If I was an heiress...

...this is the stuff i would wear too.
Eugenie Niarchos.
( I am aware that she was styled, these are the photographs from VOGUE Paris)

Stockholm Calling

Acne "Hex"

About a year ago today, I was returning from my three month stay in Stockholm, Sweden. I was there interning and taking some "advertising courses" at various agencies in Stockholm. Let me just say that I adore all things Swedish. Not just because they created IKEA and H&M, but because just about everything they touch one way or another ends up looking perfect. Even when they try to do something new, there is always something completely Swedish about it, and not in a bad way. I'll write about the graphic design at some point I'm sure, but for now I'll talk strictly fashion. Acne Jeans.Acne everything for that matter. We had class with this guy Pontus Frankenstein (that is his real name) A few years back him and some "creative friends" began this brand Acne. They now have Acne Paper, Acne Creative, Acne Film, and last but not least, Acne Jeans. You may be familiar with the latter, they are selling everywhere. I highly recommend them, especially if you're thin, these jeans look amazing. Pontus isn't working with them anymore, now he's doing his own thing, and very much a family man. He also put out a best-selling cookbook a couple of years ago. I'm telling you, they ooze creative juices.



If you're looking for the same exact look, at about 1/4 of the price, its all about Cheap Monday. Like all genuinely cool things, it was started by a few friends looking to remedy a void in their lives, in this case it was good looking affordable jeans. Voila, you get things like MTWTFSS-Weekday. So to make a long story short they open up a "store" that is strictly open on the weekends, it is called weekend. Opportunity knocks, next thing you know they have a store open 7 days week, so the name gets changed to Weekday. I've been to the one in Sodermalm, and it is impressive. From what I remember, they had the new clothes at the floor level, and an exquisite color-coordinated vintage department down below. Cheap Monday is the name of their jean line, and I picked up a pair of the high waisted black ones today. They are awesome! Best of all they keep up to their name.

yay, they look good with white shoes :)

Art Basel 2006

For some reason or another I have never been in town for Art Basel South Beach. Sad to say, I still didn't make it to the actual fair at the Miami Beach Convention Center, but I did catch a couple of other interesting things. Last night I went out to Art Positions, which was basically a bunch of shipping containers hosting different galleries, nothing really impressed me to be honest. I then went to the Design District for the Art loves design street party. We did a lot of drinking. In our search for something actually interesting to look at we found Peter Seidler: The Protectors and Animal Powers, which were basically these enormous resin and fiber glass sculptures of animals and "protectors" in some battle gear. Really cool stuff.

Thursday there were also a bunch of openings including the Paper Magazine/Jeffrey Deitch 99Cent store (even though most things were actually pretty expensive, there was probably one item under a dollar). I was in the neighborhood for an exhibit at my aunt's high school, and arrived at the store right in time to be first in line. Basically, they were selling a bunch of limited edition collaborative art stuff from 99 cents to $99,999, like a Kiki Smith "lamb bank", Alex Katz beach towels (available at target.com), Matther Barney figurines, and a bunch of other warholesque pop culture items. I walked away with a Jeff Koons/Supreme Skateboard Deck, which I got just in time, it sold out while I was in line too pay. I like the way Kim Hastreiter put it on her collection of limited edition objects, "I consider it my 401K plan." She works for the Deitch Projects and was in charge of this weekend's production. Anyway, I bought the top one seen here, one of three of the "Monkey Train" series.

Its a little funny, I'm not going to lie, but that's the fun of Pop art...

flamingo plaza

Miami isn't exactly the mecca of second-hand shopping, but one strip mall in Hialeah has been attracting the blooming hipster set for over a decade. Flamingo Plaza is located right off Martin Luther King Drive and Le Jeune. Unlike specialty thrift stores, where the clothes is usually over-priced and picked out for a specific crowd, this set of shops force you to search and destroy among sequined tops, used lingerie, and occasional cat calls from the "viejo verdes" lurking in the aisles. I've had some good finds including a ceramic donkey I found in the parking lot whom I named Van Gogh after the absence of his ears. Another recent purchase was a red leather lobster hand puppet. Don't ask, it was just so odd, I couldn't resist. What about the clothes? Sometimes you leave with nothing other times you walk out with a pair of white leather dancing shoes for $2.99.

Brand new, never been used, they called me from a stack of what I assume was an overstock selection from a dance store, there were about 50 pairs of different white dance shoes, but these were the only ones in my size that I liked. Not bad considering the Repetto ones were at Bloomingdale's for about $175, and who even knows how much the United Bamboo ones cost. I love white shoes.

The Repetto and United Bamboo versions.

one down...four to go

A few months back I went to New York for a less-than-48-hour visit. I hit up a few shops, but left empty-handed. So a week later I decided to splurge on the A.P.C. five year datebook. Upon its arrival my first thought was "this isn't going to last." Actually it was more like, "I wonder what I'll be doing on this day in 5 years." I won't even say what I was thinking for the sake of not scaring my boyfriend who could potentially be reading this, but it did involve him, and a my career of course. Anyway, I can take bets that mine won't make it until 2010, but if it does it will be interesting to see how my job and other events unfold, and reading back should be quite interesting. I've always been a big list-maker, and for some reason, despite liking all those little gadgets, I still love handwriting my "things-to-do" list.


Speaking of A.P.C., on my last visit to NYC I made my way to the overstock sale in Williamsburg just in time to walk right in. I picked up two amazing trenches in khaki and black, and walked out to find a line wrapped around the block. I also met a really cool lady named Sally who proved to me that a great ensemble with the right attitude makes you ten times cooler. She walked away with some awesome black brogues for women and some other good stuff.

Book Revew #2: Sew what if the title is a pun?

Working in advertising, screams are heard when a pun is used in copy. That aside, I remember back in the day reading about the label Built by Wendy in Seventeen magazine back when she was making cute outfits and guitar picks. Fifteen years later, she has a few stores, great clothes, and now this. If you're anything like me, you've often dreamt of making your own clothes, but the fear of sewing machines and pattern making have made you keep your distance. I read the first few chapters last night, her story is simple and inspiring, and she breaks down everything you need to get started. The book comes with three basic patterns, educates on the world of fabric, and there are more books to follow. She also gives some good suggestions like cutting up thrift store clothes to familiarize yourself with new shapes and patterns. Now all I need is a sewing machine. My mother and I almost bought one last week at Big Lots, but of course the one shown in the advertisement is the professional one, and the low price was for the student one. Anyway, I recommend it, and I'll keep you posted on my developing skills.

Forward

It doesn't take much to amuse me, a nice photograph, a humorous store display, or a clever pair of shoes usually do the job. Other times I get completely inspired, like running into Sir Paul Smith at his new Soho store, and decide to start a blog dedicated to things that perk my interest. I named this blog Ropa Vieja, Spanish for "old clothes", a popular dish in the Cuban culture, consisting of shredded beef in sauce resembling a pile of laundry. I thought it would be an appropriate name especially when discussing all things vintage, but I have a feeling I'll be covering all sorts of fashion/design related subjects from both the past and present. Enjoy.