Happy Happy New Year!

I'm back from my hiatus in La-La Land and getting ready to ring in the new year with friends -- my loved ones! -- tonight (and in my pretty new black dress, too).

I recently wrote a blog on Sweetspot about my resolutions for this new year and want to share it with the rest of you.

Some people think resolution-writing is futile, but I personally think it's good for the soul and really rather therapeutic, even if a few of those resolutions happen to fall by the wayside.

May you all have a happy, happy, happy new year filled with more love, happiness and success than you can handle. I think 2010 is going to be amazing!

xo
Haute Hippie





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Californication.

I'm heading back to L.A. for the holidays.

Can't wait to see my family!

Here's a song to appropriately send me off.

Happy Monday!

Didn't have time for my Happy Friday post at the end of last week, so here's me making up for it:

Karl Lagerfeld is has done an interview with CNN Talk Asia that will be airing this Wednesday.

The things that come out of this man's mouth are truly (and endlessly) fascinating, both in genius and hilarity.

Sad News, Happy News.

Sad news: one of my most favorite local retailers Jonathan + Olivia is shuttering its doors.

Happy news: it's not because of the recession, but because the super stylish J+O proprietor Jackie O'Brien is getting hitched to Surface2Air co-founder, Nic Jones, both of whom moved to Toronto from Vancouver and Paris -- respectively -- recently.

J+O will be sorely, sorely, SORELY missed on the retail scene here, but hear, hear to Jackie and Nic! All the best!!

xo
Haute Hippie

PS. That's not Jackie below, but that's the J+O storefront.





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A Young Karl.

While flipping through Vogue Hommes International and some autre magazines the other day, I spotted a picture of Karl Lagerfeld as a young man, sans the black sunnies, leather gloves and ponytail.

So I quickly snapped a picture for filing before any of the Chapters staff admonished me.

He still pretty much looks the same (and was kind of a handsome one), non?





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Alice Kim.

I met Alice Kim at a random karaoke party my girl Seema D. threw at her loft in the Summer of '08.

Alice -- who happens to be the most stylish anesthesiologist the med world will ever see -- was wearing a silver satin headscarf, a nude pink feminine baby doll dress, tough black boots, black blazer (before black blazers became the new it-jacket), bleach blonde locks (before the late and beautiful Daul Kim was rocking hers) and just had this amazingly cool demeanor about her.

Recently I've started seeing her name pop up on random fashion blogs and other things media.

And then today I spotted her in NY Mag's Video Look Book, talking about her signature hard-soft look!

Woo hoo, go Alice!!






That's not me rocking the sideways peace sign. No, really it's not...





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Tieks.

My buddy EW did an email introduction between me and a friend of his that was starting a brand called Tieks, which are these amazing foldable flats in great colors and prints.

Think of Lanvin ballet flats, only very portable and much, much cheaper.

Tieks has now officially launched. Behold!

And congrats on the debut, Kfir!





I'm Lovin' it: A girlfriend of mine went to Cancun recently and spotted these utterly hilarious bathroom signs. The only thing is that if you honestly have to whizz and you spot these while running to the bathroom, you might end up peeing yourself laughing.






I'm Over it: The list goes on today. I'll spare you the details, though.


Track of the Day: "Paris (Aeroplane remix)" by Friendly Fires, ft. Aurevoir Simone.





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Rupert Sanderson AW09 Sale.

Alexandra over at Rupert Sanderson sent me over this nugget: they're having a big AW09 sale!

Details are below, along with images of the Khyber and the Delta heels.

Happy shoe shopping!


Start date: Saturday 26th December (online)…. Monday 28th December (in stores)

End date: End of January

Discount: 30% - 50% off all AW09 stock

Where: www.rupertsanderson.com
Rupert Sanderson, 33 Bruton Place, Mayfair, London, W1J 6NP – T: 0207 491 2220
Rupert Sanderson, 2A Hans Road, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 1RX – T: 0207 584 9249

Example reduction: Khyber was £595, now £416.50. Delta was £450, now £315






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Happy Friday!

Here's a modern, rock 'n' roll take on the Upper East Side headband, recently made famous by she named Blair Waldorf.

Tommy Ton snapped Euro-socialite Eugenie Niarchos looking badass in gold hardware.

Happy Friday!

xo
Haute Hippie






I'm Lovin' it: A cozy Friday night dinner in with the fella before he leaves on a jet plane to Mexico tomorrow night. My girls Albs sent me the recipe for a delicious prosciutto-wrapped chicken stuffed with brie and asparagus -- paired with homemade applesauce and mashed cauliflower seasoned with parmesan and garlic -- that she made for me earlier this week. The girl can COOK.




I'm Over it: Sad Saturday.

Track of the Day: "Sinnerman (Felix da Housecat Heavenly House remix)" by Nina Simone. You'll recognize the piano riff as the theme from The Thomas Crown Affair, the Brosnan version.





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Roberto Cavalli. Martha Stewart. Seth Meyers.

Roberto Cavalli appeared as a guest on Martha Stewart this week, Stewart miraculously pairing in one segment Cavalli and SNL's Seth Meyers (whom I will admit to having a wee bit of a crush on).

What ensued? Hilariousness, obviously on the part of Seth Meyers.

It's hard to take Cavalli seriously. Italian designers seem to live in an entirely different world, far removed from reality and drowning in extravagant excess -- I mean, have you seen Valentino: The Last Emperor or read anything about Donatella Versace's life??

Watch a clip of the exchange. Have a good laugh.

Happy Thursday!

Versace Pre-Fall 2010.

All the Pre-Fall 2010 collections are making appearances on everyone's favorite fashion blogs, getting cut down or praised by the likes of fashion scribes-slash-critics Cathy Horyn, Romney Leader and Nicole Phelps.

I don't claim to be a fashion critic, though I will provide criticism from a personal standpoint if a collection seems off, not unified in theme, messy with references or just plain homely.

When fall comes around, it's fairly typical that color schemes are either dark, neutral or rich in tone. This can get b-o-r-i-n-g and predictable season after season, so I'm finding myself really enjoying the Versace Pre-Fall 2010 collection for its bright colors, sassiness and propensity for tight -- it's very Donatella.

Fashion is pain, so it's my suggestion that if you want to fit in this collection, repeated crunches and constant cardio should be your fitness mantra for the new year.












I'm Lovin' it: Honestly, I've got to curb this shoe fetish of mine. Just kidding! These Pelle Moda Shantel Ope Toe Platform Booties are worthy of my love.




I'm Over it: The waiting game! I need to know now! More details to come if news is positive.

Track of the Day: "Your Rolling Hills (original mix)" by Move D, from Germany.




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Have Another (Daphne) Guinness.

No words.

Just Daphne.





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Wooden Tops.

In response to Alexa Lixfield's concrete top fragrance collection I blogged about a few weeks ago comes a set of wooden top fragrances and colognes from the Nasomatto Project, blended by famed perfumer Alessandro Gualtieri.

There's Duro, Narcotic Venus, Absinth, Silver Musk, Hindu Grass, China White and Black Afgano, each with their own purpose, like bringing out superhuman magnetism (Silver Musk), eliciting universal peace and love (Hindu Grass) and -- my favorite! -- causing irresponsible behaviour (Absinth).

Now only if there was one to stave off sugar cravings.

I've been a beast with the chocolate lately.





I'm Lovin' it: My fella has a rather nice, heavy slate chessboard at his place with carved marble pieces in rose and dark moss. It's really nice (and, holy, heavy!), but I'm kinda thinking this limited-edition, Alexander Gelman-designed lacquer, silver plating and gold leaf one is even better. Hold your wallet, though. This baby is up to $55K. And Bobby Fischer I ain't.





I'm Over it: Hmmmm. The sunny, cold, crisp weather we've been happily enjoying is slowly getting weeded out by cloud cover. Here comes the SAD again.


Track of the Day: Lykke Li's very melancholy cover of The Shirelles' "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?". Girly voice + sad, sad piano = heartbreaking.






* Photos property of Josh Spear, Nasomotto Project and are used solely for commentary purposes

Emily Photo.

I remember when my old Santa Monica roommate (and friend!) Emily Engle used to talk about photography and turning her passion for it into full-time work.

Now look how far she's come!

Em has an amazing talent, and I'm so happy she gets to do exactly what she loves every single day.

This shot is just awesome.





* Photo property of Emily Engle and is used solely for commentary purposes

Happy Friday!

There's a reason Marc Jacobs has a tattoo of SpongeBob SquarePants on his arm: the yellow, goofy and dim-witted ocean-dweller is hilarious.

And Mr. SquarePants has found himself another designer admirer lately, someone by the very important name of Karl Lagerfeld.

Lagerfeld customized a SpongeBob figurine in his own iconic image for a WWF auction in Paris recently, which ended up getting sold for $1,500.

But, what, no Patrick?!

Happy Friday!

xo
Haute Hippie





I'm Lovin' it: My girl Candy S. wore her grey Maison Martin Margiela tape sweatshirt yesterday night. SO AWESOME.




I'm Over it: Only 21 days till Christmas. What the heck.


Track of the Day: "Norway" by Beach House. This is a little more chillwave than most of the tracks on their last self-titled debut album.





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Rhythm and Blues.

Betty Autier gives me the blues.

In a good way!

Bright blue booties can come closely to walking the cheesy line, but Autier does well by pairing it with a navy military jacket, dark tights, lots of gold and her requisite denim cut-offs.

Sacre bleu.





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H&M Spring 2010.

In general, I find H&M a hit or miss spot for myself.

I'm not quite sure if it's because all the really interesting, fashion-y pieces are meant for taller, more flat-chested gals, but something tells me the really interesting, fashion-y pieces don't actually make it up to the location in my city.

The Spring 2010 collection is one that I hope makes it here. There's something quite Balenciaga-ish about it, with the floral prints and pant silhouettes -- and who knew it would convince me black satin overalls were a piece that needed to be in my attire.

H&M, pretty please let me be more fashion-y next season.










I'm Lovin' it: Chanel Iman's super-spiked diamante ring at the 2009 CFDA Fashion Fund dinner.





I'm Over it: Nicole Richie is apparently working with ABC on a sitcom, starring herself, of course. As much as I heart the girl for how far she's come, I'd really like her to stick to designing pretty jewellery and having pretty babies.


Track of the Day: Yesterday night, the DJ span "Until We Bleed" by Kleerup ft. Lykke Li at a photo exhibit-slash-charity event my girl Malania DLC helped organize. I like the muted trumpets and sad strings.





* Photos property of H&M, FWD and are used solely for commentary purposes

One Thousand.

I just noticed that the last post here was my 1,000th one!

Thank you thank you to all my readers who have been following me for the last four and a half years.

It really means so much to me, more than you know!

xo
Haute Hippie





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