Song of the Day: Alejandro by Gaga

perfection.

Weekend in NY

Crazy Prints: New Something Else t-shirt dress and Belle Sauvage jungle-print mini both from Pixie Market. Favorite Mociun space-print skirt (i was wearing it that day) and my old Jerome Rousseau "devil" stilettos with my Union Square Market organic sprout salad mix. Just thought i'd throw it in there.

New lace-topped supersoft sweater by Soul Mate#1 and Belle Sauvage mini.

So cool. In my hotel room.

My G-phone, sprouted pistachios and Arizona "Ass-kicking mini hotsauces"

Bathroom opens with French doors

Extremely comfortable bed

I have to make a mess of the desk. Naturally.

Snacks.

Room.

I know i know its been 5 years since my last post. I was in this meditation/fasting retreat in Arizona where i didnt eat for 7 days and only drank spinach and kale juice. It was great. Then i went to New York for a weekend. Stayed at one of my two FAVE hotels in the city (the other being the Gramercy Park Hotel), Ace. Its so fab, so happening ALL the time! The lobby is constantly filled with a supercool crowd morning til morning. The decor is impeccable (a case of taxidermied birds in the lobby coupled with low wooden tables, a studio floor and original plasterworked ceiling. The rooms are so bigger than usual NY rooms and soo New York. The staff are one of the friendliest and most helpful in my experience, they treat you like a friend aaand.. they only charge you 3 and a half dollars for bottles of water unlike other hotels which charge you 7 for a tiny Volvic. I dont like hotels that rip me off (i usually end up with a crazy minibar bill cause i drink so much water and believe me spending over $100 on water for a few days is not cool!). The restaurant is crazy good and so is their breakfast. Shopping at Opening Ceremony (which is in the hotel) is also always a treat.
After appointments at Sania and Jin Soon (one needs to straighten oneself out after 10 days of hiking in Arizona) I met up with my friend Wally in the afternoon. We ate at this cute little vegetarian restaurant called Pukk and then went down to the supair Lower East Side, offish one of my favorite shopping locations in the City. Shopped a bit at Pixie Market (excellent for unknowns) and then explored all the other shops in the area. If you are there check out Deer, its this really cool new Japanese label. The designer is usually in the shop.
Later i met up with my friend Anya from Paris at Pure Food and Wine (prabably the BEST restaurant for raw food in the world!) who apparently had lunch with one of two owners of the Four Seasons that afternoon in some weird turn of events. Then we headed to the bar at the Hotel Gansevoort in Meatpacking (in front of Pastis) to meet one of her friends who just got a job at InStyle.
I spent all of my last day at MoMA. Of course, its me. And plus... whats a visit to New York without a day at a museum? One of my favorite (and the least well-known among casual tourists) is the Frick. Its one of the most stunning private collections of fine art in the world. And the setting (a mansion right in front of Central Park) is breathtaking.

Feeling Patriotic

November just made these Kuwait cookies and I'm feeling particularly strongly today about their happy, patriotic simplicity! When i bite into a cookie, i don't want to think "oh its so cute let me eat it" but "oh, i would like to munch on a symbol of my country (of which i am proud and no thank you we dont want a GCC common currency!)".*

*i would eat a cookie if i wasn't all raw-foody right now but more on why i haven't blogged in 3 weeks later.
Go to November's blog on novemberblogs.wordpress.com

The Pierces: Not Boring

Boring by the Pierces. Old but love it. Its a parody of Socialite vapidity
Actually i just love The Pierces! They are sisters and in my opinion incredibly talented. I havent a clue why they aren't more well known.
This is one of their more famous ones. Cause it was on GG

Kill Kill Kill. Are they not fantastic live?

Sticks and Stones. This is the dancey one. Lazim :)

SWIMTIME!

Finally, spring break. I should finish my essay before i leave at 4 in the morning (hyperventilating) but here you are.. my favorite swimsuits...

Clean and Simple
These styles are all about showing you off. My favorite favorite favorite ever!!!!! I LOVE Lisa Marie Fernandez. She uses the best quality scuba-gear material to make these spectacular Bond-girl swimsuits. Netaporter.

I like this top shape. But you need to be really flat. Shimmi at Shopbop.

Lisa Marie again, isnt she FAB??

Nice and clean (the colors are so relaxing, remind me of umbrellas at nice beaches) with a touch of whimsy by Salinas at ISS

Nicole Olivier mesh and black. This is such a "confident" look. SB
Clean Lines for Art Dealers

Beautiful contrasts against bold and simple silhouettes are very Art Basil Miami crowd

Looks like china. I like it. SB Saha

ISS Maryan Mehlhorn again. Fabulous orange and white giraffe print and as you can see, i love anything with a bra top. When i was a kid i would love seeing the older women in bra top bikins. So elegant.

Bandeau top and side-gathered bottom by SB Caffe. That bottom style is very flattering though i wish i could wear bandeau tops :(

Black.

Although not my favorite color, these cuts and stark and to die.Gorgeous gorgeous cut. A monokini can easily look sleazy but this one is elegant perfection! ISS by Jets

Blocky contrast in a new shape ISS by Jets

The top is so delicate and the band at the bottom finishes the whole thing off so perfectly! One of my new favorite designers ISS Maryan Mehlhorn

Like this top by EBW Robin Piccone
Girly Twirly Ladylike

Legit molded cups and high waisted bottoms and frills and thrills for Miss "I. am. Girl"

A very very flattering shape ISS by Gottex

Tab-side bottom, silky look and those amazing half-bra half thick strap halter tops. whats not to love? ISS Lolita bikini by Vix

Gorge bright contrast happy-50s-style bikini by Diane Von Furstenburg at Netaporter.

A sloppily (not in a bad way) endearing frilly one by Betsey Johnson - Orchid

Love love love this. Its green, has a frilly bottom and a bra top. Perrrrfect! ISS by Vix

It takes personality to pull this off well. Its like lingerie. But harder. Nicole Olivier at SB
The Free Spirit
These fringes, florals, relaxed sihouettes and whimsical details satisfy the principles of aesthetic escapism (how pretentious am i?)

A hipstick/American Apparel style but appealing nonetheless. Love the turquoise with the string straps and fringing. Do not attempt this swimsuit if you've got curves! This is for sticks only. Mara Hoffman at Shopbop

Beaut. Just look at the gorge Morocco-Med color pairing and the X straps. Saha (I like this brand) at SB

Looove the back. Keep it very simple with this on. No sparkly slippers or extra prints. Just let it pop by itself. Love it, very fairy-on-a-carousel-in-the-Garden-of-Eden. Maaji at SB

I am very fond of this style. It makes me happy. It reminds me of ma9ri tablecloth prints that you'd find at the 100 fils souks or in cafes with big COCA COLA signs and plastic chairs which is so fresh for the beach (and it manages to come off cute not ironic). The cut-out sides add glamour and the ruffle is so endearing. Jets at Netaporter

SO FAB for the girl who can work this crazy Tropicana look! Gottex at ISS
ISS- instyleswimwear.com
SB- swimwearboutique.com
Orchid- theorchidboutique.com
Shopbop- Shopbop.com
Netaporter- Netaporter.com

Fanny-Packer Chic

Tourist Chic by missghesquiere featuring Timex watches

Items in this set:
Slouch Short, $195
Irene Sandal, $225
Leather Fanny Packs - Designer Fashionable Alternatives To Carrying A...
Gold Timex Indiglo Watch, 60 GBP
Oversized Squared Sunglasses, $640

Its a term. I invented it. I have long loved the tourist look, with their bunchy shorts and fanny packs and fans that dont do anything and disposable cameras ( i LOVE disposable cameras cause no one can say "aby ashoof, raweeny! la waai3 shakly araf delete it"). There is something so ridiculously unglamorous about it that its just cool, you know? So i decided i wanted to create a new term: FANNYPACKER CHIC to describe this fabulous, globe-trotting parade of tackiness. And i decided the Queen of the Tourist Chicas is the Hawaiian tourist. Because its soo cliche, soo done, soo stereotypical that it arouses in me a sort of visceral affection. Check out the look above. Dont forget the Maui Babe browning lotion, nor your giant Linda Farrow sunglasses (in case some jerk comes up to you like he wants some then you lower them glasses and go: "darling, i know were in some godforsaken tourist trap, and im aware thats an oxymoron, but do you know who i am?")
J'adore les touristes Hawaiiennes! Vite vite get yourselves to the nearest Aloha shop cause this is the next big trendy wave! Now lay back, order a fruity cocktail from the pool menu of your Special-Offer chain resort and survey the perfection...

Look at these fabulous, high-quality prints from alohashirtshop! How obvious can you get? So tight! And i really like the cut.

Instead of bunchable shorts that look like potato sacks (or actually remind me of my school shorts), get these fab tailored khaki shorts by Lark and Wolff from Urban Outfitters to look the part.

This is a hipster-friendly but fab fanny pack by Master-Piece available from Opening Ceremony.

A wonderful crossover pack from the fantastically un-netaporter tuscanyleather.it (to look reeeally legit- and plus, in muggable areas, you can pretend you "gots a gun in there") for the hard-core tourista.

A more rustic version for the Tarzan fan in us all by Tough on ebay.

And look at these lovelies! What do you see on there? A zipper compartment and .... an external CELLPHONE POCKET! This is fanny-packer chic gold!! You have to have an external cellphone pocket! And lose that Blackberry girlies, cause that phone pocket don't accommodate nothin made before 1999. Uh-uh (snap)! It better be stuffed with one of these.

Or better yet.. THIS!!!!! Go Motorola! Look how small that screen is! Is that even conceivable, you ask? Ya! Its right in front of you geniuses!! Look at how bubbly those keys are! Better yet, look at the ANTENNA poking out the top! Mad nice.

And then when you want to engage in some in some after-hours partying in some overcrowded, tourist-filled, bad-tan-stuffed, neon-lit, Daddy-Yankee-blasting Maui nightclub, you better get this blouse on (pronounced with emphasis on the S, like so: "blawss")

...rock it with this American Apparel gold skirt

...Get it poppin with this Pink Poodle Mac Lipglass

finish off the outfit with these cray-cray Ziggy booties by Char Olympia (who you know is my favorite, obvs)

Or these (Also by Char) if you just want to go Tropicana-babe to kill
and you're all set honey! Isn't this the best look EVER??
I will go eat some pineapples now and pretend i'm not on an East Coast campus with snow still on the ground.