The Grand Mademoiselle was struck by a very distant memory of her first love upon finding these high-tops from
J. Shoes. Dubbed the "
Starr", these sneakers, with their black laces and velcro ankle straps evoke powerful images of restless high school nights spent prowling about the darkened city streets in search of the perfect spot to spray paint names, drawings, and oh-so-artsy icons or etchings.
With a trunk full of Krylon cans in every color of the rainbow and a deliciously devilish spirit, the Grand M would dutifully follow her lover as he inked his name on deserted highway overpasses, crumbling stone bridges spanning bubbling streams, fading street signs, and empty bus stops, lonely and cold at that hour of the night. While the Grand M herself was certainly no graffitist, she accompanied some of the best and was introduced to an entire world of fashion that is married to the art. The underground allure of graffiti is firmly entrenched in footwear, and high-tops are so coveted by this group of urban cowboys that no price is too high. The Grand M remembers a particularly secretive foray into the back alleys of NoHo to find the perfect pair of shoes with her first love; after an hour of searching for a non-existent address, a suggestive and well-placed knock to a poster-plastered wall coupled with the utterance of a secret word gained entrance to a realm of fashion fetish previously unknown to yours truly.
Gleaming oak-paneled walls revealed tastefully lit cubbyholes displaying every high-top known to man, each pair afforded its own shrine in what amounted to a dazzling art gallery of
objets trouves. These weren't just
shoes, this was art and style blended in a unique visionary blur of underground efforts and unlawful deeds. You don't have to be a graffitist to pull off this edgy look, and even Grand M's can look like fantastically fashionable taggers with the proper ensemble. Wear your
Starr's with a great pair of grey-washed skinny jeans, like the
Oslo Slim Leg by
MiH. The dull color will blend in perfectly with the mood of a night spent writing illicitly in public places and the skinny cut is well-suited to the high-top attitude.
Speaking of attitude, you can't be a successful graffiti artist's
accomplice without an over the top and ridiculously sinful leather jacket. Don
Fendi's black
Nappa Leather Jacket with its classic bomber-style and experience the ultimate luxury that underground art has to offer. The mandarin collar, ruched shoulder panels, frilled trim, and elegant cut add deliciously feminine touches to an otherwise masculine and dated look. There's nothing dated about this jacket, and it's just sleek enough to make you want to splash paint on highway sound barrier walls. And why not? It is art after all, and the unknown talent that lurks just beneath the everyday traffic transmits a profoundly sensual and deviantly poignant aura to the graffitist, so dedicated to his work that he toils diligently into the night while knowing that the morning will bring the white paint of city crews to roll over his efforts with a careless swipe.
Of course, you'll need something to lug your cans of paint around in, and the Grand M has found the ideal solution with a magical tote by
Yves Saint Laurent. The
Raspail Cascade-Print tote epitomizes the offbeat art produced by a night of painting, made of sturdy canvas evoking an artist's slate and touched by red leather piping and a striking pattern, as if the tote itself was caught in the line of fire. When put together, each element conjures the forcefully unconventional but often imitated look of graffiti chic.
The art itself is no longer original, nor is the accompanying style, but the
spirit is as original as ever, living and breathing in the individual who cares enough about the thought behind the pull of this illegal art to see it through to production. There is something undeniably and uniquely satisfying about spraying paint in a sublime and personal pattern on a slab of dirty city concrete. Think of the timeless work of prominent graffitist Barry McGee, a.k.a. "Twist", whose quirky creations found their way off the streets and into the galleries. McGee's work is a perfect example of the unbounded creativity and wildly off-kilter spirit that makes graffiti so captivating. It can be ugly, even vulgar, and it tends to carry rude, reckless connotations, but it has a
style after all, one that is impossible to overlook and which, at least for the Grand M, carries with it lovely high school memories of grand times in dark places. When all other lights went out, the graffitist emerged and gave the Grand M thrills that she will never forget, especially not if fashion continues to remind her...
With a trunk full of Krylon cans in every color of the rainbow and a deliciously devilish spirit, the Grand M would dutifully follow her lover as he inked his name on deserted highway overpasses, crumbling stone bridges spanning bubbling streams, fading street signs, and empty bus stops, lonely and cold at that hour of the night. While the Grand M herself was certainly no graffitist, she accompanied some of the best and was introduced to an entire world of fashion that is married to the art. The underground allure of graffiti is firmly entrenched in footwear, and high-tops are so coveted by this group of urban cowboys that no price is too high. The Grand M remembers a particularly secretive foray into the back alleys of NoHo to find the perfect pair of shoes with her first love; after an hour of searching for a non-existent address, a suggestive and well-placed knock to a poster-plastered wall coupled with the utterance of a secret word gained entrance to a realm of fashion fetish previously unknown to yours truly. 
Gleaming oak-paneled walls revealed tastefully lit cubbyholes displaying every high-top known to man, each pair afforded its own shrine in what amounted to a dazzling art gallery of objets trouves. These weren't just shoes, this was art and style blended in a unique visionary blur of underground efforts and unlawful deeds. You don't have to be a graffitist to pull off this edgy look, and even Grand M's can look like fantastically fashionable taggers with the proper ensemble. Wear your Starr's with a great pair of grey-washed skinny jeans, like the Oslo Slim Leg by MiH. The dull color will blend in perfectly with the mood of a night spent writing illicitly in public places and the skinny cut is well-suited to the high-top attitude. 
Speaking of attitude, you can't be a successful graffiti artist's accomplice without an over the top and ridiculously sinful leather jacket. Don Fendi's black Nappa Leather Jacket with its classic bomber-style and experience the ultimate luxury that underground art has to offer. The mandarin collar, ruched shoulder panels, frilled trim, and elegant cut add deliciously feminine touches to an otherwise masculine and dated look. There's nothing dated about this jacket, and it's just sleek enough to make you want to splash paint on highway sound barrier walls. And why not? It is art after all, and the unknown talent that lurks just beneath the everyday traffic transmits a profoundly sensual and deviantly poignant aura to the graffitist, so dedicated to his work that he toils diligently into the night while knowing that the morning will bring the white paint of city crews to roll over his efforts with a careless swipe. 
Of course, you'll need something to lug your cans of paint around in, and the Grand M has found the ideal solution with a magical tote by Yves Saint Laurent. The Raspail Cascade-Print tote epitomizes the offbeat art produced by a night of painting, made of sturdy canvas evoking an artist's slate and touched by red leather piping and a striking pattern, as if the tote itself was caught in the line of fire. When put together, each element conjures the forcefully unconventional but often imitated look of graffiti chic. 
The art itself is no longer original, nor is the accompanying style, but the spirit is as original as ever, living and breathing in the individual who cares enough about the thought behind the pull of this illegal art to see it through to production. There is something undeniably and uniquely satisfying about spraying paint in a sublime and personal pattern on a slab of dirty city concrete. Think of the timeless work of prominent graffitist Barry McGee, a.k.a. "Twist", whose quirky creations found their way off the streets and into the galleries. McGee's work is a perfect example of the unbounded creativity and wildly off-kilter spirit that makes graffiti so captivating. It can be ugly, even vulgar, and it tends to carry rude, reckless connotations, but it has a style after all, one that is impossible to overlook and which, at least for the Grand M, carries with it lovely high school memories of grand times in dark places. When all other lights went out, the graffitist emerged and gave the Grand M thrills that she will never forget, especially not if fashion continues to remind her...
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