beautiful people

It's inevitable. A fact of life. There are beautiful people everywhere.

Ever see the movie The Last Kiss? It's the one with Zach Braff, where he cheats on his sexy older girlfriend (Jacinda Barrett), with the hot young college girl a.k.a Rachel Bilson.

Anyways, there is this part in the movie where Zach is trying to explain his "bad behavior" to his girlfriend's dad. In essence he blames his cheating on the fact that Bilson was hot. The dad stares at him for a second as says something to the effect of, "You think I've seen my last hot brunette?"

Alright, alright . . . it's probably better if you just watch the movie.

Point being, I'd rather be 40 and sexy, than hot at 25. Hot 25 year-old girls are everywhere, but stand out, sexy 40 year-olds are rare.

love

Just a thought: I love the colors in thie outfit posted on Jak & Jil. Love, love, love it!

simple truths

"It's not what you wear, its how you wear it" or "It's all in the attitude" or "You wear the clothes, don't let the clothes wear you" . . . and so on, and so on.

Every time I see Carine Roitfeld or Emmanuelle Alt I think these truths. These ladies just wear it. What ever the article of clothing is, they wear it like it was made just for their body. Whether is cost 5 dollars or 5000, they wear it all the same. Fur, feathers, leather, who cares! They were made to wear it all. And their swagger in heels is intimidating. They walk across all surfaces - grass and rocks - without stumbling or getting stuck. Amazing. They could walk for miles and run marathons in heels. How do they do it?

And here I am, too timid to wear my Isabel Marant bomber jacket out of the house, and foolishly stumbling around in my Chloe heels. They say the 20's are supposed to be the best. But I'm looking forward to my 30's and all the confidence my age will bring.

isabel interview

I am so sorry for being M.I.A this week. With the new job came new hours (i.e. up at 6:00 am home at 7:00 pm); therefore, I am super tired and have less time. I haven't had time to catch up on everyone blog, but I did come across a fabulous interview with one of my favorite designers, Isabel Marant.

Read the whole interview here.

I'll be back . . .

hi ho, hi ho . . .

My first day at a new job reminds me of the first day of school. I always pick two outfits the night before. Why two? Well, because I never know which outfit is going to feel "just right" until the morning. Pants or skirt, pants or skirt?

I always have a terrible time sleeping too. I am afraid I am going to over sleep, so I end up waking every hour throughout the night.

Every school year you start over, new courses, new outfit to wear, new nervousness, new orientation to sit through.

Point being, today I am starting over. Today is my first day at my new job. Do I hear you screaming, "Yes!" I finally got a job, an awesome job, and while you are reading this, I am probably on my way to work. The new gig requires a huge chunk of my time away from home, which is a whole new story. I'll get into all details later, but for now, I say, "Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to work I go. . ."

baring it all

So I have a question but maybe I should explain before I ask. You see, yesterday I was reading about the upcoming 2010 Pirelli calendar. These babies are almost impossible to get your hands on, and are considered collector items. For the past 40 years, Pirelli has hired one international photographer after another to take themed photos of female models. It wasn’t until 1964 that these calendars became famous, but the notoriety lives on with the 2010 calendar being shot by Terry Richardson.

So yesterday I was flipping through some behind the scenes shots from the 2010 calendar photo shoot in Brazil last month. Of course, not surprising, all the models were topless - bare-breasted holding monkeys, dodging waves, riding animals, pouring cream on themselves, and so on.

So my question…

Does it weird you out when you see models so comfortable being photographed topless? I know it is normal in the modeling world to run around naked, but as a viewer, a spectator of the modeling world one might say, what do you think of the topless photo shoot?

what's for sale?

When I was in New York last week, I saw the steamy threesome Calvin Klein billboard. (Obviously, it's hard not to miss it.) Since the days of CK Underwear ads, Calvin Klein has always screamed sex, at least to me. And it appears Steven Meisel has rediscovered the concept of sex-sells with these new ads featuring Eva Mendes.

Honestly, I wouldn't have known it was Eva. Perhaps that's because I am too busy noticing how much of her "whoa-ha" is showing. You can see Eva's other CK ad here.

do you like it?

What do you think, is this Stella McCartney jumpsuit super cute or super lame? Stella, herself got mixed reviews when she wore it a few weeks back. Now that it's photoshoot friendly, what do you think?

the winners are . . .

Monday night was the 2009 CFDA Awards. The party is over and the winners are:

• Accessory Designer of the Year: Proenza Schouler
  
• Popular Vote Award: Ralph Lauren


• Menswear Designer of the Year: Italo Zucchelli for Calvin Klein and Scott Sternberg for Band of Outsiders (tie)
  
• Swarovski Award for Menswear: Tim Hamilton


• Swarovski Award for Womenswear: Alexander Wang


• Swarovski Award for Accessories: Justin Giunta for Subversive Jewelry


• Womenswear Designer of the Year: Rodarte

Personally, I give a "Yea" for Alexander Wang and Rodarte. Check out more photos from the event.

cruise control

In my opinion resort/cruise collections are fashion overkill. I think spring and fall collections do enough damage to our bank accounts. But, since designers are creating, I figured I'd share my favorites for this year.

a sigh

I had one of "those" days today. It's been an overwhelming month. I am still trying to readjust to west coast time, my mom had knee replacement surgery this past Friday, and my uncle passed away yesterday.

Needless to say, it all caught up to me last night. I was up until 3 a.m. this morning. I couldn't sleep. I lied there in the dark, looking at the ceiling, trying to grasp what it means when someone isn't alive any more. It's weird. They just aren't there.

I spent the night trying to wrap my brain around it all. My dad died two years ago, my grandfather died a year ago, and one year and 5 months later my uncle dies. My grandmother says, "things happen in threes". Surprise, surprise. I hope she is right, because if things happen in fours, I don't want to know who's next.

Anyways, you'd be surprised to know, I've been lucky I think. The last time I left each person, some of the best memories were created.

The last time I saw my dad, he helped me pack the U-Haul for Seattle. We spent the day together, just him and I. We raced to see who could get a 50 lbs box of records from one end of the street to the other the fastest. I won of course. He dropped my black Ikea sofa over the balcony from the second story, and I caught it downstairs, nearly breaking my back. And we sat on the floor of my empty apartment, and ate pizza before I saw him wave goodbye for the last time.

With my grandfather, TJ and I had spent the night at my grandparent’s house. When we were about to leave to go to the Raiders football game, my grandfather called me in to his bedroom. I looked at him tucked under the covers, as he held my hand and told me that I had "come full circle" and that "I was doing alright".

And with my uncle, I saw him just last week. I hadn't seen him in over a year, since my grandfather's funeral actually. I was in San Francisco to see my mom and for a job interview, and so I stopped by the hospital. I had a brief 10 minutes with him, but I think it was the first time in my life he was ever glad to see me. And though he couldn't speak, he said more to me in those ten minutes than he has in the entire time I have known him.

Anyways, point being, I’ve learned the value of leaving things right with people. Other family member’s final moments weren’t so good. I live once and I never know the last time I will see someone. My dad was 58, my grandfather 89, and Kirk was 63 (I believe). I am eternally grateful that things ended well for me with each person. I can find peace at night when I rest my head. And, I can hang on to the good memories.

One last thing... When I hung up the phone with my mom last night, TJ (my husband) turned his head and said to me, "I love you, and I will probably never say that enough."

A good memory.

Sneak Peek: Maison Martin Margiela Avant Première Collection

I can promise you, these photos are hard to find. And odds are, someone is going to come and make me take them down soon. So quick! Check out Maison Martin Margiela's Avant Première Collection Look Book. The slideshow is below.

back in town

I am back from New York. We had a fantastic time and I walked away only buying a $10 dollar top and a $20 dollar box of cookies from Dean & Deluca (they tasted too good to pass up on). I have lots to share and some big news on the job front, but it will have to wait till tomorrow. I'm tired, jet lagged, and in desperate need of a bath and bed time.

If interested, you can check out all my New York photos.

caught my eye

I get bored with American Vogue, there is always a famous celebrity standing on the cover - similar pose, similar facial expression. If you saw the extremely dated looking June 2009 cover with Cameron Diaz, you’d understand what I am saying.

So I was rummaging through the magazine store, looking for a new magazine that might strike my interest. And in seconds, I landed upon Vogue Brazil. This cover wowed me. The cover is stunning. I love all the colors and the wild feathers. What do you think?

oh, can't wait, can't wait

Off to New York. Until Monday...

going up in smoke

I smoked. A habit I picked up in college, one might say. I was living in San Francisco, going to school, and trying to meet people. The easiest way to start a conversation was to ask for a cigarette. And it worked.

My first roommate after living in the dorms I met because of smoking. We both smoked Parliament Lights on the step of our Castro apartment. The guy at the corner store would save the buy-two-get-one-free packs for when we came in. We'd take our cigarettes home, sit outside on the cement steps, and talk. Mindlessly chain smoking most of the time, hours of conversation passed along with packs of cigarettes.

I met my first friend in Sacramento smoking. I'd moved back to my hometown to finish up my degree and met Megan in poetry class. We'd smoke cigarettes at the coffee shop and write lame poetry. Starting with a blank piece of paper, we'd take turns writing line after line, until pages filled up. Our cigarette boxes would run empty.

I quit smoking, because I smoked too much. Really. I went out dancing with a girl friend, smoked at least 3 packs, went back to her place, smoked more inside her place, and woke up with my eyes burning and feeling nauseated. That was it.

It's been 4 1/2 years, and it still smells good and looks sexy in photos. But my lungs thank me.

deep breath

I'm in San Francisco today. Fingers crossed, I'm taking care of various pieces of business which I will share more about in the coming weeks. Perhaps most importantly, I'm getting a breath of fresh air. I recommend you take a mini-vacation. Stand up from your desk, look out the window, throw your hands above your head, and inhale.

Voilà! You are alive.

whose house is it?

Maison Martin Margiela is one of my absolute favorite designers. Yet the Fall 2009 season's collection was somewhat "off". Sarah Mower of Style.com hit the nail on the head when she wrote the following review:

"The Margiela-isms seemed to be there, sort of: the tan bodysuits mimicking nakedness, the Perspex shoulder pads, the so-called "deconstructionist" cutouts, the leggings pulled over shoes, the grown-on collars worn as hoods, the tinselly boas. Yet all of it seemed to be done by rote, as if it had been pulled out of the label's back catalog, without any sense of a vivid intelligence pushing an idea toward new conclusions."

It can be agreed that something seemed to be missing from the fall collection, perhaps the man himself.

Margiela is owned by Diesel. And there has been speculation that Margiela left after some disagreements with Diesel over marketing strategies and a shift toward mass production. Yet, no one has been able to get a straight answer from anyone. Margiela and his presence within the company is a mystery.

A recent article posted on JC Report added fuel to this "mystery man" fire. According to the article, contact was made with one of Margiela's designers who stated, "He [Margiela] has not been present since last season." In addition, it has been said that Diesel has begun interviewing designers such as Raf Simons and Haider Ackermann.

It's not uncommon by any means for labels to rotate through designers; however, this possible placement weirds me out. What makes Maison Martin Margiela is Margiela. It's his creativity, his weird and wacky mind that makes his label fantastic. In a world where true creative genius is few and far between, I am disappointed at the thought that Diesel would find mass production more important than Margiela's masterful mind.

show and tell

In searching the web for more Christian Lacroix bankruptcy information, I came across a fabulous New York Times photo slide show. It gives a behind the scenes look at how garments are made for Lacroix, Chanel, and Dior. Check it out, the photos are worth it!