Filed under: Time Capsule | Tags: 1980s, billy joel, christie brinkley, Time Capsule
Tonight I caught a screening of “Last Play at Shea,” a documentary playing as part of the Tribeca Film Festival that chronicles the story of Billy Joel’s rise to stardom alongside the Mets and the history of Shea Stadium, culminating in Joel’s performance at Shea Stadium shortly before it was demolished. As someone who is neither a Mets nor a Billy Joel fan (or frankly, a fan of Queens in general), I was surprised by how much I liked the movie. Not even the presence of Mike Piazza and his weird face/hair was enough to turn me off to the film as a whole. I also decided that my favorite segment of the storied canon of Billy Joel was the late-Eighties, booze-addled, Christie Brinkley period. At least from a stylistic perspective, it sort of represents everything that is simultaneously wrong and right with the 80′s, and I love those two crazy kids for that. Plus, it seemed like they were pretty fun back in the day. A few more photos after the jump.
Filed under: Weekend Report | Tags: hester street fair, new york, Weekend Report
Yesterday marked the opening weekend of the Hester Street Fair, which plays a bit like the Lower East Side’s answer to the Brooklyn Flea. Although it’s smaller than its outer borough counterpart, the Hester Street Fair doesn’t disappoint, with a surprisingly large number of stands peddling vintage finds and good food packed into a relatively small space on Hester and Essex Streets. My friend Noelle and I took a stroll down past Delancey around noon yesterday and found we definitely weren’t alone — more than 10,000 New Yorkers swung through yesterday, including quite a few familiar faces from the blogosphere and beyond. The amazing spring morning was the perfect backdrop for the opening weekend, but if you missed it, fear not: Hester Street Fair will be open rain or shine through December. Noelle and I each made out with some good gets — see what we got, and more photos from Manhattan’s most charming flea market, below.
Filed under: Classics, film, Movies, Style, Style Classics | Tags: 8 1/2, Classics, fellini, marcello mastroianni, movies, Style, style on film
Filed under: Photography | Tags: aran islands, ireland, one shot, Photography
The photos of mine that I like best always have a sense of juxtaposition, whether it’s an object in the foreground slicing through the background, man-made structures in an otherwise natural environment, or, as in the photo above, something rough and destroyed in a beautiful setting. My friends and I came across this totaled car while on a bike tour of the Aran Islands, off the coast of Galway, Ireland in 2006. Whatever damage that may have occurred in an accident was helped along by stones thrown through the windows and garbage piled up inside. I like how the bay in the background, the stone walls that have been standing there for decades (if not longer) and the general tranquility of the scene contrast nicely with the demolished car abandoned in front.
Filed under: Style Inspiration | Tags: adidas, drop-crotch envy, jeremy scott, london, street photography, Style Inspiration
If you’re going to do it, own it.
(Photo via GQ.com / StreetPeeper)
Filed under: Mixtape Monday, Music | Tags: breakbot, david byrne, elke, fatboy slim, maximo park, Mixtape Monday, Music, penguin prison, sharon jones, the black keys, the human league, the sounds, theophilus london, uffie
Some new. Some old. All good. An assortment of songs playing on my iPod now.
1.) “Baby I’m Yours,” BreakBot
2.) “Blue Dream Lover,” Elke
3.) “MCs Can Kiss,” Uffie
4.) “Dancing Together,” Dabid Byrne & Fatboy Slim feat. Sharon Jones
5.) “Worse It Gets (RAC Remix),” Penguin Prison
6.) “The Coast is Always Changing,” Maximo Park
7.) “Tighten Up,” The Black Keys
8.) “Rock ‘n’ Roll,” The Sounds
9.) “Human,” The Human League
10.) “Humdrum Town,” Theophilus London
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: BMW, cars?, esther mahlangu, jeff koons, south africa
I’ve been meaning to post about this for a while, but haven’t gotten around to it until now. Earlier this month, when Jeff Koons and BMW unveiled the artist’s (sadly Bubbles-free) concept for his contribution to the auto-maker’s famed art car collection, I took the opportunity to look back at some previous entries, from such contemporary art icons as Olafur Eliasson and Jenny Holzer. My favorite, though, has to be the car designed by South African artist Esther Mahlangu back in 1991. Forget Navajo, I want a Mahlangu print jacket.
More photos and a BMW promo video featuring Mahlangu after the jump. Bonus points to anyone who can understand her weird baboon analogy.
Filed under: Menswear, personal style, Style, Yes and Boooo | Tags: a bathing ape, acne, amber rose, burberry, fashion risks, leopard, menopause makes ladies crazy, Menswear, paul smith, personal style, steven tyler, Style, wild style, Yes and Boooo
Listen, as the proud owner of a pair of acid-washed, elastic waist jeans that resemble nothing more than a pair of maternity pants for men, I’m clearly a big supporter of taking some fashion risks. But I will admit that the current penetration of leopard print into the world of menswear has given me pause. Much love to Steven Tyler, but this is a trend I can’t 100% endorse — minus a few exceptions.
Leopard print for men is certainly nothing new. Countless illustrious men throughout history have donned the skin of this elusive animal, from Dionysus to Alexander the Great, from Dali to Amber Rose. But it does seem to have some new life behind it.
See exhibits A through G, below:
That would be Burberry, Paul Smith, Acne and A Bathing Ape, among others, not to mention recent looks from Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Alexander McQueen and Jeremy Scott for Adidas, all making use of the Official Fabric of Menopause.
But just because your spiritual guru does it, doesn’t mean you should, too.
Filed under: sunglasses | Tags: flying a, spitfire, sunglasses, things i like that aren't making me poor
Last week I blogged about some great $35 shades from Cheap Monday. Walking through SoHo today I found a pair at Flying A that are an even better bargain at $25. I do think it’s worth investing in a quality pair of sunglasses (or three), but for the summer when trips to the beach, days in the park and more frequent travel often result in broken or lost shades, it’s good to stock up on some cheaper back-ups like these. From Spitfire, these plastic frames will definitely get me through the season. Flying A has a bunch for sale in their Spring Street location and online, all for $25. I don’t know if OAK still has them in stock, but earlier this year they also had some nice Spitfire options for under $50.
Filed under: Magazines | Tags: back-handed compliments, bloggers, the sartorialist, vogue pelle
God bless The Sartorialist. Despite giving bat-shit crazy, ego-driven interviews, making frequent, misguided attempts at injecting some deeper meaning into his work, and being regularly outperformed by younger, more interesting and more innovative street photographers, he’s really managed to carve out a nice niche for himself as one of the fashion blogosphere’s preeminent voices. Or at least one of the loudest — have you heard he was selected as one of Time Magazine’s Top 100 Design Influencers? Well, if not, he’s placed a helpful reminder at the top of his homepage. 2007 does seem like just yesterday, I suppose. Look, good for him for making a living doing something so many can only dream of — getting flown to the trendiest locations around the world, standing outside fashion shows, snapping pics of the people who attend said shows, and getting heaps of praise and a book deal for it!
Naturally, when I heard he had shot a spread for Vogue Pelle based on the concept “cool blogger girl,” my eyes were already half rolled. But, then I saw the photos. And I kind of liked them. Mostly, I’ll admit, for the way they were styled (by Karina Givargisoff), but the idea of the model as blogger/street photographer lends itself well to the type of fashionably-awkward poses Vogue (and Tyra!) prefers. The model here is great and there are some really nice shots in there. Plus, it’s totally not based in reality and makes being a blogger seem like the most glamorous job in the world, which it really isn’t, unless you’re Tavi or Bryan Boy.
So listen, Scott: maybe it’s time you retired the blog and moved into this fashion photography biz full-time. Isn’t that kind of what you’ve been angling for the whole time anyway? You’re good at this! Take a leap of faith. I, for one, would be perfectly fine without being introduced to people like Snowflake.
More photos below, via The Cut.
