rockstar life

i had the distinct pleasure of meeting this lovely family the other day, during their trip to los angeles.

although mom, dad and both babies were extremely sweet, i have to admit that i was somewhat partial to eleanor, who marched right up to be and grabbed my big finger with her little hand, and lead me around for a nice walk.... 

all the while keeping up a steady stream of baby talk.

if you have some kids, or want some inspiration for having a pretty cool life avec les bébés....

check out the rockstar diaries.

nyfw #6

it's an influential blogger show down ;)

just kidding. their conversation was totally friendly.

(it's phil oh, from street peeper and scott schuman from the sartorialist)

happy land

it never occurred to me to think about what a japanese amusement park might be like...

(image courtesy of hello sandwich)

but, of course, it's the cutest thing ever.

check out hello sandwich's photos of hanayashiki on her post from today.

spreading the love around

i've got two new articles up!

this first is on we can re-do it.

i made this clutch, and you can too!

the second one is on slow fashioned, and i'm quite proud of it.

it's an exploration of the collaboration between h&m and swedish hasbeens.

please let me know what you think!

love vs. love to do

my first foray into beauty writing was just posted on slow fashioned.

i really enjoyed meeting with mordechai alvow, the founder of yarok hair...

and i am absolutely obsessed with beauty blogs like into the gloss, and beauty counter at style.com.

but, you know how they say that you should "write what you know"? i think it's really true.... as much as i'm interested in hair care, and skin care, the newest lippy and of course anything nail-art-related....

i think i'll be leaving it to the experts. i can't quite wrap my head around it, and i don't think i'm adding anything really new to the conversation.

it's just not my bag.....

(this is also not my bag)

cph eating

i really fell in love with copenhagen, when my husband & i visited in september.

i've followed this blog, partially because i like to live vicariously her new life there.

she & her husband have just opened a cafe, and i think it's a lovely reason to plan another trip.

or, a first one, if you haven't already discovered one of the nicest cities on earth:

//AN EVENING AT PATÈ PATÈ// from Hannibal Lang on Vimeo.

abk

good morning!

as i mentioned before, i have a new writing gig, as a contributor to slowfashioned.com.

a few weeks ago, i got to meet alya kazakevich, who designs the accessories label abk.

read more about alya here.

fashion is my opiate

i haven't seen this image in so many years....

i remember being totally overwhelmed by the awesomeness of this image in 2000, when it was released. that was just about the time that i was really starting to think about fashion as a career, and the power of these kind of images, and what the represented for a brand.

remember how there was so much scandal about it? 

i lived in portland, oregon at the time, and i had put this ad up on my refrigerator. i hosted a huge halloween house party that year, and i remember all the guys hanging around in the kitchen.... 

hmmm....

many thanks to lori goldstein's tumblr for the reminder!

slow it down, now.

i'm excited to announce that i have a new writing gig!

in addition to writing this blog, i will now be a regular contributor to slowfashioned.com. it's an online magazine that is dedicated to the slow fashion movement.

haven't heard of slow fashion? it takes it's name and inspiration from the slow food movement. the idea being that we approach our fashion choices in much the same way that we consider our food and nutrition choices. that we take the time to create and buy what is really valuable and beautiful, rather than what is cheap, new or trendy.

i am really excited to be a part of the slowfashioned team, and i'll be focusing my articles on events and happenings in nyc, as well as on shoes and accessories.

i'm in the middle of preparing a couple of different pieces, so it'll be a week or so before any of the content on the site is written by me, but check it out in the meantime...

and let me know what kinds of articles you'd be interested in reading! i will be happy to take requests!

day of silence

invite me to the party!

who are all of you???

you seems so mysterious..... and your locations are so exotic*!

sigh.

i wanna come to visit!

*sorry canada, i'm going to exclude you from the "exotic" category. but i am ever so fond of some of your residents.

nutty nails

i haven't had someone give me a manicure or pedicure for over 6 weeks.

that's a long time in nyc. 

i'm not sure why, but girls in nyc get their nails done a lot. i thought that this was a global trend, up until a couple of years ago, when i started traveling more regularly to other parts of the (first) world. turns out, it's not.

i don't want you to get the impression that my nails have not been well maintained. no no. it's just that i've been taking care of business on my own.

but we're heading to l.a. for a week, next saturday, and i think it's a good occasion to get back into the swing of things, nail-wise.

so.... i'm thinking of really doing it up. and getting like, a crazy manicure.

here are two images that i've been inspired by:

(photo courtesy of into the gloss)

i really really like this. but, does it count as a crazy manicure? how crazy do i really want to go?

 

 

(photo courtesy of the holy nail)

i really don't think that i could do the rainbow effect shown here, but i like the idea.

this is one of those situations where the overwhelming possibilities are kind of well...

overwhelming me.

have you had a crazy manicure? any suggestions? i absolutely cannot have anything that adds any dimension to my fingernails. can't do it.

but all other suggestions will be considered.

merci!

 

heads up!

kat and i are having a bit of a blogger romance, right now.

i hope you guys enjoyed the link to her new, fun d.i.y. blog. i'm excited to see what other projects she comes up with.

in the meantime, check out my guest contribution to her other blog, i see heads, people.

i know my blog has relied heavily on the creativity and awesomeness of my friends recently, but that will be changing soon. i've got some fun projects in the works.

stay tuned!

one is silver & the other's gold

do you guys remember kat?

as you guys may have guessed from my post on her (and i hope you did guess, since it was kind of the point of writing the post in the first place), kat's mind, life & apartment are always filled with fun and creative ideas and projects. it's one of the things that makes it so fun to hang out with her, and to visit, and see what she's been up to recently!

the exciting news is that she now has a blog, where you can sneak a peek at the things going on her her (creative) life, and play along with her.

check it out here, and visit often! she'll be posting new projects and ideas regularly...

happy home

apartment therapy's re-nest has featured the home of my good friends adrian and allison. their amazing in apartment in williamsburg has been the location for many raucous dance parties; relaxed, friendly and delicious dinner parties; and stop-by-and-hang-out visits.

their renovation was so much fun to see in progress, and is even more fun to see in it's completion.

i thought you guys should see how great it looks. click on the photo to link to the feature. and don't miss the full slideshow, so that you can see all the excellent details.

the architectural work was done by another good friend, so it's really nice for me to see such a successful and beautiful collaboration!

copenhagen street style....

r.i.p.

i want.

thanks to style bubble, i have a new apparel line to be excited about...

and conveniently enough, william okpo is based in brooklyn*, and sold at opening ceremony, which means that i might actually be able to get my hands on some of these spring pieces.

there are so many things that i dig about these lookbook photos:

i love that the photos were obviously taken in the designers' home/studio, i love the asymmetrical sleeve length on the last dress, i love the styling of all of the looks, including the color or the socks, and the fact that they used obviously used & beat up shoes for each.

and what's that!? i actually own those red lace up boots. so, should i be lucky enough to ever hang one of these lovelies in my closet... they'll be perfect for those sleepy mornings when i can't be bothered to do any interesting styling of my own. 

oh, and i really appreciate the fact that one of the designers actually works at the o.c. store. i worked in retail for so long before i became a designer, and i really think it's worthwhile experience. i'd be willing to bet that the wearability of these looks has a lot to do with the fact that there is direct interaction between the designer and the retail customer.

and it's awesome that o.c. is supporting one of their own.

"concrete jungle where dreams are made, oh there's nothing you can't do" indeed!

*that's where i live!

details, details....

have i mentioned to you how much i've been enjoying writing this blog?

the reason that i started to write it was as a reminder to myself of how much i love fashion, and style, and the opportunities that we all have to express ourselves with the way we look every day.

sometimes that excitement extends to other things- like an amazing meal,  an eclectic home, or something that just strikes me as funny.

as far as i'm concerned, those are the things that bring some style into our every day lives. i love the stories behind things, even if we don't know what those stories are.... just make them up for yourself!

today i find myself wearing a funny little combo.

yesterday, i was inspired to start wearing white thermal shirts again. these were a staple for me in high school, and somehow, i'd completely forgotten about them. perhaps it's my (very atypical) tanned skin, that got me reconsidering white.

but of course, i was heading out to work today, and realized that i probably shouldn't be a carbon copy of my 16 year old self, olive green cargo pants, included.

thank god for a high-low mix. a couple of necklaces solve the problem:

the shorter one is a family heirloom. it's very very pale pink coral beads, on a hand knotted strand. it belonged to my paternal grandmother, and i wore it on my wedding day.

the longer one is a piece of plastic chain that i bought a trims store here in manhattan, and paid about $1.35 for. 

i've never worn them together, but i love the combo.

the shirt, btw, is a men's bvd long sleeved thermal undershirt.

i'm feeling very much like myself in this combo today, and so i thought i'd share it.

maybe it'll inspire you to try a new high-low combo? or maybe to leave a comment, describing a favorite combo that makes you feel particularly like yourself.

or maybe you'll just think it's funny. which is surely ok by me....

moonspoon saloon

the first award in my official end-of-2010 random award celebration of stuff:

moonspoon saloon.

winner of.... best name of a brand, in fashion.

btw. it seems like a lot of you like to read this blog after i post the links on twitter. well, i really like that too. however, twitter does not seem to know who i am right now (possibly owing to the fact that i have been in china proper, and hong kong. and maybe due to the fact that someone in the ukraine has tried to log into my facebook. maybe they successfully are tweeting as me, and keeping you updated on "the most beautiful and melodious language in the world after italian". considering that it's know to be a country of "beautiful women, great history, survivals and traditions", perhaps i should be happy to be aligned with it, if only in this small way.

anyhow, if you do like reading my blog posts after i post the links on twitter, why not take this opportunity to add me to your google reader/ rss feed/ daily meanderings/ whathaveyou? that way, the ukrainians won't get in your way, when they take over the internet, and anything else.

or, just wait till i get back to nyc, and let me do all the work.

g'night!

oh jeez.

i'm thinking that this gives fodder to folks to might be inclined to either models and fashion bloggers (or both) as being vapid, vain and self-congratulating.

ya know what i mean?