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District Pride.

Posted on November 18, 2009
Filed Under Only in Washington | 1 Comment

Loving these cheeky street-chic tees from homespun line One Vs Many. I’d happily channel my inner Carrie Bradshaw and proudly profess my tempestuous love relationship with my city neighborhood with this tee.

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Must Do: DC Tweed Ride Sunday, November 15

Posted on November 9, 2009
Filed Under Events, Only in Washington | 4 Comments

I’m just loving DC right now – there’s a real current of creative energy in the air. For a while it felt like there were a small number of people trying to showcase DC as a unique and interesting city, and now it feels like a big celebratory group effort that’s really hitting its stride. Case in point: next Sunday’s DC Tweed Ride, organized by the ever-stylish Eric Brewer, as an outing of Dandies and Quaintrelles (you know the term dandy; now familiarize yourself with the quaintrelle). Riders, dressed in their finest tweeds and turn-of-the-century best, will assemble between 11-noon at the parking lot behind the Bank of America at 722 H Street, NE for scones and vintage-inspired studio portraits. If you don’t have a suitable bike, show up with some cash in hand – a selection of vintage bikes will be available for sale starting at $125.

The ride ends with a post-ride social at Marvin (2007 14th), with libations from Plymouth Gin, Brit-pop and soul on the turntables, and raffles and prizes for the snappiest dressers. It’s free to register and attend, but true gentlemen and ladies will take part in the portrait-taking and drink-swillin’: that part of the fun supports Arts for the Aging, a fantastic local arts nonprofit.

Let’s have some inspiration, shall we? Tweed Rides have taken place in a number of cities, including San Francisco (photos courtesy dustinj)…

and London (photos courtesy M.S.J.)…

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A Must-Do: FotoWeekDC

Posted on November 8, 2009
Filed Under Events, Only in Washington | 1 Comment

the FotoWeekDC Thumbnail Exhibition – large-scale contact sheets with every entry to this year’s FotoWeekDC Awards

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably have heard that FotoWeekDC kicked off on Friday. I did something photo-related each night of this (gorgeous) weekend, and I have to say that it’s been one of the most enjoyable weekends I’ve had here in DC in a while. There’s something so honest inspiring and energizing about photography, and the interesting, well-dressed people who enjoy it. This weekend was a visual-stimulation smorgasbord, and it’s just as much about the art on the walls as it is about looking at the people there in the gallery with you. Everyone is looking.

So if you missed out and haven’t done anything FWDC yet, definitely head over to FWDC Central – 5 galleries scattered along M Street in Georgetown. I was completely transfixed by National Geographic’s Dreams in Color (at FWDC Central 1), a set of 22 never-before-exhibited images done in Autochrome, an early, and complicated, color film process that made use of potato starch (!). The resulting images have this dreamy, otherworldly quality that you simply cannot achieve any longer with current techniques. These are seriously amazing and a must-view. I wish I’d taken some photos of them!

Some other images from FotoWeek Central. You have to be sure to stop in to Central 4, which features dozens of amazing photography books that you can look through for as long as you want (I always feel guilty doing this at bookstores):

Last night I ended my evening at Fight Club (see #9 on this excellent list of FWDC things to see), a gallery/indoor skateboard rink tucked in a (nice, well-lit) alley near the Convention Center. I was blown away by the quality of much of the photography here. Amazing photos from David Alan Harvey, and a series of silver-tinged black & whites by Chris Bickford, whose After the Storm series focuses on the water and culture of the Outer Banks, where I spent many amazing summers growing up.

Couldn’t resist snapping a photo of one of my favorite sharp-dressed gentlemen friends, Lukas Smith (r) with his friend Scott. And our shoes.

There are a zillion things to do this week aside from these two venues. Check out Michael Sullivan’s roundup, and see the Burtynsky show at the Corcoran (shameless plug), which is insanely surreal and freakishly beautiful, all in a I-can’t-believe-these-are-photographs kind of way.

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Mirza Mperial’s Local Style

Posted on November 4, 2009
Filed Under Events, Only in Washington | 3 Comments

Taimur Baig is easily one of Washington’s most impressive local designers. He was the crowd favorite at my Flaunt show back in June, and since then he’s been attracting more and more fans. His precise Spring/Summer collection is all I want to wear for Spring (looks 3 and 7, specifically). The cuts are impeccable, the fabrics are divine. These images are from his recent video presentation of the collection at L2, featuring model Diandra Forrest, now signed to Elite, who is albino and hauntingly beautiful.

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The Rules Rule.

Posted on October 28, 2009
Filed Under Around Town, Men, Only in Washington | Leave a Comment

Thank the waitstaff.

Last night I attended a party celebrating the release of Walker Lamond’s book, Rules for my Unborn Son, at the at the amazingly gorgeous home of his friends Meg and Chris Ferguson on Dumbarton Street. Walker’s been here on the blog a time or two, and over at Washingtonian, and now he’s well, everywhere. Walker’s one of my favorite men in town, and such success couldn’t have come to a nicer, cooler person. The book is witty, useful and full of life tips for not just how to be a good man, but how to be an interesting, charming person. The advice goes far beyond rules for men – anyone can and should take notes. A sampling of wisdom:

Be subtle. She sees you.
Know the proper time to wear a tuxedo. It’s more often than you think.
Dance with your partner, not at her.
The best thing to do in the rain is be quiet and listen.
Don’t show off. Impress.

For fun, I asked Walker to give a Rules spin to a few questions and fill-in-the-blanks (those are fun, don’t you think? I’d like to see more people bent over Mab Libs on the Metro in the morning…):

Every guy should own CORDOVAN WINGTIPS and know how to TIE A BOWTIE and BAIT A HOOK.

Every girl should own BICYCLE and know how to RIDE IT IN A DRESS.

Guys should lay off the DISTRESSED JEANS AND GRAPHIC TEES.

Girls should lay off the GROUP PHOTOS.

Favorite online sites for men’s style inspiration: A CONTINUOUS LEAN

List of men who inspire great style: BOBBY KENNEDY, THOM BROWN, BASQUIAT, JACK EVANS, YOUNG WOODY ALLEN, DAVID LYNCH, BING CROSBY, GRANDFATHERS

I could go on, but you should probably buy the book instead (for yourself, a holiday gift, the guy you’re dating). And conveniently, there’s a book signing today at the Borders in Friendship Heights from 7-8 (I’ve begun thinking in rules as I write this: – perfect your signature).

Next up, Rules for My Unborn Daughter-?!

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Handbag Crush.

Posted on October 13, 2009
Filed Under Only in Washington, Shopping Events & News, Women | 2 Comments

A serendipitous path led me to Ralston, a new handbag line from DC-based Paige Ralston Fromer, who used to be on the Hill and at the RIAA. A friend who met her at a local restaurant told me about her, and soon I was lusting over several of the handbags online while she and I exchanged an email or two (and in full-on Web 2.0 obsession mode, I even googled her and looked her up on Facebook…and saw that we had a few friends in common). Then, one day when I happened to be in Bloomingdale’s in Chevy Chase, I was heading out the door when a bag caught my eye. I went over to admire it, and sure enough, it was Ralston, and there was Paige standing among them (on a white horse! Kidding.) Something drew me to the line, and fate led the way!

The Ralston “Cindy”

The Ralston “Raquel”

I’m crushing on two bags in particular: the Cindy (LOVE the studded details on the upturned sides of the bag. Ladylike and quietly subversive at once!) and the Raquel, which would be the perfect work-to-cocktails option. One’s fun and one’s serious. Can’t a girl have both? Which do yall like?

I’ll quickly add that she’s planned two trunk shows with Bloomingdale’s – November 14 in Chevy Chase and December 5 in Tyson’s Corner. But hands off my bag(s).

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Fashion-y Things Tonight & This Weekend

Posted on September 17, 2009
Filed Under Events, Only in Washington | Leave a Comment

Tonight, indie NY designer Caycee Black shows off her Fall 09 collection at Hu’s Wear in Georgetown. Props to trendcasting owner Marlene Hu Aldaba for snapping up talent before they get big – Black’s site is still coming soon.

Tomorrow, there’s a launch party for a new local podcast venture, Fashion BS.

And out yonder-way in Tyson’s this weekend, a slew of fashionable happenings including tonight’s panel on luxury, marketing, and the Web, and on Saturday, all-day fashion presentations and an appearance by friendly fashion arbiter Tim Gunn. Go to www.allaccessfashion.com.

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