a review: the best travel bags

1. Longchamp le pliage tote

2. vintage 1970s Coach saddle bag

3. Baggus

4. all purpose evening bag/clutch

5. Balenciaga classic city bag
6. zip pouches and my Sammy Ethiopia leather pouchette 

i suppose i should thank the airlines for imposing ever-stingier weight restrictions on international luggage, because being forced to edit my bags down to 4 for the year has been a worthy exercise in the economy of style. 

foundations: ma vie en denim

via jak & jil

as cliché as it sounds, it's true: the foundation to a great wardrobe is a great pair of jeans. in my experience, shopping for jeans is like dating: tricky and frustrating when you're really looking for what you want. you fall in love, you fall out of love. you outgrow your favorite pair; you're ready to move on to the next. what worked for a while suddenly doesn't fit anymore. you get emotionally attached to that pair that you saw on Emannuelle Alt on a terribly chic street style blog before you even try it on, and when you do, it's about four inches too long, and you realize it's the endless French editrix legs that you really want.

and so it goes.

inspiration board: Tina Chow

 

this season i'm inspired by Tina Chow - the simplicity and quiet strength of her style. there's grace and sensuality and femininity within, and again, a comfort and ease to how she inhabits her clothes. case in point: her signature uniform - a men's white tee underneath a slouchy cashmere cardigan. sleek hair; clean, minimal makeup. the best part of it all is that all the pieces are imminently accessible and timeless foundation pieces.

shop talk: Urban Tribe 城市山民

this is the first in a series of new posts - my own version of Cintra Wilson's 'critical shopper' in Shanghai. i had posted about Urban Tribe on my blog two years ago when i first discovered it, and when i dropped by this time, i was happy to find that they have expanded their collection of mens and womenswear, accessories, and housewares.