1. Happy Halloween!, 2. Welcome Hoooome……., 3. OLD, 4. Halloween 2006

Okay, Halloween is that time honored tradition of dressing up and eating candy. Which means its a great day in my book. When I was younger, I didn’t really get the chance to celebrate Halloween that much. It was either by my grandmother’s or I was let loose with some friends in adjacent apartment buildings. That’s city life for you! I do remember my dad taking me to the Halloween Parade in the Village a couple of times, which was always fun! But it wasn’t until I was older as a teen that I really got to enjoy Halloween and it hasn’t stopped since then.

This morning, I spied little witches, pirates, 18th-century gentlemen in children who barely reach my waist on their way to school and I think it is the cutest thing evah! Last year, my nephew was a lobster but at press time his outfit is still undetermined.

Amy Winehouse was the outfit of choice last year for so many and this year it’s obviously Sarah Palin but in many different forms. I’ve toyed with many different ideas because I want to be everything but I can’t. Don’t worry I will post the outfit choice later.

Sorry for the rambling, I will leave you with something I remembered while watching those little kids marching to school. From one of my favorite childhood books, Ramona the Pest where Ramona wants to be the baddest witch in the world but wants everyone to recognize her even though she has a mask on. So, she decides to write her name on a piece of paper so she can be identified in the parade. Something about that always stood out to me. I even found an illustration from the book.

So, this post goes out to all the kids and the young at heart celebrating today!
♥ the alchemist

These images by Solve Sundsbo are absolutely stunning. I need some visual inspiration as I
have been in a rather unproductive mood lately. Peinture editorial from Numero magazine.







via wickedhalo

♥ the alchemist

Hey lovelies,

hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!!

I thought I would start off this Monday with a ridiculously funny video. For those, who do not know about NYC downtown transsexual legend Amanda Lepore, here is a visual:

Amanda is a muse for photographer David LaChapelle and fashion house Heatherette.

Yu-gi-oh! is a Japanese anime cartoon and trading card game.

AMV is an Anime Music Video.

Amanda Lepore + Yu-gi-oh!= hilarity

This is the AMV of Amanda Lepore’s song “My Hair Looks Fierce” and Yu-gi-oh!

♥ the alchemist

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to attend the Younity “Heart & Soul” Exhibition and Book Launch at Alphabeta in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The show is comprised of 60 women artists who came together to showcase their work. What I love about Younity is that it was founded last year by artists Alice Mizrachi and Toofly because they believed that urban contemporary women artists did not have a properly organized forum to showcase their work. So, they took matters into their own hands.
The show is great and I loved the range of art and the outside graffiti wall was KILLA!




I’m in love with these wooden rings by Kerri O’Connell!


Surrounded by all the great artwork and people, I spied a piece that seemed familiar to me somehow. As I got closer, I realized that it was in the style of uber-fabulous & uber-talented Nubby Twiglet and then I realized that it was a piece by the Nubby Twiglet.

“Harajuku Hijinks” is stunning and I finally got to see a Nubby piece up close and personal!!! Trust me these pictures don’t do it any justice.

If you can, check out this amazing exhibit before it ends on Nov 17th.
Alphabeta 70 Greenpoint Ave

♥ the alchemist

Hey lovelies,
this little kid is so GANGSTA!

♥ the alchemist

This year’s Williamsburg Fashion Weekend was a two-day extravaganza filled with independent designers with great aesthetics set in an amazing venue.
Secret Project Robot Gallery provided the backdrop for the event which added to the festive, creative energy in the air. Arthur Arbit, founder of Williamsburg Fashion Weekend, wanted to create an event for designers who are not necessarily eager to be mainstream and are willing to take more chances.
One thing that I loved was that all of these Brooklyn-based designers use eco-friendly and fair-trade materials. The designers who showed on the first night, Friday were SDN, Compai and King Gurvy. What I liked about the shows were the presentation of the designs, art meets fashion in a very installation type of way which made it all the more interesting to observe.
SDN by Marcus Hicks was a dark show with interesting silhouettes and a fantastic, edgy mood.

Compai by Faith and Justina Blakeney showcased their one-of-a-kind limited edition pieces made from recycled materials. I loved all of the quirky details in this particular show including the use of vintage gloves as embellishments.

Last but not least, King Gurvy by Arthur Arbit showed pieces that reflected his love of using recycled materials to create wearable pieces for both men and women.

The 2nd night kicked off with Untitled 11:11′s debut collection which I was simply blown away by.

The show was infused with a flight theme with the models acting like flight attendants and besides the beautiful designs, the styling of the show was perfection. There were some really amazing dresses that I drooled over as they passed by. The models helped to make the show interactive when they passed out in-flight treats to the audience. Honestly wherever designers, David Peck and Laurel Anderson were taking us I would follow in several of their amazing creations!

Next was Racecar, a new menswear line from designer Jeannette Tiso which is a collection of handmade vests. There were some great looks in there that would be perfect on those cool guys in your life.

The last show was a combination of three designers, Sodafine, Dear Birthday and Treehouse Boutique. All the models went to a picnic in the middle of the space and popped champagne and ate apples while wearing interesting pieces.

All in all, I was amazed by the scope of talent from the designers who while they all had their own unique aesthetic were united in their quest for bringing something new and fresh to the fashion scene.

Here are some behind the scenes shots:






for more pics of the event, check out the Williamsburg fashion weekend flickr pool

special thanks to Tom McAlister for all of his help!
♥ the alchemist

I love Rebecca Turbow’s design aesthetic and her video for Spring 2009 is frantic, interesting and just plain cool.

♥ the alchemist

Hey guys, this week has been a little quiet mostly due to feeling under the weather. I didn’t want the whole week to slip away from me without posting anything so I dug through the archives and am bringing back this post from earlier this year. Don’t worry there will be new material and I have some great pics to share with you from Williamsburg Fashion Weekend.

ORIGINALLY POSTED 2/11/08

How To Write A Love Letter To Yourself

photo by mayr on flickr

February: The shortest month of the year is filled with so much extra goodness, celebration of black history, different international fashion weeks, glorious and exotic carnivals filled with revelry and of course, St. Valentine’s Day.

Now, there are some people who act as though Valentine’s Day is the only time to express to someone that you care about them which I completely disagree with. Hello, there’s 364 other days and add one more because 2008’s a leap year.

Then, there are those who cynically look at couples who celebrate Valentine’s Day and sneer their faces at the stupidity of it all. Again, this is something else that I completely disagree with. The idea of sharing love with someone is a wonderful sentiment.

Finally, there are those who don’t have someone to celebrate with and tend to feel bad about their situation. For these folks, I would suggest that instead of feeling cynical or bad that you should embrace the fact that you can always love yourself. Now, before you start rolling your eyes and thinking this is quickly slipping into cheesy territory, please hear me out.

There was a time several years ago that I was stuck in an emotionally draining relationship, the type that tugs at your self-esteem leaving you to feel completely helpless and vulnerable. During this time, when I felt lost and unhappy I took the opportunity to do something that instantly reminded me of my self-worth and that I was a good person deserving of a proper relationship. I wrote myself a love letter.

We’ve all been to that place where we have been filled with these intense emotions about another person that we want to sing our joy from the rooftops. You know, where you walk around in a daze with a goofy grin because life seems so wonderful. Or you inexplicably, start skipping down the street. This is an incredible feeling and a sliver of what connects all of us as a part of the human experience. This feeling is what I wanted to express to myself.

All of us deserve to feel like kings and queens even when we do and don’t get that from our significant others. Yet, once in a relationship, many of us forget about ourselves and when things head south we try to figure out what we did wrong and why things didn’t work out the way that we had anticipated.

This letter brought me back to the fact that I didn’t have to be in a situation that was not healthy for me. That I didn’t have to settle when there was so much more to experience in life. If gave me, much needed perspective.

So, I suggest to us all, that even if you have someone and are completely happy and even if you don’t and are content that it doesn’t hurt to reinforce what an awesome person you are.

First: You can use any paper that you want, a lined page from a notebook, parchment paper, a blank sheet. If you feel the urge to tap away at a vintage typewriter or try your hand at some lovely calligraphy: go for it!

Next: Find a spot to sit somewhere and spend some time with your thoughts and feelings. This is your declaration of love to yourself. Don’t rush it. Take the time to make it you. Make it fun.

Then: Write about all the lovely things that make you happy. Do you like your smile? Put that in there. Acknowledge that you are amazing. Put in anything and everything that you like about yourself.

Make it gushy, make it sentimental, make it straightforward. Just make sure to remind yourself that you are wonderful regardless of any circumstance. All of us deserve to be treated with a certain amount of respect.

Quick note: You’ll probably feel awkward and quite self-conscious but trust me push past these feelings.

Also, you don’t have to wait for a special occasion like Valentine’s Day to write yourself a love letter, whenever you feel like you need a reminder of the goodness that is you, take the time to do it.

To this day, I’ll occasionally pull the letter out and it makes me smile to think about that girl who had the presence of mind to not let what one individual had to say or made her feel dictate how she felt about herself. I’m not saying that this is the answer to all problems but it definitely helped to get me back on track.

What would you put in your letter? Would you even write one?

♥ the alchemist

Hey there lovelies! Hope everyone had a great weekend. To start the week off right, here’s a video that I have been laughing at since I saw it a few weeks ago on Street Boners and TV Carnage. It is sofa king genius.

Sophie Can Walk

♥ the alchemist

Once again, thanks to everyone for entering or supporting stylealchemy’s 1st contest: Fall Into Fall!!!

Cue: marching band and whistles

Okay, no more suspense, time to reveal the winner::
drum roll please

Mel from The Thrifting Vignettist
who lamented that because of where she lived, Fall is usually a two-week event that fluctuates from 80 to 20 degree weather (Fahrenheit) and doesn’t last and she was excited about her very limited Fall season. She then proceeded to stun and delight me with this awesome limerick:

Fall is a two-week teaser
A fickle and short-term pleaser
After blistering heat
Before snow and sleet
Fall is the Brutus to my Caesar

Um, yea, I know pretty awesome.

So Mel, you are now the proud owner of a $50 Urban Outfitters card. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!
P.S. I also sent you a confirmation email.

Thanks to everyone for entering, be on the lookout for more contests!!

♥ the alchemist

Okay, I’ve raved about wardrobe_remix on flickr and other street style websites. Now its time for me to gush over Lookbook. I go to Lookbook when I want a global view of style in one spot. I have found many inspiring photos that I adore but out of all the wonderful people on there (and its a lot) there’s one style muse that I am drawn to.

Nouk B hails from Germany and he delivers impressive style.

His shorts are made out of 2 shirts and his jacket from 2 jeans!! Ingenious.




In many cases, men’s styles are so under-represented that when I see a stylish guy, its a breath of fresh air. Us, women rule the style websites and I’m always going to be inspired but what we wear and how we put it together. Yet, there’s something intriguing about a guy who is having fun with fashion.

Luv. it. lots.

♥ the alchemist

Alright, that’s it. The Fall Into Fall Contest is officially over!! I will be sifting through the entries and will announce a winner shortly.
Thanks to everyone for entering!!

♥ the alchemist