Ode to Cos

COS is the honey to my bee
the yin to my yang
the bread to my jam
the apple to my retina
COS had me a C
Cos completes me.
I am not good at ODE as you can tell :)

But you get where i am going with this: I freaking love COS. They neatly fold and wrap up your bought items in coloured crepe paper scented with eau d' "buy more at COS we are awesome" it's a mighty powerful scent to resist.
But COS is also tres expensive. Well, it's not like it's uber expensive.. but it's the kind of store you can't walk out with five or six bags without having to live on water for a week.
Been stalking their site to see when the sale start so i can buy that one piece of item i lusted at (self-control yoh)
But here are a couple of my favourite COS items.
Merry Christmas! 3 more days until Santa comes a knocking down that chimney!

Radio Win

For a fraction of our teenage years, my sister and I shared a room with a creaky bunk bed, a crammed wardrobe and a digital alarm clock that doubled as a radio. The radio was our priced possession; our music bible. Perched on the worn-out box it came in, the bulky old thing was mostly tuned into Sky Radio; the station where tunes come to die.
In the Netherlands , Sky radio 100.7 FM" was reserved for old-school tracks that no longer received play on contemporary stations.

On Sky Radio songs that made your father and mother freeze in their tracks to get an earful had a space to spew and rage against the dying of their light. The best thing about Sky Radio is that didn’t discriminate; it played tracks from a range of genres, from rock to r n b to Hip Hop and country. It taught us a lot about music.

It was here I first heard Pat Benatar tell me that “Love is a battlefield”
Jimi Hendrix would drop in once in awhile, out of his Purple Haze , and hugging the limelight “I want to say one more last thing. I didn’t mean to take up all your sweet time “
I found a buddy in Skello. Sure, I didn’t have an “8-track and a spare tire in the backseat” but I did wish “I was a little taller and a baller”
Really, I wanted to be a baller. I thought being a baller would get me the hot guys ☺

It was awesome time. Great times

The radio was also our access to competitions.
Friday, when all the cool kids were off exploring the night in bigger neighbouring cities, we used to sit huddled up listening to this soul and hip hop show that always featured a chance to win an assortment of goodies.
I never really won anything. But my sister did: Tickets to see Beyonce, CHECK! and another great win was a frontrow ticket to see Remy Shand in concert. She won a lot. She is very lucky and also an encyclopedia when it comes to music and movies.
But I don’t really win stuff.
Okay, I won a history quiz once in High school. But my history teacher loved me so I wouldn’t be surprised if she rigged that competition. She wanted me to go on and study history and write papers on the Tet offensive in 1965. But you know, I liked writing the papers and all, but a life-time on speculating on just whether Franz Ferdinard’s assassination was really the tipping point that led to World War One…. Coffee anyone?

And I might have won a few hearts but I think it’s more of like the hearts were given to me under the guise of me having won. “I once had a boy or should I say he once had me”

So, tonight at the London College of Jewellery’s raffle, before they pulled out the first number, i went : “whatever,i never win anything, every!”
And, like in the movies, not sure which one, they called out my number. And I go “ummm really, are you sure”
I won. I actually won.
it was good. it's a pretty necklace, very shinny and nice.
Wonder if this is what the radio win would have felt like :)

Night Falls.

I like walking at night.
I have for as long as i can remember.
I feel i am much better about it now as an adult. Before, i was very dismissive of the dangers that lurk about night. That being said, i grew up in a very small and uneventful village where absolutely nothing, and i mean NOTHING, happens at night
With age I came to realise how disturbingly worrying it must be to parent a child with such a disposition.
Or be a boyfriend to a girl who just gets up and wanders around
Or be the sibling who worries when you slipped out.
Here, here for age :)
i don't actually walk around so late anymore... For a good couple of years now.. But i find that it sneaks up on me in the winter. There is something about the cold that makes me very restless, maybe i think a chill will settle in my bones and never leave :)
I don't like the cold.
Either way
I find it very calming. I feel like in on a secret when i walk at night. That i am seeing the world they way it should be. Seeing everything it hides during the day. i find it very beautiful and so silent. Think the closest feeling to it is meditating; just being aware of your breathe as it rises and falls and everything else becomes very heighten yet very insignificant.
Well, right now, i am fighting the urge to go walk around. But i have a lot of work to do.

Brown Sugar

Joan Smalls with Choreographer Stephen Galloway.




Stephen Galloway with model Raquel Zimmermann

Wouldn't mind coming back as a female version of Stephen Galloway. Or like finding a time machine and going back to when i was like 5 and take ballet classes. Dreams.
Stephen is so awesome. He has my dream jobs. Sigh.
He is ballet dancer, has been for 25 years- sure you can see his got some moves from the picture.
But it doesn't end there. Nope. Nope.
He has worked as an Art Director for fashion houses such as Issey Miyake; helped staged fashion shows for the likes of Yves Saint Laurent, Costume National, Versace and Miyake and served as a a creative consultant and choreographer for the Rolling Stones’ world tours and music videos since 1997.
He is now in your face on every H&M billboard this winter with model Joan Smalls. She is alright, but i only have eyes for the dancer :). I just love his work; he injects movement into what would be otherwise quite boring work,
Oh, oh, i almost forgot, Stephen also designs for ballet productions across Europe, the US and the Far East.
Come dance with me Stephen. I will pay you to go as my date to my "Christmas" Party . No jokes.

Madewell is Made-well

It's very hard for me to think of Madewell as an American brand. I can't help it. My eyes and mind tell me it should be french, mais non it's American? American brands, well American brands, don't tend to create anything as easy and chic as Madewell.

Oh dear, i might be stoned for saying this. Wait, i can redeem myself.
Let's have a fashion history class here . Take Bill Blass, Donna Karen, Ralph Lauren even Marc Jacobs, all awesome designers, but really none of them are effortless, not really.
I mean it as a compliment. Madewell is awesome.
It's simple, it delivers, and it makes women believe that all they need to be hot is to wear a nice striped t-shirt, fitting pair of jeans, perhaps a cardigan and a splash of colour; It's very french, very conscious of the importance of styling.

But can't argue with the fact that it's Americana. Hats off to Madewell’s Head of Design, Kin Ying.
Madewell is also very clever; they have collaborated with the likes of Alexa Chung and Dree Hemmingway, both very effortless. Madewell just released a holiday video with Dree Hemmingway. Can't find it on youtube alas.... so you will have to enjoy Alexa's videooooooooo.

Stone Cold Fox

Stone Cold Fox. You had me with your howl of a name.
Really, i actually went and looked through their lookbook just cuz i thought "Now, that's a cool name"
So, really, whoever said don't judge a label by its name probably had a shit moniker that people laughed at :).

But Stone Cold Fox is more than a clever name. No, sireeeeeee it has some pretty clothes to go with that.
It's very frilly, flowy, girly, off-the shoulder ish and vintage; everything i am not really.
Okay, i guess i can be girly and vintagy, but i freaking hate frills. Frills make me want to reach for the kitchen scissors and cut the damn things off. Frills remind me of country music. I actually love country music, mainly for the dramatic lyrics.. but i can't stand the outfits! Frills are a no.

But Stone Cold Fox is still awesome,; they have good quality pieces and it's done in a fresh way. Also, the Gypsy decay collection has some pretty nice shorts. As we all know, i would live in shorts if i could.

And the best thing about their name: the inspiration s from" The Virgin Suicides’. Remember that scene between Josh Hartnett and Kirsten Dunst ( way before she leaves the car running in the garage and , well, dies). ”He puts his arm around her and says, ‘You’re a stone cold fox,’
Personally, i think a stone cold fox should wear a leather jacket, shorts and some killa wedges!

Tavi and Joni

Okay, so i have been obsessed with Joni Mitchell for about 25 days and a couple of hours. Miss Mitchell has some serious vocal chords and some pretty damn good lyrics.
I am even considering becoming a bonafide hippy just for Joni. I have started collection parsley-printed blouses, and i might blowdry my fro straight just for like a day so i can have like a crown of daisies around two pigtails. Of course i will get one of those guitar things as well, must get one of those. :)

Anyways. When the blogsphere reported that Tavi, le fashion tween extraordinaire can sing! I was like yah whatever, my fish can sing too yoh. But then when i heard that she sang one of my all time favourite Joni Mitchell songs " A Case Of You" i had to listen.
First of, WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BLUE HAIR TAVI? I mean, i hated it personally, but i was surprised. I guess you are growing up. You sound awesome Tavi. Just what can't you do! Sigh. Awesome kid who now knows blue hair is a no no :) I want an awesome kid like you.

Death of Distant Friends

It's been awhile since i read the "Death of distant friends", a short story by John Updike. In true Updike fashion, the main character is a middle-aged white man on his second wife, after a series of "indiscretions" smothered the first.
I have this discussion with a lot of my friends about my relationship with Updike; i am not white, disillusioned, middle-aged, never been to New England and don't cheat on my boyfriends. I have thought about it, been tempted, but i didn't have the stomach for it really. Infidelity is just so messy, what with so many lies to keep straight. Maybe when i get older i will have more of an appetite for it, like Updike's characters :)

Yet, even though i can't necessarily relate to his characters on the surface, there is something there that i always felt drawn to. I just find it fascinating this unravelling effect age seems to have on your ideals of love and everything you once believed; it's like watching a storm slowly beat down a house. I am fascinated. Like i am fascinated with people and what makes them do things. And, i like that none of the characters are clear cut; you see fidelity and the lack of it from so many angles.

Also, it beautiful prose, i like beautiful things :)

Anyways, In the " Death of Distant Friends" the protagonist relays the effects of the death of three friends, one of which his dog

The essence of the story is captured in the last paragraph:

"The truth-how terrible to acknowledge- all three of these deaths make me happy, in a way. Witness to my disgrace is being removed. The world is growing lighter. Eventually there be none to remember me as I was I those embarrassing, disarrayed years when I scuttled without a shell, between houses and wives, a snake between skins a monster of selfishness, my grotesque needs naked and pink, my social presence beggarly and vulnerable. The deaths of others carry us off bit by bit, until there will be nothing left, and this, too, will be, in a way, a mercy.

And there in lies the risk of this thing we call friendship isn't it, at least the ones we consider "true". Those who are privy to our " grotesque needs naked and pink…….. our social presence beggarly and vulnerable" their knowing are reminders of our flaws, our humanity, however unpleasant; we can hide from our reflections in the mirror but the contortions on another face is different matter.

So, anyways, you can read the story on the New Yorker's website, where it was first published.
enjoy!

The Book of Laughter and Forgiving

I like to revisit old books. You know, just to say hi, see if everyone is still as i left them :). I am thinking of buying more books at the moment, but i think it's best i just borrow them from the library. Buying means i am committing to a "library" of my own. Which will mean, i can't fit all my stuff in my one suitcase and split should i want to. I am not saying i want to... I know, get a kindle. I freaking hate kindles. That's the last we shall speak of Kindles. .. I am sure Kindles are awesome, my dad has one, he loves it. My sister loves hers. I just want a real book you know. PLEASE NEVER GET ME A KINDLE.

Anyways.
"The Book of Laughter and Forgetting" By Milan Kundera.
Awesome chap.
Awesome book. Not much laughing when i come to think of it.
awesome paragraph.
Funny thing is, i think i liked this paragraph the first time i read it.

"Every man has two erotic biographies. The first is the one people mainly talk about, the one consisting of a list of affairs and passing amours. The other is undoubtedly more interesting: the procession of women we wanted to have but who eluded us, the painful history of unrealised possibilities. But there is the third, a mysterious and disturbing category of women. these are the women we liked and were liked by, but women we quickly saw we would never have, because in relation to them we we were on the other side of the border."

i feel like i have number 2 s and 3s a lot. with men that is. not women.
so here is to you all my number 2s and 3s. i raise my cider to you

I want.

I WANT THAT COAT! i know can't have it. I am too small for that long of a coat, it swallows me up and i look even smaller. But i am going to close my eyes and see myself at 5ft 7 wearing that coat. It feels good. I look good in this visualisation. love the collar.

Fee- fi-fo-fur

I once wrote a rather scalding article about the evils of Fur. I was deep, or should i say it was deeply critical of the fur industry. It was a school paper, we didn't have ad revenues to worry about so i could be as honest as i wanted to be :)
I am still very much against fur. It's not necessary to put an animal through all that just for something pretty when faux fur is just as pretty.
So ode to le faux fur. Saw this styling in ASOS latest magazine which i got in the mail today. Love everything about the outfit. Well, i don't like the denim that much and i wouldn't have included the bag in the styling. And the jewellery is amazing. I will dress like this tomorrow to go to the gym or the grocery store.

Shoemint meets Rachel Bilson

Sigh. All those wedges, in so many colours and with studs and stuff; i am in love. Also, i am a whole inch taller than Rachel Bilson. Just wanted to throw that in there. She is so bitsy and cute.a whole 5ft 2 inches worth of cuteness.

Of the Days

I don't normally blog about music. Which is very weird because music is like my life; i am always listening to something. It got so bad that at some point i decided to consciously spend time away from my playlists especially when i am outside, so my interactions with people wouldn't be muted. I can now leave my house without my headphones which is awesome!

Today, i was listening to Grey Reverend. Actually, his name is Larry Brown. He is a black folk artist/singer song writer. Which is weird for this day and age. Come on, it is.
i love him cuz: He is a very good writer; He is quite good-looking, He lives in Brooklyn (whoot whoot) and he is a bad-ass(he suffers from focal dystonia, a neurological condition which cost him 2 of his fingers but he kept playing his guitar and all )
His debut album is called "Of the Days", recorded in his Brooklyn apartment.
My fav track is "of the days" but i can't find an online recording on youtube of it... itunes!

it's mellow, and it's tonight lullaby. Doing a good job of getting to bed before 11pm this week. High Five me!.

Top 5 Designer-High Street Collaboration I Would Camp out for... kinda

Images from House of Dagmar collection

In celebration of all that is the Versace and H&M collaboration, and the fact that i feel better about procrastinating when i attend to my blog..... because my blog gets me jobs too ? really?!!?
Here is my list of TOP 5 Designer/ High-Street Collaborations for H&M to consider. These are submissions i would camp out for... if i believed and had the tenacity to camp out. I am just horrible with lines yoh!


Numero UNO! Costello Tagliapietra.
I have made no secret of my obsession with the New York-based designers who recently tied the knot. sigh. And i know they already did a collaboration with Uniqlo. But i want more for them. I want people to line up at crazy hours of the night for their clothes. I want H&M to open their hearts to C&T. Open your heart H&M. Drapery at its best.

image of 2010 collection for Uniqlo

2) Vanessa Bruno.
She is french and quirky. End of story. You need more convincing? Oh yeah, Kate Bosworth digs her too! For those not as impressionable: Her clothes are fresh, subtle and just gorgeous!! Did i mention that she is french?


3)Marc Jacobs. Because he loves his abs so much, he talks shit like no body's business (flashback to like back in 2007 when he was all mad about how people were complaining he was late to showcase his collection and threatened to leave for Paris lol) and his clothes are awesome!
Wine and dine him H&M! Be sure to tell him how fab his body is, i am pretty sure he will respond to that. Jokes aside. Mark is AMAZING and has the big personality you need to make a collaboration work.


4) Rick Owens. Mainly cuz i want a freaking awesome leather-inspired collection and who does leather better than Rick Owens... . Leather is my current crush. So sorry animal activists. i mean reclaimed leather. Really. I am totally not about buying super new leather.



5) Dagmar.
They are Swedish. H&M is swedish, i mean if that isn't a match made in Scandinavian heaven you tell me? Okay, aside from the Swedish connection, i think they would made great bedfellows.
Firstly, H&M needs to change the whole landscape of their designer collaborations. Yes, big names are all so nice and shiny but they aren't really carving out an identity.
Par example, Dagmar is small up-and-coming brand with a lot of "hip" associations H&M can tap into: arty, comfort, quality, quirky etc etc. So far, the whole guest designer collaboration has been missing a real partnership and sustainable element, it terms of brand development.
It's just always "yah look at this cool designer we got" It should be more like look at this designer, look at us, see what we have in common, when you buy brand x , even when unassociated to H&M, you will think of H&M. H&M is cool. H&M is awesome like Dagmar. Not H&M can have pay for big names and have your interest for like 2-3 weeks out of the year!
Why i reckon Dagmar would be great for H&M to step it up. I know, no one asked for my opinion. H&M does fine without my two cents. But i really think they are missing out on that and other brands such as Zara are totally way ahead of them.

anyhooooooes top5 yoh!
out for desert now with ma soeur. ICE FREAKING CREAM!

Versace For H&M Collection

Even if you threatened to shred my awesome leather jacket or throw away all of my beloved wedges if i didn't come up with nice words about Versace, i would have to pause, take a minute or 10, or maybe 100... Then i think i would say: the animal print can be nice? and they always have awesome styling.... That's as nice as i could get

I am too minimalist of a dresser to really be fond of Versace. I totally respect the brand and Donatella is like a hurricane to be reckoned with; I wouldn't mess with her, she means business! I like her. I wouldn't want to dress like her, but i like her business acumen!

The thing is, i am not even that much of a minimalist, really! i just don't see the point to be that loud with every single piece of item of clothing or accessory you have on. It's like being in a conversation with everyone talking at the same time. Take turns people, just take turns! So you can actually understand what the hell is going on!.

But versace's aesthetics is loud and way too constricting for my liking. I always feel a wee bit dazed when i looked at the collection; I never really know what to focus on. So, it goes to say i didn't go line up in front of Regent Street to bag myself one of Versace's pieces for H&M .

Also, as Donatella explained while defending the brand's inability to use "real women as models" reality isn't want the brand is about. Like, who is going to be draped in shimmery tight pants, leopard print blouse and sky-high stilettoes every day? I am not a trophy wife yoh, while that seems like a riveting job and all...

But in le end, i must say, i don't hate everything. and, hey, it's affordable!
I am going to see if i can get that nice leather studded dress. Come on Santa, i have been really good :)

Julia's Hair.

Isn't her hair gorgeous.
Almost time to take out my braids.
i think maybe after my interview on Monday... or maybe like in 2 weeks. I love my hair and all but it's a wee bit of work when it's out and i can be lazy.
But Julia Sarr Jamois's hair makes me wanna be less lazy. Former model, Julia is the very fashionable Fashion Editor of Wonderland Magazine. So young. so creative. such hot hair!

Lucy Chadwick · A Selby film for ZARA

What does this have to with Zara, you may ask? Well, good question. I believe, jack all. Association? But does it matter? Buy Zara and you will have a fabulous life and awesome house like Lucy. And i believe she is also wearing a number of items from Zara's current collection! Which, might i add, i love. It's gorgeous! uber cozy!
I also want Lucy's glasses. i need them in my life!
Also, how amazing is that coffee maker, i DIE!

Shorts and the Blouse, go together like a horse and carriage with a hat

Image from Elle .com

In the famous words of Rachael Zoe " I DIE"
This girl is reading my mind and drinking from the same fountain i drink from.. Per chance are we twins separated at birth?. Okay, we don't really look alike. But she has my shoes.. ish.. i reckon we could be BFFs.
See it works. shorts and a blouse+ wedges.
I just have to find the perfect tights, ones warm enough. Cuz i don't suffer for fashion yoh. I don't have it in me, the cold always knocks me down; i am weak like that
and i wouldn't wear the hat, my fro is to big now. sad. and hats don't necessarily work for me.

Manic Monday

image from stockholmstreetstyle

It's not really a Manic Monday. Actually, i have a little bit of time off, off meaning i get to work on my own stuff rather than expending energy on other people's projects.
But i like that song. and it's in my head!
It is more of a cold and gloomy MondayThat's autumn in LONDON for you ladies and gentlemen).
Since i am not in New England or NY enjoying golden foliage, i have taken to looking at style blogs to cheer myself up.
How hot.
so simple.
no blouse, but blazer. Her legs are amazing. i want those skinny jeans. Well, that's the former denim addict in me speaking.

Lady and the Blouse

I returned from New York with a bit of excess luggage: an obsession with dressing like a lady. Did the whole blazer thing, it's alright, i liked it. I still like it.. but i have now moved on to blouses, especially numbers with prints. On major eBay alert; i am currently living and breathing ebay. I am even prepared to buy somewhat fugly version and put my very horrible sewing skills to the test. I will be a lady that "lunches" even if it means developing a hardcore ebay habit that might require intervention. Albeit one that lunches at the local cafe in blouses paired with shorts.

Paper Thin: Nita, Papfar jeans

I love denim.
Really, i might call my memoirs "Confession of a former demin fanatic". I am, however, hoping my life spirals down a more riveting course so i don't have to. Please, let's all hope it does

I once had what about 30 or so pairs, all different styles and colours, of course, i don't/didn't discriminate... until that one time that this guy i had a major crush on laughed at my uber cool high-waisted light-wash denim. I remember it like it was yesterday... the pointing, the laughing, the quite accurate comment i had way too long of legs and short of a torso to be wearing such.... traumatic.

Well, i now own 4 pairs-i miss the old me with a bigger wardrobe. I hope all those people with my cool clothes are taking good care of them.
But i never really invested in designer denim. Well, i could care less about designer denim. I was/am all about my Uniqlo skinnies. Hail Uniqlo, Hail the former press pass that gave me 25% discount at Uniqlo. Sigh, i miss those days. Melancholic Tuesday!

But, back to the present, sans discount card, and currently in some size 0 Papfar Skinny jeans drinking my peppermint tea and working as Ira Glass entertains me with dispatches from le jungle Americana. And dudessss, these jeans are heaven. They fit so well, every where. Naturally, it's Danish. All great denim brands, i feel are scandinavian.. hello acne!! awesome brand. Anyways, I am in love. I will wear these jeans everyday until they smell funny. Thank you Papfar. Thank you.

French Tomboys

image from Elle, Street Chic.
hot. i am her. on the inside. with cooler hair and i would have paired the outfit with wedges. because wedges are the TRUTH

Rouge Ceiling

Image courtesy of Alyson Fox

"There is an opaque film
between the piquant taste of youth i savoured
and where i stand now, famished
out of your periphery
but with these red blinders i claim the spotlight" © fashionandfables



Thanks to a study funded by Procter & Gambler, i now know that to be taken seriously in the workplace i should cake my face with war paint. Not too much of course, because my co-workers might mistake me for a slapper headed out for a night on the town... but but.. what's too much for you co-workers? Since i work from home this really shouldn't bother me. But well, i might not want to work from home forever...

It's obviously a little funny because while cosmetics go way way back, think Sumerians, Egyptians, Syrians, Babylonians, Persians and Greeks, until the late 19th-century it was thought that only promiscuous women wore make-up... oh, how the times have changed!

The whole study reminded me, in a good way, of a series of photographs by the amazingly talented and beautiful Alyson Fox who also makes movies and adorable illustrations.
To emphasis the importance of red lipstick in emboldening women, she showcases women of all ages with scarlet lips. Since all i wear is red lipstick, you understand why i loved this.
love it.
love her.
wear makeup to work so people will think you are competent! We now have a rouge ceiling to battle. Get it? I know not the strongest of jokes. back to work. wee bit brain dead

Crisp. Kooples.

Branding is everything.
If you are selling stardust, world peace, or a manuscript about vampires, then, of course, by all means fire your creative team and spend that budget on a holiday, after building a hot tub in your house and hiring a yoga instructor for a 6am daily wake up call... what i would do! But since most of us are pushing services, amenities or products that have already been realised in one form or another, i would suggest keeping a team on retainer; originality is trite, non?.
So you brand. It's a simple formula, yet it blows my mind when executed correctly.

First, of course you take a concept that will tug on heart strings, maybe inflate egos, recreate a safe space or perhaps mask insecurities.. and promise a road map to realising that dream. The road map is of course your product. And you weave it around and around, ever so intricately, that at some point your brand eventually becomes synonymous with the dream and the map. It's brilliant.
Kooples, a new french brand, has an amazing new ad campaign and branding where uber trendy, "frenchie" and good-looking couples look back on their relationship. I mean, i even forget it's about clothes. Really, i could care less about the clothes right now. And i am all about clothes. All i now associate Kooples with is getting a hot trendy French boyfriend in amazing clothes that will hold my hand and let me read the Sunday newspaper.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is "crisp". (watch How to Make it in America for reference)
Or this space because i will be blogging about that super awesome TV SHOW.

Jewellery Collection

Not a lot of people are surprised about my foray into jewellery making as i have a pretty random and quirky collection. Above are a few of the pieces i wear often. I am very attached to my jewellery, like the piece my brother got me really from Nepal while backpacking or my first ever purchase in London and the collection of red beads my mom got me. I am currently working on recycling old pieces and incorporating them into my new designs which is turning out to be a lot more fun than i thought it would be.

Getaways

Where to go?

Paris, perhaps for the illusion of romance; I do love the occasional smokescreen.
Rome, for the tanned faces of cocky young boys scooting past in motorbikes....hesitating at the clicking of stilettos?
And if it's not too much to ask, roses from the bucket of old men that roam the Spanish steps at night.
Now Tuscany pulls me close, and whispers in my ear a promise of an artistic retreat; why I shall serve up painters for breakfast; afternoons delights with a side treat of moody writers; and evenings, as the sun is long forgotten, and you grow into your valour, idealists will be yours for the taking. Just think about it!

New York, says, none of that nonsense. Intoxication is what you need, my dear! She looks me in the eye and gives it to me straight. "If you came,"she roars, "if you came, chances are you will never leave". "And why would you"? She says. "The saxophone is my chosen instrument, i will play you a tune, make that two. Did I tell you I recite Hughes by heart? Broke bread with Nora ... the stories i could tell, and I was Baldwin's muse you know, his one and only?"

"And I still got what it takes.... just look at all those handsome young men that come walking down my streets chasing a dream: all the dimple-faced brown ones that make me giggle, the white sweet ones from the country with their baby-fresh pleasantries , the spicy yellow ones with voices that make you groan...."

And, importantly, "I will entertain your craziness; we can dance all night and continue the shuffle in our starched office suits. I will dress you in the nicest threads too, not to worry; I know all the hidden gems. And best of all, there will be no strings attached, you don't like it, you can always take the door, it's on your left sugar, just leave me some change for coffee!! "

Mystery, mystery awaits in Algeria. "Camus was a fan you know, in fact you kind of remind me of him", he says with a husky voice.
"the mountains of Hoggar, Chrea or Tjkea will charm and draw it out of you.... you know what must come out, I need not say. It will work, no worries. Algeria does not speak; it allows you to find your voice. Come to the markets, take in the colours, and close your eyes and believe in magic. No carpet rides though, those are only in books. Cognac? I know you will love the city steps. But it is your choice."

Or I could stay at home?

New York City

Blowing out my imaginary candle and making a wish to celebrate my 1st year back in London.
Yep, yep , yeppie I said goodbye to NYC for the big smoke exactly 12 months ago.
So much has changed in a year, so much.
And as my dad always says, "no condition is permanent".
It's like his thing. His one-liner. Can get a wee bit annoying. I have a one-liner as well, "that's hot". That's obviously not as deep, but yah know i am okay with that :)

Honestly, so far i have found that knowing that no condition is permanent is one of my favourite things about living. Obviously, there is a whole list of things i love as well, but being aware that change is always around the corner and realising that even the most painful situations eventually pass is somewhat soothing. It also allows me to embrace moments a little bit more.


I never really talk about my time in New York, not even with friends. Like a proud parent with snapshots of their kids folded up in a wallet to show random strangers, there are ofcourse the awesome stories i dust out for them.
But it's something that was for the most part, mine, and mine alone.
Well,
I miss Brooklyn's random vegan restaurants run by dreadlocked Jamaicans. Awesome food. awesome dairy-free icecream. And so cheap!
I miss fire escapes and beacon's closet
I miss trendy upper-eastsiders that make me feel a little underdressed and poor. Wait, compared to you i was. oh well.
Miss the crackheads. well, i hope maybe they are in rehab now and clean and perhaps even won the lottery? I especially hope so for the dude by prospect park. get well mr.!!
Oh my, what i wouldn't give to walk down the aisle of a Trader Joes and have mindless banter with the hot hippy guy that works there. You never did call me. Wait, i didn't give you my nr. my bad. we just talked about my awesome headwrap thingy.
And Trade Joe's 3 dollar wine. sigh. Good times. New York, if there was ever a city to bring out the boozer in me, that would be you.
The Q train. Always something wrong with that train. why really!
i miss how cheap NYC was. especially the subway.
I miss never getting lost. I mean who gets lost with the city's awesome grid system... umm , ok , i got lost a couple of times but it was like around china town. It can be confusing around Chinatown.
I miss bubble tea in china town.
I miss museums where you have like "suggested donations' and can pay a dollar or two to get it
i miss guys with more balls. Sorry english guys, but the majority of Americans have a wee bit more game.
Harlem, Spanish harlem. you have my heart. You remind me of Cuba.
i do miss my yoga teacher there a little, though i no teacher comes close to the one i have here. One of the reasons i am glad i came back is because i discovered his class. What kind i say, i am easy to please.
i miss, most of all, who i was there. More carefree.
But no condition is permanent.
So here. here, let's make a wish for bigger and brighter things, and that one day i get published in the New Yorker. It might help to send in a story...

What makes True Love... Diamonds of course, whatelse!

Forget breakfast and diamonds, Tiffany's is now looking to sate our appetites with love. Well, that's if reading about strangers' happily-ever-afters has that gratifying effect on you...
The narrative of new site is similar to that used in "When Harry met Sally", what with the montage of interviews and collages... and we all know how much i love Harry and Sally!
i personally can't stop looking at the dress to see more of the model's dress- way to pull at a girl's heart strings Tiffany's!
The site is divided in four parts: Love Stories; The Art of Romance; Tiffany's New York and Love is Everywhere.
And the best part, Ed Burns made the videos. I love Ed Burns (watch Sidewalks of New York)
Check it out. And then buy your love a big sparkly diamond ring a la Kim Kardashian, i think that's the marketing ploy behind it :)
i am tempted and i hate diamonds.

Day by Malene Birger

"Can you measure the easy i feel with you
in one shutter speed?
Capture how i drop all frames of pretences and distractions
to look at you
to look with you in Lux."©Fashionandfables

Ad for Malene Birger, one of my favourite designers
so comfy.

Mondo psychedelics

Photo: Courtesy of Mondo Guerra.

Okay, I wouldn't wear any of this except for if you offered me a hot paying job were i got free clothes and could go to yoga class for lunch after winning an ebay bidding frenzy for a hot leather jacket.... And even then, i would wear them with sunglasses and a trench coat... but I LOVE MONDO. He made last season's Project Runway worthwhile.
He is so talented and whimsical! The love i feel for him is thicker than my hate for hallucinogenic-inducing jewellery.
Also love the fact that we are both working on jewellery lines.
love you Mondo!

Fidelity.

Are all New Englanders juggling carpool duties with 5pm romps in dimly-lit motels on the outskirts of the city? Are they bound in matrimony for the third time yet stringing along a mistress who receives a bouquet of flowers and a glass of the finest liquor every time the yearly business trip swaggers into town? Do they all play golf with their wife's middle-aged lover? Or is this all solely a figment of Mr. John Updike's imagination

But then again, I guess infidelities are not limited to New England. They flock to the area for the foliage perhaps, but then proceed to London, Sweden, India, Australia ... before settling into a rather charming loft in New York,
(No one does delves into the complexities of infidelity as well as Mr. Updike.RIP!)
Anyways i am currently watching " Last Night" mainly cuz of the hot French guy. And i keep thinking, the director should read some Updike. Well, she studied at Harvard( i researched her) so i guess she probably has.

It's not a bad movie just... it's not Updike.

Mannequins & Models

Been taking pictures of random window displays lately!





"I am leaving on a jetplane don't know when i'll be back again"

i want this dress/jumpsuit/whatever it is really so badly!