Dear: Rivington Street

Window display

Clothing dislay. Love the color and texture.

Example of some of the interesting antiques Dear carries

The other night while it was dark and wind was whipping debris around on the street I found myself on a desolate section in the Lower East Side of New York. Suddenly, like a beacon to a parched sailor I saw a light. Wedged between an abandoned building and an old school tailor was the store Dear. A light glowed softly from the white rooms inside and spilled out onto the sidewalks. The glow from inside illuminated whimsical mannequins who floated in space. With their black, white, and red poofs of tulle the displays were truly magical. Number decals danced along the windows, creating more interesting designs. Always afraid of math, I was beginning to think that Dear could give me the power to embrace numbers. No matter. Dear gets even cooler inside, where you can find clothing, accessories, and antiques. You should check it out for yourself: Dear, 95 Rivington St., Lower East Side, New York City. Comment what you think.

Fela's Women

Close-ups Of Fela's wives from the play "Fela!" now on Broadway. Photos courtesy of the New York Times, from the article "Finding Depth In Fela's Women".

I have been inspired by Fela Kuti's music for years now, but recently heard that there's a new play on Broadway chronicling his life. Special focus has been put on the Afrobeat musician's many wives and their costumes, which are indeed great. Fela, according to the New York Times article "Finding Depth In Fela's Women" married his 27 co-wives in unison as part of a protest against what he considered governmental degradation of traditional Nigerian culture. I love the rich colors and bold patterning in these photos, especially the hair and the make-up.

Street Life: Baby It's Cold Outside

Looking At These Folks Is a Helpful Lesson In How to Stay Warm While Being Cool

Love this look, cozy with just a little bit of folkiness thrown in

So chic. Just love her fur vest.

Again fur...this time in white. Am I sensing a pattern?

An easy, casual outfit with an ethnic touch

I love a guy who can pull off rugged and fashionable at the same time.

Just the right balance between preppy and street.

Etsy: Creating A New Type of Employee? Or Making Dreams Unravel?

Yookoo Gibran, in her Oatmeal Soopascarf, who according the article says she knits 13 hours a day, then works on business related things when she is done. The article likens her workload to a law associates. Photo courtesy of NyTimes.

I recently read this article in the NyTimes. Apparently, some people have had so much success with their online shops on Etsy, a purveyor of handmade goods, that they now are the owners of bonafide businesses. Some generate 6-figure incomes. However, all of this has not come without a cost. Some of the women in the article go through periods where they are working almost 24 hours a day making, and then shipping orders that their customers have placed. One interviewee said it was the hardest job she had ever done. Some have argued that the fact these women think they can turn a hobby into an income generator is all fantasy. Sara Mosle, a New Times Contributer wrote an essay on the topic, was quoted in the article as follows:

“What Etsy is really peddling isn’t only handicrafts...but also the feminist promise that you can have a family and create hip arts and crafts from home during flexible, reasonable hours while still having a respectable, fulfilling, and remunerative career.”

Ouch. Have we really created the antithesis of our feminist dreams? If you are working every waking hour, is that really woman's emancipation? Harumph. Designing takes a lot of work. In a start up business you execute every function that exists in company yourself. But in the end at least you can say you created a product you believe in. How many people can say that about where they work?

Dazed and Confused No More

Images from December 2010 Dazed and Confused Magazine featuring tie-dyed hair

These photos from the recent Dazed and Confused (for December 2009) are just so...wow. The title explains that the look is a tie-dye for hair to take "it beyond its hippie heritage". These colors are perfectly aligned with the electric colors seen for Spring 2010 on the runway (see: It's Electric). I felt a charge just looking at them.

Godspeed 45/06: Document No. 2

Bookcover for Godspeed 45/06 Document 2. Everyone, pick up this book! It's great.

Cool bike spotted outside the launch party. Hopefully the book will show more people the workmanship and design that go into these bikes.

Slideshow at party featuring pictures from inside book.

The author Cicero DeGuzman and his girlfriend Katie Maguire (who are quite possibly two of my favorite people!)

The most exciting thing I did this weekend was attend the book launch party for my friends Cicero deGuzman and his girlfriend Katie Maguire. The book is a project that Cicero has been working on for a long time, with Katie's assistance and support of course. Cicero works doing creative director work for others, so it's so exciting to see him have completed his own project. And what a project it is...the book is beautiful with page after page documenting motorcycle builders, their workshops, and their lifestyles. Cicero told me that he started this project after riding for a while and deciding he wanted to build a bike of his own. He took a year off, and went to mechanic school in Florida. While there, he realized there was quite a bit of style to go around, and since he enjoys recording and documenting, an idea was born. If you have never appreciated the beauty of a good bike, now is the time to start. Check out the book: Godspeed 45/06 Document No. 2 by Cicero DeGuzman Jr. You can buy it at godspeed4506.com .

Print Happy

Kudos to Dolce and Gabbana for showing us that roses get mixed up sometimes too. Thanks Style.com for photo, Dolce and Gabbana Spring 2010.

Coming Up Roses

My art history teacher says that every decade has it's flower, and when you think about it, it's true. Art Nouveau has its iris, the 60's the daisy, and the 80's had the lily. Well, I hearby de-clare 2010 the decade of the rose. The roses were popping up all over the runway this season, from Dolce and Gabbana to Oscar De La Renta. I consider an them an ode to the classics. No-thing gets more basic than an old-fashioned rose. Because a rose is a rose is a rose.

Givenchy's girls are of a different stripe. Thanks Style.com for photos, Givenchy Spring 2010

Walk The Line

Almost as classic as a rose print was the black and white stripes seen all through out fashion week. It was shown in a sort-of minimalist, I'm-too-cool-to-wear-anything-but-black-and-white-but--oh wait--here I am mixing it up with stripes aren't I fun?-sorta way. I say throw caution to the wind and where them with your rose print stuff. Hey, you only live once.

Color Trends: Spring 2010

Bringin' Home the Bacon

It looks like painters weren't the only people inspired by the Francis Bacon exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art last season. It looks like the fashion world also took notice of his garish oranges backrounds and flat neutrals. All of the designers who used this palette used it to wonderful effect.

Color Trends from Spring 2009 were right out of a Francis Bacon Painting. Clockwise from top left: Study For Human Body by Francis Bacon, a look from Lanvin, Oscar De La Renta, Carolina Herrerra, all Spring 2010 thanks to Style.com for photos.

Nude As The News

Almost as important as what colors were chosen in each runway show was the lack of color designers presented. This may be an interesting affect of the recession, where in order to get the most wear of your clothes, they need to almost disapear on the skin as to escape to much notice. The best version was Phoebe Philo's for Celine, but of the many other catwalks where this was spotted, from Lanvin to Carlos Miele.

Clockwise from top left: Carlos Miele, Calvin Klein, Celine, Lanvin, all Spring 2010. Thanks to Style.com for photos.

Cold As Ice

Oh my...is it getting cold in here, or is that just me? Because Spring 2010 collection was feeling a little chilly. With lots of stark black and white, and colors iced to the barest hint of color, leaving you feeling cold. Most popular was the softest lavendar, shown by designers like Michael Kors and Versace. Francisco Costa at Calvin Klein and Riccardo Tisci at Givenchy also joined into the fray, introducing their own variations on the trend.

Clockwise from top left: Calvin Klein, Versace, Michael Kors, Givenchy , all Spring 2010. Thanks to Style.com for photos.

True Blues

One of the colors that seemed to show up again and again in every shade and tonality was blue. The first place I noticed it was at Ralph Lauren, whose dust-bowl inspired show had me literally singing the blues. Celine, who otherwise had an almost completely nude palette, took exception to this by inserting a azure dress into her mix. Oscar De La Renta also couldn't resist this ubiquitous hue. He chose a radical shade of teal to complete his collection. And Lanvin also couldn't resist the same hue. With colors trending warm as of late, maybe we're due for a cooling off period?

Designers were definitely feeling blue this season. Clockwise top left: Oscar De La Renta, Celine, Lanvin, Ralph Lauren, all Spring 2010. Thanks to Style.com for photos.

It's Electric

Although ice the ice age prevailed designers couldn't resist injecting random shots of heat into their collections. These shots provided quite a blast too, with shots of bright yellow and pinks which were simply blinding.

Clockwise top left: Badgley Mischka, Lanvin, Oscar De La Renta, Paul Smith, all Spring 2010. Thanks to Style.com for photos.

Power To The Panty

Clockwise, starting top left: Lady Gaga,Marc Jacobs Spring 2009, Alexander Wang Spring 2009, Dolce and Gabbana Spring 2009. Thank-you to Style.com for photos.

Lets talk about the most important trend I saw on the Spring 2010 runways this season. It was women's undergarments. From Marc Jacobs, to Alexander Wang, to Dolce and Gabbana, many designers put women's briefest assets on full view. What to make of these under-takings? Well, I can't help but find an interesting connection between the underwear looks and pop stars like Lady Gaga and Madonna as of late. These stars insist on always keeping their panties on full view, and the runway is now starting to catch up. With stars baring everything these days, from seeing Britney's vag in the tabloids, to keeping on top of celebrity Twitter posts, maybe there's one more thing we don't need to keep undercover anymore: our crotch. Alexander Wang's and Dolce and Gabbana's underwear seemed to take on more of a spanx-bodyshaper sort of look. I think the undershapers are so common place now that designers are thinking that they are not just to be worn under your garments, but out in full view for the world to see, accept and appreciate. Do you think these undergarments don't have a connection with real-world fashion? Well, summer is here sooner than we think, and so like these ladies' bare legs, it remains to be seen. I think we will be surprised the way the real world re-interprets this trend.