Summer Trends: Elderly Women's Fashion in South Korea

"I have noticed something. Elderly women are staunchly devoted to wearing flower prints. Gaudy, chic, loud, subdued, multicolored, monochromatic -- they rock it all. I have decided to launch a photography series fondly entitled 'Flowers in Bloom' to exhibit this captivating fashion trend in South Korea."

- my favorite person Jin Ha. Haha.

Flowers in Bloom first started as a Facebook album on Jin's account; but after tons of replies and "likes" by his friends, Jin decided to take the series to the next level.

This blog is a go-to for laughs. Some (elderly women who ride the subways of Seoul) might be offended, but it's all in good humor as Jin is really just sharing his Korean love and pride with the world. Each picture is accompanied by a blurb - his prose in each is wonderully hilarious.

Next to this photo Jin wrote, "the model didn't ruin the shot by crossing her arms. She created a vanilla cream horizon upon which the sun-flame red flower could rise."

koreanflowersinbloom.tumblr.com

A Watermelon Salad for Summer

I love summer barbeques just as much as anybody, but if you’re cooking for a lot of people it certainly pays to keep things simple. On Memorial Day I put on a barbeque for thirty-five and was thrilled when so many guests asked me for the watermelon salad recipe. Since then, it’s been a summer staple. The chef-owners of Animal in Los Angeles and coauthors of “Two Dudes, One Pan” Vinny Dotolo and Jon Shook, deserve a lot of credit for this one. The salad is a whole lot more than your typical watermelon + feta combo because of the bitter-sweet dialogue between the watermelon and arugula elevated by the basil and mint. Prep is a snap.

3 cups cubed seedless watermelon
1/4 cup crumbled feta
8 fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
6 fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
Juice of 2 lemons
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups arugula
-Serves 6

Mix everything in a large mixing bowl, save the arugula and a bit of feta. Let sit for a minute and toss in those bitter leaves. Serve and top with remaining feta.

Freshness counts for this salad, and it’s also best when served immediately. Despite this, it’s still a great candidate for a potluck.

Happy summer!

Summer Trends: Clearly Super Cool

Remember how the popular shoes when we were 7 years old were those jelly sandals from Gap?

My love for this trend has been reignited recently. Although I still love the jelly sandals, I'm a big girl now so I've graduated to clear high heels and totes.

My favorite clear heels are the ones done by Prada - so elegant while still fun and summery. Am-lul's Gala Gonzales pulls them off quite well.

Not sure what she's wearing, but Garance Dore's clear heels are so pretty (especially with that nail color).

But here's an example of a clear heel gone so wrong: Taylor Momsen's stripper look.

But I think I like the clear bags even more than the shoes. I always wonder, what's the point of a bag if you have to put another bag inside it? But then I remember that I always lose things in the depths of my bags, so a clear bag might actually be perfect for keeping tracking of where my keys, phone, metrocard, etc. are in my bag.

My favorites this summer are Alex Wang's and Prada's versions.

Rocco Duffle:

Model Samantha Gradoville carrying the Prada clear bag:

A.E.G.

She goes by Annie, Agraham, Anniegrammie, A-bel, and Bells.

Meet the lovely Annabel (that's her real name).

Dis gorl is so fyne yo.

Storm King

We spent an unconventional 4th of July at Storm King in the Hudson River Valley. We've been to Dia in Beacon before, but never Storm King. It was so much fun!!

Despite it being 100 degrees and despite that I forgot to bring the real camera, I had a wonderful time just driving through the hills and walking around the various sculptures.

I think my favorites were the ones done by

Menashe Kadishman

Mark di Suvero

Kenneth Snelson

Henry Moore

Robert Grosvenor

and Richard Serra

Storm King is definitely worth going to if you just need to get out of Manhattan. But it was especially cool to see, as with any architectural piece plopped in the middle of a natural landscape, how these spaces interact with each other.