Rhyming game

Honestly, there's something in the water in California. Especially amidst a rainy, muggy May when all you can think and dream of are sunny beaches and sparkling water, the California girl spirit is a breath of fresh air (hellooooo Katy Perry).

It just so happens that two of my favorite sunshine state designers at the mo' not only share a penchant for completely livable and effortlessly chic silhouettes, they also share a name. I'm having a paperdoll moment looking at both their collections.

Shop on:

1. Net-a-porter - Always my go-to

2. Kain Label - latest summer collection is in!

3. Jenni Kayne - she has a great blog, too

April showers...

It's spring in Shanghai, which means rain, rain, and oh wait—yeah some more rain.

But check out these sweet umbrellas! I can't buy one because I lose one every week like clockwork, and I would be horribly heartbroken if I lost one of these bad boys from Pasotti Ombrelli. The handle is remarkable reminiscent of McQueen, but still badass. They've got a lion, a skull, and roses too. With your knuckles on one of them, the grey days may just seem a bit sunnier...

Sartorial animal friends

The Menswear Dog's got a run for his money, if a very fashionable ostrich, sloth, and entire zoo of creatures have anything to say about it! Order your Zoo Portraits now, before these guys pass on any more judgement about your #OOTD.

Atsuro Tayama

I've been on the hunt for high-heel sneakers ever since I first set eyes on Isabel Marant's (though Net-a-Porter's exclusive versions this season are totally killing it)—though could never get up the will to shell out $800 for them. On a completely unplanned shopping excursion to the IFC in HK, I was in love as soon as I saw these super-comfy, gravity defying kicks in the window of the Atsuro Tayama shop. How kick-ass is the watercolor?!

ATSURO TAYAMA  //  Hong Kong (among many other locations)  //  2090 ifc MALL CENTRAL  //  852-2167-7308  // ask for Alice if she's there, she's awesome!

AW2013: Milan

Where the Paris shows are elegant, Milan's are sexy and glamorous—much like the cities themselves.

Photo credits  //  dazeddigital.com

AW2013: Paris

Year over year, Paris has consistently been my favorite shows and this year is no different. Anchored by veterans Phoebe Philo at Celine, Richard Tisci at Givenchy, etc. etc., they top the charts in everything from polished tailoring to fantastical innovation. Drool.

Photo credits  // vogue.com // dazeddigital.com 

The next "e"-commerce: personal shopping emails

Last summer, while in LA for a wedding, I made a fortuitous stop in Satine on Abbot Kinney, Venice Beach. They have AMAZING girls (especially Catherine!) in the shop who will relentlessly send you emails to remind you that a new season is coming and all the ridiculous goodies that are flowing into the shop. A lot are limited run, especially the pieces from local LA designers, like Stacy Nolan.

Being in Shanghai, it's so hard to shop from their girls unless they ship to my parents (who's house has become my US base), and then you get into the problem of not being to try things on, yada yada.

Anyway, when these hit my inbox, I had to have. Fresh from pining over those Repossi ear cuffs, I had a massive itch to get something super unique. And these totally are—made for those with the double-holes in the lobes, best worn just on one ear. Rose gold, to boot! Obsessed.

Here's also a little known fact—if you're out-of-state and looking to buy a high-ticket item, you can get out of sales tax by having the Satine girls ship to you. All you need to pay is that 9.99 shipping, which pales compared with that triple digit sales tax number, am I right??

SATINE BOUTIQUE // Abbot Kinney Outpost // 1508 Abbot Kinney Blvd. // Venice, CA

AW2013: London

The gang's all here—Christopher, Louise, Vivienne, and a somewhat subdued Matthew. LFW is easily the quirkiest out of the major fashion weeks and this season was no exception. 

(Speaking of Mr. Williamson, he's on pre-order at Moda!!)

As always, Stella came buttoned up and tailored within every fiber of fabric, joining the minority of brands that contrasted with the high-street-jinks loving designers including Jonathan Saunders, Burberry and Mulberry. 

Standouts below (not to mention this shining beacon of LFW).

Simone Rocha is a quarter Chinese

... she also has a kick-ass designer dad (John) and designs killer shoes. She is also super adorable. Did I mention I'm obsessed?

In past seasons she's been known for super creative interpretations of a classic brogue, and this season was no different. Though the collection was more demure than any she's ever shown—a homage to both her grandmothers as styles they would both wear, she explained—her signature kicks threw some sparkle in anyway.

Too bad Moda Operandi didn't get a hold of the glittery ones, though they do have the super chic nude patent brogues up for presale until March 7th! Get 'em while they're hot (and still around)!

How long does it take to set up 50,000 dominoes?

Anya Hindmarch knows.

AW2013: New York City

Mother nature has not been kind to NYC in the last 6 months. Hurricane Sandy struck a massive blow that left neighborhoods broken and bruised. The fashion community soon showed that they were more than a pretty face, traveling in hoards to Red Hook, which faced the most devastation from Sandy, for everything from cleaning to food kitchen-ing. Familiar faces included model Hilary Rhoda and Prabal Gurung, both of whom call NYC home. 

So then it was almost ironic that as the fashion royalty descended on NYC for the first leg of the AW13 fashion weeks, Snowstorm Nemo blanketed the bright lights with a fresh sheet of powdery white.

Did all the well-heeled fashion folk shy at the snow? No way! In many ways, as you'll seen through the lenses of street photog Tommy Ton and the like, the floating flakes and blanket of white almost cast a tranquil air to fashion week. Though we all know, that was hardly the case.

Standouts below!

Photo credits // style.com // dazeddigital.com // mydaily.co.uk