I’m Off…

… to the Philippines for two weeks. I’ve been looking forward to this trip for 2 years and finally it’s here!!! I’m so giddy.

I was gonna do a post about what I was packing, but it isn’t that much, so it’s rather uneventful. Suffice it to say I am bringing a whole lot of sunblock, a bikini, some sundresses, a hat, shorts, tank tops, flip-flops, and sandals. We will be staying with my boyfriend’s family on a small rural island where they have a mango farm. (My favorite fruit!) I’m looking forward to experiencing the culture, getting to know his family, eating fresh fish, mangoes, coconut, and pretty much doing a whole lot of nothing.

Until I’m back…

Stay warm.

We Now Take a Break From the Shows For a Brief Message…

I’m so flattered by this blog post my client Reena wrote yesterday about her styling experience with me.  Reena writes a really great blog called Sunflowers in Autumn on inspiration and self-discovery.

Take a looksy here.

Red Shoe Laces

One of my client’s so generously gave me this pair of vintage Guess ankle boots that she didn’t want anymore. I was so excited to wear them that I didn’t care that the original leather laces were a bit worn out. I love things with a little wear and tear, I think it gives them personality. A couple weeks ago, the leather laces broke and so I finally needed to replace them. I decided to buy online out of convenience and so that I could select from a variety of qualites. Lucky me, I found The Peas & Corn Company, a super cool website specializing in everything from kitchen utensils and camping supplies to, well, shoe laces. As soon as I saw their selection, my initial idea to buy normal brown laces seemed dull and boring. Why not add color? I used to wear colored laces in my Doc Martins in high school, why not now as an adult. I’ve always loved red and brown color combinations, so I chose red laces. I couldn’t be happier. I didn’t think I could love these shoes anymore than I did, but now they might just be my favorite pair.

I’m wearing my red-laced boots with a light heather grey Madewell ribbed tee, a Club Monaco bar stripe cotton/cashmere cardigan, a Tracy Reese wool jacket, and a my dark skinny Duarte jeans.

I love the mixture of texture and pattern in this jacket.

I’d just received this vintage Vera Blake paisley scarf in the mail from Ebay. I thought the pop of color was needed for the overall look of the outfit. The only jewelry I wore was my painted Robert Geller ring.

A closer look at the newly improved boots.

***Music today. Grace Jones “Island Life”.

That “Je Ne Sais Quoi”

The French have it and many want it, but don’t know how to achieve it. Here’s an idea, A.P.C., a super cool French clothing company that specializes in hip, but classic basics. The clothes are simple and clean, as if they walked out of the French film Les Chansons D’Amour (Love Songs).

I have to admit that I’m a Francophile. Both of my trips to France have been life-altering and I truly feel that I will one day live there. The lifestyle there is soooo me. People are more laid back and seem to have their priorities straight. During both of my trips I lived on wine, stinky cheese, chocolate, and bread and I returned weighing less than when I left. Okay, so both trips were climbing trips, but I’d like to think that the physical exercise had nothing to do with the fact that my body really thrives on the food there. Oops, I’ve deviated to food and this blog is about style. Sorry, it happens. Back to fashion. Of course Parisians have effortless, chic style, but where I’ve spent most of my time in Fountainebleau, La Chapelle La Reinne, and Barbizon people have just as much style, albeit more casual. A.P.C. makes that style easily accessible for us here in the States.

Here are some of my favorite looks from their Spring collection:

I’m loving a blazer with shorts.

Patent leather boat shoes, super clean narrow pants, and a slender collared button-down shirt. Sigh.

I’m digging the colored socks with sandals look.

Clean hoodie.

I love a guy in a cardigan and a striped tee.

I’ve always had a soft place in my heart for overalls.

A modern take on the car coat with a scarf knotted at neck.

Who knew a velour striped sweatshirt could look so cool?

A striped long sleeve tee with cords and clean white sneaks.

A slightly nautical look that is super chic.

A velour sweatshirt in place of a sweater? Again, who knew it could look so cool?

A perfect modern trench.

***Music today. Radiohead “Hail to the Theif”.

Hooray! I Didn’t Have To Wear a Coat Today!!!

Spring is coming, or so it seems. I guess it’s all what you’re used to, but 40 degrees is feeling pretty warm after the bitter coldness of last week. I don’t want to jump the gun and dress too spring-y but not wearing a coat feels pretty great. Here I am in a Catherine Malandrino top layered over one of my light heather grey merino wool Club Monaco turtlenecks and topped with my Vivienne Westwood wool striped jacket. The key to keeping warm was really the light weight cashmere/merino wool scarf which kept the cold out once I buttoned up the jacket to head outside.

A detail shot of the delicate pleating, embroidery, and eyelets of the Malandrino top. I love that the tonal greys bring out the grey stripes in the jacket. As you may have guessed, this top is one of my warm-weather staples that I choose to wear year-round under jackets, cardigans, or over a turtleneck. In my opinion, the key to layering is not separating out your winter and summer wardrobes, but rather, mixing them.

Hammered copper hoop earrings look perfect with this look. This pair from a fantastic store called Dem Two Hands, which I’m sure you remember me mentioning before. They have amazing jewelry!!!

These Frye boots have been my go-to shoes this season. They’re perfect under my J. Brand high-waisted jeans.

***Music today. Nina Simone “Anthology”.

Maria Cornejo

Maria Cornejo is a brilliant Chilean designer who started her label in New York in 1997. Like most female designers, she designs real clothing for real women. Her clothing is a bit ethereal, slightly avant-garde, a tad cerebral, but very wearable and incredibly beautiful. Her collection is carried at Barneys and two of her own stores, one in Nolita and the other in the West Village. In addition Eluxury.com has just announced that they are selling some select pieces exclusively. Here are some of my favorite looks from her Spring/Summer ‘09 collection.

a stunning jacket (from Eluxury)

a gorgeous purple gown (from her online store)

very cool cropped pants (from Eluxury)

a stunning ivory blouse with black halter (from her online store)

a perfect summer dress (from her show)

is it a boot or a sandal? both (from Eluxury)

ruched leggings (from Eluxury)

black jumpsuit (from Eluxury)

a stunning green wrap dress (from her online store)

a perfect chalk-colored tote (from Eluxury)

a new twist on the little black dress (from her online store)

some of the coolest sandals ever (from Eluxury)

a layered look (from her show)

a yellow tank with twisted straps (from her online store)

a modern braided belt (from Eluxury)

an hombre cocoon dress (from her online store)

an empire waisted black jacket (from her online store)

a modern belt that’s could almost be considered more of a piece of jewelry (from Eluxury)

another brilliantly layered look with the above belt (from her show)

a sequined jacket (from her online store)

smart and super sexy sandals (from Eluxury)

a genius belt that contours to your body shape (from her online store)

***Music today. Kings of Leon “Only By The Night”.

Crisp with Casual

Have I mentioned how much I dislike cold weather? Here in New York our coldest months are February and March. The other day was actually kinda warmish, you know the kind of day that gets you all excited for Spring… Yup, not quite. Today was BITTER cold. As soon as I walked out of the house my face was frozen and chapped. Damn friggin’ cold weather.

When it’s cold outside I just want to be cocooned in warmth so I usually have a sweater or a hoodie on. And just because I’m wearing a hoodie doesn’t mean that I have to look shlumpie. To eliminate the shlump factor I chose to wear my hoodie over a woven shirt, that way I mixed the crisp with the casual. Perfect for a cold day.

I’m wearing a Steven Alan woven shirt and an Old Navy white ribbed tank with a pair of black Jimmy’z skinny jeans under my cozy Madewell red hoodie.

The great thing about a hoodie under my wool/cashmere Club Monaco navy coat is that I don’t have to wear a hat.

I’ve had these silver hoops forever but when a co-worker gave me a pair of turquoise beads she got on a trip to India. I figured they would be a nice accessory to the earrings. Now I wear these earrings with or without the beads.

Steven Alan shirts have the coolest details. The pocket is sewn on the inside with the stitch-thru only visible from the outside. The placket also has a twist sewn into it and the back of the collar is stitched down to the collar stand.

On my toes, my Dru grey boots.

***Music today. Rogue Wave “Out of the Shadows”.

I Can Never Get Too Much Isaac

I love Isaac Mizrahi. He does it all. He has effortless style, is a wonderful designer, an entertaining performer, a talk show host, has starred in a documentary, and was the author of a comic book. He’s a modern day renaissance man.

I was sad when he closed down his label. Happy when he started designing a label for Target. Even happier when he opened his couture line. And now I’m ecstatic that he’s the face behind the new Liz Claiborne New York. That’s right, Liz Claiborne is now fresh, clean, and modern and is available as of this month. It’s very Isaac and very affordable. Check out my favorite looks from the online look book below:

***Music today. Mason Jennings “Century Spring”.

Mixing It Up

If you’re familiar with my personal sense of style, you’ve noticed that I like to mix it up. In other words I like to mix the high end with the low end, the masculine with the feminine, the voluminous with the fitted, the rigid with the soft, old with new, etc. The list could go on forever but you get the picture. The point is that there’s something interesting about mixing two things that are opposites and wouldn’t normally be worn together.

Another chilly day dictates layers so I can be ready for the cold outside and the temperature controlled inside.  I chose to wear this Club Monaco teal silk glamorous blouse over a merino wool heather grey turtleneck.  Then mixed it up by throwing on my edgy G-Star black hoodie jacket.  The volume of the blouse is off-set by the skinny Duarte jeans.

Here’s a closer shot so that you can see all the cool military-inspired top stitching and design details on this jacket.  You gotta love Ji-Ji-Ji-Ji G-Star.  Alright, that’s an inside joke.

This super cool Subversive for Target necklace goes perfectly with this top.  There’s one shell bead that you can barely see in the shot but it has some of the same teal color that’s in the shirt.  Of course, I didn’t realize that until after I put it on, and I seriously doubt anyone else would ever notice that, but it made me happy all day.

And of course, I wore my trusty Frye boots because I love brown as an alternative to black any day.

***Music today.  Bat For Lashes “Fur and Gold”.

The Coziest Way to Stay Warm

It’s friggin’ cold outside and I want to stay warm. I started browsing through Etsy the other day to find a new scarf. Etsy is full of home-knitters and weavers selling scarves, hats, and mittens. Lots of cute stuff, but I was looking for something unique and inventive, not something that I could knit myself. That’s when I found Rosetung, a shop full of inventively sculptural crocheted pieces that I’m obsessed with. Rosetung was created by a fine artist who became interested in crochet and ended up using the medium to create her own designs. I love her fresh perspective and can’t wait to order a few pieces for myself.

Check out some of my favorite items from the shop:

The Grey Cloud Long. This can also be worn like…

this.

Speckled Breakfast Hat.

The Stormy Cloud Tall.

The Ready Set Take 2.

Cashmere/Silk Shawl w/ Veil.

The Snowmen’s Vest.

The Ready Set.

***Music today. Gillian Welch “Revival”.