I was pleasantly surprised to receive the premiere issue of Taschen Magazine this morning which came with a $50 gift card to be used at the Taschen store on Lincoln Road. I spent a good 5 minutes looking for the fine print and all I could find was an expiration date of December 31st, so looks like I'll be adding to my book piles when I get back from Puerto Rico this weekend.  


On my radar, the Pucci book and 36 Hours, a compilation of New York Times 36 Hours column, featuring 150 weekend destinations across the US and Canada.

TASCHEN Store Miami

1111 Lincoln Rd. Miami Beach, FL 33139
United States 

Tel +1 (305) 538-6185

The Rubell Collection by appointment-only-library, as seen in The Last Magazine.

Oldie but Goodie

No, not face that embraces the cover, the fact that I bought an issue of Purple from 2006. She's the reason I bought it though, this is one of my all time favorite covers. I love how she mixes a Givenchy belt with a t-shirt her kid made for her in school, I think its adorable, and the rest of the issue is pretty spectacular. Also included are images of Chloe Sevigny sans her KSUbi jeans. There's the entire YSL ad campaign that absolutely loved, shot by Juergen Teller. A lot of Terry Richardson,( who I've spotted twice in the neighborhood this week walking his dog.) The magazine also came with a lovely supplement called Ed in Japan, which is a photo essay of Juergen Teller in Japan with his baby and his wife. The intro is adorable. If you come visit me, you can see what I'm talking about hehe....

Book Review #8: SO BOMO

Bohemian Modern. Perfect description for the look I'm itching for. "It is a look that favors raw, authentic materials, brilliant colors, creative space planning, and a natural flow between indoors and outdoors." This book by architect Barbara Bestor details the residences and small businesses in Silver Lake California. Next on my wish-list. Beautiful homes, a great sense of community, all neighbors that demand pretty things and good attitude. What's not to love? This is a great add for the library.

Book Review #7: Sanaa Sanaa Curita Sanaa

I came across this image on another blog, and I think its so different. I'm dying for some indoor plants, but this interior takes it to a whole new level. Anyway, the book is called Sanaa Houses, and its about the work of Japenese architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa. The book is published by Actar, and they have more images on their site. I haven't bought the book yet, but would love to add it to the library.

Book Review #6: Second hand ideas

I picked up this book, Flea Market Style, by Emily Chalmers, a while ago, but now it will come in handy. It has great interiors that give plenty of ideas for someone going for this look. I'm having trouble deciding exactly the style I'm trying to go for, I want some mid-century modern pieces, but a) I don't have a big budget and b) my anthropologie loving side keeps veering my eyes for some things frilly. I'd be ok doing frilly but my room in Miami is already so pink and french and all that jazz, I want something completely different. What I like about this book is that many of the rooms have modern pieces but have managed to warm it up with some details from other periods, and it works. We'll see. For now I may have to settle for a mattress and a futon for my visitors.

Book Review #5: Look at this

So our good friend Adrian Shaughnessy, who wrote the last book I mentioned, also just put this book Look at This: Contemporary Brochures, Catalogues, and Documents. It has amazing design work from Non-Format and a bunch of other people in Europe, here and Asia. It has a lot of pages, and a lot of pictures, and its ALL good stuff. Sometimes these design books get filled up with a bunch of crap and in between you get a garnish of something actually decent to look at, but this book I highly recommend. Its also refreshing to see that some "boring" clients actually do hire good shops to do beautiful design work for things such as annual reports. Anyway buy it or go sit at Barnes and Noble with some time and look at it thoroughly.

Book Review #4

I picked up this book recently and read it on the plane. Adrian Shaughnessy is a British guy that started the design firm Intro, and now writes in all of our favorite design publications about the subject. This particular book is a quick but insightful read. I really like his tone and honesty, and his advice seems reasonable to follow. The book was designed by Bibliotheque, I like how the table of contents is on the cover, although lately I've been seeing that here and there. The Tiffany Blue book has an Intro written by Stefan Sagmeister, and each chapter is followed by interviews with some pretty well known designers like Neville Brody. It kind of makes you want to start your own design shop...which he doesn't suggest you do alone...Hmm...

Book Review #3: Att: Voyeurs

It has been a while, with the holidays I haven't been doing my job, then I left town. We just returned from skiing in Colorado, and it was absolutely gorgeous. We spent the first two days in Beaver Creek, near Vail, and then a week in Snowmass, which is near Aspen. Aspen is really small but cute, and somewhere in there I found a store called Paris Underground, which sells antique furniture with that Parisian twist. I didn't buy any tables or anything but I did pick up a book called Paris Living Rooms, which is a collection of Polaroids taken by Dominique Nabokov of its namesake. I love the quality of the pics, apparently they were all shot with discontinued Polaroid Colorgraph 691 film, no flash, and she asked all the homeowners to leave things as they were, no fresh bouquets or cleaning up. You can tell some chose to ignore this request, which is quite funny because that in itself reveals quite a bit about the personalities, who didn't mind their mess, and who can't stand it.



The opening pages reveal the home of my personal favorite, Carine Roitfeld, however I'll admit I could never live with such minimalism, it stresses me out.

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.