Rainy Day Hike in 'Sunny San Diego'

Today is my first day of winter break so in spite of the "scattered showers" weather report my boyfriend and I went out for a walk around our neighborhood- Hillcrest- here in San Diego. We wandered onto a Balboa Park trail (we live a mile from Balboa Park which houses the famous San Diego Zoo) and then found ourselves going on an unexpected hike. It stopped sprinkling just as we started down the trail and a few hours later when we got home it started pouring rain- how's that for luck? So now, as we're cuddled up in bed watching some History channel special on the Beatles, we're pretty happy with our day's adventure.

all above photos taken by my boyfriend

wearing: a wool poncho from a shop in Old Town SD, my bf's thrifted J. Crew sweater, my six-year-old old Levi's jeans cut into shorts, American Apparel thigh-high socks (worn as knee-highs), La Scarpa oxfords I bought in Paris last summer, necklace found in my dad's attic, bracelet from same Old Town shop

the few photos that i took, two of which are of my boyfriend, jake:

So happy, indeed.

Lovely Ladies

Yasmina Dexter. Photography: Sam Butt

Nadine. Photography: Paolo Zerbini

Out of school mode, finally. I feel like I've had writer's bock/no-motivation-block for weeks. Now that my head is out of the books I can't seem to focus on words, just images. So I was just exploring i-D online and I found these two captivating photos.

These make me smile.

British Vogue's Astrology Chart

If you haven't seen the December issue of Vogue UK's astrology-inspired editorial shot by Tim Gutt, here it is:

I'm really enjoying these photos- probably mostly because their vintage-looking quality kind of gives each image's simplicity an explanation. My favorites: the use of the Christopher Kane dress in the beautiful and painterly Virgo shot, the dancer-esque Taurus and Scorpio poses, and the thought that the concepts for each frame are not so obvious.

However, is it just me or does the Pisces photo not really fit in with the rest? Maybe its just that, being a Pisces, I would've rather seen a more elegantly simplistic showcasing of the water sign.

Boutiques.com

Google meets online shopping meets social networking..

Its so brilliant I wonder how the genius minds at Google didn't think of this sooner. Boutiques.com is a bit of the answer to the decline in retailing and rise in free online social and creative expression, ala Facebook and Blogspot (among others). I'm not much of an online shopper (maybe because at the moment I have about 36 cents to my name?) but I'm still very much into the idea of this website. Even if I did spend my clothing money at online stores, it probably wouldn't be through this site. I like the idea that it connects you in a personal way to the people who's style you admire, but I really hope this doesn't become the demise of personal style. It could easily become the porthole to help the masses "plagiarize" or adapt to other people's approach to dress, becoming the annihilation of individuality.
What I do like about boutiques.com, however, is that it is kind of like the GoogSpace (Google and Myspace's baby?) of the fashion world, where search is unlimited and tailored to the individual. I've just recently started to accept that search engines like Google know me better than I do, so Boutiques has come at a great time... even though it is really a trip to me that it can put together a more comprehensive idea of my style and likes than I can. I also love that you can view all your fashion faves- from bloggers' picks to the items you loved this season- all in a few clicks.. no memory required! (Which is really convenient for someone like myself, who can't remember ANYTHING, let alone a piece of clothing I drooled over on one of the hundreds of sites I visited that week). And just like everything else in the realm of technology, it makes me so anxiously excited for the future!

And yes, when I say future, I'm talking Jetson's-esque hovercrafts. I love imagining all that I will see in my lifetime... Oh, the possibilities!! And I'm speaking now of not only the future, but of the present reality that is the Googs and its Boutiques. I was born and raised in this technological age and I still can't believe how far it has all come and where it is going.

So exciting!

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty

It was announced a few days ago that the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute will be celebrating the life and work of Alexander "Lee" McQueen next year. The retrospective will launch at the annual Met Ball in May of 2011 and will run until July 31.

Its pretty much a given to say that I am dying to see this exhibit- along with the rest of the fashion world. I'm very curious to see how the Met will showcase McQueen's legendary theatricality and emotional provocation. Its so sad to know that I will never be able to see a show put on by the late designer, as I can't imagine a more wondrous fashion event to experience in person, so I'll be damned if I miss this exhibition- even if I have to hitchhike coast to coast. The thing that compels me most is to see pieces from his graduate collection of which I have never seen photos.

It would be an understatement to call McQueen a trendsetter- I blame him for my love handles formed by almost a decade of sporting hip-huggers. And it was never his intention to see his concepts worn by the masses- that's just what happens when you are one of the most creative minds of a generation. He will always be one of my favorite artists and I'm still in awe when I see his creations after previously viewing them multiple times.

Here are some looks that I would love to see in person.

These photos are in no particular order at all-- but it is interesting to see how they all flow regardless. Any one of his designs, had we never seen them before, could be presented to us tomorrow and be considered visionary and futuristic, even (or especially?) the ones from 2001.

And its pretty safe to say that I would be kicked out of the museum and asked never to return again due to my need to touch and feel all these garments. Sometimes just looking isn't enough, especially when it comes to clothes covered in feathers and metal. How the garment feels is just as important as how it makes you feel. And Alexander McQueen understood better than anyone the importance of having his clothes make you feel something.