The Morning Benders- Stitches

Fell in love with this band, The Morning Benders, sometime in early spring. And this song, especially. Now they've gone and made a great video for it, which is inspiring in more ways than one (colors, stripes, guitars, feeling, concept...etc).

Lucky for me I'll be seeing them again soon at Lollapalooza!

Video images from Vimeo

Dusty Gray

Very cool gray color on these two shoes. I'd love to find some dusty gray leather remnants to cut up and use on some new straps! And I really really like the gold number stamp on the top shoe.

Images from GQ.com, shoes by Common Projects and Calvin Klein respectively

Beck

This week, in search of summery tunes, I came across some old Beck- specifically Que Onda Guero, which is a really fun song that I've since had on repeat (lyric about a melting popsicle= the best). Anyway, it made me remember that Beck is one stylish guy, quite ahead of his time. Definitely a good source of inspiration for creative guitar straps.

First image- no source (looks like Vogue to me)

Second image from Style.com

Men's Scarves

This collection of men's street style pics is the most inspiring one I've seen in a very long time. Wow. And I am loving the scarves on these three guys- definitely a good way to introduce some pattern to an outfit, or a guitar strap!

Images by Tommy Ton for GQ

Tight

These tights are really really REALLY cool. The inset stripe and fishnet pieces make such cool futuristic shapes. Definitely an inspiration for a mixed-material rock-on guitar strap.

Tights (and images) from Oak Black Label

Miu Miu Stones

I love these mixed media dresses from Miu Miu Spring/Summer 2010. They're such a cool combination of retro/feminine/artsy prints, and costume-esque glamour. And the placement of the stones, sequins...etc, is beautiful! Definitely an inspiring reminder of the freshness that comes from mixing materials.

(the source on these images is MIA...sorry!)

Woven Chains

So cool- the way the different sizes of chain are handwoven into this bracelet. Rock and roll weaving!

Bracelets by wear-and-tear as seen at Stars + Infinite Darkness

Rebel Print

I love the simplicity of this lettering stamped on faded denim. Its inspiring for a new way to do a label on my guitar strap...

Image from WGSN

Little Joy- Fabrizio and Binki

Image from L'UOMO VOGUE, wearing Band Of Outsiders

I love Little Joy (hope they come out with something new soon?!), and I think these two definitely have enviable and inspiring retro-modern style.

Hamilton, The Walkmen

I love this new-ish pic of the always inspiring Hamilton Leithauser / The Walkmen. What a great scene for envisioning new guitar straps.

Image from Lisa Taylor Photography's Flickr

Bonnie & Clyde

The true story of Bonnie & Clyde is really amazing to me. It first interested me 5 or 6 years back, and the more I learned, the more I became obsessed with knowing everything about them. Part of what fueled my interest was the fact that I was living in Denton (& later Dallas) Texas at the time, which is where they were essentially from, and where some of the major events in their crime-spree took place. Plus, it felt kind of like a story whose history was fading away with a previous generation, and I wanted to discover what I could, while I could.

Anyway, the (now) vintage aspect of the photos of them, their cars, their clothes, are all very inspiring. And the 1967 movie (although not necessarily a good representation of what they really looked like) is also great and inspiring. If you haven't seen it, I really recommend it. (That they are making a new B&C film starring Hilary Duff, is truly awful. Boo.)

Movie images from IMDB

Light Denim

I

I am really liking the light color of this denim jacket on Alexa Chung. Actually all the colors in this ad (Pepe jeans) look great together, and are definitely inspiring for some new guitar straps. Time to get back on track!

Image found on WGSN

McQueen's Hardware

These shoes from Alexander McQueen's Sp10 show are amazing. I love the sculpted metal plates with holes and screws combined with the printed shoe. Its high-fashion steampunk and very inspiring.

Images from Style.com

Stitched Leather Piecing

I love the geometric leather panels and the stitching detail on these pieces from Louise Goldin's Fall 2010 runway. Definitely a cool idea for a shoulder piece on one of my guitar straps. I also like the peek of metallic red, to make it a little more flashy.

Images from Style.com

Burberry Gold Buttons

Burberry took the rows-and-rows of pyramid studs trend and made it theirs by using gold buttons. Genius!

Images from GQ.com

Holstein for Evisu

I love the masculine/feminine looks of these styles from Evisu, designed by Catherine Holstein. Perhaps a last bit of cold weather inspiration before we jump into spring.

Image from Refinery29.com

Tattered Denim

True vintage denim, so cool. Definitely gives me some inspiration to use beat-up, bleached, and ripped denim on a guitar strap.

Image by Michael Wells for his book Denim Legends, found via an ambitious project collapsing

Lysacek, Black on Black

Crystal snakes at Vancouver 2010

Mixed textures, shirring, and feathers at Vancouver 2010

Strong shoulders and feathers at Skate America 2009

Epaulettes of feathers and rhinestones at Skate America 2009

[This is probably the only time figure skating costumes will ever get featured on this blog- but this couldn't go without mentioning:]

I first noticed Evan Lysacek's skating because of his sleek, all-black costume that stood in stark contrast to the white ice. It stopped me in my channel-surfing tracks, and I've been interested ever since. Turns out, his costumes are designed by Vera Wang! I love the continuity across the different costumes, and that she has managed to incorporate some really dramatic details (strong shoulders, feathers, crystal snakes!!!) while still retaining masculinity and elegance- no easy feat. The black-on-black color scheme, and all the trims are definitely serving as some inspiration for new guitar straps.

AND last night he took the gold!

11th Dimension

Love this video, definitely inspiring. Nice moves at 1:17, haha.

Anna, Stella

Anna Paquin in Stella McCartney at the Golden Globes. I loved this dress. Elegant and edgy at the same time. I especially like the irregular gold sequins and beading, which would be a new idea to consider for a guitar strap.