Tell me about yourself award

A month ago (time is of the essence, no?) i received the above award from Emelia  who haves this great blog  named The Sugar Plum Fairy , and unlike me she uses to update it daily with lots of interesting stuffs.
It's high time to share 7 (random) things about myself.

1.i have a ''thing'' for SWATCH watches.More is never enough-i own more than 30 of them.
I change styles every single day  and as i am left-handed, i use to wear my watches on my right wrist.
2. i wish i could have properly cared nails (aka a manicure treat  on a weekly basis)-but this is not an option for me at the time.Plus i am not handy at all with nail lacquers (unfortunately).
3. i change my haircut every time i visit my hair-stylist (every month that is). I get bored very easily-so new color shade and differently styled bangs each time- no significant changes on the length though these days.
4. when i was younger i wanted to become a film director, then a fashion photographer. I became i neuroscientist instead. No comment.
5. If money were not an issue i would like to own everything  Alexander McQueen, Ann Demeulemeester,
Haider Ackermann and Rick Owens have ever created.
6. i am a terrible shopper. I buy a lot of things that i really like and suit me, but for some unexplained reasons i do not wear them.Lack of confidence and daily routine are the main reasons to blame.I prefer my Adidas Nizzas over my Tod's oxfords, my Eastpack backpack instead of any fashionable handbag and i feel quite insecure wearing my Ann Demeulemeester platforms sandals although they are a killer pair of shoes.
7. my lips suffer from dryness all year around! I have tried everything but nothing had help me to eliminate the problem once and for all.Nothing ~sigh~.

 I should award 15 bloggers- but as i am not familiar with so many bloggers yet (and the ones i am with, they have been already awarded)- please give me some time credit.
 

Oliviero Toscani + leggings

[aka controversial ads part 2 ]

You may not be familiar with the name but i bet you are familiar with some (if not with all) of the images that follow.
Oliviero Toscani is an Italian legendarily controversial advertising photographer who was the mastermind of the advertising philosophy of United Colors of Benetton for near two decades (1982-2000).

It's the person whose images made me realize (back in the 90s) that a fashion ad,may be something more than Marky Mark , a six-pack  and a pair of underwear.
Remember? (how one can forget...)
 

 ( a-ha, Marky Mark stands for Mark Wahlberg)

 

Hearts,1996

 

Cemetery, 1991

Bosnian soldier, 1995      
                                                                  

 Handcuffs, 1989

The below images were using by the brand as prints on T-shirts.
(but according to my calculations(!) some years after the original photos were shot).

I used to own ''the children on the pot'' t-shirt (which i still have- it's been more than 15 years!) and the ''priest and nun'' one (both in white)!
They fitted me as a T-shirt dress, and i used to wear them with my fav blue leggings (you know 100% thick thick cotton-the kind that high school girls used to wear in Greece circa 1995-remember?) and cream supergas (f*** yeah, SU-PER-GA). It was my summer uniform for that period!

Pinocchios, 1991 

Priest and Nun, 1991    
                                                                           

Angel and Devil, 1991

              

 Children on the pot, 1990                                                                         

                                                                                                 images via http://www.flickr.com/photos/benettongroup/

In 2002, he managed to provoke the Catholic circles, as his poster for Costas Gavras film Amen, represented a mix of Christian cross and a swastika.

✂  an interview of Mr.Toscani on CNN here and on TIME magazine here.

being irresponsible

''I am an ad campaign, and i spark controversy.
People are talking about me, advertising regulator just banned me, accusing me of being irresponsible.
Shocking?  ( it shouldn't be).
I still managed to fulfill my initial purpose.
To advertise my (any) company, to create a buzz.
It's a win-win after all.''

The latest addition to the(abolished) kingdom of exiled ads,is this Miu Miu shot  featuring 14-year-old actor Hailee Steinfeld, captured in a moment of grief  in a potentially life threatening situation by photographer (and film-maker) Bruce Weber, who visualized Hailee on a set of an imaginary film between different takes.

As far as the kingdom of controversial concern, if there was a royal family this would be the Queen mother* (of fashion ads)·

  *in terms of personal taste                                                        Gucci Spring/Summer 2003                                               

Shot by (one of) the master(s) of controvesy, Mario Testinino feat. Luise Pedersen (although some seem to believe it's Carmen Kass).
And YES, this happened during Tom Ford era (King of all kind of Kingdoms).

And YES, the King can provoke his citizens as many times as he like·

 

                                                                                    Sophie Dahl for Opium YSL

Think you 've seen enough?

Just check the M7 by YSL and Tom Ford for men  fragrance ads.

Too much nudity to show it in here!
Long live the king!

ps 1. If you haven't watch Ethan and Joel's joint- True Grit or Tom Ford's first directing attempt   
A Single Man, it's quite the time!
It's cold outside and weekend after all!

ps 2. an Oliviero Toscani post coming next  as a mini tribute to the man who created the most provocative and shocking ads i ever laid an eye on at the age of ten
( do not do the maths- i am beyond the age of the first youth)

too pointy?

When it comes to shoes, what's your toe shape?
Now days i think i am all about round toes or maybe almond.
I find pointed toe a bit odd and strange and sometimes way too ugly.
(nevertheless there are out there some very beautiful pairs- like the Stella McCartney ones)
The funny thing is that there was a time that i drooled at the sight of a pointed pair of shoes!
It's not that my taste changed,i rather believe that is just a change of how i perceive different shapes and colors each time.

 I felt like i were the king of the world, when i wore these miu miu bow ballerinas!

I still find them beautiful and attractive, but  just not my cup of tea these days!
Although i love them and really really like them (as much as someone can love and like a shoe), ''something'' stops me from wearing them.It's been quite a long time since i last step in them.

As far as my shoe collection concerns, it gets point-er ...
According to inverse proportion relation- the pointer the shoe, the lesser the possibility of walking in them.
Come on guys, it's pure mathematics!
As you realize, these guys have no luck at all! They  will be remaining hidden in their box for a long long time.

[My very first high heels -maybe not so high with today's heel standards- purchased 7 or 8 years ago by my mom!]

new obsession #2 : homeland

Many reasons for someone to watch Showtime's new series, Homeland.
This time it is not the wardrobe, the sexy bobs or the cat eyes.
It's the British actor Damian Lewis who gives an extraordinary performance as US Marine Nicolas Brody

                                                   (he is far from being perfect-that's why i am so into him)

who's been released after 8 years of captivity and torture by al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.
Claire Danes is the CIA officer, who becomes convinced that the intelligence that led to Brody's rescue was a set-up and may be connected to a future terrorist attack carried out on American soil.

(ok,time for a Claire Danes photo)

Every week the series deliver such consistency in the quality of episodes- if only they continue that throughout the series!
I am so pleased that i discovered this little gem and trust me :

DO NOT be intimidated by the plot! It's not a Wesley Snipes meets Will Smith (plus a secretary-dressed chick agent)-trying to save the world from terrors- kind of flick.
Claire Danes is bipolar and she dresses awful!

Yeap, it's all about saving oneself and acting.

fair and square

Ooooh! I like it!
(if only it was mine!)
It is not that expensive,it just happens to have a lot of its kind!
Ok, i don't own a fluo box shaped wristlet, but i have a box shaped wristlet and a fluo plain one.

                                                                     Marc by Marc Jacobs wristlet

On the other hand,i have a bottle of shampoo, a bottle of conditioner, but in my bathroom's cabinet there is always one of those  2 in 1 bottles.
You get the picture, right?