Even though Gossip Girl hasn't started its new season, I have already had a good look at the fashion (which is the only reason the show is worth watching). I love the outfit that new character Clémence Poésy is wearing. Not only is she always super stylish in real life (French, after all) but they have her in a slightly boyish combination of sheer blouse and flirty skirt. Love it. Thought it was a great look during my jam-packed day.
Apparently, APC has a blog. Check it out: APC Journal
Oh and btw, my dream is to send my daughter to the APC preschool in Paris. It's like Madeline with killer fashion. This is the taking of their class picture.
sorry for the lapse in posting lately. I think I felt like no one was reading...but I heard that some are. So I guess I should be more attentive. I am working (mentally) on some new and exciting posts that are yet to come but in the meantime....
I have been inundated with emails from all those lauding their new Fall collections. Since I am knee-deep in a house renovation I have tried to simply window-shop. While window-shopping, I fell hard for all the new tomboy stuff out there, and at affordable places like Urban and J.Crew. The latter is really nailing it lately. So I picked a couple of items from their Fall preview that are very boy and very decidedly not your typical frou-frou J.Crew.
I love this monochromatic look. I have been unconsciously dressing in all one color lately. I thought maybe it was because I have an overabundance of navy and black. Now apparently it's a trend. I love how the manly tie is paired with super tight khaki pants.
While this is a totally weird outfit (and picture), I love the shirt. I love pullover henleys - they are not done more often. This shirt is straight up APC at half the price (and probably better quality - sorry, APC.)
Okay maybe this doesn't fall into the tomboy category, but I really like this dress. You might have to look like a model for it to be flattering but it's really plain while having clean and simple lines at the same time.
And to end, a very cute "accessory" piece as I see it: this grey merino vest. The outfit is no good but styled in a different way, with skinny jeans or the dress above (in black) with Isabel Marant ankle boots or gladiator sandals or clog boots and it's an outfit-making item.
Everything is from jcrew's new fall arrivals.
Having a close connection to Scandinavia, I sometimes end up on different new sites or blogs that come from that world. So I thought I'd share a couple blogs I've come across that I've been really into of late.
The first is one of the top blogs in Sweden by a woman called Emma. I know almost nothing about her except that it's a pretty famous blog in Stockholm and she has many advertisers and sponsors. And she even has sponsored posts every so often. That said, it's an awesome blog to look at it for home design inspiration as well as for objets from the clean, "Scandi" world.
One of the other blogs I'm into is put together by a Swedish-American woman named Joanna Swanson who lives in Stockholm. Hers is more fashion and art inspiration as well as details about all the exotic locales she has traveled to and the fabulous hotels and resorts she has stayed at. She recently put together a city guide to Stockholm for design*sponge. Above is an image taken from her site of a hotel on Gotland in Sweden called Fabriken Furillen.
And one of my absolute favorite blogs is by a woman named Brinja who lives in Copenhagen. She has a boutique in Copenhagen of the same name, I believe. And not only is she always posting pictures of these amazing meals she has had (see above) but she also just had a baby and is now posting pictures of her baby in the most adorable handmade clothes. Her main blog theme is a days-of-the-week outfits log where she highlights either different friends of hers in Copenhagen, other blogging friends or even her own baby! I also love seeing all the pictures of this miniature dollhouse version of her apartment that she has made by hand: she is uber-creative!
So on my recent shopping trip to NYC, I scored at J.Crew's less ruffle-y sister brand, Madewell. My bounty included: perfect-fitting tight black ankle jeans, loose cuffed boyfriend jeans, two great striped tops, a cute plaid button-up and these awesome cropped black leggings with a gold zipper detail at the bottom. And my total was amazingly under $500. At Barneys, it wouldn't have even been under the $1000 mark.
Well I have been a little forlorn wearing any of these great items since there is no Madewell store here in Portland and none of the stuff has been available online (with the exception of a smattering at shopbop). ... Until now! what a nice surprise that Madewell's online store has just opened!
Check it out here: Madewell. And don't be put off by the kind of cheesy black&white photos. I think they are still working out the kinks on their image. Trust me, the clothes are good, both the fit and quality, and not a million dollars.
Here are a couple of my scores:
another striped tee but I bought it in red
And I love these shorts too. Might have to place a "small" summer order.
Not only is she one of the lone women in a field dominated by men but her designs are off the hook. Patricia Urquiola is from Spain, lives in Milan and designs for pretty much the coolest furniture companies out there, like Moroso and B&B Italia. But she does way more than furniture, she designed a new line of plumbing fixtures for Axor and she's done hotels and, for even a lucky few, home interiors. Anyway, that's pretty much all I know about her AND that lately if I see something I love, the chances are pretty high that she's designed it. Here are some of my favorites:
Tropicalia for Moroso - a beautifully designed indoor/outdoor seating line that is such a great statement piece.
Tufty-time for B&B Italia
Axor Urquiola line of plumbing fixtures
FLO for Driade bar stool
And Patricia's line for Agape is my personal favorite:
so yes I have been neglecting my blog lately. not only did I spend last week in NYC, but I'm also in the midst of a massive home renovation which takes up all of my time. And the only things I end up being inspired by are plumbing fixtures, lighting, furniture, you get the idea.
that said, I am going to take a little sojourn into home interiors for a while. Maybe feature several of my favorite designers or inspiration blogs in addition to the plumbing fixtures etc.
to start it off, i have to showcase the one item that i am determined MUST be part of this home: VOLA plumbing fixtures. Designed in the 60s by Arne Jacobsen - the Danish mastermind behind the Egg chair, the Swan chair, the Ant chair and several other one-word items, VOLA has had the same design for 50 years and counting. Talk about timeless.
These are the faucets for the 3 new bathrooms in my house.
And this is the ridiculously beautiful (and ridiculously expensive) tub filler for the master bath.
