INSPIRATION board

joan smalls: my boricua god(dess)

diane k: she can always inspire a smile

zoe s. : dominican bombshell + balmain short suit = fuego! fuego!

my isabel marant manly suede and leather boots: they are on their way to bed stuy as we speak...

great hair, jess

stella mccartney s/s 11: it's on sale

q-tip + pharrell: um, yum

back to black: gone too soon

 

minnie inspiring my entire look for the rest of the summer: overalls and a bandeau top

don't FORGET the TONIC

"where's da' baby?"

Here's a lethal combination: gin + Idris Elba + Michael Pitt + me. Shake, stir, and serve. It's going to go down smooth.

No, but seriously all innuendos aside whose brilliant idea was this to combine some of my favorite actors with my favorite drink of choice? I hate that guy whoever he is. He's an enabler of the highest order!

Although I'm a diehard Bombay Sapphire kind of girl (yes, I enjoy the drink of men thrice my age), I could consider the junipers for a night or two after seeing this ever-so convincing ad campaign.

I mean, that is the point Tanqueray was trying to make by slapping Michael and Idris' picture all over Harlem and Williamsburg, respectively, no? To get my Black female hipster a** excited and sloppy drunk, right?

::gulp:: Well, fuck, they did a good job. Consider me a convert.

But what's next? Jon Hamm peddling me chai lattes? Pharrell hawking mascara, while singing to me in his trademark falsetto? Oh, wait. He already does that (see below).

But like, I can't. Stop playing with my emotions! I'm only human. I'm not a "target audience" you can just manipulate with beautiful, beautiful men and tasty liquor.

Ugh, who am I kidding. Yes, I am.

oh NA NA!

Those close to me will remember the days when I could out "Stan" the best of 'em for my girl, Rihanna. I shorn my locks, stalked (and defended) the girl's every fashion move, and all but took on a Caribbean lilt and a**hole of a bf to emulate the young songstress.

It was real.

But I grew up, grew a better sense of myself and my own personal style, and instead merely adopted Rihanna's "devil may care" attitude when it comes to wardrobe options and blunt, socially inappropriate tweets. She makes me smile now and I just generally love her attitude: especially the attitude which compels her to wear dope Prada brogues with a easy, breezy shirtdress and shinyyyyyy Rolex while strolling in the sweaty a** streets of New York, while generally looking flawless.

A feat for many.

This off-duty look has such charm : very slouchy, unaffected, hipster as f*ck. I also love the Alexander Wang tunic she slipped into later that evening. Nothing crazypants, but an understated relaxed, cool modernity about it all.

Easy summer dressing can be hard, for fear of looking sloppy, but I think RiRi has shown that the key is good accessories and details--gold jewelry, must-have yet comfy shoes, sheer textures, compact bags, statement-making sunglasses--that can make a world of a difference.

Years later and I'm still a sucker for her!

how DOES she do it?!

...With two nannies and a team of 20?!?

In it's recent August issue, Vogue asks this rhetorical question, ignoring the obvi, and instead positioning its ubiquitous cover girl, Ms. Sarah Jessica Parker, as the modern woman who does it all and has it all. Cue the side eye!

Perhaps its my latent resentment from the misleading and culturally insensitive flop that was "Sex and the City 2" boiling to the surface, but I simply don't buy SJP as a modern hausfrau.

Ms. Parker is a celebrity, a mega-brand, if you will, and subsists operationally. She has an organized team working for her that takes care of the innocuous minutia of the day to afford her the ability to walk her son to school and change her twin daughters' diapers. It's one of the luxuries afforded to her by fame...and one most women cannot afford.

Now, I'm not knocking Ms. Parker for this privilege, because heaven knows I would love a nanny once I start a brood of my own, but it's a bit disingenuous of a persona to construe...kinda' like Carrie Bradshaw's livelihood in the latter seasons.

I mean, if we really want to discuss modern femininity, we should really be talking about how we all work to keep it balanced--in very, very high heels no less--without breaking down emotionally every five minutes and buying/eating/or dating something or someone we needn't.

And by the way, can Vogue work even harder to construe "modern femininity" through a new cover girl? I have heard SJP's story like thrice over now, and I get it: she's quirky, self-effacing, yet glamorous. She's the salt of the earth and can move trends globally. Blah, blah, blah, I'm bored and can't relate.

I mean, what's Diane Kruger, Julia Sarr-Jamois, Shala Monroque, Kerry Washington, or Chloe Sevigny doing that couldn't be cancelled for a Vogue cover shoot!?

Probably not much and I guarantee you you wouldn't brush a cover off with any of these women like I am this August issue. Next!

ALL about SHALS

Eeek! My sister in style, Shala Monroque (a.k.a. "Shals"), is the proverbial centerfold in NET-A-PORTER's weekly online mag and I couldn't be more thrilled!!!

The leading luxury e-tailer (and my former employer) dissects her enviable style and sway she has in fashion, and gives me more reasons to raid her closet. Color, prints, texture, Prada, Prada, Prada: this is the stuff her closet is made of.

It's so wonderful to see a woman of color ahead of the motherlovin' game and making an impression. But I couldn't help but zero-in on her comment on her relationship to famed gallerist, Larry Gagosian.

As she puts it: "When I started going out with Larry it put me in a different sphere. I met Dasha Zhukova at an event and my fashion career took off from there. Miuccia Prada is a great friend to me too." That comment may get some tongues a waggin', but I get it: Shala is not only deft at style, but she's a bit of a tactician.

Again, not judging, but actually jotting down notes like a dutiful little sister from another mister should...!

mama AFRIKA 2011

Fiona Apple reigned in the '90s...Cate Blanchett took the title in the early '00s...but Tilda Swinton? Tilda takes the cake!

Perhaps the whitest woman in the free world, Tilda is Mama Afrika for a new generation.

Besides being a risktaker on the red carpet, often turning to avant garde and conceptual designers such as Victor & Rolf, Haider Akermann, Issey Miyake, and of course, Alexander McQueen, the Academy Award winner takes risks in her personal life, as well.

Living with both her husband and her boo in a castle in the farthest reaches of Scotland, Tilda explained, "It's the way we have been for nearly four years. I'm very fortunate. It takes some extraordinary men to make a situation like that work."

Um, that's the understatement of the motherlovin' year, boo. However, I hesitate to judge, considering Ms. Swinton has crafted a reality that makes sense to her : a move that's hard for people, and women more specifically. She seems quite happy with the results and why shouldn't she?

Go figure: Mama Afrika has major swag.

check THOSE pants out...

doin' the most

The lady on the left is inspiring my ENTIRE look this weekend.

Photo courtesy of Christian Nwachukwu

what's the T?

A t-shirt is simply not a t-shirt these days, at least not in my wardrobe.

A perfectly crafted pullover can complete my life, let alone an ensemble, so I often don't skimp on this essential layering piece. I look for delicacy (thin as h*ll), texture (pilling is perhaps the swan song for a tee), and length (proportions are key), as I like them to affect an air of ease, comfort, and effortless style.

I turn to the greats, of course--Isabel Marant, Rick Owens, Acne, Kain...T by Alexander Wang-- for such a purchase, never risking a misstep. I mean, these designers are indeed the purveyors of all things disaffected and cool, so they clearly understand my demands: Alexander Wang perhaps the most.

A downtown boy through and through, Wang has expanded his line of threadbare titty tanks and the like into a full diffusion line where in that the styles become easy wardrobe staples. Sexy and modern cotton tank dresses, graceful and artfully designed maxi dresses, slouchy tees, and such are in heavy rotation--easily weaving in with my other pieces--so much so I often wonder if this secondary line of his has beaten his original line at its own game?

He also has a knack for tapping the best muses in the biz as his faces for the line: Zoe Kravitz, Diplo, Ashley Smith...and now Santigold and Spankrock. Wise decision.

Alexander Wang is an astute businessman, knowing his clientele and target audience all too well, as he often parties with them (Zoe Kravitz, the Olsens, Erin Wasson), gleaning style-intel off of them by osmosis. So it only makes sense to select equally creative tastemakers to hawk the line: tastemakers who connect the tastes of your consumer back to your line, in turn crafting a lifestyle.

So, like I was saying before: a t-shirt is simply not a t-shirt, but perhaps a way of life.

the SHOWS

the MEAN girls: too tough, too tough

By now, we often realize that the drama leading up to the fashion shows often parallels or surpasses that to which is on the runway....

to all my haters...

we missed you, duma!

daphne wishes you would...

FAUX pas

The ill "Na-Na"

In lieu of Naomi Campbell's recent jaw-dropping turn at the nuptials of Princess Charlene of Monaco, I think it's safe to assume that the supermodel's mantra in life is, "Don't ask for permission. Just ask for forgiveness."

Like she actually gives a d*mn if you forgive her or not...

A.D.R + Yeezy: Yeezy TAUGHT me...

YEEZY in Louis V, S/S/ 2012

Vogue Japan E.I.C./my style spiritual leader, Anna dello Russo, took to her own blog today and re-imagined K.West in the Top 10 looks from Men's Fashion Week. I won't lie: the woman was pretty much spot on.

I mean, realistically, if anyone is going to rock "mandals" correctly (see above), it would most likely be Yeezy.

YEEZY in Roberto Cavalli, S/S 2012

The bold color palette of this suit would really pop under the hot lights of one of Yeezy's provocative interrogations interviews.

YEEZY in Dolce & Gabbana, S/S/ 12

"They say I dress so White/but my swag so urban."

YEEZY in Versace, S/S 12

Just hetero enough...

YEEZY in Versace, S/S 12

Yeezy rarely misses an opportunity to scrunch his sleeves up or nip in the waist.

To see the rest check out the remaining looks on Anna's site, where she boldly declares, "I don't want to be cool. I want to be fashion." ::side eye:: If you have ever seen this woman, then you know how ironical those words actually are.

Anna on a Tuesday: b*tch is crazy

THE AMERICAN DREAM (?)

"This is America: pick a job and be the person who does it."--Don Draper, Mad Men


HAPPY FOURTH!!

TOOT, TOOT!

BEEP! BEEP!

...an HONEST WOMAN of her YET

My, my, my...how far Ms. Moss has come along in her taste in men, no? Remember Pete Doherty? Remember their Sid & Nancy coke scandal? Yeah, seems like eons ago when you look at Kate's wedding pictures to rocker, Jamie Hince. 

But I will say, it kind of gives me hope when supermodels have trouble in the love department. Girl is 37 and just walking down the aisle...I can re-set my biological clock.

Kate of course entered into matrimony in true form: as cool and disaffected as any bride could be. Bedecked in John Galliano (yeah, the racist one), she took to her English country estate for the weekend-long celebration. A bacchanal of sorts.

Stella McCartney was in attendance, of course. I mean, who else would be there to design the bride an ill pant-suit for her reception? So was Jude Law and Sadie Frost, Frost being the resident yenta who set Kate up with her man-man. Jade Jagger, too : so, the usual gorgeous suspects.

I'm not sure where the gamine registered, but I am happy for her and her little girl--even if my invite got lost in the mail.

I of course got to thinking about my own big day and I hope to be somewhere in a field in Rhode Island with 50 guests present: 25 on my side, 25 on his. Vera Wang most likely will design my form-fitting gown, cut on the bias, while Stella McCartney will have designed me a wide-leg jumpsuit for the reception (an homage to Bianca Jagger, of sorts), which will most likely take place in a tent or a renovated barn. Just lots of food, drinks, singing, and the electric slide for my mother's sake.

Ah, ain't love grand?