Maria Mantella

Finding inspiration on the internet comes in waves, at least for me. Some days, everything seems stale, and other times, I can't take it in fast enough. I'm definitely going through the latter right now. Among a few other delights, I just stumbled upon Maria Mantella's Flickr and fell in love. Here are some of my favorite images!

You can read her blog here.

Sweater Weather

Samuel Bradley

Lewis Morley: Charlotte Rampling in bed, 1963 - resin print (National Portrait Gallery, London)

Dinner Date by Becca Stadtlander

Off to the Rink, 1965

Katy Horan

judy pfaff

one of the particularly wonderful things about tumblr is the introduction to  really moving art & literature if you can scroll through reblogs long enough. one particular artist i came across recently is judy pfaff, whose work, despite being very solid installations, still retains this very ephemeral air that reminds of spring time. i thought i would share since we've been celebrating the arrival (or soon arrival) of spring here at ventricular.

Cronos

Wild Rose (2008)

"Paper" Untitled (2009)

The thing with feathers (2009)

I dwell in possibility (2008)

(all images are from pfaff's website, http://www.judypfaff.org/)

"I would drape myself in velvet if it were socially acceptable."

Instead of doing a massive recount of every amazing look from London Fashion Week (which would take days...), I decided to concentrate my attention on my favorite thing in the world - velvet (and maybe a few extra pretty dresses I couldn't help but post). Needless to say, If you are not an avid fan of velvet, then this post might not be for you. But, for the rest of you who dream of cladding yourself in luxurious pan-collared velvet frocks, teasing your hair and imaging that you're a modern day Marianne Faithfull...well...

(this is your reaction)

Charles Anastase, Erdem, Michael van der Ham, Topshop Unique

Color Therapy

February in Boston is a bummer for someone more accustomed to warmer climates such as myself - winter magic has worn off and I haven't quite developed the kind of endurance to function in the cold for more than a couple months. Bright-ass colors to the rescue! Nothing cheers me up these days quite like rosy hues with occasional shocks of yellow, and, of course vegetation - which I'll patiently experience as best I can on the internet until I can have it in real life once again.

Rodarte for Opening Ceremony

Abby Try Again

Peggy Moffitt

Sharon Tate

Enrapture by Melinda Josie

carly's ~springspiration~

here in florida, spring has finally arrived! the skies are perfectly blue and it's a warm 70 degrees, but not humid (you'll know this is perfect weather if you're acquainted with summers in the south) yet.  i couldn't help but together a little spring inspiration post to celebrate!

image credits: florals from the makers; dresses from opening ceremony; maurice denis's easter morning or easter mystery (1891) from all-art; cosmic wonder floral shoes from maryam nassir zadeh; still from romemary's baby via flickr; "killin' the vibe" by ducktails; untitled piece by ana mendieta via the hirshhorn; karen walker ss '11 video; photograph from go climb a rock

vivian's picks for fall!

to continue with our fanciful celebration of fashion week, we asked our very lovely (and always well dressed) friend vivian from vivian and the dream of horses to share her favorite looks from new york fashion week '11 with us. she was also sweet enough to host another giveaway for our upcoming release of the second issue of Tilde Journal which you can enter here.  

When the lovely Tricia and Carly asked me to do a recap of NY Fashion Week, I immediately panicked. WHAT WOULD I TALK ABOUT? THERE ARE TOO MANY THINGS I LOVE! SHOULD I JUST DO A COLLAGE OF ALL MY FAVORITE FLORAL LOOKS? So, I decided to just break it down into five looks that I want more of in my wardrobe (which is, no florals). The five themes that I immediately were drawn to over and over were leather (and leather accents), lace pieces and ladylike sheer things, outfits that center around gorgeous knit sweaters (oh, if only I could pull off a sweater!), as well as both athletic and menswear inspired looks. You are free to call my taste questionable (I would)--I totally know these are all over the place. BUT, what can I say? Sometimes you want to look tuff enuff and sometimes you want to be the prettiest girl at the ball (????). 

Vena Cava, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Karen Walker, Rachel Comey, Thakoon, The Row

ADAM, Jason Wu, The Row, Marc by Marc Jacobs,  Ruffian 

ADAM, Derek Lam, Jason Wu, Band of Outsiders, Marc by Marc Jacobs, The Row

Rag and Bone, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Erin Fetherston, Karen Walker, Karen Walker

ADAM, Erin Fetherston, Rodarte, Proenza Schouler, Charlotte Ronson, Rachel Comey, Rachel Comey, Suno

orla kiely ss '11 lookbook

orla kiely + leith clark styling, need we say more?

(all images from http://www.orlakiely.com)

NYFW Favorites (Why can't it be next fall already?)

I'm not going to lie, it was extremely hard for me to not jump the gun and include all my favorite London looks in this post as well because I am in heaven! Every morning has been like Christmas with all the ~whimsical~ looks (looking at you, Erdem!) emerging on style.com. But for today, I want to focus on my favorite New York moments, especially the menswear inspired. As someone trying to change up my wardrobe to reflect my post-grad mature adult lifestyle (lots of menswear inspired and tailored separates with a 1960s flair), NYFW did not disappoint with tons of inspiration. In fear of rambling on about how much I love everything, I'll just let the pictures do the talking!

(all images from style.com)

Marimekko Dreaming

Carly and I have definitely bonded quite a bit over fashion in the time we've known each other, so we thought it would be fun to have a fashion week of our own here at the Ventricular Projects blog!

First up is a bit of a resolution: stop drooling over the Marimekko store and make something! I've been a bit pattern crazy as long as I can remember (for example, this winter, a plaid coat and a striped backpack have been the minimum of my daily print-mixing), so add in my sixties fixation, and Marimekko makes frocks plucked straight from my dreams.

My clothing budget almost nonexistent since I'm currently squirreling away money for a cross country move, so I'm going to have to get a little creative! I'm officially, publicly challenging myself to scour thrift stores for the perfect bold, vintage fabrics and make a simple shift dress or two. May I rise to the occasion or fail before your eyes!

Pixie 1 Dress

Peippo Dress

Kaste Tunic