KIDS

love the vibe of this story on style.com, which can't help but remind me of larry clark's "kids". and middle school. even of a boyfriend i had back then, called larry. these are new, but is it always 1990-something in the new york skater scene?

anyway, browsing through the zara trf floor today i saw essentially this outfit with a more high fashion-"inspired" approach, and despite my maybe irrational opposition, i'm feeling like it's more borg ("resistance is futile") than boring at this point. or??

trends: when they remind you of an earlier you it's at first a bit funny... and then urgently inviting of sartorial reruns (random need for reconnection with freer times? – dramatic), until ultimately, an amusing afterthought. 

i'm already on the sneakers train. one baby step at a time.

more on 90's finds to follow

x

LUXE NORMCORE 2.0

we have been deep in the normcore trenches with the omnipresent [céline] birks... and the [cashmere] sweats... and now we've entered a new phase (upwards or downwards, you decide) wherein the New Lazyman advances its front line claws to the realm of the previously unmentionable, dare i even type it, BEAN BAG. 

in argentinean sheepskin, naturally. 

pure rugs offers this luxe option for those who feel that the originals go against their morals!

x

TANGERINE TANGO '12, FOR '15

pantone named this shock of a color their color of the year for 2012.

in their words:

"[the] spirited reddish orange...continues to provide the energy boost we need to recharge and move forward.

a fun, lively take on a traditional autumnal hue, Tangerine Tango will surely carry through to fall fashion as well.

a winner in cosmetics because of its versatility, Tangerine Tango is a bit exotic, but in a very friendly, non-threatening way. add a sultry flair to lips, cheeks and nails with Tangerine Tango. an unexpected eye shadow color, Tangerine Tango is a complementary opposite that flatters blue or green eyes. When paired with brown eyes, it brings out an amber cast."

(i LOVE color theory)

i noticed quite a bit of the TT in stockholm last year... lots of the blinding color in tees and nails especially. now it's reappearing on the streets of new york during spring/summer 2015 fashion week (captured below by tommy ton for style.com):

i find it mostly offensive and painful to look at, but that under eye streak is mesmerizing. it's so strong it yells at you. it's war paint. 

energetic? yes. in small doses, like the streak – powerful surprise. 

any larger ... turn it down.

what are your thoughts on the TT?

LAURENCE DACADE AND HEEL THEORY

laurence dacade designs shoes for chanel, which i found out years after finding and loving her own eponymous line. though it does explain a lot. no other minds but hers and karl lagerfeld's can put humor in fashion but never cross the point of no return line, where it becomes more about making statements and loses focus on the fashion part, the chic. i'd extend the line of humor to sex as well with them; nothing ever, ever crosses the line into vulgarity. not that that doesn't have it's place, that can be fun and freeing. but for me it doesn't fit for the every day. now in my "older age"... what matters is what fashion can do for me. no more (ok, maybe just fewer) impulse/novelty buys, much more "but does this dress actually flatter" and "does it create the right silhouette". more on that for a future post.

those last two considerations, however, i have found are commonly french, including additionally the timeless "if it doesn't fit, it is a disaster". all of these revelations can be applied to laurence dacade's shoes (generally, and in her own line). which brings me to a fourth tenet in heel theory: if you cannot walk in them, do not wear them (because it will be a disaster).

i don't own anything from her line (chanel yes indeed...) – yet – but tried on and wavered countless times in browns, and not only are they flawless, but sincerely comfortable. it's never the heel, it's the shape of the shoe, i say.

and without further ado – a couple of my favorite versions of her perfect boot, from browns. 

ON WEIGHT IN LIGHTING

i've written about her before, and likely will again, but i love to check in on brooklyn-based designer lindsey adelman to see what new beautiful new creations she's posted, or really, wish list rabbit holes to spiral dive into. 

the power of organic form in lighting design cannot be underestimated. particularly in the home, and even more so when you spend a good amount of the day under fluorescents with little natural to offset. and then to top that off, when you live on a latitude where 7 months of the year absorption of vitamin d– with the exclusion of pill routes– is rationed and/or unavailable, the choice of emotionally supportive lighting is truly something to subsidize with sales from your first unborn child, and/or grandparent. 

on that note, balance is everything. balance is all about weight– be it physical or visual or perceived, in which i would also include proportion and color as effects of weight– and in lighting, above all things decor, is it most apparent and required. adelman's choices of material, usage of opacity, and most of all structure are exemplary, and would so seamlessly exist with the traditional scandi-clean line-minimalist somewhat sterile decor environment you have here, which is also beautiful in its purity but these would add personality without intruding. 

spare a moment to take these two adelman pieces in:

these are symphonic studies in praise of, and attestments to that power of balance and organic form. 

i was once told i'm a quiet riot; i'd like to think that if i had a spirit object ... it would be one of her pieces. subtly luxurious and consuming, they kind of transcend their category. some of them are quite large, but if you look at more of them you'll notice that while that is the case, they never oppress or confine the space, an advantage i've come to love with my kartell ghost chairs (invisible furniture is an excellent tip for small apartment city dwellers). branches jut out as they would stem in nature, in a perfectly unplanned, organic frozen lightning bolt that feels as if it could actually grow and eventually flower. 

i found an interview where the designer says of her design process: "when i work out the structures– for example, if i have nine points of light, and i want to spread them out to hang over a dining table using the least amount of material– as we develop the joints and the tubes and the leverage, you always realize, oh, right, nature’s already figured it out. it’s always the exact same angles in molecules or the exact same angles in the veins of a leaf or cracks in clay.” 

then, the transparent bulb casings provide a warm degree of separation from the direct light, which is just bright enough in multiples to be functional– it's all about a glow. the whole theory is very björk. i just love when man-made objects can be modern and simultaneously "return" to nature with fluidity and without pretension, and even be functional. i've thought on more than one occasion of taking out loans for a custom adelman piece. i think i need someone to pull the trigger for me.

enjoy x

90s JEANS

perpetually on the lookout for high-waisted, 100% denim denim. this seems to mean only vintage is an option. there are tons online but of course it's a necessity to try them on. ideas in stockholm?