12.28.2009

Street-Style Romance


Am I the last person in the world to know that Garance and Scott Schuman are dating?? I mean I suspected it since they frequently mention each other on their blogs and travel together, but I finally googled it and it is confirmed. What a 21st century couple... two power-bloggers dating! And taking the fashion world by storm!


Do you think they just dress up and take pictures of each other when they are alone?

Prints and the Revolution

Bold and graphic photos by Malick Sidibe, a photographer from Mali.








Would you believe the above three photos are from this year? Not only are they current, but the models (his family members) are all dressed head-t0-toe in clothes from designers' African-inspired spring collections from last year, including Marni, Dries van Noten, Marc Jacobs, etc. It's all about context, eh? Would you have ever guessed?
Shot for the NYT Style Magazine, "Prints and the Revolution" (I stole the title), April 2009.
More photos there.

Click the jump for more...


12.27.2009

Random Acts of Creativity >> A Love Letter For You


LOVE this mural project, called "A Love Letter For You," in Philadelphia spearheaded by Philadelphia-born artist Stephen Powers. Powers, who grew up in Philadelphia and used to use the neighborhood walls for graffiti, is now an artist with his work shown in places like the Venice Biennale (one of my favorite events ever) and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia.




Many of the messages and designs reference the original signs that might have been painted in those locations, like this one next to a barber shop.




Made to be viewed from the El train, the blog about the project captions each photo with a description of what train each mural can best be viewed from.





Who can resist a love letter?

12.17.2009

Defintion: High Maintenance





A green leatherLouis Vuitton "travelling case" filled with "accessories de voyage," including Baccarat crystal bottles, flasks, and jars, and rare blond tortoiseshell-encased brushes, mirrors, manicure set, and frame for a photo.

Bellman, you can put that right by my Goyard steamer trunk, yes right there, thank you.

From the Pullman Gallery on 1stdibs

12.09.2009

Val Verde In My Mind



You know those kinds of memories where you're not really sure whether it is a real memory, or a memory of watching yourself in a home video, or even a memory of how you imagined a story someone told you?


Well, I recall going on a hike with my sister soon after she moved to Montecito, when I was about 14, and that the trail, which she had found with a friend on a previous hike, took us right up to the backyard of an abandoned mansion.




I remember peering through bushes for glimpses of the mansion in its slightly decaying glory and my sister telling me that there were rumors that one of the descendants of the former owner still lived in there and tried to keep it up, as evidenced by the still-pruned shrubs and other such details. Supposedly sometimes hikers (trespassers) spotted someone swimming in the pool, but neighbors never saw cars come or go.




She also told me that in the 1920s, when the house was in its heyday, the owner often held glamorous days-long parties for celebrities up from LA and East Coast polo players who vacationed in Santa Barbara.

I asked her years later where that hike was, and she didn't have any recollection of it, and said the story I described didn't ring any bells. That is sounded somewhat like Val Verde, but that Val Verde was run by a foundation and that there's no way some squatter lived in there.



Love the stripes above. The clock propped on the floor makes this shot perfectly eery.

Click for the rest:

12.04.2009

A token of one's affection

A lot of wonderfulness rolled into one piece of jewelry - it's old, it has a locket photo, and it includes a fragment of a letter!




I love this antique Edwardian pendant with a piece of a letter on one side and a portrait on the other. What a wonderful idea. Clearly I have somewhat of an obsession with handwritten letters anyway, for their sentiment and beauty, and incorporating a little snippet of someone's handwriting takes the locket concept to a much more personal level. Apparently, this was the woman's brother.



It's from the Paris Hotel Boutique, which has lots of wonderful stuff in addition to antique jewelry. I can waste a lot of time browsing their offerings, including this vintage Gucci horse goblet:


These suitcases...



This old cast iron shaving mirror and tray (for some reason I am nostalgic for the era I didn't live through in which shaving for men was a much more decorated ritual, with shaves done by barbers, pretty razors, shaving cream brushes, etc., it was quite a handsome thing and elevated a mundane task)....




and odd, fascinating bits like this antique French hand warmer, which, according to the translation, you boiled in hot water to warm it up. Again, way to make a boring thing pretty!


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