Coney Island High

Sadly, it's been at least a decade since the awesome punk club, Coney Island High on St. Mark's Place, shut down so I have to get my Coney Island fix at... well... Coney Island! Though you won't see The Misfits, Fleshtones, Beasties, The Donnas or even the Ramone boys -- you will see The Wonder Wheel, Cyclone, Nathan's Hot Dogs and Zoltar!  

Zoltar will tell you your fortune

It's been far too long since my bestie/partner in crime, Wendy Brandes and I visited the famous Brooklyn amusement park, so we made a promise to get there at least once this summer.  And, I'm happy to report this past Tuesday, we kept our promise!  

The famous Wonder Wheel

The journey started well before we actually arrived at the park -- it's at least an hour subway ride from our Manhattan hood and, like our last trip, it was eventful!  This time, our train ride included a slightly crazy woman who asked us at least one hundred times, "Is this Ocean Parkway?"  We answered every time with the appropriate number of stops left until she reached her destination, so we were a little taken aback when we finally reached Ocean Parkway and she mumbled, "God bless you... dumb bitches" as she debarked. No good deed goes unpunished.

Wendy waits in line!

Anyway, it was a picture perfect day and we were glad to spend some quality time on the beach before hitting the rides.  Okay, I didn't go on any rides.  But, I did support Wendy while she braved the giant Wonder Wheel -- in one of the swinging cars, nonetheless.  No stationary cars for Badass Wendy!  I have less than a stomach of steel and, therefore, cannot handle anything that spins quicker than the merry-go-round.  I made a valiant effort last time on the Tilt-A-Whirl and I thought they needed to rename it the "Whirl and Hurl."  I would also vote for the "Vomit Comet" instead of the Cyclone.  But, I digress...

my kind of ride!  

The history, the beach and the company were the most important components of the visit to me.  Oh, and the outfits!  My stylish mom, Suzette, had recently sent me a few vintage pics of some NYC landmarks including, Coney Island. So, I was in the mood to create a circa 1900 vibe with my ensemble.  I think I did pretty well!

vintage pic of Coney Island, circa 1900

Coney Island outfit

Dress: 'S MaxMara

Bag: Francesco Biasia

Sneaks: Steve Madden

Hat: Coney Island Boardwalk

Bracelet: Ozbek for Pollini 

Wendy wore an edgy outfit and looked adorable and ready to conquer both the beach AND the Wonder Wheel -- that's saying a lot!  Oh, and we both got "inked" (a.k.a. airbrushed) by the same guy, Roy, who inked us three years ago!  I opted for two bunnies (in honor of my baby, "Miles Rabbit," who I miss dearly) and Wendy got a dragon (she is the girl with the dragon tattoo).

super stylish WendyB

At the end of a fun-filled day, we decided that we would try to make one more trip out to Coney Island for our 'high' this summer, so stay tuned...

Fun Stuff

Just another day in NYC's Garment Center...

Stacy's Style List

99% of the time when I meet somebody new and they ask me what I do, their immediate reaction is to point at whatever it is I'm wearing (and it could literally be a pair of Levi's and a Hanes tee) and say, "Is that yours?"  While it can drive me a little crazy, I guess most people don't really understand what goes into making one-of-a-kind pieces.  I wish I had an unlimited amount of time to spend draping on my trusty dress form, Sadie and sitting at my sewing machine, but I have to eat, sleep (on occasion), clean, do laundry (rarely), grocery shop and, oh yeah... run a business.  Often, that means multiple trips to Staples, the post office and the garment center in addition to the day to day sketching, sewing and hours of email correspondence. Of course, if a chain store wanted to place an order for 100,000 units, I'd have a factory make the product and I'd be able to produce many more styles than I do as one individual.  That being said, I most often save my own pieces for important events and the rest of the time I wear other labels and brands just like the rest of you.  We're experiencing some extra warm spring weather in NYC lately, so I'm sharing my style picks for right now...

 

Gucci Side Band Pant

Available at Bergdorf Goodman

 

Burberry Trench

Available at Neiman Marcus 

 

Rick Owens, Spring 2012 Runway

Style.com (Photo: Marcus Tondo/GoRunway.com)

Inspiration / Interpretation

Designers are always striving to come up with new ideas, new direction and trend.  However, in the world of fashion, most everything has been done already -- many times over.  The peplum is an emerging trend this season, but it's certainly nothing new.  If you didn't own a garment with some sort of peplum treatment back in the eighties, then you must have been living under a rock (or you weren't born yet!).  And the peplum wasn't exactly a new idea back in the eighties either -- it had been done before.  Trends and styles constantly recycle.  In fashion, designers reinterpret these ideas and trends by putting their "spin" on them and making them look fresh and current.  I'm no different.  I've mentioned before that my fall 2012 collection was based on the "mod" scene from the 1960's.  Actually, one of my greatest influences as a young designer was visionary, André Courrèges.  I saw one of his 60's suits featured in Connoisseur Magazine in 1986 and I tore the page out and kept it ever since.  I always wanted to do something that payed homage to the suit and to the great designer so, in February, I finally did.

INSPIRATION

André Courrèges suit, 1965
(photo source left, right)

INTERPRETATION

  

STACY LOMMAN : NEW YORK / Fall 2012

Photos: Shane LaVancher

To view the rest of my fall, "Modern World" collection and to hear me speak about my influence and about Courrèges, check out the video below (directed by Steve Lars).

The Emperor's FAB Clothes!

Just a typical day in NYC -- hustle, bustle, traffic jams, train delays, smelly subway platforms, crowded subway cars...  Sometimes a city girl has to stop, take the good with the bad, soak it all in and appreciate how lucky she is to live in such a marvelous, colorful town.  So, that's exactly what I did the other day when I found myself on the #6 train sitting next to none other than the Emperor of New York City!  That's right, I said the Emperor!  Yah, I didn't know there was such a thing either.

one of the cards the Emperor gave me (he is on the left)

For those of you who aren't familiar with the Upper East Side, suffice it to say it's not exactly edgy.  Think UGG boots, little dogs, manis, pedis, nannies, baby carriages and lots of girls named Alexis.  Even in NYC, unique people attract a lot of attention.  And so, when a tall stately man wearing a fur stole, an awesome top hat with two extra large, curved plumes and rocks for rings on each and every finger (with nails painted black) was spotted on the train, people stared.  Alexis' jaw dropped.  A boy in a Pittsburgh Steelers tee shirt, (obviously a tourist), took a photo with his phone.  I didn't bat an eye.  I'm jaded.  But, then I noticed the rings.  Then, I noticed the earrings.  I thought about passing him WendyB's card!  Then, I noticed the pretty fan he carried with what seemed to be seven feet of tassel dangling off the bottom.  He had to keep picking it up off the floor and draping it over his lap, delicately sitting it on top of the fur stole.

another postcard

Okay, I was intrigued.  Okay, I was more than intrigued.  "Who is this fabulous man?" I thought.  It takes a special kind of person to walk around in such an outfit.  It takes a confident, social and creative person.  Well, that's my kind of person!  So, I waited till we hit Union Square and it just so happened we both exited the train at that stop.  I just HAD to find out who this dude was... what he did... what his story was.  So, I asked what he did for a living.  "What don't I do?" he said.  "I'm the Emperor of New York."  To which I responded with a chuckle.  I quickly realized he was dead serious.  "Oh, I didn't even know there was an Emperor," I said.  Luckily, that didn't offend his Royal Highness (is that appropriate in this case??) and he told me about all the fundraisers and parties he attends as an official representative of NYC.  Cool.  I want that gig!  And so we exchanged cards and I scooted along because I was running ten minutes late as per usual and I left him to be accosted by a group of Hasdic Jews for a photo opp (which I found kind of odd)!  Such a New York moment!!

thinking maybe I should go to this!