style is easy to see, grace is more rare than gold

I was wandering around Soho last night with my friend Echo, and we stopped outside an apparently popular nightlife corner (Spring and Renwick Streets) where there are several bars clustered together. I like watching people. How they communicate, interact, represent themselves, it's all fascinating. I was really surprised how obviously bad most of the clubwear outfits looked. Granted, this seemed to be a college and Wall Street wannabe crowd, but you ought to be at least able to get one piece of an outfit right.

Choice questions for the girls came to mind...

• "Sweetheart, are you color blind?"
• "You've got money for cosmopolitans, but not a mirror?"
• "Did you loot that during a blackout?"

A few had put in some effort and they really stood out, especially when they walked to the bar across the street and nearly tripped every other step clomping along in their expensive high heels, looking more like they were wearing ski boots than anything in the range of a Jimmy Choo.

One of my first thoughts as we had approached this corner was "hey, look, cute girls hanging out on the sidewalk" (they were in line for the door), but after hanging around for a few minutes my somewhat jaded fashion photographer sensibilities kicked in full force and all I saw was sad confused people.

gallery opening - "nudes" - photography by Mark Baptiste

I was at the opening of Mark Baptiste's new gallery show, "nudes," last night. All female nudes in soft light. He did some interesting things with focus and light filtered through glass. Essentially found settings, not particularly controlled environments. Lots of concrete and windows and hotel room sheets.

The party was packed with people. An ecclectic NYC mix. Fun miniature champagne bottles from Nicolas Feuillatte ran out all too soon with the hoarde, by my stylist friend Cameron has saved two of the lanyards which were attached to the bottles for use in a photoshoot at some point.

I was trying to figure out which person Mark Baptiste actually was, because I've heard of him but never met him. Alas, he was elusive, and I still don't know what he looks like.

There were a number of models in attendance, but I didn't know any of them except recognizing the striking face of Jade, a contestant from the America's Next Top Model television series, whose oversized portrait stood out among the collection of images near the bar.

The exhibit is open from May 28th to June 2nd, 10am-6pm, at Milk Gallery, 450 west 15th Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues.

Nice pictures. Worth a look.

A Green Dinosaur

A friend was telling me earlier today that new archaeological evidence (feather-like pattenrs in fossils) points to the notion that some larger dinosaurs, including the Tyrannosaurus Rex, may have had a layer of feathers over their scales.

This reminded me of my favorite cocktail: The Green Dinosaur

• 2 oz Grey Goose Vodka
  
• 2 oz Hendrick's Gin
  
• 2 oz Bacardi 151 Rum
  
• 2 oz Midori Melon Liqueur
• 2 oz Triple Sec
• 2 oz Sweet and Sour Mix
• 2 oz Sierra Mist