The new home page is up! A slide show - a sneak preview of what’s to come...
We are inching towards our goal and will reveal more very soon.
In the meantime, you can read my ramblings.    

I have this certain drive that evokes a crazed maniac in me. While awoken on the road because some man decides to honk his horn at me for no reason at all can lead to disaster; there are times when this drive serves me well. For example, I'm browsing pictures online, looking at the latest fashions by Lady Gaga. Please don’t get me wrong here, I am not a US Weekly reader, I detest the obsession that Americans have with celebrities and try to turn the other cheek whenever I can. But.... Lady Gaga’s fashion is crazy and I love it. So, I see this picture.


Pretty god damn amazing if you ask me. The questions that come to mind: Does it hurt? Are those hard pointy things protruding from her legs? Where can I get them? After some internet research, I find out that they were designed by LaQuan Smith. www.laquansmith.com When searching him you can find a MySpace page and a website that has two look books available for browsing. Nothing about sales. Absolutely nothing. I decide to contact the email on his page. Assuming that I will be ignored, cyber-laughed at or the price tag will far exceed my monthly salary - I still need to try. I still need to know.

Shockingly, I get an email response within 24 hours... Jaw to the floor, I answer within 12 minutes. Price tag - not even close to what I thought. I order the gold ones. I received them within 3 days but they were too small. I had to send them back and new ones were made for me within days. Yes, MADE FOR ME! I wore them to Miami and have never gotten so many compliments and comments on a pair of leggings before.


A little about L.S. He is only 21 years old. He has battled cancer. He’s based in NY. LaQuan Smith, you have my heart. I’ve ordered a pair in black and am eagerly awaiting his new line. Give me something fabulous, I know you will L.S. Just look at you.   

I’ve been back from the desert for a couple of days. The dust has left my lungs, I’ve unpacked, did laundry and the only thing that I choose to ignore is the mud-caked suede wedges that are hidden away in a bag in my bedroom. Coachella is always a mixed bag for me. I love music but I don’t do well in huge crowds. I love getting tan but I don’t like sweating in the sun with clothes on. I love my boyfriend but when he takes the time to say hi to someone while we are all following each other through a sea of people and gets lost for two hours, the love dwindles. Nonetheless something keeps me coming back.

Festival fashion is a complex animal. You can pretty much break the “looks” down into a couple categories: Hippies. Hipsters. College-like boys with t-shirts and cargo jeans. Ravers dressed in all sorts of colorful animal masks, nipple covers and fur boots.

I am not sure where I fit in. Even at a festival there is a huge part of me that longs dress up in heels. Fortunately, I didn’t. For the most part my outfits were pretty comfortable. I made mistakes on the 2nd day. Don’t wear shoes you know are uncomfortable and do not wear McQueen leggings that do not breathe because you will experience buttock cheek sweat. This year jersey and cotton dresses, small wedges, and cardigans aided in my survival. My favorites were jumpers, hippy chic, and red lipstick.

Beware of neon American Apparel overdose... doublemint twins (I saw a lot of girls in matching outfits) and fur boot covers! 


What were your favorites?

I never claimed talent even an expertise in fashion, just a love for it and the undeniable truth that I can spend money, my money with the greatest of ease (And others if they willingly give it up). While I am still finding that my niches, my passions and my creative outlets comes in many forms; I am delighted when I see others embrace their talent.

Estyn celebrates a birthday today and I celebrate Estyn - a talented, beautiful woman with a great sense of style and undeniable talent for sketching and designing. I envy her talent and admire her drive.

If you don’t know Estyn, you should. And if you don’t believe me, take a look for yourself.

I like to party. Some would say too hard, some would say just enough and some would say not enough.

It is a hard, cold realization that it isn’t always a good idea to wear the CL’s out because 5 inch stilettos aren’t great for 10 hours of dancing or that a new Rick Owens white blouse attracts cranberry juice more than an urinary tract infection. Long pearl necklaces get caught on something and die, rings mysteriously fall off of fingers and handbags and phones disappear, fall in wetness, or are attacked by dirt.

Im still guilty of trying and usually failing some beautiful pieces.

For balance, my wardrobe consists of some fun accessories and jewelry that haven’t cost more than an Angeleno child’s tuition. It’s always great to find quality, quirky costume jewelry that don’t look like you bought them from Claire’s at the Galleria Mall. (Upstate New York reference)

Thanks to Sommer, who lent me her favorite new boutique in J-town, Love Number A - I found Cubannie Links.

“Cubannie Links is an independently owned, home based jewelry collection best known for unconventional jewelry and light weight "big earrings". Launched in 2007, what began as a hobby has now evolved into individual high craftmanship jewelry pieces and can be seen on celebrities and fashionistas alike. A hint of eras past is found in the CL collection, but new forward thinking and mindfulness of what "THAT GIRL" desires is key to CL's sucsess. Founder & Designer Annie Basulto has been getting amazing notoriety as being one of the new fresh designers on the Streetwear scene.”


Her jewelry includes over-sized bow rings, glass chains, and hidden tool earrings. I’ve already bought all three so don’t copy me. You can find her site here.

Sometimes I don’t understand Alexander Wang but that’s my problem since he is the man of the hour. I mean, even my idol McQueen produced some wince-inducing pieces here and there. With Wang, I find myself loving fifty percent and subjecting my face to those horrible forehead wrinkles when staring at the other fifty percent.

Don’t get me wrong - I love his simple pieces and most of his dresses and I love when designers create affordable lines or versions of their more expensive pieces; if done right. Target and H&M are just a few retailers that have had major designers make an affordable line. Unfortunately, many of the lines have been disappointing. Jimmy Choo for H&M made me want to vomit -  projectile vomit. McQueen for Target (although I bought the whole line - almost) was cheap and not in the good way. Still, I just wont accept that designers can’t make stylish yet affordable lines when asked to, maybe Wang was successful....

The newest affordable piece was designed by Alexander Wang to commemorate the new Opening Ceremony boutique in the Ace Hotel in New York. A studded black canvas tote bag that is equipped with a leather bottom – one with silver studs and the other one with gold studs.

Already out of stock here. Sold for $125.

I am a semi-fan. It’s simple and practical for books? Jury is still out - do you like...?

I was introduced to Leticia of Lekuin through mutual friends - I was informed that I would love her pieces and I did. As soon as I saw them, I promptly purchased two tunics. The flowing nature of each piece embodies a soft, goddess look while the distressed sections scream edginess which is balanced throughout her entire collection. Perfect for everyday, traveling, and resort wear.
                                
Lekuin was one of the featured designers at BOXeight’s Fashion : Refocus. Her looks and pieces were a highlight of the night.

This is a Los Angeles based designer to keep an eye on. I can’t wait to get my hands on her black distressed poncho and deftinetly can not wait to see what her next season has to offer. Keep in the know with her Facebook site found here.

“Lekuin was a dream created by a Fashion Designer in love with a Painter. Combining fashion and fine art, the fusion of antique and modern, joining rustic with industrial. The designer uses rescued fabrics, cutting and distressing them, carefully piecing them back together all by hand. Once the one of a kind garment is complete it's then passed on to the painter, which uses inspiration from each individual piece to hand paint a unique pattern or hand printed design to finalize this matchless piece of wearable art. LEKUIN gives us this industrial, punk rock, urban wear, surrounded by a delicate and feminine spirit.”

Genius.

BOXeight’s Fashion: REFOCUS was genius.

I attended their Saturday night event which allowed guests to view the Fall/Winter collections of Eduardo Lucero, Lloyd Klein, Michael Costello, Le Sang Des Betes, and Leukin behind the scenes.

BOXeight paired Los Angeles’s top photographers and fashion designers, creating lookbooks while we were allowed to watch. With hair and makeup stations on site, one was able to see the start to finish process sans Photoshop.

Lloyd Klein was shot by Robert Voltaire. Klein’s gowns were formal ready to wear but I preferred his separates - sharp, practical with an avant garde twist.


Eduardo Lucero was shot by August Bradley. Lucero’s pieces were amazing with great attention to detail utilizing elegantly placed hardware and beadwork.


Le Sang des Betes was shot by Laura & Steven Duncan - lots of draping with a touch of weird.


Michael Costello was shot by Ben Cope. His gowns’ strapless and yet plunging necklines opened into shaped pieces reminiscent of a flower.


Last but not least Lekuin was shot by Dirk Mai. Shredded shirts turned into capes, tunics and dresses... see next post for a more detailed look at Lekuin.

There is always a certain thrill connected with an intense produced fashion show with lights,  dramatic music, and the determination of each stiletto as it hits a runway. BOXeight’s Fashion : Refocus captured this feel with a whole new medium. Bringing the background players to the front stage - allowing their guests to experience a fashion shoot from start to finish and it was very much appreciated.