God's Mom is on the far left in red and white, flippng us the bird. Oddly enough, I used to rock the sweater version of this dress a couple of years ago.

Each tank comes with a story that explains what was happening when the picture was taken.

The GG's Mom just happened to be in town and was kind enough to autograph the tag.

Fancy!

I bought this gorgeous cape thinking it was high quality faux piece. My Mom took one look at it and told me it is Mouton. French for "sheep" it's basically lambskin that has been straightened, treated, and set to produce a moisture repellent finish.  It is incredibly warm! If these boots were the right size I would have definitely snapped them up. They are a size 7 and are still there for the taking.

I have been to The Holy Land several times, but have never seen something as radical as this! Of course I had to have it, and have been wearing it all around the town.

The Gaudy God sometimes wears this full length fur, which there is no mistaking for the real deal.

The original owner had her name embroidered in the lining (is there anything cooler?!).

In addition to his many other talents, Matt also does sexy manicures like the one he is showcasing in the above photo. They are totally affordable and pretty freaking amazing. $12 for a basic mini manicure and $2 per nail for a hand painted design. You can make an appointment at Strange Beauty Show Salon

 

Be a hero to your friends and family by buying them gifts from The Gaudy God for Christmas/Channukah/KWANZA. Contact Matt at gaudygod@gmail.com and set up an appointment or attend Drunk Mall on December 10th at The Gallery Formerly Known As Happy Dog

Want to learn more about The Gaudy God? He is literally all over the internet!

 

Gaudy Gods Fashion through Film (a truly radical blog)

http://fashionthroughfilm.blogspot.com/

The Gaudy God's Fashion Blog

http://thegaudygod.blogspot.com/

Sweet Fashion Pics

Chicago Streetstlye Scene

http://www.chicagostreetstyle.com/2010/11/matt-gaudy-god.html

Chicago Looks

http://chicagolooks.blogspot.com/2010/11/matt.html

People get crazy as Lanvin Launches at H&M in Chicago

The highly anticipated Lanvin for H&M collaboration hit stores this Saturday. Naively, I thought showing up at the Chicago Michigan Avenue store at 8 am would at least get my foot in the door. I brought a book and envisioned standing in line for a couple of hours, trying on some frocks and maybe buying something.  I had no idea I would have had to show up in the pre-dawn hours to get my pick of the litter or wait in line all day and forage through the scraps.

That being said, this is about as close as I got the clothes.  But even from this distance the dresses look kind of flimsy. I wanted the short pink one based on the look book, but as you can see here, the bodice and skirt are not cut well and billow awkwardly.

The star of the collection may have been the packaging...

To be first in line you would have had to beat this woman. She showed up at 6 pm the night before and camped out in the cold. Looking weary after standing in line for over 24 hours she declined having her face photographed, but did allow me to snap her HUGE bags. She bought every piece in the womens collection for over $2000. Her plans are to sell almost all of it on Ebay.

Bracelets which allowed you to shop the collection for 15 minutes were distributed based on your place in line.

People brought camping supplies, which they discarded in the street as they shopped.

The mens collection was not restricted to bracelet holders, but had almost completely sold out by 8:30 am.

You can tell by the smile on this little lady's face that she got the dress she wanted.

This cute couple both scored the sunglasses, which retailed for 19.99. They are currently going on Ebay for five times that.

At 1 pm people who had not received bracelets lined up around the block for the opportunity to shop what was left of the collection.

All in all, my early morning trip turned out not to be a complete wash.  From what I saw from afar, I am not devastated that I did not grab any of the limited edition pieces.  I am also a little wiser in the ways of H&M designer launches. Plus, I didn't leave completely empty handed. I picked up this canvas tote which was available in the wider store. Pretty cute for $3.95!