5

Stratus

7.25.2013

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Cheap Monday split tee, vintage jacket, boots & skirt, ASOS bag, Vanessa Mooney hand chain/Catbird mid-ring/Verameat chihuahua ring/Datter eye ring/My mom's designed signet ring

Matt has this incredible roof. 
We shot photos on it. 
Thanks, Matt.
๑•ิ.•ั๑ 

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3

Summer Fling

7.23.2013

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Theyskens' Theory dress, Rebecca Minkoff bag, Cheap Monday sandals, Muji hat

RIP
 I lost it on my way out to the Hapmtons. Super bummed.

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0

Like the Other

7.22.2013


 Yiqing Yin Couture Spring 2013 details // Somewhere in Japan

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3

A Romp Through Nifty Thrifty's Warehouse

7.20.2013










Yesterday, the folks at Nifty Thrifty were kind enough to host me and show me around their freshly moved-into Brooklyn offices. As one of the ultimate vintage stores for the digital age, NT has carved out a wonderful little niche for themselves in the world of flash-sale sites because they are working within the the realm of one-of-a-kind vintage items that beg to be fought for. I had always wondered how they could have enough product to create these perfectly curated (and beyond reasonably priced) sales every damn day, and they gave me a really fascinating look inside the whole process

The key thing about Nifty is that the buyers have these incredibly personal and awesome relationships with vintage peddlers and warehouses from all over the country. These guys get the cream of the crop so to speak, and there is always enough out there ready to go somewhere else. These warehouses stockpile clothing that is out of circulation, and the buyers have to dig for the really cool stuff. Once they have picked their bounty, each item gets dry cleaned,  gets brought back to the Nifty Thrifty warehouse, and from there it is sorted according to a season, gets shot and edited for the site, and then, well, goes up for grabs in these curated flash sales that speak to a time period or a feeling.

The space they're in right now is a beautiful old warehouse out in Brooklyn, right off the water, and it feels super lived-in. Although it's packed with racks of clothing that are arranged like puzzle pieces, it feels really homey and organized. Lauren, who coordinated my visit, allowed me to romp through the seemingly endless racks of dresses, coats, sweaters, shoes, hats, jeans and more, which was a mind-bogglingly cool experience. The room felt like a collective history of American dress, and each hanger held a piece that once meant something to someone, defining a moment in their lives (or at least I like to think so, maybe someone was just cleaning out their basement to our benefit). I couldn't believe how they had everything I was looking for: a pair of suede Doc Martens, a velvet jumpsuit, a perfect pair of 90's boxy oversized 501's and a simple black silk halter were some of the few things I had been looking to find, and there it all was under one roof. Unbelievable.

It was an absolute pleasure to get the inside experience of such a fleeting process, and I hope to find myself lost in there again very, very soon.

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5

Project

7.17.2013







Vintage dress, reworked vintage jacket, T.U.K. Creepers

This jacket has been a side project of mine for a couple weeks now, and I must say I think it's coming along pretty nicely. I have no idea what warehouse my local vintage shop sources from, but every once in a while, I'll find something really kooky that begs to be experimented with, and this jacket is a prime example of such an occurence. When I found this guy, it had a few pieces of rhinestone jewelry and seed beading sewn on the back and front which I have edited and added to pretty extensively. Some of the individual pieces have rusted, making the surrounding denim look even older and rattier, which I can't help but love with all the cheesy opulence.

I had some costume jewelry lying around that I was never reaching for, and so I broke a few pieces and had some individual strands hang off the collar, down the shoulders and front pockets. I had a rhinestone evil eye bracelet, which I broke apart and reworked into a crying eye on the front, which I guess is my sort of nod to those 70's homemade punk jackets that kids used to save up for, and then add to over the years as they lived in 'em. We'll see where this one goes, hopefully it won't fall apart by the time fall rolls around, 'cause I'm sure as hell not wearing this thing everyday with this heat we're having. 

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4

My Interview with Third Looks

7.15.2013




Rocky and Rebecca came by my place a few weeks back to interview me for a little piece for Third Looks
Rocky reached out to ask if he could interview me about a month and a half ago, and I was already stoked because he's such a wonderful and thoughtful conversationalist. When he told me a few weeks later that he was going to have Rebekah Seok to take the photos for the piece, I was over the moon. 


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3

Gradual Build

7.13.2013

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Bella Dahl blouse, vintage overalls (via Bib+Tuck), vintage Justin boots, hat from Muji

I love it when things work out.
Wore a pair of overalls, folded them over in the heat to make walks more bearable- et voilá, kinda Public School, no?

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4

-Vines-Lines-

7.11.2013

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Nanette Lepore pants, jacket and bouseG.H. Bass shoes a By Boe bar earring

And the weekend with Nanette Lepore in the Hamptons continued with a trip to a crazy beautiful vineyard not too far from the dream house. There was a bit of a lawn party going on in celebration of Nanette's collaboration with joey Wolffer's Styleliner, so Bonnie and I were done up in pieces from Nanette's summer collection, which I was stoked about because I had been looking for a matching pant and jacket situation for ages. It's Beetlejuice-y, but that just makes it even more appealing.

Call it blogger luck, but Annika from By Boe bestowed these little Swarovski  bar earrings she has in the works upon my weary, semi-earringless head. They're not out yet, and it feels dumb being that dude who says that, but I like 'em, so I'm telling y'all to be on the look out for 'em.

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5

A Weekend at Nanette Lepore's Summer Home

7.08.2013

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Guys, I don't even know where to begin with this one.
This past weekend was quite, quite, quite lovely, and pretty much mindblowingly awesome. Nanette Lepore and her family graciously invited Bonnie and I for a weekend at their summer home in Bridgehampton, Long Island, and every second was intensely beautiful.

Nanette's home is delicious. Every wall of the house is full of art and lovely little curiosities that are placed just so. Nanette's husband and his father were painters, so prints and collected paintings fill the walls along with shelves full of art and history texts, arranged by color preference of course. To create a wonderful retro-beach-getaway-vibe that paired quite well with a mixed drink, there were some great pieces of vintage furniture from the 50's, 60's and 70's all over the house ( I was especially obsessed with the bright orange egg chair that Bonnie was sitting in one of the above photos, it was perfect for reading). Most of our meals were taken outside on the back porch that overlooked the Sound, or out front in the garden full of sage plants and crocuses. 

Hidden outback was the (super dooper) narrow wooden staircase that led to the family's private beach, and this was when things really started to blow my mind, because it felt so secluded and perfect, and who has a private beach? I didn't get one of those growing up.
 On our first night, after a few post-dinner drinks and a fit of dancing, Bonnie, Nanette's nephew Jimmy, a small crop of Jimmy's buddies and I went down to the cool, breezy beach and sang songs around a bonfire (this ain't camp, it's Lawn-Guyland). The water and skyline blended together into a  pitch-black soup under a canopy full of the stars I had forgotten even existed after years of living in the city.

There are more tales to come from what went down this weekend, but I will always remember the house that will hold those stories; waking up to the sea reflecting glorious beams of morning light around the house, the warm wood on the back porch, and the cool summer evenings that the entire family welcomed us into as we sat around the long table and sang songs into the night.

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3

Organic by John Patrick A/W 2014

7.05.2013













images via Style.com (don't mind those dust spots)

It's hard to argue in favor of a movement when you're something of a hypocrite (yes, I find myself awash in the crappy fabrics that live in my closet), but I've always been a fan of John Patrick because he's doing what everyone should be doing- making timeless, beautiful basics with nothing but care and an understanding that good practices make bigger impacts than just the end-product of a collection.

After readng this little interview with the designer, I poked around his past collections so I could see his work anew, even though I see his stuff every time Fashion Week rolls around. I knew he was NYC-based, but it didn't occur to me that he was from the crop of late-70's, early-80's Village folk that helped reinvent downtown as the place to be for the starving artists (they kind of had no choice, as rent was cheap, but the collective creative flourished). I was stoked to newly notice little expressive styling details that have stuck with him and his designs. I mean, look at the slouchiness of this collection; these girls look like they're running outside from the Mudd club to take a quick cigarette break. They're a little bit vulnerable, but once those outer layers are shed inside, they're polished and approachable for some intelligent conversation.

Of course, the whole point of the line is to offer his consumer with some seriously beautifully made pieces at a really decent price point for what they are, but more importantly, his underlying message of being good to the earth and understanding where your clothes come from is what stands out for the designer. Inspired, inspired.

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