School's out for summer

Sartorially, I'm not particularly adventurous. There are things I know will work, and I just stick to them with religious fervor. And by stick to, I mean I look the same everyday.

Here's my foolproof summer uniform.

The wardrobe:

• A lightweight blazer is absolutely necessary for coolish nights (when dining or drinking al fresco)
• A slew of easy, crisp white shirts almost makes a guy look more put together
• Henleys are just like any t-shirt out there, except sexier
• Horizontal stripes are classic details that telegraph the balmy atmosphere of the season
• Who wears shorty shorts (no one needs to full length pants. I don't care what those dumb clubs say)?
• Chucks are essential to mindless kickin' around

Go nuts!

Today I'm at Starbucks taking advantage of the free Wi-fi and coffee refills. Officially, I'm working on a couple of projects for a few magazines I write for. Unofficially, I'm checking out the fine folks who are spending their cloudy Sunday afternoon in a climate-controlled, caffeine-scented room.

In any case, about an hour ago I found myself peckish and in desperate need of a snack. Unexpectedly, Starbucks sells these packaged nuts from Sahale Snacks that come in various flavors like parmesan and herbs, chili and cheddar and pomegranate and vanilla. I chose the barbeque almonds with mild chipotle and ranch. They're really good. I ravaged through the pack in like 5 minutes. Starbucks is an exclusive retailer, and at $2.50 a pack, they're more expensive than anything Planters sells, but with these interesting flavor combinations, I say go ahead, girl, go ahead, get down.

Dye Chuck Taylor! Dye!

It's sample sale season, and I'm trying my best at something called self-discipline. But because I am a work in progress, I did venture to check out the goods at a few: Buckler (Amazing), Jil Sander (Pretty good -- better for women, really), Opening Ceremony (Ok), Steven Alan (It's been better) and The News (Same old). I purchased a few really great items that I think will blend seamlessly into my summer wardrobe.

One of the items I'm most excited about was something I came upon purely by accident. I was waiting for a friend to meet with me for dinner, and in my impatience, I decided to check out the Gap for basic, short-sleeved henleys (one can never have too many). Sadly, no henley at the Gap proved good enough for putting me in further debt. There were however a selection of Chucks on markdown, exclusive to the ubiquitous American brand. Most were variations on blue denim and some in pink. I fell in love with a pair of tie-dyed low tops that I can't wait to wear all the summer long. Perhaps with the the yellow trousers I snagged from Buckler.

Here they are below. I'm terrible at taking photos so these really do not do them justice. Eh, next time.

Another fun factoid: these Chucks come with two sets of laces: one white, one blue. A nice touch.

There is only one Sasha fierce

I used to be obsessed with models. Obsessed. One of my favorites was Lily Cole, and I convulsed when i saw her live on the runway for the very first time. Now, not so much. But I do enjoy scouring the internet for magazine photo spreads and ad campaigns to check up on the girls.

I've always loved Sasha Pivovarova. She has a quiet intensity that translates so effortlessly and beautiful on photos. She is captivating. Paolo Roversi recently shot her (along with Guinevere van Seenus) for a Italian Vogue story. I found scans of the entire story on noirfacade, but here are my favorites of the only Sasha fierce there is and ever will be.

In the same issue Mario Sorrenti shot Sasha for a slightly darker and oilier story. Again, the entire spread is available on noirfacade, but my favorites are below. She shows incredible versatility. First, she's a fresh-faced waif dressed in white; minutes later, she sheds the innocence for a tougher, harder look, and she's just as perfect.

Knocking It Out

I'm a firm believe that the Met Gala is the biggest fashion event of the year, bigger than the Oscars. The fashion, as one can expect, is always inspiring. We often see so many insipid dresses worn to the Academy Awards that people go ga-ga over. Kate Winslet, for example, accepted her award in a terrible gown. Not that this doesn't happen at the Gala, but even when they're bad, they're at least interesting.

My best dressed from this week's event has got to be Jessica Szohr, of Gossip Girl fame, in Atelier Versace. She brought everything I love about red carpet dressing: she was interesting, fashion-forward and sexy. She selected an excellent silhouette that showed off her bangin' body and the color was A+. All and all, I thought she looked absolutely stunning. While others were drooling over J.Lo's princess dress or Blake Lively's obvious option (both of whom looked great), I couldn't get over how perfect Ms. Szohr looked. I was blown away.