hints

if you don't know about weltenbuerger, well, you should.

(especially if you live in the la area)

if you don't know about the palatines, well, you will.

(especially if you watch this space)

stay tuned!

fly away / home

i've lived in los angeles for just about a year and a half now.

in many ways, i still feel like a total newbie.

but, it's pretty amazing how easily and quickly one adapts to the weather here.

(i'm sure that's hard to imagine.....)

next week, i'm leaving for a work trip to italy, and if i'm lucky, i'll have a little mini break in london.

the trouble is..... what the heck is the weather like in those places?

for those of us who have been living in perpetual mild temperatures, any trip to a location with real seasons is a bit of a challenge. 

how cold is cold, again?

how many layers go under a wool coat?

is it weird to wear a wool hat with bare legs?

etc.

but i find it particularly challenging to pack for this upcoming trip, since the weather in both places is kind of in flux. it's springtime!

so, at least in london, i think that means it cold be a nice freezing rain, or a mild, grey day....

but in bologna? milan? 

here's the current weather in bologna:

and the forecast for next week is much warmer, with some sun.

but obviously, mother nature could change her mind entirely, and dump some snow, or decide on tropical, balmy weather......

since it's been so long since i've been able put together a layer-ladled outfit, i've been really inspired by some of these looks, from the blogs:

(photos courtesy of de quelle planète es-tu?)

 

(photos courtesy of the sartorialist)

but i'm afraid that i'll wind up wearing my l.a. uniform of jeans, t shirts, sneakers and some brass jewelry..... and carrying an umbrella everywhere.

have i mentioned that i never ever check my luggage? so, over-packing is not an option......

so what do you think? should i fill my roll-y suitcase with black tights, smart wool skirts & jackets and my favorite, neglected +j beanie?

or my new pierre hardy sneakers and a trench coat?

or what?

look, i'm leaving in a week, so i'll pretty much be spending every non-working moment figuring out the nuances to packing.

if you've got some tips & tricks, let me know!

wannabe doppelganger? man crush? what do you call this?

i want to look like the female version of this guy:

(image via flickr by rios enriquez)

what do i even mean by that? what is it (exactly) that makes him so cool looking!?

btw- he's tyler wells, one of the three founders of handsome coffee roasters. well named, obviously.

mini break

i'd long suspected that living in southern california would feel sort of like being on a permanent vacation.

turns out that that's pretty darned close to reality, sometimes.

yesterday, we went for a hike in malibu....

pretty nice, huh?

a good antidote to the sunday blues, that's for sure!

los angeles download

so, i've lived in los angeles for just over two months now. and i've intentionally resisted writing any posts about la vs nyc style, in order to try to get a more local perspective....

one of the things that i'm happy to report is that living in la doesn't feel the same as visiting la.

when i'd come to visit, previously, i'd usually be tagging along on a business trip of my husband's. we'd stay in hollywood, and do all the "typical" hip la visitor things- eat at animal, shop at maxfield, and drive down to venice to stroll and brunch at gjelina. 

we were never really exposed to the "east side", which is where we now live. i've spent the last weeks exploring the neighborhoods of silver lake, los feliz, atwater village, echo park and koreatown as much as my schedule allows.

and i can tell you that style looks quite different over here. this is not the beach-y vibe of venice, with short short cut off denim, scrubby sneakers and streaky ombre blonde hair. venice kind of looks like a free people catalogue.....

nor is it the conspicuous consumption of hollywood. even the "hipsters" in hollywood wear heels at every occasion, the hair is perfectly done, ironic glasses are from oliver peoples.... it's a very studied look- all the elements in place, all logos subtly revealed.... not much experimenting, not much mystery.

the east side seems more comfortable to me.... it reminds me a bit of brooklyn. maybe a little too much, from time to time? silver lake is still fully entrenched in ironic dressing. yesterday, a "cool dude" in front of me in the coffee line was wearing dickies. dickies!! i haven't seen those in years....

as much as these folks take from the williamsburg aesthetic, a lot of the look also comes from the portland & seattle / pacific northwest vibe.... there's an outdoorsiness to a lot of the looks that is just not found in brooklyn.

the areas surrounding our neighborhood seem to be a good balance of many subcultures. you definitely do see the skinny "fashion" girl crossing the street, teetering in her jeffery campbell litas, the dirty-haired rocker dude, as well as the frances-mcdormand-in-laurel-canyon industry bitches. but you also see a fair number of your typical city-version of middle-manager dudes, soccer moms and young families.

it's a nice mix.

which was all a super-long prelude to the point that i came here to type about.

leggings. 

the one thing that all of the areas and neighborhoods that i've mentioned above (and many that i haven't) all seem to have in common is an abiding obsession with leggings, in all their forms. 

leggings, jeggings, drop crotch, high waisted, cropped short....

i honestly can't imagine what los angeles would be without them.

preferably black. and worn as clothing, not exercise attire.

and i think i've figured out the reason why...

it definitely has to do with that exercise element..... which angelenos love.

somehow, the prevailing trends in exercise all seem to lead to the same path, here in so cal. and at the end of that path is a pair of seriously muscular legs.

like this:

this girl's legs (and what she's wearing on them) literally epitomize the look of la at the moment.

i must admit that i don't love it. it's a little too athletic, and little too masculine for me. look at her quadriceps! too much, too much.....

i'm as against cellulite as the next girl, but this is too far in the other direction. i'd rather see a little jiggle, than be reminded of the incredible hulk, about to bust out of his pants all together!

i'm more a fan of a longer, leaner leg... something that i realize is not within every girl's genetic make up. but most of these girls could really benefit from a little more softness, a little more, well.... femininity.

a pair of thighs like these, peeking out of a soft & flow-y shorter skirt just do not do it for me. it's sort of scary!

it could be worse, certainly. in fact, i'd steeled myself for some pretty questionable sartorial choices in this town, and so far, i've been happily surprised by the place....

and of course, this is only the first of many observations. spring is coming!

stay tuned for more....

house dreaming

do you know the difference between house hunting, and house dreaming?

if not, then feast your eyes on this:

now you know the difference.

if you want to cry a little more, then see the full site, here.

i'm hoping that i'll at least get to meet the person who rented this place (yes, it's a rental!), and that they have good parties, and i get invited.

because i'm basically requiring my l.a. existence to resemble the above, more or less exactly..

 ;)

eucalyptus, walnut, oak, jasmin

yesterday, i told you about my fated visit to iko iko, in los angeles.

in addition to meeting kristin, i also had the pleasure of chatting with jasmin shokrian, another designer who happened to be in the store on that same day.

both of these ladies were so helpful to me, and really gave me a great overview on what is going on the world of fashion in l.a. 

jasmin had just returned to her southern california roots, after a number of years in chicago. she was setting up home and shop in her new town, just as i met her.

her spring 12 collection leads me to think that the move has been good....

 

i love the cool-girl look of her clothing. it's all totally wearable, but just interesting and cool enough to make each piece feel special....

i hope i get the chance to run into jasmin again!

big things

so, i have to apologize once again for the deafening blog silence.

but this time, i have a really good excuse.

i'm moving to los angeles.

you may remember that i have a slight obsession with the place, and particularly the difference between east and west coast style.

if you don't remember, you can read more here.

and here.

so, i'm very excited by the move, but also so sad to be leaving nyc, which does really feel like the city of my heart. thank god it's not going anywhere!

ok, i'll be posting more about what fun we'll have in the la fashion scene soon.... but now i have about a million things to do- call movers, find a place to live, get rid of al my winter coats, test drive cars (omg, i have to get a CAR!) etc...

phew!

love, me

i'm in los angeles for the next few days....

it's HOT!

but over the weekend, i thought you should check out the launch of this website:

www.loveadorned.com

it's the online shop of one of my favorite stores in nyc to just wander and browse around....

and next time you're in nyc, go visit the store. it's just lovely.

girl fight!

do you guys ever read refinery 29?

it's a pretty cute little online fashion magazine, headquartered (i believe) in chicago. they do "local" coverage of chicago, nyc and la.

in general, i would say it's safe to say that fashion magazines (either traditional or online versions) are prone to hyperbole. however, sometimes it's just too much.

check out this feature from late last week on refinery 29:

(image courtesy of refinery 29)

ok, cool. this lady sounds pretty hip.

but wait!! it's only been 4 days! she's been usurped!

(image courtesy of refinery 29)

jeannie lee might be one of the most stylish.... but apparently des kohan is tops.

glad we got that settled. i'm sure we'll be safe from the "most stylish" owner of a store in l.a. until at least....

august?

man. i hope kate mulling is more faithful to friends and lovers that she is with retail proprietors!

the past is past

about a million years ago (back in march), my husband and i spent a bunch of days in los angeles. uncharacteristically, the weather was pretty horrible, and it rained a lot.

so, one of the things that we wound up doing was going to see the fashioning fashion exhibit, at lacma.

i meant to write a much more timely post about it, when we got home, so that those of you in so cal, or visiting so cal could check it out, if you were so inclined. it was definitely seeing.

but if you're captivated by my crappy iphone snaps, and absolutely have to see photos that actually capture the quality and detail of these garments, you can buy the catalogue.

which i saw.

it's nice. i kinda wish i'd bought one.

but, here are a few of the things that were pretty cool to look at:

beautiful kimono. obviously.

i'm still puzzling over how one would make a pattern for this dress (above & below)

my best laura ingalls dreams come true.... with an amazingly modern (rachel comey?) print.

i love how they showed this corset, hanging in midair. it looked so much like an insect, or skeletal element. it also really reminded me of the rodarte tutus, which were exhibited across town at the same time...

i'm so sorry about the shittiness of this photo. but the intricate corset lacings were some of the best looking and most abstract & inspiring things in the exhibit. (and a decent reason to buy the catalogue.)

also some pretty awesome and inspiring things to stick under your skirt! ;)

i totally fell in love with the florals on this dress...

hand embroidered piece. (i can't remember what it's function was!)

a gorgeous smock.... for a young boy.

an evening bag that i literally couldn't tear myself away from...

and another that i'd willingly accept as a substitute for the first.

breathtaking hand-embroidered ball gown

and a couple of buckles for shoes.

aaaah! i'm so glad that we spent a rainy afternoon inside at lacma, rather than a sunny one out at the beach.... this exhibit was amazing!