♥ zest is the secret to all beauty. there is no beauty that is attractive without zest.

patricia field image here.

so, tonight i had the pleasure of feasting my fashion.loving.eyes on

confessions of a shopaholic (2009), which just came out on dvd this week

and more importantly is completely styled by costume designer.extraordinaire,

patricia field

who has styled everything from sex and the city (the show + movie) to devil wears prada,

whose expertise in the art of visual communication has

singlehandedly catapulted stars like sjp

and the ladies of sex and the city

into the greater fashion lexicon,

and turned an article of clothing

as simple as a pink tutu,

a nameplate necklace,

a manolo blahnik,

or a fabric flower

into something

truly iconic.

image from here

what amazes me about patricia field is here ability to read and completely digest a script
in such a way that she can actually visualize a character in any space, in any given situation

and communicate their story which is as unique to them as their own fingerprint–

through style alone.

what she does for isla fischer's character, rebecca bloomwood,

is to portray the excessiveness and over.exaggeration of a true shopaholic,

by infusing each look with the energy and passion of someone who

eats sleeps and breathes nothing.but.fashion.

by layering rebecca in stand.out colors like fuschia, orange, hot pink and cobalt blue,

and piling fur coats on top of belts on top of bags on top of gloves,

patricia's expert eye perfectly conveys to the audience

just how much ms.bloomwood loves to shop.

here are a few examples of outfits that are

so ugly i might puke,

but so cute i might die.

images from here. and here.

and how about the black, white and pops of yellow and kelly

green mentioned here.

in her interview regarding the state of rebecca bloomwood's apartment,

patricia field said that she envisioned her bedroom to be,

" basically a closet with a bed in it."

never have i seen anyone's vision so clearly.

one more tidbit about patricia field that i certainly identify with as a lover of dressing up

is that she is not afraid to think outside of the box.

she looks for fashion not only in the most high.end of places,

but in the crowded streets and shopping malls of tokyo and the underground vintage stores

and flea markets of new york.. making her an arbiter of fashion in every sense of the word.

"Whether you have money or not, you can wear clothes that suit you well

and go with your complexion. I always tell girls: just be yourself.

Clothing and jewelry are fun, but great accessories are not going to create

a person's style. You have to be comfortable in what you are wearing.

Stay within your budget and wear clothes that make you feel happy.

Then you will look good whatever you wear. It is entirely possible."

excerpt from pat field's interview with marie claire.

patricia field, you are my idol.

i get down off my heels and pray at your glittering + glamorous alter.

♥ fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every 6 months.

have you ever stood in a store, utterly confounded by an item of clothing, that 

on the one hand is so garish and so utterly hideous that it makes you want to vomit, 

while on the other hand, there is something oddly attractive about it

 that you cannot, for the life of you,

 put your finger on? 

this, my friends, 

is a little phenomenon that i like to call

"that's so ugly, it's cute."

i have made a number of purchases using this justification

and while it may not make sense to anyone else,

i believe in it..

and sometimes believing in yourself and owning your look

 is all that really matters.

this dress reminds me of the partridge family takes a trip to milan.

this poncho is like a bad episode of punky brewster. but it still rocks.

i call this one my tootsie dress.

it came with a matching vest.

so horrendous yet oh. so. cute.

another example of this "so ugly it's cute" philosophy 

for me is the music of 

piano.pounding, voice. twirling indie songstress, 

regina spektor, 

whose latest album, far

is rife with the beautiful melody of a song.bird

mixed with indecipherable gutteral noises of a chicken

 that can only be described as

the opposite of "easy" listening.

yet, for some inexplicable reason..

it just works.

sometimes the best things in life 

don't have a simple explanation.

♥ the world is mud.luscious and puddle.wonderful.

rain, rain,

go away

come on back

another day

or maybe..

.............

another

year?

from ffffound!

i am beginning to think that mother nature got april and june mixed up.

it seems like lately there has been more rain than sunshine and

the only silver lining is the

cute accessories that

stormy weather demands.

how much can you carry, carrie?

carrie makes it rain.

this one from target reminds me of ms. bradshaw's perfect parasol.

these mini umbrellas from fred flare add a bit of color and charisma

to an otherwise.gloomy day.

you can stand under my marc jacobs umbrella.

these honey bee rainboots by chooka help to sweeten the pot.

see spots instead of rain drops in these j.crew wellies.

my little sister has burberry rain boots.

she loves them so much that she prays for rainy days

so that she can justify the money she spent

with each use!

and these shoe+umbrella hybrids, known as shuellas

are an ingenius way to wear a boot to work over your heels

without having to lug the things home when the sun decides

to show it's glowing face!