On the Docket: Scenes from the South
09/05/2013 § 1 Comment
I’m just back from Nashville, so it seems fitting that on my immediate list of things to do is to see Scenes from the South, a collection of photographs curated by Susan Sherrick, featuring eight Polaroids taken by my exceptionally talented friend Mikael Kennedy, originally for his Passport to Trespass series. I had the pleasure of recently catching up with Mikael where we talked about artistic process, inspiration, vocational callings and the Waffle House (aka my newest obsession, as a result of my roadtrip). Lofty subjects, all. If you are in New York, be sure to drop by the opening reception tonight at the Howard Greenberg Gallery on East 57th!
QC Prêt-à-Porter || Lo in the City
15/03/2013 § Leave a Comment
R13 contrast sleeve Concert-T
Current/Elliott Boyfriend cropped jean
J.Crew hooded parka
Converse Chuck Taylor sneakers
Ray-Ban aviators
J.Crew cashmere beanie
Mimi Holliday by Damaris Bisou Bisou Pearl lace soft-cup bra
Lolita by Nabokov, first edition (anniversary edition available here)
On the docket:
Celebrating a certain St. Patrick
Audubon’s Aviary at the New York Historical Society, details here
Club Monaco sample sale (only through Friday, details here)
Quite Continental Breakfast:
bits and bobs for your weekend wander
- Explore the cult of British designer Margaret Howell, via WSJ Magazine.
- Fernet Branca is the equivalent of a hipster bartender handshake (and did you know that San Francisco ingests more of the stuff than Buenos Aires?!?). A quick guide to Fernet, via Bon Appetit.
- Patrick Robinson, formerly of Gap, is launching Pashko, his own collection of athletically-inclined comfy clothes “to hang out in” — with your help. Using a Kickstarter campaign, Robinson plans to only make the items that people “order” via the crowd-funding mechanism, and after the initial funds are raised, turn Pashko into an e-commerce business, via NY Times.
- Yasmin Sewell looking amazing per usual, via Vanessa Jackman.
- Thom Browne is amused by what you think his outrageous show concepts mean, but he’s actually too busy building a business to pay you too much mind, via Business of Fashion.
- I am a little bit (TOTALLY) obsessed by the idea of staying in this amazing Airstream on the ocean side of Highway 1 in Big Sur. Okay, completely obsessed.
- Peruse the Windows of New York.
- Who exactly is the “average guy” when discussing what men wear (and #menswear)? Via Robert, for GoLocalProv.
- Stephanie always finds the most amazing things. For example: this portrait from the Cleveland Museum of Art.
- Moynat, a french trunk-maker and leather goods company founded by a woman in 1849, provides a lovely bit of illustrated inspiration for your next trip to Paris:
Have a lovely weekend!
xoxo. M.
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Victorians of the Desert
13/03/2013 § 5 Comments
Photographer Jim Naughten‘s amazing portraits of the Herero people of Namibia are currently on display at Margaret Street Gallery in London, as part of an exhibit called “Conflict and Costume,” which you definitely should not miss, should you be in the area. It looks to be an exceptionally thought-provoking examination of the intersection of colonialism, culture, tradition, fashion and identity. The beautiful portraits, starkly posed against the barren Namibian desert, closely focus on the tribe’s unique costume — Victorian era dresses for the women, German paramilitary uniforms for the men. Adopted from their colonizers, and slowly personalized with ethnic textiles and the “cow horn” headdresses you see on the women (the Herero people are pastoralists and place high value on their livestock), the Herero tribe honors their warrior ancestors by continuing this sartorial tradition to present day.
Luckily, for those of us unable to make it to London,
you can purchase Naughten’s book here.
Jim Naughten: Conflict and Costume
Runs through April 13, 2013
Margaret Street Gallery
63 Margaret Street
London
W1W 8SW
**UPDATE** I’ve just been alerted that there is a simultaneous NYC Naughten exhibit at the Klompching Gallery in Brooklyn, running through May 4, 2013! In fact, the opening reception is tomorrow night (Thursday, March 14, 6 to 8pm)! Considering that the price for me to view these portraits just dropped from a transatlantic flight to subway fare, there’s no chance I’ll be missing them!
Jim Naughten: Conflict and Costume
Klompching Gallery
111 Front Street, Suite 206
Brooklyn
11201
NYFW Recap: Nonoo Fall 2013
12/03/2013 § Leave a Comment
Very happy to share with you one of my favorite designers from NYFW! Designer Misha Nonoo presented a simply gorgeous Fall 2013 collection that artfully joined her own British heritage with touches of Imperial Russia, that urgently needs to get in my closet. With luxurious textures, military detailing and some very gorgeous fur hats by the designer herself, Nonoo spins a genteel, sporting dream for Fall in somber shades of navy, grey, and black, punctuated by a rich, regal crimson. The show, a wintry, Anna Karenina-flavored affair was complete with uniformed guard and a massive backdrop that brought the onion domes of Moscow all the way to The Standard Hotel.
As with previous Nonoo collections, the designer’s knack for tailoring was the defining element. Her amazing riding jackets and greatcoats, layered over everything from ballgowns to trousers, demonstrated a keen ability to refine classic shapes with modern elements — a slash here, an exposed zipper there — with great success. Also notable was the appearance of knitwear, in the form of deliciously chunky cable knit cardigans and pullovers.
As someone who frequently joins elements of the masculine and feminine in my own wardrobe, what I like about Nonoo is her ability to take traditional menswear fabrics or shapes and infuse them with a femininity that is elegant and whimsical, but never gimmicky. Herringbone and Prince of Wales seamlessly join lace and silk, smoking slippers are paired with a ballgown — the best of both worlds, really.
For more information, please visit Nonoo.
To view the complete Fall 2013 lookbook, head here.
You can shop Nonoo direct, or at Berdorf Goodman and Shopbop.
That amazing Spring 2013 collection is available now!
Strangers on a Train
11/03/2013 § 3 Comments
If you assumed that furtively snapping photos of people on the subway was a relatively new social phenomenon, ushered in large part by fancy smartphones, American photographer Walker Evans would beg to differ (if he were still alive, that is). Between the years of 1938 and 1941, Evans rode New York City subways with a camera hidden in his coat, in an effort to capture unguarded and unposed portraits of city commuters as they rode the train. The portraits offer a remarkable glimpse into old New York, although I can’t help but notice that some things — like catching a quick snooze and/or ignoring musicians, for example — don’t really seem all that different from the subways of today.
QC Prêt-à-Porter || NYFW + Nemo
08/02/2013 § 3 Comments
Photo by the lovely William Yan.
Just a quick note today to say hello, as I’m headed to Lincoln Center for Fashion Week — Nemo be damned! I definitely hope you are snug and warm, wherever you are. Have a lovely weekend!
Wearing: vintage fedora, J.Crew scarf, Paul Smith coat
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On The Docket: Ezra Stoller at the Yossi Milo Gallery
30/01/2013 § Leave a Comment
TWA Terminal at Idlewild (now JFK) Airport, Eero Saarinen, New York, NY, 1962
Recently opened and simultaneously placed on the docket, the Yossi Milo Gallery in Chelsea is currently showing a collection of photographs taken by Ezra Stoller (American, 1915 – 2004), one of the most influential photographers of modern architecture. Entitled “Beyond Architecture,” the exhibit highlights the photographer’s range by juxtaposing Stoller’s rarely-seen images of industry and transportation alongside his well-known architectural photography. Initially I most looked forward to Stoller’s photos of iconic modern New York buildings like the UN and the TWA Terminal, but I find that I am increasingly drawn to the narrative quality of his photos of working class Americans, their places of work or business, and their homes. The exhibit is a fascinating look at a mid-century America through Stoller’s inestimably talented eye, and I won’t be missing it.
Ezra Stoller: Beyond Architecture
January 24–March 2, 2013
Yossi Milo Gallery
245 Tenth Avenue
Chelsea
United Nations, International Team of Architects Led by Wallace K. Harrison,
New York, NY, 1954 
Guggenheim Museum, Frank Lloyd Wright, New York, NY, 1959 
Seagram Building, Mies van der Rohe with Philip Johnson, New York, NY, 1958 
Pepsi Cola Building, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, New York, NY, 1960 
CBS Columbia, Long Island City, NY, 1954
Olivetti Underwood Factory, Louis Kahn, Harrisburg, PA, 1969 
Duplan Silk Mills, 1943 
John Hancock Chicago construction, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill,
Chicago, IL, 1967 
John Hancock Building, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, Chicago, IL, 1970
All images by Ezra Stoller, via Yossi Milo Gallery.
Capote on Ice
28/01/2013 § 4 Comments
Admission: I’ve never been ice skating. I suppose I could blame it on growing up in Los Angeles, and my parents’ extreme aversion to a vacation spent anywhere other than a tropical climate — but since I am (technically?) an adult now, I really can only blame myself. Especially when New York City has so many beautiful places to tie on a pair of skates (see: Bryant Park, Central Park, Rockefeller Center, Chelsea Piers, the Standard Hotel). Perhaps I should make it a mini winter resolution of sorts to finally get myself on the ice.
Providing a bit of sartorial inspiration for my skating kit, Life Magazine photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt captured a 35 year-old Truman Capote skating at Rockefeller Center in 1959 — perhaps giving new dimension to his very famous bon mot, “New York is a diamond iceberg floating in river water.” I couldn’t find the article they correspond to, but I have to believe that Truman in his Fair Isle sweater is reason enough to call your attention to them.
All images via the Life Archive.
At The Weekend
14/01/2013 § 8 Comments
A few scenes from the weekend, spent kicking around
the city in rather unseasonably warm weather…
Happened upon the Bloomingdale branch (c.1898)
of the New York Free Circulating Library.
The Met…
…and the other Met.
The best kind of tents and street style photographers
flocked to Lincoln Center this weekend.
As I mentioned, I made it to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts for an excellent exhibit on Katharine Hepburn’s costumes for stage and screen. Incidentally, I discovered I had unwittingly purchased the accompanying book some months back: Katharine Hepburn: Rebel Chic. Do give it a look, it’s quite good — especially if you didn’t make it to the exhibit!
While there was plenty to love about the exhibit, my absolute favorite part was when I overheard an older couple discussing the trousers that Katharine tended to wear. The wife, who you can see above, wore a fedora and what looked like a man’s overcoat. When she said she wanted a pair of pants just like Katharine, her husband immediately said that he thought she would look amazing in them. Sort of completely made my day.
On my way to catch Amour at Film Forum (which I highly recommend!), I nipped into the newly opened Houston Hall to sample some of their house drafts. Not only is it a formerly abandoned FBI garage complete with exposed trusses and industrial touches, it’s also the largest — and prettiest! — beer garden I can think of downtown. The Standard had better watch their back.
Flat whites at Laughing Man Marketplace in Tribeca.
Hope you had a lovely weekend!
xoxo. M.
Photos of me taken by the inestimably talented Tara Cole.
Falling for Fall
13/11/2012 § 5 Comments
I’ve said it before, but as a California transplant, I’ve really come to love what fall has to offer on the East Coast. I’ve since found myself trying to explain the wonders of leaf peeping and apple picking to my West Coasters and I have to admit, it is something you have to experience yourself at least once to fully appreciate.
A few pictures from a perfect fall day spent with some of my best girls at the Warwick Applefest and picking apples at Soons Orchard in New Hampton. (Editor’s note: I will admit that while my industrious ladybirds went on to make delicious confections with our spoils, I instead focused on procuring some apple cider to mull…and add bourbon to. One must have one’s priorities in order.)
