Around Town: Imprisoned Parrot Statuettes

Imprisoned Parrot Statuettes, Brooklyn, NY, April 2014

In the first-floor window of a private house in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

See Eyewear

I had wanted to get a pair of mirrored sunglasses for the longest time, but I wasn't having an easy time finding any that thrilled me. I'm not sure why it hadn't occurred to me earlier that I could get regular frames made with mirrored lenses at the optometrist, but I'm glad it eventually did.

I recently had these guys custom made at See Eyewear. They have so many unusual frames to choose from (in EVERY color), so deciding which pair to insert shiny mirrored lenses into took me forever! I was there for at least a couple hours.

Around Town: Libertine at Bergdorf Goodman

Libertine at Bergdorf Goodman, NYC, February 04, 2014

Check out this smashing jacket on the runway, after the jump.

Around Town: Giorgio Armani

Necklace, Giorgio Armani; NYC, January 2014

From windows at the New York flagship. It's not clear whether the necklace is askew on the mannequin, or designed to be asymmetrical. I hope it's the latter.

Around Town: Louis Vuitton Windows

Louis Vuitton Windows, 57th and 5th, NYC. January 2014 (above and below)

The very cute tables are what caught my eye first. Like their December windows, LV is giving us another fantastic color palette.

Around Town: Subway Station Floor

Clark St. 2-3 Subway Station Floor, Brooklyn, NY; December 2013

Around Town: Printer Ink

Oops, someone dropped something!!
Printer Ink on Mercer & Broome, NYC, December 2013

Around Town: Patricia Field

 

Disco-fantasy mannequin

Patricia Field Holiday Windows; NYC, December 2013

Around Town: 2013 Holiday Displays

I often complain about my office location uptown on Fifth Ave because all of the business are stores that I'm not likely to to shop at much (I can't really say that I'm a regular at Chanel and Dior), however because this is the area of the fanciest stores' flagships, I am starting to develop a new interest in window dressing. All of the best, most creative, coolest displays go on up there, and during the holidays is when they ramp it up even more.

Below are some of the stores that started early this year.

Harry Winston (5th Ave at 56th St) - I love how the cornice is trimmed with emerald-cut lights and the tops of the windows are embellished with pear-shaped diamonds.

Tiffany & Co (5th Ave at 57th St) - In addition to the windows with mini-cityscapes, white and Tiffany blue decals of brownstones run up the entire building.

Cute geese at Louis Vuitton (5th Ave at 57th St).

Henri Bendel (5th Ave between 55th and 56th St) made 3D models of Al Hirschfeld's caricatures and brought them all together for a spirited holiday dinner. Hirschfeld's illustrations of Broadway stars and celebrities are classic New York all the way; he contributed to all of the major NYC publications for more than 70 years.

Rick James, Cold Blooded

I was pleasantly surprised to find that my new (old) copy of Cold Blooded was a gatefold
with this shot on the inside – love the outfit!

Rick James, Cold Blooded; Gordy Records, US LP, 1983

Beinecke Rare Book Library, Yale University

Last fall, Dennis and I felt like getting out of the city for the day, so we took the train up to New Haven. The goal was to have a relaxing day and to eat at the oldest burger joint in the country, Louis Lunch. (In addition, he really wanted to go to the preppy mecca, J. Press)

We did all of that, and then I remembered that the Beinecke Library was on Yale's campus. I wanted to check it out, because I'm familiar with their incredible online archive. Fortunately we got there about 20 minutes before they closed.

I was in for a pleasant surprise (actually, an understatement) when we got there and discovered the cool building that the collection was housed in. I wasn't familiar with this building before we went.

Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill designed the library in 1963 with the sensitive nature of the collection in mind. They created a windowless structure out of thin marble, of which natural light shines through. The marble, plus the dim light gives interior a really dramatic impression.

Above is a photo of the building, and below is a detail of the exterior.

This is the interior of the library. It's really jaw-dropping. Not what you would expect to see coming in from outside.

The 5-story center core of the building houses the books and manuscripts behind glass. Of course, you may not browse the stacks! You have to put in a request for the materials that you want to view. There are a few items on view behind cases around the periphery of the library.

This is one of the coolest buildings I've been to; definitely worth the visit if you ever find yourself on Yale's campus.

Miscellaneous

Chairs by Cassina. Normally, I don't really feel anything special about these Corbusier chairs, and I'm sure it's just because I have seen them so many times. The version above is super cool though. I generally get into powder-coated steel, and I love the color combos. I wonder if we can customize the colors.

 An ad for jewelry by Ippolita.

I took this photo of an Alexis Bittar necklace last summer. I wish I owned it. I used to love passing it on my way to the office everyday.

Raf Simons for Doc Martens, Fall 2009. I have a similar pair...they're like the second one, but they are the silver color.

Jonathan Borofsky

Work by Jonathan Borofsky. I took these photos at his show Five Large Paintings, which was up at Deitch Projects in New York from May 8 - June 20 in 2009. Can't believe it was 2 years ago already!

Miscellaneous: Really Random

David Byrne, Rei Momo, Luaka Bop/Sire US LP, 1989

Storytime: This album came out around the time I really started getting into Talking Heads. I am now going to chalk it up to being a 12-year-old child, but I felt so personally offended that David Byrne would move SO far away from what I knew about Talking Heads. I was really quite turned off from the album at first, but I listened to it many more times and got used to it, and eventually started loving it. I hadn't thought of it in quite a long time, but recently came across a video of him performing one of the songs at an awards show. He and his band really thrilled the audience and had them out of their seats.

About the cover: I am a fan of polkadots this scale and density, the color palette, and the general design. The typography is typical of the late-90's.

This is a bar in Tulum. We wanted to go there (based on the exterior alone) but it never opened the entire time we were there.

Kraftwerk

Debbie Harry; Not sure what the context of the photo is.

Miscellaneous

Orange Juice, as it says

I took this photo when I was vacationing in Barcelona last year. This shop was on the same block as our hotel. I love the merchandise in the window because I'm a big fan of color and tights, and I super-love everything about the sign; even the name. The shop itself wasn't terribly interesting though!

The Clash, shot by Bob Gruen, probably in 1981 during their residency at Bonds. They look especially hot here. I am not sure that I've ever referred to the Clash as "hot" but I guess it's true about 75% of the time. Sometimes I find myself having a bit of a crush on Mick Jones, partly because I once dreamt he was my boyfriend and that he was very sweet and charming.

Tsunehisa Kimura (1928-2008) was a photo-montage artist (another pre-Photoshop artist). I have not been able to locate a title for this piece.

Eric Carle's Very Hungry Caterpillar. I love Carle's illustration style!

Miscellaneous

Kraft Singles! I have a thing for food on the ground. I like the brightly colored foods (especially processed kinds) juxtaposed against gray concrete. Any time I can, I try to take a photo of it.

I was pretty sure that I took this photo, but it looks like my leg in the lower right. How would I be able to take a photo from that angle if my leg is there? I have just totally forgotten the whole scenario. It was a long time ago.

I forgot the source of this.

Probably a stock photo.

Miscellaneous

Herman Miller company picnic posters. Years clockwise from top left: 1981, 1983, 1973, 1976.

Chrissy took this photo of me. She and Sandy and I had a dance party as a demented version of the Supremes, in semi-matching gold lamé outfits and wigs.

Viv Albertine, Keith Levene and Mick Jones. Those outfits!

I haven't been able to track down this group. I really want to hear them because they look hot, and you can't go wrong with song titles that include the word "freak"

Detroit, MI

These are some of the views from I-75 of an industrial area of Detroit (down river). On gloomy days this area looks especially apocalyptic.

It's been a long time since I have seen any of it close up. I used to do drives where I just see what's around in hidden pockets of town while listening to the radio. Near to this area (more on the river) is where the really old industrial sites are. They're all rusty and decaying, and it's really disturbing to see people fishing around here.

Lifetime Movie Posters

These were posters of some Lifetime movies that hung in my local subway stop a few months ago. They made me pull over and take a photo because the retouching and the design is soooo over the top. I bet the drama was over the top too.

I thought I would put them up today to honor Brittany Murphy. She was in the one titled "Tribute."