O.M.G. ITS ALMOST 2010

This has been the craziest fucking year of my life to date.

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I'm SO GLAD to have this blog as a photographic document of all of my adventures from San Francisco to Berlin to Paris to New York and back again. With all seriousness, I have encountered some of the most incredible inspirational (and conveniently attractive) individuals who I feel so lucky to have met. Thanks for tuning in for the last 365 days, here are some of my top moments:

In 2009...
-Got my BFA in 'new genres'
-Visited Berlin for January fashion week
-Switched to contact lenses
-Zach moved to New York
-I moved to Berlin
-My best friend got married to my other friend
-Painted a mural installation at wood wood for LURVE magazine's first issue
-Rode a bike for the first time since I was a child
-Photographed my first print editorial with Cole Mohr
-Started Blind Date Swinger's Club Mix CD Exchange party with Sven of Homage
-Went to mens Paris fashion week
-Cut my hair shorter than it has ever been since I started growing hair
-Got stuck in the Munich airport en route to new york and made a video
-Moved to New York
-Started an accessories line
-Celebrated my 21st birthday (FINALLY)
-Moved to Brooklyn and met my soulmate/roommate Cameron
-Survived new york fashion week & photographed for Refinery29
-Jethro Cave
-Collaboration with Pleasure Principle
-The second issue of LURVE magazine was published
-Bought Rick Owens shoes
-Returned to San Francisco for thanksgiving and my first trunk show at Shotwell
-Shot my first New York editorial

...now the world!!

My 10 favorite songs to listen to during 2009

1. I Put A Spell On You - Screaming Jay Hawkins
2. Lagartija Nick - Bauhaus
3. T'Aint What You Do - Fun Boy Three
4. Be My Kid Blues - Jeffrey Lee Pierce
5. Rye Whiskey - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
6. Motorcade - Magazine
7. Heavy Cross - The Gossip
8. Malpaso Man - Visage
9. Almost Medieval - Human League
10. Nowhere Girl - B Movie

Mandatory year-in-photos collage (with brief captions)

1. New Years Celebration 2. Hope & Stoyan falling in loooove 3. Moving out of my old apartment, Jerome appreciating old styles of mine 4. Berlin Fashion Week 5. Partying with Iekeliene 6. Tyler 7. Kirsten 8. Jacob 9. Mi Ami performances 10. Mani & Terry 11. Ali 12. Zach's first collection 13. Boys, boys, boys 14. Domonique 15. Going away party with all of the San Francisco children 16. My Berlin Closet

17. LURVE Magazine mural at Wood Wood 18. Leslie Kulesh comes to Berlin & dominates 19. Sven Kruger 20. Daul Kim 21. "Team Awesome" Melanie, Rieke & Jack 22. Ulrik Martin Larsen 23. Cole Mohr 24. My DJ partner Stephane who introduced me to the wonderful band Fun Boy Three 25. John Patrick Dine & Katja Hentschel, the one-woman-wonder 26. Bicycle friends 27. Adrian 28. Blind Date Swingers Club 29. Houman & Alyssa visit Berlin 30. Superstore 31. Paris Fashion Week crew 32. Fashion week bus 33. Jouw of Mykromag 34. Fashion shows 35. Team Rey-Bayne 36. Tobias & Tim 37. Olga 38. Bruno Pieters shoot 39. Peggy Noland 40. Goodbye Berlin party

41. Reunited with Zach 42. Worked on tiki's for Animal Collective show 43. Turned 21 44. Zach & Tony 45. Houman in NYC 46. Camille 47. Tavi & Laia 48. Fashion personalities 49. Jethro Cave 50. Cameron 51. New York children 52. Kenny Kenny at Vandam 53. Rick Owens 54. Domonique in New York 55. Defining New Elegance (Alex Maxi Alex) 56. GAG! and Ladyfag 57. NY is Burning Vogueoff 58. Trunk Show at Shotwell 59. Reunited with Hope & Tyler 60. Leather, leather, leather 61. More leather 62. Snow in NY 63. Mom & me 64. Welcome to 2010!!!


Soooooo much love. Happy New Year!

I DISCOVERED A NEW COLOR

Mustard. I know - really fucking weird, right? Believe it or not, I am not completely allergic to color, I'm just incredibly picky. Its impossible for me to find something in a color that I like and also in a cut that is fantastic. Well once again I lucked out at beacon's closet and found this wool mustard colored dress. I thought, 'why not?' and brought it to the dressing room. I found there to be something a little bit wicked about the hue, especially paired with a lot of jewelry and dark lipstick. I also got a really crazy all over print jumpsuit which will be debut'd soon enough as well...and on a personal note, I actually despise the condiment the the color is based from. Please keep all food-mustard away from me!!!

Haider Ackerman / Julius

(JakAndJil)

I'm also completely, obsessively inspired by the personal style of designer/stylist Lotta Volkova. Not only is her sense of proportion and dramatic impact impeccable, but when she wears color it is perfectly matched, and still consistently evil - just as good as wearing black!

(Sartorialist / Stylesightings / Vanessa Jackman)

NEWLY OBSESSED WITH KATA SZEGEDI

More Future Classics for Feminine Dress

I can't find many things better than discovering new work that excites and inspires me. Hungarian designer Kata Szegadi's Fall/Winter collection is a combination of elements that I love - angular, strong, geometric, hard/soft and finally, feminine! All in all, I could imagine living in a wardrobe completely comprised of her pieces. They are fantasy mixed with practicality - from a multi-tiered sculptural wool coat to patchworked dove gray jersey harem pants (hello, I would live in these). At the base of each ensemble is an equally intricate pair of shoes, which are also part of the collection.

& the SHOES!

GIVING YOU MIXED METALS

So maybe I was looking at Givenchy runway shows while drinking my morning tea (cough cough sickness)...and maybe I'm wearing too many accessories and mixing my metals!!! The weather outside is disgusting, and I have to go to work in a matter of minutes. Today I am dressing up to entertain the rest of the world on this gloomy day, and to prove that you don't have to spend thousands to be in the spirit of couture! My jacket, shirt, boots & bangles are all vintage, the dress underneath & spiked headband are handmade and leggings from AA.

Now I'm off to collect stares on the G train, I hope everyone is enjoying their post-Xmas tummy aches!!

You see? Such a simple, simple, deceptively simple silhouette from the back...


Everything all at once

Snake ring by Pat Ficalora, bangles are vintage

Juun.J cuff was a menswear runway gift

Vintage boots from London

INSPIRED BY MUGLER

(Bustier dress - Vintage / Gray sweater - Theory / Pants - Zara / Jacket - Zucca / Shoes - Jil Sander)
Lots of Look

Today was all about combining intimidating angles into one ensemble in a way that softened them...if that makes any sense. Kind of like if Thierry Mugler put together day looks? I like the challenge of wearing multiple "hard" pieces and seeing how casual I can make them, and I REALLY love any excuse to wear the cut-out bustier dress in different ways. It really is one of my best finds ever! And it finally got to the point where it isn't deathly freezing and I can finally layer with mid-weight-kinda-for-cold-weather coats, hence the emergence of the Zucca.

& for those of you who celebrate Christmas, I hope you have a fabulous one!!!

ROZALB DE MURA SS10

The Remains

Every time I hear that a new collection has been released by Rozalb De Mura (rozalbdemura.ro), I become ravenous in anticipation to see it. To say that my attraction stems from its otherworldly qualities would fall directly in line with the label's origins - fantasy, folklore, tradition, far away lands, the past and the future all crammed together into one. The attention to and exploitation of detailwork for the SS10 collection is absolutely masturbatory; raw, ritualistic, worked and reworked to the point of obsession - not to mention the all encompassing red that all of the garments have been dyed. These are a true indulgence for me, and a necessary departure from the expected fashion imagery.

"The scrupulousness of the craft and attention to technical details are obsessive. With no zippers nor buttons, the pieces are held together through hundreds of strings, in an assembling process that looks like a ritual. Hundreds of cords sculpt the clothes from beneath, alluding to aboriginals’ under-the-skin tattoos. The play on volumes and functionality is infinite, depending on how the pieces are knotted together: the skirt can be worn as a cape or a jacket, the sleeves metamorphose into a corset. The whole collection is drowned in faded red. The overall sensation is visceral, a glimpse at a flayed body in an old anatomy book, in perfect harmony with the Hungarian title – bloody remains." - Rozalb De Mura

STILL ALIVE

So it might no seem like it recently, but I do actually have some friends here in New York who are not a) Zach or b) Cameron. Well come to think of it, I hope that I still have friends after my party antics on Friday night buuuuuuuuut that's a long forgotten story. The matter of the fact is that on Friday there was a trunk show at OAK of jewelry stars Bijules and Bliss Lau.

The lady herself, Bliss Lau on the right

Amazing jacket, period.


Laia aka Geometric Sleep testing out some 2-tier wing shouderpieces

That sculpture in the OAK store has to be good for something, right?

Notice this girl's earrings, fur, and attitude. Work!!

Freaky table

The last thing I remember of the night, thank goodness it came in a 3-pack

SOME MARGIELA MORNING

(Bag - Martin Margiela / Dress- Anzevino and Florence / Shoes - Rick Owens / Belt & Headband - Zana Bayne)
All of the Explainations

I know many people who are admittedly object fetishists. There are shoe people, coat people, jewelry people, sunglasses people, etc etc etc and lastly handbag people. As I've touched on before, I consider myself a purist when it comes to carrying around a bag - I'm perfectly content with using only one sturdy parcel slung over my shoulder. At the same time, I am also a creature of quick lust - I see it, I know I need it, can't live without it, will have it (but not without much consideration). So combine these two traits together, and pit them against a Maison Martin Margiela black leather bag. Not just any MMM satchel, but specifically one from SS07, a time when I was working at Harputs Market Harputs Union and we had recieved our first ever shipment of MMM, which Included two versions of said bag. Its kind of like when I finally found the Jil Sander monster wedges on ebay that I had regretted not purchasing. Some objects linger, and if the second opportunity ever strikes then you know it is just plain meant to be.

PS This is what it looked like on my Brooklyn block yesterday morning. Who knew navigating through snow was such a difficult endeavor???