fire spy with me

Did it really ever matter who killed Laura Palmer? I don't think I was the only fan who tuned in week after week to watch the ladies of Twin Peaks in all their stylish and good girl/bad girl glory. The sexy yet restrained look of the main female characters on the show has always been a favorite of mine and I feel that this Fall that northwestern small town style is more relevant than ever. Along with the classic waitress uniforms, sweater twin sets, plaid & pencil skirts, and leather jackets these girls were all peaches & cream complexions, arched eyebrows, flowing loose hair and matte brick lipstick. Ebay and Etsy are full of vintage finds that mimic this style and it is also found everywhere in the fall'08 collections. A little inspiration for you...

Le Palais Bulles

In the early eighties French fashion designer, Pierre Cardin, was looking for a summer home in Cannes. A one time student of architecture himself, he was less than impressed by the cookie-cutter villas that had multiplied all over the Cote d'Azur. He was looking for something over the top, not unlike the avant-garde fashions he created. He happened to come across a construction site that overlooked a magnificent view of the Mediterranean. The house was started in 1975, by the Finnish architect, Annti Lovag. Lovag is a pioneer in ferro-cement bubbles, which removes vertical partitions and angles accommodating more flexible design. Unfortunately, the industrialist for whom the house was being built died before the work was complete. Cardin stepped in and bought "The Palace of Bubbles" for 50 million francs in 1989.

"The circle is my symbol", says Pierre Cardin. "The sphere represents the creation of the world and the mother's womb. Holes, cones, breasts - I've always used them in my designs."

Spy Girl

Debbie Harry (born July 1, 1945) is a singer-songwriter, actress and one of the best style icons from the late seventies through the eighties.

Harry spent her youth in Hawthorne, New Jersey when she was adopted at three months old. After graduating high school in 1963 she moved to New York and held a series of different jobs before settling on a music career. She worked as a secretary for the BBC Radio New York office, a waitress at Max's Kansas City, a counter girl at Dunkin' Donuts and a Playboy Bunny.

Harry's first venture into music was with the folk rock group, The Wind in the Willows. She then joined the girl group trio, The Stilletos, in the early 1970's. Their backup band included guitarist Chris Stein who would become Harry's boyfriend. Harry and Stein formed the band Blondie in mid 1970's. Their first album debuted in 1976.

Blondie became a permanent fixture at such legendary locales like CBGB's and Max's Kansas City. With her bleach blonde hair, Harry became an icon to a generation of men and women. Her persona was so magnified that people began calling her Blondie, which prompted the campaign button "Blondie is a Group" in 1979.

hey boys!

Just got in a great new line here at grasshopper-Bread Denim Company. We are starting off by carrying their western shirts. The shirts are amazing-really soft washed 100% cotton in a nice faded vintage palette of colors. Some have the more traditional western details such as pearl snaps, silver lurex thread in the plaid and curved seaming at the shoulders. Come & get it!!!! We also just put up more fabulous handmade necklaces from Daughter of the Sun.


You can click the link in the right hand top corner to see more or do some shopping.

spy girl

I have never been a huge Elvis fan but I recently watched the documentary Elvis by the Presleys in an attempt to gear up for our upcoming trip to Las Vegas. After watching it I was totally turned on to the Presley's style-especially Miss Pricilla. Priscilla Beaulieu met Elvis Presley in Germany at the age of 14 in 1959 while he was in the army. He promised to stay in touch with her after going back to the States and he did. He called for her back at Graceland and she went there to live with him. Most of these early years he seemed to spend in Hollywood working on his movie career while she waited in Memphis and transformed herself into the raven-haired wife to be that he wished for. He even enrolled her in a finishing school. In 1967, in Las Vegas, Nevada they were married at the Aladdin Hotel. They spent the beginning of their marriage in Palm Springs, CA in an amazing mid-century luxury home named the "Honeymoon Hideaway". Throughout her many years with Elvis and even beyond (but let's not talk about recently) Pricilla always looked amazing-a real beauty. I even loved her Winehouse moment in the sixties. I wish I could find more candid shots. Big hair, heavy eyeliner & lashes, mod, hippie, skinny eyebrows, 80's bathing suit pin-up, movie star glamour-puss, she pulled it all off with major style.


























THE AMAZING HONEYMOON HIDEAWAY

it's gucci time

I just got the new Elle Magazine in the mail today and once I got over another horrible celebrity cover story (Jessica Simpson-ugh!) I was able to move on into the 600+ page Fall Fashion lookbook. Of course it starts with about 500 pages of ads but I was stopped in my tracks at Gucci. I have been waiting to see this campaign since I caught a glimpse of the runway looks. I am completely taken. This is my Fall 2008/Winter 2009 fall fashion dream world. Beyond the beautiful clothing, how can you not fall totally in love with the photography, color, light, and movement in these wonder-full images?

Fall-can you feel it?

New merchandise is coming in here at grasshopper! Two new lines have arrived: Edie-France and re:sound. In an effort to clear more room for our shiny new things we have created the AMAZING $50 or less RACK! You must see it to believe it. It's already in the beginning stages of being pillaged. Stop in this weekend while enjoying the cooler temps or shop online!

Cut and Sew

Raymond "Ossie" Clark (June 9, 1942 - August 6, 1996) was an English fashion designer whose career peaked from 1965 to 1974. Ossie was a pivotal figure in London at a time when fashion, music and photography were intertwined.

At 16 Clark enrolled in the Regional College of Art in Manchester. There he met two people, Celia Birtwell and David Hockney, who would help his meteoric rise to fame. His friendship with Birtwell soon developed into a love affair and an eventual design partner. The soon to be famous artist, Hockney introduced Clark to many valuable connections in the fashion, art and entertainment industries. Friends believed they were lovers involved in a volatile relationship.

Clark went on to attend the Royal College of Art in London and received a first-class degree in 1965. His final fashion show for the University was a huge success and peaked the interest of the fashion press. By August of that year he had his first feature in British Vogue. "Woodlands 21" on Sloane Street was the first shop to pick up the line.

In 1966 Clark forged a friendship with Alice Pollock owner of the exclusive boutique Quorum. She was so taken by his designs, she immediately ordered the entire collection. Their collaboration would take the Ossie Clark line to another level. On Pollock's request Celia Birtwell produced all the textiles for the next collection. This proved to be an infamous union with Clark designing the clothes and Birtwell designing the prints. This partnership would last for most of Clark's career. It was at this time Clark began his descent into hard drugs along with his business partner Alice Pollock.

By the late sixties Clark was dubbed "The King of King's Road" by the fashion press. Although Ossie and Alice were great at creating an image and pulling in a celebrity clientele, including Mick Jagger, Marianne Faithfull and the Beatles, they were less successful at managing a business. By 1967 Quorum was deeply in debt and Ossie and Alice agreed to sell Quorum to the UK fashion house, known as Radley.

In 1969 Clark married Celia Birtwell and had two sons, Albert and George. Eventually his drug use and erratic emotional state destroyed the marriage and the couple divorced a few years later. Without Celia to collaborate with and the loss of his children led Ossie into a downward spiral that put a huge strain on his creative output.

In 1996, Ossie was stabbed to death by his former lover, Diego Cogolato. Cogolato served six years in prison on a manslaughter conviction. He has been an inspiration to many fashion designers including Yves Saint Laurent, Tom Ford and Ana Sui. Ossie Clark's clothes are well sought after and can be seen worn by celebrities and fashion models.

Ossie Clark and Celia Birtwell were featured in the David Hockney painting "Mr. and Mrs. Clark and Percy" which hangs in the Tate Britain Gallery.

Celia Birtwell continues to design today and is on her 4th collaboration with Topshop.