Streets as your living room


One thing that I noticed and fully embraced the minute I’ve started living in NYC is the way we people of nyc take over the streets here, and make them as their own living room.
Not sure if it is due to the small size of a typical New York apartment or  maybe it is due to the weather : after 6 months of hibernation during the winter, you just wanna enjoy the concrete jungle and its dirty streets even though the summer are insanely hot!! Or maybe it is just the pleasure of  sitting on stoops that makes up for the pain of climbing the steps…

Anyhow, on summer nights,  it is a habit I really enjoy, with my girls, or by myself , or just stooping in my block with my neighbors and all of  a sudden, the Big Apple turns into a really small village.. How Magic is that ?

 

Euro Blondes

In the home country of Barbie, Pamela Anderson, Jessica Simpson, and many other insignificant blondes,

I thought I should give some credits to the original, and spicy ones that mostly came from Europe:

★From Italy : Monica Vitti  ★ From Austria : Romy Schneider  ★ From France : Brigitte Bardot

Shopping list

Mustache pillow

pour Monsieur Popo

Geek Girl Necklace $2.80

Pour les French Geekettes

Leopardess Necklace : $9.80

Pour mes Leopardesses

Marc Jacobs Jelly Bracelet Set $15

Pour les Uber fashionistas Mamas

DJ Ring $17

Pour les girlfriends de DJ

LEOPARD PASSPORT HOLDER $28

Nothing better than leopard to get you through customs

Leopard  Luggage Tag $20.00

So that nobody mix your black suitcase anymore

Xmas Labbit $24.95

‘Cos I collect them

Smoking Teddy Bear $29.95

Sold Out already

Zipper Pulls $5

My nephew loves them

Dolce Vita Fur Boots $308

to warm up your NY winter look

Zara Leopard Jacket $129

looks better a size under ( I already got it ! )

Asos Red Skinny Jeans $55

still looking for those in leather

Gap (kids) Sweater $34

Kids size works even on me ! I am a big one

Gap Boyfriend Tuxedo Pants $69

Love tuxedo pants for the winter

Victoria’s Secret Tube Winter Dress $78

Very “Marion” like with uggs and black tights

Victoria Secret Gold or Black Sequin jacket $139

‘Cos you always need a little Bling in your life !

Asos Silk Jumpsuit with Open Back $100

Always loved the Open Back clevage, easy sexy

Money Island

Winter is too long in NYC, so today will be a day for a denial post… And the first image that comes to my head ‚when I think about summers in New York, is Coney Island. I love this place, even though I wouldn’t get in the water over there, nor lay down on the sand !

It can get a little crowded as well during summers’ heatwave:

The Iconic Wonder Wheel…

…Reminds me of Paris (jardin des Tuileries)

I like also all the handmade typography you can spot there , very retro feeling :

Freaky 🙂

Even in the winter, it keeps a very cinematographic look & feel:

And in the summer it has amazing saturated colors:

Only in NY

After reading the article from the Voice about the 50 reasons I love living in nyc I though I could add up the typical NYC images that still makes living in NYC

The NYC Skyline

 

Chinese take-out boxes

sound of fire truck police car sirens


Red Brick WallsNYC Sewer

NYC Steaming StreetsSteaming NYC Streetsfire escapesFire Escape

Hot-Dog Cart

“NO PARKING” SIGNSDon't even think abot it

Never Fuckin Park here
 

Something’s always happening here. If you’re bored in New York, it’s your own fault.-Mirna Loy

<

Red, Rouge, Red

This Fall I want & see everything in ROUGE , mon amour:

RED LIPS:

I have been rocking the Red lips ever since a true Make-up Artist ( Maud Laceppe) taught me how to do it like you’re on the runway :
  1. Hydrate lips
  2. Carefully line the lips with REDD lip pencil from MAC, or True Red By Laura Mercier (for example) drawing a little  outside for bigger lips
  3. then just fill it in and hopefully you will get something like that 😉


RED PANTS:

From Isabel Marant red leather pants, to Zara tailored pants, to Gap Corduroy , I want them all !

And of course Red Shoes & Red Clutch …

And some red images to match this whole post :

[nggallery id=7]

Stuff Tourists Like # 3

This is the peak season for Tourists : dear Nouillorqueur, I am sure your couch is booked till Labor Day ( and trust me I feel your pain…), and  just in case you were wondering how they would spend their day in NYC, I can bet you that they will end up in 2 spots :

Tourists Like to Stop in the middle of a street : Move to the side

Using a Pedicab to get to the Apple Store

this is a no-no using a pedicab is a tourist thing, no New Yorker would ever do that.

Apple Store : la tourneee des grands ducs

Oh lawwwd , where to start ??? I guess with the iPad crazyness, I can tell you  I have already  shipped several of those giant iPhones to the motherland, and thank you Steve for releasing the iPhone 4 in France at the same time as here …and even if we have 4 Apple stores in NYC, this not a reason to go to every single one and compare the price with the euro/dollar rate, because at the end, it is gonna be hard to carry your 27 inches iMac in your luggage back to France.

So of course , Thank you Steve, with the new Mac Book Air at $999 and 999 euros in Europe, I am gonna have a lot of orders as the Euro /Dollar rate is around 1.40 …

New York Best Kept Secret

New York’s Best Kept secret is NOT Century 21, trust me on that one, but the fact that it has so many beaches all accessible by public transportation. Here are some few options if you are spending your summer in NYC & still want to get a carribean tan!

☼ ROCKAWAY BEACH :

  • How to get there ? Take the blue line, the A train to Broad Channel, transfer to the S to Rockaway Park-Beach 116th St. (Last Stop).
  • How Much ? $4.50 Round Trip, Subway ride.
  • What to do ? Get a beer & a slice at the Sand Bar on the beach, or even order chinese take out and get it delivered on the beach.

☼ RIIS LANDING/ FORT TILDEN

  • How to get there ? it’s a boat ride & it only works on week-end. Take the Ferry on Pier 11 (same as Ikea boat), click here more infos and schedule.
  • How Much ? $30 Round Trip on the American Princess. add $5 more if you bring your bike.
  • Tips: Bring your own picnic to the beach and drinks as it is a wild beach with no lifeguards neither. The boat ride to get there is 45 mins and is amazing , you get to see the Statue of Liberty, Coney Island, and the Verrazano bridge.

☼ FIRE ISLAND:

  • How to get there ? Take the LIRR train in Penn Station to Bay Shore, then the Ferry to Fire Island .
  • How Much ? around $60 RT -> $26 for the train & $12 for the ferry (round-trip)
  • What to do ? try to spend the night there, or the weekend, as it is an 1.5 hour away from the city, and it is a little corner of  paradise there, no cars, almost no  stores and beautiful sunsets.

Et Voila ! Now You know how I spend my summer in the city 🙂

New York Photo Booth

In the era of all digital images, it became more fun to play with analog pictures, and as I got my summer tan on, it means I am eligible for picture time without the ususally mandatory Photoshop retouching … Here is a quick round-up of the Photobooth (or Photomaton in French) in NYC:

1. Coney Island

Deno’s Wonder Wheel – 3059 W 12th St. Brooklyn, NY 11224- Color

2. 7B


7B – 108 Avenue B – New York, NY – B&W Only

3. Ace Hotel

Ace Hotel – 20 West 29th Street, New York, NY‎ – Black&White Only

And some others I haven’t tried yet:

Lakeside Lounge – 162 Avenue B New York, NY 10009- Black & White

Otto’s Shrunken Head – 538 E. 14th St.New York, NY 10009

Walk on the West Side

On a bright but chilly sunday afternoon, I decided to take a walk on the West side of the city , and here is my West Side Story in pictures with some amazing Street Art characters.

Mickey loves NY
WWest Side Ride
@grenadeboyjc2
One of those day
Elle
Che and Mussolini
Beautiful Brunette
Colors on the Corner
Love this
U just got BrainWashed
BEAU
Wall Kicks
Gay Paris
Monsieur Moustache
Through Tears the Pain
Doggy Style
Monsieur Alec
Madonna
Outie
Lapin aux Chiottes
She Ain’t Nothing to Mess With
Bright Drips, Big City
Dr Spock
DickChick
Hakula / Kardashian
Hello
No!
Even Cops stick on the Block
‘Sup
Parking Sign
Blowing All Up
Red Lights District
Stop in the West Village
Village Paris in NYC
Sure & Faust
Matching Vespa with the House
Str8 From the Sewer
The Dogs are Watching
Freeze
Love Me in Blue
Nobody Cares

$how Me the Money

Scott Campbell

Scott Campbell stacks dollars tattooing celebrities, so he can laser cut his piles of cash, go & check his first  NY exhibition  called “If You Don’t Belong, Don’t Be Long” – April 29 – May 30, 2010 at 109 Crosby Street (between Prince & Houston).

Shepard Fairey

The final exhibition at Deitch Gallery, is with one of the top money maker of Street Art, Shepard Fairey, aka Obey. The opening was the it event of the year, the whole block was packed, and filled with celebs’.  “May Day ” at Deitch Projects, 18 Wooster Street, May 1 – 29, 2010.

Banksy Exit Through the Gift Shop

The best movie/documentary I  have seen in a year. Period.

Mister Brainwash

The biggest con artist ever, it make sense to see his exhibition  just if you have seen the Banksy Film, I won’t tell more asides that MBW is a Frenchie 😉 – ICONS REMIX – Opening Sunday May 9th at 3pm – 415 W 13th street, NYC, until the end of May. Muchas Gracias @foodrap for the picture, and check out his blog he has super nice pictures on a daily basis.

Welcome to America

★ INTERNET : From the country that  brought you Apple, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter , you would think that Mega high-speed would be the norm here ; but NO, it is actually really bad! Check the numbers below, on top of it , it is pretty expensive compared to France …

★ PHONE : from the country that brought you the iPhone you would expect 4G everywhere, but no !!! Even 3G sucks and it gets worst here, in NYC, where basically your iphone is on EDGE  50% of the time, or worse doesn’t even get signal. To cut it short: your iPhone is a mini iPad, you can make calls when using wi-fi on Skype.

★ TV ADS: Even if I’m a big fan of Mad Men, advertising here kinda sucks, compared to MTV era , and French commercials I grew up with:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOSnA7alx6c[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VvRPIZn2c4[/youtube]

And one my favorites Etienne Chatilliez for Eram (French Payless shoesource):

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDlGmTzMb1g[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVnrHx87IjM[/youtube]

★CREDIT CARDS : “There’s a credit card for that” In average, an American owns 4 credit cards, and NONE of them is secured by a Smart Card, just  a signature and a magnetic stripe… Another retarded American move by orchestrated by those A$$hole from Walla Street and the Financial institutions here …, For the story  when I was a kid I wanted to be Roland Moreno , I thought he had the cooolest job ever, and he was always very nice with me letting me draw on MacPaint all day … And now he even put a comment on my blog, and put me in his , that is sharing 🙂

In the Army

This Spring/Summer fashion trend is all about the military ( Army or Navy) but I am kinda over already the navy stripes, I have seen too many, so I’ll just focus on my obsession of the month Army Green ( Khaki in French) :).

Inspired by Balmain Spring/Summer 2010

And this editorial from VOGUE Paris

Now stuff the affordable version :

  1. PARKA ☞ TOPSHOP ☞ $125.00
  2. TEE-SHIRT ☞ ZARA  ☞ $29,99
  3. VINTAGE BRITISH ARMY JACKET ☞ ETSY ☞ $49.95
  4. COMBAT BOOTS ☞ STEVE MADDEN ☞ $249.95
  5. SILK JUMPSUIT ☞ VICTORIA’S SECRET ☞ $108
  6. SHORT ☞ AMERICAN EAGLE ☞ $34.50
  7. BULLET NECKLACE ☞ EBAY ☞ $4.95

Love Letters

Love Always by Julia Chang
love by acme
love me graffiti check for more on flickr

love at the beach
Love a 4 letters word, worth only 7 points
Love bed

Kaiser Karl is in the house

As it is already fashion week season in New York, I thought I should follow the trend and do a little tribute to  the Kaiser Lagerfeld 🙂

“I don’t know Heidi Klum. She was never known in France. Claudia Schiffer also doesn’t know who she is.“

“Bling is over. Red carpetry covered with rhinestones is out. I call it the new modesty.“

“Chic is a kind of mayonnaise, either it tastes, or it doesn’t !“

“I have no human feelings“

On this Saturday, February 13th on sundance Channel ( channel 101 for Time Warner Cable NY) there is a serie of documentaries not be missed if you like fashion & its unique atmosphere:

It’s called The Day Before, and it is to summ it up a Jack Bauer drama (queen) clone of what happens 24h before a fashion show. begins , Tivo it ! and Karl documentary with Fendi starts at 6pm.

Here is a preview:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zxwJ1v8vkw[/youtube]

On same day and by the same director ( Loic Prigent) there is also:

American Food

Food is America is more a utility than an art, and when the Americans try to go fancy gourmet style, it is a bit of a shock culture for a Frenchie:

(mouse over the images to see the French interpretation)

American cop

The Cupcake is to American what Macaron is to French:

Gizmo cupcake

Warning: not kosher ! chocolate spotted at WholeFoods, the flavor : BACON !!

Cheese in a spray can – Only in America !

Hi(Pad) Haters !

Hi Haters !

It seems that the iPad got a lot of hate when announced last week, but my bet is, as usual, all the haters gonna love it . Keep in mind that it will be shipped in less than 60 days, hopefully when the iPhone OS 4.0 will be released, as there is an event scheduled in march for the iPhone developers.

  • There is (or will be) a camera
  • You can use as a phone ( See screenshots from the beta sdk below)
  • It is the perfect tool if you are designer and or you have visual  job to DISPLAY your work( it will replace your portfolio, your reel if you do videos, etc…)

So stop the hate & get on it  …

Here is below some screenshot form the iPad simulator in the iPhone SDK  and some link of vector files to get your iPad mockup game on:

Return to Call simulation on iPad
iPad mockup in png - right click save image as if you want the full size png file

From the extremely talented Cocoia, here are the psd file of the iPad icon template:

A very useful for mockups but baaad quality for design in PROD is the tehan+lax Photoshop file:

You can also get the Illustrator CS2 & CS4, Photoshop and PNG files all in one file here. ( Source: 3rd floor lab )

Flashlights

My first post for 2010 is a quick one on Neon & Typography

Every Word Unmade by Fionna Banner (2007)
Rubbish by Stephan Bruggemann
(delete)
I can't explain
Sorry
Merci
Yann Serandour - I will not make anymore boring art (2005)
and now Google it for more neon images
Me via this isn't happiness
me (via this isn't happiness)
it is what it is
Fuck Forever

All Leopard everything

I have this thing for Leopard print, I always have a piece of clothes or accessory with this fierce Animal Print< so when I looked at this winter collection, I was so happy that the leopard coat was back in trend.

@ Isabelle Marant:

Fall/Winter 09 Isabelle Marant
Fall/Winter 09 Isabelle Marant

@ Christian Dior  Resort collection 2010:

Dior Resort collection 2010
Dior Resort collection 2010

On a more realistically affordable note , there is this Zara coat

Zara Leopard Coat $119

Or on Etsy or ebay you can find some niece and cheap pieces:

Etsy Leopard coat - $188
Etsy Leopard coat - $188

And here is below an expert of my personal collection of leopard items…

[nggallery id=6]

Paris shopping

As I have a NY girlfriend traveling to Paris for the 1st time, I made her a list for a cheap shopping in Paris (at least the cheapest  possible as we, Dollars earners, can really afford anything overseas right now). So here is my ideal shopping list from Paris with the addresses on a Google map on where to find it at the end of the post:

1. BEAUTY / PHARMACY

FrenchPharmacyShopping.001

  1. CREALINE H2O BIODERMA – Best Skin Cleanser, make-up remover – 9 Euros
  2. MONOI HEI POA  – Pure Monoi Oil form Tahiti – 10 Euros
  3. LIERAC “APAISANCE” Anti-Aging Cream  for sensitive skins (Great for winter) – 30 Euros
  4. VICHY DEODORANT 48 Hours – Spray deodorant no perfume my favorite – 7 Euros
  • Note : when in Paris got to the Pharmacy City Pharma, they have the cheapest prices and great selection.

2. SUPERMARKET

French supermarket

  1. DEMAK’UP – Extremely softs cotton pads, I am addicted to them – 1.50 Euros
  2. NAIR CIRE DIVINE au Monoi – Microwave Wax comes in 2 flavors Berries or Monoi –  6 Euros
  3. CHOCOLAT COEUR DE NOUGAT – Run straight to the chocolate alley, it’s heaven – around 2 Euros
  4. FOIS GRAS – It’s French tradition for the holidays, and you can get them through US customs (just make sure it is NOT refrigerated ) – 10 Euros

You can buy all this and much more at Monoprix ( it is could be an equivalent of Duane Reade in NYC  plus they have clothes too ! )

3. LINGERIE

  1. DARJEELING – Black Sheer panty with stones – 15 Euros
  2. PRINCESSE TAM-TAM – Polka dots bra & thong – 39 Euros & 25 Euros
  3. ETAM  – Natalia collection, Garter Belt – 25 Euros
  4. MONOPRIX – Deep Navy Bra & frou-fou panty – 20 Euros & 10 Euros

Below is a quick set done on Polyvore with some Parisian shopping, all below 100 euros or almost…

Some affordable shopping in Paris Some affordable shopping in Paris by Madame Lolo on Polyvore.com

Items in this set: Fur & Gold Boots | San Marina, 149 EUR Metallic Bracelet | Pimkie, 5.95 EUR Little Black dress | Pimkie, 20 EUR Crealine H2O Face and Eyes Cleanser, 9 EUR Neo Disco Gold & Black Sandals | André 99 EUR

And here is below, a quick maps of the Parisian Shopping with New Yorker’s stores references:


View Madame Lolo In Paris in a larger map

Inspiration

Yesterday I went to the Anthropologie store on 5th Ave & 16th street and they had the Xmas decoration full on already:

Here is a close up,  it is made out of paper cups stick together, and reminded me strongly of  a great artist I have seen for the first time at the Met a couple years ago…

Close up at the wall decoration @ Anthropolgy
Close up at the wall decoration @ Anthropolgy

…Tara Donovan she makes beautiful ‟sculptures”  like this one out of thousands of styrofoam cups and hot glue

Untitled, 2003 Styrofoam Cups, Hot Glue Dimensions Variable Ace Gallery Los Angeles, 2005
Close up

In the same spirit I like a photographer named Chris Jordan and his series of mass consumption :

Gyre, 2009 by Chris Jordan
Zoomed in
Zoomed in
Even closer