mobile logo
Cara_Delevingne_Michael_Kors_Mario_Testino
June 11, 2014
TUTTLEMODE

Fall Forward: Women’s Upcoming Trends, Pt. 1

Gentle reader,

Driving home from Beverly Hills yesterday, I passed a tall, skinny blond kid on the street wearing very short denim cut-offs, a horizontal striped crop top and a skanky Mickey Mouse ear-warmer hat thing.  He may have just been wandering around thinking it was still Gay Pride, but I took it as a sign that I’d been gone from these pages for too long.  If you, yourself, have recently committed any major fashion faux pas like wearing Uggs, sporting big Tory Burch logos or trying to pull off a dopey Pharrell hat while I was away, let’s just pretend it didn’t happen.  It’s partially my fault for leaving you alone for so long.

You see, I’ve been busy these past weeks pulling up some very deep roots in one venerable Italian fashion powerhouse and planting a seed at another. 

Continue reading
By James Tuttle
2
0
Givenchy SS 2014
October 2, 2013
TUTTLEMODE

That’s a Wrap: Paris Fashion Week Spring 2014

Gentle reader,

Now that the U.S. Government is shutting down—and let’s hope that’s just a temporary situation—those of us who work for the national parks and many government agencies will have a little more time to think about we’re going to be wearing next spring.  For those of you who haven’t even started to think about what to wear next week, I feel you.  It’s ninety degrees in L.A. one day and seventy the next so I’m pretty much dressing according to the iPhone weather app.

Nevertheless, the marathon of fashion weeks that began in New York a month ago is nearly complete with just a couple more shows in Paris. 

Continue reading
By James Tuttle
0
0
Armani Privé FW 2013
July 10, 2013
TUTTLEMODE

If You Have To Ask, You Can’t Afford It: Haute Couture Fall 2012

Gentle reader,

I just got in from a quick trip from the Desert and, I don’t know, maybe the crazy high temperatures caused my brain to start melting a little around the edges but I couldn’t stop thinking about the recent couture shows.  If you’re not looking for a $60,000 made-to-measure jacket or $120,000 gown that requires you to fly to France for three or four fittings over the next couple of months, Haute Couture Week might not be big on your agenda.

Continue reading
By James Tuttle
0
0
Givenchy Finale
October 3, 2012
TUTTLEMODE

Secrets Travel Fast: Paris Fashion Week Spring 2013

Gentle reader,

Okay, so I’ve hardly watched anything on TV this past week except the first episode of Revenge which was fine except that the revelation that Victoria Grayson was still alive should have been a lot more shocking than just having Emily show up at the door of Victoria’s hideout on the pretense of helping free her falsely institutionalized daughter.  I mean, really?  If ABC doesn’t step it up, I’ll be forced to do a fashion addendum to Eric’s scathing critique of 666 Park Avenue.

Madeleine Stowe in ‘Revenge’

Much of the reason for my failure to keep up with the new TV shows is that I’m being forced to watch endless training footage on this season’s accessories from my design house’s Milan office.  I’m already a bit put out with Milan in general after the mess of last week’s spring 2013 shows but this really is the last straw.  The guy from the styling office is a handsome Italian with pretty eyes and just the right amount of scruff, but watching him pick up and put down those fucking shoes for two hours is just soul crushing.  When you add the nonsensical translation that seems voiced by a BBC News anchor who has suffered a stroke and is speaking perfectly pronounced English words in a completely random order, I’m surprised I haven’t downed a bottle of Drano by now.  Let’s see if I can do better in explaining next spring’s Paris collections.

It helps that we seem to be getting some clear messages again.  Black and white are major players in most of the important collections, Japanese influences are big and the circa-1970 ruffles and full sleeves that we saw at Gucci popped up everywhere.

Continue reading
By James Tuttle
5
0
Steve Meisel Vuitton
July 18, 2012
TUTTLEMODE

The Campaign Tale: Fashion Ads for Fall 2012

Gentle reader,

I’m sure that you’re as pleased as I am that, despite continuing economic woes in Greece and Spain and sluggish domestic employment figures, CBS managed to get Big Brother back on the air for season 14.  The show kicked off last week with the lovely, robotic Julie Chen reprising her role as host while trying to bring Halston back with her red halter jumpsuit.  If you’re married to the head of the network, I guess you can wear whatever you want.

And the famous Big Brother house has been again redecorated but this time by a blind person with a glue stick who was told to make it look like their idea of the Starship Enterprise.  That many colors should not be seen together outside a Mondrian exhibit or a Crayon box.  The producers might have intended the ugly surroundings as a “stress and duress” tactic to work like the isolation, overheating, and strategic food deprivation they use to disorient the contestants, but we’re the ones who have to fucking look at it.

Continue reading
By James Tuttle
0
0
October 5, 2011
TUTTLEMODE

Goddesses, Nymphs and Tramps

TUTTLE MODE

by James Tuttle

Gentle reader,

Allow me to apologize in advance.

You see, I’d already had quite a day.  For some reason, I took a hike in the Hills even though I was already dying from leg day at the gym.  Then my spray tan was accidentally set at level two.  I always use the lowest setting for completely natural looking color and never get clocked so this was potentially disastrous.

Tanning: Brazilians do it better (Photo: L.Luna)

Then, after an hour of negotiating a steamy L.A. while trying not to sweat—because, of course, perspiration is the enemy of the faux tan—my favorite bartender Kevin made me a couple of strong margaritas at St. Felix Hollywood as I navigated the dearth of images streaming in from the Paris shows.  So you’ll understand that when I finally plopped down in front of the television Sunday evening, tired and a little fuzzyheaded, VH1’s Tough Love: Miami seemed like a really good idea at the time.

Continue reading
By Pure Film Creative
7
0
July 6, 2011
TUTTLEMODE

Every Clown Has a Silly Lining

TUTTLE MODE

by James Tuttle

Gentle reader,

It took me a while to get around to finally seeing Bravo’s new show Million Dollar Decorators because the commercials for it were so awful.  It looks like a bunch of douches with dueling egos who don’t even know each other outside the show pretending to do some fake design projects for the benefit of the cameras.  Just name it “Real Housewives of Interior Design” and call it a fucking day.

What recession? The stars of Million Dollar Decorator have BUDGETS, baby.

The show actually begins Housewives-style with the five pretentious Los Angeles-based interior designers making grand pronouncements and then posing awkwardly while crossing their arms and stuff.  The attractive Jeffrey Alan Marks proclaims, “I don’t follow the trends, I set them!”  Well, he was attractive before he opened his damned mouth. 

Continue reading
By Pure Film Creative
10
0
Load More