East Coast, West Coast, Sample Sale

Seasonal markdowns have begun, and temptation abounds.  Nonetheless, I am resisting the urge to impulse purchase things I know I'll soon regret, and am instead trying to be adult and save my cash for the sales that count.  I just received word of two good ones that are coming up, one for each coast.  In New York, Mary Ping, Slow and Steady Wins the Race, Mandarin & General, Emmanuelle, and Haerfest are teaming up for combined sample and inventory sale. In L.A., our friends at Blood is the New Black are having a massive sale which will include $5 shirts, and free beer, margaritas, and barbecue to sweeten the deal.  If I were on the West Coast, I wouldn't want to miss it.

-Tiffany

Hot and Bothered

Zana modeling her own leather peplum, and a friend modeling one of her bondage style face masks

Yesterday night, I made a sweaty trek over to CATM Gallery with hundreds of other Zana Bayne enthusiasts to view her latest Fall/Winter 2012 collection of leather body-harnesses.  Taking a beautifully orchestrated step away from the traditional fashion presentation, Zana chose to collaborate with three other artists and photographers to fully convey the sensual nature of her work.  Char Alfonzo, Maxime Buchi, and Adrian Wilson used photography, video and installation to capture Zana's work on the human body, playing with the themes of power and submission that are integral to her bondage inspired pieces. The fetishistic and fantastic elements conveyed through the resulting work gave Zana's harnesses a life that could not be expressed in a simple presentation with models, and the gallery truly felt like a teasing peek into Zana's lush, leather-filled world.  The exhibition is only up for one more day, so try to make it if you're in New York.  Otherwise, keep an eye out for her new pieces to arrive--I personally can't wait to get my hands on the leather cone bra pictured in one of Adrian Wilson's photographs.

Zana's Leather skull installation

Leather bra photographed by Adrian Wilson

-Tiffany

Instagram Diaries

Jonathan's Birthday Cake

In the midst of my entire apartment falling apart (windows, lights, and plumbing somehow all simultaneously must be fixed), my camera also decided to give up on me this week, leaving me with nothing more than my iPhone to document everything I've been up to and everyone I've been visiting.  Seeing as it's my last free week before I start my new job, I've been running around town getting all my errands done, and catching up with some of my favorite friends and local designers.  Better photos of said designers are on the way, but in the meantime, here's my past week via Instagram.


Floral bouquets at the opening of the new Bijules flagship store at 355 Bowery


Jules presenting the latest collection of her jewelry at the Media Seance at her new shop


Hearts on fire at the Bijules flagship store


Becca custom fitting my Chromat bikini at her new studio in the Brooklyn Navy Yards


The Chromat inspiration board


Degen Knitwear mood board


Anne Koch's installation at Allegra LaViola Gallery


Carved tree stumps at Figment on Governor's Island


Figment


Stilt walking musicians at Figment


Victoria on the Statue of Liberty installation at Figment


A puppet from the Children's Museum of Art's stop motion animation program at Figment

-Tiffany

Nails, Cocktails, and the Gang at Hester Street

Annie and Christina at the Cirque and Shelter booth at the Hester Street Fair

I've spent the last two bright beautiful Saturdays hanging out with Annie, Christina, Sofia, and Riza while they worked at their new booth at Hester Street Fair.  After months of laboriously mixing colors, experimenting with glitters, and probably breathing in tons of fumes, Annie has finally launched her brand of nailpolishes, Cirque.  Her first collection, Dark Horse, features a dozen shimmer, glitter, and sparkle based colors in shades that you won't find in any drugstore beauty isle.  She gave me a few of her favorite colors to take home, and I've been playing around and mixing them with my own nailpolishes all week.  It's hard deciding a favorite, but Epoch, a holographic bluish-green that's the shade of a beetle wing, is what I'm wearing right now, and I never want to take it off.  I also love how well all of the colors work so well together, and seem to look the best when layered or paired with one another.

Christina has also been hard at work with Shelter, a line of candles she's been making Sofia and Riza.  In addition to their line of beeswax candles shaped like bottles and twigs, they've moved on to making scented candles now (finally!), and are planning on coming up with new scents every season.  My personal favorite is Pink Moon, which has a lovely scent of lavender, citrus, sandalwood and berries.

On both of my visits to Hester Street, I only meant to stop by to say hi, but ended up staying to hang out with my favorite lady friends, taste a sampling of the delectable selection of food from local vendors, sip on secretly spiked drinks, and of course, paint my nails with Cirque.  I even switched my energy from corporate windpower to cheaper, non-corporate windpower.  So productive!  Anyway, both Cirque and Shelter will be at Hester Street Market every other Saturday this summer, so make sure to pay the girls a visit if you're in the city.

All the different shades of Cirque polish, which range cost $12-$16

Today's Cirque manicure: Debris layered over Epoch

Shelter bottle shaped candles

New Shelter mini scented tea lights, $4 each, or $14 for a pack of four

Cirque polishes

Beautiful packaging to take my Cirque nailpolish kit home in!

French manicure using Dark Horse (tips) and Potosi (overcoat), by Cirque, and Nude (base coat) by Urban Outfitters

Tibetan Nights (base coat), Fascination Street (tips), and Potosi (overcoat), all by Cirque

-Tiffany

Just Swimmingly

Chromat designer Becca McCharen with some pieces from her new swim collection

I know summer isn't officially here yet, but after coming from the not very warm Stockholm "spring" (which involved several incidents of snow), New York feels perfectly sweltering. It hit eighty degrees this past weekend, and if it's any indication that I'm turning into a Swede, eighty degrees means it's beach weather to me.  I am already fantasizing about my first weekend escape to the Rockaways, and when I make my way out there for some surf, sun, and cheap tacos, I hope to be wearing Chromat.  I've always been a big fan and supporter of Becca, who has been constructing her outlandish architectural cages for several seasons now.  I have to say, as impressive as all her previous work has been, she has really outdone herself with her newly launched swim collection, featuring very sexy, very cagey, yet totally practical suits and separates.  They're like no other swim line I've seen vefore, and they're currently only available at International Playground, and off Becca's webshop.  Prices top out at $250, which is a steal for such beautifully constructed, locally made suits.  I personally can't wait to purchase the high-waisted bikini.

-Tiffany

Fierce Looks From Pop Souk

Daniel Palillo dress, Iceberg vest, choker necklace courtesy of Bond Hardware, Triskaidekaphobia tooth necklace, Henrik Vibskov bag.  Photo by @nicollettenyc.

This past Saturday, Christina and I took Triskaidekaphobia and Arms and Armory down to Greenhouse for the second edition of Pop Souk, the one and only market for downtown designers and nightlife personalities. It's always exciting to see all my favorite local talents gathered up in one place, and everyone came out wearing their most outlandish attire, dressed for a night out even though it was really an afternoon in.  I only got to take a quick glimpse at all the offerings, and didn't actually buy anything since I spent most of the time in the booth with the girls, but I did manage to sneak in a manicure with Naomi Yasuda, and capture some photos of my favorite looks.

Sophia, Christina, Riza, and I at the Triskaidekaphobia and Arms and Armory booth

Becca of Chromat wearing one of her fabulous new swimsuits (more images to come!)

One of the fellows from the Asher Levine booth

One of Pam Hogg's many stretchy jumpsuits

Naomi Yasuda was on hand giving out special manicures.  Riza and I opted for the evil eye design.

Another half-man, half-monster creation from Asher Levine

Dana, one half of the design duo behind Bond Hardware, wearing an incredible ombre feather coat that she made and a necklace from her collection

The beautiful ladies from the Kathleen Marie Couture booth

-Tiffany

Back in the New York Groove: Two Great Sales for this Weekend

Triskaidekaphobia Buckle Ring

After a long Swedish winter, I'm finally back in New York, and arrived just in time for the beginning of sale season.  First off, Triskaidekaphobia and Arms and Armory will be participating again in the second edition of Pop Souk, Ladyfag's market for downtown designers and nightlife kids.  Legendary designer Pam Hogg will be the special guest, selling a selection of limited archival pieces from her collection.  The event will take place from 12-6pm on Saturday, May 12th at Greenhouse on 150 Varick St.

One of my favorite online retailers, Fabricly, will also be hosting a massive warehouse sale this week.  From Friday to Saturday, they'll be selling pieces from their great selection of emerging designers, including Stylestalker, Mary Meyer, and Species By the Thousands, for up to 90% off.  The sale is at 30 W. 18th St, and you can find more info here.

Stylestalker dress from Fabricly

-Tiffany

Springtime in Stockholm

At Prins Eugens Waldenarsudde. Stine Goya x Weekdays dress, H&M tights, Dieppa Restrepo tights, Devaki hat, Triskaidekaphobia necklace

I haven't been posting much lately, as I've been out enjoying my last few weeks in Stockholm.  I'm moving back to New York very soon, right as the days are becoming gloriously long (the sun is going down around nine) and the weather is finally taking a turn for the better.  I spent this weekend relishing spring at two of my favorite museums in Stockholm, Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde, and Millesgarden.  While neither are very centrally located, they're a must see if you happen to be in Stockholm during the spring or summer; both are located on fantastic grounds, and best visited while everything is in bloom.  They also give a peek into what it was like to have a fun and fabulous life in Stockholm at the turn of the century.  Prins Eugens Waldermarsudde is the former castle residence of Swedish Prince Eugen, and contains his private collection of art.  Millesgarden is the former home and estate of artists Carl and Olga Milles, and includes a sprawling sculpture garden filled with Carl Milles's work.

Of course, spring wouldn't be complete without the Cherry Blossoms at Kungstradgarden.  I went to see them twice this weekend, and took some photos with Gabi after our visit to the Dansmuseet (more on that tomorrow).  I know I whine a lot about winter in this country, but I have to say, springtime is pretty wonderful when it finally arrives.

Millesgarden

Millesgarden

Millesgarden

Millesgarden

Cherry Blossoms at Kungstradgarden. Stine Goya jumpsuit, ASOS feather jacket, Ursidae New York scarf, Monki sunglasses, Triskaidekaphobia necklace

Gabi at Kungstradgarden

-Tiffany