Luxury Hits the Fan

Summer in Sweden

2019-03-29T17:37:00.000-07:00

I don't think I can further delay posting these photos from back during the summer in Sweden. Without any calculated, directional plan to adhere to, Conor and I were taking in just about every inch of this seemingly uncharted tiny region on the outskirts of Stockholm until we stumbled upon what seems like a pebbly skatepark, questionable for its existence at first glance.

Time Regained

2015-02-15T10:58:00.000-08:00

American Apparel blouse & skirt, Louis Vuitton belt, Balenciaga shoes, Céline purse

Photography by Conor

Taking the long route to class was worth the Pacific Coast Highway morning traffic and unexpectedly intense sun exposure on cliffs overlooking a sky that matches the seawater. Avoiding beachwear during the winter sounds like the sensible thing to do but not when such a season feels pretty much nonexistent in Southern California. I'm surprised at myself for staying fixated on chiffon bow ties at the collar and plaid skirts for such an extensive time period, considering my inclination to promptly switch back my loyalty to basic cotton white button downs, little black jackets, and such of that kind. My guess is that they're classic enough to stand the test of time but almost always call for the additions of 21st century inventions like triple zipper purses and unclassifiable shoes!

The Lost Decade

2014-11-24T20:04:00.001-08:00

Roger Vivier purse and shoes, American Apparel sweater, chiffon secretary blouse & plaid skirt

Photography & makeup by Griffin Kratzer

In recent times, I've been dressing like people did every day in the 60s with pleated skirts of classic schoolgirl plaid and the sumptuous bow tied at or near the collar. Reminds me of how Mad Men characters dress. Perfectly matching shoes and purses are rarely sighted nowadays, even though they probably shouldn’t be. In this case, I chose a patent red set by Roger Vivier with buckles defined by lots of squarish parts.

Tea Rose

2014-10-16T10:14:00.001-07:00

American Apparel shirt, Theyskens' Theory pants, Alexander Wang shoes, Louis Vuitton belt

Photography by Conor M.

Things that are supposed to be conservative in the form of their original concept design are best when meddled with once in a while. A standard polo shirt, turns out to be more interesting when its hole punched. I put this one up against pretty much every variant of white I'm aware of and shoes that take after how I think some sea creatures are shaped.

Traveler

2014-04-14T18:55:00.000-07:00

Theory silk top, Alexander Wang shirt, American Apparel linen shorts, Chanel sandals, Balenciaga "Neo Folk" bag, Céline sunglasses

photography by Conor M.

Street crossing is taken to the next level with the existence of this bridge, equipped with elevators on both sides and a pair of staircases just for good measure. Of late, I have mainly been dressing with the intention of achieving the ease and lack of time-swallowing contemplation of outfit selection by starting out with at least semi-boyish, simple basics like button-downs, shorts of extended length, and conveniently designed messenger bags. Running into new ways of wearing this ridiculously see-through shirt (as a jacket, mesh belt thing, etc.) gives me hope that even potentially headache-inducing items can be forced to function not only well but in more ways than the one it was made for.

Habits & Passions

2014-03-03T13:47:00.001-08:00

Carven wool jacket, Giorgio Armani silk top, American Apparel skirt, Louis Vuitton lace up boots, Rolex timepiece, Christian Dior vintage pearl earrings, vintage leather purse (Italy) - photos by Conor

The aftermath of the California rainstorm offered surprisingly reasonable conditions for dressing up in my formulaic, unusually-ladylike-for-a-teenager kind of way. I went about engaging the formula this time with a new part wool blazer that fools the eye into seeing orange sometimes and red at all other times. If fabrics had opposites, wool and silk would be just that. The equation is made complete with a standard skirt that I suppose is unstandardized with its pleating.

St. Regis Holiday

2013-12-05T21:33:00.000-08:00

Black Forest coat, Giorgio Armani t-shirt, Theory skirt, Chanel purse and heels, Brighton necklace + earrings

Photography by Conor

Last weekend I stayed at the St. Regis at Monarch Beach to get away for a bit. Cavorting down deserted hallways lined with colossal mirrors and the kind of ballrooms that are ideal for echoing led me to this room flooded with sunlight that can confuse your eyes. I feel like the grand stairway plus piano situation and painted ceilings calls for luxurious fur over a sheer silk shirt - things that recall past centuries. The piano was tightly locked away. Otherwise, I would have done more than sit so primly.

To the Moon and Back

2013-09-28T17:42:00.000-07:00

Photos by Conor & Griffin

Based on my limited experience of being in deserts as well as landscapes that seem to be microcosms of them, I decided that dressing in absolute white with slight variations in tone is the only acceptable option here. Anything that freely floats with the subtlest of winds is a match for combating oppressive heat levels while contributing some ethereal effect. I can get used to overlapping highly concentrated whisper sheer lace with the right amount of ruching on a jacket where it is least expected. Something not to get used to, however, is wearing perforated footwear on surfaces that are like the shallow sandboxes they're not.

Parade of Petals

2013-07-13T10:38:00.000-07:00

Giorgio Armani top, Forever 21 skirt, Chanel: purse, sandals, and watch, Givenchy earrings

Joining in that athletically inspired fashion movement (which is really not so sporty anyway) with Chanel tricolored sandals. I like the sensibly low height and unexpectedly exposed heel, both features that complement the minimal design. This is all a testament to how air thin black silk and the tiniest doses of simple white lines can make for one of those multipurpose default summer uniforms.

I Dreamt We Were on a Sea Journey

2013-06-15T18:22:00.000-07:00

We the Free shirt, skirt I designed myself, Louis Vuitton bag, Alexander Wang heels, Hermès bracelet, Yves Saint Laurent vintage earrings

Here is to breaking my unforeseen month-long absence from blogging and assimilating summer after graduating. After tracing the perimeter of a collection of stationed sailboats, I now wish they would all just do what they are made to do — launch and sail out to nowhere all at once instead of being so still in one spot. There is nothing more appropriate for boat-gazing at the harbor than wearing an impossibly wispy white shirt with wooden buttons and a floaty skirt as blue as the vast seawater. At least as blue as environmentalists like myself would like it to be.

We Don't Talk, We Hold Forth

2013-05-26T19:11:00.002-07:00

Lotusgrace dress, Chanel boots, Givenchy earrings, Hermès bracelet

Whether it's the neutrality of the pebble grey or the clean lines on this dress, the general simplicity of it makes it applicable to so many occasions. A barely palpable lustrousness to the fabric is offset with a ribbon of fur at the hem that lends the skirt a pleasant heaviness. That, with a specific gait, gives the skirt a certain sway like that of an oscillating pendulum, a movement that is characteristic of whatever princesses wear. I think it's these kinds of exact observations that make what I wear seem like I'm a complete stranger to casual clothes. Sometimes dressing up is just more fun than dressing down.

Silk Road

2013-05-04T21:08:00.000-07:00

Robert Rodriguez shirt, Alice + Olivia leather skirt, Hermès belt, Isabel Marant heels, Balenciaga clutch, Chanel and David Yurman rings

Wearing perhaps the only floaty leather skirt in existence with the sheerest thing I own on the only windy day I could ever approve of. I never knew pairing leather pleats with airy ribbons of silk frills could make such an agreeable layering effect. Better yet, the combination can be simply transformed into a variation of the peplum with the addition of a belt at the waist. I think I'm alright with orange when multiple but strictly complementary shades of it are piled on all at once.

Photos by Conor Mossavi

Rhyme of Fountain

2013-04-21T21:26:00.001-07:00

Only when I received this Versace runway purse did I fully understand why it is incomparable to any other. Its monogrammed alphabets are inflated in a way that creates a fun 3D visual effect on a rather minimal surface. Silver strands of chain are interlaced into a pattern akin to delicately constructed medieval chain mail. I paired it with this skirt I designed and made myself. While it has a subtle sheen to it, the fabric I picked out is a perfect match to the Versace blue. Try distinguishing the two tones of blue with the naked eye. It’s seemingly impossible.

An Evening of Remembrances

2013-04-16T18:48:00.000-07:00

Forever 21 dress, DVF leather gloves , Chanel caviar clutch and boots

Evenly bisected black and white is particularly effective on a pair of soft leather gloves of an opera length. Gloves just happen to be one of those ladylike things I will always love wearing, mostly when my hands are freezing.

She's in a Secret Garden, the Walls are Ever So High

2013-04-10T19:01:00.000-07:00

Forever 21 dress, Chanel classic handbag, Balenciaga boots, Hermès "collier de chien" bracelet

It seems I have succumbed to doing without my signature red lipstick. Until when this arbitrary change will last is questionable, although I sense it won't be very long.

Embodying romanticism and simplicity at the same time, this rosewood dress I discovered using the methods specified above has the propensity to be easily mistaken as being solely suitable for the most formal of occasions. Although I admit what I sometimes consider daywear may not exactly match today’s society's definition of it, I stand by my assertion that there are ways of making such a dress daytime eligible.

Interlaced

2013-03-30T20:09:00.000-07:00

Theyskens’ Theory jacket, Alexander Wang shorts and heels (here), Roger Vivier bag, Givenchy vintage earrings

It seems the only thing keeping this immense network of intricately raveled branches together is a single line of columns. The mere thought of how impenetrable, how irreversibly jumbled this overgrowth has become is all at once dark and alluring.

There is a certain time every year when a white jacket becomes automatically obligatory for springtime functioning. Perhaps that time is pretty much now. Only enhancing the white effect is another white thing underneath contrasted with leather shorts and the hybrid boots that will apparently do with anything. Adding to the concept of clean lines and sharp contrasts is this purse with a prismatic print that always reminds me of shattered glass pieces put together in a perfect puzzle arrangement. In the midst of all this black and white is that little corner of yellow. Seemingly insignificant but really not.

Not a Word, Not a Movement Can I Ever Forget

2013-03-20T20:46:00.001-07:00

Giorgio Armani jacket, Alexander Wang heels, Forever 21 skirt, Balenciaga envelope

Engaging the concept of the business skirt suit except with ladylike teatime textiles consisting of velvet over tweed. Unwilling to delay breaking in these heels for any more than 24 hours from the instant they arrived, I was excited about this particular pair to the point of suspecting that it will be one I might have to force myself to cease wearing repeatedly. Pretty much any pair of boots revealing skin due to ankle straps or cutouts has the propensity to take up a disproportionately high percentage of my shoe arsenal.

Spring is the Time of Plans and Projects

2013-03-17T19:44:00.000-07:00

St. John jacket, Forever 21 trousers, Louis Vuitton duffel, Chanel ballet flats, Sermoneta leather gloves, Hermès double tour bracelet

With a sizable collar and perfectly square pockets, the perceived properness of a tweed buttoned jacket can be easily offset with the flamboyance of overabundant studs. I swear the fact that I am wearing green on St. Patrick's Day is a complete coincidence. It must have been an instinctual decision, or even better, an indication of impending luck. Green tweed and bell sleeves make it such a seasonal piece, something to wear with snow white gloves at the culmination of winter. There is too much irony involved in initiating a springtime effect with black as an undercoating for the pastels I subsequently piled on. At this point, something about having a dark, solid base to work with elicits the sudden urge to add in shades reminiscent of spring...and lemons, I suppose.

Newsgirl

2013-03-13T19:38:00.002-07:00

I am in the OC Register's first fashion section! Read the story here.

Seeing Her as One Sees the Sun, Without Looking

2013-03-09T21:52:00.000-08:00

T by Alexander Wang dress (here), Chloé boots (here), Hermès bracelet, Céline sunglasses

An unexpected pairing, rows of palm trees abutting groups of cacti is so very representative of this dress. Something about the commingling of pretty much indestructible neoprene with the romanticism of a wine red is making it a favorite of mine right now. A racer neckline further adds to the mix with just the right amount of sportiness, making a most intriguing combination with the skirt's voluminosity on account of the most solid pleats ever.

Tunnel Effect

2013-02-25T18:21:00.000-08:00

Wearing a mesh striped shirt with ribbons of transparent lines while lurking up and down a subterranean tunnel. Mysterious, I know. But its progression of visually dizzying arcs makes an ideal backdrop for the linearity of the top and Balenciaga shoe straps. I mean, the whole linear theme here should be as conspicuous as the semicircle of light at the other side of the tunnel. I put some consideration into sparing the eyes from so many umm illusionary lines at once, so I opted for this triple pouched Céline purse I bought from the store on Via Condotti in Rome. When it comes down to skirts, I often seem to contemplate whether I want to wear them with a belt like this Hermès "collier de chien" one. The outcome tends to the affirmative.

Do Exactly What You Wish for a While

2013-02-19T15:55:00.001-08:00

Hervé Léger top and skirt, Chanel clutch, Prada heels, Sermoneta gloves, Givenchy earrings, Céline sunglasses

I have been wanting to come back here for a while, ever since I first fell in love with the vast but not so deep infinity lake thing that abuts stairways of all kinds. Somehow, it is just one of those places where the sweetest moments ever can occur, where day and night each in their own way allow for the most artistic circumstances. It makes a most agreeable setting for sauntering in dresses or, in this situation, two pieces that create the illusion of a dress. I wore these matching separates of a seemingly indestructible material with my quilted clutch by Chanel cradled in the reddest of leather gloves, mostly because I have lately been having the sudden urge to wear gloves with sleeved little black dresses.

Inviolable Solitude

2013-02-11T17:59:00.001-08:00

Balenciaga leather jacket (here), Aqua shirt, Theyskens x Theory jeans, Isabel Marant sneakers (here), Hermès double tour bracelet (here)

Re-loving white on white with new suede high-tops and the anytime inclusion of the quilted biker jacket, which I only briefly kept off with the single object of allowing a more unobstructed view of that white uniformity. And that is when I proceeded to freeze until I was reminded of the fun over the shoulder option on some jackets like this. I generally shan't think it very sensible to expose so much white at once in fields of questionable grass, on fluctuating elevation levels, under trees that sporadically dispatch nature stuff from its branches, etc. But only then is the wisdom of white wearers achieved.

Somebody Knew I was There

2013-02-09T12:10:00.001-08:00

Giorgio Armani jacket, Topshop skirt, Bally belt, Prada heels, Céline bag

There is nothing more conspicuous than a red skirt against backdropped plant life and stormy skies. I could be unconsciously forming a penchant for wearing things where they are least expected. Of course, bringing the unexpected into a given location is more fun than being overly uniform. It provides some sort of compelling distinction from everything else around it, a novel perspective. I feel it necessary to differentiate this jacket from the many other timeless Armani jackets I seem to have collected over the years or rather months. It definitely has that familiar airy lightness and perfect shape but there are also particular details like the satin collar. Even though it takes like two seconds, sporadically slipping it on and off just to bear in mind how satin feels is worth the minimal inconvenience.

A Return to Sweetness and Decency

2013-02-04T16:16:00.000-08:00

Elkin Silence lace dress (here), Alexander Wang heels (here), Hermès bracelet (here)

So very prim here. As always, of course. Here is another addition to the arsenal of white lace, except in a floaty baby doll form with sheer sleeves and a most proper bow suspended at the high collar. I suppose only the simplest of footgear would serve this dress justice without subsiding its bearing to romaticism. I also noted that due to its lacy nature and for the obvious reasons, it has plenty of access points for rose bush thorns to catch on to.