CITY COLOR

RVCA store on Haight Street/Louis outside Magnolia/Flashes of light at Laszlo

Had a perfect little Sunday of brunching on dungeness crab frittata, beef carpaccio and St.Germain champagne cocktails at Lazslo, scouring the Wasteland racks where I found a brilliant fish patterned Betsey Johnson sweater dress (wtf?!) and beer drinking at Magnolia with some of my favorite people. I like to treat Sunday like it's Saturday...is that bad?

OH LAND

Current obsession, Oh Land. I love her voice and she's just stunning. Kind of a little Sia and Portishead going on there, yes? One of my favorite sites, The Nowness, featured her the other day along with a short and sweet interview. Read here. In other news, I've been a bit of a lazy blogger lately but only because I'm enjoying my new camera and getting plenty of great content for the coming months. I'll be back with some interesting, awe-inspiring pieces very shortly. Happy Monday!

CELINE - PRE-FALL 2011

I'm having a love affair with Céline's Pre-Fall 2011 collection. EVERY DAMN PIECE IS PERFECT. Phoebe Philo really knows what women of a certain age want...I guess I like to think that I've got a little grown-up-ness going on at the ripe age of twenty six. FYI -I'm now wearing lipstick! The wonderful thing about this collection is that, though it is quite refined, it's also edgy in an understated way. Pops of color, metallics and fur add a bit of daredevil glamour to even the most reserved looks. Also - let's talk about kitten heels with thin ankle socks? Like? YES! Like! See the full collection here.

Images sourced from Style.com

SIT DOWN, RELAX

It's official! I'm moving in with my lovely friend Morgan in March. She has a great little place in Cow Hollow and I'm very thrilled to be her new roomie. 1) HUGE closet 2) Living with my best friend 3) I have space for a couch in my room! So, I'm on the couch hunt. Unfortunately, it will likely be a discount/flea market/craigslist type of shopping adventure, but still exciting. I came across these glorious gems on one of my favorite stores, Anthropologie. Aren't they darling? While in reality, I will likely lean toward something a bit more modern, I really love the fabrics and general fuzzy feeling I get when looking at them. My hope is to find something interesting, CHEAP and comfortable for my new place. Please share any tips/advice on such a search if you can!

AMELIE (SANS ACCENT AIGU...)

Have you seen one of my favorite films, Amélie? No?!? Mon dieu! I insist you rent it! Heeeeee. It's fun to be bossy on my blog. ANYHOW. While perusing random blogs and following an odd path of enticing links, I stumbled upon this little clip which features captivating snippets from the movie along with one of the most glorious songs from the soundtrack, Comptine d'un Autre été L'après Midi, composed by Yann Tiersen. In fact, along with this film, the entire soundtrack is absolutely beautiful. I've had a long love affair with French film (perhaps because I've dreamt of living in Paris for as long as I can remember). I highly recommend you see this...it will make you look at the most minute of details with a new appreciation. If it isn't obvious from the clips, Audrey Tatou is fascinating in this role!


P.S. Does anybody know how to properly add accents in Titles....?

GUESS WHAT I DID THIS WEEKEND??

Yes, I went sailing on the San Francisco Bay. In January. Seriously, it was perfect. More on that and my weekend adventures later!

MOVE ME MOET

Scarlett Johansson is looking mighty fine in these darling ads for Moet & Chandon Champagne. I've definitely noticed the ever-rising trend of non-fashion brands shooting fashion & glamour forward ads, which actually seems to work very well...for me! Check out the ridiculous configuration of champagne glasses in the first image...do you think they really set this all up? How did they do it?? Fake flutes? Photoshop? Hmm...let me talk to some prop stylists and see what I can find out. I mean, seriously, one wrong move and there goes the entire day!

EDWARD SHARPE & THE MAGNETIC ZEROS - HOME

This is a little shout out to my favorite girl. Also,  just felt like sharing one of my favorite songs with you. Life is good, right?

PROGRESSIVE SATURDAY

The big idea was to wander about the Mission, snap some pictures and get a bite to eat. This happened, but only in the first twenty minutes because my camera died. Amateur move, Eastburn. Just before the battery died, I ran into local boutique Gravel & Gold. This is one of the coolest little shops in SF, located on 21st and Lexington in the Mission. Offerings include clothing, jewelry, books, wooden knickknacks, capes and furry boots, among many more charming, funky pieces you never thought you would covet but all the sudden do. Their merchandising is charming and sparse with a carefree Cali-cool attention to detail that's not easy to pull off. We then ended up doing a little progressive dining...oysters, ham and Pilsner at Hog & Rocks, then standing in line for the well worth it crispy trotters, mint chittarra with dungeness crab and Barbera d'Alba at Flour + Water. Plans were to hit up Twenty Five Lusk for the bar sampler course, but the first two were perfectly indulgent and hit the spot.

A PIECE OF WORK

Most people seem to have a hate/hate relationship with Joan Rivers. I, for one, have always thought she pushed boundaries, though admittedly sometimes a little too far. It's refreshing to see someone in the public eye not give a shit. I recently had the chance to watch A Piece of Work, the recent documentary detailing her trials and tribulations in show biz and, well, life. It was informative and totally entertaining, painting Rivers in a seemingly authentic and endearing light. She's been through a lot, including her husband's suicide and career ups and downs, yet continues to hold true to her sharp, gut-wrenching humour even at the age of seventy eight. What struck me the most is her relentless work ethic, that is both impressive and alarming. Love ya, Joan.

OH WAIT, SHE LOOKS GOOD TOO

This just in...Olivia Wilde in a beautiful A.L.C Maxi Dress and Ferragamo Resort 2011 clutch. Oye. Vey. Her effortless beauty is so appealing and really, what most girls should do. While it's fun to dress it up with make-up and accessories, sometimes a gorgeous dress and minimal finishing touches is just damn fine. I guess Blake has some competition!


Image source: http://www.thevoguediaries.com

AT LEAST SHE'S LIVELY

Ok my friends, due to the extremely underwhelming show of gowns at last evening's Golden Globe Awards, I've decided to post an overwhelmingly perfect example of how to dress for an event. Cut to Blake Lively in her beautiful, body-conscious Versace dress, dark brown Louboutin sandals and jewelry by Lorraine Schwartz. I love that she pulled her hair back but, added bangles for a youthful flair. THIS is how you do it! 


Image source: American Vogue January 2011
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HOLIDAY HANGOVER

Monday's are typically....meh. So when I found out Yelp was throwing a fun, free, fashion party, I just had to RSVP. This year, Yelp held not one, but FIVE unique Holiday Hangover parties! I chose to hit up the second evening's affair, which featured a fashion show from several of San Francisco's best boutiques, including one of my favorites, Candy Store Collective. While the show itself was slightly underwhelming (I was expecting MORE in more ways than one), we drank fruity SKYY cocktails, ate Ike's sandwiches and danced with good friends. 

Side note- the woman wearing the rainbow-tastic dress above is Danielle Pettee. She is a local dressmaker and made this vibrant, and might I add very well tailored, creation just that day! I believe she also made her furry purse. It became clear to me last night that I probably need a furry little purse of my own....

BALENCIAGA SHOWROOM

The super stylish and super Swedish blogger Elin Kling recently visited the Balenciaga showroom in Paris. If you follow this blog, you know I'm a huge Balenciaga fan, so I was thrilled to see the images.....and even more ecstatic when I saw my dear friend Katelyn in one of them! She is kind of a big deal at Balenciaga (hehe) and is always running off to Paris for work....lucky duck. Please enjoy these beautiful images and the lovely Katelyn wearing a very chic blazer in a mauve-ish rose hue. On another note, I absolutely love the custom patterns and textures from this collection!


Images sourced from http://www.elinkling.net/stylebykling/

7 BILLION

Highly informative yet insanely simplified look at the world's current population and the destructive imbalance this poses for our Earth. How do we create balance in a world that is overpopulated, where some people don't even have clean water and the richest are consuming the most energy? National Geographic is taking a year-long look at these issues and all viable solutions. I look forward to reading more!

THROW DOWN

One of my goals for this year is to make my living space more comfortable and put-together. It's time for new photos of family and friends in actual frames. Or perhaps a few throw pillows and a luxurious throw? After perusing the Room Service site on a tip from Emily at Cupcakes & Cashmere, I found these darling pillows that may just have to be mine.

EMERGING TALENT - KATIE GALLAGHER

S/S 2010

S/S 2011

F/W 2010

Elle Magazine has a great little section on emerging young designers, so I always try to keep my eyes open for the outstanding talent among this group. New York-based designer Katie Gallagher's pieces are decidedly dramatic, gothic and quite sculptural, a definite reference to her artistic background at RISD. I love the layered construction - it's so clear that each piece is a full throttle labor of love. She really brings an edge to her garments without overpowering each look. I have a feeling we'll be seeing much more of Ms. Gallagher in the coming years. Check out her complete collections here.


Images via katiegallagher.com and Elle.com

MOLTE COSE

While on an apartment hunt with two of my favorite ladies, we stumbled into one of my very favorite San Francisco multi-boutiques, Molte Cose. This quaint pocket on Polk Street offers whimsical vintage and new finds ranging from jewelry, dishes, clothing, shoes and accessories, to every other brilliant knickknack under the sun. Its three distinctive yet clearly cohesive mini-boutiques within one fabulous space offer a little something for women and men, which is always refreshing. I particularly love their selection of beautiful vintage jewelry! P.S. I'm very excited for the debut of my own photography....finally!

POOF

Isn't this model just stunning? Her name is Kamila Hansen and at first, I thought she was Hilary Rhoda. I also can't put my finger on who she is wearing, so I'll get right on that! Shot by Jonathon Wolpert and styled by Dario Shoupaiwisky for Brazilian pub, Of the Moda. Looks like this one are perfect for editorials, don't you think? My guess is that many regular gals wouldn't dare to wear such a front-volume-heavy frock. Myself on the other hand....

Image from Imagegonerogue.com

EAST ON ART

I've been a fan of John Currin's work for quite a while. It's absolutely beautiful, very sexually explicit and extremely provocative....alas, I've chosen to feature a few of his tame pieces, but this doesn't mean the others are anything less than brilliant. His influences range from the Renaissance to Playboy, making for some highly interesting subjects and very detailed technique.  For some reason, I find myself getting lost in his work.


Images from pixelsurgeon.com, sexualityinart.wordpress.com, flickr.com