Samantha Hahn

Samantha Hahn is an exceptional artist, whose ethereal watercolor paintings (amongst her other gorgeous work) evoke a strong but delicate female spirit. You can keep up-to-date with her work, by checking out her blog, Maquette. Happy (almost) Tuesday!

Pendant Lamps

Umbu's Etsy shop is creating the most beautiful, re-purposed pendant lamps. I feel like these would look beautiful hanging in any room of a home and mix with a variety of decor.

via sfgirlbybay

Library Love Affairs

Apparently, Carrie Bradshaw isn't the only one with dreams of getting hitched at the New York Public Library. Even us commoners have dreams of having our wedding ceremony in this beautiful building that houses history's greatest love stories of all time, and the NYPL is actually humoring us.

Via NYPL

In all honesty though, aren't these pictures gorgeous? I love the candles on the staircase and the borderline cheesy bookcase photo. Because nothing says romance like several sets of Encyclopedia Britannica...

Hoods

I'm actually a fan of the hooded dress, when done right. Case in point...

via Style with Anna

 

                                 A.                                           B.                                       C.                                                   D.

Thumbs up or Dresses A, B, and D. The hood worn up is such a unique look, while the hood worn down could look similar to a flowy cowl neck, flattering to quite a few body types. Lindsey's dress (B), looks straight out of Monty Python with her glamarmor, but I love it anyway.

Thumbs down for Dress D, who is exemplary of a hoodrat, hoodrat, hoochie mama with that dress' fit and length. And I'm not a fan of the boots with the dress, either.

One of my favorites is this batwing, black velvet Lisa Jayne Dann Velvet Hooded Dress from Asos.

You  do need to have a certain amount of courage to bear that much back, but I just love the silhouette and the velvet material.

William Fitzsimmons

The female singer's delicate voice and his soft male voice make the perfect duet. There's just something about the collaboration and combination of such different, gendered voices. Plus, the addition of the synthesizers and the more upbeat mix, really up the ante of this track.

The Modern Family

W Magazine has published an an amazing piece on nontraditional, American families, under their Family Issue Portfolio. All those profiled are celebrities of some sort, but their family situations make their experiences so relatable, they could very well be your own family. During this time of re-evaulation of the definition of family, the author brings up an excellent point - the possibilities are endless.

 via W Magazine

I Blame Coco

I'm so excited to have discovered Eliot Sumner, a female British singer, and provider of lead vocals for an amazing band that is just hitting the U.S., I Blame Coco. As if being the offspring of Sting and actress/producer Trudie Styler didn't help, Sumner has got an incredible androgynous look that seems to be creating quite a sexually-confused fan base (this assumption based off of the ever-so-reliable YouTube comments). Additionally, her smokey voice allows her sound to be reminiscent of 80's cult classic, male bands, like Duran Duran and Depeche Mode. If you think that's usually high praise for this girl, keep in mind that a former gig of hers was singing background vocals for Miike Snow's "Animal." And if that still that doesn't convince, take a look at her recent cover shoot with none other than British fashion powerhouse ASOS, and take a listen.

 

via Beauty Confessional

A True Spanish Gentleman

Today's Sartorialist post killlls me. I'm in love with this little Spanish gentleman! His burgundy jacket and pom-pom socks are incredibly adorable. Sure, his parents get hi-fives for putting him in the outfit, but he   pulls it off so well.

P.S. Don't forget to admire his comb-over! :)

via The Sartorialist

Staying Warm

With the winter season upon San Francisco, it's time to start thinking about creative ways to get warm. Sometimes, I try sticking my feet on top of my laptop. I suppose I could always try socks first, but in this technology advanced day and age, it's easy to forget common sense...

First step - layers.

via Aubrey Road

Second step - combat boots.

Its easy to shy away from this military-inspired footwear, labeling them too early 90's, Doc-Martens-looking and bulky, but I think there are definitely ways to feminize the look. Case in point. You make us proud with your green pants, Alessandra.

 Plus, the newer, distressed styles make pairing them with more feminine pieces, extremely easy.

Mia Limited Edition 

Seychelles Meteor Show III

The Ballerina Project

I'm having a little trouble finding details on the photographer, but his or her motive with the Ballerina Project seems to be to capture ballet dancers with various attitudes and moods, in an array of urban environments. I find that the images are romantic, sensual, and beautifully real, all at once. Often images of ballet dancers are highly feminized and dainty, but these photographs are much more powerful.

My dancer past always comes back to haunt me, somehow, whether with a re-run of "Center Stage" or seeing toddler ballerinas in their tutus excitedly run out of their class, onto the sidewalk. These photographs are so powerful, and their diversity with the one common tie of satin pointe shoes is incredibly touching. I would love to cover an entire wall of my apartment with them. Luckily, they can now be bought here.

 images via The Ballerina Project