Adieu Blogger

I'm too lazy for this...find me at feldsteinsays.tumblr.com

LA Playlist

Blogging from 35,000 feet. How did we ever live without this? 


I'm on my way to LA for some good times with good people. And the soundtrack to that needs to be some good tunes, obviously. So here's the special LAMIX that I made for the trip...


1. Stand Back (Live version) - Fleetwood Mac
2. Regulators - Warren G and Nate Dogg
3. Relax - Frankie Goes to Hollywood
4. Ooh La La - Goldfrapp
5. 22nd Century - Kelis
6. You Know How We Do It - Ice Cube
7. Its My Life - Talk Talk
8. Nothing On You - B.O.B.
9. Set Adrift on Memory Bliss - P.M. Dawn
10. Work - Gang Starr
11. Freak Like Me - Adina Howard
12. Nuthin But a G Thang - Dr. Dre


and to top it all off:

I Need These

Skunk Dunks available 4/20/10, courtesy of Dave's Quality Meat

The Supreme Book, @ Supreme

Both drop tomorrow at 11.

Summertime blues...and greens and reds

In honor of today's summerlike weather in NYC, I give honor to those fabrics that I live in during the hot months:

MADRAS

GINGHAM

SEERSUCKER

CHAMBRAY

all at Jcrew.com

The smell of Coppertone Continuous Spray always brings me back...

This Show Sucks

photo courtesy of LAtimes.com

I moved to the LES in 2003 after college and lived there (and in the East Village) for 6 years. Though my living space may have moved on, my heart is still there. So naturally when a show from HBO comes along that purports to be about late-20-somethings trying to make it in NYC while living in the LES I'm hyped. What a mistake that turned out to be.

The characters are supposed to represent some kind of NYC "cool" but are completely uncool. Never mind the plot of starting a clothing line which is gone about in a completely unrealistic way. Ben and Cam are one-dimensional, uninteresting and vanilla. Some of the subplots and supporting characters have promise but are victims of the show's overall direction, and aren't given the chance to develop.

Not only are the characters inauthentic, the New York represented by the show seems completely superficial. Whereas NYC was the "fifth character" in Sex and The City, it feels like an empty backdrop here. For a show that's supposedly representative of the downtown spirit, there is a distinct absence of legitimiacy.

This isn't NYC. I hope HBO drops this hot turd of a show to make room for more Bored To Death. Better luck next time.

Outsiders

The Wall Street Journal profiles Scott Sternberg, founder/designer of the amazing label Band of Outsiders, here.

It'll be interesting to see if the brand really blows up or not but I will say the product is really superior and unique. The style is a mix of refined preppiness, Americana, and luxury that elevates basics and makes classics stand out. A few of my favorite spring pieces:

The Tuxedo Shirt

exclusive to Barney's and barneys.com

The Band of Outsiders x Sperry Top-Sider (Band of Top-Siders?) in Green

at openingceremony.us

The Not a Polo Shirt

at oaknyc.com

The inside-out sweatshirt. This piece is INSANE, its kind of inside out with the looped terrycloth on the outside and the smooth part of the knit on the inside. Unfortunately it fit me kind of weird and I had to let it pass but I would have snapped it up in a second. Japanese-made sweats are huge this spring and whether its BOO, Alexander Yamaguchi or v:room they are all creating a unique niche well apart from American Apparel sweats.

at barneys.com and Aloha Rag (in store)

Take the time to also check out the very interactive (if understocked) webstore here and also the cookie blog. Anyone who has a blog about cookies is cool in my book.

Smells Like a Million Bucks

Since middle school I've been obsessed with cologne and scents. The olfactory sense is extremely closely tied to memory and taste, and over the past few years I've come to learn a lot more about the world of high-end fragrance. A few weeks ago, I went into a boutique perfume shop in the West Village and left with a bagful of samples.


The quick version: your department store fragrances (CKs, Armani's, Joop!s, etc) have some of the lowest concentrations of perfume for sale. As you go up the scale in terms of concentration and quality, you also go up in price (surprise!). I've been sorting through the samples that Aedes de Ventusas was kind enough to supply me with and have been shocked at some of the prices associated with the fragrances. Below, some of my faves, and how much they cost...keep in mind I have a very particular nose and a lot of what I like doesn't fly for other people. 


By Kilian...Cruel Intentions

Image courtesy of bykilian.com

Great name, really intense scent. Bergamot, orange blossom, vetiver, sandalwood, vanilla, musk. The lowdown on Kilian is that he's Kilian Hennessy, the H in LVMH, and as a result a 50 mL bottle of Cruel Intentions - whose byline is "tempt me" - costs $255. 


L'Artisan Parfumeur...Havana Vanille

Image courtesy of artisanparfumeur.us

I can't say enough about gourmands. Scents that kind of smell like food attract me. Think what you will. This one: vanilla, rum, tonka, leather, musk. I don't really love the L'Artisan bottles and it fascinates me how influential bottle design can be on cologne and perfume sales. But that thought is another blog for another time. This one is $115 for 50 mL, less than half of Kilian. 

Ecsentric Molecule...Ecsentric #2

Image courtesy of aedes.com

So this Ecsentric Molecule shit is supposedly a pheromone, smells like nothing, and is going to get me laid. Ambroxan, vetiver and musk. "Gin and tonic, a hint of an Austrian lemonade called almdudler, the whiff that you get when you first open a brand-new Apple laptop It's a clear, clean scent, but it dries down to something warm, sexy and elusive" - according to the description. $155 for 100 mL. Saving the sample for an appropriate occasion. 

And what I'm currently wearing as my fave:

Cannabis Santal from Fresh. $75 for 100 mL. A relative bargain. The fragrance pyramid: 

- Top: Bergamot, Brazilian Orange, Black Plum

- Heart: Patchouli, Cannabis Accord, Rose

- Base: Chocolate, Vetiver, Vanilla Musks

image and fragrance pyramid courtesy of fresh.com

My half-birthday is rapidly approaching if anyone is in the giving mood.