last of the mohicans

I love Bo and Kevin. Check out their blog:
http://iamanindiantoo.blogspot.com/

cartable POP

So I'm getting ready for my first public show, more like a party, more like a heart attack, stress out fest, at the beautiful and very cool gallery Taylor De Cordoba. And I'm thinking to myself, what does the show need? Well, my bags definitely err on the side of classic and unadorned. I'm a true believer in less is more, however I don't think the mass public feels that way. And the objective is to actually sell bags as we're giving proceeds to a really great organization called PS ARTS. Perhaps the show could use a bit of color - so I'm thinking of painting on some of my bags - yes, painting, since they've already been made I cannot have them silk screened. Anyways, last night looking for ideas I played on photoshop. Here's my classic bag - the Cartable - one of my earliest designs for a work bag (which sold like crazy after daily candy did a piece on it) avec un petit peu de pop.

Now I'm off to do a little excruciating in person self promoting on the set of a TV show - behind the scenes of course. My friend works on the new show (with 2 really great actresses who I actually respect and think are super funny,) so she invited me there to present my line to the stylist and also to "gift" bags to the actresses. I know, it's completely dubious and potentially ridiculous, but since I actually like these girls, I'll give it a try. I saw one of the Rodarte girls last month speaking on how they never wanted to give their wares to celebs because that was just so not what they were about. I can't think of it being further from what I am about either, but I also hear that these celebs influence sales as pathetic and un cool as that sounds. Okay, enough. I'm off.

Garage Love

Oskar (not to be confused with Oscar my boy) - with a K - the owner of Luxe de Ville, my vintage store of choice, is also my neighbor. Today he had a garage sale and I found almost the exact Erica Tanov shearling vest I'd just tried to get to no avail as it's sold out everywhere! Not only did I get the jacket, which is gorgeous with a silk paisley lining, I also got the killer boots! It made my Saturday. Thank you Oskar.

Prosperity is just around the corner

This was my fortune the other night from a cookie. I wonder if it is not a far more common fortune these days. "Umm, it's the most in-demand fortune." When you order cookies from the fortune cookie store for your restaurant you can ask for the timely and encouraging batch.

In any case, I was thinking of printing it on one of my bags. Something a little better than above, a little subtler...however I actually kinda like this, but I like anything that resembles a French mariner stripe. That's my new workbag at its last photoshoot - it comes in 5 colors, one of which is 1970's vintage zebra-print canvas.

Get out!! Don't you want to go to work with that?

All of the bag children are in NY right now at the D&A show. Fingers crossed.

But speaking of using vintage fabric - VIVIER REMAKE style, this is where I'm going tonight and just looking at the pic, I know I don't have the right shoes to wear.

Sally's speaking on "Conscientious Consumption: Sustainability and the Future of Luxury" - sounds like VIVIER REMAKE to me...

Comme Comme des Garcons - JDubs style

It's Junya Watanabe for Comme des Garcons...took me a while because I've had a ridicubusy week. But anyway, I like what Sarah Mower said about this line on Style.com:
"Excursions to the African continent have been a persistent theme in the Spring shows: surely something to do with the urge to get as far away from the West's problems as possible. Junya Watanabe has gone there, too, but on his runway there was no sense of panicked escapism. As the sound of spring birdsong twittered on the soundtrack, out came girls carrying sheaves of flowers in towering head wraps, and an instant atmosphere of sunny serenity filled the room."

My favorite fabrics at the store.

My friend Chinami is a writer for Madame Figaro Japan. It is the most lovely magazine, it is so frustrating to not be able to read a thing in it. She passes me copies every month and I pour over them, mentally noting the things I'd like to ask her to translate for me which I never do. In the most recent, there's an editorial spread of some designer who I think I figured out is Comme Des Garcons has used African prints like these (on top shelf above )in their Spring line. I've always loved these prints, but they're hard to use with out looking too hippy or just wrong. So mostly I just buy them for their beauty and don't use them - although I've used some for linings. But the CDG line was gorgeous, refined and happy. I'll find online pics and post.

I heart lizard sunglasses

Let me just start by saying that before I lived in LA, sunglasses were not a big part of my wardrobe. Here however, it is sunny almost every single day and so you wear sunglasses almost every single day. In my grown-up-ness, I've discovered that I can't do the the cheapies anymore. I'll spend money on them and appreciate them like the little pieces of fashion that they are.

Which is why I devote an entire blog entry as to how I ended up with the most killer vintage lizard shades. As I mentioned in my last entry, mon mari gave me, among other things, a lovely gift of sunglasses for my birthday (as I was convinced that airport security stole my new pair of Oliver Peoples glasses from their case in my suitcase coming home from holiday, but that's another story.) That was nice of him, but actually I haven't needed an excuse for buying sunglasses of late, they seem to have become a bit like shoes for me. Meaning, I just can't get enough. In addition to the Dita aviators, there's the 2 Wayfarers I got in France this summer, the Philip Lim's I got at the NY boutique, new pair of Peoples (which are gone, thank god kinda), a pair of Lanvin's I got just because they were priced so low, how could I refuse?

And, so the gift from mon mari, it was sweet, but it turned into a wee drama. He has a favorite optical store in Silverlake - Gogosha Optique. (which their website says is "a high end, service and design driven eyewear and sunglass boutique" but is really just a super geekified glasses store at which I feel immediately inadequate for not knowing the difference of frames made in France over frames made in Japan - all the best are made in either country and no where else. I wear contacts which is not so cool in this boutique. But do I appreciate the expertise and old school service here. Don't expect to find any Diors or Guccis at this place. Those glasses may be expensive, but Julia, the store's owner eschews any logos on any of her glasses saying, "if you have to advertise your logo, your design wasn't strong enough to sell itself." Meow.) So he presents me with a wrapped, empty box from the store and accompanies me to pick something out.

First, I choose a pair of Salt sunglasses, the Carly model, to be exact. I have them for a day when I look at myself in the mirror and think 'who are you?' That's not a good thing to think when you know le mari may presumably want to actually see me wearing his gift every once and a while. SO I call the boutique and ask if I could come exchange them for another pair. Yes, they say, come in. I exchange them for the "Audrey" Oliver Goldsmith's which you see in the previous entry. I wear them for a day or 2 and then realize that they give me a terrible headache. I call the store again - seriously this is uncharacteristic - ask if I could come back and either exchange or have them adjusted. They say yes, true to their service-oriented-selves. I crawl back in and assure them that I don't normally do things like this. After trying on every pair in the store and staying longer than my one hour meter allows, I am going to leave empty handed when I see them open one of the drawers and spy an entire field of sunglasses I'd never seen. What are those, I ask? They're our vintage collection, they respond. May I take a look? Sure. Standing over the drawer the skin coated frames are the 2nd ones I try on and when they illicit ooohs and aaahs from the staff I have to take a look. I love them. I take them. I will not return them.

And the fashion mags all proclaiming skin to be in, I don't care, I just love these glasses. Could they be hotter?


And how about the vintage printing? I'm such a sucker for that: GENUINE LIZARD.

What's in your bag?

It was Christmas then a week later New Year's and then a week later my birthday, so I realize that this Happy New Year entry is a little late, but this one will be a bit of a catch up. First, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Done. Now, I've been meaning to post a version of one of my favorite features in magazines - the What's is Your Bag piece. This is my bag and the current things in it. Click on the picture to see bigger pic with item list.

Here's a game - there's one thing in the bag which I actually never carry. Guess what it is? Answer at the end of this post.

But about the other contents of the bag - some are gifts from my bday, like the Marni items which come from Simone,

(how my presy from Simone arrived at the Vivier headquarters.)

and the sunglasses from mon mari; the iPhone, make-up no girl can live without, yeah yeah yeah, but the star is really that bag, no? Get out! That's lace leather, how beautiful is that?! And it's remnant leather - so it's in limited supply. It's not available on website yet - only special order for now. Call Vivier to place order - number's on website.




Here are some of the other lovely and inspiring things I got for mes fêtes.

1. an Orchid from HBT; 2. a "Bocage" vintage Hermes scarf from my sister; 3. a snakeskin wallet from my brother from Ghana; 4. a gray patent bank bag from Vivier; 5. a leather bowl from Mohawk General Store (from Greta for bday); 6. visor from Ghana soccer game (from brother)


A: The comb. For my hair? Come on now, you know I could never use a comb without deliberately wanting to look like a sheet of Bounce just unstuck from an angora sock.