Hey, Thursday. It's a shitty day in the city if you don't like rain, but I myself am enjoying the lethargy for a change. I am watching the Today Show and this chick is on talking about most and least favorite celebrity baby names, and man, the world has gotten really weird, though I do agree that Harper is a cool name- it's the fasting growing baby name, don't you know? I am so sick of celebrities having babies. Ruins it for normal people, if you ask me.
But way before we were obsessed with Jennifer Garner's baby bump, we lived in a glamorous time, when there were no children to be seen. I'm talking about the Studio 54 era, where one was swathed in some fabulous jersey dress, dancing the night away next to Bianca Jagger, zonked out of your mind on Lord knows what, and generally having a fabulous time. I mention this because I just watched the documentary about Halston, "Ultrasuede". Admittedly, it did not expose me to anything I did not know (I have always been rather obsessed with Halston and that era in general) and the narrator was a bit of a tool, but man- what an interesting and heartbreaking glimpse into that era of decadence. I have to say that Halston completely changed the way we think of clothes- and his designs are my notion of the ideal wardrobe- easy pieces with no fuss. Comfortable yet slinky and sexy. You simply could wear his pieces anywhere from Miami to New York to London- always impossibly chic and effortless- nothing better than just throwing something on and it being perfect as is.
You young kids know of Halston because SJP "designed" it for a moment, but back in the day, Halston was quite literally a household name. He changed the way women dressed and invented a casual chic sexy thing that never existed- and I still would wear most of his pieces today- they're fairly transcendent. And the other interesting thing is Halston was one of the first to license his name and go mass- and work with JCPenney on an ill fated collection. The fashion world snubbed him for going downmarket, where today he would be lauded for such a thing. I hear JCP has a new CMO- if he was smart, he would relaunch that collection because it would sell in spades. Halston was really ahead of his time- his apartment was legendary for its modern sensibility and coke fueled all night soirees. His taste was immaculate, his models perfect leggy fixtures of the fashion world, and his fame was unheard of for American designers of that era. Unfortunately the excess of the glammy glam 70s took his life, like it took the lives of so many others- he died of AIDS related cancer, a sad end of life on many counts as his business crumbled due to his bad decisions and drug habit. If you're not familiar with his story, watch this film. Liza is all over it, so it's tots worth it. It's amazing to see what a trailblazer he was in terms of marketing himself, and my how times have changed when it comes to fashion for the masses. Cause that's what's up this caftan cut on the bias kind of Thursday in the hill of Cobble. I am making some time to hunt for some vintage Halston today on the interwebs. XO