April W - For the Kate spread alone

We have to take a moment of silence to mourn W's decade-long streak of disappointing me by putting low-rent tabloid fodder on its cover. Jessica Simpson.

Ads:
The ubiquitous Ralph Lauren ads are working on me. I'm positively drooling over the Ricky bag. It's $3000+ price tag (for calf!, not croc!), not so much.
St John - are those scars on Angelina Jolie's arms? cutting?
Prada - oh how i love knee socks and sandals! justified!
Coach - as much as I hate Coach (a bad experience), they have some of the most unfailingly appealing ads. These black and white - I just want to be this girl.

News:
McQueen has a new diffusion line, McQ. Priced 40% below the signature line.
A little late, but just a name to remember: Frida Giannini is the sole designer of Gucci now - formerly the accessories designer.
Paper Denim & Cloth has lowered their prices from $150-240 to $100-160.

Layouts:
Performance - Photographed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott - Kate Moss in a blonde wig, heavy liquid black liner, and a pink pout. An absolutely gorgeous Marilyn Monroe. I'm ripping out every single photo (30 pages!). If you missed this issue, this layout is worth hunting down. Particularly the yellow-toned sleepy shot (how wonderful is flickr??).

Les Demoiselles de la Nuit - Photographed by Juergen Teller - A 26 page supersizing of the Marc Jacobs ads that have been forced upon us for the last few years. The heavily medicated random shots in luxury hotel/apartments (i cant tell) in 1984. Overly bright, small photos centered on a white page. Lots of red-eye and sprawled women. I'm sort of over this aesthetic, though the girl in the closet photo is sufficiently creepy enough to rip out.

May W - a little delayed

I am sometimes overwhelmed by my subscriptions and find myself a few months later ripping out articles and layouts. My hope is to create a regular posting of those of note in order to keep on top of the talk.

W - (the Lindsay Lohan - Meryl Streep cover)
Ads:
I'm getting tired of the Louis Vuitton ads - even with Giselle, it seems like the same look for seasons. The denim is hot though.
Naomi Watts in David Yurman - Can she close her mouth? She's so very pretty, but also a little generic. I had to think about it for a minute before I could place her.
Tiffany: Gehry Collection - Pretty wood/resin pieces.
Nars - I love this makeup brand so much - particularly FunnyFace lipstick and the disco pencils - but the ads are beyond boring. A sullen model - never a favorite - with very natural makeup without airbrushing (I can see the hairs above her lips)

News:
LL Cool J has a women's clothing line called Todd Smith. Not urban - very 7th Avenue. We'll have to keep an eye on this.
Converse and John Varvatos are teaming up for a clothing line. Casual contemporary sports-inspired apparel. Apparently theyve been doing Chuck Taylor designs for a while now.

Fall-Winter 2006: (to keep you excited in the interim)
Poetic, dark, sober, crusades, gothic. Prada - aggressive knitted knights' caps, furs, and bustiers. Christian Dior - goth warrior, big belts (though not the Heavyweight champions of past seasons). Gaultier - wild and ghostly. Dolce and Gabbana - Napoleonic embroidery and faux military. Alexander McQueen - fitted suits, edwardian collars, accessorized with feathered hats. Chanel- ghostly white lace with long black lace gloves, black hair ribbons and high collars. All. Very. Belgian.

Runway Makeup and Hair: (if you have, say, a Sephora gift certificate burning a hole in your pocket)
Bright rose blush - seen at DVF, McQueen
Crimson lips - Lancome Behnaz (available in the Fall), Red Stiletto - seen at Behnaz, Tuleh, MaxMara
Brown eyeshadow - Chanel Cinnamon (available in August) - seen at Temperley, Marni, Chanel
Dark nail polish (not Vamp, like Boot Black) - Wet n Wild Caribbean Frost - seen at Monique Lhuillier, Alice Roi, Versace

Layouts: (the real delight)
Cornwall - photographed by David Sims - Pagan rituals and altar still lifes, windblown hair, cresting waves over craggy rocks, black and grey wool dresses and sweaters, velvet trimmings, and touches of laces and corsetry. I'll rip out the nature photos, but I'm not crazy for the models or the styling.
Morph - photographed by Inez van Lansweerde and Vinoodh Matadin - layers and layers of pants and thigh high boots and leggings and dresses. And mulitple bobbed wigs. Very anti-pretty and very wrong. I will rip out the photos with tulle skirts and skintight leather boots. Again, not crazy for the styling.

Interviews:
Matthew Barney
Lindsay Lohan + Meryl Streep