Water for Thought.....

Roma

By Wednesday last week I had started to get itchy feet, so I hopped on a plane to Rome to meet up with my dear friend who was there for the weekend. Staying at our other dear friends luxurious palazzo, it was a weekend filled with art, shopping, strolling, eating (a lot of mozzarella, pecorino, tomatos & roquette), drinking vino and sipping frothy cappucinos. Everything that makes Rome such a great city to visit! Start to finish it was non-stop fun – shopping up a storm and even being invited to a famous senators fancy apartment where we were taken on a guided tour of the palazzo and got to see the room where the Pope once slept!
Other things Kitkat & amici did:
• View the incredible Cy Twombly exhibition at Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna. Twombly is regarded as one of the foremost American abstract expressionist painters in the world today. His fascination with poetry and classical mythology presents itself in vast canvases of light, color, graffiti, squiggles from pastels, smears from a palate knife, splotches of paint and landscapes filled iwht movement and depth.
• Shopping – of course the area around Piazza Espangola is the best. Aside from the Gucci & Chanel’s we found some nice gems – and many of them on via Del Babuino . Of course I am a huge fan of Belstaff for leather jackets, great boots and pants, but our two lovely discoveries were TAD & Osklen. TAD is a concept store with a great range of clothing, shoes, accessories, perfumes, furniture, gadgets, fabrics and flowers. You can also eat in the café or have your hair styled in their salon. Great ambience, assortments and sensory experience. Osklen was another great discovery. A brazilian brand out of Rio de Janeiro, their menswear and women’s wear feature super soft , high quality cotton and linen which drape so beautifully. Most especially their leather bags and shoes were very unique and I love their range of sexy swimwear that the Brazilians are so well-known for. Also and absolute pleasure was the great salespeople who are very knowleageable (& proud) of their brand!
• Mangia, Mangia, Mangia!! Vino, Vino, Vino!! Ok so I confess that we ate at a few resto’s but frankly we hung out mostly at only one and kept on going back. GUSTO (Piazza Augusto Imperatore) was fantastico! – Ristorante pizzeria, osteria fromaggeria, wine bar and ristorante di persce. These different parts of the resto group are clustered around the piazza and we just kept on hopping from one to the next. So much so that the waiters asked us after day 2 if we were coming back the next day. Great vino, cheese, salad and pizza. Ambience and vibe is great in wine bar, ristorante, and live music on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Last and not least a trip to Roma is not complete without a great run in the Villa Borghese. Snaking up the hill, through the park and clocking up some mileage (and a great sweat), we looked down on the beautiful vista of rooftops and cupola’s below with church bells tolling. The true sound of Roma…

Yellowman

A few years ago I was on a flight to LA and I saw this guy wearing the most amazing top. Made from high tech mesh, the print was of the most elaborate tattoo design. He explained that they choose designs from artisan tattoo artists - so most designs are one of a kind; and the fabric itself fits like a second skin - a super-fine, silk-like athletic technical fabric that keeps your skin dry and comfortable. That guy turned out to be Peter Mui of Yellowman. At that time, they were just about to launch their first store in LA. Since, then I have tracked their progress and am happy to see they are going from strength to strength....
If you have a chance, check out their website www.yellowman.com and read their ten reasons why Yellowman ROCKS!

Yellowman - perfect for self-expression and for those with a thirst for adventure

GIVENCHY
Ave George V
Week 1 in the series of "Windows in Paris" and we start with Givenchy because they're one of my favorites. Clearly - it's biker chic with some S& M undertones! The other theme is tuxedo-inspired masculine suits. Black & white and leather paired with faded denim...

ROCK 'N ROLLER

Premiere Classe - Tuilleries Paris.

Pret week and when you're not hurtling between shows, you are going to this accessories show. Lots of yummy stuff to see and here are some of my favorites:

Jewelry:
Philippe Audibert ( photo above). Cuffs of all kinds in silver - interesting textures and sizes.
Goti - Biker chic at its best. Chunky silver chains, cuffs and bracelets ( and great range of perfumes as well)
Shamane - as it's name implies, american-indian inspired. Leather neck ties, lariats and bracelets, cords with silver engraved pendants.
Chan Luu for great indian-inspired leather bracelets in various combinations.

Bags:
Abaco...super-slouchy, suede and tassles and an interesting rendition of the old Le Sac bags in Nylon
Jerome Dreyfuss - stunning and vivid plum suede for Fall mixed in animal prints.
...and cleaning up on orders was Henry Cuir- distressed leather bags.

Shoes (glorious shoes!):
It's all about the heel and platforms next season.
Loeffler Randall - platforms.
Henry Beguelin for their stunning distressed leather boots, bags and apparel
and a really cute line - sweet steps by Dove Nuotano Flu Squali. Boots with interesting details

Gloves:
Agnelle...for the usual classics and some fun new renditions in deep blue.

Stay tuned for more......

ON THE GO.....

I move fast. Always have. That's why this image is a blur because that is me and I love it. No time to stand still or for complacency. My friends watch me as I chase around. My good friend G joked one day that I was always on my way to an appointment. This can be good and it can also be bad. Why is it that many people like me just cannot sit down and just be? Worse than that, it's our minds that keep on ticking over - Facebook, Asmallworld, LinkedIn, Twitter... I think sometimes we are so hyper-stimulated it is us who suffer from ADD rather than the kids! With our Crackberry's and IPhones............
Last week I was skiing and because I had my Iphone with me, I could photograph and upload images and sentiments of the day. My nephew was with me with his Iphone and between the two of us, we pretty much covered the sights and sounds of St. Moritz! The upside for me is that I am always on top of things. Whenever I see a great design or concept, I can just whip my phone out and snatch a shot.
So watch out for the next series of up 'n coming blogs on trends and travel because it doesn't look like I am slowing down any day soon....

In the mood for Fleurs(flowers)

What an exquisite day here in Paris. Sun is shining and there's a freshness to the air that comes with Autumn. Such a wonderful time of year providing the sun is shining. Because the sun don't always shine in Paris. It can get kinda grey (not to mention my english teacher who would be turning grey from that badly slandered sentence). In fact speaking of sun, I was in London last weekend and it was absolutely beautiful there as well. Which is somewhat of a miracle because it rained there most of August. Being a child of Africa, I revel in the sun. I had a taste of that in Sardinia this past summer where for 7 days I spent the most amazing time with good friends on a boat in no more than a string bikini for most of the day. More miraculous was that I literally never put on a pair of shoes the whole time ( & makeup for that matter too). Isn't it funny that the times we remember as the best are sometimes the simplest of times? It's really the little things that make the biggest difference..
Today, as I wandered around my favorite place in all of Paris - Rue Cler in the 7th arondissment with the sun shining on my face, I stopped in at one of my favorite florists - Cler Fleurs. After choosing what I wanted, I stood back and watched as a beautiful bouquet was made just for me. Then I walked down the cobble-stoned street lined with fruit vendors, cheese makers, cafes and boutiques and I reveled in the fact that something so simple could make me so content.