Contrast

Well-Fed Weekend...and Mac & Cheeze

2012-01-30T15:12:00.005-05:00

Hey Vassar College,

Am I the only one who feels like we've been here longer than two weeks? Only two weeks!??! I feel like break never even happened!

My work hasn't piled up so much yet (I shouldn't speak too soon...) so I had a lovely weekend of hanging with friends...and their parents. Two friends of mine invited me and a few other friends to dinner with their parents, and who am I to catch up on a free delicious meal?

Friday evening was falafel night at Zorona's on Raymond Ave. Their menu is filled with delicious vegan options, like lentil soup, hummus, babaganoush, stuffed grape leaves, middle

eastern salad. But I think my favorite is the classic falafel plate, which I get with both hummus

& baba and the jordanian salad. And as they say, falafel is a vegan's best friend.

Too tasty for words. And cheap too!

On Saturday night, my friends and I drove up to Rhinebeck to meet the other set of parents for an insanely good dinner at Terrapin. It's not a vegetarian or vegan restaurant per se, but they have some great vegan/vegetarian dishes, and will even make some dishes vegan, vegetarian, or gluten free on request. They have delicious little tapas, my favorite was the gingered leek and tofu pot stickers, which we just kept ordering more of. Then I got the butternut squash soup (which is difficult to find vegan) and a great roasted beets and green bean salad, without the feta cheese. Even though Rhinebeck's a drive, this meal was definitely worth the trip.

The exterior of Terrapin; it used to be a church!

I sure ate well this weekend, concluding with a potluck on Sunday night. I made the spaghetti with avocado sauce that I posted last week - and it's amazing! Highly recommended, but make sure to have a high-quality blender...I know from experience now. My friends also made roasted acorn squash, sauteed mushrooms, grilled asparagus and steamed carrots. I'm going to have to readjust to the DC this week (but luckily they had quinoa today for lunch so not all was lost).

Now I can't wait to cook again! I think I'm feeling some comfort food needed for this week; I don't know if you are too (who isn't all the time though) but here's a recipe for a vegan version of mac and cheese (or mac & cheeze, if you will) from veganyumyum.com

Mac & Cheeze

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

1/3 cup earth balance margarine

2 1/2 tbsp low sodium tamari or soy sauce1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 tbsp lemon juice, fresh

1 tbsp sweet/white/mellow miso

1 tbsp tahini

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 1/4 cup soy milk

1/3 cup nutritional yeast (available at health food stores)

a pinch of salt

black pepper, to taste

3 cups of dry, small paste (like elbows, shells or rotini)

Directions

1. Heat a saucepan and add the earth balance. Once melted, add flour and whisk vigorously until a smooth paste forms. Be careful not to add flour to a pan that is very hot, or the mixture will be lumpy and you'll have to start over. If you mix in the flour as soon as the margarine is melted, you should avoid any problems.

2. To this paste, add tamari, lemon, miso, tahini and tomato paste and whisk until well-incorporated. The mixture should still be paste-like. Then slowly pour in the soymilk, whisking constantly until it is completely incorporated. Add the yeast and mix well. Cook the mixture until it thickens, whisking often. This should take about 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3. Cook the pasta and toss with the finished cheezy sauce. Add a veggie if you like (I love broccoli). If you want to bake your mac & cheeze, top with fresh breadcrumbs and bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes, or until browned and bubbly.

See you next week!

Love,

The Vassar Vegan

Fall 2011 Issue!

2012-01-25T15:15:00.003-05:00

If you didn't get a chance to see our fall issue in print, check it out online HERE!!!

Welcome Back!

2012-01-23T20:06:00.002-05:00

Hey Vassar College,

Hope everyone's having a great kickoff to their semester! I was a bit upset that I had to get off my butt, stop watching old episodes of Mad Men, and start going to class again, but I think I'm getting back into the swing of things. I spent break doing some cooking (including a fun, all-vegan potluck with friends for New Years Eve) and definitely doing some good vegan eating. I went to my favorite vegan spots, Candle Cafe and Peacefood, many times, while also navigating the omnivorous restaurant scene in NYC, which could be pretty difficult. But I did find some great places that were happy to accommodate, like Commerce in the West Village for Italian fare and Junoon near Union Square for crazy delicious Indian food.

Of course I was disappointed to leave all this tasty vegan cuisine behind for the less-reliable ACDC here at Vassar. But I must tell you, I've been pleasantly surprised with the "new DC" if you will. The hot vegetable bar is great - my first dinner back I had steamed kale!! Kale at the DC?? It's a miracle! Also there's been more vegan soup, and it hasn't been too salty at all. I'm really digging the "bread bar" and the quality of the hummus. Dining Services has really seemed to amp up the vegan/vegetarian options! Now only if the Retreat would get a bit more on board...

It's only been a week since being back, and I haven't had a chance to cook yet. But the second I

do, here's what I'm making, courtesy of ohladycakes.com

SPAGHETTI WITH AVOCADO SAUCE

Ingredients:

2 ripe avocados

2 cups spinach leaves

1 carrot, peeled

1 roma tomato

1/2 small white onion

1-2 garlic cloves

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp ground paprika

1/4 tsp ground turmeric

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

2 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup almond milk

16oz spaghetti noodles, cooked

1 tbsp dried basil

1 1/2 cups spinach leaves, chopped

6 tbsp pistachios, chopped

6 tbsp nutritional yeast

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

In a high powered blender (such as a Vitamix), combine the flesh of the avocados, spinach, carrot, tomato, onion and garlic cloves; blend until creamy. Add the lemon juice, paprika, turmeric and salt; pulse for 10-15 seconds then set aside. In a saucepan over medium-low heat, heat the olive oil and milk, then add the spaghetti noodles and basil; mix for 2-3 minutes, or until the noodles are coated. Divide noodles evenly between six plates. Layer, in this order: fresh spinach, avocado sauce, pistachios, nutritional yeast and salt/pepper.

Thats all for now. See you next week!

Love,

The Vassar Vegan

Layout Editor

2012-01-23T15:22:00.003-05:00

SEEKING NEW LAYOUT EDITOR!!!

If you're interested in layout and preferably familiar with the application InDesign please contact us and come to the general body meeting on Wednesday!

Being on the executive board is a great way to become more involved with the magazine.

General Body Meeting

2012-01-23T15:16:00.002-05:00

If you're interested in joining Contrast or if you're already a member please come to our

GENERAL BODY MEETING

9:00pm Wednesday, January 25th

in the Rose Parlor in Main Building

Bring your favorite magazines or anything that has inspired you recently!

SEE YOU THEN!

2011-12-13T17:45:00.002-05:00

Thanks so much to everyone who came to the launch party last night! We were so excited to show you all of our hard work. There are only a few copies left but we will be uploading the issue to the blog shortly.

LAUNCH PARTY!

2011-12-11T12:03:00.001-05:00

IT'S HERE!

COME TO THE LAUNCH PARTY AND GET A COPY

MONDAY, DECEMBER 12th

FACULTY COMMONS (BY THE RETREAT)

6:00-8:00PM

THERE WILL BE FOOD AND MUSIC TOO!

Chanel Pre-Fall 2012- Paris-Bombay

2011-12-07T19:56:00.012-05:00

Now that Pre-Fall has become a legitimate season, Pre-Fall shows, once small presentations or look books sent in the mail, are becoming just as big as Fall or Spring shows. Karl Lagerfeld presented the Chanel Pre-Fall Paris-Bombay collection yesterday in Paris and it was exquisite. Lagerfeld uses the Pre-Fall collections, each inspired by a different city, to showcase the Métiers d'Art, the small ateliers specializing in different couture techniques, such as embroidery, buttons and feathers that Chanel owns in Paris, so Chanel's Pre-Fall collections (such as last year's Paris-Byzance collection) are always especially elaborate. Chanel fun fact: New buttons are designed for every Chanel collection. You will never see the same Chanel button twice!

Here is a link to the video of the show in case you need a study break and want to take a closer look at the elaborate clothes and banquet setting:

http://www.chanel.com/fashion/8-paris-bombay-2011-12-metiers-d-art--chanel-fashion-show-27,0#8-paris-bombay-2011-12-metiers-d-art--chanel-fashion-show-27,0

Randos On Campos

2011-12-07T03:20:00.003-05:00

Name: Sarah Yanuck
Year: Freshman
Top 7 Songs:
1. Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard-Paul Simon
2. Layla-Derek and Dominos
3. Woodstock-Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
4. You're My Best Friend-Straight No Chaser
5. Both Sides Now-Joni Mitchell
6. Wednesday Morning, 3am-Simon and Garfunkel
7. Closer to Fine-Indigo Girls

What are you currently really into?
Ultimate Frisbee, environmental stuff, singing opera, neuro/cog sci

Favorite Lyric: "I don't want a pickle. I just want to ride on my motorcy........cle."-Arlo Guthrie

Favorite song from elementary school: Probably "This One's For The Girls" or something. I remember I listened to "Again" by Lenny with a friend a lot because the boy we liked was switching schools.

Best Concert: Stevie Wonder for sure. Wow!

My experience at Vassar in five words: time management, new friends, campus.

2011-12-04T14:17:00.005-05:00

Hey Vassar College,

So I’m in yet another tech week – this time for the drama department, so it’s even crazier, believe it or not. I’m currently sitting in the parterres of the Martel Theater in costume. With all this craziness, I’ve had no time to get my work done, let alone cook anything. So I’ve been relying on the Retreat and the DC (mainly the Retreat) for the bulk of my meals. I thought it’d be wise to let you guys know how a vegan eats on a meal plan.

At the DC, I rely a lot on stir-fry. My favorite combination is tofu, all the vegetables in front of me (particularly onions, broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, peppers and spinach), a little garlic, beans and chickpeas, stirred with a splash of soy sauce and my classic spice blend of turmeric, cayenne, oregano and ginger. Can’t go wrong. When I don’t feel like stir frying, I check to see if the vegan station offerings are appealing – then I supplement with a salad. If I’m not feeling it, I go to the deli and get a sandwich with hummus, lettuce, tomato and mustard on multi-grain. I also end almost every DC meal with a bowl of Chex and granola with soymilk. Always tasty. And you know those days when there’s really nothing? PB & J, all the way. Or PB & B (banana), sprinkled with a little cinnamon.

The classic.

The Retreat is a bit trickier, but still manageable for my vegan diet. I’m a fan of the salad bar with all its veggies and beans, and usually the other offerings are vegan (like tabouli and sesame noodles). Their new salad bar labeling has helped a lot with that. I also love soup, and there’s usually a vegan offering amongst the three (when there’s not, I cry a little, but that’s rare). With the soups, make sure to read all the ingredients, as sometimes butter or milk sneaks itself in there (like in the tomato rice and the butternut squash). I love when a hummus sandwich is premade (the only vegan option of the premade sandwiches), but when it’s not, I get it made at the deli station. I also love the Mediterranean ciabatta (which I usually get as a wrap). At the grill station, I love the grilled veggies on pita, bagel, or in a wrap, and I like adding salsa and hot sauce. The new vegan burger is a great option as well, which I get with lettuce, tomato and sautéed mushrooms on a multi-grain roll. The packaged vegan sandwiches and other items are usually pretty good – I like the seitan sandwich in a pinch. The hummus and pretzels are a great snack, as is the vegan chicken with crackers (even though it’s super expensive). Of course, I think I live on coffee and fresh fruit. And when I need something sweet, the vegan shortbread cookie from Nilda’s always hits the spot.

Nothing wrong with a veggie wrap.

When I’m running to class but need a coffee pick-me-up and the line’s not that long, I stop by the kiosk for soy lattes and cappuccinos, and my new favorite, coffee with steamed soymilk.

So I hope this little guide helps you in trying to navigate campus dining as a vegan. It may seem daunting at first, but once you get used to it, it’s pretty easy, and not as boring as just eating lettuce leaves.

Well, I’m about to go on stage! Good luck with work everyone!

Love,

The Vassar Vegan

Supersonic, magnifique, tres tres cool et tres tres chic

2011-12-01T09:53:00.009-05:00

Here are some photos from the french fashion show we had a few weeks ago in the Loeb:

Photos: Caroline Mills

Photos: Alexander Schlesinger

Thanks to all the models who looked fab and worked the catwalk hard!

Cribzzz

2011-11-29T10:26:00.001-05:00

This semester, we went into student's living spaces to check out some impressive interior decorating... apparently Jason Schwartzman and Roman Coppola had the same idea.

MMiP: Thrifting Edition

2011-11-22T17:16:00.004-05:00

Last Saturday we had a blast finding cheap threads at the Goodwill and eating some greasy grub and boozy milkshakes(for those of us that were 21+ of course) at the Eveready Diner for Contrast's Meet Me in Poughkeepsie. Here are a few photos from the day:

The French Connection

2011-11-22T00:04:00.001-05:00

If you missed the big show, check out this video of our runway show, featuring 18 fabulous models and French-inspired looks from then and now...Oo la la!!!

2011-11-21T13:16:00.004-05:00

Hey Vassar College!

So I have another busy tech week under my belt! My second show of the semester is done (the one about all those cats…) but that means I’ve had barely any time to think about anything else! One thing I managed to do was decide what I’m cooking for Thanksgiving, only 3 days away! Eek! Pumpkin pie is my favorite, so I’m definitely making this vegan version. Also, I’m going to pay homage to Aunt Harriet’s famous corn pudding by veganizing it. Traditionally, she makes her corn pudding with a can of corn, a can of creamed corn, a stick of butter, a cup of sour cream and a box of Jiffy’s cornbread mix. When I wasn’t vegan, I could’ve eaten the entire bowl myself (and given myself a coronary). To make it vegan, all I’m doing is substituting vegan margarine for butter and nondairy sour cream for its dairy compatriot. Also, instead of the cornbread mix (which contains “animal shortening”), I’m using a mix of 1/3 cup sugar, ½ cup cornmeal and ½ cup flour. It all gets thrown in a baking dish and baked for an hour at 350 degrees F. Deeeelicious.

Mmmm, corn pudding!

Also, my favorite NYC vegan restaurant, Candle 79, is catering Thanksgiving for those who don’t want to cook. I’m ordering a few things for our Thanksgiving meal, in addition to cooking (and the food my mother already is having catered, since the most cooking she does is picking up a telephone and dialing). If I could, I would order my entire Thanksgiving meal from this place! Everything sounds delicious! But I chose to get the Roasted Squash soup, the Walnut-Sage Crusted Seitan with roasted root vegetables, grilled endive and vegetable-mushroom reduction, and of course a Pecan Pie. Mmmm, can it be Thursday yet? Here’s a link to their website.

Also, here’s a recipe I just found on one of my go-to vegan blogs. I might have to add this to my Thanksgiving dinner table.

CREAMY VEGAN BROCCOLI AND RICE CASSEROLE (from blog.fatfreevegan.com)

Ingredients:

Sauce:

1 ¼ cup plain unsweetened soymilk (or other nondairy milk)

½ cup nutritional yeast

4 tsp cornstarch or potato starch

1 clove garlic

½ tbsp lemon juice

½ tbsp sherry (optional)

½ tsp salt (or more to taste)

½ tsp onion powder

¼ tsp dry mustard

¼ tsp smoked paprika

Pinch cayenne pepper

1 tbsp tahini or cashew butter (optional)

Black pepper

Casserole:

1 head broccoli, cut into small florets (about 5 cups)

1 medium onion, chopped

½ red or yellow bell pepper, chopped

½ cup chopped celery

1 ¾ cups cooked chickpeas

½ tsp dried thyme

3 cups cooked brown rice (warm if possible)

2 tbsp sliced or slivered almonds (optional)

1) Preheat oven to 375. Lightly oil or spray a medium casserole dish

2) Place the sauce ingredients into a blender and process until smooth. Set aside.

3) Steam the broccoli over water, covered, until just barely tender, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat.

4) While the broccoli is steaming, heat a large, deep non-stick skillet or sauté pan. Add the onion, bell pepper and celery and cook, stirring constantly, for 4-5 minutes. Stir in the chickpeas, thyme, rice and steamed broccoli. Make sure the sauce is well blended and add it to the skillet. Stir gently and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Check seasonings, adding more salt and pepper if necessary, and smooth into the prepared casserole dish. Bake until the top begins to brown, about 20 minutes. Serve hot.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Love,

The Vassar Vegan

Holographic Fashion Show

2011-11-16T15:23:00.003-05:00

Check out Burberry's crazy Fall 2011 fashion show in Beijing. The 3D holograms will blow your mind.

Check out the full show here.

2011-11-14T13:42:00.002-05:00

Hi Vassar College!

I don’t know about any of you, but I can’t believe it’s already the middle of November! Thanksgiving is only a week away (eek!) and I’m busy gathering some recipes to cook for my own family’s Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, it won’t be all vegan (Uncle David likes turkey too much) but I’m going to be supplying some vegan side dishes and desserts! More on that next week, when I solidify my recipes.

But this week, I was thrilled to be able to share some of my vegan cooking tips with about 10 hungry people, as part of Davison’s Multi-Cultural Cooking Class event. Through VARC, I taught a cooking class featuring healthful, vegan eating! We made the black bean and butternut squash chili that I posted a few weeks ago, as well as these pumpkin cookies from ohladycakes.com. Everything was awesomely delicious, and only took about an hour and a half total.

Lots of veggie chopping

Cookies going into the oven!

The last little bit of chili left! Yum!

I also noticed that I haven’t given a recipe that can be made in the DC in quite a while. So here’s one, from Vegetarian Times, that’s great for breakfast or dinner!

SOUTHWESTERN TOFU SCRAMBLE (from Vegetarian Times)

1) Add a little oil to a large skillet and set over medium heat. Add bell pepper and carrot and cook just until tender

2) Stir in onions, garlic, a sprinkle of cumin and a sprinkle of turmeric and cook for another minute

3) Add tofu and a little hot sauce. Combine with vegetables and cook another few minutes, or until the tofu is heated through and all liquid has evaporated

4) Enjoy!

Love,

The Vassar Vegan

FASHION SHOW // The French Connection: featuring looks from Then and Now

2011-11-13T19:42:00.001-05:00

Randos on Campos

2011-11-09T17:40:00.003-05:00

Name:Daniel Killian (or just DK)
Year: Freshman
Top 7 Songs:
1. Hip Hop – Dead Prez
2. Take You Home To My Mama – The Dream
3. Daffodils – Charlene Soraia
4. Snake In The Grass – Waka Flocka Flame
5. Loft Music – The Weeknd
6. Example – Curren$y
7. Swords From Berkeley – Kreateen

Song being played on the iPod lately:
Bass – ASAP Rocky

Favorite Song Lyrics:
From Paris Hilton by Lil B: "I'm Paris Hilton/Swag Paris Hilton/Bag Paris Hilton/I think I'm Paris Hilton"

Guilty Listening Pleasure:
I love me some Meiko

Favorite Song In Elementary School:
What's My Name – Lil Bow Wow featuring Snoop Dogg

Dormal Formal

2011-11-09T12:20:00.007-05:00

Photos Caroline Mills

Check Out our facebook page in a few days for more Dormal Formal Pics!

Hype Hop

2011-11-07T01:55:00.003-05:00

Blast from the past! (aka, earlier this semester)

All photos by Alex Schlesinger.

2011-11-06T15:58:00.004-05:00

Hey Vassar College!

I’ve had a lovely and relaxing week – my show is over, I’ve had some down time with work, been watching tons of Mad Men on instant Netflix; life’s been pretty good. Of course, when I have some time to kill, I usually spend it online shopping (or online window shopping, since I’ve been trying to curb my spending habits lately). But I have to say, all the vegan leather from Free People is really tempting me! They’ve got vegan leather jackets, vegan suede flare pants, vegan leather shorts. And it’s not that expensive! Too good to be true (but unfortunately for my wallet, it’s true). Here’s a link to all their vegan apparel:

Vegan suede flares

Vegan leather shorts

Vegan leather jacket

I haven’t been able to cook that much due to my crazy schedule, but Friday night, a few friends and I decided to make a Mexican-themed dinner of spicy seitan fajitas and homemade guacamole. For those who think “seitan” is the same as the devil, you’re wrong. Seitan (not Satan) is wheat gluten and often used as an alternative to soy-based vegetarian proteins. It’s the “meatiest” tasting of vegan proteins, so all the carnivores out there will probably dig it. One of my friends whom I cooked this dinner with had never tried seitan before, and now she’s hooked. This was super easy to make and crazy-delicious.

SPICY SEITAN FAJITAS (from Vegetarian Times)

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

2 large red bell peppers, halved, seeded and thinly sliced (4 cups)

2 medium onions, halved and thinly sliced (3 cups)

¼ cup lime juice

2 tbsp chopped cilantro

2 tsp agave nectar

1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp)

1 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp dried oregano

½ tsp chipotle chili powder

1 8oz pkg seitan, rinsed, drained and thinly sliced

8 6-inch sprouted whole grain tortillas, warmed

1) Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers and onions and cook 10 minutes, or until veggies are soft and beginning to brown, stirring often

2) Meanwhile, whisk together lime juice, cilantro, agave nectar, garlic, cumin, oregano and chili powder in small bowl

3) Add seitan to bell pepper mixture, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Cook 2 to 3 minutes or until seitan begins to brown. Stir in lime juice mixture and cook 3 to 4 minutes or until most of liquid has evaporated. Serve with warm tortillas.

Until next week!

-The Vassar Vegan

Happy No-Shave November Everyone!

2011-11-02T14:29:00.002-04:00

Randos on Campos

2011-11-02T14:16:00.004-04:00

Hey everyone! So I realized that last week I made a post without explaining exactly what it is or what it's about. Basically, I want to put up a profile of a Vassar student every week, with some random facts about them, their musical tastes (which I always wonder about people), and other tid-bits that I find entertaining/funny/weird. If you want to be featured, please email me at cara.liana@gmail.com. Enjoy!

Name: Sandy Miller
Year: Freshman
Top 7 Songs:
1. The Boxer - Simon and Garfunkel
2. Living Room- Tegan and Sara
3. Rumpshaker- Wreckx-n-Effect
4. Pale Blue Eyes - The Velvet Underground
5. Rose Parade - Elliott Smith
6. Work it Out- Jurassic 5 & Dave Matthews Band
7. Hoppipolla - Sigur Ros

Artist you can relate to most:
Janelle Monae, check out her fancy footwork here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwnefUaKCbc

Sum up your thoughts on Vassar in 5 words: Nilda's cookies are the shit.

Favorite song when you were in 3rd grade: That's How I Beat Shaq - Aaron Carter

Lil Jon or T-Pain?
Lil Jon, I dig that pimp cup.

Best song to play when it's raining: No Rain- Blind Melon

Most recent musical discovery:
Post-Industrial Dubstep Synth-Krautrock... it's pretty underground right now.

2011-10-30T20:13:00.005-04:00

Hey Vassar College!

Hope everyone had a great Halloweekend, despite the treacherous winter weather.

This past week, I was in nonstop tech rehearsals for Woodshed’s production of Mr. Marmalade. It’s a great play about a four-year-old girl whose imaginary friend doesn’t have time for her. It’s hilarious and disturbing and outrageous and was so much fun to work on. There’s a “junk food dinner” scene, where two characters feast on tons and tons of junk food. I really wanted to stay vegan during the show, so I made sure I had Oreos, animal crackers, pixie stix and pretzels at my disposal. Chocolate milk is consumed in the show, but my cast was kind enough to put chocolate soymilk in a milk carton. I also found vegan whipped cream from Soyatoo (found at Whole Foods and online at veganessentials.com).

In the same scene, a huge sushi boat comes out and my character has to eat the sushi. Not only was sushi a really expensive prop, but even if we had all the budget in the world, I wouldn’t have eaten it. So getting creative, I made candy sushi. For the sushi pieces, I put a Swedish fish on top of a balled up piece of white bread and wrapped it in Fruit by the Foot. For the sushi rolls, I found vegan marshmallows from Sweet & Sara (also at Whole Foods), wrapped those in Fruit Roll-ups, topped them with white frosting and coconut flakes and placed a Swedish fish tail in the center. Ta-da! Sushi that I could eat on stage (and sushi that a four-year-old would love)

So it’s been a crazy week! I’ve got lots of work to do that I neglected while in rehearsal, but for those with a little more time to cook, here’s an awesome chili that celebrates the flavors of fall (because it’s NOT winter, I don’t care what you say, snow!)

BLACK BEAN & BUTTERNUT SQUASH CHILI (from Party Vegan by Robin Robertson)

Ingredients:

1 small butternut squash, peeled, halved and seeded

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 carrot, finely chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped (optional)

1 (14.5 oz) can crushed tomatoes

2 tbsp tomato paste

3 (15.5 oz) cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1 chipotle chile in adobo, minced (found canned)

1 cup apple juice

3 tbsp chili powder

½ tsp allspice

½ tsp sugar

Salt and pepper

1) 1) Cut squash into ¼ inch dice and set aside. In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, squash, carrot and bell pepper (if using). Cover and cook until softened, about 10 minutes.

2) 2) Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, beans and chipotle. Stir in apple juice, chili powder, allspice, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer, covered, until the veggies are tender, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3) 3) Uncover and simmer about 10 more minutes. Serve hot

Happy Halloweeen!

Love, The Vassar Vegan

Ghoulin' Good Nails

2011-10-28T16:46:00.006-04:00

Get festive with Halloween inspired painted nails!

Below is some inspiration for your hallowtastic nail creations from kick-ass London nail salon Wah Nails, who do some crazy sh*t with nail polish.

For DIY Wah nails, Sally Hansen has a great collection of nail art pens and Refinery 29 has an awesome step-by-step post on how to create similar Halloween themed nails here.

Some Randos on Campos

2011-10-24T01:18:00.004-04:00

Name: Jonah Bleckner

Year: Freshman

Top 7 Songs:

1. At Last – Etta James

2. Cigarettes and Coffee – Otis Redding

3. Landslide – Stevie Nicks

4. Ignition (Remix) – R-Kelley

5. Back Where I Started – Derek Trucks Band

6. I Want You Back – Jackson 5

7. Wild Horses – The Rolling Stones

Favorite Song Lyric: “Ask Beavis, I get nothing Butt-head” – Big L

Thoughts on Tyler the Creator: Don’t like him.

If a Biography was written about you what would it be titled?

A Lonely Lonely Boy

Favorite Sandwich?

Spicy Buffalo Chicken Wrap

Pet Peeve?

When people clear their throats loudly and unnecessarily in class.

Prada Spring 2012

2011-10-23T22:16:00.003-04:00

Once again, Prada's collection was once of the most talked-about of the season. Frankly, it was adorable. Miuccia Prada was inspired by the 1950's, and more specifically, 1950's cars. She sent pleated skirts in pastel colors down the runway paired with bandeau tops and simple, printed jackets. Although the clothing may have seemed prim and proper, bare midriffs and plenty of leather, not to mention a noticeable lack of poufy skirts, stopped the collection from being too girly. Dresses printed with cars and flames brought Miuccia's signature whimsy, and leather cars on clutches and bags, along with heels decorated with exhaust-pipe flames topped it all off perfectly.

Fake Karl

2011-10-23T15:46:00.003-04:00

if you like karl lagerfeld (and diana vreeland, and anna wintour) you will love this blog:

http://www.fakekarl.com

The URL explains it all, it is someone pretending to be karl lagerfeld and whoever it is does a pretty good job.

Here is one of the best posts:

The Very Hungry Model: a Children's Story

Once upon a time there was a very thin model. Her name was Coco because all models are named that these days, because what actually happens is that people run out of names and then there’s no names to use so they just use Coco. And they drink Coco too, so they must be fat and wear polos because everybody knows that Coco contains calories (and Coco before bed is bad because how are you going to exercise it off, hmm? Unless you do..You Know What…but as this is a children’s book we shall not get into this. Ask Mummy about this when you are older).

Now. There was a model named Coco and she was very thin. She was so thin that all the designers wanted her for their shows, because she took up less fabric than normal people and therefore it was more economical to have her as a model. Of course, the other option was to have her buy the clothes she modelled herself; however this was not much of an option as then she’d be what we call a “consumer”, and not a model.

One day Coco was walking down the runway at Dries Van Noten bear’s show; where there was a girl-bear in the front row who was eating an APPLE. Coco felt an unfamiliar rumbling in her barely-there stomach, and made one giant jump for the apple; and tried to snatch it from the girl-bear’s hand.
“Mine!” said the girl-bear.
“No, mine!” said Coco, although she couldn’t possibly snatch it anyway because she was so very thin.
Coco’s stomach rumbled again.
“Awww…” said the girl-bear. I suppose you can have my apple…
Coco ate it and she then had a apple protruding out of her stomach, never mind all this business about the “digestive system”. She was still hungry.

The next day Coco ate two celery sticks, more than her usual one. She thought the apple would sustain her for a year or ten, but it had not. The apple was like crack for her, and it’s here was can learn about life: don’t feed the models (because food is like crack for them, haven’t you been told in school not to do drugs?).

The next day Coco ate 4 celery sticks and a piece of gum which her friend Geneva gallantly gave her.

The next day Coco sneaked into the bakery and bought ONE donut, as well as having EIGHT celery sticks and TWO pieces of gum.

The next day Coco bought TWO donuts from the bakery, ONE cream bun and 16 celery sticks and a whole PACKET of gum.

Karl-bear came to see her, and have her a copy of his book: “The Karl Lagerfeld Diet”. But the silly girl would not listen. She continued to nutrition herself, and keep herself healthy.

The next day Coco ate ONE roll of salami, ONE cake, FIVE donuts and 32 celery sticks and FIVE packets of gum. She was a very fat model. She weighed 60 Kilograms!

The next day Coco ate FIVE rolls of salami, TWO cakes; including a wedding cake, TEN donuts, 64 celery sticks and TEN packets of gum. That day she had a show, and she was so fat that she looked like a giant ball. And they had to roll her down the runway, and she crushed the audience and their Manalos.

She was a very very very very very fat model.

But then! She went into a rehab centre, which is basically a cocoon for famous people where The Karl Lagerfeld diet became her bible. And she emerged a beautiful butterfly-- I mean, model. And she was very thin again, and therefore fulfilled.

The Vassar Vegan!

2011-10-23T10:11:00.008-04:00

Welcome back from break, Vassar College!

This is my first post for Contrast, and I’m so excited to show you the benefits of a vegan lifestyle…AND how easy it is, even at college. I’m here to give you vegan recipes, show you new vegan products, and give you tips about how to be a Vassar Vegan!

First of all, what does being vegan really involve? For me at least, it means that I don’t eat any animal products: that’s meat, poultry, seafood, dairy and eggs, and any product that has animal derivatives. So what do I eat? Plant-based foods, plus all the alternatives to meat and dairy, like non-dairy milk and soy sausage. I also strive to avoid buying animal products for clothing, toiletries and other products that have been tested on animals.

The next question might be, why vegan? For me, there are so many reasons. Factory farms, where the world gets upwards of 95% of their animal products, treat their animals abominably—agribusiness treats animals as solely commodities, where the animals become immobile and live a life of suffering. About 85% of world marine fish stocks are exploited and depleted, causing serious damage to our oceans. Growing animals for livestock is also responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions. (whyvegan.com) Animal waste from feedlots and factories is the leading cause of pollution in groundwater and rivers.

Even Lisa Simpson ponders what it truly means to be a meateater

And finally, if saving animals and the earth weren’t reason enough, consuming animal fats and proteins has been linked to higher risk of heart disease, different types of cancers, osteoporosis, diabetes, obesity and other devastating conditions (vegan.org). A vegan diet can provide all the nutrients we need to be healthy!

I also find that I just feel better living a vegan lifestyle, both physically and mentally. If you try it, you might feel the same way! If you’re interested and want to read more, go to veganoutreach.org or come to the Vassar Animal Rights Coalition meetings Tuesdays at 5pm in the Rose Parlor (how’s that for a shameless plug?)

Thanks for getting this far; I hope I haven’t scared you away. In fact, I hope you’re excited by all the benefits of a vegan lifestyle! I’m here to make your life easier, so let’s start with the fun stuff!

Here’s a delicious recipe that you can make in the DC at the stir-fry station: CHICKPEA CURRY, courtesy of one of my favorite blogs, theveganstoner.blogspot.com!

1) Throw some bell pepper, carrot, chickpeas and a big scoop of soy yogurt into a pan and heat on medium-high

2) Stir in a good amount of curry powder and some garlic powder

3) Season with salt and pepper (and Sriracha if you want, which I add to everything)

4) When the veggies start getting soft, add a scoop of brown rice

5) Cook until soft

6) Enjoy, and make all your friends jealous that you’re eating something delicious!

That’s all for now! See you next week!

-The Vassar Vegan

Soviet Russia meets American Pin-Up

2011-10-18T23:05:00.007-04:00

Ulyana Sergeenko is making waves with her new Autumn/Winter 2011/2012 ready-to-wear line in Russia. Her clothes were featured in Russian Vogue and are inspired by 1950's soviet Russia. They make me want to throw on a fur muffle, a pair of red hot shorts, and dance the night away in Moscow in a Vodka induced haze.

2011-10-14T11:20:00.003-04:00

Check out this great article from US Vogue, about art influences on Spring 2012 collections...some of the works are on view at Dia: Beacon or MoMA! October break excursion, anyone?

http://www.vogue.com/vogue-daily/article/museum-as-mood-board-spring-fashion-collections-are-rooted-in-fine-art/

Remember Contrast's Fall 2009 accessories spread "Living in Art?" No? Take a look at our archive for more art-inspired fashion!

Street Style 10/11/11

2011-10-11T14:01:00.003-04:00

100 Years of Style

2011-10-08T18:23:00.002-04:00

This weekend we are shooting our Vassar style through the ages photo shoot for our fall issue, so this video seemed very fitting. Enjoy!

Street Style 10/7/11

2011-10-07T13:18:00.005-04:00

Photo by Caroline Mills

Photo by Hannah Tatar

Pretty in Pastel

2011-10-07T11:21:00.004-04:00

Spring 2012 is going to be all about pastels, it seems. Chanel and Loius Vuitton both featured rosy pinks, aqua, and yellow looks against all-white sets. Take a look some gorgeous shots captured by Garance Doré and wander through her blog- it's wonderful.

We especially love this shell purse from Chanel!

Take a ride on the magic merry-go-round, chez Louis Vuitton...

Lanvin featured some pastels, punctuated with super-saturated tones for a little edge. yes please.

Fashion Month...

2011-10-06T16:52:00.003-04:00

Paris Fashion Week ended yesterday, and here is a great recap of some of biggest trends seen at the shows over the past month.

http://www.fashionologie.com/Spring-2012-Trends-19102109?page=0,0,0#17

get ready for Spring 2012 everyone!

Bigger re-cap of the shows coming soon.....

Street Style 10/3/11

2011-10-04T00:35:00.004-04:00

Photo by Rachel Garbade

Fall 2011 Model Casting

2011-10-03T22:01:00.001-04:00

Street Style 10/2/11

2011-10-02T20:41:00.003-04:00

Photo by Kelley Van Dilla

Calling All Craftsmen and Craftswomen!

2011-09-29T15:28:00.002-04:00

Hey creative Vassar students! WE WANT YOU! Do you sew your own clothes? Knit your own scarves and hats? Make your own bracelets? We're looking for students to be profiled who are super talented and have great stuff we can showcase. We know you're out there! If you would like to be considered, please send us an email to vassarcontrast@gmail.com with photos of some of your work.

Thanks designers!

Vassar Cribs

2011-09-29T11:36:00.004-04:00

Hey do you think your dorm room is dank or your crib is crunk? Did you just spend countless hours creating a kick ass collage out of beer boxes, vice posters and masking tape? Or did you go the minimalist approach and spray paint everything in your room white and scream every time someone comes in with muddy boots? Here's your chance to show off all your hard work and DIY skills. "Hide yo kids, hide yo wife" cause Contrast is invading your cribs and showing them off (and you) in a photo spread in our Fall issue. We will be picking 4 to 6 of the most interesting dorm rooms, TH's, TA's, SOCO's and off campus houses and you can be one of them! Just send us a photo or a few of your crib to vassarcontrast@gmail.com or message them to our facebook page!

Street Style 9/28/11

2011-09-28T23:58:00.003-04:00

Photos by Rachel Garbade

Street Style

2011-09-27T10:25:00.003-04:00

Photo by Tzvetie Garneva

Photo by Kelley Van Dilla

ABC as Easy as 123

2011-09-19T07:58:00.002-04:00

Photos by Logan Woodruff, Emilia Petrarca, Caroline Mills and Hannah Tatar.

Look out for more photos on our facebook page in a few days.

RAVE PHOTOS!

2011-09-04T16:34:00.002-04:00

Photos taken by Caroline Mills, Emilia Petrarca, Hannah Tatar, and Kelley Van Dilla

Fashioning An Education: 150 Years of Vassar Students and What They Wore

2011-05-14T09:05:00.000-04:00

By now, you've probably read Maddie Davis's article "Curating the Vassar Look" in our Spring 2011 issue. Opening day for the exhibit, "Fashioning an Education," is here! Here is the info from the exhibit's blog:

May 16-June 12 at the Palmer Gallery, Vassar College (Poughkeepsie, NY) To celebrate the college’s 150th anniversary, the Vassar College Costume Collection will share student research about the complex role that education has played to influence fashion. This exhibition will showcase student clothing from the 1860′s to 1950′s and photographs of student styles from the 1960′s to today.
opening on Monday, May 16, with a reception from 4-6pm
from May 19 – June 12, open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 1-4pm
additional times:
Tuesday, May 17 and Wednesday, May 18 from 1-4pm
Sunday, May 22 from 12-3pm
Sunday, June 12 from 11-2pm
as well as by appointment by calling (845) 437-5250

Don't forget, the opening reception is this Monday, May 16, from 4-6 PM. Take a study break and look at some amazing examples of Vassar's history!

Contrast's Sesquicentennial Issue

2011-05-07T09:24:00.000-04:00

Contrast is proud to present our Sesquicentennial/ Spring 2011 issue! We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed making it.

Open publication - Free publishing - More 2010-2011

The Enigma of the Vassar Athlete

2011-05-05T16:24:00.000-04:00

The Enigma of the Vassar Athlete

By Nicole Alter

You can see them at the DC sitting around massive tables in sweatpants, beat-up sneakers, and t-shirts that aren’t vintage. Chances are you probably hear about their parties and attractive players before you hear about their wins or losses. Who are they? Vassar’s athletes. At our small liberal arts school, most non-athletes know little or next to nothing about our sporty classmates. One has to wonder, what is it like to be an athlete at a division three school? How come people don’t go to games? What does the student population think of our athletes?

On average, teams practice five to six days a week for several hours each day. For example, the girls lacrosse team commits themselves to cardio workouts five days a week, usually sprints, as well as weight lifting at the gym three times a week. Men’s rowing also practices six days a week, waking up at the crack of dawn for practice at 5: 25 or 6:15. The Captain of Men’s crew, Morgan Mako (‘11), says that he sleeps early every night and “ participating in athletics has improved my academic work because it has taught me immense discipline, proper use of my time, and to work with deadlines. The quality of my work has improved because I am a Student-Athlete, not just a student”.

Lindsay Haggerty (’13) described how the women’s lacrosse team goes to the DC after practice then to the library together to get homework done. Mo Bryne (’11) said “the majority of us get better grades during the season and you put yourself on a tight schedule when you don’t have free time and you need to sleep”. Many athletes are also part of other activities and clubs such as choir, acapella groups, and student government (Mo Bryne is the president of the senior class) and a lot of teammates have jobs. Women’s soccer team captain Allison McManis (’11) carries the lessons of “discipline, commitment, positive thinking, moral integrity, loyalty, a hard work ethic and passion” from the field into “all aspects of life”.

As for the weekends, the team consists of “a lot” of their social life, Michaela Garrison (’13) says perhaps “ 75%- 80%” of your social life and this is “ because when you spend so much time with a group of people, they become your family, so we have no problem calling each other out, and we don’t butt heads” Maura McCarthy (’12). Mako explains that “ my team is my social life and my entire Vassar experience revolves around my devotion to this incredibly disciplined, amazing group of individuals”. If they don’t have games the next morning, athletes might be seen at “athlete parties” because they “run into the same circles” of people. One lacrosse player explained, “especially by senior year many of the houses are all athletes so they all tend to party together”. Though David Ringold (’11) does not live with athletes or exclusively hang out with baseball players, he agrees with a stereotype that teams party harder because “We do drink more and party more than non-athletes as a way to relieve stress. Athletes spend time doing their sport and are in turn given less time than non-athletes to do their schoolwork.”

Athletes agree that they fit into Vassar pretty well, however, they get annoyed at other students’ misconceptions about them. For instance, McMannis thinks, “simply labeling athletes as “bros” belittles our commitment to our cause and undermines any attempt to foster a space that values sports within the Vassar community”. Even though Vassar is a division three school, some non-athletes misunderstand that athletes are not accepted because of their skills in sports. According to David, “Every year since I have been here athletes have had a higher GPA than non-athletes and in my interactions I would say that intelligence varies as much within athletics as outside of it. There are also just as many non-athletes in the supposed easy classes as athletes”. Students may not realize that being at a division three school means that “academics come first, then athletics” and their acceptance is based on their own academic merit. On top of that, division three schools do not offer athletic scholarships.

It is frustrating being an athlete at a school where many people are not as interested in sports as theater or music, and the lacrosse team says around fifty people will show up to their games on a good day, but most of the spectators are other athletes or parents. Mako explains the misconception “that since Vassar is not a Div I school, that Vassar athletes somehow are not as competitive as other larger athletics programs or lack prowess because we are a "liberal arts college," as if this means something. This simply is unfounded as Vassar puts forth excellent competition in various athletic disciplines year after year”.

Something the Vassar community may not know about the women’s lax team is that they are part of a foundation called Friend of Jaclyn, an organization started that supports children with brain tumors. Currently, the team has adopted a six-year-old girl named Grace who likes lacrosse and the team will bring her around at games and send her video messages “to take her mind off of things”. The Men and Women’s soccer team will host the annual Lose the Shoes tournament (a six person tournament open to the whole campus that benefits AIDS education in Africa) and they will be doing Spring caroling to elderly homes. It seems that our athletic teams have contributed a lot to our community and their efforts have not been appreciated enough and the athletes would just like fellow students to “come to our games, come support your student athletes.”

It's here...

2011-05-04T21:22:00.000-04:00

The Spring 2011 issue is here! Be the first to get your copy at our party tomorrow night at the Loeb from 6-9 PM. Here are some behind the scenes photos from our Women's Style Editor Alycia Anderson to whet your appetite:

Did you miss our fall issue? It's now online! Read it here:

(Click here for a larger view.)

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

2011-03-25T15:53:00.000-04:00

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. As I'm sure most of us know from various history classes, the fire was a huge tragedy--144 immigrant workers, locked in on the eighth floor of a garment factory, perished in the flames. After the fire, new safety codes were put into place to protect the safety of all workers. The New York Times has set up a blog about the incident, with one particularly moving piece about the victims' descendants.

The Times has also created a video series about current working conditions in the garment industry in New York.

I've worked in the Garment District for the past few summers and I've seen quite a few factories. Most of them, as you can see in the video, are well-lit, air conditioned, none of the doors were locked, everyone had a lunch and dinner break, and the facilities were smoking-free (no wayward cigarette could start a fire, and the air was clean for the workers). So, on the surface, working conditions are decent. Obviously, as an intern, it was impossible to know if any of the factories I observed were actual sweat shops--i.e., does the factory owner pay the workers minimum wage in a timely fashion? Is the workload doable? I believe that my bosses used legitimate factories. The video above highlights other issues in the Garment District: employment and the nature of that employment. Like the women and men who died in the fire a century ago, immigrants come from all over the world--Asia, Africa, and South America--to work in these factories for long hours with little pay. Unlike the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory workers, these immigrants would not be working at factories that take high volume orders. By the mid-20th century, New York was the apparel manufacturing capital of the entire United States. Now, 100 years after the fire, almost all of that work has either gone to LA and Mexico or across the Pacific to Southeast Asia and (what we will probably see more in the coming years as China outsources its manufacturing) Africa.

Milan Fashion Week Update

2011-03-04T18:21:00.001-05:00

You could say that London Fashion Week was about the agony of being rich. Milan was different: there were five different ways to be elegant and (almost) all of them were covetable.

The 60s

It's pretty apparent that the past four or five years have been a Magical Mystery Tour of the 20th century--where we'll stop, no one knows. Last calendar year we traveled from the 50s to the 70s, but if some people had their way, we'd find the perfect medium and come out in the middle: the late 60s. Prada was all about "innocent" glamor, so they sent a New Wave girl out on the runway, chocabloc with references to YSL's Mondrian dress and Paco Rabbane's creations--sweet double-breasted coats paired with a very low waistline and plastic paillete dresses. Over at Aquilano.Rimondi and Marni, late-60s Balenciaga saw a revival. The Marni collection was all about what designer Consuelo Castiglioni called "severe elegance," pairing the volume of Balenciaga's ponchos with flattening minimalist prints. (This combination seems like a winner for Castiglioni--many critics think this is the oddball label's most accessible collection yet.)

Aquilano. Rimondi

Marni

Prada

The Seventies

This year marked Gucci's 90th anniversary, and Frida Giannini celebrated by taking the house back to the 70s. I normally hate the disco era, but if it means that we'll see more shirts with jabots, smart suits, and long, flowing dresses with slits up to here, then bring it on! This was the first Gucci collection I've liked in awhile--it wasn't the most innovative, but it was elegant. The collection also showcases Milan's unusually strong colors for the season: teal, plum purple, orange, goldenrod, red, goldenrod, and brown.

Gucci

Gucci

(I'd also like to take the opportunity to point out that Dolce & Gabbana showed a similar type of dress, but the collection was deeply embarrassing--designer fanny packs!--and brought me much pain so I will not link to it. You can blind yourself if you want.)

Serpentine

The Milan runways haven't given themselves to prints as much as New York and London have, preferring instead to emphasize Italy's strong textile tradition. Yet this season saw variations on the same theme: mysterious and unsettling curvey prints. Alberta Ferretti showed a strong, unforgettable surrealist print with some of the season's most beautiful colors. Versace riffed on a classic house print, making a baroque curlicew into a mysterious, half-seen Gordian knot.

Alberta Ferretti

Versace

Boudoir

Armani showed a trend that's been more common in New York (Alexander Wang) and Paris (Dior, Anne Valerie Hash) than in Italy. It wasn't a particularly strong collection--I felt some of the models looked like they were in a very high class nursing home--but the colors were lovely. Gray, rose, dusk, black. We'll probably see them around next season.

Giorgio Armani

London Fashion Week Update

2011-02-26T13:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the Apocalypse--or, at least, the moments right before it. No one during London Fashion Week went right out and said that, of course, but the message was clear. Everyone was a scavenger--whether it was raiding Grandma's attic or a museum's Ming vase collection--the general theme to this fashion week was scrounging for bits and pieces. As Style.com's Maya Singer said in her Christopher Raeburn review, "In coming years, it's likely that innovation in fashion is going to revolve less around aesthetics and more around the way things are made—where materials come from and how efficiently garments are produced."

Unusual Fabric

Like Rodarte and Proenza Schouler in New York, lots London designers experimented with custom-made fabrics. Erdem envisioned a mad artist's wife, shredding her husband's canvases to pieces and making them part of herself. Each dress had patches of tweed, silk, sequins--you name it. Both House of Holland and Christopher Kane took little old ladies as their point of departure: Henry Holland used custom Scottish tweeds, while Christopher Kane deployed some sinister crochet and...those weird poofy stickers with liquid in them that change color when you touch them. Kane wanted to use a textile that no had ever used before. The results are mixed, but one thing's for sure--no fast fashion house will be able to copy any of these designers.

House of Holland

Erdem

Christopher Kane

Wild Prints

Lately, Brit designers have been much more adventurous than their American peers when it comes to prints. Last season, Mary Katrantzou surprised and delighted the fashion world by presenting dresses printed with interior photographs. This season, Katrantzou decided to show the "woman in the room," and all of the objects she owns--precious Ming vases, Faberge eggs, jewels. Jonathan Saunders was inspired by the early 30s photographer Paul Outerbridge, who experimented with color photography techniques. Both designers presented a woman so consumed by collecting that she becomes an objet d'art herself.

Jonathan Saunders

Mary Katrantzou

London Fashion Week may not directly impact American design, but it gives us a preview of what to watch out for at H&M and Topshop: black, white, red, mustard, plum, and navy, as can be seen at Antonio Berardi and Matthew Williamson, and fur, as amply demonstrated by Giles Deacon. Oh, and crazy ladies. Lots and lots of crazy ladies.

Reel to Real #16: Julie Christie in "Don't Look Now"

2011-02-20T20:46:00.004-05:00

Here's a confession: I'm afraid to grow up. Generally, it's okay to dress as crazily as we want to until we hit a certain age, when we then have to (yikes) enter the workplace and somehow look mature. Well, despite how much i've praised "sophisticated" looks in the column, I personally believe in dressing as whimsically as possible, and think that expectations of "age-appropriate"ness shouldn't interfere with creativity.

Which is why I love Julie Christie in 1973's "Don't Look Now": she looks mature and playful at once. Christie was a 60s icon, and as the decades changed, fashion turned away from the playful, Mod style that Christie won admirers for (such as myself: more than half my posts are about 60s films). The process of exiting the 60s for me is embodied in a sartorial change and the passage from youth to adulthood. In "Don't Look Now," Christie plays a mother in mourning for a dead child, so she wears appropriately muted colors. Yet she still incorporates interesting patterns, textures, and layering, such as the tweed coat pictured above, a soft and pretty floral robe, floppy hats, and red leather boots

I most liked the outfit pictured below, which includes pleats, patterns, color, and layering. Watching Don't Look Now made me breathe a sigh of relief at the realization that growing up doesn't mean giving up on having fun with fashion.

New York Fashion Week: Recap

2011-02-19T16:15:00.011-05:00

As New York's Fall Fashion Week 2011 comes to a close, the fashion industry takes a much needed pause before they start the whole process over again in London while the rest of us try and figure out what the hell just happened. It can be incredibly stressful to try and keep up with everything, so we're here to give you a quick synopsis of the trends we noticed this season.

1. PLAID

The "plaid-fad" seems to never truly die but it was back in a big way this season in and covered the models on the runway literally from head to toe.

(Thakoon, Thom Browne, Tory Burch)

2. PONCHOS

We're so glad that ponchos were made cool again. Time to dig them out of your grandma's closet or visit your local thrift store to pick one up for yourself.

(Alexander Wang, Rag & Bone, Band of Outsiders)

3. BRIGHTS

The colors on the runway this season are blinding but after this horrible winter a bright wake-up is welcome.

(3.1 Phillip Lim, Jill Stuart, Rag & Bone)

4. METALLICS

Not only were we blinded by color this season, but also by all things shiny.

(Calvin Klein Collection, Alexander Wang, Marc by Marc Jacobs)

5. FUR

Whether it faux or real, fur had a huge presence on the runway this season, especially in Michael Kors' show.

(Michael Kors, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Oscar de la Renta)

This list is of course only a glimpse of the fashions seen on the runway this season and we await with bated breath what is to come in the weeks to follow. Stay tuned for London!

Reel to Real #15: Rita Hayworth in "Gilda"

2011-02-04T00:00:00.007-05:00

Last week my film history class covered film noir, which inspired me to revisit 1946's Gilda, the tagline of which proclaims, "There never was a woman like Gilda!" Indeed. Rita Hayworth's performance as the titular siren is unforgettably steamy, to the extent that the first nuclear bomb tested after World War 2 was named "Gilda" after her.

Revisiting "Gilda," I was so impressed by Hayworth's performance. I hadn't forgotten her electrifying presence- just try to after seeing the film!-- but she expertly delivers the characteristically noir, snappy and witty dialogue with panache. Widely regarded as one of cinema's greatest sex symbols, Gilda also proves her underrated talent

Also ignored in the shadow of Hayworth's status as a sex symbol are the details of her clothing. I love many wardrobes from 1940s films (as this blog proves), but Hayworth's in Gilda is distinct because of its unique and rich details and accentuations. Take the following picture, taken from my favorite scene: a melancholy Gilda plays her signature tune, "Put the Blame on Mame" on acoustic guitar in a cowl-necked dress with strangely shaped wide sleeves:

When she stands up, we see that the dress is nipped at the waist by a studded belt, and she sports layers of studded bracelets. Unusual for a 40s woman (the bracelets look more 80s!):

Similarly, I loved the unexpected touches to Gilda's outfits, such as a woven belt or jeweled...well, I don't really know how to describe the thing on her chest in the second picture below:

The object of the characters' (and audience's) attention, Gilda's outfits glitter, keeping our eyes focused on her. If only women today, on the street, could get away with wearing this coat:

What modern viewers can adapt from Hayworth in Gilda is the knowledge of how wonderful an unexpected detail can be. It's always a fun surprise to see an outfit look completely different when the wearer stands up. Additionally, surveying Hayworth's outfits for their stylistic merits rather than simply drooling over how sexy she looks in them allows us to begin appreciating her as not just a sex symbol but an actress whose performance makes the film memorable

A Peek At Men's Fashion

2011-01-23T18:55:00.000-05:00

Admittedly, we on the Contrast blog don't cover men's fashion all that often. This is partly because we don't have any writers covering it yet (do you want to? Drop me a line--cecholst [at] vassar.edu), but also because your editor does not much see the point. As far as she is concerned, a man looks best in a well-tailored suit, or naked (especially if said man is Obama's former White House Chief of Staff and currently running for mayor of Chicago with a tragically hideous logo. Call me, Rahm!)

Anyway. This week, Paris is hosting the fall 2011 men's Fashion shows. Fashion is all about characters and so far, personalities have ranged from the sexy 70's inflected gents at Dries van Noten, to the Red Coats at Alexander McQueen, to the sinister skeletons at Mugler (designed by Lady Gaga's friend and stylist Nicola Formichetti) and the Rudolf Valentino meets Ballets Russes explosion that is John Galliano.

Sonny Vandevelde/ New York Times

The New York Times has some great backstage photos from the shows--take a look!

Reel to Real #14: Dominique Sanda in "The Conformist"

2010-12-29T23:06:00.005-05:00

I definitely have issues with the characterization of Anna, played by Dominique Sanda, in Bernardo Bertolucci's 1970 "The Conformist." Clearly bisexual, if not lesbian, Anna initially struts and poses in stereotypically butch fashion, but then submits to the film's cruel protagonist and even enters the hallowed ranks of cinema's "I was raped and liked it!" heroines. Bertolucci associates her bisexuality with rebellion (which seems a bit facile to me), and it serves to titillate the film's protagonist and audience.

But "The Conformist" is a film you remember mostly for its visuals, and damn if Anna's great wardrobe doesn't contribute its visual allure! The film takes place in the 1930s, and its styles are reproduced in the silhouettes of Anna's clothing.

When Anna dances seductively with the protagonist's wife, she wears a stunning white silk gown, bank plunging down and hair immaculately styled. She looks like perfect bourgeois lady, except she's seducing another woman.

I'm in love with the outfit in the above photo. It recalls 1930s actresses such as Marlene Dietrich and Katherine Hepburn who enjoyed wearing menswear, and thus adds to the film's period authenticity while also establishing (if unsuccessfully) Anna as tough and distinct. And check out those shoes! While the tie is supposed to read as butch, I like its nautical feel. Also note the shirt's billowy draping, held in at the middle by a silk belt. Amazing.

I also appreciated Anna's headwear, since modern day folks seem to have forgotten about hats. They really are a whole other aspect that can create an unforgettable image; we're really missing out by overlooking them! Also, does anyone else see a relation between the black veiled hat and the previous entry on Marlene Dietrich in "Shanghai Express"?

Though Anna's costumes are wonderfully reflective of a rich 30s woman, she does at one point sport dance clothes that seem very 80s but still somehow elegant

Reel to Real #13: Marlene Dietrich in "Shanghai Express"

2010-12-09T19:05:00.012-05:00

For my World Cinema class, i'm currently writing a paper on the use of close ups to paradoxically humanize yet glamorize Marlene Dietrich in "Shanghai Express," and how these uses of the close up both support and subvert the plot's and director's competing agendas. It's great to write about something that truly interests me and that allows me to look at gorgeous clothes. Dietrich is one of cinema's greatest star presences, and if you haven't seen her in a film, you're really missing out. In her six collaborations with director/Svengali Josef von Sternberg, Sternberg immortalizes Dietrich as the ultimate icon of glamour, and her wardrobe in "Shanghai Express" helps create this image. Dietrich plays famed courtesan Shanghai Lily, and

From her entrance, Dietrich is made visually distinct by her fantastical costume. In a sea of gray and black, she wears black feathers that, along with a veil, partially cover her face:

Veils and curtains play an important role in the film, which is torn between enshrining Dietrich the actress as a goddess and domesticating Lily, her character. Veils and curtains keep her unknowable and inscrutable, a visual motif that changes as Lily becomes increasingly dependent on a man's love

Otherworldly and elusive, Dietrich's wardrobe is apropriately luxurious, replete with diamonds and fur. Fur was traditionally worn as a marker of power, and when Lily wears it she is in command of her emotions.

I'd never advocate for wearing fur, but that's why faux fur exists. This faux fur vest/black lace combo captures the film's aesthetic:

The ultimate fetish object, Dietrich glimmers and sparkles, her body encrusted with diamonds.

Dietrich's exaggerated,almost surreal glamour makes her a true cinematic legend.

Asia On My Mind

2010-12-04T17:46:00.001-05:00

In fashion, Asia is everywhere. Many of New York's hottest designers are of Asian descent: Derek Lam. Jason Wu. Anna Sui. Doo-ri Chung. Alexander Wang. Naeem Khan. Wayne. This month's Vogue has a spread totally devoted to the industry's top Asian models. And, of course, apparel manufacturing has moved from North America to Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. In the Wester fashion industry's subconscious, we see the entire continent as a source for that stereotypical, lithe, shy girl with mysterious hair, or maybe the land of cheap labor and even cheaper knock-offs, or the place of origin for the brilliant children of immigrant families. But we never think of Asians producing clothing--much less couture--for their own market. That's about to change.

Victor Fraile/ Getty Images AsiaPac/ Zimbio

In a piece for T Magazine, fashion writer Cathy Horyn visits the workshop and studio of Guo Pei, China's premiere couturier. Horyn describes Pei as a "a study in Asian poise and etiquette." The whole article is tinged with an unfortunate racism, but Pei's character study serves to illustrate a larger point: caught between a love for traditional Chinese design, and an unimaginative but creative industrial infrastructure inherited from Mao's regime, Pei has set herself up to rival any Marchesa or Dior creation.

Guo Pei began her education at a moment in China where fashion and glamor didn't exist: apparel-making was a trade, not a craft. She enrolled in Beijing Light Industry School in 1982. When she asked her teacher how to make a large skirt, "'I don’t know, but maybe you can find a solution in costumes for opera,' Guo Pei recalled. ‘‘At that moment, I fell in love with big things." Her large imagination eventually led to her opening her own studio in 1997. About four years ago, she took advantage of China's growing industry. Now, as Cathy Horyn points out, where Paris houses are starting to cut back on hand sewing to save costs, Pei can take advantage of cheap labor to create her dramatic pieces. One dress took 50,000 hours to embroider. While her designs are a little tacky--almost as if a Disney princess vomited glitter on an Alexander McQueen dress--no one can doubt the originality of Pei's vision. It's hard to imagine Beijing ever becoming a new Paris--especially with the instability that rapid industrialization brings (that cheap labor isn't going to be cheap for long--but there's no reason why designers in secondary markets like China won't be mentioned in the same breath as the Paris greats 20 years from now. (You can view Pei's Winter/Fall 2010 show here.)

Reading Pei's story reminded me of an Indonesian designer I caught sight of on Jezebel, Tex Saverio. According to his official blog, Saverio is 26 years old. He dropped out of high school--which his parents weren't too happy about--and eventually graduated from BUNKA Fashion School. His creations easily rival Alexander McQueen's in spirit and maybe even in technical achievement:

Oh, and did we mention that he's only 26?

Pei, Savario, and no doubt many other Asian designers are hungry for the big leagues. Luckily for them, they may not have to go to Paris to get there.

Launch Party!

2010-12-03T13:54:00.001-05:00

Contrast is hosting a party and you're invited!

Who: Contrast

What: A party to celebrate our Fall 2010 issue! There'll be food, fun, new Contrast issues, and music by student performers
Thea Ballard, Raffi Kiureghian, Rachel Vogel, and Mara Connor.

When: Monday, December 7th, 2010 from 7-9 PM

Where: Faculty Commons

If you can't make it to the party, check this space in a few days: an electronic copy will be here for you!

Christopher Kane Menswear!

2010-12-01T23:32:00.000-05:00

Christopher Kane, one of London's hottest designers, is getting ready to launch a menswear line!

The collection, which will be sold at Dover Street Market, will include T-shirts, cardigans, sweatshirts, and some very unfortunate leather shorts.

The collection, the designer told Vogue UK, is based on his love for space. "I became obsessed with the explosions and landscapes from space pictures. I loved the colours [sic] and unbelievable detail. I printed them on to simple shapes, like loose fit T-shirts, cashmere and silk-mix knitted sweaters and cardigans."

Kane is widely admired for his use of color and innovative use of fabrics. His Resort 2011 collection also featured his beautiful star prints while his Spring 2011 collection presented a psychedelic homage to the eccentric Princess Margaret.

Premet

2010-11-21T20:37:00.000-05:00

The other day, I was researching the early 20th century design house Drecoll when I came across this website with sketches from a house called Premet, a Parisian house that was open from 1911-1931. All of the images on antique print dealer Elisabeth Legge's site are from 1921-1930, but most of the sketches look like they're from 1930, anticipating the tight, clean geometry of the rest of the decade.

What really strikes me the most is the unnamed designer's brilliant use of color. The above slate blue and red is an enviable color combination, and there are better ones that follow:

The geometry and the colors of this one are strongly reminiscent of the Fall 2010 Balenciaga collection. (Except the Premet is obviously superior. And, you know, not ugly.)

What surprises me most is the fussiness of some of the clothes from the 20s. The early part of the decade was known as the "costume period," where the famous knee-length, dropped waist was paired with the 1910s's taste for "Oriental" embellishment. Minimalism really only came about in the late 20s, with the advent of Chanel's little black dress. But here, we see the house's taste for false hanging sleeves that recall the late Gothic period:

But my favorites are the evening gowns: light, clever, sophisticated and elegant.

Reel to Real #12: Anna Karina in "Pierrot Le Fou"

2010-11-14T21:37:00.010-05:00

Anna Karina, the face of the French new Wave, is my favorite fashion icon because her style is whimsical yet wearable. She made 7 amazing movies with her then-husband, legendary director Jean-Luc Godard, all of which are WELL worth seeing (and all of which feature fantastic outfits; it's honestly hard for me not to write about a Godard/Karina movie for each of these posts). I did my first-ever post on their second film together, "Une Femme est Une Femme," but Anna's look in "Pierrot le Fou" is probably the easiest to copy. Karina's style is so easy to incorporate into your own. I know I have, so I can show you how to do the same.

All of Godard's movies, but Pierrot Le Fou in particular, examine French national identity, and accordingly dress Karina in the colors of France's flag: good old red, white, and blue. These primary colors are put together strikingly, and Karina's color coordinations look personalized, not contrived. The colors' stark boldness makes them stick in your mind.

Karina also incorporates the whole nautical look into her style, most obviously with her sailor hat and stripes (so now anyone who's seen me on a Saturday night in my sailor hat knows where I got the idea from). This establishes her character, Marianne as a restless wanderer. (click on the pictures to enlarge!)

She also, though, wears very traditionally feminine and demure details and pieces such as modest cardigans, Mary Janes, ruffles, and dresses with trimming. Yet unlike say, Catherine Deneuve in "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" (to reference a pervious reel to real post), she never looks overdone or parodic, because her feisty attitude makes her both girly and tough. So if you're going to go over the top with the ruffles, make like Karina in her white ruffled dress and wear it wth confidence and attitude

In Pierrot, Karina also anticipates current trends including high-waisted, colored jeans, and rompers, which is what makes her style so prescient. What I love about Karina's style, and why I find her to be such a great style icon, is that it is coordinated enough to serve the film's general mood but always playful and full of fun personal touches. Which is of course what true style is all about.

So remember, kids: bold primary colors, nautical, knee-length skirts, ruffles and trimmings, cardigans, stripes, Mary Janes, flats, and a whole lot of sass

Here's some of my Anna in Pierrot-inspired pieces, to show how you, yes you, can be like one of cinema's greatest faces:

Fashion Techie: RalphLauren.com's 10th Anniversary Techno-Spectacular

2010-11-13T19:41:00.008-05:00

If you were to walk downMadison Avenue in New York City at 8pm last Wednesday night, you would have witnessed a 4-D techno-spectacular at the Ralph Lauren flagship store in honor of their website's 10th anniversary and the launching of e-commerce in the UK. , in which their Madison Ave. “Witness the ultimate collision of fashion, art, and technology," read the invite. The show consisted of a 4-D projection in which the flagship "swayed, turned into fabric, collapsed, and reappeared before the walls retracted and a virtual runway complete with models materialized. In addition, giant neckties (a nod to the first product Ralph Lauren ever designed) spilled from the roof, but the coup de grâce came when members of Prince Charles’ polo team broke through the building’s facade and charged down the street. As for the 4 in 4-D, that would be the real Big Pony fragrance that sprayed from the virtual perfume bottles spinning over the crowd’s heads." The technology behind this event involved laser, computers, re-rendering and other big, fancy sounding technological terms. So fancy in fact, that the techno-team involved in the production of the Harry Potter movies was enlisted. The event was certainly a first for the fashion world and solidified Ralph Lauren's lock on being one of the leading designers to take advantage of technology. The brand has also taken advantage of the iPhone/iPad and it's applications and recently installed digital "window shopping" at their UK flagship, allowing customers to literally "window shop" using a touch screen on the widow of the store. The question is whether all this fancy technology will actually help the brand or not in the long-run or leave them with empty pockets.

Olafur Arnalds

2010-11-04T01:01:00.015-04:00

The first artist that we will explore is Olafur Arnalds. He is a composer from Iceland. I really like his piece 19:53 from his album Eulogy for Evolution. As with many of his pieces it creates a very epic atmosphere. The piano and violins always seem to speak volumes. The second half of the piece, from around 4:07, is the most exciting (to me). The rhythm quickens.

Arnalds sound is very romantic and impressionistic all at once. Yes, I mean the Romantic period. He uses clear notes to engage the audience, provoking thought and emotion. He often uses huge swells of sound and chromaticsim to create anticipation and even more emotion. I often feel like there is an underlining sadness in his pieces. The notes seem to tug at my heartstrings sometimes. They tell a different story for everyone that listens. From 5:35 on his use of the violins is so drammatic, although I wish he would've taken it even farther. We feel the tension building up, ready to bubble over. I think the piece is better felt when listened to with earphones. It becomes more personal and of course louder. I really like 6:02 where the violins rapidly ascend the scale.

There are so many Olafur Arnalds's songs that I adore. The first piece by Arnalds that I spoke of was Ljosio. It is equally as beautiful. I realize that the violins are the instruments that resonate most with me in his compositions. I feel that Ljosio has a different tone. It's lighter and the video that accompanies it is so beautiful and figurative. There are so many pieces that you can explore and enjoy. There are also many other Icelandic artists. I will definitely talk about more of them. So go ahead and enjoy some Olafur~ :)

Lanvin for H&M

2010-11-02T14:40:00.000-04:00

It's here! Alber Elbaz's Lanvin Pour H&M will be released in select U.S. and Canada stores November 20th, and the rest of the world November 23rd. In the mean time, Nitrolicious has posted the full look book. These dresses look really lovely. Are you going to camp out for them?

Black Swan

2010-10-31T14:54:00.000-04:00

Fashionologie

It might surprise you that Darren Arnofsky, best known for the macho film The Wrestler, is making a film about the intense rivalry between two ballet dancers. But what's ballet without costumes? Black Swan, which comes out December 3rd, features the costume designs of Amy Westcott (The Wrestler, Entourage, The Squid and the Whale) and the Mulleavy sisters, better known as Rodarte. In an interview at The Ballet Bag, Westcott gives a great account of trying to enter the ballerinas' world, watching classes, going to performances, and taking copious notes. It's always interesting to hear how costume designers (and, in their own way, fashion designers) balance their vision with how the world actually is.

God Save Les Filles

2010-10-31T14:17:00.000-04:00

Former Contrast photo editor Caroline Mills '12 has started a blog, God Save Les Filles, about her life in London this semester. Cupcakes, clubs, book stores...sure makes me want to go!

Fashion Techie: Most Useful iPhone Apps

2010-10-24T23:18:00.004-04:00

In this age where there's an apple application for everything, fashion designers, magazines, and websites are no exception. If you type in "Fashion apps" into the iTunes music store you will find yourself with hundreds of results to sift through, many of which look really awesome. So how do you chose? Many of the apps are cool, but do things that you can do on your computer. In other words, they don't offer you anything new. Brands ranging from Urban Outfitters to the Gap to Diane von Furtenburg offer you shopping via the iPhone and iPad apps. If you ever feel the need to buy a pair of pants or a really cute shirt while you're on-the-go, I can see these apps can be very helpful, but again buying clothes online is not something I can't just do on my computer. After much deliberation these were the apps that I felt were the most useful:

eBay Fashion:

Being able to place bids and monitor your eBay account is a key ability to have on-the-go.

Elle Shopping Guide:

There are many apps that tell you the best places to shop in different cities, (there are also many books too...) but the Elle Shopping Guide seems like the most thorough and reliable one giving you prices, reviews and insider tips.

Gilt on the Go:

As I have learned from experience, items (and seemingly everything in my size) on Gilt go FAST so you want to be there at 12:00pm when the sales open to get the full selection. Having the ability to do this on your iPhone and or iPad is very helpful because who knows where you'll be in relation to your computer at 12:00pm. If you're not a user of Gilt I highly recommend it!

Stylebook:

Stylebook allows you to take pictures of items in your wardrobe, tag them, arrange outfits and track them on the calendar to see how often you wear them. SO COOL!

Lustr Fashion Finder:

Fashion Finder gives you on-the-go updates to fashion events near you, promotions and how long you have until they're over making the life of every fashionista much easier to manage.

If you're one of the many people who does not own an iPod or iPad or iAnything fear not! It's the 21st century, anything's possible on a computer too.

Adventures of Volitia: Paradise, Again

2010-10-13T17:05:00.001-04:00

Image via College Relations

Adventures of Volitia: Paradise, Again, at the Palmer Gallery, is the first U.S. showing of the present installment of artist Melissa Mark's ongoing series. The exhibit comprises several mounted pencil drawings and a large pencil and ink drawing on the walls of the gallery itself. According to the artist's statement of purpose, Volitia is "a remnant of abstraction, a detachable Pollock drip" who gained consciousness and is now "part Superman, part Eve—creation come to life."

This description of Volitia was certainly intriguing enough. It's well-known that Jackson Pollock's paint-drip paintings were meant to be an expression of American masculinity and optimism (if you take Art 106, you'll learn that those paintings were used by the CIA as propaganda!). How could an artist imbue an abstract work with personality, much less a masculine act with feminine traits? Is it the copious amount of neon pink in Marks's drawings? The fact that Volitia is a round, tomato-like creature who zooms around a landscape made of rocks, flowers, and blue, phallic tubers? And just what is Volitia anyway? At the opening, Marks said that Volitia was the aforementioned tomato (although she looks more like a lotus root to me), but couldn't she be all of the lines in the drawing? Or maybe even the artist's own will to put her story, an abstract idea, down on paper?

Marks's installation walks the fine line between abstraction and narrative. In many ways, it reminded me of the Whitney Museum exhibit Charles Burchfield: Heatwaves in a Swamp. The first part of this exhibit showed some abstract images Burchfield had made of different emotions (Despair, Happiness, Sadness, etc.) Burchfield made use of this visual vocabulary throughout his life, from his stylized early landscapes to his hyper realistic paintings of industrial America. With Adventures of Volitia, I can see a similar process: Marks uses the same small lexicon of pen strokes to build up an entire world. It's one of the most intelligent (and beautiful) contemporary art shows I've seen both at Vassar and the outside world.

Adventures of Volitia: Paradise, Again is on view in the Palmer Gallery (next to the Retreat) until November 5th.

Long Live McQueen!

2010-10-08T18:24:00.000-04:00

This past Wednesday witnessed both a death and a rebirth. Not necessarily a metaphysical death and rebirth, but an important one nonetheless: the end of Paris fashion week and the first full collection by Sarah Burton, heir to the Alexander McQueen label after the designer committed suicide earlier this year.

Burton had the unenviable task of trying to live up to expectations and presenting her own ideas. The theme of the show was obviously rebirth--from the symbols of the harvest to the butterflies to the recycled, but subtly changed, McQueen silhouettes of old. Each look paid homage to the past but looked forward:

I hate to use the word, but Burton definitely feminized the McQueen silhouette. McQueen was famous for his interest in distorting the human form into a larger, more angular version of itself. In this look, Burton used pleats to add volume but kept the shoulders fairly minimal. She also combined McQueen's love for japonoisme and kaleidoscope prints.

All photos Monica Feudi/GoRunway.com

Burton wasn't afraid to poke fun at the past. Here, she capitalizes on McQueen's enduring fascination for the artificial Elizabethan silhouette, as well as the infamous bumsters, which scandalized the fascination world and paved the way for low-rise jeans in the early 2000s.

She also referenced one of Philip Treacy's legendary hats:

And then gave the show a Mother Goddess feel:

The clothes were beautifully crafted, the design solid, and the message as gorgeous as it was subtle. Still there was something that stopped me from thinking that it was a great collection. Obviously, no one can ever replace Alexander McQueen. Burton has a great advantage: she worked under him for 14 years and clearly has a wealth of knowledge of his visual vocabulary and his craft techniques. But I hope that she won't restrict herself next season and try to operate under the master's shadow. A McQueen show needs much more drama and a slightly more cohesive collection.

P.S. The Guardian has video and Fashionologie has backstage photos, should you be interested.

Reel to Real #11: Fran Jeffries in "Sex and the Single Girl"

2010-10-02T15:25:00.004-04:00

Okay, so part of my goal of writing this column was to introduce people to really amazing films through fashion. Here, I deviate. "Sex and the Single Girl" is a dumb romantic comedy from 1964 that emulates but fails to live up to the greatness of the Rock Hudsn-Doris Day 60s sex comedies. However, it does feature gorgeous Natalie Wood and Lauren Bacall wearing great 60s clothes. Yet they manage to be upstaged by an unknown in a supporting role named Fran Jeffries who plays a provocative singer, Gretchen. Gretchen's fun, colorful wardrobe stands out because leading lady Wood's character only wears black-and-white. We first see her in this adorabletwo-piece outfit, which immediately contrasts her with Wood's uptight character:

Gretchen's penchant for belly shirts is probably supposed to read as excessive but instead predates today's crop-top trend. And if you've got a body like she does, flaunt it!

As you can she, she also has a fabulously huge beehive hairdo and loves bright colors. I fell in love with this two-toned dress she wears while performing. Its flowiness shows off the differently colored inside as she dances around. Simply gorgeous:

But my favorite outfit of hers comes in the film's last scene. I love it because of how current it is; she would look appropriate in a current editorial:

What we can learn from Gretchen's wardrobe is how much color, patterns, and variety can spice up an otherwise dull setting. Think of uniforms: adding an accessory or interesting detail can make as much of a difference as Gretchen's colors add to the film's overall look. Despite the film's general black-and-white decor, you come away remembering as colorful solely because of her.

Music and the Globe~

2010-09-30T23:51:00.009-04:00

(Image from Olafur Arnalds' video Ljosio)

Music is the international unifier. We don't need words to understand the meaning of that painful chord progression because we feel it pulling at our heartstrings. We may not even understand the language but the vibrant momentum attracts us. It pulls us up, out of our chairs, and across the room ,to indulge in clumsy pirouettes and other funky moves we'd rather not show the world. The fact is that we learn and we listen with our hearts. Emotions travel through music and into our consciousness, begging us to open our hearts a little wider. In a nutshell, the world is rich with music, so let's explore it together! ~ This little nook will be our journey together to find and appreciate music. I'll periodically update and share with you what I'm listening to. So grab a friend and share a new song/artist with them! They'll just love you for widening their perspective~

Fashion Techie

2010-09-28T23:34:00.006-04:00

iPad featured in Oscar de la Renta's 2011 resort collection

By reading this blog, you are taking part in what some may say to be the future of fashion. In recent years technology’s role in fashion has grown exponentially -- whether it is in the form of a blog, an iPhone or iPad application, e-shopping, or even the live-streaming of fashion shows straight to your computer. Although these advancements have allowed the fashion industry to become more accessible to consumers and enthusiasts alike, contributing to both an increase in sales and interest, some may argue that what technology has to offer the fashion industry is anything but advantageous. In this column we’ll cover all the new technological advances and how they’re impacting the fashion industry – both positively and negatively.

Stay tuned!

ABC Photos Part 1

2010-09-28T22:21:00.001-04:00

Some pictures we love from the ABC Party!

More here!

Bookshelf Porn

2010-09-28T00:09:00.009-04:00

For the bibliophile-cum-design junkie, Bookshelf Porn is pretty much the best photo blog around. The site posts submitted images of gorgeously arranged books, providing a wealth of design inspiration. Even though some of them will be impossible to recreate--you probably will never be able to make a brook made out of books (see above), for instance--your mind can still roll around in the visual eye candy, making this website truly the most satisfying kind of pornography for the book geek in all of us.

Photos from Bookshelf Porn

The Family Jewels

2010-09-26T22:08:00.000-04:00

Do you have a special necklace, watch, or article of clothing that's been passed down to you? Do you want to share it with the world? Contrast is doing a heirloom-themed photo shoot this Saturday, October 2nd. If you want to participate, e-mail vassarcontrast@gmail.com, or contact me, your editor, at cecholst [at] vassar.edu.

Reel to Real #10: Barbara Stanwyck in "The Lady Eve

2010-09-25T20:21:00.007-04:00

I'll start the second year of "Reel to Real" with one of my all-tome favorite performances, that of Barbara Stanwyck in my favorite romantic comedy, "The Lady Eve" (1944). Forties gowns in films tend to be lovely, wrought with flowiness and beautiful draperies, but Stanwyck's in this film are special because they require a ton of confidence. Stanwyck plays a self-assured con artist, comfortable enough with herself to wear a killer two-piece outfit made up of a sparkly, midriff-baring bolero and a floor-length skirt. As the combination of a short top and long skirt is a big trend, her look here is especially prescient. Forties clothes weren't as demure as you'd think!:

Stanwyck also rocks an assortment of clever headpieces such as scarves and wide-brimmed hats:

When pretending to be an aristocrat, Stanwyck wears a gorgeously embroidered dress seen below:

Her outfits, like in many films of the forties, are made to create dreamy, floating shilouhettes. To this end, she wears a gorgeous cape:

So how can we apply Stanwyck's decades-old look to the modern day? She shows us to wear our clothes, no matter how daring, with extreme confidence. Just bearing a sliver of skin (like the little peek of her stomach we see in the cropped bolero, and in the sheer look pictured below) can be the most flattering and mysterious look. Her character always has fun with her outfits, showing us how important it is to do the same.

Fashion Takes a Trip to Post-Racial USA

2010-09-24T17:04:00.000-04:00

Photo by Marc Baptiste for Clutch Magazine

This past Friday, September 17th, was the last day of New York City fashion week. It was also the day that a small number of industry professionals--young, old, mostly black, and mostly women--convened at NYU's Institute of African American Affairs for a state of the union, as it were, of the industry. I found out about the Clutch Magazine-sponsored event thanks to Jezebel, and since I was home anyway for Yom Kippur I decided to go.

The discussion, titled "Fashion Takes a Trip to Post-Racial USA?", was prompted by two events: Essence, the popular black woman's magazine, hiring its first-ever white fashion director. With this hire, no major women's fashion magazine currently has a black fashion director. (Nina Garcia is the only woman of color fashion director at a major magazine.) Michaela Angela Davis, former fashion editor at Essence and founding fashion director of Honey, along with blogger Quan Lateef, organized a silent protest (pictured above) in which the walkers marched from Essence's office to Lincoln Center. The other issue at hand was Gaboury Sibide's unfortunate Elle cover, where her hair looked bad, her skin was too light, and her body was cropped out.

The talk itself was hosted my Michaela Angela Davis and Esther Armah. Ms. Davis pointed out that while some might welcome Essence's hiring decision as a welcome change that embraces diversity, the fact is that "fashion is an entry-point to image and image is power." Now that there are no black women in major positions of power at the editorial end, black women have less of a chance of controlling their image in the media. Esther Armah pointed out the utter hypocrisy of a "post-racial" environment, who shared what Cornell West said to her in a private conversation about the industry: "Everyone wants to be egalitarian at the black table but the rest of the industry is apartheid." Could there be any clearer indication of the hypocrisy of "post-racialism"? This hideous term was invented during the '08 presidential campaign, as if the fact that Americans feeling comfortable about voting for one black man could begin to erase the entirety of systematic racism. The old guard attempts to diversify using this ideology, and we find ourselves expecting the niche magazine to diversify while the mainstream magazines see no need to budge. Glamour hired a new fashion director the same week that Essence did but that story did not need receive any buzz--the new director was white, the same old story.

Harriet Cole, a former Essence fashion director and a current fashion correspondent for BET, discussed her experience in the industry. By all accounts, she's a veteran, but she constantly has to fight her way from standing-room only to seating in the front row. As Essence fashion director in 1990, she represented 12 million readers but she still had to fight for invitations and seats. She also discussed the power of the Internet--she estimated that 1 in 4 people in the tents were black. When she asked how they got invited, they said they were bloggers. While this is a fantastic change, bloggers don't actually have a lot of power within the industry. It's the hierarchy of writers, editors, stylists, and advertisers that need to change. Ms. Cole also discussed the Gaboury Sibide issue--she did not believe that Elle acted maliciously, but carelessly. As a young actress, Ms. Sibide does not know how to control her image. Joe Zee stated that the hair Gabby wore on the cover was the hair she had come with. Someone with more experience with black hair would have known that Gabby needed to change her hair. They also would have known that the photographer's lights were too harsh for black skin, which needs to be lit differently. When Ms. Sibide shot a cover for Essence, Ms. Cole and her team had spent a lot of time making sure the actress looked her best. Had Elle employed more black women (or women of color for that matter), these mistakes could have been avoided.

For the first time in my life, I finally understood the strong connection between "mainstream media" and "white, heterosexual" media. Vogue and Glamour will show models of color from time to time, but the brand is unequivocally white. Edward Eninful is a prominent black stylist, but until she retires, we will always associate Vogue with ADubs. I didn't know who most of these people at the talk were before I read the Clutch article or attended the talk. Yet they are some of the most talented workers in the fashion industry. Until media-makers begin to examine their hiring practices, most people will not know Harriet Cole, Kevin Stewart, or any of the other professionals present. As long as black professionals remain unknown, they will not get first row at fashion week. Their publications will not get necessary advertising revenue. Investors will not want to support a "niche" market. Unless those publications are represented by a white face.

Many members of the audience shared their opinions but they're too many to mention here. At the very end, Marcia Ann Gillespie, one of the founding editors of Essence and current editor of Ms., spoke briefly. She stated that the next generation of writers (us!) need to publish high-quality content with a social message. Let's get started.

Contrast Meeting!

2010-09-07T00:12:00.000-04:00

Ready for the new school year? We are too! Come to our first meeting this Thursday, September 9th at 8pm in the Faculty Commons (behind the Retreat). Learn about Contrast's new direction this season, join the various committees, but more importantly, have fun! We'll see you there.

Sidewalk Catwalk

2010-08-01T12:07:00.000-04:00

If you're down by Times Square at any point this summer, I highly recommend going to check out Sidewalk Catwalk, a public art exhibit sponsored by the Fashion Center Business Improvement District. This isn't just any presentation--32 New York designers were given mannequins to decorate anyway they pleased.

Badgley Mischka

The exhibit offers up close and personal looks at construction techniques from some of the country's best designers.

John Bartlett

Emily Saunders & Niyati Karwat

The show struts down Broadway from 42nd Street to Herald Square.

Elie Tahari. Photo by Tajar Eisen.

Namaste

2010-06-25T20:12:00.000-04:00

I saw artist Joe Mangrum doing amazing sand artwork on 19th street between 6th and 5th Ave. This was only a tiny piece of what no doubt became a masterpiece. Happy Solstice and happy Pride Month.

Inspiration

2010-05-18T16:40:00.000-04:00

British designer Matthew Williamson shares some great advice on shopping for souvenirs that can later become inspirations for your art. Happy summer break, everyone!

Valentino...T-shirts?

2010-05-16T08:47:00.000-04:00

What do you think of when you hear "Valentino"? Maybe big, poofy ball gowns. Elegant couture. The color red. An extremely tanned little elf of a man. Well, now Valentino is making T-shirts.

Valentino/ The Business of Fashion

According to Christina Brinkley of the Wall Street Journal, the couture house started to make extremely high-end T-shirts. They are simple jersey T-shirts, but they are adorned with all of the signature Valentino trimmings: lace, sequins, silk. The shirts range from $395 to $3,000. The company's co-designers, Maria Grazia Churi and Pier Paolo Piccioli, have introduced ten of these shirts to the market and plan on creating ten new T-shirts each season.

In a way, the T-shirts make sense. As one can easily infer from the 2008 documentary about Valentino's last runway show and eventual retirement, The Last Emperor (which I just realized I haven't reviewed yet. Hmm, I guess I'll have to go back and watch it...), after Valentino retired and the company was sold, the new owners are far more interested in the bottom line than any integrity to art or to the house's legacy. And this isn't to say that Chiuri and Piccioli are bad designers, or that the T-shirts aren't secretly awesome, just that this very commercial decision is a sign of the times. The T-shirts have been selling very well, and they are a clever mix of not only the high-low sensibility of the moment, but also, in some ways, the green movement (the embellishments are all made from fabric scraps. Thing extremely high-end American Apparel). Even though the house's legendary gowns are extremely expensive, it is clear that the owners of Valentino want to turn a bigger profit more quickly by entering the world of sportswear.

More Photos We Love!

2010-05-13T14:49:00.011-04:00

Here are some extra photos we loved but didn't have room for in our Spring 2010 Issue

Photos by: Zan Schmidt, Caroline Mills, Kristina Duffy, Madeleine Little, Katie Johnson, Eushavia Bogan and Nikola Turner.

We hope you enjoyed our Spring Issue as much as we enjoyed working on it. Please do not hesitate to give us your comments and suggestions, we need your feedback to make Contrast better!

Sample Sale

2010-05-13T04:27:00.000-04:00

Looking to reward yourself after a grueling finals week? Here's an awesome-sounding sample sale from The News:

Happy shopping!

2010-05-08T15:00:00.001-04:00

Contrast

Well-Fed Weekend...and Mac & Cheeze

Fall 2011 Issue!

Welcome Back!

Layout Editor

General Body Meeting

LAUNCH PARTY!

Chanel Pre-Fall 2012- Paris-Bombay

Randos On Campos

Supersonic, magnifique, tres tres cool et tres tres chic

Cribzzz

MMiP: Thrifting Edition

The French Connection

Holographic Fashion Show

FASHION SHOW // The French Connection: featuring looks from Then and Now

Randos on Campos

Dormal Formal

Hype Hop

Happy No-Shave November Everyone!

Randos on Campos

Ghoulin' Good Nails

Some Randos on Campos

Prada Spring 2012

Fake Karl

The Very Hungry Model: a Children's Story

The Vassar Vegan!

Soviet Russia meets American Pin-Up

Street Style 10/11/11

100 Years of Style

Street Style 10/7/11

Pretty in Pastel

Fashion Month...

Street Style 10/3/11

Fall 2011 Model Casting

Street Style 10/2/11

Calling All Craftsmen and Craftswomen!

Vassar Cribs

Street Style 9/28/11

Street Style

ABC as Easy as 123

RAVE PHOTOS!

Fashioning An Education: 150 Years of Vassar Students and What They Wore

Contrast's Sesquicentennial Issue

The Enigma of the Vassar Athlete

It's here...

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

Milan Fashion Week Update

London Fashion Week Update

Reel to Real #16: Julie Christie in "Don't Look Now"

New York Fashion Week: Recap

Reel to Real #15: Rita Hayworth in "Gilda"

A Peek At Men's Fashion

Reel to Real #14: Dominique Sanda in "The Conformist"

Reel to Real #13: Marlene Dietrich in "Shanghai Express"

Archive

Asia On My Mind

Launch Party!

Christopher Kane Menswear!

Premet

Reel to Real #12: Anna Karina in "Pierrot Le Fou"

Fashion Techie: RalphLauren.com's 10th Anniversary Techno-Spectacular

Olafur Arnalds

Lanvin for H&M

Black Swan

God Save Les Filles

Fashion Techie: Most Useful iPhone Apps

Adventures of Volitia: Paradise, Again

Long Live McQueen!

Reel to Real #11: Fran Jeffries in "Sex and the Single Girl"

Music and the Globe~

Fashion Techie

ABC Photos Part 1

Bookshelf Porn

The Family Jewels

Reel to Real #10: Barbara Stanwyck in "The Lady Eve

Fashion Takes a Trip to Post-Racial USA

Contrast Meeting!

Sidewalk Catwalk

Namaste

Inspiration