Crabby in Chinatown

Leather Jacket: Mason
Red cashmere sweater: Vince
Tee: Old Navy
Skinny Pants: 7 for All Mankind
Eel boots: Devi Kroell
Bag: Fendi

A friend suggested that I post about my regular haunts in Chinatown. My husband and I absolutely adore Yeah Shanghai Deluxe, an unassuming gem tucked away on Bayard Street.

Making soup dumplings in the storefront window

Crab soup dumplings, or xiaolongbao, miraculously contain hot delicious soup in their core. Lightly sprinkle one with the ginger soy sauce dip, place this ball of goodness on your spoon, take a small bite out of the top, and sip the soup before you enjoy the yummy crab meat and chewy dough. (If you don't like crab, they have a pork version that's equally popular.)

Crabs in brown sauce with edamame and rice cakes. I'm a huge seafood lover, and crabs hold a special place in my gustatory heart.
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Sacre bleu! What is this?

How on earth could I miss

Such a sweet little succulent crab

Quel dommage. What a loss

Here we go in the sauce

Now some flour, I think just a dab

Now I stuff you with bread

It don't hurt cause you're dead

And you're certainly lucky you are

'Cause it's gonna be hot

In my big silver pot

Tootle-loo, mon poison, au revoir!

--"Les Poissons" from The Little Mermaid

Beef with Bean Curd over Rice

Right next door, Chinatown Ice Cream Factory has amazing home-made ice-cream with a slew of exotic flavors for even the most jaded ice-cream eater. I personally love the red bean flavor.

Chinatown has several of these candy/dried fruit emporiums. I managed to get one shot of the display case before the saleslady barked at me. I got 1/4 lb of the dried plum and dried yam.

Green Tea Cafe has the best bubble tea, in my humble opinion.
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Have a wonderful week, everybody!

DIY Idea: Scarves on Shoes

Prada Resort 2010

Balenciaga Fall 2009
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I smell an easy DIY project here. Scarves, anyone?

A Vested Interest

Wayne Spring 2010

Balenciaga Spring 2010

Karl Lagerfeld Spring 2010

Black Out

What's your preference: black beauty or color story? (Photo Credit: Jak & Jil Blog)
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A quick perusal of my closet will unequivocally remind you that I am a New Yorker: a torrent of black, a deluge of gray, and a barrage of denim dominate my limited storage space with occasional but meager sprinkles of color. Like the atmospheric amnesia I suffer every fall (is this what 38 degrees feels like?!), I am reminded by the recent cold, premature blast of winter how dark my sartorial choices have been lately.

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It's undeniable that the fashion gods have dictated that fall 2009 would be a season of black. (Remember, they were designing when the economic gloom was at its peak.) Admittedly, I was lured by the promise of the easy chic: black goes with everything; black is edgy; black is the new black. Now, looking at my shadowy wardrobe and sighing through the spring runway shows, I am seduced by the promise of warmth and the color of joy. Alexander McQueen's psychedelic sci-fi dresses, Lanvin's candy-colored jeweled concoctions, and Proenza Schouler's tribal blues and greens all signaled a meaningful industry reappraisal of the power of--and need for--bright colors.

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Of course, this newfound worship of all things color does not mean a scorn of all things black. When the winter chill pierces the bone, somehow a suit of black armor seems like the most appropriate choice when facing the elements or huddling with a crowd of fierce fellow New Yorkers, who are all, like me, secretly dreaming of spring.

Seeing Red

I snapped up this amazing red velvet YSL vest at the Decades Two Sample Sale this past weekend. Decades Two, an upscale consignment store in LA, decided to fly to NY for a weekend-only grand sale in Soho. My electric blue YSL vest is one of my most prized sartorial possessions, so I thought I'd add another YSL vest to my collection.
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Some details:

Does anybody know what season this vest is from?

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I paired this vest with my Miu Miu "ruby slippers":

Hope everybody is having a fabulous week!