DF x NETTIE KENT x THIS MOI

Back in February, I managed to stumble ass-backwards into what's turned out to be one heck of a pretty great part-time job. I'm spending three days a week as the Web Content Editor for Dear Fieldbinder, a boutique in Carroll Gardens here in Brooklyn. That means I write the copy for their online store, as well as contributing to their blog, Pinterest and Facebook--so if things get a little quiet around here, chances are I'm cooking up something over Dear Fieldbinder way.

On the particular afternoon pictured above, I played dress-up in a few summery pieces from the shop for a little shoot showcasing DF's recent collaboration with jewelry line Nettie Kent. It took a lot of patience and semi-awkward loitering to get that dang yellow cab in the background of the last shot, but we nailed it (Tommy Ton eat your heart out.)

OLD HAT

The newest addition to my old hat collection.

FOR SALE: DOLCE VITA JAX BOOTIES

Dolce Vita Jax Ankle Boots
Size: 7M
Asking Price: $130 + location-specific shipping SOLD!

These beautiful nubuck leather boots were a Christmas gift from Alex. Unfortunately, after tracking down what seemed to be one of the last pairs in existence online, they turned out both not to fit, and to be non-returnable (fine print, fine shprint, am I right??)

They now appear to be totally sold out in this particular size and color combination, so if you have been wishing and hoping for a pair to pop up, please let my misfortune be your windfall! They were originally purchased for $200, but I'm happy to let them go or $130 plus location-specific shipping. These boots are in near-new condition, and have only been worn around my house a couple times while trying them on and pouting.

Email me at sirithorson@gmail.com if you are interested, and I will reply on a first come, first serve basis. Payment by Paypal only. Discounted boots to a loving home!

(Many thanks to my friend Agnes for snapping these pro photos for me!)

LUCKY GIRL

No matter how lean the times or how low the available balance, certain things remain constant: I am unable to stay clear of resale shops, I love a good bargain, and I live with one of the sweetest boys on the Eastern Seaboard.

As a direct result of these circumstances, a few awfully nice things have made their way into my life over the last couple of months: Wilder Quarterly (a surprise gift from Alex after a particularly rotten afternoon), a striped top that is the exact inverse of my all-time favorite shirt, a well-loved but still well lovely silk and rhinestone Phillip Lim tee, soft dove grey leather and cashmere gloves that will be destroyed immediately after their first trip outside in a proper snowstorm (but hey, nobody's perfect right??), a little pearl-covered glasses case that is shedding fake pearl dust everywhere I go, a bottle of Lincoln Park After Dark for my toenails, and two pair of gently used shoes. Material reminders of what a damn lucky girl I am, even as the unpaid invoices pile up and the hole in my best pair of boots grows ever larger.

OBSESSION: SANDRO

I want to love winter, honest I do. I want to love winter clothes, too. Cashmere, cable knits, angora--these are all things which, in theory, I very much enjoy. So what's wrong with winter clothes? I'll tell you what's wrong: they are too goddamn expensive. I could buy a lifetime supply of denim cutoffs for the price of a single, solitary, well made overcoat.

Take, for example, my newest obsession: Sandro. Everything they make is beautiful and soft and simple with just the right amount of detail (leather piping, sheer lace, a slouchy fit, a bold stripe, and all so mercilessly tasteful.) I've fallen particularly hard for their coats, all of which I would liken to the wardrobe equivalent of a SAD lamp, and not one of which clocks in below the $400 mark. I had to forcibly remove myself from the second floor of Barney's the other night before someone had me committed, hands full of shearling and letting out strange choking sobs of wonderment.

THE CLEMENT GREENBERG COLLECTION

wenvrsleep Fall 2012 Collection Lookbook: Clement Greenberg Collection
Photographer: Dustin Fenstermacher
Stylist: Siri Thorson
Jewelry: wenvrsleep/Sarah Beaver
Model: Laura O. @ Commence Quest
Clothing: Ermie, Ilana Kohn, vintage, stylist's own

Hard to believe that it's already been a week since I had the pleasure of helping out Sarah with the lookbook for her fall 2012 jewelry line. It was a long, roller-coaster ride of a day, but in the end we got the model on the phone, tracked down the space (thanks Frankie!), caught the last of the day's light and pulled it all together. And then we ordered pizza.

If, like me, you fell pretty hard for Sarah's first collection, be forewarned: you are about to have your socks blown clear into next week. The craftmanship, the attention to detail and color and proportion, are all stunning. Combining sheet metal, hand water-colored paper, glass, heavy cord, and meticulously sourced findings, I can honestly say that the Clement Greenberg Collection is quite unlike any jewelry line I have ever seen. "Special" might be a worn-out cliché of a word these days, but there is truly no more fitting a way to describe every last one of the pieces I handled that day.

The line is set to drop imminently, so be sure to keep an eye on Sarah's shop. You can also follow her tumblr for a peek at what influences her designs. Big things are in store for Sarah, I can feel it, and I wish her every success!

SWEET SWEATER

Eddie Bauer hat
L.L.Bean Kid's sweater
Revlon Matte lipstick in Wine Not

I could barely believe mine eyes when a late night eBay search turned up the very sweater I had hemmed and hawed over and eventually missed out on scoring last November. LLBean kids, size Large, 50% wool 50% acrylic 100% dreamy. I'm still clinging to the hope that they'll stock it again this year, since if memory serves it comes in navy and grey as well. Bean, baby, Bean!

P.S. I wrote a sweater joke:
Q: What did the traffic cop say to the old lady he saw knitting a sweater while driving?
A: Pullover!

BASICS

Recently, a reader asked me to share some of my wardrobe staples for both summer and winter. I definitely have an awful lot of riff-raff hanging out in my closet, but there are a few basic things that I rely on and that are pretty integral to my wardrobe. That said, it should be noted that I'm still on the hunt, as I have been for ages now, for a few of these things. The perfect (or even acceptable) camel coat still eludes me, as do a quality pair of black leather flats. And those Acne boots will continue to haunt me for many moons to come, I guarantee it...


Summer: striped top // sisal tote (similar) // silk button-up // simple leather sandals (similar) // jean shorts // watch (similar) // sunglasses
As much as I love a little floral sundress, when it comes to warm weather dressing I invariably fall back on my shorts. Quite simply, they're the best thing for adventuring: for crouching on rooftops or lolling around at backyard BBQs, for running and jumping and climbing. Stripes and cream silk tops, sloppily tucked, and flat sandals that I can walk long and hard in are also in heavy rotation.


Winter: grey sweater // scarf // camel coat // black flats // trousers (similar) // boots
It's not exactly a secret how I feel about Winter. I hate it. Winter is great for about two weeks around Christmas, and otherwise it can go screw itself. I also have a hard time finding winter clothes that I like, seeing as a) they're always too expensive and b) I'm one of about twenty five people who is not REMOTELY excited by the idea of layering, heh. But all pissing and moaning aside, I like to try and keep things relatively simple when the weather allows. Since I have a real aversion to tights, I spend most of winter in trousers and jeans with boots or flats, and a colored scarf breaks up the sea of black and grey that the city becomes in the cold months.


Beauty: lotion // cleanser // mascara // ointment // bright pink polish
I thought I'd throw in a bit about beauty as well just for fun. I don't wear a lot of make-up, but mascara (and blush, though I'm not particular) are absolute necessities. I've used Full 'n Soft since high school and I can attest that it lives up to its name. Aquaphor Healing Ointment is a lifesaver for chapped hands and lips (uuuurrrgh winter!!!) and Cetaphil is gentle but thorough year-round. I'm a bit crazy for bright pink accents at the moment, and I've been wearing Revlon in Sweet Tart on my toes for weeks (though NARS would do nicely too.) Finally, the scent of this lotion always takes me back to a time when I lived in a place where lemons grew on trees. It's sunshine through leaves and grass between your toes--and it makes my skin soft too.

HEAVEN by KAILA C. NILES

Though I've yet to have the privilege of meeting her in person, Kaila C. Niles (the C stands for Chanel, ya heard) is someone whose taste and style I've admired from afar through the magic of the internet for a good long while now. Kaila is an amazing, Oakland, CA-based artist whose interest in textile dying and design clicks completely with my love of tie dye and shibori. A few of her gorgeous pieces, all created from reused vintage and second-hand garments, have just become available on Mother's Daughter (one of the best curated and styled online vintage shops I know of!) Pretty, soft, abstract, and perfect for summer--I honestly want EVERY LAST THING.

MAUDE LOVES HAROLD

In an effort to raise a bit of dough towards a little trip Alex and I are planning soon, I finally got around to updating my Etsy shop, Maude Loves Harold Vintage! I hope to list a few more things this coming week as well, so if you don't see anything that strikes your fancy, be sure to check back :n )

P.S. A big thanks to Hannah and Francesca who already snapped up a couple things!

ON THE TABLE

I love buying dishes. Given free reign and a sturdy wallet, I would buy more dishes than I would ever know what to do with. Foolish, but it's true. Even though our cupboards are filled to the brim with glasses, mugs, plates, two tea pots, and enough cups and saucers to water an army, it's all I can do to stop myself poking around in junk stores and the back room at Fish's Eddy looking for more--I mean the problem is just that we need bigger cupboards, right??

Sure, there's a real charm to that mix 'n match, jumble sale aesthetic, but lately it's been wearing thin. In a perfect world, or really just a world in which I have one of those job things everyone with nice stuff is always talking about, I would chuck 95% of what's in those cupboards and start fresh. I swear! When I saw these Akiko Graham Slabe plates on Anaïse, I fell hard. They're just about perfect--softly uneven spheres finished with a whitewash of glaze, sturdy, natural but still delicate. Mix in creamy cups, bowls, and a stout little teapot by Höganäs Keramik, and I think I could finally throw in that shabby chic towel and never look back...

DEYROLLE x OPENING CEREMONY

A few years ago now, I arrived in NYC from Washington via California determined to stay true to my West Coast sensibilities, in all their bright, mish-mashed, paisley, crazy quilt and sixties-polyester glory. The longer I've lived here, I'll admit, the further my tastes have skewed towards a more refined, simplistic, hell even minimalistic approach to getting dressed--though I have little hope of (or interest in) ever getting over my aversion to black.

Nevertheless, the thrill of a really great print will never, ever lose its appeal. Case in point: these Deyrolle x Opening Ceremony pieces. You may have seen Miranda July prancing about Sundance in the yellow cat print top, which I was awfully excited to find out wasn't vintage after all. Foxes also happen to be a favorite animal of mine (probably because they remind me of cats), so this stuff is kind of blowing me away at the moment. Oh dang, can you imagine it as wallpaper???

(See the Deyrolle x Opening Ceremony Spring lookbook and video feature here)

ANSEL ADAMS/NATIONAL PARKS USA

This gorgeous series of vintage circa 1968 National Parks posters, all featuring photographs by Ansel Adams, just went up over on Arbor Vitae (along with a bunch of more wearable goodies!) I wish I could hold on to every last one of these for myself. Might not be the best cure for my Western wanderlust though...