-WEDNESDAY WINDOWS-

Harney & Sons, Soho

Notes of a Recycled Housewife caught my eye this week, while scanning emails for rail-time reading. In an age where well written verse is superseded by sheer volume of sentence-esque subtext, Jennifer Rogers eloquently explains the hazards of being a child-ridden divorcee. With society's time-altered definition of "family," step parents, side parents and single parents have cropped up a new class; children and adults alike are confronted with ever more choices, emotional complexities and channels of communication. Passing by the windows at Harney & Sons this week, I imagine a utopian tea-time where mom + stepdaughter or current + past wife can coexist with candor. Keep reading to have a closer look...

-WEDNESDAY WINDOWS-

Kleinfeld Tribute to Randi Fenoli Bridal

Age is the antithesis of innocence. Accompanying the angst of being alone (or generally unloved), the lament of loss and lone lust defies emotional agility. Fear retains its stronghold on the apparent absence of companionship. This week's windows at Kleinfeld surprise me with the absence of...a dress! This first mom-less Mother's Day--much like the gown-bare windows of Kleinfeld--is the somewhat unsettling 'new' reality. Keep reading for a closer look...  

REI KAWAKUBO / COMME DES GARCONS : ART OF THE IN-BETWEEN @ MET MUSEUM PART 1

 Rei Kawakubo Comme des Garçons The Art of In-Between at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Installation View 9.7 Order / Chaos

Limitless. Shocking. Defiant. 
Breaking from the fashion fold, Rei Kawakubo declares independence from the confines of conventional clothes-making and Commes des Garçons headlines her un-commercial, un-apologetic aesthetic. For "outsiders," a blurring of the legible mold of "fashion"--as defined by figure-flattery and templated garments that account for head, legs and arms--is unsettling. When confronted with the "aggressively unattractive," critical commentary eclipses the sheer brilliance of the petite Japanese designer with an understated personality and overstated design sense. The first Monday this May, the Metropolitan Museum of Art opens its annual Costume Institute exhibit honoring a living designer for only the second time (since Diana Vreeland's retrospective of Yves Saint Laurent in 1983). Rei Kawakubo / Commes des Garçons : Art of the In Between is not so much a retrospective as an introspective of the creator and her collections, once shrouded in an enigmatic aura. Keep reading for a look inside...

-WEDNESDAY WINDOWS-

Moschino, Soho, NYC

Exhaustion replaces simple fatigue, "tired" and all other emotive feelings this week. Having the honor to watch both the sunset and the clock strike midnight at the office over successive days dampens the drive for much else. Walking through Soho, I double take at Moschino's playful candor via 2-D patterned, 3-D dresses. 

WINDOW TO MY WORLD : fashion AFTER FASHION @MADMUSEUM

 SSAW Magazine installation, part of the fashion after Fashion @MADmuseum

Living in one big City and visiting another, one can't help but compare the finds and faults of each. In a recent trip to San Francisco, one particular standout is the concerted "inclusiveness" embraced by the City and its inhabitants. While both NYC and SF have significant landmarks and restaurants--along with differences in terrain and transport--San Francisco leads in the area of progressive thought with designated gender-neutral bathrooms and exit signs at eye-level for wheelchair riders. This week, instead of store windows (and since I'm so behind), I present a window into fashion after Fashion at the MAD Museum. Six artists encourage viewers to diversify the definition of fashion. Keep reading for a look inside...

FASHION IN FLIGHT: A HISTORY OF AIRLINE UNIFORM DESIGN @SFO INTERNATIONAL TERMINAL

 #FashionInFlight at the International Terminal at the San Francisco airport

As a "members only" signifier, uniforms empower, include and identify. Wearers embody a brand and become an extension of its values. Airlines have long clad their crew in stylish ensembles that highlight superiority through distinguished elements of design. Before flying out of San Francisco's SFO airport earlier this week, I take the opportunity to stroll through Fashion In Flight: A History of Airline Uniform Design at the SFO Museum. Keep reading to for a closer look...

NATIVE FASHION NOW @ THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN

David Gaussian + Wayne Nez Gaussian (Navajo / Picuris Pueblo), Postmodern Boa (2009) / #NativeFashionNow

'Diversity' in fashion waffles between ignorance in interpretation and shoddy stereotype, frequently missing the mark on 'true' cultural significance. For the American Indian, misappropriation of totem poles, feathered headdresses and 'Navajo' branded items more-often-than-not accentuates the misnomer of assumed understanding. This Spring, the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in NYC presents NativeFashion Now, a look at American Indian designers and their influence on fashion. Aptly expressed by Kathleen Ash-Milby, Associate curator at the museum,“We wanted people to see that Native designers are not just subjects but participants in the field of fashion." Keep reading to see more…

-WEDNESDAY WINDOWS-

 Ralph Lauren, Fifth Ave.

Netflix has a knack for tugging at threads of thought. The series of choice this week--13 Reasons Why--sheds light on the psyche of a high school girl and the 13 reasons leading up to self-destruction. 13 episodes later, the lingering issue of suicide and rape among youth leaves sentimental residue. This week's windows at Ralph Lauren Fifth Ave. capture the school style cool of a group of faceless young men. It begs the question of how best to nurture morality and better decisions in the next generation. Keep reading for more snaps of this week's windows... 

JUDITH LEIBER: CRAFTING A NEW YORK STORY @ MAD MUSEUM

Fish minaudière w/rhinestones (1978)

Clutching a green toolbox, 26-year-old Judith Leiber landed in New York City in 1946. The box--credentials of a master craftswoman (and an ironic foreshadowing of minaudières to come)--signified both saving grace and an unusual ability to craft handbags from dream to designer showroom. As a Jew living at the height of Nazism, opportunity materialized in the form of family connections and a job at prestigious purse company Pessl. Trading chemistry and a future in the cosmetics industry for bag-making, 3,500+ exotic and Swarovski crystal-encrusted handbags were brought to life. Until August 6th, the Museum of Arts and Design celebrates the legacy of Judith Leiber through Judith Leiber: Crafting a New York Story--the second in a three-part series on craft. Keep reading for a look inside...

-WEDNESDAY WINDOWS-

LLLLLLLLLLL... Louis Vuitton (Fifth Ave)

Oogling at the obvious, news and numbers initiate a rigor of unavoidable regularity. This week, fracture innate tradition and transform nuance into narrative; synthesize silence to reveal a breakthrough in moral adversity for informed decision making. After all, it's the untouchable and intangible that offers the greatest impact. Adding a bit of fun to Grecian sculpture, Louis Vuitton's Fifth Ave. windows illustrate the sunny side of straddling a line-- and stepping a pace beyond. Keep reading for a look inside...