I Swear It's You That My Heart Beats For

In every relationship, there is always the possibility wherein the fire fizzles out. Someone either falls out of it or gets too comfortable and eventually gets bored. Recently, I’ve been feeling all of the above with New York. It seems as if, my love affair with the city is dying. I’ve been feeling burnt out, restless, and a part of me was starting to wonder if it was still worth it. Ever since my short stint in London last year, I’ve been asking myself if I should have gone somewhere else or if I should move again. Don’t get me wrong. I love New York and the feeling that I get whenever I get back to the city from somewhere is pure joy and maybe that’s where the problem lies. Every summer I usually go out of the country and this is the first summer I’m spending in New York. I most definitely could have gone out of the country again but this time I decided to stay. I was telling a friend about this and she mentioned something about exploring the city and falling in love with it again. When she said that, it got me to rethink what I was feeling.

Other people are so eager to come to the city and here I am so eager to leave. What was wrong with me? I’m so lucky to even be here and I need to bring back the feeling that I had when I first moved here. I definitely needed to do something to get back that spirit and keep the flame alive. What better way to do that than by exploring and the getting to know the city I fell in love with once again. I wanted and needed to go somewhere in the city that I’ve never been, try to eat something I’ve never eaten before....basically just experience something with the city that’s well...different. I’ve never been to Smorgasbord in Williamsburg and I’ve been wanting to go for the longest time. Fortunately my other friends wanted to go there too so finally we decided to not be too lazy to go to another borough actually take the trip down there and check it out and it ended up exactly what I needed.

I haven’t been in Williamsburg for a while and the last time I was there was just to eat in a restaurant and immediately after I left. I’ve never really seen what it had to offer so I decided to go there early and explore on my own. I saw so many new developments such as new apartment buildings and restaurants scattered all over the area. There were so many quaint little cafes, restaurants, boutiques, and thrift stores that it reminded me of the Portobello market in Notting Hill except this one is a bit grimier which I guess just adds more to the neighborhood’s personality. I really enjoyed the juxtaposition of the new developments amongst the graffiti-ed walls of the older buildings that I couldn’t help but be trigger happy.

After a while, my friends came and I met up with them at the park where Smorgasbord was and I was glad I didn’t eat before going there because I wanted to try everything it had to offer but there were just too many to choice from. However from what we have at least tried, everything was absolutely delicious with the exception of the teriyaki balls but only because it wasn’t hot. (Ok, so maybe not everything...) From the gourmet lumpia and maple lemonade I got to my friends’ chicken and waffles, lobster roll, and hotdog with mango chutney, everything was simply amazing. Not to mention, the ice cream sandwich we got afterwards was a feast for my senses. I wish I could have finished it but I was too full already and finishing it would make me fall asleep from food coma.

Besides the food and the quaint little cafes, restaurants, boutiques, and thrift stores, Williamsburg also has a sick view of Manhattan to offer. Looking at the New York skyline reminded me of why I was here in the first place. There is really nothing that beats it. I haven't been all over the world but I has been to a few places and among the places I have been to, this is still the most beautiful. From the park, I could see the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, Freedom Tower, and of course the Statue of Liberty. I could have sat there the whole day just looking at it. Of course, I couldn't do that because we still had places to go but I will definitely come back, stare at the view again, and try more of the delicacies and things Williamsburg has to offer.

Even though there was a bit of a hiccup with the trip back into the city, I still enjoyed the day and it wasn’t even over yet. Next up was the One Republic concert but that would be in a different post....

P.S. As for my outfit, I was feeling a bit of a hipster since I was going into the heart of hispter-dom. Wearing vintage Levis shorts and a Pink Floyd shirt that I cut up to make into a crop top with an old H&M belt and a fedora that I bought when I first moved into the city. 

Club To Catwalk

A brief description on British style: experimental, eclectic, edgy. The royals stake their claim on posh and pretty but hand it to the youngsters of the city and they absolutely use fashion to serve their jolting creativity. Victoria and Albert Museum's new fashion exhibition, Club To Catwalk, explains where English Eccentricity finds its roots.

The 1980's. A decade that defined the fashion trend currently being resuscitated in the fashion shows. A decade that "launched the careers of many". The first floor of the low-level lighted exhibition - totally capturing that club atmosphere, are you? - showcases the designers who sprung to the pages of magazines due to their innovativeness, albeit considerably subversive and shocking to many as well.

Michiko Koshino was one. This Japanese fashion designer was known for her layered, oversized styles and stretch fabrics which had dynamic movement. She took her inspiration from the streets and the bikers. Referring to the outfit below, the sportswear influence is apparent, allowing for the fusion of ease and style.

Katharine Hamnett was another. She was a case of using fashion to serve her. Opposing the stationing of nuclear missiles in the UK in 1984, the designer wore an opinionated t-shirt when she met  the late Margaret Thatcher. See photo below for reference. How cheeky. How brave. How fashionable. Thatcher looks pleased. Paul Smith, whose designs are also featured in the exhibition, said, "In order to sell a plain white shirt, it had to have a point of view." Apparently, the British designers had a consensus on using plain white shirts as their platform.

Of course, John Galliano and Vivienne Westwood were part of the repertoire. What's a list of British fashion without those two? Galliano was inspired by the club scene, which is not difficult to believe considering his designs were theatrical, flamboyant, and outrageous. Westwood, following a similar train of thought, made punk fashionable, subversion creative. This decade also saw the rising fame of leather jackets and velvet clothing, of pairing blazers with jeans and of allowing the fabric to follow your body lines. It was just all about difference.

My favorite part of the exhibit was the showcase of the Blitz Denim jackets. Blitz, a popular magazine during that decade, commissioned 22 designers to customise Levi's denim jackets. This project allowed the aesthetics of the designers to shine through. Interestingly, in spite of slight aesthetic differences, punk fashion was the common thread between all the customised denim jackets.

Vivienne Westwood's Levi's jacket 

John Galliano's inspiration for his jacket 

I thought the first floor was intense... till I went up the second. I felt like I was transported to an 80's party scene. It was an explosion of fashion during that period... wild pants, huge shoulder pads, day-glo colors, metallic tones, goth, lace, leather, black, body-conscious silhouettes, glitter, studs. Absolutely Leigh Bowery's closet. Definitely not mine. If during the Belle Eopque period, the theater was the place to be fashionable, during the 1980's, it was the club (thus the title of the exhibit). It was what you dressed up for, it was where you had to be seen. Although it borders on eccentric and strange sometimes, you can't deny the creativity and imagination that was unleashed. It was personalisation at its finest. And considering the modern times where lack of that is evident, reviving punk is quite liberating. That's why we're seeing it in considerable volume in the upcoming season.

Chanel executing punk in its own tweed way

But the authenticity of this trend was only found in the 80's. It can never be done the same way again. Can you imagine getting dressed up the same way they did and then commuting via tube to SoHo or Shoreditch? At this day and age, it would be more absurd than fashionable. Fortunately, Club To Catwalk allows those who missed out on the theatrics of that day to see it in all its shining (literally) glory. Check it out. Your mind will be blown.

Photography isn't allowed so I grabbed some photos from London Evening Standard (Koshino, Westwood, Galliano), Dazed Digital (Hamnett), and Style.com (Chanel).  Thanks, guys.