The Weather in the Northeast

The Best Tom & Jerry episode of all time.

"Mice Follies", 1954

Watch the whole thing on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIpRpHrK9Xs

1. Jerry and the baby mouse flood and then freeze the kitchen using the freezer cables.

2. Baby mouse uses colored jello in the refridgerator as a colored spotlight for their skating.

3. I wanted to flood and freeze the kitchen, and of course wanted colored jello in the fridge at all times. My mother thought I had a weird affinity for more than one color of jello at a time; really it was the desire to have the possibility of skating under a translucent j-e-l-l-o light in the kitchen.

4. It's raining cats and mice outside, and soon someone is going to open the freezer and Newport is going to resemble Tom & Jerry's kitchen sans colored jello.

House of Cards

Today I am sad to report that Conde Nast and the powers that be over there have decided to fold Domino magazine. I cannot fully express my disappointment, but I will try.

I read Domino cover to cover. I read over 20 magazines a month, and this is the only one I read TWICE all the way through before I tear one page out of it - and even that is hard to do. (Most) everything they do in the magazine is brilliant. The book that they just published is great as well (see previous entry).

I believe that Conde Nast's foresight is a little skewed. The only thing that would make me feel better about this closure is if they a) showed me their books and really proved to me that closing is a good idea and/or b) they close one of their bridal publications, too.

Bride stuff is ONE day in your life. Domino inspires us to live a better life EVERYDAY. Everyday. Think about that Conde Nast. Don't we all want to do and share and create things that INSPIRE people anymore? I know Conde has gone through some cutbacks lately - no private cars, lavish dinners, no more four star hotels comped...maybe they should have trimmed the fat a little sooner in order to save something that inspires people. Isn't that what they are intending to do anyway? Or is publishing just a way to tell people what they want to hear in order to live an over-the-top life on corporate America?

Don't get me wrong, I love corporate America. But they have done just a few things wrong in the last few months. I digress, again, as usual.

Today I am sad. And the March 2009 issue will be the last of Domino. I hope they bring it back soon. I hope they rethink their decision. I hope a faction of stylish women and adorable gay men cluster outside of Conde Nast HQ in their Moncler weather gear demanding that the Dominoes do not fall down.

Which brings me to something else...maybe they should have given it another name. Don't dominoes always fall down? Maybe this time they should name it something a little more steadfast.

DOMINO update from FashionWeekDaily.com:

The Domino Effect
Condé Nast closes the shelter title, February issue carried only 17 ad pages
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
(NEW YORK) As reported in trade publication WWD, Condé Nast has closed Domino magazine. This news comes merely two weeks after the magazine's publishing activities were handed over to Condé Nast senior vice president Bill Wackermann. The shelter title, published with a frequency of 10 times a year, only carried 17 advertising pages in the February issue, and finished 2008 with 692 ad pages. More details are emerging, but given Condé Nast's hiring freeze, it appears unlikely that the magazine's 47 editorial staffers will be placed at other titles in the company.
UPDATE: Condé Nast CEO Chuck Townsend has weighed in. "This decision to cease publication of the magazine and its website is driven entirely by the economy," he said in a statement. "Although readership and advertising response was encouraging in the early years, we have concluded that this economic market will not support our business expectations." According to Mediaweek, the March issue will be the last one, and editor Deborah Needleman will leave the company--although some staffers are expected to be placed at other Condé titles.

Optimism and Love

Rob Ryan, papercutting artist from the UK. Read the bits I have shared here, and check out his website:

Rob Ryan - http://www.misterrob.co.uk/

(Left) - "Maybe in this very city or in a field a thousand miles away. But you must be patient and never despair for one day you shall surely find each other."

(Right)- "You were in my head but now you are in my heart. Stay there forever."

Need I say more?

Stripes Make Me Happy

Stripe - (as defined by wikipedia) - a long, straight region of a single color.

That long, stright region of a single color, when standing alone or combined with other colors in a pattern makes me happy. When don't stripes make people happy? Maybe this is why jails had to stop issuing black and white striped clothing to their guests. They didn't want to fully ruin the reputation or happy connotation of the stripe. (*Orange was recently on thin ice because of this, but has made a major comeback in fashion. I also love orange.)

Stripes are their own language. They are not symbols, they are not words; in fact they are a combination of color that conveys a message to people in a non-threatening manner. Stripes denote ranks in the military, they are found on countless flags and burgees, NATO and the UN uses them to silently communicate which branch someone is serving in (even on their watch bands), and even the stylish French and Russian Navy has used them as a part of their uniforms.

There is this great thing online for graphic designers called Stripe Generator . A little hard to use as an amateur, but only proves my point about stripes being a wonderful thing - so much so that there is an entire site dedicated to creating them!

Get out there and celebrate stripes and all that they have to offer. Below is a list of my favorite striped items.

I love:

1. Striped grosgrain ribbon belts

2. French Navy shirts (and Russian)

3. Zebras

4. Racing stripes on cars

5. Candy canes

6. Red Stripe Lager

7. "Stripes" the movie

8. The Stars & Stripes

9. Striped watch bands

10. Fruit Stripe gum

11. Rugby stripes

Labelmakers Will Change Your Life...

Yesterday I bought a labelmaker with the conviction that it will change my life. Make me more motivated, organized, efficient. Today my office is starting to resemble a Richard Scarry book.

He was a genius. I really really loved those books, the characters were my friends. I think even now I would find heaps of comfort in reading one and the silly little labels he put on everything: book, worm, apple, car. Cheers to R.S. for sharing his passion with all of us, a legacy that lives on today.

I digress...back to labeling my office and beyond.

The Best of the 80's

In no particular order, and loved equally by me. I am sure there will be someaddendums as I lament in future days.


1. Swatch. The scratch and sniff, available in three flavors sold at The Limited for $25. I wore mine until it turned yellow. This was my first of several swatches (of which I can only locate one). My brother had the Jellyfish, first men's Swatch.

2. The music. Still the only thing we are really allowed to celebrate somewhat publicly on mocking "80's Nights". But you know those people are loving the flashback.

3. ELLE magazine. Thank you to those editors during the 80's. It was my first fashion magazine and I got it religiously from age 10 until now. I especially remember the one they published backwards because they did a poll and some high percentage of women read magazines back to front. Innovative and I don't think anyone else has done it again to this day. Even Seinfeld copied them on that one.

4. Guess Jeans - the triangle logo on the pocket, zip ankles, and the ads.

5. Micheal Jackson who deserves his own number in this line up. The posters, pins, #1 songs, the dance moves, videos...all fond memories of many sleepovers in friend's basements.

6. Benetton. I love that logo.

7. The Goonies. I had a major crush on Sean Astin. Had I known he would grow up to be 5" shorter than me, I probably would have tried a little harder at age 11.

8. Friendship Pins - the legitimate beginning of my jewelry design happened in my BFF's basement (Melissa). If only I had the arsenal of tools then that I have now. We are still BFF today, and we are still designing jewelry. Funny...

9. Hello Kitty. A trend that started in 1975, Melissa and I really embraced this kitty in the 80s. It was my life's mission to have every bit of Hello Kitty gear out there. The mini colored pencils, every pad of paper, stationary, figurine, stuffed animal. The thing is, now we could not keep up. Target even has a Hello Kitty toaster.

10. My pink Sharp radio. Many many mixtapes from the radio (Open House Party) were made on this beloved treasure. It sat in a shrine to the 80's in the 80's near my inflatable palm trees. Long live FM, pop music, and this plastic radio.
Look at that thing, it's gorgeous.

I thought CK Bradley had a new catalog...

...but J Crew strikes again.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy J.Crew. I have spent many blissful hours of my youth trotting around in my beloved anorak (which I still have...vintage now). But I am a little bored with designers in similar genres blatantly ripping one another off.

J. Crew's new catalog (January) really really resembles the CK Bradley drawings that their assistant designer has been drawing for upwards of three years. This is not the first time J. Crew has gotten a little inspiration from Camilla Bradley. Camilla and her crew at CK Bradley have a way of executing design with passion and intensity. Something a corporate brand just cannot accomplish no matter what color label or collection name they are selling it under. Good for J. Crew for getting bigger; I would just hope that they would have a few more original ideas since they are (I am sure) paying designers to do just that, have original thoughts.

This concept of originality is more important now than ever if you want to sell anything in this (supposedly) challenged market.

I suppose imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...

Three cheers to CK Bradley for keeping it real - and snaps to all of the other designers out there manifesting original designs. Everyone keep your eyes peeled for the CK Bradley Spring 2009 collection, it's delicious!

Latest and Greatest Wants.

I love elephants for more than one reason. I am politically in favor of elephants, this bracelet in particular. It's Cavalli, nice work on the costume jewelry. Currently on sale for $490 on vivre.com.

Also available is this delicious, but slightly pricier Boucheron double snake ring (left, the one that looks like a snake will give it away). This is something I would want in my collection. In case anyone is reading this and has a hankering for buying me a $2400+ gift. My birthday is coming.

Sober is the new Drunk

Sober is the new Drunk.
I have several friends who are "on the wagon", although they are not alcoholics and some wine has recently been found on the wagon. They are not participating in the same kind of holiday style drinking that has been allowed since before the 4th of July. I have also been off booze for a few months, and I feel great.

Of course I will forget how great I feel compared to waking up after a long night of Dark'n'Stormies during a regatta weekend in Newport. When it gets even remotely warm, I will indulge once more. But for now, this is the slogan to live by in our neck of the woods.

All of this could be negotiated if you are on vacation in a spot that is warm enough to legitimately wear flip flops, like Key West. Race Week starts Monday. I am sad to say I am not going this year (along with many other people since boat money is not as free flowing as the Mt. Gay at the race week tent). So we remain in Newport, cold, sober and totally in style.

Domino

Love this book. I got it for Christmas (thanks Mom). It takes me about 30 minutes to digest each page, so I have only made it into "living rooms" so far.

It also comes with a free subscription to the magazine! yahoo!

That's all I have time for today...

How Did T. Edison Do It?

I wish I was a functioning insomniac with a touch of mania to keep me motivated.

There is not enough time in the day for me and my personality/habits to get everything done that I am inspired to create, engineer, and investigate. Maybe I need a staff of small elves that take direction well?

Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Marc Jacobs...all incredible innovators. Even if Marc or Albert didn't really discover anything new, their ability to take information and re-interpret it, present it, and inspire others deserves accolades. Cheers to Marc on this latest Louis Vuitton Spring 2009 collection. It was Marc, wasn't it?

Please note this necklace...

R&Y Augousti, Paris...

These bags are nothing short of delicious. Everyone needs a good clutch. It can double as a wallet. A clutch can be pulled out of your suitcase of a handbag and taken with you on many after-dark adventures. R&Y Augousti's clutches are the most incredible way to do just this.

R&Y Augousti's handbags are inspired by their furniture collection started in 1990. Every piece is handmade using top quality exotic skins from ostrich, stingray and eel accented by bronze hardware. The clutch shown above is shown in taupe ostrich skin with stingray detail. Similar pieces are available in bright pink and chocolate brown at my retail store, Luxe Newport, for $380. Also featured at Luxe Newport are clutches in navy blue ostrich and patent-looking eel skins; as well as the cream puff piece of our collection: a chocolate leather bag with green Malachite handles and cabochon detail for $440.

I strongly urge you to invest in a fun, interesting, colorful, texturized, or simply delicious clutch. For more information on the R&Y Augousti clutches available at CK Bradley in NYC, call 212-988-7999 or email heidi@shopsugar.com.

Happiness is Vintage Shopping...in Rhode Island

Last night I stopped into Savers in Warwick, RI looking for a Members Only jacket for my friend's halloween costume. I already have one...it's vintage and in perfect condition purchased last March at a boutique in Soho. I have never worn it. I am still perplexed about what occaision warrants my wearing a men's Member's Only jacket in Newport. For the record, it looks similar to the one on the right.

When I come across something truly delicious in a vintage or thrift store, or ebay (of course) it makes me want to disclose my treasure chest to everyone. So here is a guide for vintage and thrift shopping in the Ocean State.

Newport, RI

Two great stores within two blocks of each other, and a bonus thrift store...

Vintage to Vogue - 70 Broadway

Closet Revival - 30 Broadway

Salvation Army - between these two stores through a parking lot...not sure of the address.

All of these stores have the advantage of being located in a town known for it's summer resort style. They carry true vintage from the 30s to the 80s, as well as designer brands and of course, preppy gear including vintage Lilly, vintage plaid pants and blazers, and embriodered pants for men.

Warwick, RI

Savers is worth the trip. Not only is it a k-mart sized thrift store, but 100% of the profits are donated to Big Sisters. This is an advantage because they obtain large donations of clothing and accessories from families looking for a place to donate their beloved designer threads. Last night we stumbled on a vintage green Aquascutum jacket, purchased a vintage Burberrys' (as the label reads!) camel hair jacket, and of course other treasures. Most everything is $0.99 - $7.99 with some pricier exceptions.

Savers - 24 Universal Blvd (off of Bald Hill Rd. next to Best Buy)

visit http://www.savers.com/ for more locations in the US, Canada, and Australia!

Donate Shop - 90 Airport Rd.

I am not sure if this is open, but while you're up there...

Providence, RI

The home of RISD, Brown, Providence College, and many private secondary schools...Providence even has a vintage store in the mall.

Second Time Around - 294 Thayer Street & Providence Place Mall*

*the mall store has more selection and designer pieces

NAVA - 281 Thayer Street

(mixed new and vintage, well edited)

Foreign Affair Warehouse - 219 Thayer Street

(great edited selection of vintage labels 50s through 80s, evening, heaps of men's clothing, theme, etc.)

1793 - 5 Steeple Street 2nd floor

(fantastic selection of boutique vintage gear, worth the hunt...and stop at the cafe on the corner while you're down there)

Rocket to Mars - 144 Broadway p#401-274-0905

(A+++ themed in 50s and 60s - furniture, clothing, accessories, homegoods, jewelry and more. This store is perfect and deserves a lot of business to keep it going. Vintage patterns available too. Incredible. We bought dresses, jewelry, a bowling trophy, and seven handbags of various shapes and sizes.)

Act II - 802 Hope Street (E. Providence)

(this one closes early and is more of a women's consignment store. It is very big and seems to carry a wide selection of women's clothing and accessories, although it was closed when we arrived! Worth the trip as there are other cute boutiques nearby with interesting finds at good prices.)

My Sister's Attic Consignment - 342 Atwells Ave in Federal Hill p#401-351-4092

(this was also closed, mostly furniture, tchotchkes, but a good selection of jewelry from what we could tell with noses pressed against the window. Also in the Italian neighborhood where the food is amazing!)

Salvation Army - 201 Pittman St

Goodwill - 80 Manton Ave

Cranston, RI

I have never been to any of these, so I don't know if they are good or even open. But it seems like a good idea to include them for the vintage hunter extraordinaire.

Eve in Paris - 2 Gansett Ave 401-942-7747

Resale Connection - 330 Atwood Ave 401-942-5098

Adored by Us - 1458 Park Ave #3 401-942-0570