District L

Hello, my name is Amanda. I enjoy long walks on the beach and relaxing with a good book in the park.

Actually, no – that couldn’t be any further from the truth. I have never been able to really appreciate nature with the distraction of defecating pets, uneven grounds, and the occasional inconvenience of an enforced open container law.

Now, I’d like to introduce Park Here, the Nolita “pop-up park” in Openhouse Gallery. This indoor venue at 201 Mulberry is complete with artificial trees, Astroturf, benches, and a hammock. Being the only one of my friends to have the day off from work, I jumped at the opportunity to discover a space that collectively, we wouldn’t have survived but three minutes. So I threw a pair of denim cut-offs over my leggings, found my "most outdoorsy" pair of shoes, and headed for Mulberry and Spring.

Much like a real park, Park Here boasted all of the telltale signs: distracted PTA moms, an awkward first date picnic, a knitting hipster… except this park had Savage Night at the Opera escaping its artfully hidden speakers, a hushed BYOB policy, and promises of risotto tater tots.

Nevertheless, as soon as I'm finished writing this piece, I'll have to depart from the squealing toddlers and preoccupied mothers. It takes a certain kind of person to enjoy a park of any variation, but I am not quite ready to speak with them yet.

Post by Amanda LaMela

There is nothing more painful than the caustic return of Monday after a good weekend -- especially those excruciating moments right before viewing my Chase Checking balance for the first time in three days… But as unavoidable as the first flannel purchase for a new Williamsburg resident, Monday made its bitter return.

So what other option do I have than to reflect upon the past days’ unabashed consumption and celebration?

Festivities began early last week with Anna Dello Russo’s INC launch at Openhouse Gallery. The Wednesday night event possessed the right ingredients for a perfect party – Champagne, models, and a famous style icon.

The second half of last week enjoyed its good share of meet-ups. My first stop was Ludlow to visit designer and friend, Lois Eastlund. As I browsed through her new color-ways and styles, we caught up and discussed a particularly exciting photo shoot on the horizon.

Two Bisousciao macrons later, I finally summoned the courage to elbow my way through Soho. When I finally exhaled inside Bloomindales, I was immediately drawn to a table of megawatt LARUICCI cocktail rings like a sorority girl drawn to glittery puff paint and plastic stemware. Designer, Lauren Ruicci, was busy greeting impressed visitors at her weekend trunk show.

“We have a lot in the works for fashion week,” she hinted, “but I can’t really divulge much yet!”

After a bit of self-pampering and shopping, it was time for another rooftop rendezvous with friends -- once again, falling into a champagne haze in the name of birthday celebration. But by 8pm, it was already time to start pulling ourselves together for the Digitalism show at Terminal 5.

Post by Amanda LaMela

Anna Dello Russo, the Editor at Large and creative consultant for Vogue Japan, is celebrating her new Editor at Large arrangement with INC for the Fall/Holiday 2011 season. During this evening’s event, guests previewed ADR’s launch at Openhouse Gallery.

With a full champagne bar and music by DJ Sky Ferreira, we spent our Wednesday night mingling amongst a line-up of fabulous color-blocking and fuchsia fur.

Post by Amanda LaMela