How I Met Your Style

Shortly after moving into our new Williamsburg apartment, Louise and I were featured in this ultra dope blog, How I Met Your Style. We answered some questions, gave them a tour of our hood, let them peek into our closets, and ended the day with a feast at Vanessa's Dumplings! Overall a fun fun time. Read my Q&A below, and then check out more photos of our digs over at How I Met Your Style.


Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I’m a DJ and a fashion publicist in Brooklyn, by way of Los Angeles.

How’d you develop your personal style/become interested in fashion?

I’ve always been a bit of a tomboy, and I think that my personal style has always been derivative of that. Five years ago I was heavily into sneakers and streetwear. Over time my style has softened and prepped up a bit. I’ve traded in a lot of my kicks for heels, but it is still heavily influenced by menswear. After a huge closet haul two years ago, I became more discerning about timelessness and quality, and adopted the mantra “buy less, buy better.” I threw out a bunch of cheapy, ephemerally trendy pieces, and started to build a wardrobe of solid classics. I think I’m almost there!

Latest inspiration?

New York City. I moved here a month ago, and it has challenged me (in a fun way!) to be creative with the pieces I have. Layering, packing a handbag efficiently, heavy fabrics, and snow shoes are all things that I now think about when getting dressed in the morning. I never had to think about things like thinsulate and Uniqlo Heattech before moving here. Because of the climate, I’ll find myself combining my existing pieces in new ways. Finding ways to look cute without freezing my toes off has inspired me to look at my wardrobe in a different way. I kind of love it!

Favorite stores/brands/companies?

Stores: La Garconne, Opening Ceremony, Creatures of Comfort, Madewell, J. Crew, Honey in the Rough, Mohawk General Store, Ten Over Six, Assembly

Brands/Companies: Proenza Schouler, Intelligentsia coffee, Something Else, Rachel Comey, Gabriela Artigas

What else do you enjoy besides fashion?

Music music music. And I also enjoy putzing around my kitchen for 10 minutes looking for something to cook, then going out to eat. Making dinner reservations is one of my greatest life skills. Fromage and charcuterie boards, I also enjoy.

What are your next steps? (next projects?)

I want to focus on producing music. I also want to learn how to cook and not be such a hazard in the kitchen. Come over next time, and I’ll know how to make you an edible casserole or something!

So hot.

You know when you walk 15 blocks in that treacherous New York summer heat, and you finallyfinallyfinally reach your air conditioned destination, sweaty and sticky and icky...that's when I met the radness that is William Yan. And even though every ounce of me wanted to run past him and dunk my head into a bucket of ice, he so kindly asked if he could take my photo. How could I say no to someone so sweet?

Thanks William Yan. :) If you don't already know of him, check out his wonderful photography blog at www.williamyan.com.

Behind the Scenes | TigerTiger Photoshoot

Let me start off by saying this was one of the funnest days of 2011! Jen & Hana of Tiger Tiger agreed to help me out with my DJ promo photos, so we started really laying down the plans in March. After a couple of weeks of coordinating, we met up on a gorgeous April morning in Echo Park and went straight. to. WERK. From the original inspiration board, we came out with 7 or 8 final looks. I shared a few of the final edits below! I am fortunate to be surrounded by insanely talented and cute girlfriends, who have all mastered their individual crafts, and came together to make this shoot possible. I am proud to say that this was a female-powered shoot! Thank you so so so much to:

PHOTO: Tiger Tiger Photography
STYLING: Angie Dita; Lanie Alabanza-Barcena - Hellz
ADDITIONAL CLOTHING/ACCESSORIES: Alana at No. A Boutique, Vanessa at Insight, Gabriela Artigas, Joanne Tagorda of Les Morceaux, Michelle at Foundation Showroom
MAKEUP/HAIR: Jadene Munson

And thank you to the boys, Ben, Mark, and Dennis for stopping in with midday treats!

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Cut Out

Back in April, I did an insanely fun photoshoot with Jen & Hana of TigerTiger Photography. I rounded up my insanely gifted girlfriends together for what ended up being one of the funnest dress up parties in recent history. Clothes, music, fruit, coffee, hello kitty, and good company were all over the set. Here are a few edited shots of one of the looks we did. I LIVE in this Style Stalker dress.

I'll post more edits in the days to come! Happy fourth of July weekend!

MONDETTE PORTRAITS

Mondette, one of my favorite LA blogs, asked me to weigh in on my neighborhood haunts. From best coffee to best boutique, read here for my Silverlake picks!

PS - Dress, Ladakh; Socks, American Apparel; Shoes, Dolce Vita

Hint.

Sorry I've been absent, here's a small clue of where I've been lately. I'm in the thick of it right now, but I promise to post lots and lots of updates very soon. Eeeeee!

I come in peace.

What I Popped When Hellz I Rocked.

If you know the streetwear game, then I don't need to tell you that Hellz Bellz is one of the front running women's labels of its kind. Style maven Lanie Barcena started the women's streetwear label Hellz Bellz back in 2005, and its success over the years has proven that streetwear is not just a man's world.

Last week I was invited to their Downtown LA showroom to check out their new collection for Summer 2010. Hellz has evolved from graphic t-shirts into a contemporary fashion label, so I was really excited to view all of the pieces. Every piece was amazing, lots of really sexy tunics in modern cuts, and edgy tees.

In perfect downtown fashion, we all walked to lunch at Pete's, and did a small photoshoot & interview with their ultra cute marketing guru, Brittany. What a fun afternoon! Thank you Hellz Bellz!

Read my interview on the Hellz Bellz blog!

Palm Springs: A Photo Essay

A rather belated post from Coachella weekend. Long story short, I sold my Coachella ticket for $$$$$ and went to a bunch of parties instead!

Hallway y Moi

Madewell dress, Forever21 cardigan, F-Troupe Sandals

My favorite day of the week is Saturday, and today was an exceptionally splendid Saturday in the neighborhood. Lazily rolled out of bed after a 13 hour slumber, walked to brunch at Forage, and picked up the usual coffee at Intelligentsia before perusing some shops in Echo Park. Finally got a chance to see the new boutique EPIC. It's a great store that solely carries local LA designers, really looking forward to seeing it grow! We took photos on our way back in from shopping, thought I'd share before dinner. I was browsing blogs earlier and blushing ambition's recent trip to Open Door has me thinking that a sushi night is in order! xo.

I hope that you're the one; if not, you are the prototype.

American Apparel shirt & leggings, thrifted cardigan, no.6 boots

Hola outfit post! I haven't done one of these in awhile. There is a humongaloid tree outside my apartment windows that obscures about 70% of any potential natural light from shining into my place. My neighbors promised they'd cut it down when the weather got better, but I have yet to see that happen. Maybe if it stopped raining every Saturday, the tree might disappear and I can begin to use my actual apartment to photograph my outfits. In the meantime I've found that this hallway window provides a nice little shooting space to set up a tripod and act a fool.

I finally bought the beautiful No.6 clog boots that have been haunting me in my sleep! I found them at a deliciously discounted price thanks to the Steven Alan outpost, and I haven't taken them off since!

Silverlake Art Crawl

UO Men's Tee, homemade bike shorts, thrifted bag, dolce vita boots, Intelligentsia coffee

So I do this thing where I drink black coffee at work all week and then treat myself to yummy lattes on the weekends. Last Sunday I took my latte up to Barnsdall Park to catch the tail-end of the Silverlake Art Crawl. Barnsdall is like Griffith Park's kid brother, a little lower in elevation, with an opposite but equally breathtaking view of Los Angeles. We perched up on the grass, ate an ice cream sandwich (coolhaus' brioche is ridiiiculously good btw), and watched beautiful people in their vintage shades toting around their beautiful mixed-ethnicity children. Gahhhh it was a sight to be seen, I wish my camera battery didn't die. :( Luckily, Lyndsey Wong from StyleSight snapped a photo of me and sent it over (thanks Lyndsey!).

I am obsessed with bike shorts now, after being inspired by my good friend. It's a good LA alternative to leggings, still extremely comfy, and so easy to make. Just take a tired pair of leggings, snip snip to your desired length, and voila! Even I can do it, and I am the worst DIY'er in the galaxy.

Helloween!

Eeeee I was Hello Kitty for Halloween, which I think is my favorite costume to date! This outfit was so fun to put together. I decided at the very last minute to wear a platinum wig and facepaint, and I think that really did the trick. or treat. Anyway Abraham Lincoln escorted me around to three nights of non stop parties ending with the last Banana Split party ever. Last night A-trak, Steve Aoki, Justice, and Z-trip paid tribute to DJ AM and his party that gave LA kids a healthy stack of Sunday laughter and fun for the past 3 years. It was a blasssst, he would have been proud.

Special Delivery

AA dress, H&M tights, Rag&Bone blazer, Dolce Vita shoes, thrifted bucket bag

What I wore when I went to sushi in Little Tokyo last night. I've been spending a lot more time in downtown, and...it's up in the air, but I might be moving to that part of town soon. Eeeeeee keep your fingers crossed for me please.

I've been following L.A. Bento on twitter for a minute, and ordered from them today! It's a lunch delivery service, that offers a selection of made-to-order sandwiches, and sides. Homemade chips and a fresh cookie arrive at your door along with your meal for $10. Definitely worth a try if they're in your neighborhood.

My cute bento box made from recycled materials.

The compartmentalized lunch, it's like lunchables for big kids with bigger wallets.

Muffletta Sandwich, soft roll from Breadbar and a generous helping of deli meats that are hormone free & sustainably farmed. not to mention TDF.

Woodbine

top & scarf, AA. tights & jacket, H&M. skirt, i forgot. boots, hunter.

Brrrrrrr. I took some photos today while waiting for street cleaning to finish so that I could get first dibs parking on the empty and newly accessible curb. It is raining in LA, and usually I absolutely loathe any sort of weather below 70 degrees. But I don't know if it's because of the recent fires or because I've dealt with a lot worse in NY and SF lately that I am actually thankful for the inclement weather this time around.

It's official, I am obsessed with this olive green jacket! I literally spend all of my waking hours in it, it is so comfortable, functional, and goes with everything. I am also obsessed with plum shades of lipstick. Nars "Fast Ride" and MAC "Cyber" are two colors I've become quite smitten with. Also, I found a couple of vintage Bulova watches on Ebay! They probably haven't worked since the late 1800's but they are charming nonetheless, and can pass as dainty bracelets. Here's a close up of them stacked with my good ol' casio.