Rachel Comey

I don't often get obsessed with shoes or clothing to the point of tracking down a pair of shoes at every possible website, storefront, coast to coast. I finally found these coveted booties at Tani in NY and I am awaiting their arrival.

YP.com

I worked on the new YP.com ad campaign back in June. The shots are beginning to emerge in print and on billboards. Nice to see them!

Karen Walker

Prints prints prints!

Tracy Reese

Tracy Reese always makes a dress that flatters the woman's body. I love her girlie prints and sexy cuts. This dress is gorgeous, wish it were out now.

Rachel Comey Spring 11

This season Rachel Comey has some killer ankle boots out. And from the looks of this show I am excited to see her spring collection in person. Sexy, easy, stylish, great patterns.
I'm really liking the fuller coverage the shows have been projecting for next spring, no micro minis in the forecast. I love a full skirt or pant.

Rebecca Taylor

Another great collection from todays Spring 11 shows. Rebecca Taylor is inching away from her typically soft palettes to a bright creative use of color. Sexy, fitted, feminine clothes with the perfect hint of vintage.

Vena Cava spring 11

Gorgeous! I love the colors, all my favorite tones. Perfect simplicity with well executed intricate details.
I want every piece...
Vena Cava has always been one of my favorite lines since it started.
Happy to see them grow.

my friend Gemma

The Sartorialist snapped this shot of my friend Gemma in NY. Yay Gemma you look incredible. xo

thigh high

Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg epitomize effortless style.
Thigh high leather boots....get you some.
This pair from Robert Clergerie available @ Nordstrom in black or brown suede are gorgeous and comfortable to boot.
This Chloe boot adds a touch of rope detail to the over the knee look.

Grace Coddington

Grace Coddington\, Vogue's creative director, and driving force behind many of the fashion worlds best photo shoots is writing a memoir. This should be good.....

Styling

new work up on my website. jsimpsonstyling

Daeja Porte

My dear friend and talented photographer Daeja Fallas has invited me to join her and other friends in this collaboration. Follow DaejaPorte for on trend designs and even shop the shoot. More to come...follow @ DaejaPorte

Apolis Activism

I have adored this utilitarian stylish line for years. My friend Raan and his brother Shea are the purveyors of the globally conscious brand Apolis Activism
Not only are their clothes cool and sustainable, the brand teams up with projects in developing countries to further employ and promote self sustaining businesses and tie together our one world.
This Bangladesh project Market bag is just one example.
Through design and partnership with these projects they seek a bigger and brighter tomorrow for the global community.
I am proud of their vision, this line and all it encompasses is a true model for designers to be conscious. Our threads are part of the common thread that can spin our world back on track.
The guys were interviewed for GQ magazine recently, click on Title for link.

No Depression

These rare color images were just made public from the Library of Congress's archive of FSA and OWI photographs. So beautiful. View the slideshow on Flickr

Jean-Leon Gerome

Beautiful artwork @ The Getty Villa through September 12, 2010.
This painting makes me want to go to the Korean spa baths......

Earn your stripes

Saint James, purveyor of Nautical apparel for over a century, has teamed with Jcrew and Madewell to sell their truly authentic Naval tees for men and women. The price tag is a bit hefty, but the cotton is excellent quality and made to last a lifetime, long as you don't have a knack for spilling coffee like I do. Here is a modern spin on the Naval tee with a multi color stripe.
For a slightly less structured informal style check out Jcrew's other tissue tee version in a slighter stripe. In the grey or dusty rose it is a perfect addition to your wardrobe.

Temple

Marisol Mercado is the visionary artist and designer behind Temple De Mexico. Her pieces are artfully functional statements to be adorned on your body Temple. I love wearing my tooled leather belt with turquoise floral buckle. It makes me happy just looking at it on my closet shelf. My new love is for her Gold hair combs. Such elegance and beauty.
Her ever attentive detail is apparent in the packaging and selective ateliers that carry her line. Please check out her website for further buying info and full product line.

I like long walks on the beach

Daniel Abratte is a talented man. He is my boyfriend, I am a lucky gal.
These photographs are beautiful and this week only will be on sale @
ETSY.com
for $20 8x10 prints.

Madewell Liberty!

So I am into day 1 of wearing only 6 items from my closet for the next month. I have also opted to abstain from buying anything new for the month as well. Just to put a hold on the consumption, get creative with what I have and save a bob in the meantime.
It is all I can do to not click a BUY IT NOW option for these cute Liberty print sneakers from Madewell. I will swoon and remind myself I have a perfectly adorable pair of Sperry mint green tennies to sport with my 6 piece ensembles for the summer.

A Closet Diet

Priorities are shifting at a rapid rate since spending weeks at my grandmothers house during her transition of life. I packed light since there was a laundry room, and didn't miss any one thing in particular from my closet.
I did however need to shop for one item. I did not pack a dress to wear to a funeral, something about it felt morbid, she was still alive when I left and no idea when it might happen. I ended up buying a simple black sheath at Target. Obviously More pressing, important things were happening and now that I'm home, dealing with the grief and sadness. Stepping both feet back into the reality of my life. I look into my closet and it feels a bit empty. Ever full of clothes, I realize I own too many things that I don't necessarily adore or value. Far too many garments with tags made in China. It is time for a concious change.

There was an article I read in the NY times about a woman who wore only 6 items from her closet for a month. This I could do. I live in California the weather never truly goes erratic, this may be doable. Accessories shoes and undergarments are not limited. I only really wear a few things anyway truthfully could this be so hard? Does this include pajamas?


There is another movement to encourage women to stave off the impulse buy. To ease the draw of using shopping as self medicating, and to consciously consume, to end the habit of buying Made in China disposable clothing.
Great American Apparel Challenge

If the full price tag of a garment makes you balk, don't buy it on sale. “25 percent off” should never be a garment’s lure. If it is, you are but a pawn in the markets game.

You should love and value each garment you wear, purchase, or indulge in.

Man On Wire

In the summer of 1974 tightrope artist Phillipe Petit took his performance to NYC to walk across his rope between the WTC twin towers. In the early morning, people on their daily ways were shocked to stillness, stopping to witness this feat. Befuddled people stopped in their tracks on the streets, on ferrys, in taxis, all time seemingly stopped.
In his 2009 book "Let The Great World SPin"
Author Colum McCann took this event, spinning wildly creative tales and
Intertwining stories and lives of New Yorkers, of all walks of life, at the moment Phillipe Petit stepped onto the rope.

This book has me enthralled with this man. This act of artistic nihilism perhaps, and how in these tales it impacted the people who witnessed this. Causing everyone to pause and possibly reexamine their existence. Or at least spark something in them.

A documentary came out as well last year entitled "Man On Wire"

Boredom

I recently heard an interview with the great artist Francesco Clemente in which he stated something I myself have been hesitant to admit, I am bored. Not in my life, but in my creativity. I feel a lack there and a bit stuck.
In the first sentence of his interview with Charlie Rose, when asked about his early life in Italy, he says he was bored.
"Boredom is the origin of any good idea"
He goes on to say that boredom is a way to learn to wait. For acceptance.
I love his honesty, we assume that life in Naples as a young boy was full of exotic details, yet he admits quite dryly, he too was bored.

Maybe that is key, to just sit and be.
To wait for the inspiration to hit, for the internal voice to match what your hands are yet to make.
Good things come to those who wait.....
I am feeling the tingling of a new idea or creative endeavor about to be born and now I just need to be comfortable in my bored space, and accept.
Trust and let go and things will begin to materialize.

Flara V Webb

I love my meemaw Flara V more than words can express. She has lived 90 years.
We are here with her in her house, as she prepares to transition and it is simultaneously sad and beautiful. I can't help but think this is her last gift to us, this supreme knowledge of self we are all attaining, and the gift of being with our family and love. As we all are involved in our busy lives, the only thing any of us really want to do is be here by her side and be love for each other. And I am grateful for this gift. To realize the importance of these things. To know in my heart the true nature of myself, as meemaw has shown me in this time. I am love. We are all love. God is love.

lilac tree

summer reminds me of lilacs.......

Dali

Wacko. love him

Maroc

Morocco, desert, sea, spice, silk caftans.....had a dream I was there last night. Maybe things will fall into place to go soon....magic carpet i'm ready.

Gorjus

I love this photograph. Yesterday I stumbled upon a documentary with a segment on
Sally Mann it was inspiring to hear her take on creative process and to get a look in her family dynamic. She is gritty and real and watching her speake made me fall even more in love with her work. Her work is full of True grit and honesty and she is simply making art for the joy and beauty of it.

row row row your boat

SPERRY 75th anniversary sneaker. In 5 colors for women.
The men's and kid's collection are available as well.

Give me LIBERTY! japan hello kitty

Liberty Japan has designed a line in conjunction with Sanrio.
Best of both worlds Liberty prints and Japanese aesthetic.
Fabrics available in exclusive limited prints available through Washimatta on Etsy.
Can't get enough. It's crazy cute and if you are looking for something less cutesy the floral prints and paisleys are gorgeous and also distinctively Japanese.

The Charlie

This new boutique hotel "The Charlie" sounds like a very intriguing stay....
A host of stars and starlets once occupied these bungalows including,
Charlie Chaplin and Marilyn Monroe...
short and long term stay options.
click link to go to website.
It seems like an incredibly secluded and tanquil place to stay while still close to the hustle and bustle.

Marina Abramovic

While in NY last month I visited the MOMA and was captivated by the show entitled
"The Artist Is Present."
Marina Abramovic has been a performance artist for over 30 years and is tauted to be the "Grandmother of Performance Art" I think this moniker is apropos. The main piece in the show, where she sits at a table bare of anything and stares at willing participants that take a seat across from her as long as they can withstand, coincides with a retrospective on her art that spans 4 decades and is a passionate display of the artists life's work. One piece she replicated using nude models, where she and her husband once stood, serving as a walkway in which the patron has to pass through two naked bodies standing 4 inches apart serves as the central confrontational piece of the show. I walked around the nude couple,, but once on the other side knew I was missing something, she intended to get the viewer involved to feel the confrontation, to be part of the art. So I went back. The feeling that came over me as I walked through the couple was mixed with embarrassment and giddiness and fear of invading someones space. As you pass through them on the other side is a video playing of the piece Marina and her ex husband/partner Uley did in the 1970's and it was fascinating to observe how many people faced the woman and not the man, how many people were laughing and almost everyone had a smile on their face. Like as if they were children who had just gotten away with something bad.
There was a definite transference when passing through the nude bodies. In her work, Marina Abromovic set out to see if she could change the energy frequency and shift something intrinsically in people. In such a meditative state as these models must be in I can't help but think this is true. It makes me wonder what they were contemplating, or were they perhaps sending a brainwave or thought to each person as they passed through? As I braved myself to walk through the two bodies that stood before me like gates, I decided I would face the man, but went very quickly through and could not find it in me to make eye contact. Maybe that is a part of the piece as well, to ponder what makes us uncomfortable. Can you allow yourself to be part of it or only an observer passing through?

nyc shops

While in NYC this past week, I coveted these sneakers but could not find them in my size anywhere. Shoegasm carries them as well as a few other styles.
The NY based shoe line 80%20 makes cute sneaker options for the Keds/Superga crowd.
I'm not such a fan of the other styles they offer but I love the sneakers the slip ons as well as the lace ups. Super cute.
I am on the hunt now to track them down.

Otto Dix

Off to New York on Thursday, first to Ithaca upstate for a few days then to NYC.
A week of museums, sights, dinner & drinks with friends await.
I am especially excited to see this exhibition @ one of my favorite museums.
Neue Galerie.

Etsy

I love to shop on Etsy. I have found many a unique gift and artwork to hang on my walls through this E-commerce handmade website. My very talented boyfriend has just opened his Etsy shop with his photographs this week DRAphotography. I think this site has been a breath of fresh air in the marketplace. Clothing, jewelry, pottery, paintings, photographs and more for sale to many buyers and collectors that are fed up with the standard fare in shops. Artist sell their goods and we have access to small lines that before Etsy were virtually unknown unless local artists.
It is a new forum for talent to spread and reach out to homes all around the world. Etsy has sparked the creative match in the hearts of many and inspired them to do the same and let their creations take flight.
I <3 Etsy!

Vancouver 2010

Last night I stayed up well past my bedtime to watch Figure Skating, well past midnight.
The pageantry and grace mesmerized me, especially captivating were both the Chinese couples in the running for the Gold. The costumes were @ some times gaudy and others full of whimsy. Nonetheless fashion keeps popping out at me at the 2010 Olympic games.

The Olympics are not exactly where one would think fashion reigns, but in this "style" conscious day and age I guess things have changed. From clothing seen on the stars @ Opening Ceremonies designed by Canadian duo Dsquared to the American Olympians dressed in Polo by Ralph Lauren, who signed a contract with the IOC in 2007 to design US uniforms beginning @ the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic games.
What line could be more American I suppose??

This morning I woke up with Canada on my mind and thought I might highlight some great Canadian clothing lines that have crossed borders and into closets around the world.
Thank you to our neighbors above!

Dsquared
one of my favorite designer collections fun preppy sexy fantastic cuts and designs. Dean and Dan have fun, and it shows in their work.

Matt and Natt
vegan sustainable bags made with recycled products without an ounce of style missing

Aritzia
laid back adorable cozy sweaters knits prints yum

Mackage
waterproof rain gear sleek stylish packable portable wonderful

Club Monaco
classy stylish sleek designer fashion at affordable prices, fantastic handbags and accessories

Alexander McQueen

So sad about the passing of one of Fashion's brightest stars Alexander McQueen.
Continuously pushing the limit with style and grace, McQueen captured the eye and imagination of many, creating outrageous designs without a tongue in cheek f' u to fashion.
I consider his designs art, and his aesthetic will be sorely missed among the fashion world.
This video of the opening to his 2006 Spring Paris Show is just a taste of the artist that was A.McQueen. May he rest in peace...
“If death meant just leaving the stage long enough to change costume and come back as a new character...Would you slow down? Or speed up?” Chuck Palahniuk writer/satirist

Happy New Year

It has been a while since I have written. With the Holidays and work I've been keeping pretty busy. Things are looking great so far in 2010, lots of welcome changes and new frontiers.
I am looking forward to receiving my newest obsession. Washi tape. For projects, decoration, wrapping, and just plain cuteness.....