When you get a super last-minute, rare chance to borrow a Cartier diamond bracelet from the Étourdissant collection to photograph, you call up your favorite hand model and try your best to capture the magic and allure of it. Of course, nothing beats seeing and touching the beauty in person. I think I'm still a bit mesmerized by that piece.
The purchase of this 2016 planner was probably the most effortless way to add some color in my life recently. The cheery yellow really does make me a little happier, as silly as it sounds. But I love all of Smythson's products and it's hard to choose just one color for a planner. (If you're looking for a 2016 planner still, this slightly bigger desk version is on sale in the always amazing cobalt blue.) Yes, they're a bit splurge-y but if you actually use it for the full year, your cost per use is, like, less than $1 a day. ;) But in addition to its practical use, it's just a really beautiful desk object, and I'm a sucker who's always willing to pay a premium for that.
I rarely wear anything with my Love bracelet since it's elegant on its own (oh, and I'm lazy), but I've been having fun with this little trio recently. I get a lot of questions about where this clover bracelet is from, and for the longest time I couldn't find it online anymore. It looks like it's back though! I think of it like a little good luck charm. The Celine knot bracelet isn't usually purchasable online, but you can find a pretty killer deal on one here (I mean, damn I wish I had seen that). For a similar alternative, Kate Spade makes a great one for under $100. Also on my paws is the classic "Scarlet" by RGB.
On an unrelated note, I'm heading to Seoul in the upcoming weeks and would love to hear any recommendations if you have any. Shops, eats, coffee, museums – all of that would be great!
Sorry for the lamest blog post title ever – I was hoping the color of the seamless paper I used here had a really cool name, but no, just "teal." I wanted to share a few outtakes from David Yurman's Aluminate Your Look campaign that I shot a little while ago. Featured here is the aluminum bracelet in blue. I stacked two with another simple bracelet from the Renaissance collection.
Worn with Joseph Coat (50% off here in the navy/black colorway) // Cami // Valentino Culottes (similar here and 40% off)
Vodka and bitters, hello. Sounds like a good start to a week, right? I was recently commissioned by Absolut for their Absolut Crafted with Love campaign, in which I had the pleasure of highlighting a local quality maker in the beverage/cocktail industry. Personally, I’m particularly drawn to any cocktails that have a healthy amount of bitters, so getting to feature Hella Bitters in this campaign was the perfect pairing.
Over the past few years, I’ve placed greater importance on the quality of everything I bring into my life, and ingredients are a big part of that. Most people probably don’t realize that Absolut sources all their ingredients within 75 miles of their distillery in Sweden. And of course, as a local small business, Hella Bitters cares a great deal about the quality of their craft and their end products, which are made in small batches with the finest ingredients available.
During a visit to the Hella Bitters production facility in Long Island City, we learned all about the process of bitter making, and it’s surprisingly simple (in the sense that you can easily make your own bitters at home with a bit of patience!). We started by looking at some of the ingredients that go into their Aromatic Bitters, and then we made a small test batch featuring chilies, cassia, cloves, and a custom spice mix.
The basic idea is to add any mixture of spices, orange peels – whatever you want really – to a high proof alcohol (the Hella Bitters guys use a 160 Proof Grain Neutral Spirit) and let it sit for ‘x’ amount of time (the time really varies depending on what you have in there too). Then, they manually tend to their production batches by shaking up the satchels of spices or stirring the mixture vigorously with a paddle.
You can also test your small batch during the process by using a dropper to get a few drips into your palms, rubbing your hands, and taking a deep breath. Of course you can taste as you go too. When your bitters are ready, just strain the liquid into a bottle and now you have a little extra something to strengthen your favorite cocktail recipe.
After we were all versed in bitters (at some base level at least), we made a few Moscow Mules featuring Absolut and Hella Bitters. Shown here is a take on the Absolut Spicy Pear Mule, which contains 1 part Paddy Devil’s Apple, 1 part Absolut Pears, lime juice, ginger beer, and Hella Bitters Ginger Lemon bitters. As cheesy as it may sound, bitters really are like the spices of cooking in the cocktail world. A little goes a long way, and adding just a few dashes can completely transform the cocktail (but still in a nuanced way).
I admit I’ve always been a bit skeptical about flavored liquors but I was surprised to find that Absolut Pears is made from natural ingredients and doesn’t contain added sugar. So the pear flavor actually tastes like a fresh pear. This particular cocktail hits a lot of my preferred elements in cocktails – it’s got a good amount of booze, no added sugar, a ginger element, and bitters.
The perfect Autumn drink.
Disclosure: This post was created in partnership with Absolut. Thank you to Hella Bitters for being awesome on this shoot and Pamela Duncan Silver for styling!
I'm excited to finally share the work I created for Rent the Runway's Artist in Residence series, a series in which they basically let me dream up a shoot and shoot completely in my style. This shoot was also a super fun opportunity to work with some of my favorite people. I don't shoot people very often, but when I do, I really want it to feel environmental, editorial, and still a bit still-life in nature. To me, that's the closest to keeping it to my style.
My take on this series involved a "day in the life" (a very loose interpretation and extended day, if you will) of a very busy lady, who wears many hats throughout. In this case, it was not at all an inaccurate description for my leading lady, Lisa Przystup, who is a writer and florist who happens to also look stunning in photos. I always used to think Rent the Runway was only for formal events and dresses, but it turns out they rent out all kinds of more casual looks too (not to mention accessories!). We had a great time styling a range of looks from a casual grey vest to a fiery red gown. I got to live vicariously because hey, some of those gowns were longer than I am tall. Maybe in six-inch heels I could begin to dream of pulling off one of those longer pieces. Alas. (Good thing there's plenty of short cocktail dresses for the height-challenged like myself.)
You can find all the looks on my Artist in Residence page, but I've listed out some product details as well.
Look 5: Ronny Kobo Dress
Look 6: Milly Top // Shoshanna Skirt // Inge Christopher Clutch
But really, if only Rent the Runway existed when I was a senior in high school buying a hideous prom dress that was banished to the back of my closet, never to be seen again. Even looking back on the past few years, I've bought an embarrassing amount of pricey dresses thinking I'd get more than one use out of them, but I never do because I always want something new the next time a fancy event comes around. When will I learn!?
Look 7: Reem Acra Gown// Lulu Frost Earrings
Look 8: Cedric Charlier Gown // Elizabeth and James Cuff // Kenneth Jay Lane Ring
Huge gratitude to Rent the Runway for partnering on this post and giving me so much creative freedom. Many thanks too to Sixty Hotels (your Soho Loft was perfect) and Georg Jensen for lending the beautiful teapot, cups, and pitchers!
A bit late on this, but earlier this year, I photographed Lauren Santo Domingo (co-founder of e-tailer Moda Operandi) for MORE Magazine's "In Her Closet" feature (it was out in the September issue). If I could somehow raid anyone's closet, hers would be veryyyy high up on my list. She has this terribly effortless way about things too. She makes the clothes look good, instead of the other way around. It's enviable, to say the least!
Below are some outtakes and selects for the final layout.
Details on all the dreamy items: Rodarte Poppy Dress // Marni Clutch (no longer available, but similar on-sale version here) // Dolce & Gabbana Pumps (how beautiful are these??) // Crazy Boots (cannot remember who makes these!) // ALC Top (on sale here and here) + Tibi Culottes // Marni Top
The last time I wore velvet was probably in, like, 5th grade and it was likely in the form of purple track pants or something – yikes. But as a still life photographer now, I really appreciate the richness of the fabric and how beautifully it shoots. I've already totally abused my blue velvet sofa in the sense that it appears in many of my at-home shoots, as a backdrop. And it works so well. With velvet, you have to really know how to light it. In the wrong light, it can be dimensionless and just absorb or reflect all of the light. There's very little I hate more than flat, blah lighting.
This mini velvet clutch is from Mary Katrantzou's latest line and can be found on Lyst. It's ridiculously cute (note, it will just barely not fit an iPhone 6+!) and has a removable strap, which is always a nice bonus. I love shooting accessories these days and I knew it would shoot well in the tiny bit of time my couch gets lit like this (basically between the hours of 6:00 and 6:15pm). It's always hectic when you have just that sliver of time to get your shots. Then the magic is gone. I wanted to highlight a sick (and slick) pair of suede tie-up heels in this lighting too. These have that minimal feel with an extra touch of femininity.
I had the pleasure of visiting and photographing designer Lisa Hedge's studio for the latest Kinfolk issue. When I first went to Lisa's portfolio site, my eyes basically popped out of my head and I immediately fell in love with everything she did, from the designs themselves to the way she photographed the finished product. I know from personal experience that shooting paper goods ain't easy. But her art direction is spot on. She and her business partner are launching Venamour, a wedding ephemera & stationery studio, very soon. Some of their amazing work (and outtakes from the shoot), below.
Back in January, Kira and I got together in my apartment and shot a "White Story" for the Toast Spring/Summer 2015 book. I normally plan to shoot product still life with strobes (especially in the winter), but we got lucky with a sunny day and took advantage of the natural light. I wish I could have kept these surfaces that Kira rented. So insanely pretty to shoot on. Below is my edit from the shoot, though if you can get your hands on a hard copy of the catalog, the whole thing is a beaut! (And yikes, that is me "modeling" the white shirt and lounge pants!)
