Bliss
Waking up to a massive cupcake in New York with nothing to do all day... that's my idea of absolute bliss. I'm currently hanging out with my family and waiting on my sister to have a baby! Fingers crossed it will be here by the end of the weekend.
Waking up to a massive cupcake in New York with nothing to do all day... that's my idea of absolute bliss. I'm currently hanging out with my family and waiting on my sister to have a baby! Fingers crossed it will be here by the end of the weekend. Hope everyone has an incredible Friday!
Featuring: Elizabeth Lau SS11 Astoria dress and CRUMBS cupcake. Photos taken at the Paramount Hotel.
Brooklyn
Had dinner at my friend's apartment in Brooklyn. He has three floors, two balconies and a roof top garden... I started considering the logistics of becoming a squatter as soon as I caught sight of the incredible views. To watch the sun set over all the madness that lies within Manhattan is complete perfection. The sausages bought from the Polish store down the street weren't too shabby either...
Wearing: Weekday necklace, Hanes grey vest, and Next polkadot palazzo pants (not pictured).
Room 1426
Arriving into America always feels like total magic. I love it when the woman at passport control looks up after having checked over my documents and says, 'Welcome home, ma'am.' Not only that, there's something undeniably enticing about a yellow taxi.
Arriving into America always feels like total magic. I love it when the woman at passport control looks up after having checked over my documents and says, 'Welcome home, ma'am.' Not only that, there's something undeniably enticing about a yellow taxi. Sitting inside and watching as the magnanimous city landscape creeps ever closer. Until, unexpectedly, you find yourself completely eaten up by it. In my case, standing on the steps of the Paramount Hotel in Times Square.
When I walked in I was handed a keycard to room 1426. Otherwise known as the Couture Suite, this newly renovated 950 square foot space is enough to make your jaw drop. It's sleek and crisp with a serious touch of glamour. Modeled off what you'd expect to find from a luxury New York style loft, it has white leather sofas, hardwood floors, and walls lined with vintage fashion prints (the likes of Marilyn Monroe and Jackie Kennedy will gaze down at you as you eat your breakfast).
The hotel itself sits right in the center of New York's mayhem - I could watch the madness of Times Square from my window. If you're new to the city I couldn't recommend the location more. Your on the doorstep of some of the biggest attractions around. At the same time though, the rooms offer a total haven away from all the chaos. You can grab the best coffee in New York* without even having to go outside. There's a Dean & Deluca attached to the hotel and, if I'm honest, that's reason enough to lure me back. I found myself almost struggling to leave the premises of the hotel while I was there. Despite the unfamiliarity of the city, my little space at the Paramount felt like a home away from home... I already can't wait to go back.
Thank you to everyone at the Paramount Hotel, especially Elizabeth, for having been so incredibly kind during my stay. Also, massive thank you to Mallory and Robyn at Harrison & Shriftman for arranging my stay. I had a wonderful time and can't thank you enough for everything.
*this is just my opinion... feel free to disagree if you've found a better cup of coffee in the city
J.Crew
Being in America is reigniting my love for all things clean, crisp, and preppy. I love J.Crew's simple well-cut basics in bright unexpected colours - such a refreshing spin on Autumnal dressing. The slouchy meets tailored combinations are pretty much perfection. I'd gladly take the whole lot.
Anonymous
Katy Grannan prints shown at the Met
In an information age where everything is linked, googled, and wiki'd it's strangely refreshing to stare into the face of something that provides no additional information. These photographs, shot in Los Angeles and San Francisco, only include the location and date in their title. I like that.
Times Square
Wearing: Elizabeth Lau Brooklyn dress (aptly NY themed, eh?), white Converse, Topshop armour ring, and random canvas bag with Elizabeth Lau heart pins attached.
Savage Beauty
The McQueen exhibition at the Met is incredible. People were waiting in line for hours to get in. Surely a show that has received so much hype wouldn't be able to live up to my expectations, I thought as I walked in. Not so. Each room is perfectly presented and, to my mind, did McQueen absolute justice.
It begins with McQueen's graduate collection and work from his time at Givenchy before moving on to his later work. One massive room is devoted to accessories and has films playing throughout with snapshots into some of his most extraordinary catwalk productions (cue robotic paint jobs from SS1999 and the chessboard from SS2005). Although there is vast variation between collections a core aesthetic carries between each room - making it remarkably evident that McQueen had a solid vision that was continuously perfected through each new collection. The room focusing on this AW1995 collection, Highland Rape, was my absolute favourite. The day we went the temperature was sitting at over 105 degrees. We walked across Central Park, felt serious sympathy for all the runners, and tried to slurp down our yoghurt before it melted into one giant puddle. A pretty heavenly day I'd have to say... if you happen to find yourself in New York, definitely check out Savage Beauty.
Wearing: random sunglasses bought on ebay, Ralph Lauren polo, Levi 501 diy shorts, white converse, YSL arty ring, and Half n' Half bag from One Language. More photos here.
CRUMBS
The reported temperature today was 107 degrees... the humidity was suffocating... the sweat was visibly dripping off everyone. Not that I'm complaining, of course. I'm in NY and I'm happy - heatwave or not. But the scorching temperature meant I sought solace in any air conditioned place I could find - namely restaurants. I popped into CRUMBS for cupcakes and my what delicious cupcakes I found. With names like Devil's Food and Blackout you know they are going to be intense but they're good - really good - and heavy. Don't go on a full stomach though because these babies are a meal in themselves. If you're in NY definitely check these guys out.
The rest of the day was spent skipping through leafy streets, commenting on Americans, and walking around the Meatpacking District - where I just so happened to walk past Scott Schumann...
Medusa
Jason Lear illustrations for Eugene Lin's AW11 collection.
Inspiration comes in all forms, from the smallest flicker of light to the loudest life changing events. For Eugene Lin, inspiration seems to come from an otherworldly mystical place. The last collection of his that I featured was, after all, inspired by the graphic and disturbing 'vanishing twin syndrome'. For AW11 the complex rage of Medusa was his muse.
One of my favourite things about Lin is the wearability of his pieces. The digitally altered prints might mimic Medusa's petrified victims while folded necklines recall her execution - but this doesn't result in pieces that are incapable of being worn daily. The collection is gorgeous. With the most stunning prints, deep green dresses, and a trench that has landed on my wish list. There's something very McQueen about this collection... and I'm liking it.
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Hi from NY!
I just arrived into New York yesterday afternoon and I'm still buzzing with the excitement of a little kid. Everything is so big and I'm completely over-stimulated. I love that New York looks and feels exactly how you expect. Times Square is totally surreal and doesn't even look real.
I just arrived into New York yesterday afternoon and I'm still buzzing with the excitement of a little kid. Everything is so big and I'm completely over-stimulated. I love that New York looks and feels exactly how you expect. Times Square is totally surreal and doesn't even look real. The building are monstrous, the lights intoxicating.
The Couture Suite at the Paramount Hotel is my home for the next few nights. It's incredibly gorgeous and I feel totally spoiled. Surrounded by such beauty, I don't even mind that I'm spending my morning inside catching up on some work. It's so hot outside. Spending the afternoon at the McQueen Savage Beauty exhibition at the Met and then going to explore the Meatpacking District...
Follow my NY adventures on Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook if you fancy.
New hair
Honestly, I'm not too sure why I decided to get my hair lightened. I've never had it professionally coloured... when I was 17 I used to think it was achingly cool to dye it black - but that's about as far as my colour experience had travelled.
Honestly, I'm not too sure why I decided to get my hair lightened. I've never had it professionally coloured... when I was 17 I used to think it was achingly cool to dye it black - but that's about as far as my colour experience had travelled. Maybe the whole dip-dye mania managed to penetrate my subconscious and this is my timid attempt at getting in on the trend? I could be channeling my inner California girl... pretending to be a surfer with bleached out ends?
Whatever the reason was, I'm glad it tickled its way to the front of my brain, convincing me that tweeting at Jones & Payne late Sunday night about my desperate need for new colour was a good idea (they actually tweeted me back minutes later - on a Sunday night). So this is my new, slightly modified, hair... just in time for New York - where I'm coincidentally headed right about now. It's simple and I love it.
Photos by Kit
Weakness
Oh, the infamous power of a pair of statement shoes. They have the ability to bring even the most level headed of girls to their knees with desire. Slap a trendy designer name onto even the most ill-advised grotesque looking item and it will demand instant admiration and obsession.
The more bizarre, dangerous, and elusive the better...
Shini's been looking pretty fierce in her Chloe Sevigny for Opening Ceremony boots. Leather, laces, wood, and dangerous heights?! What more could a girl ask for.
In flight...
Yeah, I was that awkward girl on the plane shoving my dslr up against the window to snap photos of clouds.
There were two little girls sitting in front of me on the flight over to London. They kept swapping seats to sit next to the window and were so excited - totally bewildered by what they were seeing. The youngest, who was sitting in the middle seat as we landed, couldn't stop crying on the descent. She wasn't scared, she was upset she couldn't see out the window like her sister. I couldn't blame her.
Apologies for haven fallen slightly off the face of the earth. Five days without blogging?! I think that might be my longest absence since I started... I was stuck in Zurich with no laptop charger and since my little Pro is getting old it died after 2 hours. Which left me home alone for three days with no laptop or t.v. Needless to say, I had to deal with some serious boredom issues. I did read more in those three days then I probably have in the last three years... and baked a batch of peanut butter cookies (which I ate in entirety all one my own - oops). I'm in London til Wednesday then off to NY!
p.s. I realize this isn't exactly fashion related... hope you don't mind.
Timo.Weiland
It's official: this dress is pretty much perfection. I have serious love for the simple shape and trippy landscape print. I'd like to wear it every day while people watching from my roof. Timo.Weiland seems to be capturing my heart big time... more coming on his collection later.
Wearing: Timo.Weiland lanscape dress, Won Hundred shoes (both via SC) and Alexander McQueen knuckleduster.
Alaïa
The first time I heard of Alaïa it was in 1995. I was sitting on the floor at my grandma's house in North Carolina watching Clueless. You know, that all important scene when Cher gets mugged? She's instructed to lie on the road but resists because she doesn't want to ruin her dress. At the time I was more concerned with brands like the Limited Too... and I really didn't get what all the fuss was about until I saw a collection in person and tried on the most freaky naughty shoes on the planet.
Alaïa make the most beautiful creations. They are so heavy and elaborate... impeccably crafted. You know when people get asked which one designer piece they would have - if they could have anything in the world? And just about everyone says something generic like a 2.5 Chanel bag... well, I'd undoubtedly pick a piece by Alaïa (okay, or Alexander McQueen). Anyway, the point is that Alaïa hadn't shown for eight years but just did at the couture shows. The Fall 2011 collection was a-ma-zing and just whizzed right past Givenchy, taking first place as my favourite. Okay, that's all... leaving you with this fine scene.
Cher: 'You don't understand this is an Alaïa'
Mugger: 'An a-what-a?'
Cher: 'It's like, a totally important designer.'