Alex Williams’ piece in the New York Times about the Native Society – an exclusive social club for those born exclusively in New York - is a master class in how to include bitchy details diguised as reporting, in the grand NYT truffle fry tradition.  Here, some of my favorite excerpts:

• “It’s not about who you were born, or what you were given, but what you’ve made of yourself,” explained one member, Alexa Winner, a 22-year-old stylist and fashion designer.
• Like Zen monks marinating on the essence of nothingness, members tried to put their finger on that ineffable quality that makes them worthy of membership.
• To Ms. Winner (“like winner, not a loser,’” she said, spelling her name), it was about a level of refinement and learning. She looked ready to accept the 1957 Oscar for best actress, in a flowing gold Maggie Norris Couture gown and chinchilla stole.
• As guests mingled over champagne, the ash-haired Mr. Estreich, with his prominent jaw and above-it-all smile, worked the room with the practiced suaveness of a junior Sirio Maccioni, his boyish build (he could pass for 18) swimming a bit in his banker-ish gray pinstripe suit.
• She had been the kind of city kid who summered on the fjords of Norway and sipped Côtes du Rhône at sidewalk cafes with her parents at 15. She was aghast to find fellow students sucking back Jell-O shots and dressing up for “pimps and hos” theme parties.
• “My dog is on Facebook,” Mr. Estreich said, with a contemptuous snort.
• No one talks about the rituals at those events. “That’s where we burn lambs,” joked Freddie Fackelmayer, a member who wears his hair in a dramatic swoop of forelocks — call it the Fop Flop — familiar from a thousand Ralph Lauren ads.

I liked this lady’s style, so I (semi-creepily) took a photo.  She had a cool asymmetrical, braided haircut and mixed patterns/fabrics really well.

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.

And here’s what we got:

I picked up these coasters made with photos from a 1973 almanac, and Noelle got this little number:

Good finds all around.

Graffiti artists have been going mainstream for years, from Cope2 designing Chuck Taylors, to Claw Money’s successful clothing line, BNE given the New York Times profile treatment and Christina Aguilera buying up Banksy prints.  And while most of these artists still hang on to their “Fuck The Man” mentality, there is something to be said for the no-name kids out there today, tagging walls (and people’s front doors) in the original wild style spirit inherited from the greats.  Graffiti certainly has its detractors, but for me it’s something that is so integral to city life — a point supported by simply taking in the spray painted walls and urban structures all over the world.  I’m always drawn to graffiti whenever I travel, and make it a point to document what I see, from the political to the personal.  After the jump and above, I’ve included a sampling from four cities I’ve visited over the past few years, including Dublin, Lisbon, my own New York and San Juan, PR.   Enjoy.

This morning I ventured overseas for a quick visit to the Brooklyn Flea.  A New York institution, the flea market (housed during the winter months in the historic Williamsburg Savings Bank) might be the only place where you can find vintage taxidermy, homemade t-shirts and fish tacos all under one roof.  It’s the type of place that allows people to really revel in their quirks — both the vendors peddling things like boxes of doll heads and the shoppers who gleefully snatch them up.  I was on a mission to pick up a few things for work and didn’t have too much time to browse, but I snapped some photos of the scene below.  Next weekend is the flea market’s last for the season at the Williamsburg Savings Bank, before returning to Fort Greene on Saturdays and DUMBO on Sundays for the summer.

Weeks after the Band of Outsiders AW10 presentation in New York, I keep coming back to these great saddle oxfords.  Everyone was talking about the staging of the presentation (the kid swinging from the chandelier was an inspired touch) but I really think this was a standout collection outside of the theatrical flourishes, too — capped off with smart details like these shoes.

(Photos via Luxist)

Lately, I’ve noticed a huge resurgence in interest in the iconic artist Keith Haring, and, ignorant as it may seem, I didn’t realize it was the 20th anniversary of his death until I read about it online.  Which makes complete sense: Haring is a quintessential New York artist, responsible for defining an era in this city.  His work, and in particular the “radiant child” is emblematic of New York in the 1980′s and all that went along with it.  Despite his tragic death, his art lives on.  Today, we can see his influence in everything from Rihanna’s music videos, to Betsey Johnson’s Fashion Week presentation and the most mainstream of all designers, Tommy Hifliger, who designed a limited run childrens’ shoe collection based on Haring’s work.  Along with Basquiat and Warhol, Haring has made a place among New York figureheads who defined what it meant to live in this city at a specific time.  For some current admirers of his work, click through after the jump.

Rihanna’s “Rude Boy” video

Tommy Hilfiger x Keith Haring children’s sneaker collection

Designers Cole Nahal and Garrett Bowser’s Haring-inspired apartment.