Who: Chloë Sevigny
Where: Opening Ceremony
Last Fashion Week, actress Chloë Sevigny launched her namesake clothing line for New York boutique, Opening Ceremony. Maybe it’s the Spring weather and budding flowers outside or the way the photos remind me of that dreamy Teenagers music-video, but I find myself lusting over this collection. The simple, everyday pieces feature floral Liberty prints, high-waisted houndstooth shorts, and amazing shoes, my favorite being the ankle wedge-boots. Love her or hate her, you have to give Chloë points for being consistent with her style; the line is reminiscent of punk, rockabilly, and her high school years in Darien, Connecticut. In the store’s window, she built a shrine to all of her influencers including The Cramps, Johnny Thunders, Patti Palladin, Lizzie Mercier, Debbie Harry, and The Slits, whom she had perform at her NYC launch party.
Photos by: Mark Borthwick

Don’t forget there is another installment of Crafty Wonderland this Sunday, March 9th from 11am - 4pm at the Doug Fir Lounge. Hit the sale on your way to the Craft Magazine event at Twisted and make it craftacular day!

All photos, Minh Tran.

Friday’s DT5 show (my preview of which you can read here) was a classic PDX event of high energy and rock affectation. It was all about fun, and the models crossing the stage in super-abbreviated pieces from a slew of designers were clearly having it, strutting and pursing their lips to the soundtrack. Merc photographer Minh Tran caught the highlights on the runway, as well as backstage. Check out the chronology of a rock ‘n’ roll fashion show here, with more on the way.

Ok, first the good(ish) news: I kind of admire Matthew McConaughey because he figured out how to be the richest career beach bum stoner I know of. So I find this less offensive than endearing:

The shirt- and often shoe-averse Matthew McConaughey is gearing up to launch his own line of swimwear and other beach accoutrements this summer, developing the line under his j.k. livin brand, so named after his personal mantra—”the j’s for just, the k’s for keep, no g cause life’s a verb“—which already encompasses a production company and record label.

(I really don’t understand the part about the “g”, by the way.)

According McConaughey’s rep, the new line will include swimsuits, T-shirts, Frisbees and “everything and anything you need for the beach.”

In much more offensive celeb landfill design news, Avril Lavigne’s new line of clothing for Khol’s (vomit) is due in July:

“It’s rock glam: fun, colorful, young and edgy,” Avril Lavigne says of her new clothing line in the latest of Us Weekly, on newsstands now.

Abbey Dawn, named after the nickname her dad calls her, will debut at Kohl’s stores nationwide in July.

The threads (ranging from $24 to $48) mimic the “Complicated” singer’s signature skater-girl-chic style and include hoodies, jeans and tees in bright colors and skull and zebra patterns.

Oh, I’m sorry, excuse me. What I meant to say is that I don’t think anyone should take guidance from this person on how to dress, especially when it means swathing yourself in—ever more—cheap pieces of shit.

End rant.

There is a brand new issue of N.E.E.T. magazine on-line now! Check it out here. The current issue features lots of great handmade and vintage finds for spring. They also include the “wow rain jacket” by Emily Katz as one of their great finds.

This Sunday, March 9, Craft Magazine will be celebrating the release of Issue 06 here in Portland. Here are the details, thanks to the ladies at Twisted:

Diane, from DIY Alert, Crafty Pod, and the Church of Craft, and Susan, from West Coast Crafty, and author of the new book Bead Simple, are co-hosting the Portland bash here at Twisted (2310 NE Broadway), from 1-4pm.

Moxie will be on hand, too, demonstrating how she makes the adorable monsters on the cover of CRAFT 06. We’ll also have a hands-on craft table, where you can learn to make Pantyhose Flowers from the magazine. And we’ll have free snacks and door prizes!

How cute:

That’s a giant billboard of Keith Richards shilling for Louis Vuitton, which appeared in London yesterday as part of a campaign to win back older customers and which also employs the famous mugs of Catherine Deneuve and Mikhail Gorbachev.

“Keith Richards is timeless and ageless,” said Rita Clifton, who heads the U.K. division of brand consultant Interbrand. “He’s lived his life on the edge, but he’s not a sleaze bag. He’s lean and mean and he’s still current.”

If you are one of the many designers who submitted a portfolio for consideration to be in the next Mercury fashion show, don’t worry if you haven’t heard back! The jury convened on Sunday evening, and we are this close to having our final selections done! Due to a faulty disk of photos, which we weren’t able to get hold of until this morning, there was a slight delay until we could evaluate each designer’s work, but we should know by the end of today, and get in touch with the 12 designers selected to show their work this year. Hang tight!

Who: Tiffany Godoy
Where: The new Bathing Ape boutique in Shibuya
Cutest thing about Tokyo: Is that it’s a fashion Disneyland filled with eye-candy in every detail. You just want to eat everyone and everything up to get closer to the style gods. Japanese sensibility, you just can’t get closer to style heaven than this.

Fashion editor and creative consultant Tiffany Godoy has lived in Japan since 1997 when she began working as an editor for Composite and then subsequently for Studio Voice. She is a consultant for style.com (Condé Nast USA), contributor on design for the New York Times, reporter for WWD USA, fashion columnist for Yomiuri Shimbun, lifestyle and fashion editor for the magazines V, Self Service, Vogue Nippon, and Studio Voice. Her clients include L’Oreal Japan, Shiseido, Leo Burnett Japan, GAP, Uniqlo. She is also part of the unit EROTYKA with art director Tomoyuki Yonezu. Ms. Godoy is the author of Style Deficit Disorder, a complete history of Tokyo street fashion from Harajuku (Chronicle Books, 2007) and hosts the weekly series Tokyo Fashion Express which airs in Japan and internationally on NHK satellite channels. Style Deficit Disorder came out while I was living in Tokyo and immediately became my style bible and cultural history book. It profiles the daring and influential designers and labels of Harajuku, the epicenter of Japanese and global fashion, giving a pop cultural history of the scene, a snapshot of where it is today, and a glimpse into its future. This is my final Tokyo Edition of Cute Alert!, as I’m back in beautiful Portland, and it’s amazingly appropriate that the spot belongs to Tiffany. Her book is an absolute must-have. You can buy it here and you’ll be so happy you did.

Joy Cohen, who co-founded the English Dept. (1124 SW Alder) three years ago with Elizabeth Dye, has announced that she is leaving the shop in the sole hands of Dye. It will be interesting to see how this change affects the character of the shop, not least in terms of the buying decisions (in other words, the merch!), but with Dye still at the helm, I’m not worried about it.

(Cohen, at right, with Dye in a photo taken at the store’s original location on NW 23rd)