Fall Style & Wardrobe Lustlist

Ah I love fashion week season. So much street style inspiration floating around!! Above were some of my favorite shots from the last week, including, of course, perennial favorites Emmanuelle Alt and Olivia Palermo, as well as Elin Kling, whose blog and style I love, and I think that adorable thing in the white dress is probably Miraslava Duma, though the photo wasn’t captioned.

Have you been noticing little Miraslava around, cropping on The Sartorialist and Garance? I fell in love with her for this image, and then back when she had bangs it lead to a serious consideration of re-cutting bangs for myself.

Anyway… NYFW and these shots above have been inspiring me to think about my wishlist for my fall wardrobe, which, as you will notice by most of the designers listed in the captions, is purely a wishlist– I will most likely have a budget that would allow me to obtain about 3.5% of this list, or, in other terms, the bottom half of one shirt sleeve.

But, I think it’s very useful to set out at the beginning of a season what your dream items are, so that you can then be conscientious about deciding which items are worth splurging on (instead of impulse buying), and also be able to spot a great knockoff that fits the bill when you find it.

Let’s start with the basics. As you’ll notice, I like basic basics that can be easily mixed and matched, and go day to night just by switching out jewelry, shoes, and jacket. And I like to stick with what works. For me, it’s skinny jeans with a solid t-shirt, tank, or button-up in a classic color. All I really like to switch up is the cut and material. This year, I am crazy for washed silk button-ups (I could buy all my blouses from Equipment, which incidentally is owned by Carine Roitfeld’s husband).

With the jeans, my staple is always a super dark blue wash, no distressing, with mustard stitching (J. Brand) (I don’t know why but for me it changes everything if the stitching is blue, it doesn’t work for me), but for this season I’m also after a pair of dark cherry red and maybe a lighter wash, and would kill for a pair of black waxed ones– they kind of look like leather due to the shine and have a rock and roll vibe.

And finally, I like shoes that go with a variety of stuff and set a mood. I have learned I don’t really need many shoes at all because I wear the same types over and over– for me, it’s a neutral ballet flat, a sassy black heel, a neutral boot, a driving loafer (not pictured) and something leopard.

I’m also a fan of basic accessories that go with everything. I don’t like switching my purse everyday (inevitably will get to the park with no sunglasses, the library without my library card, etc.), or even every week– I like an everyday bag that I can use all the time and matches everything. For me, the color of that DvF bag above goes with all my basics. Add a great scarf for texture (seriously, it needs to have texture or it will fall flat– I’ve learned from experience!), some classic earrings and sunglasses, and one more item for a little flair– right now it’s thin hammered gold bangles I’m after.

Here’s where I’d like to add a little flair this season. Usually my go-tos are a dark green Barbour, a putty-ish brown simple leather motorcycle jacket, or a classic navy blazer. But my-oh-my, that navy velvet blazer from Miu Miu (please someone knock it off fast) is calling my name, and the black Barbour has a little added edge that I’m digging. Plus, a fur vest makes any outfit more fun, and how adorable is that red duffel cape?!

And finally, layers. I love any combination of feminine and masculine, so the layering pieces I’m lusting after are these lady-like silk pieces and the simple, but oh-so-cozy looking sweaters from See by Chloe (I love this line!).

Also for your fashion entertainment– this cute video about how to layer, from Because I’m Addicted. I love this!

So tell me, what are your favorite go-to basics and brands? What’s on your fall wishlist?  What are your favorite blogs for following fashion week?

Recently On…

Recent eye candy favorites posted to the tumblr page. (If you were wondering, is not a real tumblr, but since it’s an image-only page, it was the easiest way to name it after we had to change it from “Editor’s Chair.” Also if you were wondering, I’m thinking I will turn that page into an actual tumblr for those of you who use tumblr…)

Also, I’ve recently really gotten into Pinterest! I am an absolutely obsessive image-saver/cataloguer, I probably have 50 folders on my computer with 1000s of images of interiors, so I’m glad to have somewhere to save them online (instead of eating up my hard drive) and to have the ability to TAG them. HURRAH. So much better than saving them on my computer where I can’t tag them! So, slowly, I’m planning to upload my bazillions of images to Pinterest, and am also pinning stuff I found around the internets (the bookmarklet rocks).

So if you’re a fan of the tumblr page, follow me on Pinterest, as it is getting much more frequent updates! (And you’ll get to see the tags, which is fun because then you know why I’m saving it– inspiration for floors, cabinet hardware, etc.)

Hiroshi Sugimoto: Lightning Fields

I am completely taken with these Lightning Series photographs by Hiroshi Sugimoto that I understand absolutely nothing about. I think that’s part of why I’m taken with them. The combination of art and science is so fantastic and intriguing and above my head, and the resulting photographs (are they really “photographs?” I don’t know. But they involve film.) are stunning.

Here’s how Wired Magazine describes the series and process: “Whether making ultralong exposures of movie screens or photographing museum dioramas to look like real scenes, Hiroshi Sugimoto has always used his camera to explore unseen phenomena — artifacts of time, light, the elements, and human perception. But for his latest project, called Lightning Fields, the award-winning photographer traded optics for electricity. He wields a Van de Graaff generator to send up to 400,000 volts through film to a metal table.

The resulting fractal branching, subtle feathering, and furry whorls call to mind vascular systems, geologic features, and trees. “I see the spark of life itself, the lightning that struck the primordial ooze,” Sugimoto says. Although some of the effects happen by chance, the artist does try to exercise control.

“I have a kitchen’s worth of utensils that produce sparks with different characteristics,” he says. “But there are many variables — weather, humidity, perhaps even what I had for breakfast — I’m never sure what influences the results.””

If you want to hear more about Sugimoto, from the man himself, check out this video from T Magazine. He doesn’t talk about this project, but he does say the phrase “cooked in my noodle” around 1:55 and it’s pretty great.

Mykonos Villa Crew

Today I’m daydreaming of… Greece. I came across the exterior of this house and a couple of interior shots a while ago, and posted them here, and I recently discovered lots more photos, and the sister property, also in Mykonos! Doesn’t this look like the most serene place ever? I love all the white, the modern touches, the blue-gray accents, and way the walls all have soft, rounded edges and corners.

The villas also have a great story. Johnny and Katie Friedman, a British couple, purchased the two villas– Villa Orpheus and Villa Eurydice– after marrying at the private chapel at Villa Eurydice (image top right) in 2007 and falling in love with the houses and the island. They now run a company called Mykonos Villa Crew that operates the villas as rental properties, as well as four other properties in Cape Town and London.

Check out the gallery for lots more of both houses.

Art of the Menu

I’m excited about this new site, Art of the Menu, which is compiling menu designs! How fun!

I’m still in love with Cynthia Warren’s menus, which I emailed them to submit to the site!

Johanna Ekmark

Fell in love with this peak at a Scandinavian summer house shot by Johanna Ekmark. From what I hear, Scandinavians are big on having simple little weekend/summer getaway cottages. I’m a fan of that idea.

Isn’t that outdoor dining area wonderful?? I only wish we got to see the inside too!

Canopy & Stars

This site is so much fun to browse. Talk about wanderlust. Alistair Sawday, author of the Special Places to Stay travel guides, has a new site called Canopy & Stars that features very off-the-beaten-path, notch-above-camping lodgings, including yurts, a houseboat, shepherd’s cottages, and old campers/RVs (like the red truck above) in incredible locations where you could never have an actual hotel (or you could, but then it wouldn’t be special).

(Did you notice I avoided the word ‘glamping?’ That is one of the worst recently invented words I’ve hear in a while. But it is sort of what this site specializes in, and they’ve gracefully embraced the word. I’m still working on it.)

A few of my favorites are in the gallery, but check out the site for more, as well as more info on each property and where it’s located. It will majorly give you the glamping travel bug.

Street Art Round-Up

Awesome round-up by Street Art Utopia of the 106 best street art photos of 2010. (106… guess they just couldn’t stop at 100?) Check out the gallery for more, these were my favorites out of their 106!

A lot of the images in the round-up were by artists I’ve posted on previously– for more related posts, click the “street art” tag on the right of this post.

Converted Barn

If the description of a home, or restaurant, or shop, or really any building has “converted” in the description, I’m likely to like it. Digging this converted barn with a totally simple palette, stripes, and modern touches.

To be totally honest, I’m not sold on the stone… maybe an over-usage of stone in interiors in newly-built Atlanta houses in the late 90′s just made a little stone-averse, but I’m also wondering if this barn would have originally had any stone work? Because if not, it seems a little funny to bring it in now? But, that’s getting pretty picky. I’m pretty sure if I saw this space in person, I would fall in love. Via Delight by Design

Also, wonderlusters, can you help me out? Every once in a while, I hit a phase where I’m just not finding much that I’m really inspired by… and hence, not much to share with you. I’m in a rut. Have you seen anything awesome recently? What sites do you visit or magazines do you read when you’re in need of inspiration? I need some new juice!

Lake Chautauqua

Remember when I was gone for a week to Lake Chautauqua? Well, I thought I’d share a few photos of the trip, and in particular, our party for my nephew William’s 1st birthday, for which I made Smitten Kitchen’s Pecan Cornmeal Brown Butter Cake (which miiight have been selfish, as I personally love that cake, but he loved it too!) with homemade bunting decoration made from an old napkin.

The photos above show you pretty much everything you need to know to make bunting– an old cloth napkin or textile of some sort, twine, scissors, and coffee stirrers. The rest is very intuitive! Cut out the triangles (I made one and then used it as a guide for the others), cut a hole in both corners of the tops of the triangles, string the twine through the holes, and tie the ends to the coffee stirrers. Stick the coffee stirrers into the cake as the poles. Ta-da!

Go over here for the recipe and more images of the cake. I’m telling you, it’s delicious. So delicious, and unique, that I’ve decided this is my go-to cake for any occasion I need to take a cake to.