CURIOUSER NEW YORK

Last December was my first time traveling to the South America. It was my first time visiting Argentina, and while I was in Buenos Aires, I couldn't help myself from checking out their local fashion scene. I learned that Argentina, for the most part, does not allow too many of the international design houses to be present in the country, but rather it supports the local talents. The international fashion names only exist at the luxury shopping centers and only in the big cities, but when it comes to the shopping areas like Soho and West Village in New York City, all the stores are the Argentinian fashion brands, which, by the way, is not a bad thing for the tourists because it's much more interesting for us to discover the local brands rather than shop the ones we have at home. This is how I've discovered the Argentinian fashion brand Tramando . 

Every once in a while, you've got to enjoy a night out in NYC from the perspective of your own photo-lens. I remember one line from the cult show "The Sex and The City", which not only makes a great sense for the NYC ladies, but that pretty much explains the 'relationship' the New Yorkers have with the city. It's when Carrie Bradshaw says that she has "a love affair with NYC and it's getting serious"... Isn't it serious for you as well? In the recent New York Magazine article, this 'affair' with the city is deeply explored: from the real experience of growing up in the city (told by the famous people) to what makes the city so 'hated' and 'loved' at the same time.

You might have been surprised that I haven't been updating my blog as often as I did, say, a month ago? And this is why!

Even though the winter holidays are over, it doesn't mean that they have left you without the gifts that keep on giving...

    It's almost Christmas time and you know, what that means for me - for someone who is a pathetic romantic when it comes to the holiday spirit, decorations and the scent of a Christmas tree? It means that for the next month I'll be blogging quite a bit about everything that the Christmas and New Year's holidays are all about - shopping, fashion, lifestyle and decorations, as well as the activities one engages in during the holidays - like making home gluhwein (aka mulled wine) - [I must admit, my time living in and traveling extensively around Germany didn't go by wastefully, I can now make one mean gluhwein!] - and skiing in the Northern America. Yes, my dear readers - I'm such a child when it comes to these holidays. I've always loved them growing up and it took  me a while to give up the fact that Santa Claus does not exist…but, shshshsh , don't tell that to your kids, let them believe the magic as long as they can! So, when are we open...

Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house. I'll be missing it terribly this year! Thanksgiving is only two days away, but I'm sure a lot of you have already done all the shopping and string beans, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, and, most importantly - the turkey are resting on the shelves of your refrigerator... This is more that I can say for myself! If I'm right about it and you've already done your Thanksgiving shopping, then you are so much smarter than I am, because I haven't done any shopping and/or preliminary preparations, which means, I would have to brave the crowd of the last minute procrastinators tomorrow hoping to have any kind of poultry left. What did I get myself into?!!

In continuation to my blog post about the first Designers & Books Fair 2012 in New York City that took place at the Fashion Institute of Technology on October 27 and 28, here's my posting about the sessions that involved some of the best graphic designers in U.S. who came to the fair to talk about their work and the books that have inspired them throughout the years.   

  Last weekend I've met Hal Rubenstein. For those who are interested in both fashion and film, this name wouldn't be a surprise. Not only he's the 'red carpet' celebrity-commentator, but he's also the author of a few fashion books, one of which is 100 Unforgettable Dresses - the book that he signed for me last Saturday. Hal came to the Designers & Books Fair 2012 at Fashion Institute of Technology to talk about his 100 Unforgettable Dresses book that features some of the most iconic dresses that changed the world - from Hollywood and music industry to the royal families. I couldn't get enough of his tales. Here's the review of the conversations with Hal Rubenstein. Don't forget to watch the videos!

Follow me this Sat 10/28 on Twitter - I'll be live-tweeting from the Designers & Books Fair 2012 at Fashion Institute of Technology . Can't wait to meet and listen to the top designers who represent Architecture, Graphic Design, Fashion, Landscape Architecture, Product/Industrial Design, Urban Design such as Elaine Lustig Cohen (Graphic Designer and Artist), Tom Geismar (Graphic Designer, Chermayeff & Geismar), Hilary Greenbaum (Graphic Designer, Whitney Museum of American Art), Prem Krishnamurthy (Graphic Designer, Project Projects), Alice Twemlow (Design Writer, Co-Founder and Chair of D-Crit MFA Program, School of Visual Arts ), and Hal Rubeinstein (Fashion Director, InStyle) 

If you are in NYC this weekend, don't miss out to meet more than 35 U.S. and European design book publishers and booksellers and hear the leading designers talk! Fashion Institute of Technology is hosting Designers & Books Fair 2012 on Saturday and Sunday. Designers & Books Fair 2012: The world's many design celebrities

When I was little, I remember looking through my mom's closet and thinking how I would like to grow up and become like my mom - with the same great sense for fashion and style.  My mom always had a great style. In the times when nothing much was available in USSR (now Russia), she managed to find fabrics and other materials and put it all together - [ with the help of my awesome grandmother ] - so that it looks so chic that hardly anyone could have guessed how it could have been made with an old sewing machine and with a few pieces of tools. I remember going through her old stack of the only foreign fashion magazine available at that time in Russia - Germany's Burda Moden . I could only imagine if she could have gotten her hands on the likes of Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar!

You can take the shoes away from a girl, but you can't take a girl away from the shoes… It's that time of the year, when you force yourself to go through your shoe-racks with a goal to pick and choose, which shoes would stay for another month as the semi-warm weather still permits and those that absolutely must to go. The ones that have to go would be the likes of espadrilles and wedges that you're used to hang onto so dearly during your getaways to the sandy beaches this last Summer that the memory of those long-gone beach days makes it harder to pack those shoes away. September and October, thus, become the months when your outfits look very much 'in-transition' - you are still kinda wearing summery clothes, but at the same time - you are warming yourself up with some boots, socks and footless leggins. At least that's what's been happening with me for the last two weeks, and I kinda liked the way it looked, so I started wearing knee-high socks...

I'm not yet done with Stockholm , or with Europe for that matter. Just because I've stayed in Stockholm for only three days, doesn't mean I didn't have enough time to shoot around the area and picture the local lifestyle. I have quite a few photos to share, and for those you know me relatively intimately, know that I have a very special feeling towards biking . I'm a biker myself - not one of those who do marathons or anything, but one of those who uses biking as a lifestyle - biking to work (I did it in LA, SF, and DC) and biking around the city on weekends ( doing it now in NYC )…[ Can't you guess by the name of my blog? ]

I've never been to Montauk. I've been to quite a few things around the area, but not to Montauk, so you can imagine the excitement! I've been browsing through Montauk's destination guide for days. I had no idea there are so many things to see and do. However, I'm planning to spend a whole lot of time on the beach...  

I've been in love with this city for a long time. Of course, there are days, when the city upsets you, but that's like with any relationship - you love 'it' one day, you 'hate' it the next day, but at the end of the day - you know, why this 'relationship' works for you and, most importantly, why you are in this 'relationship'. 

  Why do women love heels so much? What is it with the women and their heels? Of course, this statement - [and assumption that every women loves and wears heels] - neither applies to every single women, nor it applies to every single town/city. Since I've moved at least 15 times in my life and have visited and lived in more than 20 countries, I could attest that it's not the case. But as far as the New York City goes... it seems to be the case. Well, yes, gentlemen, we do love our heels . Why? There are many answers to it...

I'm back! For what seemed like an eternity for my readers - [ shame on me, I haven't written my blog for more than two weeks! Ahh... ] - it felt like one day for me. How many of you are not loving the summer time? I love summers! I worship summers! That's been my excuse for not being too much on the computer, but rather - being out and about enjoying the weather, sights and taking trips. [ I'd be posting photos of two of the trips I've taken in the last three weeks - to Cape Cod, finally a dream came true, the place I wanted to visit for a while, and photos from the camping trip I've taken to Echo Rock Festival... ] All in all, New York City is finally getting to enjoy the summer with some - [ of course ] - humidity and looots of the outdoor activities. In particularly - and personally - I'm looking forward to enjoying the summer nights out in the parks around the city watching the movies ( HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival and Movies ...

As I promised, here are a few of the photos I took on location in Aruba for the fashion label that is about to make a historic come-back.  The full collection, including the information on where you can get the designs, will be soon available online. I will keep you posted.  Please "SHARE" via your social networks if you liked it, and do let me know, which ones you liked in particular and why! I'm always happy to know what my immediate friends and readers like. 

Today is May 9Th - The WWII Victory Day that is very widely celebrated in Russia and Eastern Europe... It's a special day for me as well, as my grandparents fought this war. Some of them were wounded. I especially would like to dedicated today's blog to my grandfather, who was 19 when the war started and who finished it in Berlin, Germany - coming all the way to the 'finish line'.

I was working on my post for tomorrow - [I was thinking of not posting anything today and just taking a break from the blogging, but that's not, as you can see, possible] - so, I thought I'd share with you one of the quotes about an approach to a personal style that I absolutely feel very strong about. It's pretty much exactly the way I'd put it: So, today I thought of taking it easy and instead of blogging about fashion and lifestyle and/or posting street fashion shots, I've just decided to let you in a bit of my personal life...