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!

much better/follow up

ok, with all the discussion around wedge sneakers, and my dislike of them, a week or so ago, i found myself revisiting my love for pierre hardy sneakers, which i consider the best alternative to the isabel marant wedgies.

and so i bought some.

and i'm feeling much better:

see how my feet & body all look nice and normally proportioned!? 

i feel much more like i have feet, and less like i have hooves.

fancy french sneakers.

no icky, weird feelings. hooray!

i tried, i tried.

as a lot of you already know, i am not a fan of wedge sneakers.

really, not at all.

but i found myself at barney's the other day, with a few minutes to spare before a meeting.

so, i thought, in the name of research, i'd see what all the fuss is about:

the review?

much, much, much more comfy and less weird feeling than i'd expected.

i still hate the proportions and how they look on the foot.

so there you go. i still hate them, but i hate them in a more informed way.

good song, good collection

omg, you guys. 

i just ran across the photos of this collection nike is doing, in order to celebrate black history month.

i'll admit that i'm a sucker for shoes, photographed in good lighting, under almost any circumstances.

but i think you'll agree that these kicks are pretty sweet....

most of the collection are "performance" footwear, and nike partnered with some (famous) professional athletes to develop the styles....

and of course, they included a wedge high top sneaker, because, well, it's 2013. i couldn't, in good conscience, include the photos here. (here's why.)

i'll bet it's really fun for athletes to get to work with nike on a project like this..... i hope they really enjoy the process, and maybe learn a little bit about shoes.

probably not, but i do like the idea of serena williams poring over materials swatches, and picking aglets, etc....

either way, i wish i could get my hands on a pair. i'm sure my twice-weekly (if i'm lucky) 1.5 mile jog would feel way cooler, in a pair of these sneaks.....

the "mantra" of the collection is

be bold, be true

maybe i'll try that during my next run? i'll bet i could go as far as 1.7 or 1.8 miles!

;)

coachella #6 - the ace

as you may have already guessed, i didn't actually go to the coachella valley music & arts festival.

i was actually sent out to the desert, in order to cover the event for a client, for whom i shoot street style photos.... unfortunately, since my press pass never came through, i wasn't able to go see the shows. so, my coachella experience was limited to one day.... and not much music.

however, the ace hotel was kind enough to let me use their digs as a home base for the day, which was great.... everyone loves the ace, and as i was there on the first day of the festival, it was nice and quiet, and a great place to grab some lunch and chill...

it was such a nice day, that i must say, i can't wait to go back for a full coachella weekend, next year. press pass be damned- i'll figure out my own way in!

the ace was host to a fun pop up store featuring the collaboration between steven harrington & generic surplus:

they had a really fun and huge kaleidoscope, which i was encouraged to use as a ridiculous lens, through which to see & photograph the store.... 

pretty rad, huh?

i'd never heard of steven harrington before, but really loved the opportunity to get to know his work better.....

why didn't i buy one of these bandana??

(image courtesy of generic surplus)

damn it.

nyfw #13

love the dress. i want.

oh! she's wearing the isabel marant sneakers that i blogged about! make the two people that i've seen wearing them....

black on black is probably one of the best ways to wear them, actually.

also, she's wearing the celine glasses from kelly's post!

i can't get down with this

i think a lot of you know that i'm a shoe designer, as my "day job".

i'll just mention it again now, as an excuse for why i have such strong feelings about footwear.

and here's my latest vent- sneakers with hidden wedges...

isabel marant has been doing these for a number of seasons, and they must be selling like hotcakes for her to still be doing new versions of them:

(however, i've only seen them on the street once.)

the fashion crowd seems to love the "leg lengthening" aspects of these shoes, which may or may not be real. however, i just can't stand the proportions of them. it's a bit hard to describe, but i having that wedge in there just changes the way that it seems like your foot is shaped inside.

it makes the foot look shorter (in length) and smaller than the actual size of the wearer's foot, and really exaggerates the top of the arch. it sort of almost reminds me of foot binding.

you can kind of see it in this photo:

obviously i'm in the minority of not liking these. as i've said, they've been embraced by fashion editors and bloggers the world over.

and now, marc jacobs has gotten into the act. he showed a few colors of these shoes for spring 12:

the proportions here are even worse. i hate the slight bump at the toe that remind me of the stride rite sneakers that i wore as a kid. these shoes really look like a brick at the bottom of the leg.

i really think it's a shame, because i love sneakers. and i love high-end sneakers even more. but i just can't get down with this trend.

what do y'all think? do you like them? it's ok if you think i'm crazy.....

wanna know which sneakers i'd buy if i were planning on dropping a few hundred dollars? (and which ones i recommend to you, dear reader, as an alternative to the cement shoes above?)

pierre hardy.

toujours:

nyfw #5 - the shoes

nyfw #4

i loved meeting this girl, who works for refinery 29. her tiny bag and cute sneakers are great!

i've forgotten her name.... does anyone know who she is?

gross for kids, but good for fashion victims?

so, i've heard a lot of buzz around the blogosphere about these miu miu glittery, crystal-ed up sneakers:

and i'll admit..... if i weren't so loyal to the all-star silhouette, i'd be sort of tempted.

but wait. i feel like i've seen these sort of things before.......

oh right, on lelli kelly, the sneakers that all grown ups seem to think are too gross and disgusting for their daughters to wear, but of course, all the daughters want to wear them:

seems to me that the miu miu's are just grown up lelli kellies!

i can't wait to see a mom & daughter walking down the street with both on. i'm thinking this will happen in los angeles, fairly frequently....

la readers, if you see this, send a photo!!

ok, how about this?

is this normal????

i only have one other pair of sneakers.

but i have like 55 other pair of shoes in total.