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Electric Punanny Debuts A New Track, Creates Fire-Hot Playlist

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Summer may be over, but the musical duo behind Electric Punanny refuse to let the party-ready music come to a halt. Founded by Brooklyn DJs MeLo-X and Jasmine Solano in 2008, Electric Punanny parties have become a genre-mashing musical event. With Jasmine's taste for dancehall and MeLo-X's preference of soul and old-school reggae, the pair make the perfect match. We caught up with the duo to tune in to the jams they can't stop listening to right now.

Our ultimate EP playlist is a good representation of the range in our tastes. Dancehall is always at our core, but you'll see we're heavily influenced by global underground tracks, weirdo hip-hop and, of course, music our friends produce. It includes our single, "Rosa Caleta" that we just premiered earlier this week—a song entirely inspired by our parties in Berlin. In fact, "Rosa Caleta" is a Jamaican restaurant in Berlin we visited several times. The owners are from the US, and we really vibed with them. We're very influenced by our world-touring travels; we soak in all the culture and sound from around the world. It gets mixed into our palette and it's clear when we release music. Enjoy!



1. Electric Punanny- "Rosa Caleta" 

Obviously our new track that just premiered this week ;) 
 
2. Lil Silva - "Mabel"
One of the best EPs of this past summer. The full vocal mix is amazing.

3. Father - Look at Wrist

This song has the best 808. It rumbles and cuts through any good speaker.


4. Gage - "Throat"

Reminiscent of an old Buju Banton beat, this new take hits hard.

5. Spankrock & Amanda Blank - "Assassin"
We loved these guys for years and couldn't be more excited that they are back!

6. TV On The Radio - "Careful You"
 
Such a hypnotic song, even the lyric video has us mesmerized.

7. How to Dress Well - "Very Best Friend (Dubbel Dutch Remix ft. Eva T)"
A friend and guest DJ of EP, Dubbel Dutch never disappoints!

8. OG Maco - "U Guessed It"
 
The ul

NYC's Prima Ballerina Gives OC An Upper West Side Tour

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Some facts about Wendy Whelan: The 47-year-old is the most senior ballerina at the New York City Ballet. She’s been part of the company for 30 years, 23 of which as a principal dancer. And on Saturday, October 18, Whelan is performing with the NYCB for the last time.

Just because she’s leaving the company, however, doesn’t mean she’s finished dancing. Whelan is still a powerhouse—both artistically and athletically. (For reference, most ballerina careers end in the mid-to-late 30s.) Just watch Whelan’s performance of Christopher Wheeldon’s After the Rain Pas de Deux in this week’s program, where she effortlessly eases into backbends, performs lifts and graceful falls, and balances in a croisé arabesque on her partner’s leg.

Nevertheless, Whelan is ready to move on to develop her own projects. After all, there is the tour of her contemporary duets, Restless Creature, next year, a collaboration with her husband photographer David Michalek, and the premiere of new work with Royal Ballet principal Edward Watson, to name a few. “The pointe shoes are not going to be right on the shelf that I’m going to reach at,” she says. “They’ll be there; it might come into play here and there, but I’m really starting to dive into a very different world, off the pointe shoes and more into the ground.”

Speaking of covering some ground, we spent an afternoon with Whelan to find out her go-to spots near her Upper West Side apartment, including the massage parlor that works magic—whether you have dancer muscles or not.


Juice Generation
"There are the smoothie kind of juices, the healing kind, and the healthy kind. I love the Joyful Almond for the yummy kind. I get a Lemon Lozange or Cold Warrior if I’m not feeling great, the Citrus Super C for the healthy kind, and I love the raw foods there. I don’t get greens a lot of the time, so I love their kale salad, and they have these raw desserts that taste delicious."

Juice Generation
117 West 72nd St.
New York, NY 10023

Chinese Bodywork Herbal Reflexology
 
"An ex-dancer friend of mine recommended this place to us, and it’s amazing. They know how to feel with their hands what your body is doing, and we know who is great for deep tissue, who is good for something lighter, so it’s kind of special. They work magic, and it’s less than a dollar a minute. I try to come at least once a week; they close at 10 PM so you can go in after a show if you need it."

Chinese Bodywork Herbal Reflexology
152-154 West 72 ST,
2nd floor, Room 2B
New York, NY 10023 

Grandaisy Bakery 

"My husband is from Los Angeles, from Venice Beach, and he used to always ride his bike to get coffee in the morning on Abbot Kinney. So he loved it when this place opened; it's kind of a fill-in for his LA fix, his corner coffee place. I love their sandwiches, and their pizzas are amazing. They’re just the right size, and there’s some kind of special ingredient, some cheese that’s very faint and subtle, but so good. The squash pizza is my favorite.&

Sheep Placenta: The New Superfood?

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Sheep placenta smacks of something bad. The smell—like fish food, rancid meat, or a filthy LES bathroom, at best—is nothing to write home about. The taste also leaves much to be desired; a kind of flinty, mealy residual clings to the tongue.

But I can't get enough of it.

The popularity of consuming human placenta has been kicking around the blogosphere for a minute now. In fact, a former classmate of mine wrote a feature for New York Magazine a few years back, titled "The Placenta Cookbook." She described an experimental trend with new mothers: dehydrating, encapsulating, and popping "happy pills" made of their own liverish, fibrous tissue. It's really nutritious!, they claimed. Think high levels of iron, vitamin B-12, antibodies, hormones, and bio-active cytokines to regenerate collagen and organic tissue. In other words, a miracle food. 

But, before we peg it as a New Age phenomenon, confined to the outer reaches of Berkeley and Bushwick, it's interesting to note that the significance of placenta dates back to ancient Egyptians, who created a unique hieroglyph to signify its spiritual clout. Also, virtually every female land mammal—besides the ones who wear lipstick—instinctively consume their own placenta after giving birth, leading neuroscientists to hypothesize that there must be some arcane biological advantage here.

There's an awesome little gem in Chinatown called Sun's Organic Tea & Herb Shop. I love this place; a Yelp reviewer once aptly described it as the "best edible (drinkable?) museum in New York." A few weeks ago, I was studying the shop's expansive offering of loose-leaf teas, like organic milk oolong and tangerine-fermented pu-erh, when I spied a curious glass jar marked "Sheep Placenta Extract—From Tibet." Above it, the words "Do Not Open."

Of course, I had to open it. The contents were a ground-up, fine powder the color of Rockaway Beach sand. "Sheep's placenta, from the high mountains of Tibet," shop owner Lorna Lai told me. "They have a natural diet there—no junk, just really good grass—so you know their placenta is clean."

And what does it do, exactly?

According to nutritionists, sheep placenta is as close as one can get to the human variety, tapping into the power of stem cells to fight free-radical damage, reverse the aging process, and coax plump, glowing skin. It's nutrient and protein-dense, and the hormones are meant to bring yours into equilibrium. 

I purchased a scoop, about a one-month supply, at $13.50 an ounce. (The recommended daily intake is half a teaspoon, whisked into warm water.) As I was standing in line, another customer warned me of the putrid smell—take it with jasmine pearls, she said. 

For three weeks now, I've dutifully drank sheep placenta in the morning, before coffee. I've sprinkled it on top of equally funky, fermented nattō beans. I've watched it sink into the bottom of a neglected cup, coagulating to the size of miniature pebbles. Happy to report, Lorna was (half) right. I've felt an immediate, buzzy high similar

30 Years Of Def Jam = Three Decades of Fashion Goodness

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It's difficult to imagine a world where Kanye West never got the chance to live up to his Louis Vuitton Don status or Sisqó's "Thong Song" never became a karaoke favorite. Always lightyears ahead of their music-label peers, Def Jam Recordings founders Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons have done more to progress the state of music, and therefore the fashion involved, than anyone could have predicted.  
Since its inception in Rubin's NYU dorm room in the early '80s, Def Jam Recordings has gone on to sign some of music's greatest legends, who wore some legendary styles. From the Beastie Boys' frat-meets-streetlook to Flavor Flav's various clock chains, Def Jam has continued to represent ground-breaking artists whose personal style speaks just as loud as their tunes do.

As Def Jam prepares to round out its 30th anniversary celebration with a concert at Barclays Center in Brooklyn tonight, we've picked out our Top 5 favorite music video fashion from some memorable Def Jam signees. Check them out below!



1. Sisqó - "Thong Song"



How would karaoke bars continue to exist if it weren't for Sisqó's 1999 breakout hit, "Thong Song"? In the fashion world, too, the R&B singer has had long-term impact. Gyrating on the beach surrounded by bikini-clad beauties, Sisqó's metallic mop and all-white get-up continue to steal the spotlight even as he performs cartwheels on the sand. Add the Acne Maik Anorak to the video and a metallic look is completed. 


2. Slick Rick -"I Shouldn't Have Done It" 



Hip-hop has contributed many strange and wondrous fads to fashion, from wearing clothing backwards to head-to-toe pink fur. But nothing has compares to Slick Rick's signature look. With his berets/crowns, insanely huge chains, and that iconic eye patch, the hip-hop icon made his unique pirate-chic look so damn good.

3. Foxy Brown - "Hot Spot" 

Before Nicki Minaj was causing a stir with her, ahem, assets, Foxy Brown was the hip-hop lady to out-raunch. Signed to Def Jam at the tender age of 17, the young female MC had an attitude just as brash as her lyrics. With her liquid leather get-ups and various hairstyles, her cyber-goth music videos have Hood by Air inspo written all over them. We also can't help but think tha

To The Left: Gauchere Fall/Winter 2014

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The brand name may translate to “left-handed,” but Gauchere is so right. This season, its first as a member of the OC family, the Paris brand tackles suiting basics and turns them on their heads. Marie-Christine Statz, the designer behind Gauchere, recently told W Magazine, “I’m always playing with contrasts.” This sentiment is very much apparent in this latest collection, with its mix of corporate and couture. Avant-garde cuts make the classic wool pinstripe fabric and typical suit lapels feel surreal and almost satirical. Featuring a scarf that looks like the front of a long suit coat, dual-layered black slacks, and a dress that is a spliced school uniform/power-suit hybrid, this collection gives business a sense of humor.

Statz started her career in fashion after graduating from Parsons The New School for Design in NYC, when she landed jobs with Diane von Furstenberg and Narciso Rodriguez. Wanting a change of pace, Marie-Christine then moved to Paris and studied at the School of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture Parisienne. In 2012, she spawned her biggest project yet, Gauchere—and proved that when things go left, we need to embrace it.

Shop all Gauchere here Emile Collarless Coat in black Elisa Sleeveless Cut-Out Pleated Dress in grey Edmond Long Collar Scarf in grey Eleanora Sleeveless Pleated Dress in grey Eloise Sleeveless Cut-Out Dress in grey/black Emmelia Collarless Jacket in grey Ector Layered Suiting Pants in black

'Marriage Material Is In The Eye Of The Beholder'

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Here at OC, we are struck by how often we end up in everyday conundrums. The ones that land you in the thick of semi (or full-blown) awkwardness, or maybe, the doghouse. 

So, we turned to Simon Collins, the
 dean of the School of Fashion at Parsons, who after six years in his plum perch, just announced plans to step down at the end of this year. Translation: More time to divulge lessons from a lifetime of people watching. 


Q: When they say that someone is "marriage material"—what are they getting at, really?

Well, one person’s idea of “marriage material” is, of course, another person’s idea of “over my dead body.” So, like beauty, it is entirely in the eye of the beholder. Imagine, if you will, a young chap meets a beautiful, demure, smart, single woman—just the type to take home to Mother. A perfect example of marriage material? Not so fast. On date number two, she snaps at the waiter, picks her nose, and kicks a puppy.

How about that 20-something beefy model type, exquisite to behold, dazzling smile, with the tan and six-pack? Résumé highlights include standing outside jeans stores with his shirt off, but struggles with tipping at 20 percent because his math skills are slightly rusty, at best. Perfect “marriage material” for someone (presumably).

And then there’re those who look for “marriage material” as though it were rough-hewn clay, to be fashioned into what they require. “You can’t meet my boyfriend. I haven’t finished him.” For them, the title might herald a steady income, dim wit, and lack of resistance.

Finally, there are those who look for “marriage material” based on what’s inside. And if they happen to be gorgeous, it’s a happy coincidence but not a requirement. For them, it is how they feel about their mate when the lights are off, or when they’re old and grey.

I recently walked behind a couple in their 80s, holding hands like a pair of teenagers.

Now they were both “marriage material,” and bless ‘em for finding each other.

Q: How do you salvage yourself from a slew of drunk texting?

Oh, come on. I mean we’ve all left the occasional over-affectionate voicemail or mildly salacious text. In vino veritas and all that. I mean, if they hadn’t invented booze then how many of us would have ever actually met. No, the problem here is what to do after a night of drunk tweets or Instagrams. if you’re going to look like a fool, you might as well do it in front of everyone you know!

Now this is a lot harder to wriggle out of. You could try the, “My phone got nicked and I just got it back…” ploy, but no one will believe you, and they’ll resent your lack of imagination. You could try the, “I’ve just got over a sudden bout of Tourettes…” gambit, but that’s a bit mean to people who’ve actually got Tourettes. Finally there’s the, “Yeah, that’s right. I said it. You want some more?” ploy. It’s ballsy—and it might work. (Except it won’t.)

What we need is for Siri to analyze your dexterity, spelling, syntax, and breath, then when you hit send, she would instead file the offending billet doux safely in the trash. In the m

Spot On: Opening Ceremony X Jonathan Horowitz

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This season, Fall's most sartorial looks have us seeing spots—polka dots, to be exact. Inspired by Jonathan Horowitz's large-scale installation, 590 Dots, Opening Ceremony collaborated with the contemporary artist to create a small-run, unisex collection highlighting his recognizable polka-dot-on-canvas patterns. Amplified and crisp, Opening Ceremony x Jonathan Horowitz's DOTS collection features a tote bag, a field jacket, and a five-pocket denim pant. Worn together or separately, kinetic creativity bursts at the seams.

Since the early 1990s, Jonathan Horowitz has made art that combines the imagery and ambivalence of Pop art with the engaged criticality of conceptualism. For his latest installation and inspiration for this collection, 590 Dots, hundreds of individuals visited Los Angeles’ 356 S. Mission Road gallery and were asked to paint a perfect, 11-inch black dot centered on an 18-inch canvas. There was, however, a twist: they were only allowed their paint and paintbrush. No rulers, pencils, or mechanical tools were allowed. "In a way, this project is about finding a way to get over [being a perfectionist] and be okay with imperfection and human limitation," Horowitz told us. "It’s an impossible task to make a perfect dot, but as I say to prospective dot-makers, if you take the project seriously and really, really try, your dot will be perfect."

Shop Opening Ceremony x Jonathan Horowitz for men and women

 

 

Life Isn't A Movie, It's A Novel In 'Listen Up Philip'

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Listen Up Philip, a darkly funny new movie starring Jason Schwartzman as the writer Philip Lewis Friedman, begins with a clearing of a throat. Listen up, all! A voice-over narrates as a whiskery Schwartzman marches down a sidewalk. The voice explains that he is man, “characteristically not in a hurry, but perpetually enraged by slow foot traffic before him.”

It’s the perfect summation of the movie, which premiered earlier this month at the New York Film Festival. On the eve of publishing his second, sure-to-be-a-hit novel, Philip is obsessively preoccupied with his career trajectory. He’s so distracted that he spends all his energy looking for anything that could possibly be holding him back. And when he finds it, you can hear him scream silently in his Randian mind: get out of my way, mindless peons. The "serious" New Yorker who takes his "art" to suffocating, obnoxious levels—that's Philip. 

It’s not a minute into the movie before Philip unleashes this rage on an old college girlfriend. For all his neurosis, he seems aggressively pleased to be in a world of jerk writers, among men who say things like: “I’m a nice guy. Read an article about me. I’m self deprecating.” The most determinedly jerkish of the bunch is Ike Zimmerman (Jonathan Pryce), who we learn is one of the most prolific authors of the 1970s and 80s, with a breakout novel called Madness and Women (ha!). Zimmerman courts Philip in order to be his mentor. They bond over a similar idea that creative men live perpetually at risk of other people, particularly women, sucking them dry. Zimmerman soon teaches Philip two main principles: write outside of New York and cyclically hurt the people in your life. Again, that particularly applies to women.

So what about these soul-sucking she-beasts? In less subtle directorial hands (this was written and directed by Alex Ross Perry), the women would be peripheral. Instead, we see how the writerly men around them treat them as peripheral. They are viewed as characters, distractions, crutches, and chains, to men like Philip. And all of our sympathies attach to them the more they are scorned and treated like scapegoats.

The actors playing these women don’t hurt this matter: Krysten Ritter plays Ike’s daughter with vulnerable fury, Joséphine de la Baume is lovely as the golden and territorial professor Yvette. Dree Hemingway is hilarious as a flirtatious photo assistant, as is Kate Lyn Sheil as one of Philip’s exes.

But it’s Ashley (played by Elisabeth Moss), a photographer and Philip’s girlfriend, who gleams as the most intellectually fascinating character in the movie of people who believe they are intellectually fascinating. Her moments without Philip are a series of little revelations: she sells his clothes on her stoop, she gets a cat, she kisses a scumbag at a bar. Practicing ballet alone in her apartment is one of the most poignant instances of a character fully enjoying and learning about themselves through their solitude.

At the end of the film, Ashley and Philip are fighting. The narrative voice-over (excellently spoken by Eric Bogosian) supersedes Ashley’s speech, so that we see her talking, but only hear commentary about it. The narration choices are tricky and fascinating: the narration is at once an all-seeing voice that knows the internal minds of each person and also the way that Philip is writing this story to himself.

What we learn: Ashley’s speech reminds Philip of a quotation he wants to use to open a novel. The audience is left trying to lip-read Ashley’s words instead of listening to this narration. We are begging Philip just to hear the people in his life, rather than coddling the voices in his own head. Listen up, man.

Listen Up Philip

How To Make Pizza With Roberta's—In GIFs

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October is National Pizza Month, and let's be real—does anyone care? We believe you should. First of all, it was invented by a guy who lived in Santa Claus, Indiana, pop. 2,481, a.k.a. as far away from a pizza hub as a place can get. He succeeded in having his made-up holiday recognized by Congress in 1987, and created a magazine with the epic title, Pizza Today, covering such crucial issues as how many slices are consumed in the US per second (350 in 1999) and what Herman Cain was up to before he was running bizarro political campaigns.

Of course, as we've just demonstrated, National Pizza Month is basically an excuse to dive deeper into the strange, beautiful, and delicious universe of pizza. And second to reading old back issues of Pizza Today, the best way to do that is definitely by following our GIF guide on how to make Roberta's famous Bee Sting pie. For those of you who live under a pizza-proof rock, Roberta's in Bushwick is everything that Santa Claus, Indiana is not. It's a mecca for expertly handled dough, local ingredients, and unexpected toppings like honey. So, in honor of—you guessed it—National Pizza Month, we asked resident Pizza Guru Anthony Falco to show off his pizza secrets and answer a few questions about America's favorite, er, vegetable.


ALICE HINES: Why should one make pizza at home if he or she can get such great pizza at a place like Roberta's?
ANTHONY FALCO: Anybody can boil some pasta and pour sauce over it, or cook up a steak. Making pizza from scratch with our dough recipe in your very own home-oven is a guaranteed way to blow minds. [Ed. note: continue to blow their minds the morning after with Anthony's method for reheating pizza]

Pizza is trending in the world of fashion. What's the ideal thing to wear when making pizza?
Roberta's makes an entire line of pizza lifestyle wear for all occasions, including cooking pizza at home. Try making a Bee Sting wearing a Pizza Zombie T-shirt by Zac Scheinbaum, or a Millennium Falco pizza in a Pizza Astronaut shirt by yours truly. Wearing pizza let's people know you are serious about having fun.

Pizza Guru is an awesome job title. What does being a guru and emotional counselor at Roberta's entail?
Sometimes the vibes get pretty heavy when you are making pizza; the hours are long, it's hot, and emotions can run high. To ensure the highest quality pizza, positive vibes are a must. 

You're a father. Do your kids see eye-to-eye with you on what makes a great pizza?
Yes, my son Frank's favorite pizza is a Roberta's famous original with no chili flakes. But he's no pizza snob. He also enjoys a run-of-the-mill New York-style street slice from time to time, but sometimes, only a Roberta's pizza will do. 

Favorite pizza moment in cinema?
Pizza the Hutt [click below to view]



In Paris, A Biennial Of 'Urban Neo-Tourism'

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Parisian teenagers in mime face paint sprinkle glitter from an overpass onto cars. A playlist that could be a Godard soundtrack plays from a boom-box wheeled around by our leader, drowned out at this point by the cars below. At once the most encapsulating, engaging, and perhaps doubtful moment of the two-hour walking tour, this is the halfway point; halfway between Paris and its circumambient banlieus, or suburbs, halfway between the first and second hour of our walk, and halfway between cliché and art.

This third installation of the Biennale de Belleville sees itself as “urban neo-tourism.” A series of projects by various artists running from September 25 to October 26 seeks to engage with the morphing (or perhaps, as the Biennale itself demonstrates, already morphed) 20th arrondissement, by means of pedestrian narratives. It is a mobile contemporary art installation, invested in, and in its own way participating in, the gentrification of a traditionally working class Parisian neighborhood.

Laëtitia Badaut Haussmann, one of the commissioned artists, acknowledges that Belleville’s creative community (who came in waves in the 1980s) is complicit in gentrification, but also argues that many artists today are creating works that explicitly engage the neighborhood’s diverse population. "[Artists] used to be completely disconnected from the neighborhood, [but] now they are proposing projects for the neighborhood. It’s a way to not leave anyone outside of what is supposed to be the 'artistic public.'"

Opening Ceremony joined for Haussmann’s Program 2, in which a soundtrack moving from Holy Motors to Blade Runner parades a group of spectators on a two-hour stroll through the northern pocket of the 20th and across the périphérique highway to lower Montreuil. The walk is punctuated by the “apparition” of actors (running ahead to get into position in time for our arrival), who pose in still-life scenes, using the city (a corner, a doorway, an overpass) as cinematic décor.  

“I wanted to observe the evolution of the architecture, which is quite strict in Paris, and looser in Montreuil,” Haussmann told OC. The 20th, part of Paris proper, is separated from Montreuil, a suburb, by the infamous highway finished in 1978. “Observing the evolution of urban dead zones and more occupied zones—it’s important to experience the parts that are more deserted and poor. It’s about how to find a way to occupy different areas in a pacific way, wandering, and straying.”

The strolling group—a chic bunch clad in brightly colored sneakers and expensive eyewear—is itself is a visualization of the gentrification the Biennale explores. Thoroughly entertained by the site, neighborhood fixtures from boulangers to bums waving bottles of wine stop us to ask what is going on. From one Brutalist building, a head pokes out from every balcony. The music drew curious and amused faces out from almost every window, so that we became at once spectators and performers. In short, it was an uncomfortable friction, although for Haussmann, a productive one. “It’s not exclusive,” she said of the performance. “Anyone can see it; it’s free, simple, and generous. This was happening at the beginning of the century in the streets of working-class areas: people playing music to earn money, spontaneous micro-concerts. It gave a bit of happiness in the reality of the day.”

The drifting stroll is an invitation to join the leagues of the flâneurs of the 19th century, a time when the urban crowd originally “became a society of spectators.” In her book Spectacular Reali

The 'Nailbiter' At Paul's Baby Grand

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This summer, OC got you Tipsy and Tan. Now, we're just getting you tipsy. Meet Fridays at Five, our cocktail series where mixologists at New York City’s white-hot new restaurants create OC-exclusive drinks for our readers. Drinking on the job? Don't mind if we do...

Fall might finally be in full swing, but inside Paul’s Baby Grand, it always feels like summer. The plush Tribeca cocktail lounge, opened by Paul Sevigny last year, is still serving frozen drinks out of churning slushy machines, for Pete’s sake. Tropical paintings by Josh Smith line the walls, and bartenders wear bright floral bow ties (designed by sister Chloë Sevigny) year-round.

Of course, the weather outside is hardly Havana-worthy, so we asked the Baby Grand gurus Brendan Ledesma and Roger Jazilek to whip up something just a tad less Caribbean. Both fruity and spicy, the Nailbiter combines cinnamon heat with the last of summer blackberries, creating the perfect transitional cocktail for the season. We can’t spend all our evenings pretending to be by the beach, after all.


Names: Brendan Ledesma and Roger Jazilek 

If this drink had a soundtrack, what would it be? "Fly Me to the Moon" by Frank Sinatra

Drink of choice: “Champagne. I drink a lot of Champagne. Like the French, you drink Champagne if your wife leaves you or if you’re celebrating. Whatever reason, always drink Champagne.” – Roger

Hangover cure: “Lots of water the night before. They always say hair of the dog, but water is key. If you’ve got a hangover, it’s going to take a while, so I guess have another drink in the morning and you’ll ease out of it.” – Roger

Best date spot: “I think on a roof somewhere, maybe Rainbow Room or the Mondrian Hotel.” – Roger

Best date advice: “Don’t talk about yourself. There’s nothing worse than someone who talks about themselves the entire time, like ‘I went there; I did this.’” – Roger

What not to do to your bartender: “Don’t be obnoxious or snap your fingers. Don’t yell your bartender’s name if you heard someone else mention it.” – Brendan



Exclusive Recipe: The Nailbiter
OC Alcohol Scale*: 6
“The Aperol is light. It’s like a starter drink.”

1 oz Absolut Elyx vodka
¾ oz Aperol
½ oz fresh lemon juice
½ oz cinnamon bark syrup
¼ oz blackberry syrup

Combine all ingredient and shake with ice. Strain over crushed ice. Garnish with three brandied cherries on an umbrella stick and an orange slice.

*OC's Alcohol Scale ranges from 1 ("like sippin' from a juice box") to 10 ("take me home—right now").
Photos by Jessica Chou
You'll need Absolut vodka, Aperol, fresh lemon juice, cinnamon bark syrup, and blackberry syrup. 

Pour one ounce Absolut into the mixture. 

Can You Guess Which Logo This Is?

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Even if you beat all 16 levels of that logo quiz app, you might not catch what’s going on in Alfred Steiner’s paintings right away. Take his strange juxtaposition of a fish, cigarette butt, banana, breast, and shot pourer—on closer inspection, the Playboy bunny. Or, the peach, pickle, vulva, and flaccid penis (Bass Ale). The paintings examine the underlying contradictions behind trademarks—and make you uncomfortably aware of how they influence you.

“I chose a lot of the marks because they had some sort of broader cultural or political impact depending on how you thought about them,” Steiner, a former copyright and intellectual property lawyer, told us at the opening of his new exhibit, Likelihood of Confusion, at the Joshua Liner Gallery. Steiner remade the Cleveland Indians logo, already a politically charged symbol, as a greedy mouth prepared to munch on a croissant, for instance. The Target bullseye, meanwhile, he imagined as a “Do Not Enter” sign covered with a golf ball and a red Aricept pill, which treats Alzheimer’s symptoms such as confusion. How likely are we to be confused by corporate logos? The exhibit begs the question. 

Of all the recognizable images, some of the most fascinating are those of high-end fashion houses. In Dyslexia, the YSL logo appears as a snake, a martini glass, and a garden hoe. In Vulva, the Louis Vuitton logo is reassembled in the form of a hockey stick, a roller blade, a pencil, and a screw—items Steiner associates with working-class culture. “I thought it was interesting that there’s that blue-collar, sort of hockey aspect... [paired with] a high-end brand.”

Steiner's exhibit also debuted Louis Vuitton Don, a reflective-ink screenprint that features Kanye West taking down a paparazzo behind a sea of Louis Vuitton logos. The best part? Kanye’s image is only visible behind the logos when the viewer takes a flash photo of the image.

“Kanye is really interesting because he embodies contradictions. He is the Louis Vuitton Don, but he’s also self-denigrating,” said Steiner. “A lot of his lyrics talk about how he’s wearing this or that, and then he makes fun of himself for indulging in it.”

With all of the logo-mania taking over right now, especially in fashion, Steiner’s exhibit couldn’t come at a more suitable time.

“I think that we’re all sort of implicated in conspicuous consumption, myself included. But, I can understand why some people might [be], especially if you come from a situation where it’s important or it’s a survival tactic,” said Steiner. “I don’t draw any moral conclusions from it. But, I do want to draw some attention to it and make people conscious of what they’re choosing to do.”

Likelihood of Confusion runs through November 15

Joshua Liner Gallery
540 West 28th Street
New York, NY 10001
MAP


Alfred Steiner's Pegasus, based on

Ready For The Weekend? 5 Night-To-Day Looks

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If you live in New York, try for a moment to remember the last time you had a "normal" sleep schedule. Nothing coming to mind? Same here. Which is why those day-to-night looks of lore just don’t always mesh with the NYC lifestyle. Who hasn't found herself throwing on an outfit in the PM, wearing it to whatever she's doing for the night, and then making some small modifications the next morning to carry on with her day-long walk of shame? In the city that never sleeps, it's the night-to-day looks that really make sense. Whether it be dark shades or comfy layers, here are a few of our picks to make the best out of your nocturnal style.You had a long night, you have work in 20 minutes, and getting those last couple minutes of sleep are more crucial to your well-being than breaking out the hair products. Beanie, meet head. This sporty little DKNY number would look great with the sweats you are definitely gonna opt for when you finally talk yourself out of bed.

Cool and laid-back at night = edgy and high fashion during the day. Menswear-inspired oxfords, like these Robert Clergerie Essie Oxford, can carry you anywhere you need to go, including the office after a long night out. If styled correctly, backpacks can be appropriate for basically any situation. Tote around a morning-after survival kit (a toothbrush, aspirin, the will to go on, etc.) and you’ll be prepped in style. This one from Moschino is big enough to hold all your stuff, but the Barbie-inspired print makes it super-cute. Throw an oversized sweater over your party dress to bring the look from 100 to 0 real quick. This Opening Ceremony Felted Double Zip Crewneck Sweater in marble green would turn a black mini dress from Meatpacking to Soho in the blink of an eye. Keep a pair of sunnies in your bag until you wake up with your formerly-perfect smoky eye smudged all over your face. The darker the lenses, the more people will think you slept more than two hours last night. These Sun Buddies Type 03 Sunglasses are as black as the night sky you live and operate under, perfect for your incognito daytime outings. 

Where The Heart Is: Comme des Garçons PLAY & Shirt Girl

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Do you wear your heart on your sleeve? Comme des Garçons dares you to. CDG’s iconic off-shoot PLAY is back with its signature evil heart emblem, but it’s taken a little trip from the chest to the arm. It’s reminiscent of those classic “MOM” heart tattoos... if you replaced it with “REI,” that is. And really, though, whose name deserves to be inked into your skin more: a woman who gave you life or the founder and mastermind behind one of the world's most innovative fashion companies? It's up for debate. Prefer a subtler route? Try Comme des Garçons' newest SHIRT Girl line, full of wardrobe staples with Kawakubo's quirky twists, like heather-grey cardigans with crochet buttons and cotton button-downs with Peter Pan collars. Either way, you're covered. 

Shop Comme des Garçons SHIRT Girl and PLAY Comme des Garçons PLAY Wool Cardigan w/Small Red Emblem in medium grey Comme des Garçons PLAY Wool Cardigan w/Small Red Emblem in navy Comme des Garçons PLAY Striped Long-Sleeve Tee w/Small Emblem in navy/white

Comme des Garçons Shirt Girl Rounded Collar Contrast Cuff Shirt in white/black and Elastic Waist Quilted Skirt in black
Comme des Garçons Shirt Girl Long Sleeve Flower Striped Top in navy/black
Comme des Garçons Shirt Girl Sheer Bottom Short Sleeve Knit Dress in ecru

Walking The Line Between High & Low, Culture & Commerce

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It’s been a busy year for the New York-based, French artist Cyril Duval, better known as Item Idem. Having just wrapped up his first solo exhibition in the United States at Johannes Vogt Gallery and the Tiki Pop façade for Neuehouse, he launched the third installment of Shanzhai Biennial with his collaborators Avena Gallagher and Babak Radboy at Frieze London last week. Cyril uses his sharp wit to play with the perception of culture and commerce, and further pushes the ongoing conversation of whether the two can be defined separately from one another. This is clearly displayed in Shanzhai Biennial No.3, titled 100 Hamilton Terrace, where the trio created a conceptual real-estate campaign for a £32 million mansion in St. John’s Wood—concurrently installed at Project Native Informant and Frieze Art Fair London. 

We caught up with Duval to get a better understanding of what it all means. 


NIKKI MIRSAEID: To break the ice, I would like to start with three generic questions pulled from the 1960s television show, The Dating Game.

1. What are you looking for in a man/woman?
CYRIL DUVAL: Humor and wit are usually the qualities that turn me on in someone. Life is way too short to spend a second being bored. I also admire self-esteem and inner confidence. Those are true requirements in order to be able to give back something genuinely generous to the world. Kindness and patience coming after, of course, then good looks are always a plus. Why not?!

2. Are you a morning person or a night owl?
I am a night owl turning into a morning person. 

3. What are your best qualities?

I am loyal, hardworking, and perseverant. I foresee the whereabouts of a situation and always analyze 10 steps ahead all potential outcomes, and it can sometimes be a problem. Oh well, I am a Capricorn, so no wonder.

When did your fascination with commercial products begin? Is it safe to say it’s an obsession?
It is indeed at the very least an obsession. I am actually not sure when it all started. Maybe when I started living in Japan 11 years ago? But, it has to come from a much more ancient and buried memory I’m sure. Something within my childhood must have triggered this fascination. I will get back to you on that when I find out.

Some of your most notable works are conceptual environments that transcend space or exist in various places at once: Bernhard Willhelm's Tokyo Flagship Store, the Shanzhai Biennial, Felon, and the Tiki Pop façade for Neuehouse, for instance. How does this affect how you approach the white cube of a gallery, a much more typical interior?
I can easily concur with this. Most of my works relating to spaces or interiors encompass a direct connection with the audience. I fiercely believe in the emotional intelligence of the viewers and am always very interested by all forms of critical feedback. There’s always a sociological or historical approach triggering the concept of my pieces, and I often select a maximalist and/or immersive direction to propose a cultural and emotional dialogue with the public.


Alice Tate In Istanbul

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In Straight Trippin', OC friends and family share tidbits from their latest travels. This time, OC London contributor Alice Tate shares snaps of intricate tilings, minarets, and cross-continent views from her trip to Istanbul.

Name: Alice Tate
Occupation: London OC contributor and freelance lifestyle journalist
Travel destination: Istanbul, Turkey—a magical city full of surprises around every corner. 
Carry-on necessities: Cashew nuts, a headphone splitter, and Monocle magazine  
Reading materials: Rough Guide to Istanbul—my favorite place to do trip research is in my plane seat. I get too impatient otherwise.
Most over-played track on your iPhone this trip: The melancholically comforting, “Don’t Wanna Be Your Girl” by Wet
Favorite outfit to travel in: Printed jumpsuit and New Balance W990s. Comfort comes first! On the way back, there was the addition of the printed scarf I bought in the Grand Bazaar to cover my head in the mosques.
Highlight of your trip: Waking up extra early to swim in the giant, heated infinity pool at Ciragan Kempinski Palace. Looking out onto a different continent whilst doing a gentle length of breaststroke is something else.
Best activity: Waltzing through the Old City with a call to prayer ringing out in the distance as we walked through Topkapi Palace, admired Hagia Sophia, and stared up in awe inside the Blue Mosque. A day with frequent pit-stops for Turkish apple tea, pints of Efes, and too much baklava.
Souvenirs you brought back: Pistachio Turkish delight—in bulk! 
Getting giddy in the backstreets of Beyoglu. Quotes and photos by Alice TateBlue Mosque: Ottomans did good.Istanbul makes excellent use of broken plates.OD'ing on baklava!A former sultan's palace for the night? It'll do.Swimming in Europe, looking at Asia. The slickest hotel room I've ever stayed in, at Witt Suites Istanbul. 

What's In A Dot?

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“Everything starts from a dot.”—Wassily Kandisky

There is nothing more perfunctory than a single dot. The dot is the beginning of everything observable and beyond, from the infinitesimal to the unthinkably massive. Subatomic particles and stars are both circular “dots” that make up something larger: the base of our existence and the larger universe, respectively. In art history, the dot has proven to be an everlasting, indispensable building block to translating visual culture; it is the beginning of a mark, a single momentous drip, a way to obscure things, a way to create patterns, and even the basis for whole movements.

No one is thinking more about dots right now than New York-based artist Jonathan Horowitz, whose current show at 356 Mission, an alternative art space in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, is called 590 Dots. The show revolves around Horowitz’s invitation to community participants to come in and paint black dots in exchange for handmade $20 checks. The resultant dots of varying sizes and exactness, hang on the walls, making for a dizzying optical experience. Shaded by allegiances to the works of Roy Lichtenstein (and the Pointillists before him) and Yayoi Kusama, it’s as if Horowitz is reminding viewers that dots are as much a part of art history as they are the current state of art.

In an email, Horowitz describes the recurrence of dots as an unintended motif throughout his career. A 1992 video called Dot, . illumines the use of the center point of the screen in film and television to demonstrate that these mediums can be viewed as portraiture; a 1993 video called Middle and End edits together the television footage all the golf balls in flight during a tournament; and another body of work, Stairmaster Suite from 1996, was comprised of drawings that transcribed the dot diagrams that make up the fitness gauge on the Stairmaster he was using at the time. More recently, for Self Portraits in Mirror #1, a 2012 show at Gavin Brown’s enterprise, Horowitz asked 18 other painters to recreate Roy Lichtenstein’s dotted Mirror #1 painting by hand.

For 590 Dots, Horowitz continues to look to Lichtenstein for influence. Lichtenstein used techniques similar to the printing process of pulp comic books in his paintings, placing uniformly sized Ben-Day dots—named for 19th-century illustrator and printer Benjamin Day—as a way to save money on colored ink. Day had invented the technique, which uses dots as a way of shading, relies on separately colored dots to trick the mind into filling in the spaces and blending colors. “In the Lichtenstein self-portraits, the dots create a sort of automatic transference of the painter’s subjectivity to the viewer,” says Horowitz. “There’s a similar loss of self in 590 Dots, as the viewer falls into the strobing field.”

Prior to Lichtenstein (and around the same time Day was developing his dots), Pointillism marked the beginning of an artistic self-consciousness of dots as a mark-making tool. In the late 19th century, French artists Georges Seurat and Paul Signac became frustrated with Impressionism, in which the blending of colors in the palette

How Black Became Fashion's Favorite Color

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“Black is more than ever the favorite color of fashion. There was a time—our mothers will remember it—when the sole fact of wearing a black dress when one was not in mourning was sufficient to call forth a kind of reprobation, and to cause the wearer to be classed among the dangerously eccentric women.” —Harperʼs Bazaar (August 9, 1879)

Itʼs 2014, and any color looks good—as long as itʼs black. After seeing Death Becomes Her: A Century of Mourning Attire, a new exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Artʼs newly-christened Anna Wintour Costume Center, you learn pretty quickly that weʼve got nothing on the Victorians. This show, the center's first fall exhibition in seven years, examines the bygone era between 1815 and 1915, when fashion and culture were informed by death, religion, and media, and where life after death was spent in various shades of black.

Until the 19th century, mourning had been almost exclusively reserved for aristocracy. With the emergence of a post-industrial middle class in England and America, as well as the birth of fashion media including Harperʼs Bazaar and Vogue, mourning—and looking good doing it—became a business. Bereavement gowns (30 in this exhibition, assembled through the gimlet eye of curator Harold Koda) boomed in an era where life was extremely religious and few made it past their mid-50s. It became such a focus that department stores like Lord & Taylor developed special mourning departments to keep up with demand, and colorless clothing, albeit rendered in silk taffeta and adorned with pearls, was its own marked fashion statement. 

From gowns worn by Queen Victoria and Queen Alexandra to department store ensembles, Death Becomes Her gives a fascinating look into a time when rigid social and gender roles began to evolve, largely due to the influence of this new, style-conscious middle class. In the end, Death Becomes Her is like the wake of the Victorian era: a view into a life that used to be. 

Death Becomes Her: A Century of Mourning Attire opens tomorrow and runs until February 1

The Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10028
Map 

Death Becomes Her examines mourning attire during the Victorian era, when the color black became newly fashionable. Photos by James Derek SapienzaUntil the 19th century, mourning had been almost exclusively reserved for aristocracy. 
With the emergence of a post-industrial middle class in England and America, as well as the birth of fashion media including Harperʼs Bazaar and Vogue, mourning—and looking good doing it—became aspirational.
Business boomed in an era where life was extremely religious and few made it past their mid-50s. 

Weather Up: Luar Zepol Fall/Winter 2014

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Luar Zepol founder and designer Raul Lopez is a man of many wonders. He's the creator of a fashion-forward, dystopian-friendly collection, co-founder of cult streetwear label Hood By Air, and an imaginative spirit. While these skills and personality traits have helped shape his solo brand, perhaps his most prominent and undetectable attribute is his weatherman-like knack for being able to predict the future. After last winter's record low temperatures and that damn polar vortex, is Lopez envisioning more flurries ahead? His Luar Zepol Fall/Winter 2014 collection seems to predict such.

While the bad news appears that round two of a polar vortex is a possibility, the good news is that you can weather the storm in style. This season, Luar Zepol introduced new ready-for-the-slopes looks that utilize synthetic materials such as faux fur. Snow Pants get a new re-invigorated look with grey tie-dye panels and side zippers that allow for quick adjustments. Icy digital prints round out the Bullseye Top, which pairs perfectly with those toasty Neoprene Leg Warmers. In true two-for-one fashion, the Tech Jacket, a new take on the puffer ski jacket, comes prepped with a built-in backpack perfect for stowing away a pair of gloves—or ingredients for a hot toddy. We'll drink to that!

Shop all Luar Zepol here


Tech Backpack Jacket in mud Zippered Snow Pants in mud/white Bullseye Print Long-Sleeve Top in mixed Stripe Detail Long-Sleeve Top in white

This Must Be The Place: Lyndhurst Castle

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New York City is a pretty magical place. A forerunner in art, music, fashion, science, and technology, these five boroughs have nearly everything you could ever want. But sometimes I'm looking for a different type of magic, the type that's a little more old school, the type that’s from a storybook. So, last weekend I headed up to Lyndhurst Castle in Tarrytown with my friend Jack, to experience the closest we could get to a fairytale.

Just an hour train ride north of the city, Lyndhurst Castle is a Gothic Revival mansion that was designed by the architect Alexander Jackson Davis in 1838. Since the year of its inception, the castle has been inhabited by three different families, the most notable of the bunch being that of railroad tycoon Jay Gould, who occupied it from 1880 to 1892. With a view of the Hudson River and the Tappan Zee Bridge, the mansion sits upon a sprawling 67 acres of land and features a bowling alley, a rose garden, and a greenhouse.

As an art history major with a penchant for Gothic architecture, I found the design of Lyndhurst Castle particularly significant. Like a typical Gothic structure, the exterior of the building comes across as intimidating, particularly on a gloomy night, but the interior contrasts directly with its vaulted ceilings and large, pointed-arch windows that let light teem into the rooms. Gilded from floor to ceiling, the design aesthetic contains Baroque elements with angels and cherubs painted on surfaces and a giant gallery room filled with exclusively gold-framed paintings. The Tiffany-stained glass windows seen throughout the house produce colorful shadows into the rooms as the sun passes through.

Lyndhurst Castle is a little Cinderella and a little spooky—the perfect fall getaway from New York City.

Lyndhurst Castle 
635 S Broadway 
Tarrytown, NY 10591
Map 

 
The mansion was built in 1838 by architect Alexander Jackson Davis in the Gothic Revival style. Frames are Mykita + Maison Martin MargielaEssential 001 Sunglasses in gold. All photos by Shriya Samavai
Lyndhurst Castle has been inhabited by three different families, the most notable of the bunch being that of railroad tycoon Jay Gould, who occupied it from 1880 to 1892. Jack wears Opening Ceremony Dart Sunglasses in blue/black tortoise.Lyndhurst Castle in Tarrytown, NY is a little Cinderella and a little spooky. The mansion is surrounded by 67 acres of land. Jack stands inside a weeping pine tree wearing Barton Perreira Flaneur Matte Opticals in champagne/torasel. 
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