Fall in love

I am so excited to have Hopeless as our second "favorite online shops" feature. I LOVE luxurious lingerie, I love collecting it, I love looking at it, I love opening my "lingerie" drawer and seeing all the gorgeous fabrics and beautiful colors and textures. Hopeless is one of my favorite lingerie lines - Each garment is designed and produced by Gabrielle Adamidis in Melbourne, Australia. She has been sewing her own clothes since a young age, and has been formally trained in dress-making and pattern-making. Her garments are impeccable, I adore everything about them - the romanticism, the color contrast, the vintage look - I feel like she designed them specially for me!

We asked her a few questions about her style and her inspirations:


Dahlia Bra and Willow Camisole

Tell us a little bit more about your store:

"Hopeless Handmade Lingerie specializes in high end lingerie and sleepwear, handcrafted from silk, organic cotton and the softest bamboo jersey, with exquisite detailing and vintage flair. Our mission is to provide garments that empower the wearer and celebrate the female form.

Hopeless provides for those who appreciate beauty and invest in quality. Our lingerie is made from sumptuous fabrics and meticulously hand-finished, using techniques to ensure the longevity of each piece. Most garments are made to order, allowing clients to choose different colour-ways and ensuring a perfect fit."

How would you describe your personal style?

"These days I am very lazy! I work from home so spend a lot of time in comfy clothes. I am hoping to introduce a few more practical Hopeless lounge-wear pieces, so I can feel a little more glamorous on those lazy days!

But when I do have to get dressed up I love vintage dresses and accessories, anything with bows and ruffles, and beautiful fabrics. Especially pieces from the 40s and 50s - where women had a really curvy shape - I think I would have fit in much better then! If I had more time for myself I would indulge in a lot more vintage fashion and designer pieces, I love having things that no one else does, and things that have been made with love. I think about the past with a romantic nostalgia, but I must admit I spend much more time on the internet admiring pieces than I do in real life, as I have so many commitments to my business and sewing takes up most of my leisure time. The internet provides a convenient escape."

How does it influence your store?

"I make things that I love, and every piece is inspired by things that interest me. From nature to history to art, I constantly absorb inspiration from around me, and put everything back into what I create. While I might not dress up everyday, I love dreaming about it, and I hope that my pieces inspire people to dream that way too. It isn't very practical to wear my lingerie everyday, but thats ok, they are for special times, they are things to treasure."

And what is your most cherished lingerie item (that you've made, or otherwise)?

"It is hard to pick just one! Probably a pair of vintage seamed stockings, they are in perfect condition and I have no idea when they were made, but they are really beautiful. Also I made a tartan bustier when I was at school that fits me perfectly. It took me months to make so I definitely cherish that!"



We picked a few of our favorite items from her Posie Pepper Collection:
Left to right - Pansy Knickers; Dahlia Bra and Lily Garter Belt; Daisy Bra and Rose Apron.

Picking my favorite was easy, it won't be easy buying just one! I am really looking forward to the Hopeless lounge wear line!

Sea of Shoes

The adorable and insanely stylish Jane Aldridge from Sea of Shoes is collaborating with Urban Outfitters on a capsule shoe collection to be released July 15th. I'm excited to see them. I love the lace-up skimmers below which will retail for $58. She also designed a pair of knee-high equestrian peep-toe boots ($178) and studded black gladiator heels ($98).

Head over Heels

I received the Felix Rey Holiday Look Book in the mail recently, and rushed to my apartment to open it. The front cover has a picture of gold sequins and a big red bow - I was sold. The rest of the look book is filled with gorgeous treasures- oversized sparkly bows, lipstick reds, tiny clutches, big hearts and love letter bags. There's not a single item I don't love. It's going to be really really hard to buy just one from this collection. Hopefully I'll be vising the Felix Rey studio sometime again this year, I can't wait to see them in person!

One of Each

I went to Westend Bistro (Eric Ripert) at the Ritz in Dupont on a recent and uncharacteristically dry day to take advantage of the outdoor seating (and food). The temperature was high and humid and the menu full of attractive items - I wanted to try everything - so we ordered a few appetizers, small bites from the bar menu, drinks, and sides.

I tried two drinks- the Low Country Lemonade and Memorial Bridge Sunset but I wasn't incredibly impressed with them, I guess after having tried the magical concoctions by the mixologist at the Four Seasons every other normal cocktail tastes boring. The food, however, was delicious - you can order mini burgers, cornbread sliders and mini fish cakes individually which is great when you want to try more than one. My favorites were the Blue Bay Mussels with chorizo and white wine, the softshell crab with mango and watermelon salsa. The outdoor seating there is great, it's fenced in by tall trees and feels intimate and special. If only they served brunch... I would be there every weekend ;)

GAP Design Editions

I stopped by the GAP this weekend to see their Design Editions - A limited collection that this time around is inspired by the classic Gap khaki designed by Alexander Wang, Vena Cava, and Albertus Swanepoel. The Vena Cava dresses where cute, I specially liked the zip dress with a tribal design on the bottom. Swanepoel designed hats - I was looking forward to his fedora with a feather trim. But I didn't really love it, the feathers didn't translate that well to the final product.




My favorite item from the collection by far was Alexander Wang's khahi motorcycle jacket, which seems to be sold out online with only a few remaining at the store (luckily they had my size). The jacket was incredibly true to Wang's design aesthetic -edgy, modern, one-of-a-kind. It's also constructed extremely well, and is weighted enough to be used in cooler months.



He also designed a double breasted jacket, the proportions look more interesting in person than online, I also liked the zipper pockets. I tried on his pleated shorts and wasn't a big fan of the proportions. His high-waist kakhis looked promising on the rack, but I wish they had been slouchier, or skinnier. I didn't love the middle-of-the-road proportion to the legs. But they're almost sold out online, so I guess everyone else loved them!

It's loud and the birds don't like it

I love storms. They are one of my favorite things about early Summer. From up here on my terrace I can see them forming on the horizon, the gunmetal grey clouds, the gusty winds, the scintillating electric discharges, the explosive sounds that follow. On this particularly rainy day I sat up here watching the building storm wearing my favorite new shoes - a pair of woven oxfords that I found, after searching far and wide, in my aunt's closet. And she let me keep them :)












Floral blouse: Zara
West Coast shorts: AA
Shoes: Vintage

I can smell the ocean from here

I'm definitely ready for Summer now...















Camilla Akrans for Italian Elle
Source LUNDLUND

The sky, the ocean, the salt.

I have this gorgeous and stunningly bright turquoise planter on my terrace (picture on left) that sits next to a pair or bright white Richard Schultz 1966 lounge chairs. The contrasting white and turquoise between them is my favorite color combination. Every year when Summer comes around I unconsciously start buying anything resembling that addictive greenish cyan.

The color revives so many childhood memories, I'm not sure why, I grew up in a landlocked country and didn't see the ocean until I was 13 years old. Maybe it was the impossibly bright skies that I grew up staring at - they seemed so much bluer than our skies here, and as I child I never remember them being grey or sad - only penetratingly blue with slow lingering silky white clouds.


So many memories... the colors in the items below take me back there.






Clockwise from the top:
Fortuny Pillow- Sabina Danenberg Antiques, via 1stdibs
Empire Chandelier- Marjorie Skouras Design
Leather Chair- Horchow
Large Handled Urn- Arte Italica, also deeply discounted right now at One Kings Lane
Campaign Style Armchair- Sabina Danenberg Antiques, via 1stdibs
Book Boxes- Wisteria

Bourgeois

Remember Alison Lewis from Mooka Kinney? I certainly do. After the label's break up she started a new line Lewis with lovely summer prints and sophisticated short pairings. This is her second collection - and so far my favorite. Can you tell this collection was inspired by pinup girls from the 20s to the 30s?



Source: Lewis NYC

A pink ribbon and 50,000 hearts

Thanks to everyone who supported the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure yesterday, it was so inspiring to run along side survivors, cancer patients, families that lost a loved one, and my wonderful team who raised over $2000 in one short month!

It was such a perfect day to run, and the course down Pennsylvania Ave through all the monuments and beautiful buildings and green trees couldn't have been any prettier. I am already looking forward to next year!



Special thanks to my trainer, Jim Bathurst, for helping me reach my goal and running with me.