Leandra Medine's Blog, page 678

You’re a Meme and You Didn’t Even Know It

The following could either be a five minute brain break or, depending on your level of maturity and boredom, it could completely cancel out your productivity for the entire day.

My friend Angie just taught me something:

If you (step 1) Go to Google

Then (step 2) type in your first name, followed by the word “meme,”

Then (step 3) click the “images” tab (I made a diagram to clarify, mostly for my dad)

You can (step 4) Scroll through the billions of memes that the Internet has created using your name as an act of kindness, then realize that we are nothing if not a generation who truly knows what it feels like not to find your name on a keychain license plate or mug at a gift shop.

Note: If your name is famous, as mine is (Bedelia, Earheart, Diamond, etc.) you’ll see these filter through your meme choice as well. Keep scrolling; you’re bound to get a few options sans surname eventually.

Addendum: Your name may produce many Spanish results.

Addendum 2: It’s more entertaining to search your friends’ names and then text your finds to them from unknown numbers.

Here’s one that I can’t believe none of my friends ever made for me:

Now show me what you get and post, post, post in the comments below because let’s be real: this is all we’re doing for the rest of today.

Image via Oyster Mag

Meet the New: Aurora James of Brother Vellies

“There is a popular saying in South Africa that only 2 things will survive the apocalypse: cockroaches, and vellies.”

Aurora James, founder of the footwear brand Brother Vellies must recite that line often, because while it describes the indestructible nature of veldskoens (a South African shoe known colloquially as “vellies”) it’s an idea that sits at the core of her design ethos. “All clothes should last forever,” she told us in an interview. “Let’s not forget that.”

Growing up in Toronto exposed her to people of various ethnicities and cultural backgrounds, and she likens the city to a cultural mosaic. It’s this very environment that gave James an appreciation for different traditional wardrobes and ways of dressing from a young age. It was these shoes, however — the vellies — that brought Aurora to South Africa with the intent of starting an ethically-minded company that produced a sustainable product. We had the chance to talk with her about what that really means.

You founded Brother Vellies “with the goal of not only preserving the artisanal shoe-making skills in Africa, but also creating and sustaining jobs.” W hat connected you to these women?

My father passed away when I was very young and my mom raised me as a single mother. I have a great deal of respect for women in this position, especially in certain countries in Africa where women have to defy cultural norms and become the breadwinner, or take on work they wouldn’t traditionally perform.

I think education and skills-training is the most important gift we can give people. It’s not about a handout; it’s about empowerment. The daughters of these women are also seeing what they are capable of doing and being in the future, which is incredibly powerful.

What’s it like working with them?

South Africa and Kenya are very different experiences. The South African workshop was established in 1963 and employs both men and women. The women in this workshop are much more fluent in English than in Kenya. One of them is also a member of the LGBT community, which we discuss from time to time because there’s still a lot of prejudice towards people of different sexual orientations in many parts of the world. New York is inspiring in the sense that we embrace everyone, and people appreciate hearing that it’s possible to work towards that kind of equality.

A woman named Eunice runs the workshop in Kenya. She’s really incredible. She was born and raised there, and started the workshop 7 years ago. There are some men, but it’s predominantly women, and Eunice really cares about them. She’ll give the working moms components of projects to take home — the beading, for example — so they’re still able to take care of kids, then drop pieces off at the end of the day. This is so important, because if a woman has 4 or 5 kids to take care of, the freedom to work from home could be the difference between her ability to have a job, or not.

Have you formed any special bonds with any particular individuals?

Definitely. I met a group of Masai people [also written as “Maasai”] and really formed a bond with  a man named Lamalon Mitiaki. He’s younger and left the Mara [wildlife reserve where the Masai people are from] a year before I met him. He has been gaining an education and really trying to change some of the longstanding traditions in their community, like female genital mutilation. We’ve had a lot of long talks about some of the issues his community is facing and also, perception from both sides.

The Kenyan people are wonderful; I really fell in love with them. They’re very welcoming and the country itself is breathtaking. It’s hard because Kenya is a country supported almost entirely by tourism, but in the past year the tourist rate has dropped dramatically which means many people are out of work. I’m really happy that we’ve been able to start producing there and help employ people in a time that they need it the most.

What inspires you? Do you seek out inspiration or let it come to you?

I think it has to come to me. I’ve tried the seeking-out-inspiration thing before and that was a bust. I’m really fortunate to have an amazing life doing what I love and traveling and meeting incredible people, so there is a lot to be inspired by. Sometimes those inspirations are closer to home than expected. My friends are inspiring. Woman in New York as well, who wear what they want, when they want. It takes a special chick to rock the Springbok Sandals. You have to have balls and be confident. Those are my girls. They exist in every city. I think they all read this site.

What is your sustainable design process like?

One day I would like to source 100% of the materials in the collection locally. That’s the goal. I think we are well on our way. Sustainability is always on the forefront of my mind. It should be a main concern for all fashion designers, really, but it’s important for consumers to ask questions, too. They’re the ones with the power. If consumers invest in sustainable brands then more brands will work on becoming sustainable — supply and demand.

Part of our sourcing is: what can we melt down and repurpose to make these beads or buckles or straps? For Spring/Summer 2015 we used recycled car tires for many of our sandal soles, which I love! We also hand carved beads from discarded animal bone and melted down brass padlocks for some of our buckles. Most of the leathers and furs we use are animal byproducts that support local farmers.

Any advice to our readers looking to start their own companies?

If you’re passionate, just do it. I don’t think there’s anyone out there who knew less about what I was doing than me. People always ask if I went to RISD or Parsons, but no. I went to school for journalism in Toronto and dropped out. Everything I learned about this business, I learned along the way. Whatever you have to figure out, you’ll figure out. Build a strong network of friends and peers and you’ll all find ways to help each other. There’s no shame in asking for help. Passion is contagious.

Photos by Charlotte Fassler

So You’re Going to a Blogger Themed Holiday Party, Right?

Today’s round of Thematic Holiday Party Suggestions illusively tackles the omnipresent blogger themed party. And there are ground rules.

1. Sequins

2. But only if they’re ironic

2a. They can be a little earnest

3. Embellishments

4. These are never ironic, they are sacred

5. Ripped jeans (+1 for errant blossoms of neon tulle)

6. Prints — wear at least two (plaid shirt over striped turtleneck) but if you’re going as me, I’d recommend four or five.

7. If you’re going to wear fur, do it morally and actually wear feathers

8. Don’t stand stoically for too long; pop a knee inward and lean over the straight one. Then pop the straight one outward and repeat on the other leg.

9. If you’re walking, remember, the dance floor is your runway, babe!

10. I’m kidding. I’m totally kidding. The only rule when considering the blog-themed holiday party is that there are no rules! None! Zero! So get weird, wear layers and stay warm.

Jocelyn coat, Uniqlo turtleneck, Dries Van Noten plaid shirt, H&M sequined blouse, House of Holland jeans, Casadei pumps

How to Wear Socks in Sandals this Winter

Socks and sandals are so relevant that they have their own Wikipedia page. This page dates the trend back to Romans and then follows them to England. But there is merit in crediting the Germans and their country, home of the Birkenstock, for the institution of the marriage between leather and cloth, especially in the 21st century when such champions of the trend as Céline and Isabel Marant have modified them to reflect a high fashion point of view.

And, of course, with the perpetuation of a trend comes first infinite offshoots and then, the solution for unseasonalability. That’s not a word, but who cares?

In the case of Birkenstocks, which became slides and then turned into sandals at large, the solution is simple. It’s just socks. Where difficulty arises is in striking the appropriate balance — what do you wear inside chunky sandals? Dainty sandals? Printed sandals, or vice versa, what do you wear outside cat socks, or camp socks, or bright socks, and so forth. Here are some suggestions.

For your cat socks (though any print will likely do): try a dynamic (as in, featuring more than one strap across the foot) suede sandal that is winter inappropriate even in its dearth. Because the socks are whimsical, balance them out with a more serious shoe. This is like the equivalent of pairing a denim shirt with a silk faille ball gown skirt, or something.

Valentino sandals, Living Royal socks

For your bright socks — and here’s a PSA — if you don’t yet own red socks, get them: locate a shoe that reflects the color of your sock, which should be solid but doesn’t have to be. If it is solid, there’s more room for creativity where shoes are concerned, see:

But if it’s not, that’s fine too.

Brooks Brothers socks, Laurence Dacade flatforms

For your camp socks: Have a tassel? Does it come tricolored? That’s fine. These socks are like the Switzerland of the sock world in that they’re neutral. Wear them with anything! Or with nothing if you know what I’m saying.

J. Crew socks, Tod’s sandals

Do you know what I’m saying?

Sale Season Recap: Coups and Losses

Net-a-Porter went 70% off today, Altuzarra had a sample sale that ran late into yesterday’s evening, but I am being careful. Why? Because sales distort goals.

Figure this: you’ve been clear and communicative with yourself about what you wanted since day 1. Maybe it was a beige turtleneck. Or a navy coat. A set of new plates? Green cashmere socks? Whatever it was, you knew what it was and that was more valuable than even the thing itself.

In the wake of The Sale, though, you’ve woken up to find yourself suffocating among a dense pool of unfamiliar stuff. Stuff like: grey wool suspenders (you don’t own pants with suspender loops), a teacup — free shipping! — from the depths of the Himalayas, a pair of gold boots that were 101% off (how is this even possible, you realize, if at checkout, you spent $200?) and a headband. A headband?

A headband.

Not floating through that pool of I-could-have-sworn-I-didn’t-buy-this were any of the following: that beige sweater, the green socks, not even the plates and last you checked, those boots are still gold (which is not black) so what in the good name of discounts happened while you were black-out shopping for artifacts you need less than Robin Thicke needs another striped jacket?

One of two things.

Similar to label blindness, which comes up frequently when considering consumerism, there is Jokes on You, Sucka Syndrome, which is a price-generated falsification that leads you to believe you needed something you may not have even like based entirely on the premise that it was cheaper, which should not be confused with cheap.

On the other hand, you may have experienced an oft-scrutinized case of Fashion FOMO. This could have either been propelled by the diverse range of social media posts in your various feeds, outlining the many spoils of your following or conversely on the physical field, while in shop, where the energy was so high and neurotic, you felt yourself performing a huge disservice to humanity at large by just walking away. As such you are now the undignified owner of a tulle skirt.

But we’re a community, people, so your lament is our lament and as such, we evaluate our wins and losses together. Need me to start?

Win: A yellow, brown and blue striped Céline tunic from Yoox, which I remember having retailed for $1180 in store, which I purchased on Cyber Monday for the still-inflated price of $380. Of course, factoring cost-per-wear into that spend has already paid itself off in dividends.

Loss: Cropped flare leg mid-wash jeans a la Julia Sarr-Jamois, which I was sure would change the course of my closet for the better but have, surprisingly and disappointedly, just taken up room.

Original image via Dazed & Confused 

Be a Doll, Would You?

Whoever said dolls are for kids was clearly paraphrasing that annoying cereal rabbit and therefore absolutely no one to be trusted. That rabbit is ageist; dolls are not just for kids. (Actually, dolls shouldn’t really be for anyone considering at least 63% of them eventually try to kill their humans according to every scary movie I’ve ever kept my eyes open long enough for, and the ones who don’t either get eaten by the house pet or have their hair chopped off by a bored toddler.) But what about paper dolls?

Paper dolls are straight up for adults. COOL adults. Besides, I don’t think a single “kid” since the hyper-polite 1950s has been able to be trusted with something so delicate.

Except — we very mature and responsible adults are probably not nimble-fingered enough to go about snipping little bits of paper around those infuriating tabs, and don’t really have the patience nor the proper leg circulation to sit on a floor cross legged for over an hour to do so.

Which is why Flatforms are The Thing.

(Not the shoes.)

Flatforms are high fashion more-than-paper-dolls, handmade with the care of a couturier by L. Michelle Reneau, sketched and photographed by art director Kristin Eddington. A New York based fashion editor for the past decade, Reneau began in 2011 after seeing the Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer 2012 runway show. She was inspired by the “magic of the otherworldly collection” and reminded of what drew her to the fashion industry in the first place: “an obsession with fantasy.”

She created a few for Man Repeller using favorite looks from the Spring 2015 runway (Delpozo, J.W. Anderson, DSquared and Saint Laurent) and we, because we’re adults (hello), took them on a wild jaunt around the city.

Shop framed originals here for the fashion lover who still looks to this industry for a little bit of whimsy. (Flatforms are hip and on the Instagram too.) And, because none of us particularly feel like doing anything other than reading comments today, tell us which ones are your favorite.

[Flatforms by L. Michelle Reneau]

Photos by Charlotte Fassler

MR’s Guide to Good Hot Chocolate in NYC

We’ve talked Iced Coffee, we’ve covered Smoothies but with the return of polar bears who carry the baggage of seasonal vortexes, there is only one non-alcoholic libation that gets a New Yorker through frost bite with a smile. It’s not tea — tea is great but not necessarily indulgent, and when your fingernails have grown so irreversibly brittle, indulgence is all you’ve got. It’s not coffee either because maybe we’re quitting, maybe we’re not. Also, it’s not quite as sweet, both literally and figuratively as our shining star, the liquid apex and sole redeeming quality of Jack Frost’s oasis.

Have you guessed what it is yet?

Fuck.

It just occurred to me that the story’s title is a tell-all.

I feel like I’m standing pants down, only if that were true, you would see that I am wearing emo pink and black underwear that look like they’re from Hot Topic and say Bad on them.

What?

Here’s a guide to good hot chocolate in New York City.

Maman, 239 Centre Street

Lavender flavored hot chocolate from a beautiful little piece of Aix-en-Provence staffed with handsome french angels and pretty patisseries. The hot chocolate is delicately scented and doesn’t taste too floral or too rich.

Swiss Miss Coca Powder with Marshmallows

It never fails to be perfect because you can’t mess it up. Too chocolatey? Add coffee or more water. Too watery? Add more powder. The crunchy little freeze-dried Marshmallows are floating bits of happy aliens covered in cotton, and make me feel like an astronaut. Oh, and I’m sorry, this story is titled “Good Hot Chocolate in NYC” but you can get this stuff anywhere? Well if I’m in New York, and I’m drinking Swiss Miss, then news flash, Channel 5. It’s the best in New York.

-Amelia “weird red head” Diamond

Sant Ambroeus, 265 Lafayette Street

The general manager, Alireza, brought the Man Repeller team some of its crack equivalent last week and it was more of a sipping chocolate than your typical hot chocolate (it was really rich and delicious). He said it was a giant block of chocolate melted into the cup.

City Bakery,  3 West 18th Street

I think of City as the old staple for hot chocolate; they serve it in what resembles a soup bowl and add a giant homemade marshmallow the size of a Rubix Cube.

Also, has anyone tried MarieBelle?

-Charlotte “I love knit two-pieces” Fassler

Mast Brothers, Williamsburg

Mast Brothers just started brewing their own hot chocolate, and it is some next level shit, especially because their maple chocolate bar is my favorite confectionery ever.

Or, to try and copy their recipe at home:

4 cups whole milk

1⁄4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 ounces dark chocolate

Combine and warm on stove

-Krista “I am the coolest member of this stupid team” Lewis

To make at home if you don’t drink dairy and are sugar-conscious:

This Vegan Mint Hot Chocolate recipe from the Instagram account @runningonveggies:

1 cup of almond milk

a few stems of fresh mint

1 bag of peppermint tea

2 teaspoons of cocoa

Nu Naturals peppermint liquid stevia to taste

Combine all ingredients and warm on stove

Separately, Fika Mexican Hot Chocolate is sold by the box in nearly all of their NYC locations, and is the perfect blend of dark chocolate, cinnamon and chipotle. If you’re stopping in at the Tribeca flagship, make sure to stock up on their bite-sized chocolates too. Melt them over the stove and fondue your celery sticks.

-Esther “I love dance cardio and paleo cookies” Levy

Max Brenner, 841 Broadway

There is a 0% chance that this hot chocolate isn’t actually just a bar of melted milk chocolate, which comes topped with marshmallows. You have the option to overload the cup in many marshmallows or submit yourself to just a few sprinkled in. I would suggest doing the former. After two or three sips, you might start to feel nauseous but just power through it. Trust me.

The Greenwich Hotel

TriBeCa’s Greenwich Hotel, which is connected to Locanda Verde, also serves a delicious helping of hot chocolate in a white ceramic mug about the size of my head (which, surprising, isn’t big to scale but seems generous for a ration of hot chocolate) and can come with a) marshmallows, b) chili flakes, c) cinnamon.

-Leandra “Wears the same jeans 15 times a week” Medine

This seems like barely a dent in the underworld that is the saccharine potion so, please, finish off our list.

So You’re Going to a Black Tie Karaoke Holiday Party, Right?

Holiday party season could not be more definitively here if it was a literal cherub wearing a gold top hat, holding a microphone and sitting right next to me while singing “All I Want for Christmas is You.”

And, of course, with the season that demands resolute festivity comes the question of what to wear.

And, of course, with the question of what to wear always, always, never doesn’t come the aid of a freak named Man Repeller.

As such, we’ll be posting thematic holiday party outfit suggestions every day at 4 through the end of this week.

Up today: say you’re going to a black tie karaoke party that was inspired by a recent post that ran on Jenna Lyons in feathers and a mandarin collar, right? What should you wear?

How about the biggest skirt your closet carries — this could be the very taffeta confection you once wore to a Bat Mitzvah, or the hugely embellished, uneven-hemmed petticoat you were seen dancing in at a quincaneara. It could even be the lamé maxi skirt you purchased from Zara but was hoping to save for New Years Eve. Don’t do that.

For me, it’s a red, underbelly-spotlighting ball-gown skirt from Tinker Tailor paired with a vaguely corporate striped blouse by Céline, which I basically won on Yoox during the hysteria that was Cyber Monday.

Of course, because there will be karaoke, you should make sure that you will be able to move.

 

(Your pointing finger.)

And because it will be more fun if you don’t go home between work and the holiday party, it wouldn’t be completely outrageous for you to file a claim for payment from your city. You will, after all, spend the day acting as a human broom.

Merry Holiday!

Oh My Gucci

It is strange when around the holidays, a time you’re expected to keep a running list of things you’d like others to buy for you, you don’t really want anything. People will literally chastise you for not handing in your “want list,” as though it was a piece of homework due and you’d neglected to follow the syllabus. Again.

If you aren’t craving material goods it likely means you’re fulfilled with the status of your stuff, which is great, but we’re also 21st century go-getters who decry apathy. This means if we have the power to get what we want then we also have the power to seek new things that we will want, and as is the case in anything involving fashion, typically all you need is a little bit of imagination and inspiration.

A simple walk can get you going. Plus a good song plugged into your ears and a comb through a magazine can remind you of a pair of groovy-heeled metallic boots that you once saw on Gucci’s runway.

A little buzz starts humming. You check your headphones — you did step on them about five times that morning, but nope. Not them. You keep walking, then spot a group of kids playing a game of pick up basketball despite the temperature that begs the question, “Where is your jacket and why are you in shorts?” Someone makes a jump shot straight into the net and when the ball goes swoooosh you see a backpack that you suddenly have to have.

Now you’re in the zone. You’re practically salivating at the mouth for this white leather bag with a beautiful bamboo handle and a scarf tied around it that once gave you its number but for whatever reason (you were busy, there wasn’t any real “occasion”),  you didn’t call it back.

And now you want it.

You’ve got a crush.

It’s like when 4 PM hits and you realize you forgot to eat all day and suddenly you’re nothing short of ravenous. So you start running.

You run home so fast that the streets blur, and you fly up the stairs and open the kitchen drawer you never open and oh thank you lord you find a pen — now paper! Quick! Paper, you need paper! And in perfect cursive writing you make a list that says:

I Want…

One pair of groovy heeled silver boots with horse snaffle bit on both toes

One yellow backpack with oversized tassels

One white structured leather bag with shiny bamboo handles

And as a stocking stuffer, one blue printed scarf

Then you dash off your name, find your phone, take a picture and post it to all forms of social media immediately so that your circle of friends, your family and choose-your-own-Santas are finally informed of your holiday “want list.”

So what if you handed it in late? There’s always extra credit.

That or, you can keep the list private and treat yourself.

Part of a collaboration with Gucci. Photos by Charlotte Fassler & Krista Anna Lewis

Tokyo in Pictures

Tokyo is a clean city. So clean that if I wanted to eat off the ground, I probably could.

Many citizens wear masks over their faces due to the imminent flu season, partially to protect themselves but primarily to protect each other.

There are men who rake leaves off sidewalks using brooms, and dedicated staff members at various doors whose sole jobs are seemingly to bow at the incoming and outgoing human traffic. The Japanese people of Tokyo don’t kiss each other or shake hands upon making contact.

In the neighborhood of Shibuya, which I was told is a densely populated tourist trap, there are such shops as a Snickers Barber Bar which sounds like exactly what it is: a place where you go to get your hair cut and eat snickers bars, one that would no doubt take off in the wake of our Americanized break-up age. Just a few doors down — between Condomania, which sells flavored condoms in various, creative packaging (miniature juice cartons, on lollipops, inside edible underwear) and Tokyu Hands, an enormous store that sells everything from suitcases to calendars and the original gangster emojis-as-stickers — is another form of bar, a braid bar, where you are seated to have your hair pigtailed and braided and given a cat to pet for the duration of your service. There are arcades replete with vending machines that sell stuffed anime and various forms of computerized games. On weekends, these arcades are packed with adults.

At the restaurants, women are given baskets to place their purses inside so as not to have them touch the ground. Hot towels are delivered before every meal. Courses take what seems like forever to finish though they are tiny but plentiful (around eight dishes per meal) and there is a resilient and consistent calm over the city that is precisely what differentiates the metropolis from any other. People are nice. Almost too nice — subserviently nice. More than once, I felt like I needed to whisper in the public domain and like saying “thank you” wasn’t thankful enough. You get the sense that the people of Tokyo work hard — their ethic is so impressively embedded into their culture and DNA that it would be impossible for them not to — but that in doing so, they’re not killing themselves.

Still, though, you might get the sense that they’re a suppressed people. In part because of a bustling and kinky underworld that is dedicated to unconventional sex practices, but also because their culture is so imbued with anime, clinquant tchotchkes (Tokyo is home to the panda-faced iPhone cover) and fashion (see: Harajuku girls, high Japanese mens fashion as propelled by such brands as White Mountaineering, Comme des Garçons and Undercover), you start to think that maybe all the bells and whistles are a mode of escapism for them.

Or maybe they’re not.

Maybe as an American looking in, what I see is a series of sanctions that are imprisoning them when in reality, it’s the blinding freedom with which I have been taught to live my life that is imprisoning me. We call ourselves inhabitants of the land of opportunity and live by tenets of a dream assigned to America that is either still alive or definitively dead but currently unreconciled. We might count abundant choice as an advantage of our culture but maybe, actually, it’s a disadvantage. From what I understand, the denizens of Tokyo, in spite of the incessant bowing and laboriously long work hours and the stereotypes of servitude, are an incredibly complacent people. This is a state of being that I wonder about in regards to Americans — can we ever be complacent? Do we want to be complacent?