LOOKBOOK PREVIEW #2

& still shooting...

WHITE MAGIC

Sorry for the silence. I have been working round the clock on a new leather lookbook, featuring 10+ models - here's a sneak preview of what's to come...

TREY SONGZ - "WHAT IS THAT?" BECCA ALEXIS - "THIS IS A SHOULDERPIECE"

Preface: I am quite the believer that anyone has the power to wear whatever they want, regardless of what they are presumed to look like or what is deemed normal. I am also quite content that most people in the world prefer not to dress the way that I do, in fact I think personal style (no matter what it is) is very very important!

A sharp-eyed twitter angel spotted a shoulderpiece of mine on Trey Songz's reality show, "My Moment". I only know one of Trey's songs (that sounds funny), and had no clue he had a reality show however I had made a couple of custom pieces for super-stylists Becca Alexis & Hachy Mendez (they made the incredible Harper's/Milla shoot happen) to try out for one of his shows a while back. I knew the piece had not ended up being worn, which I accepted and assumed the pieces were never to surface again. WRONG! If you cue up to around 1:25 of the clip at the bottom of this post, you will see Trey being harnessed! He might put up a tough front, but if you read between the lines I think what he truly means is that really wants to be photographed in it. Thank you Becca for believing in my work, and to Mr Songz - if you ever want anything photoshoot-worthy, you know where to find me.

Becca presents the shoulderpiece...

You see? Zana Bayne leather = instant bliss

Buckle tight!

You can see the alternate harness in the hands of the woman to the right...


PROOF!

TORTURE

DEMEULEMEESTER X 2

Anyone who has read my response to the dreaded question, "who is your style icon?" would know that I usually respond with my mom. When I was much younger I knew that she was an incredible dresser, and with time my respect and admiration has only deepened! She has a complex love for clothing and is not afraid to delve into the realm of "interesting" versus "appealing" (although what is or is not appealing is truly in the eye of the beholder). Her and I are always checking out what each other is wearing and when I have the chance to visit her in San Francisco you can more often than not find me snooping around in her closet!

A few days ago, I asked my mom about her leather Ann Demeulemeester jacket, which I had
seen her wear before but never knew the brand (you can tell that her clothing is nice, but she is never flashy about the labels that she wears). It turns out that the jacket is from the fall 2000 collection, and has a sweet story to go along with it. My mom told me that she had spotted the jacket in an issue of Vogue styled with a skirt and tall boots and immediately fell in love with the entire look. In an out-of-character move she called up every Barneys to see if they had it, only to find out that Barneys had not ordered any of that style. Slightly heartbroken, she accepted the defeat that the jacket was just not meant to be. Fast forward a few months later, and my mom is on a business trip in London. While snooping around Browns, she bumped into...you got it, THE JACKET!

Needless to say, the decision was practically made for her. And 10 years later, she has a piece that is timeless in style, great condition, and incredibly relevant to fashion right now. You can see below how she wears it, and per her request - how I would wear it too.

OBJECTS OF DESIRE

Small skull found at a San Francisco flea market for $10

Every time I visit San Francisco, I come back with a bagful of oddities - some retrieved from my parent's house, others scavenged from various thrift stores and flea markets. Hands down, California is the best place to source second-hand and vintage treasures! This time I am bringing back quite the collection of grotesque and beautiful animal objects. If animal bones or skins offend you, please stop looking now.

A very long watersnake skin, found at my leather source. I see it as table-runner in the future...

I bought these antlers at the Alameda flea market over 3 years ago, and they have been sitting at my parents' place waiting for me! I have some serious revamp plans for these once I return home. I feel like antlers as decor are so overdone these days that I almost need to disguise them as something completely different...

I saw this clutch-buddy at Wasteland and knew I could not leave without it. Kind of perverse? Yes. Very interesting? Absolutely. And I will say this - at least it is utilizing more of the critter than simply the skin.


Not live, but lovely. Strange fork & spoon set with horse heads found at the flea market for $10. When buying vintage, I try to buy things that I find a little odd, or feel like I have never seen before. The horse figures remind me of chess pieces, and I love how the rings through their noses move freely.

NIGHTCRAWLIN'

Roaming in the Mission with my bi-coastal buddy Edwin

DOMONIQUE ON THE STREET

San Francisco is never complete for me without Domonique. And somehow one way or another it always ends up on the streets...(shot with Merkley???)

BACK WITH MY GIRL

Other than time with my family and a rest for my brain, one of my major motivations for coming to San Francisco was to see my best friend in the whole wide world; Hope!!! I haven't physically seen her since November (video chat intervals), which is far too long in my opinion. To celebrate our friendship, we decided to hunt down a few prime tourist spots to take photos but it was impossibly windy (see photo above) so we took the party indoors to the photoboots of Japan Town...

My beautiful best friend wearing her birthday harness








Delicious snacks at Out The Door

NOT DEAD, JUST IN CALIFORNIA

(Jacket - Zara / Dress - Gary Graham / Boots - Rick Owens / Bag - Margiela)

I can't believe I'm already on day three of being in San Francisco! I've done a lot of wandering, a lot of smothering my best friends, a little bit of fine dining, and saw Inception! Its quite strange to navigate around an old stomping ground. EVERYTHING is nostalgic, I can extract a story about every street corner.

This is my secret leather heaven in SF. I order all of my hides from here...

On my first night in, I went out to diner with my mom and our friends at The House, an incredible Pan-Asian restaurant in North Beach. I'm not much of a food expert or meal photographer, but their presentations are just as exquisite as the flavors!

SATURDAY NIGHT PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

I have a few matters of very serious business to attend to.

1. I will be drinking two the the redbulls pictured in the above photo because...

2. I am flying out to San Francisco tomorrow (Sunday) morning at 7am for a 5 day vacation!!!

3. The main reason I am putting out this PSA is really because I can't express how much I appreciate everyone who has followed, visited, and just discovered my blog. I have been doing this online thing for quite a large chunk of my adolescence and young adult life and so many of you have been with me for the ride! I am so incredibly moved beyond words to meet and interact with my readers, whether its through a comment or email, or those of you who are ballsy enough to introduce yourself in person. I am so touched and so lucky to have you all and please know that I read every response and could not do this without all of you. So thank you, and you, and you, and all of you. Thank you.