James Anthony does not put birds on things.

Although I suppose he might, if you ask him nicely…

I met Anthony Friday night for a screen-printing workshop in John Sarah John’s multifunctional West Main St. shop of wonders. The Miami transplant has been in the screen-printing business for like, years (journalism!) and is so successful that he doesn’t even need a day job. Anthony spends his time scouting for new and interesting images (he majored in art history or something – journalism x2) and then, of course, prints them on fabric using his wizard powers. {An alternative explanation for how screen-printing happens may be inferred from the above pictures…an interesting factoid I recall is that the print is not, in fact, silk-screened onto the garment, but is printed using a mesh screen. The more you know.}

Sarah mentioned this workshop to me back in June, so I had plenty of time to plan my own screen-printing adventure. I originally figured I’d just have a t-shirt done, but while on vacation in New York I picked up some army surplus at Beacon’s Closet as well as the book Stylist: The Interpreters of Fashion. What do the two have to do with each other? Well, it was in my newly acquired book that I found inspiration in this Craig McDean portrait of Kate Moss, wearing an Edward Enninful-customized military parka:

And my finished product:

My interpretation involves no display of devotion to the British royal family, but it is rather evocative of McQueen with its morbid/romantic graphic – that X-ray is actually of some guy’s wife’s hand (that’s her wedding ring you see on the finger!) Underneath I’m wearing my Jimmy O and the Ready Ted’s band t-shirt from Low and my Lion pendant, courtesy of Judy at the Greenwood Country Store. The head is actually a belt buckle that I put on a chain – c’est fantastique, no?

P.S. Stop by James Anthony Apparel if you like what you see!

Opening Ceremony introduced a kids line and now my imaginary ovaries are out of control.

Opening Ceremony just introduced Opening Ceremony by A for Apple, a children’s collection from the progressive fashion retailer and temple at which I worship. And basically it’s so cute I could die – I mean, adorable clothes on adorabler ethnic babies? Leopard print for boys – who are 6? It just doesn’t get better.

Nick Olsen decorated his friend’s tiny apartment for House Beautiful & I’m jealous.

New York-based interior designer and fellow blogger Nick Olsen decorated an absolutely fabulous apartment featured in this month’s issue of House Beautiful. The space is roughly the exact same size as my apartment! Except it looks 10,000 million times better and is awesome. *Le sigh* The entire issue of HB is rather wonderful this month, with a focus on small spaces (the California bungalow featured is another favorite). Take a video tour of the Olsen-designed Brooklyn studio here!

Images by Bjorn Wallander for House Beautiful via Splendid Sass and If The Lamp Shade Fits.

This ain’t your childhood handheld.

The summer heat has made a new addition to my bagdrobe (it’s a bag wardrobe!) truly necessary since I’m stripped down to the bare essentials some days – a tank top and my “Daisy Dukes” (Ksubi denim cutoffs) has become a recurring “look” of mine, unfortunately. For the days I decide to make an effort, I fortunately came across this gorgeous little number at Rock Paper Scissors. It’s a recycled leather pouch from Italian line San Lorenzo Design and I love it. It’s the perfect size for wallet, keys, iPhone and chapstick/rogue diamonds – everything that, during the summer when I lose access to all those lovely coat pockets, creates unsightly bulges in my shorts. I can carry it super comfortably under an arm or to my side. The sleek design is super unisex and comes in the brands full range of colors. The best best part, though? It was only $18!

P.S. Please to forgive the crap Photoshopping in picture 3 – quel horror!

Toasting totes at Pippin Hill.

If I’m ever feeling a need for attention, I’ll pick up my Steve Mono tote. It’s by far my most complimented accessory. Whether I’m at the bank or casually strolling down the street, this baby is an attention magnet – although it hasn’t gotten me a date yet, so a small dog is still probably your best bet for wooing passersby. It’s the perfect size, handmade in Spain and is so subtly preppy you can pair it with almost any outfit that isn’t this. Unfortunately, I got it at a Japanese department store in Hong Kong and the only place I’ve seen it in the U.S. is in NYC. But fret not! I stumbled upon a solid unisex alternative for those of you in the market for a summer tote.

Will Leather Goods is an American-made line of accessories that’s available at Eloise. I caught a glimpse of one of the brand’s bags in the store window and popped in to touch it (both colors), inundate the staff with questions and then leave without buying anything. They love me! Eloise only carries the first model pictured here, which I think is the perfect size for stocking up on produce at the Farmer’s Market. The second bag pictured is quite nice as well, and similar to my Mono bag, if that’s what you’re looking for. Eloise will special order a particular model for eager customers (as long as the company ships in small quantities – if they don’t, rally your friends!) They also carry the brand’s silver cufflets in case you’re just like, so over bags.

This post was photographed at the newly opened Pippin Hill vineyard and event venue (pictures forthcoming on the Tumblr.) If you haven’t heard of it, I highly recommend stopping by. It’s got an interior to die for and a lot of furniture you’ll want to steal (but won’t!) The pictures are courtesy of my friend Fareine, whose Tumblr you can find here. I love them and am going to try to coerce her into shooting for me in all of her free time. Who needs productive hobbies like volunteering?

Cream & sugar & good design.

The Crozet Mudhouse is the café of my dreams…be sure to vote for them in the C-ville Best Of contest and follow them on Twitter here.

It’s officially summer and all I wanna wear is black.

As the seasons have progressed, so has my look. For whatever reason, I find myself leaving the “traditional” roots that informed the foundation of my winter wardrobe behind and am turning instead to the bad guys from Buffy the Vampire Slayer for inspiration. I’m loving denim cut offs, black leather, eerie statement jewelry and oversized tops.

This shoot took place in a graveyard off Maple Street. I suppose I was thinking it might be a fun neo-gothic spin to put on a first-day-of-summer shoot, but really the place was just too beautiful to be macabre. If you can get over the simple fact that it’s a graveyard I think it’s a wonderful place to while away an afternoon…maybe have a picnic – although that’s a bit Addams Family, isn’t it?

Theoretically this outfit is pulling inspiration from London’s punk scene in the ’80′s…but really, it’s more like what I imagine that to be like, if the punks are actually 15-year-old art students who can’t make art and listen to Kylie Minogue more than The Ramones. The main point of contention here, it must be said, is the deep-V. Apparently it’s appearance in my last outfit post caused a quiet stir with at least one reader/friend, who declared it incontrovertibly ”cheesy.” Sacre bleu! What do we think? Does my new favorite thing ever (said deep-V) cross a line?

Taking pictures down by the river.

Because I’m just a simple country boy…

Lucy and I headed down to the Rivanna something something park to snap some shots for my lookbook. It’s a really nice park! I’m sure lots of people enjoy normal outdoor activities there such as jogging, taking their babies/dogs for walks and fishing or whatever. The things I enjoy doing outside include:

1) Sitting and reading
2) Walking slowly
3) Sitting and eating

Obviously I’ll also take pictures of myself out of doors, as long as I don’t have to step into the water where the algae is because that’s gross.

The shirt is a woman’s deep V-neck (haha, whoops) from Urban Outfitters. It’s made of modal (learn about it here!) and manufactured in the U.S., of all places (hooray!) The necklace is also from UO, and the jeans are from Banana Republic. They’re actually the women’s denim legging style…[double whoops]. The belt is from Ike’s – and is officially my favorite belt ever. I wear it almost every day, with everything.

Enjoy the weekend, and be sure to get out and see some of the Look3 exhibits! I stopped by a few galleries today – they’re a nice reprieve from the heat and make me fondly reminisce on my time museum-hopping last fall in Basel. I particularly liked Christopher Anderson’s portraits at the Water Street gallery, for the recommendation-inclined…

Maya Villiger’s portraits of girls make me want to dress like a boy.

If boys were cleaner and had good hair…oversized sweatshirts and baseball jackets and shrunken blazers, oh my! It’s enough to make any young man stop shopping for jeans in the ladies’ department.

Photos via Turned Out.

I love my garden, even when it smells like poo.

I took a composting class the other weekend at Blue Ridge Eco Shop – just dropped in by happenstance and sat through about an hour of enlightenment. Owner Paige was gracious enough to extend the 10% off for attending the class and so I returned a week later with my knowledge and picked up an Official Composter, which, as you can see from picture four, has a happy picture of itself eating my garbage. It likes it! That’s good, because I have a lot of it. Having taken a Class I felt prepared for the challenge of dumping my organic waste into a pile in the yard and mixing it with leaves, but it turns out composting is trickier than that. Also, even when you swear you’re doing it right and you’re willing to bet a million dollars on that fact, your pile of decomposing waste can still smell like poo (and it’s gross). I just want to divert as much of my trash away from landfills so that my future babies don’t live in a trash world! Or a Kevin Costner movie.

I have good reason to idealize urban green living. Listen to how Annie Novak, a Brooklyn rooftop farmer featured on the Urban Outfitters’ blog, describes her life:

“Most days I wake up at 7am, feed the animals (chickens and rabbits), and check on all the veggies. The light and temperature that early in the morning is beautiful. Then I break around 2pm to eat lunch with the friends I’m working with. We’ll ride bikes in the afternoon – sometimes out to the Rockaways to visit the ocean, or sometimes to Manhattan to run errands or go to a museum. In the evening, we’ll check out a cool new local foods restaurant and see if the chef wants to buy our produce, or I’ll cook a big feast for friends at my house while we listen to the radio. Between May and November, every day is a perfect day!”

WHAT?! And she lives in Brooklyn – I live in a small town in the South! Shouldn’t bunny rabbits, bike riding and eating with friends be a part of my green routine? Not flies, the scent of dumpsters in heat and more flies that just birthed themselves in my stinkpile?

So gardening and I are on hold for the moment, until I get the basic decomposition of organic matter into soil under control. But the stuff that’s sprung up on it’s own is rather pretty, no? At least I haven’t killed it all! (yet!)