As fore mentioned in our last post, we are developing quite the affinity for a certain dreamboat of the dark side, and it seems like more and more of the masses have also come under the dandy wrath of Dracula.
With the passing of ultra-talented and internationally acclaimed costume designer Eiko Ishioka (passed on January 21 at the age of 73), we are finding our world more and more drenched with the dark nightmares and dreamscapes her fantasies conjured in designing for Coppola’s visionary 1991 film, Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
A nightmare fantasy realm of dark mystery, elaborate exoticism, blood, seduction, and intrigue which would not have been the same without the remarkable talents of Ishioka who would go on to win the 1992 Academy Award for Best Costume Design.
While her spirit will be missed, the designs she created are of constant value, for they provide much inspiration and insight into reinvention, and taking the reigns on one’s image. Choose a jump point, and really explore it.
That’s what we’ve been up to. Since we’ve been in this dark mode, and with Dracula on the brain, we pulled some pictures to explore OUR take on the Prince of Darkness explored in true E.O.F. style.
“They say I live a fast life. Maybe I just like a fast life. I wouldn’t give it up for anything in the world. It won’t last forever, either. But the memories will.”
-Dennis Wilson
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This spring and summer we are all about Dennis Wilson, the infamous bad boy and drummer of The Beach Boys. The band brought the beach lifestyle to the forefront of popular culture in the 1960s , creating a romantic notion that still resides in the populous today. But without Dennis, the iconic boy band would have been lost.
It’s hard to think of that era without the The Beach Boys and their iconic sound, a mix of harmony, rhythm, soul, and blues all dedicated to Southern California youth culture of surfing, cars, and girls.
Hits such as Surfin USA, California Girls, and Good Vibrations, encapsulated the image we still associate with the notion of surf and beach living to this day.
Their music certainly came to define the dreams and musings of many who longed for the coasts and beaches of California, and the utopian recluse this magical land of surf and sun could provide (Don’t tell me it’s just us!)
Though his eldest brother Brian Wilson is accredited with much of the band’s creative and technical genius, it was the rebel bad boy drummer Dennis who lived and breathed the California that inspired the band in the first place.
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“I don’t do much surfin’, no I don’t. Actually, I don’t even know how to surf, but one guy in the group is a real good surfer, he’s a lot better than any of us, actually, all of us put together. His name is Dennis Wilson, of course, he’s our drummer, and he’s actually the inspiration behind this whole sort of surfing image for the Beach Boys. He encouraged me to write a surfing song a couple, 2, 3 years ago which started the whole thing moving.”
Brian Wilson, St. Louis 1964
Perhaps you noticed, but Dennis certainly had a different presence and a certain swag, as they say, compared to the rest of the band. Even his eldest brother Brian, who created most of the music during The Beach Boys’ hit making days, knew that Dennis and his SoCal rebel lifestyle was the clue to the puzzle of making a name for themselves.
Dennis always seems a mystery, a part of his embodiment of the surfing rock n’ roll image, you could say. Definitely an archetype of rebellion, desire, and thirst for danger. Behind his eyes there are stories and thoughts completely untold.
There are not many rock stars today who truly live the fantasies they suggest in their music. Dennis was not only a surfer, but also a pro drag racer, sailor, movie star, and notorious womanizer. These are the stories and tales written into almost every hit breaking, chart smashing song produced by the band.
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++”I wrest the waters, fight Neptune’s waters, sail through the sorrows of life’s marauders. Unrelenting, often empty, sail on, sail on, sailor.”++
-Sail on Sailors by The Beach Boys from “Holland”
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As much a piece of the puzzle to The Beach Boys’ success, Dennis never seemed to be able to stay far from trouble. As early back as childhood, Dennis was known for getting in fights, and failing classes. He married four times, and had developed a heavy habit for drugs and alcohol.
Most can definitely agree he had some demons.
Free-spirited Dennis would hit the ultimate heights of his notoriety when it was found out that he had housed Charles Manson and his cult for a time. Viewing the group as just a bunch of cosmically inclined free loving spirits with a itching for music, Dennis welcomed the “family” into his home, and housed them for several months.
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During this time Charles Manson and his groupies were hoping to become the next great music act with the help of Dennis. Dennis would indeed get some of their songs out there, but reworked for The Beach Boys, and in 1968 they would release the single “Never Learn Not To Love” written by Dennis, a reworking of a Charles Manson original.
Morbid, considering the message, and later the acts committed by the Manson Family in the Hollywood Hills…This attachment to the Manson family would always stain Dennis’ reputation, and only further instill his bad boy image in the public mind.
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His 1977 solo debut album “Pacific Ocean Blue” was a huge critical hit for the artist, which allowed him to demonstrate his very own unique and progressive point-of-view. Many fans and critics agree it is Dennis’ fearlessness, drama, and deep soul that almost eclipse The Beach Boys altogether.
These are the traits we admire in the man. The adventurer in all aspects. His music. His life. His soul. And the whole time, he wasn’t even trying. He just simply was the most pure form of himself at all times. He just was.
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His style is almost the same. It is not pent up in being cool, it just is…sounds silly, but most of the time Dennis Wilson was just chucking clothes on. His wardrobe is simple, always comfortable, and fitted just right. Classic, but he shakes it up with his rough and messy sort of way about him.
Wilson’s body was found curled up in a fetal position at the corner of the dock that once harbored his yacht, Harmony – one of his greatest joys, as well as the scene for many dramas in his life. He had spent the afternoon drinking and diving into the waters finding objects he had thrown over his boat and into the water.
At 39, Dennis Wilson was already a legend in every right. He had inspired his band to create an entire persona around him, and with that they became America’s most famous and beloved band in history.
His devilish grin, and candid charm kept him a favorite of the group, and with a wicked ability to adapt and change, Dennis kept the band going during the band’s hardest times. Sadly, no one would be able to help carry him through his own.
Dennis Wilson was given a burial to sea, his favorite place on Earth, and an honor reserved only to members of the military. The perfect resting place for a restless, wandering, and beautiful soul.
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We love you Pacific Ocean blue
Yeah we love you Pacific Ocean Blue
Oh we love you Pacific Ocean Blue
Oh I we love you Pacific Ocean Blue
It’s no wonder the Pacific Ocean is blue
-Dennis Wilson, “Pacific Ocean Blue”.
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Experience it all yourself.
All it takes is a little guts and glory…bold, bad, and beautiful.
Here are some of the items at that can help inspire the look!
Bobby Beausoleil has a bit of a bad rep. Bad rep could be an understatement, but it’s true.
It never helps to be friends with Charles Manson, or get caught up in a war against society, but its sad to have this overshadow some of his greater achievements, like music. It goes without saying that he was a rebel to the extreme; a hardcore bad boy, his music translates a certain genius that was erased by his life’s tragedies.
Entitled “Penumbra”, and composed by Beausoleil himself, the track was not used for the film, but can be heard today along with the Freedom Orchestra to create a magical and mystic ride to other places. It’s definitely something to jam to, and knowing how the darkness delights you, I’m sure you will find this one truly intrinsic.
Bobby Beausoleil appeared also appeared in Kenneth Anger’s magic short, “Invocation of My Demon Brother”, alongside Anger himself, and the notorious Anton LaVey – the founder and High Priest of the First Church of Satan, and a staple haunt of the entertainment industry in California during this time.
Bobby Beausoleil, insane in the membrane in “Invocation of My Demon Brother” (1969)
So, what do you think of the tune? HAUNTING? ? ?
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I don’t mean to scare you . . .
So,
+until next time+
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Every fan knows that this man’s music can make you soar – and if there isn’t one piece that can make one’s mind soar to the farthest reaches of imagination it’s this one. Makes for a great surge of power and might to kick ass out of any day you might be facing.
“Stoker” is one of those films that only come out once in a blue moon; when we’ve all done our chores, and said our blessings to the universe – then we get a film like “Stoker”.
Complex, beautiful, provocative, wonderfully acted, great dialogue, and stylistically beyond are some words you could use to describe it, but its more the indescribable feelings you are left with after leaving the picture, that truly speak to its prestige in the grand scheme of world cinema.
The term world cinema couldn’t be more appropriate in this case, as Korean Director Park (Chang-Wook of “Oldboy” fame) has choreographed this exquisitely sinister plot in a language foreign to most of the cast and crew. Even while working with the film’s biggest stars, a translator was used to communicate between actor and director. And while this is his first English language film, it will definitely not be his last. As any film buff knows, the language of film is universal, and from the film’s opening shots the director’s eye for detail and acute sensibility sing a song harking back to film makers of a time long gone like Bergman, Hitchcock, and Kubrick.
Many things spoke to us throughout the film, from Clint Mansell‘s (“Black Swan”) haunting score, the incredibly articulated and imaginative Production Design of Therese De Prez (another “Black Swan” veteran), Wentworth Miller (“Prison Break”) and Erin Wilson’s sophisticated script, as well as the acting chops of Matthew Goode ( playing against type as the mysterious Uncle with a dark past), Nicole Kidman (the lonely and vindictive mother), and most especially Mia Wasikowska, as India Stoker, the film’s protagonist.
This young starlet is always good in everything she is in, but almost expertly does she manage to tackle this role which requires her to be many things, most of the time without many words, making for a most appreciated and most memorable character in the past decade.
But what stood out in particular for us here at The Eye of Faith, had to be the incredible costume design by designer duo Kurt & Bart, who put together the looks to fully realize these strange personalities.
Indeed, they are very rich and very sophisticated, and from the moment India walks onto the screen in her crocodile skinned LaBoutins, flowy skirt and floral silken blouse – you just knew you were in for a style treat with this one.
In fact, throughout the film, the costumes play a great deal in helping enrich the story being told throughout. The designers point out a green Marni cardigan, worn during the film’s strange piano duet, noting how the colour of the cardigan matches the colours of the walls in her own house, symbolizing India’s captivity.
Also signature to the film’s main theme is a pair of shoes – saddle shoes, to be exact, which represent the more child-like and homely version of India, before she foregoes her inevitable transformation into womanhood.
Instead, they studied day dressed and blouses from the era and used them as inspiration in the creation of India’s wardrobe, adding extra details, and unique clasps and fastenings that would indicate India’s obsessively detailed nature, as well as her rejection of the everyday – that’s my girl!
She is not of this world, but of her own, and throughout the film we are by her side in her own elevated sense of reality.
I’m gonna bet there’s already been a rise in saddle shoe sales, and I’m hoping to see more girls unafraid to rock a pretty blouse and skirt combination. After all, its all in the attitude – the India Attitude.
She’s definitely a new idol of sorts; Nouveau-Gothic, in a way, with her pastel coloured blouses, and prim and proper way of dress, but grossly morose in her attitude and presentation to the world around her.
She is a representation of that breaking point from teen to adult, and that indefinite feeling of not belonging to the world that surrounds you, and doing everything you can to not fit into it. She’s a strange poster child for our generation, in that way.
There’s no doubting the staying power of this film, and in 25 years from now, we will still be looking back on this one as a great one on the level of psychological horrors like “The Shining” and “Rosemary’s Baby”. Even compared to those great classics, there is something very different here with “Stoker” that cannot be compared. Perhaps it is the contemporary nature of the story, and it taking place today that is very different.
These days American films don’t often delve into the lives of the rich and sophisticated to come out with a vision so twisted and maniacal, so perhaps it is the appropriateness of this action that really helps speak to the “nowness” of it all. There is no denying the conspiracies and secrets of the world’s most affluent families, and as history as shown us, they often hide the most terrible and terrifying secrets . . .
“Stoker” is a glimpse on what might just be the truth behind the family with the mansion, the housekeeper, the beautifully kept lawn, the designer furniture, valuable antiques, most incredible designer clothing, and carved stone art just laying about in the garden. After all, you never know . . .
From the very beginning it will really keep you guessing, but be warned – its not for the faint of heart. This is a thriller, and while director Park describes his film as a modern fairy tale, don’t be expecting ponies and rainbows from this one. There is a glass slipper at the end of it all – though be them black crocodile LaBoutins at the end of it all, which maybe a few hours afterwards will really strike you as a funny “Happy Ever After” to this very modern Fairy Tale; a fairy tale that, unlike most, challenges its audiences, and asks you to question the characters motives and uncover their vices to help us question ourselves and our own everyday anxieties.
So if there’s one thing you get up to this week its getting your butt out the door to see this film!
This is me. Just as a flower does not choose its colour, we are not responsible for what we come to be. Only once you realize this do you become free. And to become adult, is to become free.
-India, “Stoker” {2013}.
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Dying for the look? Stay Tuned to The Eye of Faith for the tools to recreate Stoker’s sensual 1950s reinvention!
Style Idol for All Time – MARLON BRANDO poses as Stanley K in “A Streetcar Named Desire”
{circa. 1949/1950 }
Marlon Wears: Black and White Oxford Brogues, Straight Leg Distressed Denim, Distressed White Cotton Wife Beater, and Jaunty Cap.
This is a photograph taken by Warner Bros before beginning production to test the looks for the film.
A young Marlon Brando ignited the screen with his electric performance, and solidified rebel style into the repertoire of the everyman. To learn more about Marlon Brando’s effortless cool in “A Streetcar Named Desire” and its particular influence of mens fashion and society, check out the article I wrote for Everyguyed.com !
We’re going to be channelling some classic edge all summer, so stay up to date with the {SHOP} to get the look!
This week, we bring to you a set of most legendary fashion publications from the past 10 years. Legends are made everyday, and in the fashion industry, magazines are like Bibles on who to worship, and ideas are permeating throughout the scene.
For years we have collected some of the world’s most coveted publications for knowledge, inspiration, and for the chance to watch the timeline of fashion play out before your eyes. Everyone’s got to start somewhere, and some of today’s biggest fashion icons owe their notoriety to the photo shoots captured in these magazines.
We wanted to showcase these works for their superior craftsmanship and innovation, and also show off the timeline of fashion history right under our noses.
This issue of POP MAGAZINE from September 2008 will be the first of our LEGENDARY ISSUES.
Featuring Naomi Campbell on the cover, styled by Miucci Prada herself, this cover marks a transition in fashion to a streamlined romanticism, marked by Prada’s 2008 revival of lace. This trend has since become ever popular for both women and men since.
The cover says “HOT NUNS” right on it, and boy do the people at POP really go the distance with this one. Entitled “NUN HEADS”, the beautiful fashion editorial showcases a strange interwoven tale of nuns in heat.
It’s nearly as provocative as Ken Adam’s “The Devils”, but pulls out all the stops to make it as fresh and fashion forward as ever. Starring Angela Lindvall, Guinevere Van Seenus, Missy Rayder, and Magdelena Frackowiak – this shoot is a powerful editorial that is legendary and iconic to this day. The nun inspiration also had a huge impact on the fashion world, in general, and really got a huge kick start with these images.
Shoots like that alone, are why you buy a magazine! But on top of that, there are plenty more shoots with stars like Amber Valletta and Naomi Campbell, herself. One of the highlights of the issue is a beautiful story shot by Ryan McGinley featuring Agyness Deyne jumping off of fire escapes in the snow. Beautiful.
And on the style knowledge front, the issue provides a beautiful summary and history of legendary Hollywood costume designer Adrian, who designed some of the most glamorous and iconic looks of the 1930s and 40s.
There’s a lot more to it than just a magazine. This is literally a piece of fashion history, and we are making it available to you today!
We are auctioning off all of our LEGENDARY ISSUES with No Reserve & Super Low Starting Bids.
Some of the magazines we pulled for this drive have been valued at over $300, so don’t miss out on your chance for a great deal. Surprise a fashionable friend with a gift, or treat yourself to a real style treat.
These are some of the most iconic images in fashion history, so don’t let them escape you!
We had a great day at this month’s Junction Flea – the last at The Great Hall.
Next month will take place in the Lot at Indian Grove and Dundas Street West (which is just up the street from our studio)!
Be there or be square.
Here’s a few pics of our booth, if you missed it or weren’t able to come!
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We brought our signature vintage menswear pieces, and some of our secret stash!! We hope to get most of it online by the end of the month, so if you got to rummage through the collection you got a bit of a preview of things to come!
Paul looked great in Great Gatsby American Chic. Manning the booth.
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.
-Albert Einstein
Some of our signature vintage fashion images made their way along with us, like the 1940s Rebel Skater Boy!
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Shirts galore!
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Nancy Wilson LP on the top there. Our fabulous urban chic style stunner mannequin!
Legendary Issues! Naomi, Jourdan, Lara, Natasha, Daria, Freja, Coco, even Faye – they were all with us . . . Some of the most legendary photo shoots and fashion moments of the last 10 years, and more. We will be getting these online soon, too.
Everyone loved the knight’s helmut. You don’t see that everyday . . .
We can’t wait for next month, where we’ll have even more stylish and mysterious goodies to share!
Wish you could be there, but thanks especially to those who were!
Composed by Richard Carpenter and John Bettis, and fiirst released in 1972 on the “Close to You: Remembering the Carpenters” documentary; the song was ispired by a visit to London, where Richard saw an old Bing Crosby 1940 film called Rhythm on the River, where he noticed that they kept referring to the struggling songwriter’s greatest composition, “Goodbye to Love”.
He says `You never hear it in the movie, they just keep referring to it,’ and he immediately envisioned the tune, and lyrics starting with:
I’ll say goodbye to love No one ever cared if I should live or die. Time and time again the chance for Love has passed me by…
He said that while the melody in his head kept going, the lyrics stopped “because I’m not a lyricist“, and he completed the rest of his arrangement upon his return to the US.
Karen Carpenter called guitarist Tony Peluso herself to get him to play on the track. Tony remembers: “At first I didn’t believe that it was actually Karen Carpenter on the phone but she repeated her name again. … It was at this point that I realized it was really her and that I was speaking to one of my idols.” She told him that she and Richard were working on a song called “Goodbye To Love” and they were both familiar with his work with another band (called Instant Joy), and that he’d be perfect for the sound they were looking for.
Peluso first played something soft and sweet, but then Richard Carpenter said
“No, no, no! Play the melody for five bars and then burn it up! Soar off into the stratosphere! Go ahead! It’ll be great!“
Peluso insists this was one of the first, if not THE first, love ballads to have a fuzz guitar solo.
Funny enough, The Carpenters did receive hate mail; claiming that The Carpenters had sold out and gone hard-rock because of Richard’s idea for a fuzz guitar solo in a love ballad! And even some Adult Contemporary oriented radio stations refused to play the song because of it.
Regardless of the controversy, many Carpenters fans today still admire the song for its unique power.
In our E.O.F. RULES, I mentioned how I came across a quote that said: “IMAGINATION IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN KNOWLEDGE”, and while that may be true, I always think it is much more interesting to have a healthy balance of the two.
If you can learn a little, while also stimulating the senses, you really cannot go wrong. That’s why we decided to post this sick info graphic sent to us from AutoInsurance.US !
Taking some of the most iconic cars of movie history, AutoInsurance.US gives us a brilliant run down on some of the technology and trivia of Hollywood’s Greatest Cars.
From Bond’s classic Astin Martin DB5 to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, check out what makes these beauties true stars, in their own right.
