This Saturday, I'm spending the entire day in Soho/TriBeCa, and I encourage you to do the same. I'm starting the afternoon at theSeven x Bblessing x OAK sample sale, before heading to Topshop to DJ, and then finishing the night at TriBeCa Grand, where one of my favorite pop singers, Annie, will be our special guest DJ for the night. Annie's performed and DJed many times at TriBeCa before, and she's always incredible; you can't help but falling for catchy music and her adorable style. Boy Crisis will also be performing live. Hope you can make it, just cut the line and say Six Six Sick at the door to get in!
For Fall, Suzanne Rae went with a Victorian gone grunge theme, picking up on the love for the 90's that has rallied on ever since it got far-enough-away to become nostalgic. It always makes me feel rather old catching the references to a past era that I lived through and still remember quite well, and I can't help get a little sentimental. Many of the looks felt like fresh takes on the styles of my youth, mixing the maxi-skirts and beanies of before, with more contemporary billowing draping and asymmetrical cuts. Another development from 90's fashion: Suzanne's eco-friendly use of dead stock fabrics mixed with sustainable hemp and natural silks, innovations that we weren't very concerned with fifteen years ago. There was definitely a lot to love about the collection, and I would wear the pieces without ever feeling like I was stuck in the past. Take a peek, and listen to the clip from Mother Feather, who performed during the presentation, for the full effect!
As I've mentioned before, one of the big trends I've noticed recently is Americana, and more specifically, a renewed fascination with the American Southwest. When I've mentioned this to my industry friends several of them have looked at me askance and questioned when I decided that I was qualified to be a trend forecaster. I never said I was qualified, but I do have a pair of beady little eyes, and I see it everywhere I look, whether it's the current obsession with heritage brands like Pendleton, or the recent incorporation of the kitchy dream catcher motifs into jewelry. Even the Mulleavy sisters took a road trip across Texas and were influenced by border towns for the current Rodarte collection.
Anyway, I could continue on with the examples, but I think it will suffice to show you the latest one, from the lovely ladies at Shape Shiftr. For Spring 2011, the designers Meghan and J'aime were inspired by a trip across the country, Navajo Indians, rock art, wigwams, bones, skulls, and of course, dream catchers. They've thrown in a bit of Stevie Nicks witchyness, and their signature shape-shifting silhouettes, and the added edgy touch prevents the collection from falling into all the potential tourist-shop cliches that come with such well-traveled terrain. Anyway, here are a few amazing shots from their lookbook, as well as some good road trip music from the Crystal Stilts for good measure.
I normally don't wear sunglasses inside, I swear, but it's so much easier than putting on makeup and trying to look good. Boots courtesy of 80%20, Daniel Palillo shirt which Aapo gave me, C. Neeon leggings, Alexander Wang sunglasses, Triskaidekaphobia necklace.
For someone who grew up getting a lot of flack for not speaking any Chinese, and generally not being Asian enough (I had a childhood dread of Chinese food, having suffered from a massive over-consumption of it), I think I grew up to become a somewhat typical Asian girl. Not only have I overcome my distaste for dim sum, but judging from my Hello Kitty toaster (and waffle machine and hairbrush), and the fact that I regularly dress in matching outfits with my best (Filipino) girlfriend, I definitely feel like I fall into some major Asian girl stereotypes.
While I probably just barely met any of the requirements for being a young professional Asian, I was lucky enough to be invited to attend the Museum of Chinese in America's Young Professional Expo on Wednesday night, which was essentially a combination of all my favorite Asian things in one place. While the crowd was definitely more my baby brother's scene than mine (he's off being an uber-young professional Asian at Harvard Business School), I still had a really good time. There was an unending assortment of dim sum and Asian snacks from local restaurants like Dim Sum A Go-Go, Lair, and my personal favorite, Kyotofu. And of course, two of my favorite young Asian designers were on hand selling their wares: Mary Ping of Slow and Steady Wins the Race, and Ce Ce Chin of 80%20 shoes. I attended the 80%20 five year anniversary party this summer, and each collection just gets cuter and cuter. The current fall collection might be my favorite yet, and I was lucky enough to leave with my favorite pair--the Heide wedged hiking boot, which are also really comfortable and easy to walk in.
80%20 ponyhair boots with a hidden heel, as modeled by 80%20 staffer Kristina
Another shot of the Heide boots
Shearling booties with a hidden heel
The wool Eliotte booties
Mary Ping's fox stole and four-sided bag
Slow and Steady Wins the Race bags--I have the Chanel-style one!
I had to include a song by my one of my favorite Asian-lady fronted bands, Asobi Seksu, for good measure.
Valentines Day receives mixed reactions from those in love and those looking for it, but no matter how you feel about the holiday, I hope you will come out and take a peek at our TriskaidekaphobiaStrange Love collection at Screaming Mimi's this Wednesday from 6-9. Pick up some jewelry for your bestie or beloved (or just for yourself), while enjoying cocktails, mini-cupcakes from Kumquat Cupcakery, and complementary palm reading from our friend Michael a.k.a. One Line To Live. Music will be provided by three handsome roommates heartbreakers, Jacob of The Drums, Waseem, and Caleb--just don't forget to RSVP to press@screamingmimis.com to get your xoxo's. To get you in the mood, I've put together a list of a few of my favorite (strange) love songs. Remember, love is like a bottle of gin, but a bottle of gin is not like love.
I know I've always been terrible about alerting you all to all the live performances that happen at our TriBeCa Grand parties, as I myself often don't know until I get there (I know, super-flaky). That's why I was sitting at my table a month ago when I went to check and see who was covering Young Love, only to find that it was actually...Young Love. I do seriously apologize though, since we've had some amazing shows recently, including Jessica 6, the new band headed by Nomi of Hercules and Love Affair.
This Saturday we're having another special guest performance from The Suzan, an incredibly catchy all-girl dance-punk group from Japan, who were recently discovered by Bjorn Yttling of Peter Bjorn & John. Just looking at their videos, I've already fallen for the deadly combination of their slightly deranged Harajuku styling and their sassy ESG-style sound. In fact, I expect a U.S. invasion along the lines of Ladies and Gentlemen: The Fabulous Stains, since they harness that same rebel girl energy. Expect to see me front row, dressed in my groupie-best.
For the Spring 2011 migh-T collection, Kumiko Watari chose to build on the theme of "Long Distance Love," a subject I can relate to very well. When I met Jimmy four years ago, he was still based in Sweden, and the entire first year of our relationship was spent flying back and forth, moving to and from our respective cities (New York and Stockholm), and sending lots of letters. While very few snail mail parcels were sent, we acted for the most part as a modern day couple: most of our correspondences were done via internet, with hundreds of emails and instant messaging to bridge the distance. Looking at the migh-T collection, which is covered in hand-drawn illustrations of stamps, postal markings, and pen-pal gifts, I somewhat regret our lack of material correspondence (although all of our emails are saved on my desktop). When I was younger, I used to cherish sending letters, but the pleasure of opening an envelope has long been replaced by the instant gratification of the email, which obviously is much more efficient when conducting a long-distance love affair. Watari brings all the sweet sentiments of snail mail back, and I'm instantly reminded of the very lovely Aztec Camera song "We Could Send Letters," which incidentally did make it on to a mix tape that I mailed Jimmy in one of our few postal correspondences...
After the past month of hearing about The Drums photo session with Hedi Slimane, I finally got a glimpse of the photographs, taken in November (they've been up for a while, but I'm just really slow). Jon and Jacob told me over dinner a couple weeks ago that when Hedi came to the shoot after meeting them, he wore a Letterman jacket, a signature Drums wardrobe staple. Apparently, he's been a major fan since he first heard them, and even his style was inflected with a touch of their influence. Anyway, if you haven't sought them out yet, you absolutely must make sure to find their debut EP"Summertime!" on iTunes. Here are a few of my favorite shots of the boys, see the rest on Hedi's Fashion Diary.
I spend almost as much time downloading music as I do reading fashion blogs (meaning I spend entirely too much time on the internet). Anyway, here are a few of the songs that have been on heavy rotation on my DJ set list of late. Most of these videos don't actually have any content, but listen to the music anyway. I've been listening to these songs all day and I can't wait to go to TriBeCa Grand tonight.
Skeleton Boy (Air France Remix)- Friendly Fires. This song makes me a little bit sad that summer's over.
Love The Night Away- DJ Kaos. There's something really sweet, upbeat, and throwbacky about this song that makes me think of dancing the night away at Paradise Garage, if I had lived through that era.
Boy From School (ErolAlkan Remix)- Hot Chip. This is an old favorite of mine which I will never get tired of. Alkan remixes it with some Balinese Gamelan sounding chimes, and somehow makes an already brilliant song possibly even better.
We Never Fly Away Again- Black Devil Disco Club. I only discovered them when they performed at our former Webster Hall Party the week after we moved our party to Butter. While we unfortunately missed their performance, all my friends kept on texting and begging me to get them in, so I knew that they had to be good.
Empire State- Jay-Z & Alicia Keys. Just in case you missed this performance at the VMAs. I know it sounds silly, but watching this ode to my hometown still gives me chills, even though my husband is the real Jay-Z fan in the house (and thinks the song is kinda cheesy).
Can You Tell- Ra Ra Riot. This is one of my favorite songs of all time, but even though I crank it in my own house, I only play this as a "it's time to go home kids" nightcap song when I'm out.
John and Jimmy reunited at last. When he got back, we had a big party for him at Emily's apartment.
I'm really backlogged in posting from from Fashion Week, but I need a tiny breather from all the Rachel Zoe talk. Here are some unfashionable iPhone photos from the last month, which has been awesome, albeit a bit stressful. John and Jacob came back to town for a ten day break between The Drums nonstop tour schedule, Christina and my niece Emma both celebrated their birthdays, and Life Curated finally opened in Williamsburg. Oh, and we finally shot our lookbook, with the wonderful Mallory June and our friend Dom (real photos to come). Here are the not-very-good photos documenting it all. And make sure to watch the new Drums video for "Down By the Water" below, which was inspired by an old Shangri-las video.
After John's party, we went to Cameo in Williamsburg to see Eric from the Tough Alliance DJ. It's a really cute little place hidden in the back of Lovin' Cup, and I would probably go there all the time if I hung out in Brooklyn.
For Christina's birthday, I bought her Chikalicious cupcakes, and Adam bought her a tub of Hanna beads from Ikea. We spent half the night doing kids crafts before going to Morrissey night at Sway. Adam made the Pacman ghost, and I made the Pacman, the Comme des Garcons heart, and the rainbow heart.
My niece Emma also celebrated her fifth birthday with a Hello Kitty themed birthday party (i.e., the party of my dreams). Here she is, about to bash in the face of her Hello Kitty pinata.
We finally got around to shooting our Triskaidekaphobia lookbook! Mallory June was such an amazing model, and Dom is always so great to work with.
Life: Curated opened. They have an incredible rope installation running across their entire ceiling.
Annie wearing a Jean Charles de Castelbajac dress
Posts
