Of all the new reverb-drenched, girl group-inspired music out there (and there are a lot), Best Coast is possibly, well, the best. Composed of west coast natives (hence the name) Bethany Cosentino and Bob Bruno, as well as ex-Vivian Girl Ali Koehler, they make the best case for this type of nostalgia-tinged music. Cosentino has an amazingly sweet voice while Bruno and Koehler are also musically adept. She sings about boys, her cat and the beach to great effect. While these kinds of topics can come off as kitschy and twee, which they are, in the Best Coast trio’s clutches, they are heartfelt, quirky and yearning, bringing to mind innocent summer romps in the sand. The tunes are tender, fun and melodic and the perfect antidote to beating the heat. I stongly recommend closing out the summer by listening to some of their songs (especially off their recently released album).

A few years ago, Cosentino (a former Fader intern) was attending college in NYC, yet couldn’t stop thinking about California, which she had left behind. Accordingly, she started listening to typical, old-school Cali music like the Beach Boys and was inspired to start a new band. Enter old friend Bob Bruno (N.J. native Ali came later), and Best Coast was a done deal. Although, Cosentino is only hitting the mainstream recently (witness her collaboration with Converse and her being featured in Bust, Inked and a myriad of other magazines), she has been around in the music scene for a while, in the indie band Pocahaunted, which impressively opened for Sonic Youth at one point, before moving to NYC. After a coastal switch back to California, Cosentino and Bruno sealed the deal, with Bruno writing the music and Cosentino, the lyrics.

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If you like fashion, photography, art and culture in general, you need to take a look at Lula magazine. A beautiful tome about fashion and all of the above, it’s a high brow concept that completely delivers, with a little bit of fairy dust sprinkled on top (Lula strongly emphasizes girlish, feminine pixie-esque style). They also style their models in vintage, as well as designer pieces, and sometimes use real people to model. Additionally ,the interviews are always great and feature someone compelling… So, now, I leave you with some images from the mag (and some good eye candy). Enjoy!

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I’m going to Paris, one of my favorite cities, in the fall with a stylist friend of mine and I can’t wait to check out the Opening Ceremony store there! Opening Ceremony is a “multi-faceted retail environment”, as their site touts, made up of stores, showroom and an achingly cool private label collection. Since 2002, O.C. has been busy establishing a new, global creative forum in locations all over the world, bringing together new and established designers and artists from all over. Opening Ceremony annually represents a visiting country reflected in that country’s consumer experience. They have also partnered with art and style superstars like Chloe Sevigny, Pendleton, Robert Clergerie, and all-American brands Keds and Levi’s.  Places represented include Hong Kong, Brazil, Germany, U.K., Sweden. New York and Los Angeles, Japan and France. In February of this year, Opening Ceremony opened a second NYC location at the very trendy Ace Hotel, bringing together their love for classic American heritage as well as internationalism.

All of their merchandise is carefully curated and comprised of things that will appeal to their clientele of creative professionals and culturally curious tourists. They carry both men’s and women’s items and traditional souvenirs with a twist courtesy of famous designers like Proenza Schouler, Band of Outsiders and Alexander Wang. There is also a U.S. location in Los Angeles, which is equally fascinating and hip from a conceptual design standpoint. Not an LA or NYC native? You can also visit their site which offers some goods online such as Repetto flats, designer goods, Spike Jonze flip books, jewelry, Gaultier sneakers, Ryan McGinley artwork, albums, umbrellas and more. Also take a peek at their blog, which features NYC-centric topics. Recent ones include Keith Haring and yummy local eats.

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I’m sure by now, you, and the rest of the world, are familiar with the fashion site, WhoWhatWear. If not, know that it is perhaps one of the most currently read fashion and celebrity style blogs online and has scores of followers who feverishly devour it daily. Started by two friends and former editors for Elle, the site was conceived in response to a need for celebrity rag fashion coverage, without the gossip and snarky comments. The goods are doled out by two fashion experts, namely Katherine Power and Hillary Kerr, who have tons of experience in their field. Kerr acts as exacting editorial director for the site while Power is the creative director who manages to sniff out new lifestyle trends and relay them to the reader in a visually compelling way. The pictures and style collages, whether they be from the street, fashion runway, or a photo shoot, are all glamorous and cool. The nice thing about the site is also that it sticks to mostly nice copy about celebs and their outfits only and the commenters are usually well-versed and opinionated about fashion which makes for great sartorial debate. Also, by sticking to just fashion and beauty inspired by famous people, it has cultivated a distinct niche and voice. The addition of  fashion videos to the site is another big hit with readers.

Following the soaring popularity of WhoWhatWear was the release of their book, “WhoWhatWear: Celebrity and Runway Style For Real Life” in September 2009. I know, I know… I’m kind of late to be reporting this, but only lately had a good look at it and was impressed. A smallish, hardcover tome, it elaborates on such topics easily and manages to decipher seemingly difficult trends for the common person. The duo’s best style advice, tips and tricks are front and center here to good effect. The emphasis is not only on trends but how to integrate them into your personal style and make them work for you. Rachel Zoe, Nicole Richie and Rachel Bilson are all conrtibutors to the little book that could and also accompany some beautiful pictures. The book is available for purchase on Amazon as well the WhoWhatWeat site. Happy reading!

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My trip to New York came to an end today and I’m going to miss the sights and sounds of NYC, particularly the museums. While I was there, I made an effort to seek out exhibits that piqued my interest and I’m glad I did. The one I saw at the Metropolitan Museum of Art was a vibrant and fascinating look at street style.

They are currently running an exhibit called “Hipsters, Hustlers, and Handball Players: Leon Levinstein’s New York Photographs, 1950–1980″. Levinstein was basically the forerunner for street style photography and his shots are quintessentially New York, capturing interesting people from all walks of life candidly. Though a bit unsentimental, his work does show great compassion towards the characters he shot, as you can see in the two black and white shots I posted here. Levinstein was mentored by the artistic director of Harper’s Bazaar at that time, as well as a curator at the Met, but never achieved commercial recognition. If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you probably know that I’m a fan of street style photography as I wrote about in this post. It might seem a stretch to compare Levinstein’s work to contemporary street photography, but they both take the same spontaneous, unflinching look at urban street culture. The show opened yesterday and is running until mid-October. I’ve also heard good things about the Costume Institute’s exhibit, “American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity”.

Another exciting exhibit coming up in New York is the Andy Warhol one at Brooklyn Museum. We all know Brooklyn is a hip area and it seems fitting that the king of underground glamour (the portrait of Tina Chow, above, was done by him) has a show in this neighborhood. It concentrates on the work from the last ten years of his life and opens June 17th. While you’re there, you may also want to check out “American High Style: Fashioning a National Collection”.

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Austin is already known nationally for it’s music scene, in large part due to the music festivals that are held here, such as SXSW and the Austin City Limits Festival (this year’s exciting lineup includes M.I.A., Muse, The Strokes, LCD Soundsystem, Spoon, Vampire Weekend, Sonic Youth, Band of Horses, Yeasayer, The Gaslight Anthem, Devendra Banhart, and many, many more). What many people don’t know is that there are also numerous cool venues for artists who perform on their own, away from the festival circuit, and this summer is no exception.

Two shows in Austin already being hotly anticipated (at least by me) this June are the La Roux show on the 1st at La Zona Rosa and the June 6th MGMT show at Stubb’s BBQ. You might recognize La Roux either for her shock of crimson hair or her catchy, David Bowie and Madonna-influenced tunes like her hit, “Bulletproof”. In actuality, La Roux is comprised of both the lady in question (Elly Jackson) and her producer/partner/keyboardist, Ben Langmaid. La Zona Rosa should be an ideal place to see them because of it’s intimate setting.

The MGMT show also promises to be a good time. Another danceable duo, whose sound is dubbed ‘psychedelic pop’, they are comprised of Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWynGarden, and formed their band while both were freshman college students. MGMT are now a Brooklyn-based band and are quickly picking up steam with their newish album, “Congratulations”. With a Grammy and a growing fan base under MGMT’s belt, the concert should be packed. What shows are you looking forward to this summer?

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Almost everyone can appreciate art but not everyone can purchase it. This thought was the direct catalyst for the creation of the Austin Art Garage, one of my favorite spots in which to discover and buy art from up and coming artists. The Garage’s aim is to provide exposure for unknown artists from the Austin area and to make beautiful art affordable to people from all social-economic levels.

Founded by two guys named Jake and Joel, the Austin Art Garage fuses common sense business and marketing practices, in their own words, to create an unpretentious environment in which to celebrate art. As a community, Austin’s diverse, innovative, and creative population produces artists left and right. At the Austin Art Garage, you can appreciate and admire art without the sales pressure. Visit their web site to read about, browse and purchase artwork, hassle-free.

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