Archive for June, 2010

I Am Love

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

By any means possible, go see this film on the big screen. The styling is perfection. Tilda Swinton’s wardrobe nonpareil. The Italian cinematography is magical and you won’t be able to take your eyes off this film once the story pulls you in deeper…

It’s a film like they don’t make anymore. Watch the trailor here.

Mary Ellen Matthews on Mal Pais, Costa Rica

Wednesday, June 9th, 2010

“50 Best Travel Destinations” I asked great friends to share their favorite travel spots around the globe, both close to home and far, far off the beaten path. Herein are their responses.
MEM mal pais
NAME:
Mary Ellen Matthews
OCCUPATION:
Photographer, Saturday Night Live
TRAVEL DESTINATION:
Mal Pais, Costa Rica for the surfing!
HOTEL:
I stay at a barefoot hotel called Tropico Latino, www.hoteltropicolatino.com. It sits right on the surf break… I love the bungalows they have there… truly a surfer’s paradise.
BEST TIME OF YEAR TO VISIT:
December – May.
RISE AND SHINE:
Wake up before sunrise for a morning surf session then breakfast at the hotel or one of the amazing local restaurants down the dirt road…some down time with a book then back in for another surf…a nap then, my favorite part of the day, a sunset surf. Nothing can compare to having your friends in the water with you as the sun goes down and you catch your last wave of the day before dinner and cocktails! A dirt road connects a few breaks and great little towns… Santa Teresa for one.

A bungalow at Hotel Tropico Latino.

A bungalow at Hotel Tropico Latino.

Palm-y pathways.

Palm-y pathways.

The endless surf break at Mal Pais.

The endless surf break at Mal Pais.

The Best Vintage in NYC, Plus Vintage Shopping Tips

Monday, June 7th, 2010

Originally published on The Huffington Post on June 7, 2010.

Watch me tour the city’s premier vintage archives: the hush-hush resources for celebrity stylists, fashion insiders and top designers, and the most eccentric, amusing dress-up chests imaginable. I also share some vintage shopping tips.

10 Summer Classics for Men

Friday, June 4th, 2010

Originally published on The Huffington Post on 26 May 2010.

With Memorial Day weekend coming up, here are some summer style jump-starters for the men out there. After my 10 Summer Style Spiff Ups for Women, the response was loud and clear: make one for us men too! With the help of my bespoke-obsessed boyfriend, here are 10 classics – that easily go from town to country, or the beach – for the dapper gent and the sporty jock. I know they have a penchant for the preppy but many have updated, modern twists and what can I say… classic is classic: it works!

1. Lock & Co Straw Hat. Available at Lock & Co

Lock's website declares that the origins of today’s boater hats are the sailor’s hat issued to midshipmen in the Royal Navy near the end of the nineteenth century to provide protection from tropical sun. These hats were then adopted by children in Victorian England and became part of their uniforms wearing their school or house colors as bands. And did you know that Panama hats are made exclusively in Ecuador and are hand-woven from the Tequilla Palm? The origin of the black band on the hat dates back to 1901 when Queen Victoria died.

2. Wilson Six.One Tour BLX. Available at Wilson

As in: 6 - 1, game over! Ace ‘em just like R Fed with this classic Wilson frame with all the modern updates for immaculate accuracy, power and precision. Giant Roger Federer signed tennis ball not included. Photo Getty.

3. Brooks Brothers Social Primer Bow Tie. Available at Brooks Brothers

This bow tie is yet another innovative - and playful - take on a classic designed in collaboration with K. Cooper Ray and just in time for the Summer bow tie season. Using Brooks’ authentic fabrics, the collection features reversible styles that create not one, but many ways to wear the bow tie.

4. Sperry Top Siders. Available at Sperry

Sperry is celebrating 75 years of the ultimate low-fi lace-up for kicking around town or healing out during the regatta.

5. Flower in Lapel with Linen Pocket Square

Details, Details! So dapper and dignified is a summer blossom peeking out from a man's lapel that it sets the lady's heart a flutter. Add to that a crisp, colorful linen pocket square and all eyes will be on you! Bespoke suits (and many off the rack) are made with a small cut-out in the lapel with fasteners on the reverse side to keep the flower stem in place. Pocket square from Bergdorf Goodman. Photo Kate Schelter.

6. Laird Hamilton Stand Up Paddleboard. Available at REI, Surf Tech and Laird Hamilton

The new craze in surfing are these stand up paddleboards (and paddle) which are great for cruising lakes, rivers, creeks, or wave riding. Walk on water!

7. Murray’s Toggery Nantucket Reds. Available at Murray’s Toggery

The. Most. Classic. New England. Pant... Period! Now available in shorts too.

8. Argentinian Belts. Available at Arandu

Made popular by dark and handsome Argentinian polo players, and now in demand for the fly fishing set, these hand-woven leather belts are easy going with a nice pop of color. Thread them through your jeans, khakis and Nantucket Reds and you're golden.

9. Swatch Color Code Watches. Available at Swatch

Accessorize your rope bracelet with these monochromatic timepieces – sporty for summer. They come in matte and shiny in every color of the rainbow.

10. Smathers & Branson Flask. Available at Smathers & Branson

For those long breezy sails or late afternoon tee times.