From the stage to the street Karen O's look has been replicated by fashionistas everywhere

Karen O, the frontwoman of the New York band Yeah Yeah Yeahs is this week’s muse, or mine all the time.  She gets her striking looks from her Polish father and Korean mother. Her flamboyant stage costumes come from friend, Christian Joy, she keeps an updated blog that I suggest checking out. Joy shares her inspirations for costumes and fashion musings. Could you imagine being a fly on the wall while they are doing a fitting? Soon you will have a chance, Moop Jaw Films just shot a documentary with Joy and her husband, Jason Grisell which will be released early next year. They also mentioned that Joy will be art directing some films based on the process of her costumes.

Performance shots

Recently I got the chance to see the YYYs live at The Electric Factory in Philadelphia. Hands down one of the best shows I’ve attended in 2009, everyone was talking about it the next day. I remember being entranced with the kimono style tops that she wore, and dancing a whole lot. Above are some of my favorite performance shots, store it in the visual inspiration bank. Graphic makeup, sublime costumes, a precision hair cut, and a beautiful voice? Karen O you are speaking to my punk heart!

Karen O channeled her youthful spirit into the production of the soundtrack to "Where The Wild Things Are"

Twenty new links for your pleasure. Like a sausage party.

♥♥ Buy the Agent Provocateur Sharon cardigan sweater with Penises on it for the low low price of $500.

♥♥ I don’t know what in holy retarded face hell Diplo and Major Lazer have going on here, but I like it.

♥♥ Make a fun DIY feather skirt with instructions from ….love Maegan.

♥♥ Refinery 29 shows us some humorous halloween costumes you can DIY the day before halloween.

♥♥ Glossy’s guide to thrifting on The Boobs.

♥♥ And Blogue pointing out that Goodwill isn’t going to let you walk away with some of those quality gems for nothing anymore. They’ve gone online.

♥♥ The 2 Bandits make accessories for your shoes including these hot leather straps with chains that you can attach to any shoes to dress em up!

♥♥ Downloady: Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Heads Will Roll (A-Track Remix) (Club Edit) via RCRDLBL.

♥♥ Complex came back with another hilarious soundboard to play with, and I can say with full honesty that I’ve hit the Kim Kardiashian “Oh FUCK Ray J!” button about a thousand times. It just doesn’t get old.

♥♥ And speaking of Complex, you should be up on their 5 O’Clock Shuffle if you aren’t already. Every day, 5pm – bangers for download.

♥♥ Head Porter drops a hot new plaid collection of school uniform inspired bags and accessories, via High Snobiety.

♥♥ Graffi-Coutoure in Vogue Paris via C’est La Vie.

♥♥ Fatlace Ladylike pointed out something this lady likes, the new Nikita website and collection.

♥♥ And I also have to give mayjah props to their DIY boot chains. Crazy Hot!

♥♥ Slam X Hype has the haps on the new NikeID iPhone App.

♥♥ Shoe designer Rupert Sanderson has created the biggest high heel shoe, which was captured by ariel view from a helicoper.

♥♥ Geekologie put us on to some really cool art by Gabriel Dishaw who creates with junk. Here, hes’s used all kinds sprockets and metal and computer parts to create these Nike Dunks, Blazers and Terminators.

♥♥ Character designer/story artist Jeffrey Thomas has whipped up dark and eeevil versions of some of Disney’s most beloved Princesses and heroines.

♥♥ You might have your man whipped, but your pussy can’t mesmerize like this one do.

♥♥ I can’t decide if this is cool or straight buggin, but would you wear light up eyelashes? via Fashioning Technology.

Celluloid Dreams of The Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Art rock gods Yeah Yeah Yeahs are no strangers to cinematic experimentation, having worked with everyone from Spike Jonze to Patrick Daughters on their videography of stylized music videos. The New York band’s most recent work, the super experimental short film entitled Snakesweat is the latest in their foray into the visual realm, guarantees that “Heads Will Roll” (We know, so cheesy but how could we resist?!).

Playing characters entitled “The Scientist”, “The Philosopher” and “The Black Widow”, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are the featured actors in what is described as a “mescaline-infused short” where “only the ecstasy of music can reverse the irreversible”. Directed by Barney Clay, the short was shot entirely in black and white and is chopped and manipulated to resemble the experimental work of famous directors such as Fellini and David Lynch, among others.  Donning bandages, black hooded robes, and rocking some serious facepaint, fashionista Karen O is no stranger to the fantasy-goth inspired wardrobe choices. Heavy stuff,  kids!  Take a peak at the video below, and let us know if you figure out the meaning of this amazingly fantasmagorical thing!

Liberty

With all the nail spots in the 5 boroughs, it’s sometimes very hard to tell one establishment from another in terms of quality. Unless you go to the same salon every time, it’s a little different every place you go. But you can usually count on one thing….you know they got them some Essie! The colors rarely vary from place to place, unless the salon gets the “new” Essie colors of the season. You may find a hot color on occasion, but chances are, that bottle is as old as mud and they have to sneak in a few drops of that anti-coagulation stuff just to get a good brush stroke.

Knock Out Cosmetics, creator of KO Knock Out’s Flatte Nail Polish, recently dropped off another installment of shades in the beginning of this month. They leave almost a powdery finish after just two coats, leaving you with an edgier ‘cure without having to wait around for four application rounds. The sheen is still wonderfully flat, as with the former Black, Powder, and Calamine colors, but the new colors are bright and perfect just in time for this dreary summer. The new colors include: Liberty, for the Statue of Liberty’s trademark shade of oxidized copper. The shade looks more like a minty pastel green nonpariel in my opinion, but maybe that’s just because I’m hungry. The other releases include Ox, a purplish-red, and Karen, a vibrant red, made for Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. These shades would go really well with Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Damned and Cruella, respectively. And if you don’t like those colors? Get the new Flatte Top Coat, which flattens out any color of regular shiny polish you already own.

According to the KO Twitter, the company will release two more colors, Concrete and Pool, before the end of the summer.

For today’s Women Making History feature, we honor Kelly B. of Princess of the Posse.

Since the launch of their first collection out of NYC in the Spring of 2008, Princess of the Posse has quickly gained worldwide recognition. This fashion forward women’s brand offers limited runs each season, creating designs that swing freely between art, fashion, glamour and street. This Spring season Princess of the Posse returns to the basics, presenting a collection showcasing the simplicity and beauty of black & white.

Here’s what Kelly has to say about the collection:

This collection was inspired by the minimalism of Berlin street fashion & the allure of French royalty. Always reflecting upon their NY state of mind, P.O.P. honors some of their favorite musicians (Santogold and Ghostface Killah) by citing lyrics that inspire the designers. Princess of the Posse continues to bring you the best in quality fabrics and silhouettes with all the printing and cut goods made in NYC.

We have a lot more with Kelly B., after the jump, including a handwritten survey and M.I.S.S. Crew Q&A!

Read the full story

Scarlett Johansson released her debut album, Anywhere I Lay My Head, a few weeks back that contains 10 “interpretations” of Tom Waits’ songs and one original song written by Scarlett and David Andrew Sitek of TV On The Radio. Sitek also produced the album and other featured guests include Nick Zinner, guitarist for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Sean Antanaitis from Celebration. I’ve only heard her covers on Youtube and I have to say, her voice is much better than I anticipated. She sounds like an American Nico – low range, a bit husky but without the accent. I think her choice of music is a good choice and makes sense for the Scarlett Johansson “brand.” She’s not trying to be a pop princess, instead, her album comes across as an art project and separates her from the other starlets that are in-and-out of rehab. With her successful acting career and her endeavors as a fashion designer for SJ Hearts for Reebok, one has to wonder whether Ms. Johansson is the next triple threat ala JLo and Gwen Stefani. What do you think?

You can here some of her new music here . . .