Click on the image above to view the video which debuted today. Also check out the brilliant mash-up by multidisciplinary artist Mec Jagger remixing “Whip It” with the Sesame Street video “I Love My Hair”.

One day when I am living bi-continentally I will be able to shop at Cora Kemperman, a store I fell in love with in Amsterdam, on a regular basis. Until then I find myself checking out their website every season for inspiration and general swooning. This fall’s campaign doesn’t disappoint and the photography is especially gorgeous.

The tiny hat is great with this outfit and nod to Alice in Wonderful it seems. The use of red (and other primary colors) as a base like black is something I’ve noticed they do often–and with great success. I swear I had these shoes too! Does this mean I am officially old now that my high school and college days are already being recycled. Uh oh….

This outfit features so many of my favorite things–antique/ethnic patterns, ballon skirting, wrap draping, obi waistband, cutout knits, and layering! I want to fly somewhere immediately and pick this up. It’s simply brilliant and would be perfect for a wedding I’m attending next week but impossible so oh well.

Now that Gap is selling them I feel like harem pants (or salwars/shalwars) are on their way to fashion extinction but I still love them and find them ever so useful in a variety of settings. These super-low ones are great and paired with the sparkly jacket evokes a sexy evening reception or dinner party. It’s a look I think a lot of people could pull off.

I really like the buyers over at Free People. Their October rollout doesn’t disappoint. Here are my top picks: Read Across Maxi Dress, Sergeant Pepper Maxi Coat, Fatale Platform Boot (I swear I had some like these in the late-1990s!), Beaded Hoops, and Lace Patchwork Maxi Dress.

I just discovered a new inspiration blog Citizen Sketcher. This guy has a fantastic sensibility with his brush–especially with watercolor.

Sarah Burton’s first collection for Alexander McQueen debuted tonight. It’s pretty faithful to his aesthetic I think but somehow not as fun–at least not yet. I can only imagine how hard it must be for a designer to come behind another designer especially after a tragedy like the one at that house. I wish her luck. See more

To celebrate the 50^th anniversary of Dr. Martens, the company has released today 10 videos of 10 emerging bands covering 10 classic songs. My favorite tribute is by The Noisettes who cover “Ever Fall in Love With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve” originally recorded by The Buzzcocks. The art direction for the video (directed by Rankin & Chris) is straightforward and delightfully focused on the ever-fashionable lead vocalist Shingai Shoniwa. I especially love that the different stages of her hair are used to great effect. The Noisettes being British and genre-blenders, as Doc Martens have come to be, is an added bonus. Other acts include: Buraka Som Sistema, DāM-FunK, The Cinematic Orchestra, The Duke Spirit, N.A.S.A., The Raveonettes, Verbal + Yoon, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and Michael Davis of MC5 with D.O.A. See the rest of the videos here.

I also thought I should include my choice of anniversary boot–the classic 8-eye 1460 in Hot Pink.

All of you who follow the fashion rags know that Africa is on the mind of a bunch of designers and I am so in love! Here is my first in a series of Africa-related short profiles. Kehinde Wiley (b. 1977) is a New York-based painter who creates light-infused portraits (á la Titian) of predominantly Gen X/Y black men ensconced in gilded rococo frames and Dutch wax-print* textile backgrounds. The Renaissance-era postures combined with the streetwise swagger of many of his subjects, suggesting the influence of  Barkley Hendricks’ 1970s-era paintings and Seydou Keïta’s 1950s-era photographs, has made him a darling of the contemporary art scene. In honor of the 2010 World Cup he has partnered with Puma to present an Africa-inspired line. My feelings are mixed on the line itself but I am happy to see it.

*Those of you interested in learning a bit more about Dutch wax prints, which are used so heavily in West African clothing, please check out this video for a recent exhibit of British artist Yinka Shonibare at the National Museum of African Art.

There was the initial buzz in 2008–Vogue in August, Essence in November,  a Gap ad in December–then in the November 2009 Vogue there she was discussing her shoe collaboration with George Esquivel,  all along Janelle Monáe’s fashion chart has risen right along with her career. And while my crowning her as a style maven isn’t breaking news (or all that fresh) it does give me a reason to announce that today she debuted a new music video for “Tightrope” and appears in the April 2010 issue of Vogue for their annual “Size” edition. At a petite 5 feet tall (including the bouffant according to the magazine) Ms. Monáe is  tiny but her unique look is making gigantic waves.

I am particularly fond of her shoe game–back in 2007 I discovered we shared a singular desire to bring back saddle shoes (I mistakenly ended up with a much too school-girlish pair which sat in my closet for almost two years until I got this pair of  Candela spectators this past August)–I also love that she has a uniform of menswear suiting accompanied by brogues, which she fiercely adheres to, and her fearlessness in general. Janelle’s voice is also pretty amazing. I have her debut EP, Metropolis (Suite 1: The Chase), and am eagerly awaiting her new album The Arch Android.

Check out the Gap ad from 2008!

This is a terribly disappointing posting for me. One of my absolute favorite labels (for which I didn’t even get a chance to do a full posting on) has exhibited a pretty tactless photo on their website as part of their spring advertising campaign. I started out my morning looking at their site to browse the spring collection–in fact I am wearing one of their raincoats today–and I saw this image. I posted it on Facebook first and many people were as shocked as I was. A good friend who lives in Atlanta provided me with the title of this posting, which is the only funny thing about this. I’ll leave you to form your own opinion. I will say that I am usually not this sensitive–I think artists should be somewhat free to make work that is beautiful for beauty’s sake, particularly in fashion photographs or music videos–but I just don’t see how the photographer staged this tableau without thinking of the woman behind the model. She isn’t elegant, styled, or smiling as is often the case in these types of photos. She is a human prop…and a cotton-picking one at that.

Here is the home page for the Gudrun Sjödén website where I found the photo:

I am unequivocally obsessed with sneakers. It doesn’t make much sense given my sartorial leanings between the romantic and the ethereal but I think it is the only vestige of my generation that I cling to–and fiercely, I might add. I saw this wedding story in The New York Times about two professional athletes, Sanya Richardson and  Aaron Ross, who were given custom sneaks as a wedding present by Nike. I love this idea. I have always liked me who wear Chuck Taylors or Jack Purcells with their wedding attire, but making a bridal reception is really dope–then she can really dance! In fact what a great gift for the whole wedding party? Metallic Chuck Taylors! (I will keep you posted should I ever get to enact this custom).