Tuesday, March 30, 2010

The Opposite of Sun

Right now, and for the past 48 hours, it has been a monsoon. New England weather has a serious personality disorder. Within minutes it can be sunny and gorgeous and then a complete downpour. This does not accommodate my sartorial choices in any way.

Thank goodness my mom sent me my Barbour jacket, it has been a better investment than I originally thought. If you are contemplating buying a raincoat, I would highly suggest shelling out the dough for one of their jackets. Completely worth it.

To remind myself that good weather does exist, here are some pictures of the most perfect day I had over Spring Break. My friend Sophy and I spent the day walking around Center City, Philadelphia doing our best people watching and making friends with every sales associate we met. We had an incredible lunch at Parc, the French Steven Starr dig on Rittenhouse Square, and used it as an opportunity to speak as much french as possible aka confuse our waiter a lot.

It's hard to tell with the bare trees, but it was about 65 degrees and not a cloud in sight.

Sophy's Shrimp Salad with Lemon Beurre Blanc and Avacado.

I sort of have a thing for beets. Maybe it was my upbringing and exposure to Doug, but my friends can attest to my adoration for the root. My incredible Beet Salad with a generous piece of Roquefort, Arugula, and a light Citrus Vinagrette.

I can't wait to get my new Ferragamos! They are basically Ferragamo's answer to Keds. Here is a little preview:

Excuse me, but I have to go inhale some of my mother's famous chocolate chip Passover cookies.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Springz Breakz wuz phun, but so much werk now.

There is this little itch of guilt that starts to manifest itself in my stomach when a week goes by and I have no posted. Blogger somehow managed to recreate the feeling I get when I don't listen to my grandmother via the internet...congratulations internet.

There is SO much I want to write about, but the tidal wave of work that has amounted in the past week is not only nauseating but really freaking time consuming. I'm in the process of reading an article about Eva Hesse and Minimalism, which is interesting, but a little dry and hard for me to concentrate on when the following things are happening:

1. Summer concerts are being posted...goodbye paycheck. Snagged a ticket to the Roots Picnic (June 5 in Philly) and I think my friend got me one for Passion Pit(!).

2. I am watching 8 pairs of Ferragamos on ebay...already won a pair last night. It's usually around this time of year when I go on a Ferragmo binge and have zero regrets.

3. Carbs need to be eaten. Only 2 days until Passover!!!

 Here are some things you can do when you are waiting for my next post:
Listen to Danger Mouse and James Mercer's collab, Broken Bells (I actually just wrote 'Broken Bellz.' It has been a very long week.). If the O.C. was still on this would totally have been played in a beach montage scene (I promise you I have friends). Go listen to two of my faves "The Ghost Inside" and "Trap Doors"


Eat Trader Joes Vanilla Greek Yogurt. My friend Chris introduced me to this magical food. Fage always has a special place in my heart, but this yogurt I can eat without pouring gallons of honey into it. SO GOOD.

Also, Check out my friend Sam's awesome Tumblr: http://sameatsfood.tumblr.com/ He is probably the most enthusiastic eater I have ever met. If you use the word "succulent" on an everyday basis, you and Sam should probably be best friends.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

My brush with Balmainia

When my brother was in college up at Vassar my mother and I would force a detour every single time. The most glorious outlet mall in America--The Woodbury Commons. You have your basic J. Crew and Ralph Lauren, but then comes Chanel, Prada, Balenciaga, Ferragamo...it's endless. These seasonal trips coupled with more local outlets allows me to consider myself as an experienced outlet shopper.

Over the past years I have done fairly well. I've scored everything from a Miu Miu cocktail dress to a Marc Jacobs bag, although there have been plenty of frustrating and unsuccessful trips, I never lose faith.

Yesterday my mom and I were essentially kicked out of our house for the day due to inspectors and the fun things that come with selling a home, so, naturally, we were on the road to ready to find some discounted designer duds by 9:30 am.

Here are some tips when going outlet shopping:
-Do not take your size seriously. What I mean is if you claim you are ALWAYS a size 6 in pants, throw that out the window. Things might be too big or too small, so if you don't see your size in an item you like, try it on anyway.

-Bring snacks. Outlet shopping is far different from a regular trip to the mall. You need to be focused and prepared to look at everything, thus well fueled. My mom and I always bring a bottle of water and various Fiber One bars.

-Be aware of details. There is a reason why things are at an outlet. Sometimes the store had too much inventory other times goods are damaged. I remember finding a Proenza Schouler skirt that I absolutely loved, however, the stain in the back was not nearly as cute.

-Keep your options open. A lot of the things I try on are just for kicks, but end up actually liking. Most of the time I try on absolutely ridiculous things that I either cannot afford (see below) or items that I have always been curious to try.

 -Look at everything. Outlets aren't terribly organized, so things are placed where they shouldn't be. I was able to find a great See by Chloe shirt hung on the Womens Career clearance rack. Look at the super big sizes, for some reason, I also find a lot of gems there, maybe people are trying to hide their finds?


So, today, when I was looking through the Designer/Couture clearance, I stumbled upon something quite incredible--a S/S '09 Balmain dress. Marked down to $7,360 (originally priced at a semester of a private liberal-arts college) I had to try it on. Firstly, jesus, Christophe Decarnin does not want women to be able to breathe. Secondly, he knows how to make a woman feel sexy. For the minutes I had this dress on, I felt like a rock star, despite the fact it weighed close to 8 lbs. Here are some crappy cell phone shotz.

Is that me? In Balmain?!

Regardless of the begging I tried to do with a straight face, I could not convince my mother to buy this for me. Instead I picked up a great See by Chloe top and an Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti skirt.
 I would have tried this on and created a cute outfit, but seeing as it is 3:23am and I have yet to pack for my flight back to school tomorrow, it's just not going to happen.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Hoarders everywhere, do not read this, this only helps your cause.

The moment I walked in my house to commence my long awaited spring break my nose turned into a faucet. I have a terrible cold and cannot go out due to what looks like monsoon season on the Main Line. I'm pretty sure Cancun doesn't get better than this.



Being stuck inside and preparing for a move (my parents sold the house we've called home for the past 20 years) has left me digging through boxes of forgotten middle school binders and old sketchbooks.

It amazes me how relevancy changes so quickly. What I mean is, what I considered important seven years ago (ahem Valentine cards from 5th grade and Muffy dolls) has little or no place in my life right now. As I stuff them into a big trash bag without much regard, am I making a mistake?

This is even harder when it comes to making room in my closet. I probably have close to fifteen sparkly Michael Stars one-size-fits-all shirts that were a must have item in 7th grade, that may still fit me, but don't work with my current personal aesthetic. The Juicy Couture terry sweatpants that I begged my mother for in middle school now function as pajamas rather than a status symbol. The hardest to part with are designer items that no longer fit. I have this beautiful white cotton Diane von Furstenberg button-up shirt who's size zero tag stares me in the face. The size of this piece is certainly no longer relevant to me, although I teeter on the 2-4-6 scale, I have a connection with it.

Furthermore, regardless if an item is designer or not, holding on is okay. I'm happy my dad held onto his monogram sweater from his adolescence and my mom kept her cutoffs from the 70's. So, to a certain extent, I don't agree with the mantra "If you haven't worn it in the last year, toss it." If an item has sentimental value keep it, but only with thoughtful consideration.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Music I like that you should listen to

Every March I seem to get into the phase where I spend a lot of time looking for new bands that I haven't listened to/heard of. Like clockwork, I'm prowling many myspaces and pitchfork reviews.

When I was in NYC a couple weekends ago I went to see Neon Indian along with some other bands at Market Hotel in Brooklyn. The concert was wonderfully sweaty, insanely rowdy, and I felt like I chain-smoked a good 4 packs of American Spirits. Aka it was great. Before Neon Indian came on at 2am, there were two bands that stuck out to me: Beach Fossils and Teengirl Fantasy.

Teengirl Fantasy- This video is like iTunes visualizer had a child with Windows 98, but a nice chill song.



Beach Fossils



If a surfer picked up a guitar and jumped on the stage at a Pains of Being Pure at Heart concert you would get something a little like Beach Fossils, minus the female vocals part. I'm pretty sure I was at this concert too, if only you could see me being smothered by sweaty leather jackets and sandwiched between the edge of the stage and audience.


The other night my friend Mike, who has a fantastic radio show on WVKR (Vassar's radio station) at 12 AM on Fridays called CuddleFest!, sent me a song by this band. I was in the middle of reading The Artists Reality by Mark Rothko and didn't really want to take the time to play the song, but I'm so happy I did. According to my iTunes I have listened to "Morgan" 7 times today. Really fun and good music. go listen. And if you are in Providence they are playing a show with Beach Fossils this upcoming Monday!


Also, ITS THURSDAY, meaning its almost the weekend and one day closer to srping break. ahhh.
Natasa only scrapes the surface of my excitement. 

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

I really need it to be spring. kthxbai

I can't handle this New England weather anymore. Yesterday it was 43 degrees out. I was so elated I wore shorts most of the day, yes I am insane. Today, what is the weather?....SNOW. This is a cruel joke. If the weather.com doesn't let me down, it should be warming up for the rest of the week, warming up meaning low 40's, but I can finally start wearing spring-ish things.

My mom gave me this MM6 Martin Margiela tank last year and I didn't ever wear it, but right now I cant wait. It is a dual function piece: it can be worn as a shirt or as a tote bag:

MM6 Tank
 
zipper detail 

It hangs well off my shoulders and is slightly cropped. The wide neck and armholes allow for a bandeau or tank to peak through without looking like a tramp. The zipper detail makes it more than just a black tank, it's a simple addition, but makes this top special.

This jacket is my newest favorite. I picked it up a couple weeks ago at a consignment shop in Providence when I was visiting the RISD museum and my friend who goes there. I wasn't in the market to buy anything, but when I saw this piece and its price tag, I couldn't resist:

Plaid Wool Coat 
 Coat Detail
I was ready to give up plaid after seeing an overloaded season of the print, but I feel like this is a trend-less piece. The shape is simple and the details don't overwhelm the print. Another plus is that it is 100% wool and lined.
I should probably get back to reading about Mark Rothko considering I have a presentation this Saturday at RISD on one of his works. So. Ready. For. Spring. Break. 

Also, rewatching the greatest show of my tweens:

 

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Front Row woes

"I loved Thom Browne, especially the groovy new eyewear, but the shows this season were full of teen/tween bloggers. I feel like they are trying to nudge me out of my front-row seat. Luckily, I have a plan for next season. Since they are all about my height, I am going to impersonate one of them. I am going to wear a doily on my head (Tavi!) and tell everyone I am a teen blogger. If they ask why I am so wrinkled, I will tell them that I have progeria."
-Simon Doonan