OMG- my face is gigantic and on the cover of The D Pages, an online magazine about all things design! This is kind of insane! I’m still baffled that anyone anywhere gives a crap about what I have to say, let alone to make my face gigantic, put some Didot typeface over it and to interview me. I think we all have fantasies where we are starring in our own little mini-movie called Life, I’m just so shocked and flattered that all of you tune into my channel. THANK YOU!

Go read the interview HERE! 

The new Hermes Leica M9-P cost $25K, so before you even become lusty over it, like I did,  just be aware- it’s out of your price range. OK, now you can drool:

Please do yourself a favor and watch a video of them making one. It’s the stuff luxury/artisanal/aspirational dreams are made of. Kind of like that Grey Goose commercial a few years back with the clinking ice cubes on the yacht. If only.

There is nothing new under the sun(including this sentence). But duh- it’s no secret that fashion and design are cyclical and that different eras are often revisited and drawn upon for inspiration time and time again. We are experiencing so many of those moments in fashion and design right now: The general aesthetic of the 90′s- which included recycling fashion trends- mixed with the primness of the 50′s and the luster and forms of the 20′s.  But what makes a trend more palatable (or less- depending on who you are!) the second time around  in my opinion is the reference point. You aren’t just wearing something bright, you are recalling in peoples’ memory a time where round sunglasses  and neon were worn without irony and without the smirk of “I can’t believe this is back”… It feels cool. It’s the same with the peplum: It’s coy and ladylike and sexy because it’s referencing a moment in time when people were ladylike- or at least pretended to be.

One of my favorite things to return in fashion and decor is Art Deco. No kidding, look at my choice of header, right? What is Art Deco? It’s an extremely eclectic artistic  and modern design style that began in the 1920′s in Paris. Unlike the preceding Art Nouveau period-  during the Deco period linear symmetry and geometric shapes dominated and drew inspiration from Aztec and Egyptian forms. Art deco represented elegance, glamour, functionality and modernity.

F. Scott Fitzgerald famously said that the distinctive style of Art Deco was developed by ‘all the nervous energy stored up and unexpended in the War.’  Every design period ultimately reflects the zeitgeist of the time- the deco era reflected a move from a war torn world to optimism and Jazz Age extravagance.

Deco was widely considered to be an “eclectic form of elegant and stylish modernism,” because it was influenced by a variety of sources. During the Deco period, travel became easier and more widespread, and an interest in archeology in the 20′s as well as far flung countries influenced designers and artists. The era drew inspiration from the world at large, while using war-created machine age technology to create them. Some of the defining features of Deco era design are the chevron, stepped forms and geometric curves (as opposed to sinuous curves).  The use of luxe materials like shagreen, inlay wood, lacquer and stainless steel became popular. The deco influence is completely apparent in current decor trends- from the modern/eclectic aesthetic and the popularity of high gloss everything,to the ever present chevron.

My friend Stephanie, the fashion blogger The Mixtress – a new blog about mixing high end and low end fashion pieces to create fun fashion looks-  put together the above mood board of her favorite deco-inspired fashions for you, and I put together my favorite Deco- inspired DECOR pieces for you, which you can go check out on her blog HERE and to hear her spin on the Jazz Age and Art Deco.

Skirt: All Saints $275
Oscar de la Renta top: $2250
 Zara shoe: $70
 Lanvin Golden Dream Swarovski Crystal Embelleshed Metal Box Clutch, $4,500, Lanvin Stores (not available online)
Art Deco Chandelier Earrings $22
Low Luv by Erin Wasson Deco Ring in Gold, $49

Check out Stephanie’s blog, The Mixtress! 

Dessert Jazz photos via Vogue Turkey, March 2012 Photography: Phil Poynter

The Fairway in Brooklyn is housed in this gorgeous building… We took the kids there after Mother’s Day festivities and I snapped a photo from the parking lot. Then I googled.

The building is actually known as The Red Hook Stores and dates back to the Civil War. Towards the end of the war, NYC was receiving so many goods that the Brooklyn waterfront was a great alternative to over jammed city docks. This building was a warehouse, now it’s a Fairway.

Such a fantastic looking facade.

If you haven’t already seen this, I think its pretty interesting and funny… Apparently the subversive street artist known for tagging extremely high end fashion houses, Kidult, tagged the Marc Jacob store earlier this week… as the Marc Jacobs team cleaned up the graffiti, they snapped a photo and tweeted it, calling it “Art by Art Jacobs”.  Kidult was apparently watching them scrub the store clean and was also tweeting photos of it and I guess trying to make his presence known and claim ownership… I guess he didn’t really dig the spin that the Marc Jacobs team was putting on his supposedly subversive graffiti.

He then accused Marc Jacobs of being a capitalist “thieve” and copying him.  Then Marc Jacobs’ group released this T-shirt, which they are apparently selling at their boutique:

For $689 dollars.”$680 if its signed by the artist.” And it’s actually for sale.

I think this whole thing is hilarious and I love the T-shirt. Not $689 dollars worth of love. But still, I’ll laugh if I see anyone wearing it. It’s super badass and so clever. Lesson learned: Don’t F with Marc Jacobs.

Then this showed up on Tumblr:

Hahah… Love it.

In exchange for bringing children into the world, I’d like to make a motion, that every mother on earth deserves a gigantic bouquet of peonies delivered weekly to her front door. Even when they are out of season.

Have a great day everyone!

My friend, the über talented (and cute!) photographer Patrick Cline- one half of the duo that founded Lonny- saw this Sketch graffiti scribbled on a door while traveling, took a photo and sent it to me. I totally LOVE IT! I should print it and hang it somewhere in my apartment.

Patrick literally can’t take a bad picture… Not even of a door with scribble on it. And speaking of, this month’s Lonny is out and its packed with Moroccan gloriousness and now Morocco is officially at the top of my travel to do list. It’s  now tied with the Amangiri for first place. Maybe I’ll go this summer? That would be amazing.

Check out the rest of the new Lonny HERE. Have a great weekend!

Last night I went to the art opening of “Project Face” - a year long journey by artist Rina Dweck. Every day for a year, Rina- a painter and trained makeup artist- self transformed and photographed herself using only her iPhone and uploaded it to her Facebook page where she would change her profile daily. Her adventure in self portraiture is so freakin fantastic… It started as a way to challenge herself creatively- the idea occurred to her one day while parking her car, and she went home and started working on photo number one!

I love the fact that the art piece is the body of work ON FACEBOOK. It’s such a fun little bit of social satire. There was something amazing about seeing the body of work-in chronological order- presented in one room. Some weeks are themed- she has a Madonna week, Gaga week, and even a Cindy Sherman tribute.  She says some photos are planned out meticulously while others are created spur of the moment or are the result of just playing in the mirror with some makeup.

I really admire how personal the work is, it takes a lot to put your face out there as your art… I mean you guys see that I crop my head out of half my photos because I’m so shy that way! So the idea of self-transforming and becoming so physically comfortable with being behind a camera, becoming a character and using physical attributes and flaws in an art project seems so overwhelmingly hard to me.

I was so enamored with the work that I bought a print! See if you can guess which one;) They start at $250, FYI.

Click through to see the rest of the photos from the evening as well as some of my favorite shots!

PROJECT FACE – POP UP GALLERY
311 West Broadway, NY NY
May 10- May 22, 2012
Hours:1-8 PM

The makeup on this photo was done by my friend and blog reader Sasha Safdiah.. she also made the painting behind it. 

Raw.

Tilly from Asbury Park was one of my faves! 

Amazing.

Some of the early work.

Rina and I say cheese! 

I hope you enjoyed the tour, if you live in NYC definitely check it out! See the Project Face Facebook page to see all 365 amazing portraits!

I’m sorry but it was just too good of a match up! They are twins! It scares me a little bit that my painting looks so much like those pants and the way she paired it with a heavy dose of a white top: YES, well those match the chairs. The sunglasses in the deep purple even correspond to the darker blue paint at the top of the canvas. She should have worn an Edie Parker black and white clutch with that though, then she would have picked up the striped stool.

The outfit pic is via Refinery 29′s Australia Fashion Week coverage HERE, the painting and room is obviously my own. 

Ok, so two things before we start: 1. My blog has gone a little haywire and is randomly posting drafts of blog posts from the 80′s on the front of the blog. Well, not really the 80′s but lets put it this way: the interview I never posted with a New Jersey antique store is so old that the store doesn’t exist anymore. 2. I’m also heavily engaged in Stacy’s Boot Camp in the AM and thats why my blog post is late.  and 3. Nothing makes me more stabby than seeing photos that aren’t all the same size on a post, well except for blurry and crappy photos… so forgive me for using these. But thats what has to happen when you use photos you didn’t take yourself!

Anyway, this is the work of David Hicks, not THAT David Hicks, and well, yea, he’s dead but still kind of current, this one lives and works in Australia and is pretty damn awesome.

That white Platner chair- in general but especially with that screen is the stuff my dreams are made of.

Channels are the new tufts. YES! I could seriously live in this apartment.

Bookcase heaven… it seriously doesn’t get better than that bookcase on the left. I think the shelves are mirrored?!?! And that marble table! WOW.

I think he goes to the very awesome school of use sculptural chairs with bright art!

All photos via DAVID HICKS.