is it bad luck to not wear sequins on new years? cos i don't own any

happy new years kids, keep it classy.












b n w girl from totokaelo
pink dress- superfuture
pineapple bag from kyoto costume institute
girls with beer cans from alex prager
um...i forgot where that one came from
balmain dress , red dress from here
final image- alex prager

De Petra Jewelry

I was shopping around at Leap, my favorite store in Houston. Inside the jewelry case, I espied huge chunks of jagged amythest set against hammered gold and silver on leather bracelets. I wanted them so so bad. Uponst inquiring the usual who what wear what are these, I was promptly informed that De Petra is the brainchild of two sisters who live in Houston.




Sisters Cyntthia Sheridan and Lorena Rodriguez have been creating in Houston since 1991.
Inspired by the ancient city of Petra, lying in great rift valley in Jordan, the Petra people were known for, among other things, wisdom and metal workings.
Their work on metal is based on ancient techniques of metal work.

The beauty of De Petra's jewelry is the amount of detail within each piece and the combinations of different metals, rocks and leathers. Each piece is given such consideration, nothing is random. The combination of metal with geodes are based upon spiritual rock and crystal healing. The creation of the jewelry is such an organic process and that comes across in the finished product- it's natural while utterly breathtaking; it mimics the formation of topographical maps, it's as though De Petra jewelry came out of the ground. Which is because a lot of the geodes did, the rocks are jagged and organic, set against hammered gold or silver, fixed upon buttery leather cuffs and bracelets or in metal rings.




Contacting the sisters, I asked if I could visit their studio and creation space. They happily obliged. Their studio is in Cynthia's apartment, in the Museum District of Houston.





De Petra is carried in these Houston boutiques: Kuhl-Linscomb, High Gloss, Leap, and Marni Rocks. De Petra is also available in Santa Fe’s Bodhi Bazaar and Rosemary Beach’s Willow boutique.

Recently, De Petra has created an exclusive collection for Anthopologie, which is available online.

musings on minimalism and the avant garde

Rereading the book “The Collection of the Kyoto Costume Institute: FASHION,” has lead me to start meditating upon the minimalism and how it, historically, evolved within fashion. “FASHION” features clothing from the 1700s all the way to the 1990s, all of which are kept in the Kyoto Costume Institute. So much of the fabric is incredibly colorful, with elaborate patterns in luxurious fabrics. Like the modern day avant garde, and while I am generalizing here, clothing from the early 1910s used bright fabrics, coordinating and clashing fabrics that mimicked the Japanese kimonos (pulling from the exotic for Western clothing) and the relaxing silhouette that would lead to the corset-less ‘20s and the bias cut jersey and silk ‘30s.

With the ‘60s referencing pop art and the ‘70s with psychedelic art, the opulence of the ‘80s, the 90s would create something completely different- dresses that were either slim simple silhouettes or avant garde clothes that completely obscured the body. Using a stark color palette of black, grey, white or navy, designers like Jil Sander used less to create more, with slim silhouettes and almost no color. This in turn led to Japanese avant garde, which disregarded the idea of enhancing the figure but creating wearable art as clothing. See Undercover, Yohji Yamamoto and Commes Des Garcons. Look at Yohji Yamamoto, so modern in creation but his design so obviously references the couturiers of the '50s.

Yohji Yamamoto

Junya Watanabe for Commes des Garcons

Consider this a minimalism look (for myself). A vintage chemise, white shirt, black tights and mayle black/navy clogs. I recently got stitches on my stomach, right where all of my high waisted skirts and belts hit. I’ve been wearing almost no color- really just black, white and grey, in flowing and unfitted outfits with interesting shapes.

Black white grey navy, uniform like, restrained only in color, but not in creativity or shape or design.

clogs are ugly beautiful. Look, I spelled that correctly!

tramando dress from argentina, hansel from basel tights, mayle shoes, vintage belt


Consider this my favorite things entry: my new favorite brand is Tramando, which I discovered in Argentina, my new Hansel from Basel tights and these new Mayle clogs.

Tramando is a line that looks like a combination of Zero Maria Cornejo mixed with Opening Ceremony by way of random cool insert jean brand name here//maybe Sass and Bide (???-well siince they've started making dresses and such), and the price points totally reflect that. The dress I'm wearing was around two hundred and fifty American dollars (or 800ish Argentine pesos), though it's actually two cotton dresses layered together, so I actually had to purchase them separately. It's insanely comfortable. Most of the clothes from this recent season, which is Spring/Summer 2010-2011 since it's an Argentine brand and being in the southern hemisphere, it's currently summer there, featured asymmetrical dresses, thin rubber vests with layer cut out diamond designs covering the entire front, intense beaded bib necklaces and skinny jeans covered in paint. I wanted everything in the store, but one of the cheapest things ended up being my favorite piece, the dress I'm wearing. So that's what I bought.
Just another line I want to put into my fake store in my head. In this store would be a lot of great, awesome, amazing things- like Lula magazines, Bikini Kill and old Blues vinyl albums, pristine vintage dresses, this brand, hammered gold gauntlet jewelry and Rachel Comey shoes in a size 11.

Hansel from Basel Tights
First of all, this brand has the best customer service, not even kidding. I put down the wrong address, they found the old order, issued me a new order, which I received yesterday, all before CHristmas. Amazing, right? But on top of that, their tights are super duper comfortable and super duper adorkable. If they made tights in solid colors, I'd buy them, too. Consider this: I buy American Apparel tights and the cost of Hansel from Basel is almost the same to American Apparel, but Hansel from Basel are so much softer, fit so much better and are more durable. After one wear, runs and holes appear in American Apparel tights, but I've had this certain one of Hansel from Basel tights for 2 years (!!) and it is just now getting holes and pilling. No lie.

Mayle Clogs
These are the best ugly pretty clogs. Meaning they remind me of actual clogs, and they are almost uncute but at the last second, then swerve violently into pretty territory (be it the hard ware she wonders? Or the dark navy blue suede black leather combo? THe cork heel? The fact that it's a winter clog sandal? Pick any of the above). The soles are super flat with a slight incline, with an attached platform, which is seeming to be an incredibly popular style for platform sandals this summer. I'm debating about ordering a second pair for warmer weather. THe only thing that holds me back is that they aren't cheap. And I had to special order a size 42, because they are running small. The size 42 is a touch big on me, but not in a bad way, in a kind of awkward but it works way, ie there is about 1/4 or 1/6 of an inch of room between the end of the shoe and my big toe.
The clogs were one of my favorite things from the Mayle re-edition/Siggerison Morrison collaboration. A close second is the bag "Santa" is bringing me for Christmas. And no, 23 years old is not too old for a visit from Santa (She says with a slight pout and very hurt look on her face- we are all children at heart right? RIGHT? SANTA IS REAL, darn it, I just visited him at the mall to make sure!)

Happy Christmas Eve people! I'm celebrating with family, buttermilk chess pie and listening to Nicki Minaj's "Moment for Life" on repeat. It's a thing, I like my mis-matched combos.
Be safe, kids.

*c*

winter furs//yellowed dappled light//it's cold outside

I've never formally introduced my room mate, but here she is. Her name is Ann Elize, her style is impeccable, her wit is dry, her accent is Southern, and she is lovely.
We had just brunched at Buttermilk Channel at about a mile from our apartment and we had slowly started to meander back towards home, but not without exploring little shops along the way.

best way to stay cool

a lace back on a long sleeved blousy cotton shirt. best way to generate a breeze and stay cool in the summer. the curly short hair elvis pompadour helps too





ps i'm back from argentina, tomorrow there will be winter photos. great welcome back- double layering tights and fur jackets- hello winter, goodbye summer.

polka dots and a jesus crown.

The city has gotten hotter, obviously, as the days stretch further and further into summer. I broke out tank top dresses and shirts, which lo and behold, left my pale uncovered arms prime to be sunburned. The upside to this is that I'll be tan in the winter.
The days have kind of blended together in a lovely, laid back I'm on vacation and oh calendars exist? kind of way. We went to a musueum and I quickly speed walked/chased down a girl (it's rather hard to run in pencil skirts) for her photo.


Inside the Malba (the modern art musuem), we paid, went upstairs to see the Marta Minjuin exhibit. I had never heard of Marta Minjuin but according to the exhibit, she was/is an artist that came about in the '60s, creating large scale pieces that ineract with outdoor and indoor spaces. She seems like the Buenos Aires Andy Warhol, and to further support this rather large generalization I've made about Minjuin, I will tell you this- there are three photos of Minjuin and Warhol ontop of maize, sitting in chairs. In each photo they change positions and both are wearing black, the images were shot at the Factory.
So. there's that.
One of her pieces was a room made of mattresses and full of mattresses- which kind of reminded me of a womb- it was a very comfy space designed primiarly for comfort. Inside was a TV playing a grainy black and white video of an old neighborhood with rather old and stately looking buildings.


Minjuin seems really into the use of textiles, creating massive structures out of fabric and making unwearable but ornate costumes.

She also made massive architectural structures that included a bread covered dome which she knocked down, two massive effigies that were burned, and a scupture of the Odalisk lying on it's side (The Odalisk is a monument in Buenos Aires that looks nearly identical to the George Washington Monument).

Look, a tripytch I made of a bench from the Malba!



And, of course, more graffiti

Buenos Aires Street style

It's the beginning of summer in Buenos Aires right now, people are wearing anything to stay cool. Which includes but is not exclusive to harem hippie pants in handwoven cotton, floral crop tops, floral leggings, printed cotton dresses, gladiator sandals and clogs. Clogs are incredibly popular here, so much in fact that I think they've always been in style here, it's not a recent development unlike in America where suddenly clogs have become so so incredibly popular.







what i wore:
j crew outlet shirt, bday necklace from emerald, really old miu miu skirt, old lanvin flats

day one in buenos aires

Or rather, this is technically day two.
The one thing of note worth mentioning was last night, my friend Stephanie and I went to Bamba del Tiempo, a massive drum circle that started at midnight and ends whenever whenever, usually when the sun starts to rise. Tiempo takes place in a massive warehouse with a huge courtyard surrounded by a metal fence. Drummers in blue start off in the courtyard and slowly make their way into the warehouse. It sounds like a drumline, essentially, like a high school band, performing during a Mardi Gras parade, I kept waiting for shouts and call and response, but it wasn't that type of drumline. They snake their way inside, drumming continues, there's a pause, more drummers come out.
I stayed out as late as I could, but the travel for me and Stephanie took it's toll. Stephanie has been in South America for four months now and took a 20 hour bus to meet me in Buenos Aires, so siestas and at least 10 hours of sleep were necessary for both of us to recover.

Today we headed out to San Telmo for an outdoor market. I was on a very, very specific quest for a vintage chemise, which I found. I took photos of the market. It looked as though it could almost rain but it didn't.





The beautiful thing about Buenos Aires is that it is simultaneously dirty and well preserved at the same time. Old, old buildings with intricate crown moulding and stone work are covered in graffiti. There is graffiti everywhere. One one hand, I love the idea that the modernity and spontaneity of graffiti is making it's mark on the city, however, it's also so depressing to think that these buildings are getting marred and partially destroyed in the process, one the other hand, without sounding too philosophical, things change, things fall apart, things evolve- this is how the city is evolving and it's visually evolving with citizens of Buenos Aires participating in the visual evolution of the city.
Hmm..could I use that word any more?
Probs, yes.
I do like seeing all of the graffiti on the buildings, in fact I'm super super into it, and I really really love graffiti, but given how old everything looks, I just hear my mom's voice popping up in my head going "if this happened in new orleans blah blah so bad blah blah what would people think? property taxes" ect- which is valid. However, somewhat stuffy. Graffiti happens, often times it's necessary.
Some graffiti

andddd, a kind of not very well made triptych that none the less has lots of graffiti in it

We'll fill our mouths cinnamon (when we arrive sons and daughters)

"sons and daughters" by the decemberists is stuck in my head, as are these images.





jacket by Timo Weiland, ballerina photos by Michael Halsband


also, i'm at the airport heading to argentina. I'll be there for a week.
Expect updates.

last night i attended the fashionista panel at my alma mater

Yesterday, Fashionista hosted a panel at NYU's Cantor Center called "How I'm Making It: What It Takes to Be Successful in Fashion" featuring designers Timo Weiland, Jeff Halmos, Rebecca Minkoff, The owners from Odin- Paul and Eddie, one of the co-founders of Farfetched.com, and Nellie Partow. As panels go, this one was quick, super in formative and funny. Clocking in with the broad question and answer in under an hour and fifteen minutes, the designers/entrepreneurs/fashion mad scientists stayed around for almost another hour.





In terms of the discussion, it was interesting to hear semi-varied and such personal anecdotes from each speaker. Jeff Halmos, when starting Trovata, used to carry his samples into different boutiques to sell his wares to the buyers. Rebecca Minkoff convinced a boutique to sell a couple of her pieces on consignment, then made flyers about her line and confidently handed them out in Union Square, and the owners of Odin held day jobs for the first three years of Odin's life.
It is hard for any panel to come off not as motivational or "tough talks for tough times," but the panelists did a good job of staying on topic, since there was only one topic, and being realistic. The Fashionista moderators did a great job of asking them questions that helped illustrate the fashion industry to the outsider, such as how did you start, where internships helpful to you, how has social media and technology helped you, ect. Rebecca Minkoff used to get on a purse forum, which is full of avid purse fans, to ask them questions about her bags and if things needed to be changed ect. That involvement of her customer base is what has helped keep her line afloat during this recession. Her website has a blog where customers can also interact with the products and leave criticism and feedback.
The audience question and answer is where things got a bit meddled, since some of the questions were vague. A lot of people inquired about factories, here or in China and how to find one. Well, the Timo Weiland boys said to visit the Garment district and literally ride up and down the elevators and visit places, Jeff Halmos said that you just get to know people but there is no excel spread sheet for factory finding. What the girl really meant was what factories do each of you use, perhaps she didn't want to be so direct. The hard part with audience participation is that people will imply the answers they want in the questions they ask, instead of directly stating "what is your factory" or "is it a good idea to really use credit cards to start your business" instead of "where can i find factories" and "how does one find backers?"
What was the hook, line and sinker in getting my apt attention was the frequency people spoke about online mediums, social media, websites, forums, ect. These things are helpful for designers and for customers, because it is now how people research, interact and find labels and boutiques in the modern age.
One last fun fact- Timo Weiland is doing a collaboration with a UK retailer, I'm betting it's Topshop. Here's hoping it's for men and women.

me in my timo weiland shirt, and a too big phillip lim skirt i've attempted to paper bag it in the waist