buildings

More Polaroids from NYC.

central park

A collection of polaroids I took one particularly sunny day in Central Park.

Like true tourists, Rohan and I had $5 burgers at the Boathouse Express Cafe.
Hopefully next time we can dine in the actual restaurant à la Carrie and Big!

new york winter: accessories

Our latest post for Vogue Spy Style is now up, featuring some favourite new accessories I have picked up on my travels. This Byredo 'Nécessaire de Voyage' travel case fits perfectly in my handbag so I can always have my signature scent, Bal D'Afrique, handy. It was love at first sight when I spotted it at Barneys!

new year

So far 2013 has been pretty good! A trip to MoMA, cookies and hot chocolate from Milk Bar, brunch at Five Leaves and wearing my new Celine bag all over town. You can follow our New York adventures on instagram @talisa_sutton and @rohanmylespeterson - more updates to come soon!

the last paintings

Early last week I took a long walk up Madison Ave to visit the Gagosian Gallery and see 'Cy Twombly: The Last Paintings & Photographs' a collection of Cy Twombly's work between 1954-2011. They had been on show while Rohan and I were in Europe early this year but sadly we just missed out, very happy to have finally seen them! If you're in New York make sure you check it out, I love the abstract florals and have added the accompanying catalogue to my Christmas list.

1 & 3. Gillian Sagansky for Oyster, 2. Gagosian Gallery

on personality and place

I ask Didion if she knows herself better now. “Yes,” she says. “I don’t know that there’s any value in
knowing yourself better, but I think I do. I don’t feel worse or better. It’s just there.”

 -Joan Didion, The New York Times

I have been in New York on my own for two weeks now. It's been amazing spending time in an unfamiliar city, learning how to get around, where to find the best coffee and having time to think, to read and to learn. I love so many things about New York, the food, the weather, the shopping, the culture.

I just started the next book on my reading list, Blue Nights, another Didion, and I'm looking forward to getting Grace Coddington's new book, Grace: A Memoir as well as Allure by Diana Vreeland. I love reading in Central Park - it has been far too long since I dedicated a whole day to a book and I had forgotten just how great a feeling it is to become lost in its pages.

Joan said there was something special about being twenty-two in New York, and I think she was right. I know myself better now than ever and it has been exciting getting to know this great city too. Speaking of self, I also have two new interviews up on This is Collective and The Love Assembly, thankyou for having me Jess and Aubrey!

Photo by me

the art of giving - new york

Collage and typography by me, words by Hannh-Rose Yee

This year Hannah-Rose Yee from Capture the Castle and I have collaborated again to bring you a two-part Christmas gift guide. I'm in New York for the next two months, and Hannah is soon heading to Paris, so it seemed perfect to theme our guides around two of our favourite cities, Paris and New York. Hope you enjoy! This is part two. Give the gift of New York this Christmas.

one. 3.1 Phillip Lim 'All Eyes on You' sweater, $550 from Saks Fifth Ave

Cool, calm and collected, this sweater is just like New York itself. The kind of thing that tall girls who paint their lips red, baby, red, would throw on as they hopped out of bed (over pilling The Row tee shirts and super-skinny Current Elliot jeans), an outfit that they wouldn't give a second thought to but would be guaranteed to have all eyes on them. Gift this to those girls in your life who might not live in the spotlight, but definitely ought to.

two. Linda Farrow x The Row leather aviators, $350 from Shopbop

Nothing screams bright lights, big city, like a pair of aviator sunglasses, and it doesn't get much bigger than this.  Resplendent in 1970s bronze hue and leather accents, these Linda Farrow x The Row opticals are the kind of thing you always want but can never ask for; bold and brassy sunnies for girls with perfect teeth and Balmain jackets. But we think they look best when paired with sweatshirts and cropped cigarette pants, a slightly off-kilter, atypically New York addition to an outfit. Wherever the receiver finds themselves - stretched out on a beach in Parsley Bay or huddled around a heater in Cobble Hill - these sunglasses are sure to become their daily routine.

three. Alexander Wang 'Trigone' compact wallet, $295 from Barneys New York

Isn't it grand when worlds collide? Pony hair and leather, slim silhouettes and in-your-face-leopard print, New York and Paris. Alexander Wang, the quintessentially New York designer, he of the white tee shirt and the black jean, has been picked to helm Balenciaga in Paris, and thus our two favourite cities are joined in the middle. Just like this wallet. It has a touch of chic to it; that efficient, pared back design (just five card slots and a single space for bills, money is so passe), that matte-black hardware, that perfectly composed shape. But then it's all New York, all the time, chilli and avocado at Cafe Gitane with that leopard print pony hair leather. The perfect match.

four. Le Labo 'Tubereuse 40' fragrance, POA from Le Labo

Everyone has their own idea of what New York smells like. Joan Didion thought it was garbage and peaches, Tom Hanks - or at least Tom Hanks in Nora Ephron's You've Got Mail - preferred sharpened pencils and school supplies. Us, on the otherhand, being rather partial to peonies and white florals and tubereuse, tubereuse, tubereuse, elect for this. Created specifically to capture the scent of New York - and available exclusively in New York alone - this is one for the die-hard New Yawk lovers, the ones who never get lost in the subway and don't even get phased when they stand at the top of the Rock and look down over Manhattan. One spritz is all it takes.

five. Satomi Kawakita ring, from $100 from Satomi Kawakita

This is for the girl who has everything. She's got a wardrobe full of Acne and Opening Ceremony, eats out for every meal and knows exactly what she wants. They're hard to buy for, those girls. But no-one, not even a hard-at-heart New Yorker, can resist something shiny on Christmas day. Your best bet is to go for Satomi Kawakita; Japanese-born, New York-based jewellery famed for her organic designs and delicate settings. Choose something simple but with a kick - like this beautiful circlet of gold, twisted in the shape of a twig - that she'll slip onto her finger and never take off.

six. Proenza Schouler 'PS11' classic satchel, $1950 from Proenza Schouler

If we were to receive this we'd feel very lucky indeed. The ultimate New York bag - famously tested by the Olsen twins and Kate Bosworth - equal parts swagger and equal parts nonchalance. The original satchel is great, but this is the next level, modern and graphic (that art deco clasp!) in that beautiful pebbled leather with a strap long enough to cross your body.

seven. Araks 'Kate' pyjama top, $139 from Araks

New York is decadence. It's degustation meals and horse and carriage rides around Central Park and pyjamas in the day time. Start someone's collection by gifting them this spotty silk shirt by cult-favourite New York label Araks. Try walking it in on Christmas morning wrapped up with a big grosgrain ribbon on a breakfast tray - alongside some toasted muesli and fresh orange juice. It's all about the decadence.

of note

Walking around the West Village on a beautiful, sunny day and seeing the Picasso Black and White exhibition at the Guggenheim.

1. Photo by me, 2. Picasso via Guggenheim

finding inspiration

Two of the works by Yayoi Kusama I saw at MoMA today.

Accumulation, 1952 and Untitled (1952) 

New York is great for finding inspiration.

on packing

My tips on packing for winter in New York are now up on Vogue Spy Style.
Don't know what I would do without angora.

on leaving

“I remember walking across Sixty-second Street one twilight that first spring, or the second spring, they were all alike for a while. I was late to meet someone but I stopped at Lexington Avenue and bought a peach and stood on the corner eating it and knew that I had come out out of the West and reached the mirage. I could taste the peach and feel the soft air blowing from a subway grating on my legs and I could smell lilac and garbage and expensive perfume and I knew that it would cost something sooner or later—because I did not belong there, did not come from there—but when you are twenty-two or twenty-three, you figure that later you will have a high emotional balance, and be able to pay whatever it costs. I still believed in possibilities then, still had the sense, so peculiar to New York, that something extraordinary would happen any minute, any day, any month.”

― Joan Didion, Slouching Towards Bethlehem 

Image from New York Magazine

in bruges

I just found an old roll of film from our Europe trip, photos from our few days spent in Bruges.

Rohan and I had decided after seeing the film In Bruges a few years back that we would one day have to see it for ourselves, and it was every bit the fairytale city I'd imagined. It was freezing cold, snowing, the canals were iced over apart from areas that had been cleared for the swans, all white and graceful. There were horse-drawn carriages, Belgian waffles smothered in chocolate, old-fashion windmills and beautiful old houses and churches. Hopefully we will get to go again someday!

manhattan

At the end of November I'm off to New York for three months. Rohan will also be joining me for a few weeks and we can't wait to explore the city together! Would love to hear any tips you have for sight seeing, restaurants & cafes, shopping etc. Thankyou!

Film stills from Woody Allen's Manhattan

summer with witchery

It's been feeling a lot like Summer in Sydney this week. Perfect timing to announce my partnership with Witchery for their Spring Summer 12 blogger style edit. Alongside fellow bloggers and friends, Jessie, Nicole and Zanita, I styled up my favourite outfit from the SS12 offerings tailored around a particular destination. My holiday spot is Hayman (Great Barrier Reef!) and the best part is that by voting for your favourite outfit you have a chance to win a trip to that destination. Head overt to Witchery to see all the outfits and place your vote. Good luck! 

travel light

My Illustrated list of travel wants is now up on Spy Style. I swear I need them all.

Illustration of the Monocle x Porter Boston Bag by me

how to hit the ground running

This is a bit of a belated post - It's a fantastic little flight kit from Mr Porter & Aesop that Talisa got me for my birthday this year. It came in a cool black case, with an little guide filled with Angelo Trofa's illustrations. I love it. Thanks T!

winter blues

Film photos taken in Barcelona - beautiful clear blue skies in the middle of winter.

au revoir

And we're off!

The blog is going to be a little quiet for the next month as Rohan and I head over to Europe. Thankyou to all our wonderful readers, your kindness and support has been really overwhelming and we're so grateful. I look forward to coming back and sharing our holiday with you!

These are a few images I'm loving at the moment. Carine Roitfeld's Irreverent is filled with French style inspiration, thankyou so much Brenda for this lovely christmas gift! Wes Anderson and Sofia Coppola, two of my favourite directors. Have a look the latest Wes Anderson film trailer, Moonrise Kingdom and for those of you whole live in Melbourne 'Sofia Coppola On Film' at ACMI will be amazing.

I'm looking forward to bundling up and wearing coats/sweaters/layers. I also can't wait to check out the Celine store and I'm hoping to find the prefect little black dress and black pumps on my travels. Burgundy lipstick and taupe nailpolish are winter favourites and my obsession with COS continues. 

Lastly my Petite Grand x Mychameleon anklet is the perfect addition to a simple outfit. Today I'm wearing it with a white Topshop shirt, my favourite Acne jeans and Zara heels.

1. Irreverent by Carine Roitfeld photographed by me, 2. Sofia Coppola and Wes Anderson from here, 3. Sofia Coppola scans from TFS, 4. Phoebe Philo by David Sims from TFS, 5. Favourites from COS, 6. Collage images from COS A/W magazine and Flickr, Chanel Particuliere nail varnish, YSL Rouge Volupte in Forbidden Burgundy, 7. Wearing my favourite Acne jeans, Zara heels and Petite Grand x Mychameleon anklet photographed by Rohan. 

le mepris

Godard's Le Mepris (Contempt) is always a favourite holiday watch. 

I love Brigitte Bardot's stripey tops and headscarves and the stunning Casa Malaparte on Capri island, Italy. The house was created in 1937 by architect Adalberto Libera. I can't wait to visit it someday...

Film stills of Le Mepris (Contempt) by Jean-Luc Godard, 1963 from google images.

take me there

"There's something cinematic about traveling, a sense of old-world nostalgia that still exists alongside the arrival of modern transportation. Flying into a city at sunset for example or stepping off a jet onto the tarmac, wind in hair. We never fail to find ourselves breathless overseas whether from the thin air atop a mountain or simply from seeing the city's lights by night."

Words that make me wish I was elsewhere, from the Incu mini-mag issue 2. 

Image from the Benah blog.