Louis Vuitton + Murakami

Finally, after being released to select Louis Vuitton stores June 15 (they had previously only been at the Murakami exhibit at the Brooklyn museum), some good photos of the new Murakami with Louis Vuitton line have been put on the internet. Prior to this I had only seen one photo in a magazine and it wasn't a very good one... I didn't think that I liked the line and now that I have seen a better picture -- I definitely do not like it (however, I do like it better than the previous Murakami/LV). To me, Louis Vuitton is the epitome of classical, timeless fashion... and these basically look like someone took a Dickies bag and screen printed little LV's all of it. Cannot ~wait~ to see the knock-offs of these all over the place (please note the obvious sarcasm).

Baggy Jeans?!

Victoria Beckham, really? It is RARE to see a photo of her without sky-high stilettos on... But I can see the flip-flops for a day at Disneyland with the fam, five inch heels would not be practical even for the poshest of them all. But, those BAGGY jeans?! Are those David's??? I can name about a thousand different articles of clothing that would have been just as comfortable and not completely heinous. OH well, she is still perfect in my eyes.

Top 10 Summer Essentials

So since every magazine/website/everything I read has lists of summer "must haves", I decided that I should obviously make my own because I know everyone is very interested (alright, and I am procrastinating).

#1.

Stila's Sheer Color Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15
I am totally not a foundation type of person, so this is fabulous for me, but definitely perfect for ANYONE in the summertime. It gives very light coverage to even out your skin tone (it comes in 10 different shades), moisturizes, AND with protects your skin from the sun to keep yucky wrinkles away!

#2.

Gladiator Sandals
Yessss I know, me and everyone else is obsessed, so this is very obvious. I have a couple of pairs already and I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my new platform ones. They are a perfect accessory to compliment a plain outfit, and I love that I do not have gross monkey feet so they look amazing on me!

#3.

Fun, bright nailpolish!
OPI's The "IT" Color is one of my favorite, and their Mod About Brights collection also has perfect shades of blue, green, orange, pink, and coral. I need to stay away from Ulta because I buy too many bottles of nail polish... which is silly since I get my nails and toes done every two weeks anyway (an all-of-the-time essential, not just summer!).

#4.

Bumble and Bumble DeFrizz
Anyone who spends the summer months on the East Coast knows the humidity is hard to beat. Bumble and Bumbles DeFrizz serum is highly concentrated, but not too sticky, it gives you some shine and ACTUALLY works. You can use it on straight or curly hair... I would be lost without it.

#5.

Looooots of Sunglasses!
Victoria Beckham is rarely seen without a fabulous pair of oversized sunglasses on -- she knows what's up. Sunglasses protect your eyes from damaging sunlight, prevent nasty crows feet from squinting, and they are a perfect way to accessorize! I love sunglasses. Okay, I reeeeeeeally love sunglasses.

#6.

High Waist EVERYTHING
High waistlines are absolutely amazing. They are so flattering and turn anything from denim shorts to a cotton skirt into a fashionable item that can be worn with sandals for a casual daytime look or dressed up with heels. My collection of high waist shorts, pants, skirts, etc has been ever expanding for the last few months... and I don't see it stopping anytime soon.

#7.

NARS Bronzing Powder
While I am naturally much more tan than the average white girl, I take precautions to keep the sun off my face because I never want wrinkles (heellllllo SPF). This bronzer is amazing for kinda faking that natural glow and comes in two pretty colors. In the summertime I use the darker of the two, Casino, but I would recommend Laguna to anyone who doesn't have quick tanning olive skin.

#8.

Smooooothies
While smoothies are definitely good all year round, they are perfect walking through the city on a hot summer day. My favorite is strawberry banana (sorry Lauren)!

#9.

Body Scrub
Before I go out in the sun for an extended period of time, I make sure to use a body scrub so I get a nice eeeeven tan. They're even better in summery scents like this coconut one from Philosophy (ALL of their stuff smells soo good).

#10.

VACATIONS
Duuuh! I already have plans to go to Los Angeles and Las Vegas (San Francisco may be in the works as well), as well as little trips like to the Hamptons (and basically any beach as often as humanly possible). If it was up to me I would be traveling 90% of the year... so if anyone wants to plan any vacations in late August, let me know!

OctopusME!?

This jewelry designer, OctopusMe, has a really interesting line that uses real octopus to make their jewelry (such as the earrings above. They cast the tentacles in sterling silver, and even make custom jewelry. This both intrigues me and skeeves me out (I have an irrational fear of octopus that stems from the 20 Thousand Leagues Under the Sea ride at Disney), and I can't quite figure out if this is cruel or not? It doesn't really say on the site how/where they get the tentacles but it does point out that they regenerate soo, I don't know? Thoughts? The price of these don't seem too terrible either -- starting at about $42 and going up to around $160. Definitely original.


An accessories trend I am really into, however, is all of the feathers! Everywhere! On everything! Such as the feather hairclip (Urban Outfitters, $18) and the headband (Urban Outfitters, $18) pictured above. Now, I realize I would most certainly look like Pocahontas with any sort of feather accessory anywhere on my head, but this just may be a risk I am willing to take. Who DOESN'T like Pocahontas anyway?!

This Week in (Leaked) Music

A few days ago I had the pleasure of having new Sigur Rós and the new Coldplay albums sent to me by friends. Pretty exciting since both are such highly anticipated albums and thus far, I am very impressed!


Coldplay's Viva La Vida is a bit of a turn away from their last album, X&Y, however none of the tracks really strike me as being truly original. It is kind of obvious that they were playing it fairly safe with this record (hey, I don't blame them... they have a good thing going) especially with tracks like "42". My favorites so far are the instrumental opening track, "Life in Technicolor", "Yes", and "Lovers In Japan/Reign Of Love", all of which I would say are the furthest away of what I would expect out of Coldplay. And while the album artwork is I GUESS looks "cool", I think their use of Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People does not fit in with the album conceptually at all. So far, this album hasn't pulled me in enough to really dive in to every song... instead it has kind of just been playing in the background.


Sigur Rós' Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust, on the other hand, has already proven to be much more than background music. They took a leap of faith with this and you can tell they were really inspired to create this new sound. The only song I could do without on the album is "Festival", which would have been quite fitting on any of their other albums but seems very out of place on this free-spirited album. Major credit to them for breaking out of the self-created mold that they have always had, and I think that should be noticeable to anybody who has heard the first single, "Gobbledigook". So far I haven't been able to choose my favorite track on this album, but it is safe to say it will be in heavy rotation for a long time and I will probably choose a new favorite song once a week. Also, as far as album artwork goes, I think this cover does a perfect job capturing the happiness conveyed through this record.

I AM SO EXCITED

officially the official democratic candidate!

HISTORY IN THE MAKING

Double Vision?

Anybody who has seen the Prada 2008 Resort campaign (above), notice anything similar when you are browsing through the mall?



The picture doesn't quite express it as well as in person, but part of the women's summer line at Express seems to bear a quite striking resemblance to the Prada campaign... maybe TOO much of a resemblance. Hopefully for Express, Prada's design house truly thinks that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I, on the other hand, will have to disagree with that one.