I'm In a New York State of Mind

It is amazing how much one can see, do and eat during 2 days in New York! And yes, this was a work trip!

Most of the stores are now at 70% off their sale merchandise. The shoe departments mostly have the cool and quirky shoes left. I fell in love with these Rupert Sanderson heels at Saks Fifth Avenue. They remind me of something Jem would wear from Jem and The Holograms, my favorite cartoon when I was little.

Rupert Sanderson Ankle Strap Heel, $396.33

My favorite new discovery this trip is a barely year-old line of jewelry called Tower 67. You can purchase off their website but for a huge selection of the latest designs, you should really make it over to Henri Bendel, where they have been asked to hold monthly trunk shows. My client bought two awesome Buddha bracelets and I almost walked out with a long white beaded necklace with a giant amethyst hanging off of it. The prices are super reasonable and the owners/designers are happy to accommodate custom requests.

Tower 67 Display at Henri Bendel

 

Can you believe these amazing shoes are Cole Haan? I was a little skeptical now that the company has new owners (no more Nike collaborations!) but the brand seems to be gaining back the design chops they had lost in the previous few years. Isn't fuschia and olive the coolest color combo one would never think of?

New Cole Haan shoes for fall!

Although I think DC has some great food, they have a definite lack of vegan and vegetarian restaurants. Hanging in NY with my best friend the vegetarian always gives me the chance to get my fill. Her birthday was the excuse I needed to finally indulge in the super scrumptious but a bit pricy cuisine at Dirt Candy in the East Village. See the caption link for the blog entry detailing the creation of the signature dish pictured below, broccoli dogs! I know, it sounds crazy. They taste as good as the months and months of work that went into creating the dish.

Broccoli Dog from Dirt Candy

The Union Square farmers market is one of the things I miss most about New York. Walking through on Wednesday morning, I was struck dumb by the beauty and bounty of the seasonal produce. Five kinds of plums! Teeny tiny purple eggplants! And then...the most perfect little strawberries I'd ever seen. I bought them without a second thought and they were the holy grail of REAL strawberry flavor and texture, so fresh they wouldn't have lasted more than the day. And they didn't! In between client shopping and a trip to the Met, I had a picnic of the tiny strawberries, drippy goat cheese and just-baked cranberry walnut bread from Dean & Deluca for lunch. Heaven! 

Strawberries from the Union Square Farmers Market

And finally, the one thing I was determined to accomplish during this trip to New York, the Punk: Chaos to Couture exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute. The opening display below was my favorite as it placed high fashion looks from contemporary designers next to punk looks from Seditions, the original punk boutique started by Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren in 1970's London. One literally could not tell the difference between the two. It was absolutely fantastic and said it all before you had even entered the rest of the extensive exhibit.

Clothes for Heroes

 

The exhibit made one question what is punk as well as recognize its diversions where one otherwise would not. Dolce & Gabbana, punk? "Never," I would have said, until I saw the spray-painted dress display below.

 

DIY Graffiti and Agitpop

How awesome are those wigs????

DIY Destroy

Would you Dare to Wear Punk on Fifth Avenue? The Met Ball 2013

On May 6th, celebrities, designers, politicians gathered for the 2013 Costume Institute Gala at the Met in New York. The event is known for attracting some of the most fashionable guests each year in beautiful, over-the-top outfits. This year at the Met Ball, party goers donned safety pins, leather, spiked hair, and fishnets to celebrate the opening of the new exhibit, “Punk: Chaos to Couture.” This exhibition showcases punk from its birth in the 1970s to its influence on today’s fashions. The guests this year decided to truly take a risk; some were more rewarding than others. Here are some of the outfits that I thought were able to honor the “punk” theme while still looking chic! Which outfit would you dare to wear?

Anna Wintour in Chanel. I'm not sure this is Punk but as the Editor of Vogue and Chair of the Ball, her outfit is very important!

Kirsten Dunst in Louis Vuitton

Hailee Steinfeld in Donna Karan decorated with safety pins

Cara Delevingne in a studded Burberry gown

Giovanna Battaglia in Dolce & Gabbana accessorized with safety pins and fishnet stockings

Sienna Miller in a studded Burberry leather jacket. Love the spiked barrette in her hair!

Christina Ricci in Vivienne Westwood, the designer who created the punk movement in the 70s.

Sarah Jessica Parker in Giles Deacon with a mohawk headdress designed by Philip Treacy. Underneath her gown, she wore Christian Louboutin thigh-high plaid boots!

Cameron Diaz in Stella McCartney with a gold studded belt

Anne Hathaway in a sheer vintage Valentino gown. By the way, I take offense to this gown being called vintage as I was in high school when it came out.

Nicki Minaj in Tommy Hilfiger

Jennifer Lawrence in an embroidered leather Miss Dior 1949 dress

Taylor Swift in J. Mendel

Beyoncé in a Givenchy gown with matching printed boots

And finally, the most talked about outfit of the night, Ricardo Tisci's "maternity" gown for Kim Kardashian. What do you think?

Only 3 Days Left To Get To New York! Hurry!

I have been determined to see the latest Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Exhibit, "Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversation" in person. Despite at least half a dozen work trips to New York between May, when the exhibit opened, and now, the LAST week of the exhibit, I just couldn't seem to make it. Every time I tried to carve some time out of my "impossibly" busy client schedule or tack an extra day onto a trip, something would come up. Just as I was pondering making a special day trip this week, a client called last minute to ask for an emergency shopping trip on Madison Avenue, right around the corner from the Met.

I had everything perfectly scheduled: an hour left at the end of my solo pre-shopping day to run through the exhibit. I knew better than to try to see anything else at the museum, as painful as that was once I was already in the building. I arrived at 5:10pm on Tuesday, only 10 minutes off schedule. Here is a transcript of my conversation with the guard on duty near the unmanned ticket booth.

Lani: Is there anyone here to take my money?

Guard: You can come in for free, we close in 15 minutes.

Lani: But I thought you closed at 6pm on Tuesdays?

Guard: Not today.

Lani: Where is the Costume Exhibit?

Guard: That’s closed already.

Lani: Oy…not again….

Luckily, my Wednesday client had an afternoon meeting with her architect to make, giving me just enough time to run through the exhibit, and buy myself a few treats from the shop before making a run for Amtrak. This poster will be the centerpiece of my dream closet one day....I know, I know, I just got a new closet but I'm talking about the converted-bedroom size closet I hope at some point before I die. A girl has to have dreams, right?

The concept of the exhibit, exploring the “striking affinities” between Elsa Schiaparelli (1890-1973) and Miuccia Prada (b. 1949), both Italian fashion designers and revolutionaries of their time, was inspired by Miguel Covarrubias’s “Impossible Interviews” for Vanity Fair in the 1930s. In addition to the seven sections of the exhibit which compare and contrast the designers’ clothing by common theme, there are 8 video shorts of simulated conversations between Schiaparelli and Prada, as directed by Baz Luhrmann. Judy Davis, the Australian actress who won a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Judy Garland, plays the role of Schiaparelli. The combination of the stunning displays of the designers’ artistry up close and personal, along with the artfully crafted, intellectually intriguing video element, is what put this exhibit over the top for me.  Most of the Schiaparelli pieces are from the late 30’s, when she collaborated with such art luminaries as Salvador Dali, while most of the Prada pieces are from the 90’s on. 

My two favorite sections of the exhibit are Waist Up/Waist Down and Neck up/Knees Down. Schiaparelli designed her clothes to be decorative mostly from the waist up, because that is what was most visible in the time of Cafe Society, when women were mostly seated behind restaurant tables. Prada believes in putting decoration mostly below the waist, as that is where the most important things happen, like sex and giving birth. And yes, she really does say this in one of the exhibition videos.

Schiaparelli believed in whimsical, decorative hats both as a way of adding beauty to the wearer and a form of self-expression, while Prada believes in using shoes for the same purposes. The floor to ceiling exhibit juxtaposing Schiaparelli's outrageous hats with Prada's equally outrageous shoes was quite a show stopper! Unfortunately, no photography was allowed so I can't show it to you here, dear readers.

See Schiaparelli's "shoe hat" and the lip theme on both the Schiaparelli jacket and Prada skirt. Read more about "lip fashion" in a previous blog post.

For a good read and more information on Elsa Schiaparelli, read "Shocking Life," her autobiography.

"Shocking Life" by Elsa Schiaparelli from Amazon,  $9.00

Hope you make it to the Met before August 19th! If not, you can always console yourself with the exhibition book.