Side Boobs + Six Packs

Last week's International Playground party was a real treat. Not only did we get to work with one of our favorite stores, but we also got to throw a party for a bunch of incredible local talents, including our friend Mary Meyer. Mary's known for her easy, comfortable jersey pieces, which are usually adorned with a signature geometric Mary Meyer print. This season's collection include plenty of summer-ready pieces, with revealing dresses and tops that are cut low in the armhole in order to show a flash of your side-boob, as well as slashed up shirts that are meant to show off your six-pack abs. What? No awesomely perky boobs or amazing six pack abs to speak of? I guess you can wear them even if you're not built like Lara Stone or The Situation (heh, gross), but they're certainly a little reminder that you might want to hit the gym a few times before summer officially begins.

-Tiffany

Sadness is The New Black

Had an incredibly long, but wonderful day, starting with a little project with DKNY which will be coming out this fall. Of course shooting ran a bit behind schedule, so I ended up spending a bit of time hanging out with the Swedish male model on the set. Luckily I feel most at home with Swedish male models (no joke!). After a semi-hurried shoot by a very accommodating production crew, I rushed down to our trunk show at EVA. Thank you to everyone who turned out, in spite of the not-so-pleasant weather. Christina, Sam and I finished the night with a very glamorous trip to the $1 pizza place on St. Marks, and then a quick jaunt to a stranger's house party.

Anyway, I'm dying to crawl into bed right now, but I couldn't resist sharing the new Lykke Li video for Sadness is a Blessing, directed by Tarik Saleh, and starring Stellan Skarsgård (father of frequently naked hunk, Alexander). This song is dedicated to my very sad friend. Chin up, my love. Things can only get better. Sadness is a blessing.

-Tiffany

Fashion Drawing NOW!

Richard Haines's drawing of my friend Elliot and I at the launch party for Fashion Drawing. I wore my illustrated Stine Goya dress and 80%20 shoes!

This past Monday, my dear friend Andrew Yang of Koukalita doll-making fame invited me to the opening reception for the book Fashion Drawing, and the accompanying display of some of the illustrations from the book at The National Arts Club (yes, that place again). Andrew was one of the many talents who contributed to the book by Parsons professor Michele Wesen Bryant, and the lovely tome is both an art book and a text book, providing illustration techniques and technical advice for fashion designers. The reception featured work from many of the artists in the book, and I was delighted to find that three additional illustrator friends of mine were either part of the show or included in the book. Please take a moment to check out all of their work and their websites--each of them have such different styles, but they are all immensely talented.

Richard Haines is one of my former bosses, and even though he was a menswear designer when I worked for him, he currently holds the more fun job of blogger and illustrator. He regularly illustrates for J. Crew and In Style Magazine, in addition to doing sketches of all the well-dressed and intriguing characters he sees out and about--an illustrated take on street style. I've had the immense pleasure of being drawn by him twice now--what a treat!

A portrait by Richard Haines

I've written plenty about Andrew Yang on this blog already, so I hope longtime readers are already head-over-heels in love with his work. I know I am. I'm anxiously awaiting the completion of my doll, which Andrew is making for me in exchange for some doll jewels I made for his collection a while back. For the Fashion Drawing show, he brought two dolls, including an Indian princess doll, who wore an antique Indian child's tunic, refitted to the proper doll size. Andrew is a wonderful illustrator too, pick up the book for apeek at his drawings!

Andrew Yang's doll at the Fashion Drawing exhibition


I met Eri Wakiyama at the Urban Outfitters DIY or DIE event we did ages ago, where I was introduced to many of my first blogger friends. While Eri works at Comme Des Garcons during the day, she also does plenty of gorgeous illustrations on the side. I'm particularly enamored with the recent project she did for wonderMode, where she illustrated some of her favorite spring runway looks. I fantasize of looking like the girls in her drawings, particularly the excellent Louise Gray rendition below.


Eri Wakiyama's drawing of Rodebjer Spring 2011 for wonderMode

Eri Wakiyama's drawing of Louise Gray Spring 2011 for wonderMode


I only recently met Finnish illustrator Laura Laine through Daniel Palillo, but I've actually admired her work for years. Laura is responsible for all of the amazing illustrations on Daniel's designs, in addition to doing plenty of work for magazines like Vogue, Elle, and T Magazine. I love the modern-Grimms-fairytale feel of most of her work, which captivated me immediately.
Laura Laine's illustration for WTF Magazine

Laura Laine's illustration for Kitsune

-Tiffany

World of Vandevorst

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of seeing A.F. Vandevorst collection at the Nouveau P.R. press preview. The Antwerp-based cult label is hard to find in the U.S. and a look at their stockists indicates that only one U.S. store in New Jersey currently carries the line. The pieces are eternally elegant, minimal, with a certain calculated dishabille. Favorites from this collection included a newspaper-print skirt that was cut and crinkled to resemble the texture of actual newspaper, a gorgeous nude pleated dress with raw seams that twists in the middle, and a very shaggy tailcoat that looked like it was constructed entirely of loose threads. Another highlight? the lustworthy collection of shoes, many of which had their own strap-on harnesses, which gave off a fetishistic S&M vibe. Here's hoping that we see more A.F. Vandevorst in the U.S. soon, starting with a store in New York. In the meantime though, they do have an online shop (with some items on sale!), which is definitely worth perusing...

-Tiffany

Bijules and Triskaidekaphobia Trunk Show and Sample Sale at EVA

This Thursday we're teaming up with our girl Jules from Bijules for a Trunk Show and Sample Sale at one of our favorite downtown stores, EVA (355A Bowery). We will have pieces from the new Triskaidekaphobia Fall collection on hand for pre-order, as well as items from previous seasons on sale for about 50% off of the original retail price. In addition, there will be select discounts on items throughout the store. If you're in New York, I hope you can join us for some cocktails and shopping--here's a small preview of some of the pieces that will be available!

Triskaidekaphobia Sea Monster Ring

Triskaidekaphobia sharks tooth necklace and single earring

Bijules nail ring

Bijules curved bar ring

-Tiffany

Human Easter Egg

Proenza Schouler vest, vintage Versace skirt, BCBG striped top, Marc x Marc Jacobs flats, Henrik Vibskov socks, French and English Confectioners backpack, Forever 21 boater hat, Slow and Steady Wins the Race sunglasses, Gerard Yosca cuff

Jimmy and I aren't particularly religious, but we're always up for any holiday that centers around feasting and food, or better yet, candy and chocolate. Jimmy is roasting two chickens for our family dinner tonight, and I am anxiously waiting to break open our Easter egg full of Swedish candies from Sockerbit. The other great thing about Easter? Getting to dress up like a full-on human Easter egg, and not have anyone look at you funny cause they all think that you're just going to church or something.

-Tiffany

BEVEL Set

When our friend Jonathan Goldstein started his jewelry line BEVEL, he certainly didn't display any trepidation in his work. His strong, mostly unisex, designs look like they're built for a modern Aztec warrior, and consist of plenty of metal facemasks, chin guards, and extra-pointy spiked bracelets and rings. Even though many of his pieces somehow resemble either armor or weaponry, I would think twice before going to battle adorned in BEVEL, as most of his heavy pieces are cast in either sterling silver or solid gold, and losing one of them would cost nearly as much as losing a limb. I know I would probably cry just as much. These photographs hardly do the work justice, and since Jonathan's a major perfectionist, I suggest you take a look at his website to view the full lookbook, as well as his blog to see his fascinating sources of inspiration.

-Tiffany

Go West

I might have had a little too much fun last night at our party for International Playground, so pardon me if I lack a coherent train of thought. One of the highlights of stopping by the Starworks press day last week (other than a quick glimpse of Nicollette) was seeing the new Marios Schwab collection. Although it may not be immediately obvious, I was told that it was partly inspired by cowboys and western attire. The collection contains many of the designer's signature pieces: his sculptural puffer jackets, which we've seen in previous collections, as well as the twisting, fluid draping of a his dresses, which were adorned with gumball-sized Swarovski pearls. As for the western bit, the traditional Schwab silhouettes were additionally adorned with intricately tooled leather bustiers as well as some gun-slinging leather harnesses. All these tough little details perfectly balanced out the otherwise feminine shapes, perfect for the lady who might not be so ladylike afterall.

-Tiffany

Garden of Earthly Delights: The Green Shows Ecolux Pop-Up Shop

Study NY

Yesterday night I stopped by Bloomingdales Soho for their launch of a new Ecolux Pop-Up Shop done in collaboration with The Green Shows. The shop features some of my favorite local talents, including three designers who we will be throwing parties for shortly (i.e. tomorrow and in the next two weeks!): Study NY, H. Fredriksson, and Suzanne Rae. The pop-up was planned in honor of Earth Day, which is this Friday, April 22nd, and will go from today until Saturday. I might be a little biased since I know and adore plenty of the designers involved, but I truly believe that the space offers the best selection of environmentally conscious design on the market right now. I'm particularly feeling the Ikat print full skirt from Study NY, the bat-winged chambray shirt from Suzanne Rae, and the printed shorts from Samantha Pleet, which are covered in illustrations of tiny animals, and look like a Hieronymus Bosch painting converted to print! Throughout the next few days they will be having plenty of fun events and meet-and-greets with all the designers involved, and if you are in New York, you should definitely stop by for a chat, some tea, and cupcakes. Check here for a full schedule of all the events.

H. Fredriksson

Suzanne Rae

I'm obsessed with these printed shorts by Samantha Pleet. There are dozens of tiny animals hidden in the print!

Samantha Pleet

The Sway

The Sway

-Tiffany

Six Six Sick Presents: International Playground's 1 Year Anniversary Party w/ Daniel Palillo, Study NY, Mary Meyer, Chromat, H. Fredricksson + more!

It seems like I was celebrating the opening of International Playground's L.E.S. boutique with Waseem, Jacob, and Diane only yesterday, so it's hard to imagine that a full year has already gone by. A lot has happened since, and the store has opened a branch in L.A. in addition to expanding their showroom from the back of the store to an enormous space in Nolita. I've also become quite close to the awesome Playground crew, Johnnie and Virginia, and not only will we be selling Triskaidekaphobia at the store this season, but we will be throwing them a big birthday bash this Thursday at Anchor Bar (310 Spring St) from 10-2. There will be an open vodka bar from 10-11, so get there early, and a whole bunch of International Playground designers will be on hand to host, including our friends Mary Meyer, Chromat, Study NY, and H. Fredricksson. As an extra special treat, we will be having designer Daniel Palillo, who is in from Finland, DJ. I've been a huge fan of his work ever since Aapo introduced it to me, and I plan on wearing one of his designs to the party. Even though Daniel isn't keen on receiving loads of attention, I couldn't help but share some of his latest work with you, including his absolutely adorable new collection for kids, and his collaboration with God's Prey. Enjoy, and I hope to see you out on Thursday!


Daniel Palillo Fall 2011


Cute overload. The Daniel Palillo Kids collection, miniature versions of some of his adult styles.

Daniel Palillo x God's Prey

-Tiffany