hot on the heels of new york-london-milan-paris fashion week kicking off today, i had a moment of reflection this morning: which collections in all of my years of fashion show viewing remain my favorite? making the grade in more ways than one was jun takahashi’s amazeballs fall 2008 interpretation. this show blew my mind in paris to such an extent i can feel my jaw hit the floor as i continue to type these words. just utterly epic. in my opinion, in all probability, we’re lucky if we score 3 – 4 great collections each season. and although i’m the eternal optimist, the chances of finding another awe-inspiring collection like this are slim. jun takahashi shout-outs and big love to his amazing team in tokyo!!

here’s a shining example of organic brilliance in full effect. JB & NIC taylor are the wunderkinds of thunderwing press. i dig their style and their energy so what happens? we hook up a contra deal: i spread the word about their snazzy letterpress stationary in exchange for some amazing DELINLEE DELOVELY personalized magic. before too long the grapevine starts to sizzle and BAM, i send a note to my dear pal garance dore (girlfriend of scott schuman aka the sartorialist). double bam! she loves it, she orders some stationary, and what do you know? this month they grant thunderwing press a shout-out in vanity fair mgazine. the moral of the story: surround yourself with great people who you love and cherish and watch what the universe creates for everyone. its a win/win deal.

here is a prime example of an adelaide beauty if ever there was one. la belle teresa worked an at old-school italian cafe during my teen years and i used to watch men turn to jelly around her as they ordered gelati. think traditional italian looks with a twist and a personality that provoked people to say “they broke the mould when they made you.” yesterday under the palm trees of venice beach i bumped into teresa some fifteen years later. still as gorgeous and vibrant as ever, this time inked on each arm and strolling with a smile in her post-jetlag haze, as if the day would last forever…

avec roy lichtenstein’s 1965 masterpiece “sunrise” and THIS playing in the background.

evidently yesterday’s conversation topic was more west coast than, let’s say, the recently hurricane-hit east coast, however miu miu’s latest eyewear coup – that would be madge on the venice film festival red carpet this week donning the occhiali collection – is driving certain fashion peeps utterly bongo. what’s interesting from a retail standpoint is that i tried these amazing shades last week-end at the ultra-lovely miu miu boutique on rodeo drive in my neighborhood and they’re not even available for purchase yet. priced at $390.00, the staff at miu miu are currently taking credit card orders that land you on a wait-list as stock won’t be arriving until mid-october!!