Lux Lotus

2006 Forecast: Purr-fect

I had some cursory thoughts about doing a 2005 "best-of" Lux Lotus entries (a la 2004's edition), but in the end, there was only one:
Dress Like a Cat Until You Get What You Want.

Happy New Year -- hope it's scandalous! And fret not, my little minxes: I'll be back with a vengeance on Monday.

Image: Patti Hansen and daughters Theodora and Alexandra Richards, from the October 2005 Neiman Marcus catalogue, "The Book".

Upstate | Downtown

Hi gorgeous:

I hope your holiday celebrations have been lovely. I have been trying to take a few days off, which has been a semi-successful endeavor. At the moment, I am Upstate and there will be some new posts tomorrow evening when I'm back in the city.

If you're in New York, do check out The Smart Set.

XX LC

Meme Nouveau

Verse by Voice is my absolute favorite thing in ages! [via Maud]

Also, the Critic's Notebook piece in The New York Times today is really clever and intriguing; In "Fashion is Two Clicks Behind," Cathy Horyn critically examines the media methodologies of an industry and how old frames of reference no longer apply in the global marketplace of ideas.

And, today's question: Is Cameron the new Marfa?

Seven Swans a-Swimming

As there is not an official Lux Lotus holiday gift guide per se, I thought I'd pull together a complete list of the Windowlickers just for kicks:

an artist designed t-shirt + a bejeweled hobo bag
an exquisite occasional table
an all-purpose table or elegant desk
the coffee/cigarettes/alcohol tank
dirty sheets
art bars
the holiday card of your choice
an engraved bracelet with literary allusions
budding author wedges
vintage tortoise eyeglasses
not of the future or the past, but the radio of this moment
a loamy, wood-scented candle
the perfect black dress, and gold coral-shaped earrings
suede, flat-heeled boots
a set of four agate coasters

Windowlicker

Ah, I left New York, rather earlier than anticipated due to that awful inconvenience, and, a few hours later, find myself far more attuned to gracious suburban living a bit further down the East Coast. Neither of my parents' domestic styles could be described as casual, though, so it's really no surprise that coasters are on my mind at the moment...

This assorted set of four color coasters designed by Anna Rabinowicz are formed from agate, a semi-precious gemstone. In ancient times, agate was thought to possess incredible virtues, protecting its guardians from danger and bringing pleasant dreams to its owners.

[$50 at greener grass design]

Windowlicker - from the French for window shopping: faire du lèche-vitrine - appears on Tuesday and Thursdays at 10am EST.

"Walter has imagined a collection inspired by Captain Cook’s discovery of Easter Island and by the anticipation of what would be the relics of our time for the future generations."

TotemFashion.com = audio, visual, techno-sensual heaven.

Mean Secretaries Unite!

Kris Houlton and I met when we were both working for the California Labor Federation in San Francisco a few years ago. She's now pursuing a master's degree in feminist philosophy and has just sent word that she's now a published scholar! (She also writes awesome letters to the editor.) 

Kris has written a case study that will eventually be included in a book authored by the University of Minnesota's Center on Women and Public Policy. It's available in full online (scroll all the way down).

Here's her abstract for "To Strike or Not to Strike: The University of Minnesota Clerical Workers’ Decision":

In the fall of 2003, the workers of AFSCME Local 3801 and Local 3800 had to decide whether to go on strike against their employer, the University of Minnesota. The case reviews Minnesota labor law and the history of AFSCME at the U of M. Because of a pattern of devaluing clerical workers at the U of M, these workers have historically been the least-paid and their collective bargaining agreements the weakest of all the University unions. Leadership of AFSCME 3800, a union whose membership is 94% female, attributes this devaluation to institutionalized sexism. The common perception is that the male-dominated Teamsters union at the University has consistently received better contract offers from the administration. During the period of the breakdown in negotiations, not only the administration’s negotiators but also the other unions at the U met the prospect of an AFSCME strike with disbelief by. No one believed that the “secretaries” would strike, since it would be "mean."             

This case explores the dilemma confronting AFSCME members in the face of a potential strike. Three broad categories of workers resisted the strike: non-voting “fair share” clerical workers who felt alienated from the union, members who felt the University was offering the best deal it could, and those who could not afford to strike without strike support funds. The case explores each of these perspectives to give the reader the background information needed to understand the reluctance to strike. The case also includes the perspectives of several AFSCME leaders who advocated striking and were called upon to communicate this to the membership.

[sigh] "Common perceptions" keep many a good woman down!

Windowlicker

Ladies, time to ditch those heels if you haven't already: there's a transit strike!

[suede "mila" boots, $50 at delia's]

Windowlicker - from the French for window shopping: faire du lèche-vitrine - appears on Tuesday and Thursdays at 10am EST.

CALLING ALL FASHIONISTAS

A v. charming action alert, from the Lower Eastside Girls Club:

When you are home for the holidays, don't forget to get your GOWNS FOR GIRLS!

Last spring, through the generosity of companies and individual donors like you, we held our 3rd annual "Gowns for Girls" prom dress giveaway.  Much to our delight, over 350 of our girls who otherwise would not have been able to afford a prom dress, received new and gently used gowns.

We are requesting donations of new or gently used prom dresses, bridesmaid dresses, and cocktail clothes in a variety of sizes that are just taking up space in your closet!  All dconations are tax-deductible and receipts will be sent if requested.  The gowns should be sent to the Girls Club, no later than Friday, April 30th at: The Lower Eastside Girls Club, Attn: Gowns for Girls, 56 East 1st Street, New York, NY 10003. Contact Jenny for more info.

The Blow Up

Kunst-Werke Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin held a design competition for a temporary entrance to its bamboo garden this summer, and the solution is so ingenious that it has been extended. According to ID magazine's June 2005 issue (also the source for the image seen here; article not available online):

Created by the Zurich-based architecture firm, Instant... the surprisingly strong, see-through structure consists of inflated stairs leading to an enclosure cantilevered over an 18th-century lane in the formerly communist east. The Kunst-Werke occupies 18th- and 19th-century buildings, so the contest brief was rigid. "It called for no screws, no nails," says 33-year-old Dirk Hebel, cofounder of Instant with Jorg Stollmann. "So? Inflatable."

Most of the design is made of fiber-reinforced PVC foil. To support the weight of people on the balcony, Hebel and Stollmann hired engineer Mauro Pedretti, who has patented a load-bearing system he calls Tensairity. It's based on Tensegrity, the principle behind Buckminster Fuller's geodesic domes, in which a minimalist steel-and-cable structure can support itself in a compression and tension system.

The interaction between the existing structure/historical provenance of the buildings and the ingeniousness of the solution seems quite brilliant. What do you think?

Related links:
ID: The International Design Magazine
Kunst-Werke Berlin e.V. - Institute for Contemporary Art
"Inventioneering Architecture" - a talk given by Dirk Hebel and Jorg Stollman at the California College of the Arts in October 2005, concerning the application of "the details of small-scale objects to the design of larger structures."
The "Special Structures" section of the Passera Pedretti & Partners Ltd website
The Buckminster Fuller Institute