Every season I scout out the perfect leather riding boot. I own way too many and it is a shameless obsession but I’ve stopped fighting it. Riding boots are perfect for almost any occasion and look great with everything from skinny jeans to silk dresses. This is my current obsession, the Charles David Regiment boot in brown. I love how it’s perfectly beat up a little already. It’s $385, pennies a day when you consider how much wear you will get out of them. Available in stores and online now.
The men and women of LA need all the help they can get in the dating department so it’s no surprise someone is attempting yet again to try and bring this dysfunctional group to order. Talia Goldstein and Val Brennan officially launched ThreeDayRule.com yesterday, catering to both men and women with detailed testimonials, a nightlife guide, articles, and daily events listings. They will continue to host the monthly single mixers they’ve been having this past year, allowing LA’s singles to revel in the undeniable thought that eventually they may still have to move or import a spouse if there is to be any hope of a stable, sane and reliable personal life in this city. The site plans to launch in other cities as well. Maybe that’s when we can utilize the import button. One can dream…
Being an artist can be a lonely and at times self-destructive experience. Genius overlaps into insanity and vice versa. Insecure and full of self-sabotage yet driven to go forward for fear of failure. In the end the fear of both success and failure can be the driving force to success. It can be a psychologically frightening place. “Black Swan” captures all of that perfectly. Dying and suffering for your art is not new but I loved wacthing Darren Aronofsky’s take on it. If you have ever been passionately, obsessively, compulsively focused on your creative dreams and goals this film will make you cringe, cry and love it. Natalie Portman is brilliant to watch. The imagery and characters are so full of raw emotion and the use of sound in the film is harrowing and beautiful to listen to. So much of it is cringe worthy in the best way possible. Vincent Cassel and Mila Kunis star alongside Ms. Portman and are both perfect in this as well. And it’s time Winona Ryder Continue reading
Nothing sexier than a man who not only knows how to dress himself well but does so effortlessly. The marriage between Dockers and Steven Alan, two equally smart and modern brands has produced just that. Steven Alan recently did a collaboration with Dockers to produce shirts, blazers, pants and ties for the classic American San Francisco-based brand. I have to admit I will never tire of a great plaid cotton shirt paired with denim or khakis done right on a man. It’s an easy way to dress that gives guys the appearance of not caring about fashion while still looking fashionable. Genius. The line is available at the Steven Alan store in Venice as well as other retailers and online.
Swedish bombshell and musical goddess Lykke Li has a new album coming out sometime early next year as the rumor goes. I am still obsessed with her last one but welcome something new and amazing to listen to from her. The first track “Get Some” has a Bow Wow Wow feel to it and some radical lovely lyrics. You can download the track for free on her website in exchange for your email.
This year Bravin Lee and Winkleman galleries will join Pierogi Gallery, Hales Gallery and Ronald Feldman Fine Arts who have been presenting special exhibitions in the Wynwood District during the Basel art fair in Miami since 2006. Bravin Lee has one of my favorite painters, and an old friend and Bard MFA alum, Nina Bovasso. Her work has a beautifully cluttered ethereal energy that I gravitate to. Their show SEVEN opens to the public December 1st through 5th, 11am-7pm, 2214 N. Miami Avenue (Wynwood District), Miami, FL 33127. The opening reception is on Tuesday November 30th.
I remember watching a Victoria’s Secret runway show in New York years ago and being kind of in awe of the spectacle. It wasn’t remotely comparable to a standard runway show and really did have a fantastic joyfully radiant fun energy about it. That would be perhaps why soon after the company decided to start televising the show, which was such a brilliant move. This year Victoria’s Secret is collaborating with 86 year old Italian jewelry house Damiani again on the infamous Bombshell Fantasy Bra designed exclusively for the brand and to be featured in the 2010 Victoria’s Secret Christmas Dreams and Fantasies Catalogue and on the runway at The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show which airs Tuesday, November 30th on CBS. The bra is valued at $2 million and is comprised of more than 3000 brilliant cut white diamonds, light blue sapphires and oval-shaped topazes, all set in 18 karat white gold. This wearable work of art features 60 carats of diamonds and 82 carats of sapphires and topazes and took six Damiani craftsmen 1500 hours of full-time labor to complete with each diamond meticulously hand-set.
If Robert Altman were alive today and decide to do reality TV, this is what it would look like. Genius film from Ivan Massow exploring celebrity, reality and the glorious beautiful enigma that is Banksy.
No retouching done on these… and probably won’t be any.
I had a glass of the 2006 Hillside Select from Shafer winery earlier this week. Only 2,200 cases of the 100% pure Cabernet Sauvignon were produced and it was just released on September 1st. Hillside Select is aged a full four years prior to release (three years in Alliers and Tronçais oak barrels and one year in the bottle). The wine retails in Napa Valley for $215 per bottle and the vineyard maintains a small mailing list of Hillside Select buyers, which is currently closed to new sign-ups. There is also apparently a Waiting List to get on the Mailing List, which is also closed for the moment so I was pretty happy to have a taste of the wine. If you are collecting wines then it should come as no surprise that one of the best places to store it in is a beautiful cellar which is where Studio Becker’s wine cellars come in handy. Their way of crafting the cabinets allows you not only to show off the wines you want to share but hide those special goodies you want to save. I got kind of obsessed with their wine glass storage drawers. Craftsmanship and design at its best.
