Morning Meditations

August 5, 2019_Monday

On an average work day or Saturday, I am carrying around 15 pounds worth of papers and books– add in a couple extra pounds considering I carry my gym clothes and sneakers around with me too.

I haven’t worn a high heel in over a year.

For the longest time I slung Goyards, Longchamps, clutches-purses-decorative backpacks that did not hold [anything] everything, and whatnots for the sake of preference and style.

At 26, those things no longer serve me.

Rather, the pain & inconvenience to pleasure ratio makes it so that I’ve begun to serve them.

So bye I said to wearing my 3 – 4 inch heels a whiles ago.

While I am not exiling my bags yet, what I did do Sunday was stop by Patagonia [for the first time in my life] and buy a backpack (The Refugio 28L) with awesome shoulder and back padding.

For me now and in reference to extremes, I’d rather have a comfortable body than a beautifully ornamented one– this coming from someone who deeply loves fashion.

I’d personally rather wear and apply things that preserve my posture, my youth, and support my activities in a way I see fit.

What about you?

Everyone has probably visited Miami once in their life, if not for Spring Break, or for the lovely beaches. If you’re tired of hanging out in the loud or sheltered parts of Miami, and want to venture out of South Beach and Collins Ave., here are some recommendations for you to explore the blossoming neighborhood culture of Wynwood.

Art:

Being the art lover that I am, I made it a mission to visit every mappable gallery in the design district; these are my recommendations for galleries that impressed me with their representation of artists and newness of objects that I would not see if I was in New York:

Art by God : A wonderful store and gallery that I can spend hours in. There was an amazing $4000 Queen of Congo piece I wanted to leave with on my last trip, but I contented myself with buying a small bust of an African boy made of serpentine stone and crafted by an artist from the Shona Tribe (for those interested, the Shona are a people from Zimbabwe, whose ancestors built great stone cities in Southern Africa in days long past!).

Tresart Gallery

To note: It’s a pleasure to hit up art galleries in Miami because they have such a fair representation of Latin American artists, something I haven’t seen much of in concentration in Chelsea or the UES.

Design:

Ranivilu Gallery – functions as part gallery, part design store.

There was also Glottman, which was very popular amongst the people there, but it didn’t do much for me. The products it carries look like that of every other design store, but perhaps you might enjoy it.

Ice cream:

Dasher & Crank: For ice cream tourists, this is a must.

Coffee (or avo-toast for the women):

Dr. Smood: Great interior and awesome cafe concept. Healthy, but with a twist. They offer cashew milk as an option for their drinks, and it’s a great addition to the coffees I’ve drank in New York. I think in New York the extent to our coffee explorations are Nitro brews, grass-fed butter bullets, propolis/bee additive brews, and Australian concept brews.

If anyone knows of a coffee shop in NYC that offers cashew-milk based coffee, I would love to know.

Food:

KYU: A modern asian style eatery. Good for drinks.

Coyo Taco: A very popular taco joint. If you are into tacos. Me– not so much.

Stores:

Plant the Future Wynwood: Recommended by my lovely friend, Thier, and I loved it. I’m not sure if the staff knows what they were doing and I certainly did not think they had a service mindset, but the interior concept of this plant store is cute and fun to walk through. The store has everything from modern potted plants to plants potted in animation characters.

ANTIDOTE: A sustainability focused womenswear concept shop. Owned by a stylish woman who owned a boutique in France and decided to open another concept in Miami.

January 25, 2018January 25, 2018

Best Works of Helmut Newton, “King of Kink”

Helmut Newton is a photographer best known for his erotica fueled snapshots and a taste for capturing fun… stripped bare. He was regarded by many as the “King of Kink” and you can go back to so many issues of Vogue easily with his indelible footprint.

Here are a couple of my favorite works from this talented German Australian:

Screen Shot 2018-01-24 at 1.41.45 PM — Woman Examining Man, 1975 for U.S. Vogue

Screen Shot 2018-01-24 at 1.53.35 PM — Nice, 1976

Screen Shot 2018-01-24 at 1.53.43 PM — Unfaithful

Screen Shot 2018-01-24 at 1.53.59 PM — Cruising From Behind

While I don’t appreciate all his works, I do truly think he was the best of his kind for what he did.

There is so much life and mischief captured through a single portrait– he did it so well.

33 black-and-white photographs—framed, signed, and numbered—on sale this month at Guy Regal’s showroom in the New York Design Center. Open to the public today.

August 17, 2017August 22, 2017

Pulse of the Fashion Industry, 2017

An informative report on the state of retail by Copenhagen Fashion Summit’s Global Fashion Agenda in collaboration with BCG and the Sustainable Apparel Coalition this year, with interesting tidbits like this:

https://www.copenhagenfashionsummit.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Pulse-of-the-Fashion-Industry_2017.pdf

May 30, 2017May 31, 2017

Resort Crush

I reviewed every Resort 2018 collection that came out so far on Vogue.com and selected the ones worth seeing so you wouldn’t have to. That’s 657 looks. Lucky me, lucky you:

Gucci

Dior

Protagonist

Valentino

Dion Lee

April 13, 2017April 17, 2017

Perspectives Global: A Young Streetwear Brand with a 2,000 Year Old Message.

US label Perspectives Global, a streetwear brand founded in 2012 by brother duo Cody and Devon de Jardin takes the phrase “the medium is the message” seriously.

Screen Shot 2017-04-13 at 5.49.44 PM — Check out their brand here and let me know if you’re seeing what I see.

In their most recent campaign the talented duo took direct inspiration from one of the oldest books in the world, the Bible, to send a message of strength, resilience, and endurance:

“Therefore we will not fear, though the Earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart o the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” – Psalms 46: 2-3

We are in a world full of turmoil, whether we choose to acknowledge it wholly or not– it is present through the never ending flow of class and racial strife, international tension, hurting children, and civil conflicts in institutions.

More and more, young, talented designers are harnessing the power (and influence) of their strong visual narratives and their brands in a deliberate attempt to forge renewed meaning and send out messages to a sentient generation. Likewise, the Jardin brothers speak to their observances of a reality full of brokenness and of distractions– in which it’s become easy to stay “blind to the darkness, pain, and injustice all around the world,” in their SS17 campaign.

Screen Shot 2017-04-13 at 6.01.07 PM — Life doesn’t always have to be about religion, about what you believe, or what you stand for, but it makes it a little more worthwhile living, if you do make it about that, don’t you think? Nevertheless, it feels great to see fashion brands standing for something beyond escapism and creative inspiration.

Asides from supporting their great vision, I’m also a big fan of the brothers’ activewear merchandise, namely the Katakana and Future Lite jackets.

Their lifestyle oriented outerwear is a an eye-catching alternative for you if you’ve exhausted your options with Patagonia, The North Face, Columbia, Marmot, Adidas and Arc’Teryx.

Check out the styles here:

Screen Shot 2017-04-13 at 5.48.02 PM — Enter a caption

Screen Shot 2017-04-13 at 5.48.46 PM — Future Lite Track Jacket

Yours,

Soo

March 30, 2017February 10, 2018

Fashion Across the World

We live in a world with brands from all across the world offering international shipping, employing international influencers, and commissioning out the wildest of digital marketing tactics, desperate to reach that perfect customer. So really, what’s stopping you anymore from getting that perfect wardrobe that emblemizes you, not just a piece of the corner you, but wholly you?

Rock fashion from across the world, and support some talented designers along the way.

Here’s a couple of brands I love and support:

South Africa, Pichulik:

screen-shot-2017-03-02-at-2-28-46-pm — In 2010, 6 out of 10 of the fastest growing world economies were recorded to be from Africa. A gold mine of natural resources, Africa has been instrumental to these economies’ growths. Did you also know that it is housing a thriving presence of eco-focused designers? There’s a lot of natural talent to be found, but unfortunately these fashion talents are experiencing slow to no growth on that end due to a plenitude of market barrier reasons. So here’s a super cool designer brand to watch out for and support. Let’s get this future fashion and eco-friendly capital up-to-speed, shall we?

screen-shot-2017-03-02-at-2-27-33-pm — Sacred Knot Beige Bracelet

screen-shot-2017-03-02-at-2-27-40-pm — Sacred Knot Choker

Colombia, Mercedes Salazar:

Buy it in the US here.

Denmark, Norse Projects:

Looking for good thermal? You can buy Stutterheim… or you can buy this: Rain

Screen Shot 2017-03-07 at 11.36.47 AM.png — Trail Pants – Inspired by track pants, the style has a tapered fit, low rise, elastic bands and outside front pockets.

There are a lot of talented brands out there and the ones with merit often share the same manufacturers. The ones less known among this pool sometimes have more room for innovation/testing and end up churning out some fantastic designs, and sometimes– they’re just a whole lot better, with more advanced specs and competitive prices to boot– except for the lack of exposure, branding, and marketing power.

Take this brand for example:

Thailand, Kalis Activewear: