♥ compliment a style day with bow & drape.

for those of you who aren't aware,

 local boston fashionista/entrepreneur, aubrie pagano

 has evolved her brand zoora into a brand new brand altogether.

 bow & drape will offer women everywhere the opportunity

to design their very own unique articles of clothing-

from the comfort of their own home. 

(see kickstarter video below!)

this saturday, you are invited to go out into the streets and congratulate others

on their fashion forward-ness. on "national compliment a style day,"

the ladies of bow & drape would love for you to download & print the 

complimentary compliment cards & have a field day passing

along the style love to everyone with a fashion flair ;)

♥ i've got a golden ticket.

tuesday night, i attended christina k. pierce's event, "a night of runway shows,"

in a very intimate boston venue with passed cocktails and some of my 

favorite local bloggers, designers and artists.

 the evening included an installation for new brand, shape of birds,

which i unfortunately missed- and afterwards three consecutive shows 

featuring the spring/summer 2013 collections of launch by susan young, 

ruch & lily & migs. 

 susan young showed a number of sixties- inspired dresses,

complete with twiggyesque eye-makeup.

 

and the models at lily & migs were fun and flirty, bounding down the runway

with their teased out hair, color blocked tops, cut out backs and

 peplum + short shorts combinations that made me long

for summer to come back!

and now, we are at the brink of boston fashion week-

which shows/events will you be attending?

♥

♥ so clutch.

i am not sure which is i like more--

designer roxy marj's hand-painted fabric envelope clutches 

or the specially designed wrapping paper she packages them in?

i think i need to see it all in person to decide. 

ps. check out her adorable blog!

♥ she always had the feeling that it was very,very dangerous to live even one day.

the 300 year-old farmhouse of artists portia munson & jared handelsman was recently featured

 in  new york times, and of the numerous photos shared of their live-in museum, i must admit 

that the most interesting are not of their home at all-- but rather the larger than life

 flower mandalas created by miss munson herself.

after the death of her great aunt in 2002, portia was inspired to do something that would 

celebrate & elongate the short life of another living thing- the garden flower.

 she decided to create mandalas: continuous rings of flowers, insects, leaves, 

and occasionally dead animals freshly plucked from her garden and

 artfully arranged on a digital scanner for photographic perfection.

"every flower mandala is unique to a moment in time,

 represents what is in bloom on the day i made it."

OBSESSED. 

and a bit tempted to go into my mother in law's garden

and see what i can come up with. 

images via google.

♥ celebrate we will.

 this weekend, nick and i returned to the red lion inn, where we

 spent a lovely late-anniversary afternoon toasting champagne, 

tasting their new menu, and lounging in a quiet hotel 

room without the hustle and bustle of 

a wedding day to prepare for. 

we both wish that we could get married here every year--

but in the very least, we can make it a point to visit more

 often for anniversaries & other special occasions.

 (my birthday this year is on 12.12.12, hint hint hint ;)

i decided to break out my brand new 50's style dress, that i received

 care of the lovely e-shop, eshakti (see a similar version in cobalt!)

i am totally obsessed with the cut of this dress- it reminds me of

the vintage frocks i often wear and then complain,

"they don't make 'em like this anymore." 

so, the next time i say it, please tell me to shut up and site this post as a reference.

we also stepped away for a bit to go to the grizzly bear show, 

which was too incredible for words. listening to their music is one thing-

but for someone with an untrained ear- seeing them in concert adds a

whole new element to the experience. there really is nothing like

listening to your favorite music with your favorite person.

or the whole rest of your life, for that matter. 

♥

♥ have a cute weekend!

xoxo, my darling niece.

♥ we are the lucky ones.

tonight, i had the luck of meeting the mostly lovely man:
 menswear designer/ CFDA winner/ former bostonian
& gant collaborator, michael bastian.

while admittedly, i know very little about menswear 

(and most of the time have very little interest!) i took a look through MB's 

most recent collections for his eponymous line as well as those he has designed for

american lifestyle brand, gant, and was completely intrigued by his amazing way of
bringing excitement and a fresh perspective to mens clothing, his creative way of styling,

 and the fact that his catalogue of models is as diverse as his collections are.

tonight, as i said, i had the opportunity to attend the gant store opening party,
(they are now here in boston and will be opening in LA & georgetown next!),
where i had a chance to meet & speak with michael bastian, and to check out his latest
fall/winter 2012 collection for gant, artfully known as "the lucky ones."


pssst! check out the lucky ones video that was commissioned from the band, caviare days!

borne out of a "very specific memory of boston," this fall collection is inspired
by bastian's time as a college student (at babson!) in the 80's when he felt
blessed to have that very special time with friends, so close to boston,
 in the heart of everything artistic, musical and creative,

he remarked that: although boston is considered a city of history and tradition,
and gant is a notoriously preppy brand, we should also keep in mind the fact
that only 50% of the people living here are here all of the time, the others
are transplants from other cities, here to attend school or work,
who are interested in fashion and fresh ideas.






when  i complimented bastian on his menswear collections and their unique styling
he commented that he does all of the styling himself, for each of his runway shows,
and he doesn't have an outside stylist! LOVE!

  predominantly a menswear designer, michael stepped out of the box a few seasons
ago to design the first womenswear collection for gant, to great success.
regarding his designs for women he said, "it has been a real education. men have a
much smaller toolbox. they want to look different, but they ultimately want to
look like themselves, only better. women want to throw out the rule book. they 
want to take a trip. they are more flexible, which in the end is more fun!"

lastly, a few things that endeared me to this lovely designer & gant even more was when
i brought up the diversity report from this season's NYFW runways, and the shocking truth
that designers sent 79.4% white models down the runway, leaving a whopping 20.6% for
everyone else-- some designers didn't used anyone of color at all! WTF??!!

of this, michael said, "i am glad you brought this up because it is super important.
i use models of diverse backgrounds because it is the right thing to do. i am proud
to employ bethann hardison as my casting director, who was a model, and is now
and agent with a great eye for promoting diversity and finding beautiful people
of every color."

LOVE HIM!!!!

lastly, i met a lovely bunch of people who work at the gant newbury street store
(you may have seen some of these boys on boston street style or beyond!)
 and their visual guru, taryn, whose reversible fur jacket is too cool for words.

♥ music to my ears.

nick and i have been starved lately for some really good music-
we just haven't fallen head over heels (or ears!) in love with anything
in so long, that i have sort of given up hope and started listening
to my old cd collection from the early 2000's. (think: nsync),
while he has fallen for the pop music he hears on the radio
continuously at work (think: karmin).

image via google. such a handsome band!

so, you can imagine my happiness when i heard that one of our favorite
bands, grizzly bear, just released a brand new album, shields, (yesterday!)
 and is coming to play in boston at the orpheum this very weekend.

ps.and guess who's husband nicely bought tickets for the show? ♥ this gal. 

pps. listen to their first track, sleeping ute. you will LOVE!

♥ a win-win situation.

i am excited to announce that  30 winners have been chosen 

for my IN PINK giveaway! each winner will be contacted via email

and given $40 to put towards whatever they like =)

these bracelets, perhaps?

or maybe this ring?

or perchance this gorgeous necklace?

those who didn't win will still receive a $15 gift certificate-

so essentially, nobody loses, and everyone is a winner!

thank you to all who participated- 

you are fabulous. ♥

♥ a little bit wicked.

image via silvana costa.

i am honored to share with you the interview (and one of the amazing pictures!)
from my delightful evening with the lovely ladies of online marketplace,
wicked peacock.

i am very lucky to be counted among the local fashionistas featured
on their "as seen on" page, and i had the luxury of wearing
 a few gorgeous pieces from kimber elements.

read my interview with silvana of wicked peacock here,
and their interview with kimber elements here!

♥ to remain young while growing old is the highest blessing.

this  new trailer for the advanced style film brings me such joy-
that i simply cannot wait to sit in a dark theater with my best blog friends
and watch these sophisticated new york ladies strut their stuff and work it
 as if age didn't matter when it comes to matters of fashion. 
 (because it doesn't! and it shouldn't!)

ps. did you happen to catch the flash mob-style fashion show put on by
advanced style curator, ari seth cohen during NYFW in lincoln center?
 models ranging from 65-95 years old were asked to wear their favorite
looks and prove that fashion is not just for the young.


LOVE!!!

photos by eric lee, via advanced style.