I got this poncho at Ike’s Underground and I’m pretty sure I’ll get more action now.

I mean, right? It’s a half-eaten “old hippie thing” Ike had laying around that I paired with my grandmother’s Aztec face necklace. Who’s not turned on by that combo?

Also, nail art is my new favorite thing ever. My right thumb is officially my “accent nail” and for the time being it is clad in zebra stripe. Up next? I want leopard print…and/or my initial. With leopard print. In leopard print. The possibilities are endless.

Sorry things have been so slow lately, I’ve been working two jobs for awhile now and time for blogging is limited! Lucy came over the other night and took these shots of my new poncho for me…what do we think? I’ve been vacillating between trying to put together more staged shots and just getting a picture taken because I can. I’ve honestly been a bit overwhelmed by the blogging the past month or so because I’ve been pushing myself to create so much content – it’s a bit exhausting! I think as I move forward I’m going to maybe post a little less (in case you hadn’t noticed) and try to really formulate posts that matter more to me. Maybe they’ll be a bit humorous (this one) or maybe a little more artfully done (Friday’s post). I think moving in a more lo-fi direction will help me keep things rolling, and being a bit more tongue-in-cheek couldn’t hurt, either.

Also also, if you didn’t know already, you can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @theSSsantiago 🙂 That way you’ll get daily updates!

Here’s a special sneak preview of John Sarah John’s new space.

When I got back to the States a few months ago I was lucky enough to see the John Sarah John pop-up shop on the downtown mall just before it shuttered for good. Now, the store is re-opening in a new location on West Main street.

At the time I was there shooting, the owners were holding figure drawing classes in the back of the shop on Wednesdays. I liked the energy their half-finished sketches brought to the place. It felt a bit like the prop department for a David Fincher magical realist fantasy (neo-gothic and a bit foreboding but still palatable to the Academy.) Stop by their opening party this Thursday at 8pm to see how the end result differs.

JohnSarahJohn
505 W. Main St.
Charlottesville, Va. 22902
434.989.2456

Lucy Getting Dressed

“I don’t have anything designer,” Lucy warned me. In the words of Cher Horowitz, as if! Labels don’t matter when you’ve got an eye like Lucy’s – she’s the merchandiser for Urban Outfitters here in Charlottesville. We’ve quickly bonded over our twin passions for clogs and keeping our hair up (joke). I invited myself over the other week to see what she had in her closet and she obliged me by playing dress up. The above outfit is what I styled her in…a short mod-ish number cinched with a belt to make a waist (the dress naturally falls like a trapeze dress) and, of course, chunky heels.

As you can see above, Lucy keeps some of her to-be-worn outfits on hooks on her wall so she can do some off-duty merchandising for herself!

When Lucy lived in London she shopped at chain Primark, which she says is known unofficially as “Primarni,” to make it sound more designer-y. “Like Marni?” I asked. “No,” she said, “like Armani.” I guess it really covers both bases!

At this point Lucy literally took a dive into her closet…which, as you might imagine, has a lot from UO and Anthropologie.
And then we ended up with this shot.

Behind the Seams: Coogan Makes a Clutch

I mentioned in my previous post spotlighting Coogan that he’s developing a locally-sourced denim line in the near future…but that’s not all, folks! Working with local entrepreneurs John and Sarah Owens (subject of their own Kankan feature later this month), Coogan is currently hard at work on a line of cocktail clutches made from old maps. What’s that, you say? This sounds like uncharted accessories territory…[see what I did there?] and indeed it is a new and exciting project that I had to stop by and see for myself. How would it work? What would it look like? Could I have one?

John and Sarah had a pop-up shop on the downtown mall last year and are in the process of setting up their new location on West Main. The duo had some old Swedish maps lying around in their eclectic collection and left it up to Coogan to find a new life for them. Et voila! Coogan invites me over to see his map-clutch prototype. (Saying “map-clutch prototype” sounds so technical. Maybe Bond will use it in an upcoming 007 adventure, no?)

Coogan is shopping the concept around to some local boutiques and I know that if there’s enough map left over, I’ll be ordering an oversized man clutch. (What is the technical term for a “man clutch”? I think it’s “envelope bag,” or something like that…sign me up!)

Inspiration: Iris Apfel in Architectural Digest

Iris Apfel’s apartment is featured in the latest issue of Architectural Digest, and I love it in all it’s quasi-baroque glory (patterns and colors and textures, oh my!) Click the link to view the full slideshow, plus they’ve got a q+a!

Cowboy Bebop

Because a friend of mine commented on the inspiration for this post, “no one dresses like that in the Southwest,” I give you my outfit and declare it officially inspired by what I’ll label a fallible fashion fantasy. Blame Ralph Lauren! The bracelet and extraordinarily controversial fringed pouch (i.e. everyone thinks it is comically ugly, but I love it) are from Low. I tried a slightly more romantic feel for the photos in this post…I have to admit that being my own photographer is getting exhausting and definitely reaching the limits of its potential as a form of self-expression. Also, I’m pretty sure the people who work in the office above my courtyard think I have zero friends considering half the time they look down I’m sitting there laughing and smiling at nothing. It’s great!

Inspiration: Best Western

I love me a vaguely “cowboys & indians” themed anything, mostly because I’m such a big fan of wide-brim hats, denim and Madonna’s Music album.

Images via W Magazine, Models.com, A Continuous Lean, Vogue.fr, Charlotte Minty, Oracle Fox, Garance Doré, Opening Ceremony, Tommy Ton and Fashion Toast…possibly others, oh no! I’ve forgotten.

Getting Dressed: Khaki & Navy

My spin on the classic color combo…which hopefully does not bring to mind private school uniforms…

I should just rename every “Getting Dressed” post “The Low Lookbook,” considering all of my clothes are from there. The khaki shirt is actually an old military shirt, the blue pants are H&M and the penny loafers are from Low as well (seen previously here). Be sure to keep your eye out for Low’s new logo, which I designed! Nora says the new signs are being printed and should be up soon. (For those of you who haven’t seen my previous post about Low, or clicked on the link to it above, Low Vintage is the new name of Antics, the vintage store on the downtown mall. When I see people with Low bags I always get excited and ask how they liked the store, only to be met with curious stares – that new signage can’t come out soon enough!)

Debbie’s House Part 2

And now for part deux of Debbie’s home! Below is a picture of the backyard…the yellow building is the cottage her brother John lives in, the interior of which is featured here. That path from the cottage towards the house was actually Debbie’s wedding walk, and she and her husband were married under the large tree to the right. John is the man responsible for the brightly colored buildings on the grounds…quite the artiste!

The blue glass bowl below is a favorite piece of John’s, which he unfortunately shot with a BB. But it didn’t completely fall apart, so hooray for silver linings!

The yellow building below is a former chicken coop, given a second life as apartments and a third life as a house. The downstairs still needs to be renovated – I took a few shots of the interior, but not enough for a Debbie’s House Part 3 – yet!
 An abandoned car down by the river behind the house.

Street Seen: Easy Breezy

Pretty print + flattering neckline…a winning combination!

Speaking of winning combinations, you see that “On Tumblr” button at the top of the blog? If you clicked it before it took you to a mishmash of random fashion photos and one too many pictures of Winona Ryder. Now I’m officially introducing the Kankan tumblog! (Gosh isn’t the internet so exciting?) Now when you click the “On Tumblr” link you’ll be taken to a daily-updated page of photos I’ve snapped with Instagram on my iPhone. This way I can still share with you inspiring odd little items and scenes from my daily life – even on the weekends! – while saving up the juices in my mind grapes for well-written and thoughtfully composed posts here. So fun!