a bande apart

It's probably pretty obvious that I just can't really ever get enough of French New Wave inspired anything. I think I was definitely born in the wrong era, but at least now I can get close enough to experiencing the real thing by wearing these clothes from myPetsQuare's 'Cine Collection, inspired by the simple silhouettes and off-the-cuff sex appeal of Anna Karina, Jean Seberg and Jean Paul Belmondo.

what a cute couple

Currently wearing (and obsessing over) Butter London's nail lacquer in Rosie Lee. Would love to pair it with this sequin-fringe mini from J. Crew. to die for.

dream landscapes

I'm buried in work and trying to prepare for the holidays. If you're stressed and spread thin, too, this stunning video shot by Anthony Crook with a soundtrack by Mogwai is the perfect thing to soothe your frazzled mind. The Norwegian landscapes are almost as unbelievable as the feat of cyclist James Bowthorpe, the round-the world champion cyclist who broke the previous record by twenty days.

west > east

Leaving for NYC tomorrow and won't be back 'til Monday. Have a lovely rest of the week! Loving these photos American photographer James Jowers took of New York City in the 60s. The shadows and lines are remarkable.

P O P

Mary Quant / THE NEWEST NEON, SPUR fashion magazine / BOOK in BOOK

April / 2008 裝苑 SO-EN fashion magazine

we still miss you.

blue stars

Listening to Patti Smith Horses on the record player tonight. Recently read Just Kids, Smith's memoir of her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe in the late 60s and early 70s. The most honest and tender ode to love and friendship.

bike nerd + art nerd = true love

Isn't it great when things you love collide? Kinda like this mixed media installation by Melbourne based artist Joseph L. Griffiths.

wishing for long hair...

I just chopped mine again, but these gorgeous photos by photographer Dawn DiCarlo have me wishing for long hair so I could experiment with yarn braids...

via oh joy!

design envy

Love all the handmade elements and process that went into creating the branding for Oak Park Stage theater, by Blake Fili Suàrez.

let's have a toast.

Are you stuck working on Thanksgiving Eve? Yeah, me too...

But maybe this will cheer you up. Love the color palette and textures in Kanye's Runaway video. (Sometime I'll have the attention span to watch the full-length version.)

new music you should know about

I'm so pleased to count Morgan Kibby as a recent addition to my friend network. There is nothing better than finding yourself surrounded by creative and inspiring folks, and Morgan's music, under the moniker White Sea, has definitely been inspiring me. Morgan recorded and toured with M83 for their last album Saturdays=Youth, and she recently released her very own EP, This Frontier.

White Sea is characterized by peculiar, haunting vocals, irresistible disco dance beats and moody tones inspired by the American Southwest. These seemingly disjointed elements come together to create something pretty amazing.

Listen to the EP here, then go buy it here. You won't be sorry.

I just can't get enough of...

This image of designer Nikole Herriot's beautiful rustic modern home sent me on an immediate hunt for some antlers to adorn my own walls. After a slight crisis about how to justify this aesthetic choice with my cruelty-free beliefs, I was pleased to learn that many of the loose antlers available are actually salvaged from nature, as deer naturally shed their antlers each year. And as for the antlers that are still attached to the skull, well, let's just hope that deer fed an entire family through the winter.

1. petite set of antlers from We Have It Vintage

2. vintage white stag deer antler from Lackluster Co.

3. deer antler rack no. 2 from AM Vintage

4. vintage six point deer antler by Vintage Obscura

did I mention that I love photo doodling?

Nikki Furquharson for Missbehave magazine

stop making sense

Martin Margiela Spring/Summer 11 reminds me of David Byrne in Stop Making Sense. (and that's a good thing)

nothing looks cooler than doodling on photos

photographer Arkan Zakharov and fashion editor Juliana Schiavinatto for PULP magazine

Megan Whitmarsh's Radiant Artifacts

I always take note when I see Megan Whitmarsh's work. She blends art and craft so well, and her work is both interesting and playful. Particularly loving these new pieces at Michael Rosenthal Gallery in San Francisco.

Interview with Megan Whitmarsh here.

cultivating heritage in a "what's next" culture

Animated short by Christian Borstlap demonstrates the translation of heritage and history in a fast-fashion, digital age obsessed with the here and now. In the words of Goethe, "Make a better future by developing elements from the past."

hair envy

Little known secret: I've always coveted afros and short ringlet curls. At one point I considered getting a perm in an attempt to achieve the look, but I'm afraid I'd look more like Shirley Temple and less like Pam Grier.

For now I'll just have to admire the look on others, like Julie Sarr-Jamois, Fashion Editor at Wonderland magazine

via Hanneli

bike style: helmets

riding safely doesn't mean you can't ride in style

photo by The Sartorialist in University Place, NYC

Nutcase street helmet in Vanilla Sky, Bern Berkeley helmet in Matte Blue

dream home

Newly appointed head of the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art Jeffrey Deitch gives a tour of his new home and talks about why LA is magical.

what a cute couple

striped Tokyo tote from Rib and Hull + Cleo ring from Queens Metal

why I love long weekends in the desert...

quiet. open spaces. desert sunrises. desert sunsets. my boys. BBQ. red wine. hammock naps in the late afternoon. solace. home cooked breakfast. climbing rocks. clear skies. star gazing. need I say more?

I want to hang this on my wall

Framework Poster

(via Swissmiss)

is the weekend over already?

Spent a long weekend in my favorite place, Joshua Tree National Park. Had a great time with the boy and the pup. Photos are on their way but in the meantime here are some Hipstamatic shots Warren took of me and Fidel running into some trouble with the law in Pioneertown.

nan goldin + erin wasson = heaven on earth

I discovered Nan Goldin my freshman year of college. Her raw, honest, sometimes shocking and painful photos immediately took hold of me. Most recently, she collaborated with model, muse and designer Erin Wasson to create the stunning images for Melbourne based brand Scanlan & Theodore. The label's creative director, Gary Theodore, is known for his work with unusual and controversial artists, and Goldin is no exception. What a refreshing voice to add to the fashion world.

oasis

Tonight I pulled the winter blankets out of the closet and put them on the bed...a sign that winter is officially here. But I'm already thinking about next spring and a week long escape to one of these amazing houses in Joshua Tree. Nowhere feels more at home to me than the desert.

nerd alert!

I am hopelessly addicted to my iPhone. People with short attentions spans should not, under any circumstances, own an iPhone4. Yet I do, and I love it, perhaps too much, much to the chagrin of my friends and loved ones who are attempting to have human interactions with me while I'm texting, checking my email, online shopping...all at the same time.

Anyway, protecting my perfect little companion is crucial, since when I'm on the go I throw it in my giant handbag where it gets scratched by keys and pens. I recently lost my phone case, so I'm on the hunt for a new one. I have found so many lovely, stylish and unique designs that I'm having a terrible time choosing just one. Which is your favorite?

clockwise from top left: Pocketdogs cell phone case, wood engraved case from Grove Made,

Yellena James for Uncommon, leather Scandinavian case, gray wool herringbone case by Stash, Le Faust leather iphone cases in assorted colors

women then...

Jerry Schatzberg was in all the right places during the 1950s and 1960s, mingling with Aretha Franklin, Catherine Deneuve, Faye Dunaway, Francis Ford Coppola and Andy Warhol's Factory crowd at all the NYC hangouts. As a photographer, he created some of the most iconic images from the era, including the blurred photo on the cover of Bob Dylan's Blonde On Blonde album. His recently released book, Women Then: Photographs 1954-1969, celebrates the moody, glamorous and elegant women he photographed. In the words of Schatzberg himself: "Everybody looks back to the 60s and says, ‘Oh, those were the days.’ And they probably were the days. There was a different kind of elegance then, a different spirit of life.”

boys' club: bike style

As a companion piece to last week's bike style post, I decided to devote this one to the guys. Here are some bicycle related items I'm totally smitten with. There's nothing better than cute boys on bikes (except maybe cute boys with dogs, but I'll save that for another post).

clockwise from top left: Outlier clothing 4 Season OG Pant, Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne, Fjallraven Kanken Backpack, Knife & Saw Bike Shelf

just us three

Yesterday was Warren's birthday, and I asked my amazingly talented friend Alice to create a custom card to mark the occasion. Needless to say, he loved her representation of us. She put such loving detail into it, right down to the color and design of our bikes. Between custom built bikes and personalized illustrations, we are setting the bar pretty high for gift giving. I told him for Christmas he can expect a Starbucks gift card.

Heidi Ross Picture Show

Heidi Ross is one half of the beautiful, talented and charming Ross Sisters. (The other half being my darling friend and roommate Jennifer June Ross.) Heidi is a super talented photographer based in Nashville, Tennessee who has shot the likes of The Dead Weather, Sara Bareilles and Lissie. Every few months she'll have a shoot booked in LA and we will be graced with her presence (and sense of humor). Last time she was here she did a photoshoot with actor Ben Huber and the one and only Jennifer June. Of course my dog Fidel worked his way into as many shots as he could, and exhibited his raw natural talent in front of the camera.

homemade is best

As part of an advertising campaign focusing on their kitchen appliance selection, IKEA published a 140 coffee table book focusing on one of the best things you can do in a kitchen: baking. Inspired by high fashion photography and Japanese minimalism, the folks at IKEA took a different approach to food photography by focusing on the ingredients themselves, creating graphic still-life photographs that are good enough to eat...literally. 

bike style in los angeles

One of my least favorite aspects of Los Angeles is the lack of public spaces. Well, this Sunday, following the example of cities like New York and San Francisco, Los Angeles will shut down 7 miles of city streets in an effort to challenge the notion that automobiles rule the road. From 10 am to 3 pm, routes from East Hollywood into Boyle Heights will be closed to traffic, encouraging the community to reclaim these public spaces for anything from cycling to yoga to games of pick-up soccer. The event, known as CicLAvia, was inspired by the concept of the ciclovia, which is Spanish for bicycle path. Bogota, Colombia was the first city to host such an event three decades ago. Now each Sunday in Bogota, hundreds of thousands of people take to the temporarily car-free streets. Check out the CicLAvia map for the full route.

In anticipation of a day full of cycling without the threat of road rage fueled SUVs, I've been browsing my all time favorite cycling shop Adeline Adeline. Located in the Tribeca neighborhood of NYC, this shop eschews the high performance and fixed gear bike culture, instead focusing on "comfortable, relaxed riding for pleasure with an emphasis on the beautiful European city bikes that women ride in Copenhagen and other bike-centric cities." Before opening the doors to Adeline Adeline, owner Julie Hirschfeld was a successful graphic designer, and clearly she's translated her design expertise to the artfully curated selection of bicycles and accessories in the shop.

Whether you're a cyclist or not, it's impossible not to be enamored with these beautifully designed items.

from top to bottom: Pigeonco backpack, Brooks Hoxton wire basket, Linus Roadster Sport, Bicycle by David Herlihy, Bensimon canvas sneakers

oh you fancy huh?

Intelligent too ooh you're my sweetheart

I've always liked my women book and street smart
long as they got a little class like half days
and the confidence to overlook my past ways
time heals all, and heels hurt to walk in
but they go with the clutch that you carry your lip gloss in
and look I really think that nobody does it better
I love the way you put it together

Nail done, hair done, everything done

Nails done, hair done, everything done

Oh you fancy huh

Oh you fancy huh

Oh you fancy huh

Oh you fancy huh

(Drake)

hat's off

Someone once told me "I never trust a woman in a hat, chances are she's hiding something." While I can't attest to whether or not there's any truth to that statement, I can tell you that a good hat can make a woman utterly charming and irresistible, and a little mysterious. A recent trip to Oakland to visit my longtime BFF, and a quick glimpse of her growing vintage hat collection, and I was officially obsessed. Now I'm patiently waiting for the fall weather to arrive so I can bring out my favorite wide-brimmed felt hats.

from top to bottom: Diane Keaton in Annie Hall, Elizabeth Weinberg editorial shoot, Pierre Cardin Spring 2011 Collection, Jean Seberg in Breathless, musician Diane Birch, Alexa Chung, Urban Outfitters fedora, Jessica Simpson hat on Fashiontoast

kool thing

Last night I was fortunate to experience the double-threat that was Sonic Youth and Pavement at the Hollywood Bowl. Once again, Kim Gordon blew my mind with how utterly and unbelievably cool she is. Musician, visual artist, fashion designer, furniture designer & carpenter, wife, mother...it is overwhelming and inspiring all at once. This one goes out to the queen of all rock and roll...or queen of all things in the universe, actually.