The Big USA Comedown, pt1 Los Angeles!

OK, hello long lost '99ers.
I have two weak excuses as to why I have been so inactive on the blog front.
One:
I was, till not too recently, away to the USA, and if you follow me on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook you would have seen (still, no excuse right..).
Two:
This morning, while still in a mindset that had me day dreaming my way back to the hot sun of California, the hustle and bustle of New York and the overall madness of Las Vegas, I realised that to get 'over' America, I needed to get it all off my chest for you to read and be able to somewhat share in my trip, and then I could return back to life in Melbourne (the world's most livable city it seems!)!

And so Voila! Pictures included, here is an almost step by step revision of my time away, to be written in 5 separate posts as to not overwhelm too much!

Friday the 15th of June was a truly busy day. I had a morning appointment, an afternoon appointment, and one in the evening. Still needing to prepare outfits, fold and pack, there was not one minute of rest. That's not to say I didn't love every moment; some great things arrived, some great things left, champagne was drunk, cake was eaten, dressups were played! And in the meantime, should this jacket come?, no, too hot. What about this one? And this shirt? Shorts, I don't have shorts! Aha, here's an old pair of linen ones hiding in the back of the wardrobe! You all know the drill, the excitement, the rush, the ups and downs of packing!

My bright green suitcase, unmissable at every conveyor belt, perfect :).

Of course being super organised, and wanting to sleep till 5:30 instead of 5 :s, I tried to check in online, but the ever faithful QANTAS website was down, and in the morning I could still not check in early. Oh well, off to Tullamarine with my lovely parentals in tow.
We in the Ron family have a tradition of eating Hungry Jacks/Burger King every time we are at the airport, not sure why it started, not sure why it still keeps going, but it has become I guess almost a superstition that if we don't do it, something won't be right.
Breakfast down the hatch, suitcase into the belly of the plane, I took my seat, perfect, right in front, 'Premium Economy' I guess they call it these days, though at no extra cost which was nice ;), with loads and loads of leg room, hooray!
After watching almost every episode of Modern Family throughout the flight, maybe a couple of hours of that awkward aeroplane 'sleep', 2 not too bad meals and 15 hours later we touched down at 6:30am at LAX, three hours earlier than we had left, hmm, go international time zones (of course I'd lose a day on the way back, but who cares, back in time is so much more exciting than forward haha)!

Now some of you may have known, in preparation for the trip, I decided to have my hair cut at one of LAs top salons, and after much research I settled on Sally Hershberger, she who does Meg Ryan, amongst others of course. I booked a cut with Chris Rios, Janet Jackson's main cutter, at 9:45am, leaving what I thought was ample time to make it from the airport to my hotel, The Palihotel, on Melrose and Fairfax, the! location I wanted to be at.
Well, to cut the suspense, I did make it on time, just, due to the never ending stretches of road that make up LA, and that the shuttle service (yes, yellow and blue striped minibus) had not heard of the hotel, it having just opened three months earlier. Dropping people off all over the place; backpackers, other mid-priced hotels, Hollywood Boulevard, until finally I was the only one left. At 9:15 we arrived at the newly lacquered wooden building, literally on the cusp of fabulous, and not so fabulous Melrose Avenue.
The inside, gorgeous shabby chic; old wooden tennis racquets on the wall, funny little dolls, typical Parisian posters, lots of damask upholstery, at once familiar but a bit aloof, just the way I like it. (They don't like photos inside the hotel, so I respected this..)

Quickly dumping my bags inside the luggage cupboard, literally, I started my brisk walk down Melrose Ave, deeper into West Hollywood. Wow, Agent Provocateur, Resurrection Vintage, further along Decades (OMG), then as I made the turn along Melrose, there was Marc Jacobs, Alexander McQueen, Monique L'huillier, big elegant boutiques, fabulous!
At 9:40, in the nick of time, I got into the lift of the inconspicuous building that houses Sally Hershberger's LA salon. Bright, open and spacious, and with some truly expensive magazines (we are talking Purple and Self Service here), the fabulous people of Los Angeles crowd here on a Saturday morning. I asked for a coffee, and a giant mug full of badly frothed milk arrived, but hey, it is American coffee right?
Lucky me, Ms Rios was running a little late, which was good, I had some time to simmer down after my power walk. Shampoo later, and there I was in the chair, talking about Paris '99, my aim to network with who's who of American society to plunder their wardrobes (you know what I'm talking about...), and listening to her tales of brushing shoulders with the rich and the famous. What a start to the trip!

 Chris Rios in the reflection, she's cute right? :)

Feeling all fabulously haircutted, I left the salon and continued along Melrose until I hit my destination, Urth Caffe, the place to be if you are a West Hollywood scenester after freshly prepared, organic, environmentally friendly food, where the servings, compared to the rest of America, are reasonably small. Well, my medium latte was about the size of 4 coffees in Melbourne, but you know what, it was pretty alright. My panini was yummy, and would fill me up for the rest of the day for sure, read, it was huge!
Unfortunately I didn't spot Vincent Chase, or Turtle, or Drama, or even E, but then again, it wasn't TV haha :S.

My tiredness was starting to catch up with me, but as it was still too early to actually check into my room I kept walking, and walking in LA as you may have heard, is not the best mode of transportation. Things are far away from each other, with stretches of not much in between. And everything is hidden away. It's not a city that opens itself up, you need to know where to go. But I had done well so far, so why turn back? :)

My next stumbling was Maxfield. The legendary LA designer emporium, like Colette, but a bit more edgy dare I say. I tried on, for fun, duh, a $15,000 Isaac Sellam brown croc skin jacket. It was divine. (but not as divine as the next one I would see...;)).

Then a stripy blue thing caught my eye. A Junya Watanabe cotton jacket, with contrast striped undercollar, and not to mention the incredibly constructed interior, a patch work of blues and white, with covered shoulder pads resembling some kind of 1960s-esque space uniform. And at 70% off I kind of had to have it! So my fatigue told me. Add the tax, lets just say I was a lot more sobered once the card was swiped, but the deed was done. Now ladies and gents, dont worry, it worked out well, I wore the jacket 6 times during the rest of my trip, and since my return have worn it a further 10 times, I love it, and cost per wear is right down haha! Photos taken back in Melbourne, hope you like as much as I do!

After about a 45 minute walk back from Santa Monica Blvd I made it back to the hotel where my room was ready and waiting, and a small schloof ensued, schloof for non Yiddish speakers (and I'm not fluent don't worry) is a nap, well deserved might I add!

The rest of the evening went as follows;
A visit to Decades, meeting the darling Cameron Silver, the king of Vintage Couture, and actually a whole store full of modern designer pieces too, amazing things. He was kind enough to point out further places of interest; fashion, food, places to be. He would be off the next day to set up and exhibition he had curated in Savannah, how exotic!

The discovery of my favourite place to eat in LA, Froma. As luck would have it, Froma is right next door to Palihotel, and is a cafe-cum-deli-cum-bottle-shop-cum-sandwich bar-cum-everything! Owned by the lovely Francine who has an incredibly mixed up accent, I had the chicken, the pork, pizza, cheese, dessert, and fabulous wine throughout my stay, and everything is made fresh in front of your eyes right behind the counter by Dan, who looks ravishing in his khaki green cooking jacket!

So yes, you are pretty much getting every detail of my trip, and though its a great release for me, I hope you are still reading at this point!

I will try to be more succinct in what I write, I realise time is precious.

Next morning would be a very long and incredible day indeed. I started early, with a coffee from Ruth, an Irish girl with the wildest, reddest hair, much like the character from Disney's 'Brave', which had just premiered. Ironically Ruth told me she was the voice double for Kelly McDonald, everyone has a story in this town haha, but hers I could believe, and she also made a mean coffee, having lived in Australia for a while and barrista'ed here. I thought I'd try the 'slightly less so' side of Melrose, and luckily, as there was a Sunday Market on the grounds of Fairfax High School just a couple of minutes walk away.
You know how much I love a good market, and this one was big, think Camberwell, and times it by 2, or so. Anyway, big. I'm walking past stalls, lots of stuff, lots of stuff, up some stairs, lots of things, some clothes, but cheap and yucky mostly, more things, and then BAM!
Right in front, maybe 20 metres away, a covered stall, with what looked like a zoo hanging off it. Croc skin here, ostrich there, ponyskin, ooo I thought. Exotics are fun...
I came up close and lifted a creme croc skin bag off its hook. I looked inside and had the feeling that the gentleman at the stall had hunted, skinned, tanned and sewed, or hacked together rather, the bag all by himself. Lets just say customs would not have been approving, it was all a little bit raw, but totally intriguing nonetheless.
Hunting inside his tent, I spied a rack of furs, ran my hand against two, rabbit, rabbit, and then ooo mink. Pulled it out, omg its long, and sleeveless but not curved, there are little 'wings' on the shoulders, full length strips of mink, the darkest sable colour with hidden velvet lined pockets. It looks a liiiiitle small, but it might fit, I don't have to close it, whatever....
I scanned for a mirror. He pointed. I put it on, I had to have it. Done and dusted. How much? $600. Sheeeet... :S I look disinterested. It's summer! Inside I still have to have it.
How much is this bag? I was looking for a bag anyway, when I realised my Jean Paul Gaultier mock croc was not practical at all and was starting to fall apart. $90, hmmm.
I offered a price, crazy price. He laughed. I stroke the mink. It's female he says. I want to see it in the sun. It glistens like you've never seen. He says in winter he gets $900. Again, it's summer, its going to be 30 (90something in their language...). I raise it by $50, cash of course.
It's mine!
I'm obsessed. So obsessed I cart it around with me for the next month and look at it lovingly every day. I would die if I wore it at this point, literally melt.
See if you like ;)

Now I want to go to Rodeo Drive, shops are open on Sunday. It's also Father's Day, maybe there are interesting things happening. It takes 2 hours to walk from Melrose (I dropped the coat back to the hotel room, no need for either of us to suffer anymore in the heat haha) to Rodeo Drive, but I manage it, two bottles of water downed and lost again in sweat, but as I look in the mirror of my first ever Badgley Mischka store, the flagship mind you, I look not too bad. Happy snaps in front of the Beverly Hills sign, I am a tourist after all!
To celebrate Father's day the street is closed and there are 'Hollywood' cars out on display. Thelma and Louise, Batmobiles, James Dean and many more. Honestly knowing me, I'm more excited visiting my first ever Tom Ford boutique (stunning!) and when I get my first ever Barbara Bui and Badgley lookbooks, (hooray!)
Up and back down Rodeo, I find myself inside Louis Vuitton, and being somewhat adventurous and infinitely lucky when it comes to these things, end up on the 5th floor balcony at some VIP bash with Moet flowing freely and yummy waiters serving yummy finger food! This photo of Rodeo (mind my thumb, oops!) from the balcony proves I was there, I swear!

After that I stupidly walked back, via Robertson, and saw a cool looking place, lots of foliage, raised terrace, interesting looking people. Turns out it was The Ivy, a legendary West Hollywood joint famous for their burger. It was ok, a little bit tired, and the service, shocking. I didn't tip. (At that point I didn't actually realise that servicepeeps in America literally make no money apart from tips, it hadn't clicked yet. Later it did click, but then someone told me that people can make 6 figure salaries from tips, all in cash. I didn't feel sooooo sorry anymore.

Santa Monica, Jewish deli, live rock, and of course fashion fashion fashion made up the rest of my first stint in L.A. Tomorrow will be all about San Francisco! Hope you enjoyed, and sorry for the ever changing style of writing, it was all a bit frantic and hectic, so I guess it works to read it like that too!
Take care, stay warm, I'm wearing my mink right now ;)
xx Yahav

Grazia magazine!

Hello dear Paris '99ers!

Hooray! I am so excited to report that we had a beautiful little write-up in this week's Grazia magazine!
It was a complete surprise, well sort of. Let me explain.
I had a call from a woman who had found me online, via this blog no less, and she was tres enthusiastic to come and have a look and a drink and I thought great!
She was so lovely, tall and gorgeous and amazingly spoken, loved fashion, a woman of my own heart haha.
It was a wonderful visit, and then she left (as one must after all).
A couple of weeks later I got a call from an unknown Sydney number requesting images to accompany a review that would go to press really soon! I panicked, a journalist had come, who, when, why didn't I know?
The lovely woman on the phone assured me there was nothing to worry about and that all was well, the words read well. Phewww! Well, really I didn't do anything different, so its good, there is nothing to worry about (for me, or for you beautiful current and future ;) visitors)!
And voila, here is the piece, all about levels of service and styling opportunities in the current shopping landscape. Now I will be naughty and say that my experience kicks arse (ooooh) over Sportsgirl, and I have two friends who work at Sportsgirl, I hope they still love me hahaha!
Please enjoy the article, and I look forward to posting all about my adventures in the USA, off in 2 weeks, hooray!!
xx

Disclaimer and update post :S

Dear Paris '99ers,
Please dont hate me for being a bad bad blogger. There is no excuse for this at all, and so much has been going on that I haven't yet shared with you.
First things first, you will be seeing and more original Yahav Ron work in the salon. Its a shame to waste all my years of passionate designing and studying fashion both here and abroad, skills and the like, so that's one exciting push I'll be taking.
Secondly, I am truly excited to be going to the US of A in 3 weeks time! The trip will be tres tres intense; schmoozing, socialising, networking, meeting and greeting all in the name of bringing back some amazing pieces for the salon, and in turn, for you!
Watch out La la land, Frisco, Vegas and of course NYC, here I come!
I will certainly try to keep everyone in the loop while I am over there, expect lots of Instagram, Twitter and Facebook updates, and if you haven't already, befriend me (Yahav Ron) follow me (Yahav-Paris99) and follow me (@Paris_99)! How excitement!
And of course, every day, a bevy/bevie (you decide) of fabulous international designer pieces are arriving for your perousal and purchasing pleasure, come and visit me today, its just a phone call/email/tweet/facebook message away, hoorah!
xx

Hello all!
So, here are some of the lovely things taking my fancy today. They each have been snapped in detail to show you just how beautifully they are made and conceived, hooray!

Now I don't remember writing about this piece, but if I have I apologise, I just love it THAT much!
It's a Jean Paul Gaultier, no introduction necessary of course, and I describe as the 'went to the jungle and mated with a frill necked lizard jacket'! The detail is phenomenal; the careful row after row of top-stitching on the belt, the just so bronzed snap fasteners, the beautiful grosgrain ribbon these are attached to, simple and yet adds so much. Now you should also see the fit! The waist is so defined and there is gentle puff of volume in the hip but this is all balanced out by the wonder that is those frills! They sit up and out and elongate and widen and scare and attract and allure and repulse all at the same time, magical! You have to have a certain 'hmmmppphh!' to pull this thing off. I just enjoy looking at, hopefully no-one else finds it as amazing as I do so I can have it forever! :)

I just love the sharpness of these shoes, by Italian king Cesare Paciotti. Even his logo is a dagger on the sole. The details are incredible, from the black carved out line on the sole to the S-curved insole which ends with a script of the season (6 years old ooo). The yellow is killer, canary lemon lets call it, yummmy... naked foot for summer, or now as winter has finally hit us in Melbourne (don't worry, it never snows..) with a pair of thick black opaques, or imagine colour matched tights for a weird kind of camoflauge.
I don't mind all the faux pas that go with shoes; a bit of toe cleavage or socks with sandals (for men too yes) never hurt anyone, in fact it makes things that little bit more interesting.

A Jil Sander double folks. On top, the most sumptous velvet you've ever felt. So austere in its cut, right up to the throat, with a men's shirt-like yoke detail and lightly gathered, this dress is so winter at a boarding school. Of course being Raf Simons the allure comes once a body is inside. The 'waistband' seam hangs onto the small of the back, creating a gentle fold and bringing the focus back to the waist, reminding us that actually there is a woman inside, not as sexless as one might think just by looking at the piece alone. I don't know if any of that made any sense, but to keep it short, its hot on, and again, that velvet, so deep and rich it almost doesn't end!
Down below, the softest smoothest cashmere 'cape' if you will. Its a closureless cardigan, but the sleeves are dropped almost to elbow height (or lowght :S) which gives a more circular shape to the shoulder. Of course it can be turned upside down for a full draped collar and a shorter body, perfect for a slight evening chill. The belt is made from the same yarn, and the clasp (?) on the end is covered in the cashmere too, its so whole and holistically designed. Go Raf!

So witchy-poo, amazing. Junya Watanabe, distorter of the sartorial past, gives us this skirt with its demended hanky hemline and such an interesting pairing of contrast fabrics. We've got checks, raised relief, plain satin, all in panels and swirls all it needs are some docks and leather jacket and we're good to go. I must say the inside disappoints a bit, just overlocking with no lining. But I guess Junya has a reason for everything so I shouldn't complain too much, see what you think.. :)

I'm a fan of brocade, damask etc. Technically I think isn't a damask as even though its floral, its not tone-sur-tone care of the metallic golden yarns. Either way, its simply stunning. You need to have legs literally to under your boobs as its long enough to be a strapless dress and still almost hit the floor. Or you're supposed to have a dramatic train following faithfully behind. At his time at Kenzo, Antonio Marras created some of the most beautifully earthy, folky, grandiose pieces and this is no exception. The flared fabric in the tail, the long, sleek front lines; its serene yet salt of the earth, no doubt presented with a vine of ivy twirled around the models hair and face. That's what I see anyway, and of course the contrast naive pink lining. Gorgeous, and playful again.

If there ever was a waist defining garment then this is it! In person, the fabric of this dress subtly catches the light and twinkles as it moves, from black to purple to grey and a few bits inbetween, its quite magical. Coupled with its absolutely flawless fit; sitting high on the neck and arms to elongate the torso, perfect for the dinner where you can't eat anything as the dress has no room for error where your stomach wants to expand, popping out with a little bit of puff at the bum to enhance the waist even more and tapering in sharply like a hobbly pencil, it follows the body to a T and makes everything look 'better'. Add the bow and narrow self belt, a pair of patent platform pumps and the tightiest, fittiest LBJ (little black jacket, I'm sure im not the first to coin this term :P) and bam, the hottest girl in the room!

Finally, Missoni, who else?! Just so clever, its a subverted striped jumper, looking like its a Google Maps directions trail thats been stretched to take the long route, or maybe more familiar, a graded Gerber pattern where you've screwed up the notching (too obscure a reference I think... hmmm), either way, its a great woollen one to laze the afternoon away, whack on with jeans to go shopping, pick up kids, coffee with a girlfriend, my god, what kind of life do I lead haha! Love it.

See you soon my bloggy (bloggie), I don't know... Enjoy yourselves, xx!
Yahav

Yahav Ron designs! (Yes he can haha)!

Dear Parisians a Melbourne!
As you know, I don't just connect beautiful people with beautiful fashion, I can create a little thing or two myself, and there is nothing like a quiet morning or afternoon to grab some fabric and pins, approach one of my mannequin friends (of which there are now 6) and whip up some sartorial goodness! (Long sentence indeed!)
Lately I've been quite active in this way, and the pieces are made from the same two fabrics, as I purchased quite a lot of each. They are a variation of each other, a beautifully soft silk satin with the faintest of self stripes woven through, and the lightest finest silk/cotton 'voile' I daresay, both in the most glorious burgundy. The satin has a lot less body than others and as such drapes amazingly, and the voile is a little 'crispy', but in the good way of course.
Perhaps you may know I am on the lookout for the perfect industrial sewing machine, so if you know of any going, don't hesitate to get in touch! With that in mind, everything has been lovingly hand stitched with a secure back stitch, which also looks beautiful on the oustide, it swirls back and forth onto itself, lovely.
I am also one for garments that subtly change the way in which they're worn, give you 'options' if you will. So there are breaks in the stitching, secondary armholes which affect the way the dress drapes. I'll stop describing and start showing, please enjoy!

The long and short of it. Both pieces are made from a single rectangle of fabric, there is not one cut in it at all.

The draping backs. With a body inside, the pieces cocoon and taper at the knees, a little bit Poiret I've been told!

Voila, 'le gown', option 1. Arm through the first armholes, creating a pointed bell at the wrist and a draped triangular sleeve.

Option 2. Same pointy bell (though I should have shown you through the end armhole which when the arm is raised, makes a perfect triangle from arm to ankle, love it!) The upper is in armhole two, which creates a circular drape.

The back minus belt, any wind blows and all your shape is 'hugged' by the dress. Come and visit and try it on to see ;)...

Draped with a belt, oh the possibilities! (Shown with Brain Reyes waist belt, its tiny...)

Boom! With the little extra stitch in the front drape, the dress can be worn as a complete one shoulder, and it balances, the arm seam essentially becomes a centre back seam!

Graceful and elegant with a belt again :)

As seen on a real girl! A good friend of mine indeed!

Hope you like, and there will be more, I'm working on continuing to use this method of construction for a while, adding leather, gathering, pleating, it could all be quite cool, tell me when you get over it of course!

Ah, and the short, sheer version (which when belted becomes a top), is now SOLD! (Yay, pat on the back haha).
xx till next time!

New cool weather lovelies!

Hello and welcome back '99ers,
Im preparing you for my long absence in June/July by the long spaces between my posts. Well not really haha!
But yes I will be off to the USA to schmooze and meet and greet and discover, all in the name of the perfect pieces, its true!
There is lots going on here at the salon; designing, making, speaking, visiting, and of course bringing more beautiful sartorialities for your viewing (and wearing indeed) pleasures!

Here are some things floating around at the moment, they are somber, sexy, refined, playful, many words to describe. I hope you do enjoy!

This Carolina Herrera jacket is actually less boxy than you might think. It fits just beautifully in all places and the detailed top stitch acts as an illusion to make the body appear more slim. Who doesn't like that! It goes with a dress, which I have chosen not to show together, as separately both pieces are much stronger and more fresh!

Duro Olowu has been showing his collections in London since the early '00s, and everything is always made from the most sumptuous fabrics. Dresses are pieced together from vintage scraps, and fabrics in limited supply so that each piece is an edition of its own. This dress just glides onto the body and someone told me she'd never want to take it off (but then found something else haha)! There is even a secret hidden 'pouch' for a belt or just to rest your weary hands in the softness of it all,

Costume National. Ennio Capasa makes clothes with strong beautiful lines. Feminine but with a touch of hardness, gorgeous leathers, great pants, futuristic but oh so Italiano. This dress is all shifty simplicity, panelled together at the front; demure, covered up, in a lovely olive grey.

And then BOOM! Turn around and we have the split which demands the best underwear (or perhaps for you frisky friends none at all, though it is pretty darn sheer I must add) and a good bit of nerve. But that's Costume, unexpected, minimal, but with a touch of rawness and savagery, all in good taste. So a lovely little dress leaves the audience wanting more ;) !

And another example of Costume. This mini hounds-tooth woollen mini skirt is appropriate for the office. Its a little short, a little low, a little tight, beautifully cut and lined, and certainly shows you have a sense of fun and naughtiness.  Plus if you have a smaller behind, it will absolutely change that!

Another unexpected little skirt, this time from Christian Lacroix. Designed to be worn on holidays in Hawaii or Florida, or a fabulous sunny lunch anywhere else, there is more than meets the eye. The two centre slits are more revealing than one might expect, but that is Lacroix's naughty sense of humour that takes the mundane and turns it into a party!

Marni suede T-Bar shoes with raw edged folded silk trim, a little rough around the edges, just how Consuelo Constiglioni like it.

Those who know me, know I do love my Tuleh. A now defunct New York duo whose creations were (and if seasonality is no bother to you, still are) perfect for the Upper East Siders both young and seasoned. A little playful, a little darker than most American labels but with just as much attention to detail and perfection in finishing, is this, what I guess we would call evening jacket, perfect with the sharpest and littlest little black dress. Made from an almost 3D jacquard from the the most royal of blues interspersed with silver, it sits off the shoulders for the 'couture wrap' feel, but is brought a little closer to earth with the leather buttons. I love it, and so should you, Tuleh, look them up :)

Finally another master, one you know well. Jean Paul Gaultier's somewhat 3D trompe l'oeil double breasted tuxedo jacket, is actually closed in the front and has to be pulled on, like a jumper! Don't worry, it still fits like a glove and you will be reckoned with, all feminine power you. Love it!

Hooray, now stay tuned tres bientot for my own newly made dresses (well, top and gown)! xx

Big post coming!

Hello dear '99ers!
It has been a while! Hope you've all had lovely holidays over Easter, Passover and any other spiritual celebrations.
I too have been busy preparing a whole lot of new fabulous wintery and also summery goodnesses for your viewing (and trying on of course) pleasure.
This will be put on ASAP, do watch this space, and for a special preview just call and drop by the salon, too easy and much more satisfying of course!
xx to all!
Yahav