FISHERMAN

i really want to try this l.l. bean fisherman's cardigan on to see if it truly is the need i think it is.  i've been looking for one of these for over a year and have still yet to find the one.

LIAR DIANA F+

two photos that my friend jillana took with her diana f+ (?) during our european escapades that i really enjoy.  i need to get one of these cameras, the photos she took during the trip came out beautiful - i wish i could claim them as my own.

t-shirt - cheap monday

sunglasses - dior

the mood of these photos fits perfectly with another one of my favorite mumford and sons songs, "liar."

I know that things are broken
And though there's too many words left unsaid
You say you have spoken
Like the coward I am, I hang my head
And you lay careless your head on my chest
And don't even look at me looking my best
And all these things I can't describe
You would rather I didn't try
But please don't cry, you liar
Oh please, don't cry, you liar
They told me love was a fortress
And I had never put it to the test
And all the while I relied on this honesty
Well in love we are but amateurs at best
But please don't cry, you liar
Oh please, don't cry, you liar
Oh please, don't cry, you liar
Oh please, don't cry, you liar
You're leaving for your last kiss
And who in this world could ask me to resist
Your hands cold as they find my neck
All this love that I've found I detest

so. damn. good.

TWO STARTING FALL RIGHT

today was the true first day of fall.  it was rainy and cold, two things that i normally do not want my monday morning's to be.  however, instead of letting it get to me i decided to make the most of a monday, and the first "real" day of fall (at least weather-wise), by including two of my favorite things into my day.

favorite thing number one - stargazer lilies.  if you ever want to get on my good side, or get back on it if you've pissed me off, just buy me stargazer lilies and i'm yours.  they're beautiful, smell amazing, and last a decent amount of time.  i got some this weekend for my home and decided to bring some into work as well, considering that is where i spend the majority of my day.  being at work on a cold/rainy monday morning instead of my bed turned out to be alright with me with these by my side.

favorite thing number two - boots.  i'll be the first to admit that these are my first pair of boots (well, that's a lie, i had some cowboy boots back in elementary school when i rode horses).  i never really had the need to have any before living in my current city and all i can say is what the hell was i thinking?  who cares if i you do or do not have a need for boots, you need them in your life.  i got these last year and wore them almost daily and today was the first time i've busted them out since late last spring.  wearing boots puts a spring in my step and i'm trying to find another pair for this fall.  i know i was supposed to get the gucci boots when i was in europe but i bought the vuitton shoes instead (which i still need to share).  i'm thinking about getting another pair of dr. martens since this pair has treated me so well.  the issue is that almost every day i see a new pair of boots that i want so i can decide which ones to actually buy!  in ten years i envision having this amazing boot collection, they really are my favorite type of shoe.

NYFW SPRING/SUMMER 2011

i know new york fashion week was a couple of weeks ago making this post pretty late but i still thought i'd share some of my favorite men's looks from spring/summer 2011.

steven alan.  i think i really like this look because i'm currently wanting some amazing green pants as well as a vest of some sort.  the black espadrilles are also nice touch.  the pants look like they have a carrot fit which i'm liking at the moment (raf by raf simons jeans i got in LA are seeing a lot of wear time these days).  i think i would wear this to the library or the bookstore...or maybe to the coffee shop to read a book.

y-3 makes going to the gym a stylish activity.  i really enjoy seeing what yohji yamamoto has up his sleeves for the y-3 shows, they are always beautiful.  i really like the color story of this look and how it goes from black to grey to white.  anyone who spends some time with me will come to know that i like (love) to get a little risque with my buttons...i'd totally wear this look as is if i could get away with it (which i know, from experience, i couldn't.  at least where i currently live). 

i just need these shorts from perry ellis.  immediately.  the fit looks absolutely perfect (which might be due to the fact that the model's body is pretty much perfect, but i digress).  the exploded argyle on the sweater vest is exploded so large it looks more graphic than argyle which makes it pretty fun.  i'm a big fan of tank tops and i think that once the weather gets warm again (...its just now starting to get cool and i'm already talking about it getting warm again?!?!  ridiculous.) i'm going to try to obtain some of these mock-tank tanks tops (vest?) into my closet.  i thought the whole perry ellis show was really nice.  it had a great color story and was trend right while also being really commercial.  the model choice was also on point.  i'm sure they will see some good spring numbers as a result.  strong work john crocco and team.

michael bastian's shows are about pure masculinity.  i loved how he included one of my favorite fabrics into his spring/summer collection for 2011...the stuff wetsuits and swim jammers/speedos are made out of (would you call it spandex?).  you can't tell the weight from the photos but knowing it was selected by michael bastian you know it is perfect.  the opening look of jammers with an open military jacket was amazing but the above was my favorite look.  the pattern mixing, small scale plaid/graphic on the bottom with the animal print on top, is spot-on...as is the styling with the open shirt and espadrilles (again).  i could see myself throwing this on on a saturday morning to go get some coffee or brunch. 

i really loved simon spurr this season as well, and the above look is perfect.  dressy but casual.  i love the t-shirt (is that a pocket?) paired with black pants of the same exact shade (at least it looks it, and this is near impossible to do unless it is the same fabric, which i can't tell if it is or isn't, i would assume not.  shirt being a knit and pants being woven i think).  the look is finished off with a pair of black shoes with a cream sole and the most amazing jacket.  i'm obsessed with this jacket.  the leather sleeves are amazing and they were so smart when they continued the leather up the shoulder to give us this modified baseball look. how could i not feel like i owned the room if i entered it wearing this?  i need this jacket.  i need to go out on the town in some glamorous city wearing this look.

gant by michael bastian was a wonderful collection of american classics with a modern twist.  the above is my favorite look.  the color-blocked oxford is right up my alley and i love how it is paired with white havianas.  garrett neff also just makes the outfit look really good.  hmm...i'm seeing a trend here.

3.1 philip lim is one of my favorites and the above look reads true to his heritage (has he been around long enough to have a heritage?).  anyway, i love the blue pants (there were a lot of pastel colored pants for men shown in nyc.  i'm going to have to get a pair..maybe in pink?) and the shoes; however, the top is amazing.  it is black which i am really enjoying at the moment.  the dye-to-match paisley 3-d embellishment takes a plain black sweater to the next level, i'd love to see it in person.  and, well, the neck line is just amazing, i love a good boat neck.  i'm just not sure about the belt that is hanging down to the knee, i'm not a huge fan of this.  though, i must be the odd man out as almost everyone in nyc decided to style belts on their models this way this year.  i'd wear my hermes belt with this outfit anyway.

now, time to start creating my need/want list for spring/summer 2011.

NEED OR WANT?

i am addicted to online shopping.  i live in a city where it is difficult to get the brands that i want so most of my purchases are made either online or when i'm traveling.  i buy quite a bit online and my friend ashley who sits next to me at work has made this amazing sign out of a ruler and some post-its.  it is her "need/want" sign.  whenever i am about to buy something i explain why i might buy it and she gives me a verdict: either a "need" which means I can buy it or a "want" which means I cannot.  most of the stuff i put up for judgment ends up getting a "want" ruling; however, i often buy it anyway.  here are a few things that i took to the court of ashley this week:

rag and bone white oxford and grey chinos - "need"

petar petrov black tee with vinyl inserts - "want"

petar petrov konon grid sweater - "want"

she didn't go for the i need more black in my wardrobe...but the truth is that i do!

i'm going to vegas in two weeks so i'm holding off on buying any of the above until after the trip (or should i buy it now so i can wear them during the trip?).  if i can't find some "needs" or "wants" in the vegas barneys i will be back to forwardforward to get some (all?) of the above.

also - let me tell you how much i love http://www.forwardforward.com/ .  it is one of the best online shops out there for men.  they carry a well edited selection of pieces from some really great designers.  i mean, where else online can you buy petar petrov, band of outsiders, rag and bone, neil barrett, and tim hamilton all in one place?  also, they offer free shipping AND returns.  love.

SUMMER BURN

now that it is officially fall (which is by far my favorite season!!!!!) i thought i'd share with you two tromp l'oeil articles of clothing the sun created for me this past summer.  i am normally so good with putting on sunscreen and can't remember a summer filled with more ridiculous sunburns.  both of these painful mistakes were a direct result of spontaneous outside adventures without the necessary preparation.  if i'm carrying around a man-purse next summer i'm definitely throwing sunscreen in there.   

first there was this:

a couple of weeks later there was this:

tromp l'oeil shirt & tank top - the sun

NEW FAVORITE SONG = NEW TATTOO IDEA

first off let me say that i cannot stop listening to mumford and sons since first being introduced to them last week.  each one of their songs is fantastic and i was an instant huge fan.  i need to seem them live immediately.  

i am an avid fan of neo-folk music with ray lamontagne being my favorite artist of all time.  however, mumford and sons are giving him a run for his money...especially with their song "awake my soul" which instantly found itself in my short list of top five songs of all time.  

in these bodies we will live

in these bodies we will die

where you invest your love

you invest your life

those lyrics echoed the first time i heard them an i instantly had my idea for my third tattoo (well, it would be my third after i get my previous two which i don't have...and probably never will get).  i just need to figure out where it would go.

let me leave you with an awkward photo from this past weekend of me in my pelayo-inspired safety pin t-shirt

H

sometimes you have to splurge on the pieces that you know will be in your closet for a very very very long time.

PARIS JE T'AIME

after a few days in london we took the eurostar to paris.  taking a train via london and paris has been something i have wanted to do for years.  i took french for 12 years and the chunnel was something we discussed almost every year.  laugh if you must but i was like a kid in a candy store!  after taking it there is no other way i would travel between the two cities, it was just so damn easy. 

first thing on the parisian agenda was vogue paris' fashion's night out.  we all got a little dressed up and headed to avenue montaigne for the festivities.  we danced in dior, browsed beautiful clothes at marni, but mostly we just stood in lines and enjoyed the insane people watching.  it was as if every stylish person in paris was out parading around in their best.  it was such an inspirational night for a fashion lover like myself.  afterwards, we decided on just having a low key night at a bar/cafe in the marais, one of my favorite neighborhoods in paris.  i wore a band of outsiders button up, 3.1 philip lim blazer, theory tie, and gap rigid selvage jeans...quite an american ensemble for vogue paris' fashion's night out!

our hotel had some amazing graffiti near it, i really am loving graffiti at the moment and the below were quite beautiful.  i found them to be refreshing compared to the stereotypical graffiti one normally sees.

there really is no city in the world like paris.  there are just so many identifiable aspects of the city that immediately tells one where they are.  notre dame, sacre coeur, the eiffel tour, the architecture, i could go on for pages.  i've been to paris a couple of times before this trip and i am quite happy that the sites never get old.  if i lived in paris i would find it difficult to not spend every weekend visiting the main tourist attractions!  i just absolutely love paris.  it is beautiful in the sun and beautiful in the rain.  i could wander the streets for days.

the eiffel tower is just so beautiful both in its entirety and its details.  i can't get tired of it.

this is actually the building that the host family i lived with for a summer during college live in.  it was right in between the montparnasse cemetery and place denfert rochereau, which was perfect.  there is little i wouldn't do to call this building my home.

la grande arche out in la defense is surprisingly one of my favorites in paris.  la defense is the no-so-central business district of paris.  its quite bizarre to take a lengthy metro/bus ride out to what feels like a city of the future compared to central paris.  this building is stunning and well worth the trek out to it if you are in paris, it is even more amazing in person.

sacre coeur!!!!  just watch out for the sketchballs trying to put bracelets on you and then charge you ridiculous amounts of euro for them.  tip for sacre coeur: if you have any sort of metro pass you can take the furnicular (tram) up/down the hill.

la defense in the background.  photo taken in the tuileries gardens, one of my favorite parks in paris.

musee d'orsay, up there with the tate modern on my list of favorite museums of the world.  unfortunately they don't allow photos inside, and for some reason i didn't sneak one, but the inside is absolutely amazing.  the building used to be an old train station so it is bright and open in the middle.

these next four photos are from my favorite park in paris: les jardins de luxembourg.  i could spend days here and would love to have an apartment in paris that overlooked the park.  the green plaid is from steven alan, and yes i wore it in london too...

sitting alongside the seine watching the world go by in my cheap monday t-shirt with amazing self fabric applique and gorgeous neckline.  i love a large neck opening in almost any shape and in almost any style top.

i'm not sure exactly what these locks represent but i believe they have something to do with relationships and those in love.  i'd love it if someone could tell me what they mean.  we saw them on several bridges throughout the city.

delicious dinner at chez janou.  the food was excellent, the wine was flowing, and the company were nothing less than perfect.  this dinner was one of my favorite things of the entire trip.  sitting at an amazing table in a restaurant hidden away deep in the marais full of local parisians with three of my best friends...it doesn't get much better than that.

the only thing that beats walking around paris during the day is walking around paris at night.  especially if that walk takes you by the eiffel tower while it is sparkling or notre dame & ile st. louis.  i refused to take cabs home at night so i could walk through the surprisingly extremely safe feeling streets and take it all in.  if i lived in paris i don't think i would sleep because i would be up wandering the arrondissements the entire night every night, especially considering you can run into late night crepe stands. mmm....nutella.

paris subway in my new vuitton shoes.

being a tourist taking a break from the rain by having lunch at les deux magots in st germain des pres - another of my favorite neighborhoods in paris.  (notice the slightly larger than normal neckline of my apc t-shirt, i'm not lying when i say i love a good neckline)

i've been fortunate to have lived in paris for a summer during college and if i don't live in paris again i will not die a happy man.  the city just speaks to me (and i can surprisingly still speak to it, my french still exists and is semi-good!).  it is a place i could visit time and time again and never get tired of it.  i'd go tomorrow if i could.  

paris je t'aime.