weekend distraction: Chanel Spring/Summer 2014

Chanel is a leviathan*, of course, but Lagerfeld maintains such a consistent vision that I don’t feel I’m in much danger of missing something if I’m a few seasons off in my fashion reading. This season I loved the eye look so much, though, that I browsed through the collection.

*Here’s an interesting series of short films outlining the history of the brand.

Chanel is doing some beautiful things with shoulders for S/S 2014.

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See what I’m saying about the eyes?! Also loving these giant asymmetrical pearls.

Other highlights:

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The shoulder is one of my favorite parts of the body to showcase. It can show delicacy or strength, depending on the shoulder, and there is always an element of vulnerability. It is also, to me, one of the most elegant ways to show a large expanse of skin. [Another being the back, but you already know my preferences in that regard.]

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This off-the-shoulder suit is my favorite, I think. The cut here frames the shoulder so beautifully, and in a way that is entirely distinct from the slouchy Flashdance approach (which has its own appeal, to be sure).

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You can browse the full collection at chanel.com.

images from chanel.com

weekend distraction: succulents

I don’t have the best track record for keeping plants alive. I wanted to have something green and living my room, though, so I decided to find some hardy succulents able to survive my attentions. They can thrive in dry, low light conditions, and instead of growing weak when they reach the maximum size their pot allows, they simply stop growing. Put them in a larger pot, and they will grow a bit more.

These are the plants for me.

Also I find a lot of the shapes and structures of succulents appealing (read: cute). I’d like to get more.

I picked up an adorably fuzzy panda plant.

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I combined a jade, a zebra, and an elephant or rainbow plant in another pot. Called an elephant plant (portulacaria afra) because native to South Africa and elephants eat them. How cool?

Put a small carved elephant in the pot and immediately it took on the look of an oasis diorama. I quite like that.

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They are cheering up the windowsill considerably, along with some lavender plants (different lavenders, there are so many lavender varietals) I haven’t killed off yet. There is hope for me, still.