CURIOUSER NEW YORK

During the DC Fashion Week when I worked the floor as a photo-correspondent, I was approached by a very cute couple, who were handing out some flyers about a website-service OMG, I LUV IT . They asked me to check it out. The site is apparently just launching and what it does is that  it "helps to identify and share your favorite brands" - it's like a "community", where they give you products to test and then 'report' back and share your experience with the others...They said they scout some cool brands and products around the world, because they realized that Washington, DC crowd lacks the fashion style and needs some help to bring the fashion sense to the city...- with which I totally agree, by the way...

Today, let’s talk about leopard print!

Let's talk about Halloween - that is, about Halloween parties and costumes' feast that is about to begin tonight...There is quite an industry in USA to tailor to one of the most popular holidays in the country - Halloween. While a few decades ago it's been mostly popular with the kids - [for some of whom Halloween was the only day in the whole year to indulge in all kinds of sweets in all kinds of amounts] - now this holiday slowly has evolved into an 'adult' holiday, which is both - absurd and entertaining...

Given that this month my life has been pretty much revolving around work and home packing...with an occasional, random bits of fun and trips in between, I seemed to be noticing just now that the Fall is at full 'blossom' and the colors fell on us... And since my home-work-home trajectory has been pretty predictable, I had no choice but to notice - [and admire the fall colors] - on my very rare lunch breaks. I was lucky that the sights of my 'lunch breaks' were easy on an eye...

Pumpkin time in NYC... The time has arrived - the pumpkin time, that is... I've had quite a long road towards accepting both Halloween, pumpkin and all 'orange'...

I've once heard that one doesn't acquire a good taste, one is born with it...Well, I strongly believed it all my life. Uliana's "Chaplin" hat is always killing me - [in a good sense] - because I could never brave myself to wearing such hats.

It's one thing when the pink color plays part in the runaways and it's one thing 'everything in pink' goodies - from pink mascara to pink bags and shoes - appear on pages of magazine a week or so prior the Breast Cancer Awareness month. It's another thing, when you actually become part of such 'pink' event and meet the breast cancer survivors - [those who fall in the 65% of the women with the breast cancer in USA who are able to beat the disease] - and the people who organize those events at their own time and money to benefit various organizations, hospitals, and individuals to fight the breast cancer. I've been always a strong supporter for the cause. I've participated in both fundraising events, charities, marathons, races, etc...And this year, I got an opportunity to do it in Washington, DC - to be part of the annual Pink Party DC . 

There are a few things that I heart about NYC. Actually - there are many things about NYC that I heart and that I miss every time I'm away from the city...

DC coolest - A retro classic Vespa, a rare sighting in Washington, DC. It's official - at least to some of the people who haven't known me long enough - I'm obsessed with the bikes. I ride bikes. I love when others do. And I take pictures of them - bikes, Vespas, motorocycles. Oh, wait, I need to make it clear - I love bikes, but only the 'petite' ones, not the monstrous Harley Davidson motorcycles. It's kind of an addiction now. The bikes, it is...

The other day I was passing the press stand and have noticed something that brought some memories back. I saw this month's Vogue... And you must ask: "So, what?"...

It all started in Los Angeles - the whole trend with the Uggs, which, in a way, does not make any sense, because it does not go below 75F in LA anyway, so why would you 'torture' yourself and wear furry beasts - a.k.a. UGGs? Well, there is a big f*cking reason and a very clear common sense explanation for that...

As much as I do love little ‘black shoes’ – the same way I love a little black dress [or LBD] – a must-to-have for any girl, I believe that we should be more fierce, bold and more colorful in our choice for the footwear. And this season, especially – the recent runaways showed us how ‘colorful’ and ‘optimistic’ we could be in our choice for a clothing/accessory/footwear, and it’s been very uplifting to see that many American cities do follow the ‘colorful’ trends, even – New York – from boots to scarves, gloves and tights – we are becoming more colorful. The Italians would be, definitely, happy for their American counterparts… So, here are a few of my personal suggestions for Fall 2011/Winter-Spring 2012:

You might not have known this fact - [we take all the fashion magazines for granted now] - but that glossy magazine Glamour that you might be a big fan of, is 73 years old!

I've been always attracted to the archives - archives on everything. I remember as a kid, I'd go to the public libraries to browse through the books and smell the covers of the very old books. I pretended they smelled "history" - and the smell of my morning print press still fascinates me. But please, do not think I'm weird. Not at all. As a matter of fact, yesterday when I went to visit Newseum in Washington, DC - [the one that cost $20 billion to build] - I came across a gift shop, which sells cups with a tag "I love the smell of my morning newsprint" - so, there! I'm not weird at all...I actually got that cup, long with the one that says "Trust me, I'm a reporter" - the line that could be interpreted both as a "sarcasm" and as a "true statement"...

This is something that I'm sooooo happy about it! Actually, I'm thrilled about it... Seeing that NYC is becoming more-or-less bike-friendly is really a dream of mine! The last time I remembered, I could only bike in and around the Central Park, not braving myself to venture out and bike along the avenues and streets. Even the west side of the city took a rather pleasant turn in the past few years - the bike/jog/skating path along the west side hwy has been renovated to fit all the eager-to-exercise New Yorkers...And they do it in style!

Alexander Pushkin , a great Russian poet, once said that "Autumn is his favorite season..." . He said that in the Autumn, when he retrieves to his real estate in suburbs, he creates the most beautiful poetry by looking at the colorful leaves of the trees, listing to the rain drops and inhaling the early morning foggy refreshing air...Many people consider Autumn to be the most romantic season...

Statement jewelry is veeerrryyy happening right now, and what's surprising enough is that while some trends come and go in a short while, the statement jewelry - a.k.a. BIG/OVERSIZED jewelry - came back in style about 1.5-2 years ago and they comfortably stayed for a long period of time... The recent fashion weeks' collections just reiterated their in-style status again - oversized clutches, oversized shoes, oversized hats and scarfs, oversized bracelets, cuffs, earrings and necklaces...Supersize-it-all was all over the runaways, including the people in crime - a.k.a. fashionistas, celebrities and designers themselves...I, personally, admire Bryan - as in BryanBoy.com - a notorious present-at-all-important runaways fashion blogger's gift for wearing oversized shades. It actually became his trademark of some sort, I think he even feels 'naked' without his very OUT-THERE, statement - on the border of funky - unique shades... As for me, I'm just glad that my p

Let's just say, it's good I always have my camera - [or the worst case scenario - my iPhone] - because not a day goes by when my friend Uliana doesn't surprise me with another great, unique style of hers... I, actually, look forward to coming to work to see 'what she's going to wear today'. Of course, it's never easy to convince her to pose for me, but at the end of the day, I tell her that's 'it's all for the good for the universe' :) ... Meaning - there are a LOT of people out there who do need to know how to, actually, dress stylishly and not at the expense of breaking their wallet. Because, let me just tell you, Uliana does not shop at Gucci and Marc Jacobs, she actually shops at the likes of Loehmann's , Filene's Basement and Century 21 (when she gets a chance to go to NYC...), but by looking at the way she puts it all - all those 'on incredible sales' items - together, I feel the strong urge to share it...

The Hyeres Festival, 2010 I thought I'd share a post by one of my favorites, Cathy Horyn, the fashion columnist at the New York Times. This is something for the aspiring designers and photographers who are trying to break in. The International Festival of Fashion and Photography takes place each spring at the Villa Noailles near Hyeres, in the south of France. Viktor & Rolf and Romain Kremer are among the designers who participated in the competition. Jury leaders have included Martin Margiela, Azzedine Alaia, Raf Simons and Hussein Chalayan. The Hyeres Festival is an excellent way for emerging designers and photographers to get some recognition. The deadline for applications for the spring 2012 festival is Dec. 5. So apply! For details, go to villanoailles-hyeres.com/ hyeres2012 . Good luck!

There are rare ads that catch our attention these days, but there are a few people who are doing it just about right...Not to mention the fact that with all the nail shades out there, you'd like to know what's gonna be the "IT" color of the season... This is why, when I shop for a nail color/shade, depending on a country where I shop, I either do my petite research investigation to see what's happening and/or I ask a store consultant. In Milan last August, at the Kiki beauty shop I was suggested to get the shades of bright blue and green, and I did -and they are making me very happy when I wear those 'very Milano' shades - [as I was told] - and that match the latest runaway's colors of the likes of Armani, Gucci and Versace... So, when I saw this ad by Chanel, I thought I'd share...

There is something about white-black combination. I'm a bit at odds with it. I never had any kind of 'combos' like that in my wardrobe. I avoided it at all times - [I did try to understand it!...] - but every time I visited the White House | Black Market store - [which is IDEAL for that] - to experience the various combos of black-and-whites, I left empty-handed. As long as I remember myself, I always tried to avoid wearing the black-and-white combo, whether it was because this particular combo washes me out and/or I just thought the combo reminded me of some sort of a preppy school and/or of some kind of a corporate event where a person in black-and-white gives a presentation against a chart board. At the same time, I totally love the way men look in black and white. In years I came to realize that I might have been wrong. Seeing women pulling it off beautifully, both in real life and on a red carpet and other special occasions, made me to reconsider. And now that

Outside the Lincoln Center during the fashion week... One of the things I saw a lot during the fashion weeks in NYC and DC is the press members and the members of the blogging world walking around with their iPads. Often, they even recorded videos from the runaways, not to mention that they took photos with it, as well as with their iPhones. I did it too. Both - utilized iPad and iPhone, although I'm still in love with a good digital camera and lenses. iPads - or any of the other Apple products - instantly became the real fashion item. The THING to have! It almost became symbiotic with the shoes, accessories and clothes you pick for the fashion shows. Apple's products definitely complemented the looks, just as a good Moleskine 's notebook does. It is still so awesomely handsome when an editor and/or a writer walks around with a Moleskin leather notebook, making notes and sketches...I love mine, that's the sure! It's both fantastic and sad...

The shape of such shoe seems to be taking over...The first time we saw someone actually braving to walk in those were Lady Gaga and Victoria Bekham , who we all respect for being fashionably fierce...But I always wondered, how do you manage to balance in those? You've probably have to have such a petite frame that no weight - [like your tushion] and thick long hair - can wear you down...As far as I'm concerned, I just love the shoe for the 'artsy shape' of it...I'd just buy it and put it in my apartment just to adore it as I'd adore a piece of L'Art Nouveau from NYC's MOMA, or something... On the other hand...

Chelsea, New York City. October 2011. As it seems, fedora trend is here to stay for good. It's been already 'in fashion' for as long as I remember, especially in the last few years, and it is not going away easily - there are just too many fans of it to let it go. It's just now, it's no longer a 'summer' trend, fedoras are worn year around and it looks pretty awesome either way - [that is if you know how and what to mix-and-match it with]. Whether it's worn with a white cotton dress in the countryside and/or with a wool jacket and chunky scarf in the CITY - it does add an edge...

Every time I go to New York City - [or as I call it - my boyfriend] - I fall in love with the city all over again... A truly amazing versatile city that never sleeps, never stagnate, and which never goes pessimistic... But the amazing - and joyful thing [change] - I've been noticing in the past year or so is that despite the 'dark times' in economy and politics, the city became more colorful - more optimistic. Whereas just a few years ago - in the times of my deep, involved, unassuming, intense romance with the city - the most predominant colors of the city were dark: gray, black, brown, dark navy... Now, it's the opposite - there is so much color all around  and I'm looooving it...

The other day I attended a private tour of Daphne Guinness personal wardrobe exhibition at F.I.T. (Fashion Institute of Technology) in New York City, organized by a good friend of mine - Stephan Rabimov, founder and Editor-in-Chief for Depesha Magazine . [I'd say - if you have a chance to see it, SEE it! It will blow your mind away!]

What more could a coffee table want? No, I mean - what else would you want to have on your coffee table if not the books that are so pleasant on an eye that it's even shameful not to have them there in the first place...These are the geniuses and muses of OUR time, that's why I'm not even going to argue over the fact that it is rather prestigious - and [a bit pretentious, in a way] - to display the books of Dali and a world history in pictures books as your coffee table books. Yes, we all know that you read them, yes , we know that you are smart and intelligent and have a good taste, but there is more to the coffee table books than Paris, Da Vinci, Audrey Hepburn, Merilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly and America's landscapes books. I mean it! So, now that I'm done bitching and - possibly alienating my friends - I'd like to talk about what's HOT in the 'coffee table book' arena right now!

This is another collection that caught my attention during the Couture Fashion Week New York . This is the collection from a Romanian designer, Romanitza . I found it rather romantically-sexy and mysterious due to the fact that the models, while wearing rather romantic long gowns, had masks painted on their faces...Very Carnevale di Venezia (Venice Carnival), la la la...

To tell you the truth, as much as I like the fashion shows and seeing lavish and unique collections by the designers, I'm rather a person who likes simplest outfits - the ones you just throw on yourself, mix it up a bit, but that look simple, clean, subtle and....perrrrrfectly sexy, but effortlessly sexy...

It's time to invest in a better camera that can actually produce better videos...I must admit that my favorite part of any fashion show is the runaway music...and the after-the-show people in style. Ahhh...Tuesday day dreaming.

After a few tense nights of going through all the photos from the DC Fashion Week menswear collections' runaways, I narrowed it down to a few that stood out. I don't know about you, but it seems to me that a lot of those collections are inspired by very urban African-American culture. When the first models came out on the runaway, I knew the collection might have been from a Washington, DC based designer, who is African-American...It was just very prominent, very obvious, and to some degree - [stereotypical and typical] - of an African-American culture: very splashy, gaudy, rich, cheerful, colorful...and a bit of gangster and gigolo.

Yes, I've lived in California - I know the jest: flip-flops all the way, all year around and some, but...

It's been very distracting this morning to concentrate on anything but ... my friends' cool shoes-boots .

This past summer I've seen quite a few couples in all-whites. Here are a few shots I did in Italy (August, 2011). What do you think - a Do or a Don't? An all-white couple in Bologna, Italy

Congratulations Russia! You've got one more reason to take all those trips and follow some stylish and adventurous trends.

There is always a day when you wake up with a specific idea for the breakfast only to find that you don't have all the ingredients to make it... And that can either end in a frustration that could send you off the track for the whole day, OR - it could give you a platform to innovate and come up with something that you'd like so much that it becomes a dish with your household name on it - a signature dish aka [your] style !

Yes, I'm trying - [insanely] - to wrap up DC Fashion Week , but with the hundreds of photos I took, it's impossible to do it all at once. Besides, there are a few components to any fashion show. So... There are - runaway shows, models behind the scenes, designers' interviews, celebrities in attendance, fashionistas and It-Girls and the general public...Not to mention that there is always something else that might happen during the fashion weeks - like an interesting political/social protest outside the show and/or an extravagant pre-show promotional campaigns by the sponsors of the shows...

I'm really loving it. It reminds me of all the retro 1970s films about the African-American civil rights movements, Jazz clubs and Diana Ross era...I could never understand why so many African-American women color and flatten their hair when it looks so good the natural style? I hope they'd keep the 'new' look for a while! What do you think?

We all know that the magic happens before, in-between and after a fashion show. A different kind of magic - when the fashionistas get up from their seats and walk the hallways in hope to be captured by the photographers...Even if they say, they are indifferent to it. They are NOT. They actually dress more for the photographers than they do for the rest of the crowd. As a matter of fact, there are quite a few street fashion photographers in NYC, for example, who made it way too cool for someone to end up on their blogs. I'll tell you even better... shshshshsshshsh ...