the PIPELINE: Style on Tap

• November 18, 2009 11:12 AM
• My Style

Becka Diamond Reveals The Secrets To Her Rock-Chic Ways

By Laura Yacoe & Piera Gelardi, Photos by Kava Gorna

She adores Edie Sedgwick's "insane eye makeup," Iggy Pop's leather pants, and Janis Joplin for the feathers, but up-and-coming actress and all-around style sensation Becka Diamond is cultivating an iconic look—and attitude—that's all her. Despite this girl-in-demand's crazy schedule, she managed to squeeze us in for an afternoon pow-wow at her Brooklyn abode (she has lawn ornaments!). Getting a smile out of the typically camera-ready countenance that Becka has perfected was no easy task, but we rose to the challenge, and lo and behold, this muse-of-the-moment has dimples…not to mention, a closet to kill for.



Above: Becka vamps in her dressing room wearing a Yves Saint Laurent jacket, Balmain jeans, and Nicholas Kirkwood pumps. Enlarge Image


Describe your style.
"The wild angels en Paris."

What are your five key wardrobe pieces?
1. Rick Owens leather jacket
2. Vintage tees
3. Black Alexander Wang shrunken blazer
4. Leather leggings, Balenciaga makes the best
5. Ballet flats by Lanvin or Alaia




Above: In her living room wearing a What Comes Around Goes Around dress from their holiday collection and an Eddie Borgo bracelet. Enlarge Image

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becka diamond, it girls, muses, fashion styling, interior home design

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• November 3, 2009 9:30 AM
• My Style

Fashion Lessons from Self-Service's In-house Super-girl, Claire Thomson

By Desiree Pais, Photos by Kava Gorna

Above, from left: In Parc Monceau wearing an Isabel Marant dress, 3.1 Philip Lim belt, Marc by Marc Jacobs shoes, and a Loeffler Randall bag; In the kitchen wearing an Isabel Marant shirt, Gap shorts, and Stephane Kélian boots. Enlarge Image


Girl-about-town Claire Thomson has the French girl cool look down to a science—even if she is a British lass living in Paris. It's no wonder she developed that je ne sais quoi allure considering her time is split between being an assistant to editor-in-chief of the brazen Paris-based glossy Self Service and to the creative director of Petronio Associates, the art direction agency catering to Chanel, Chloé, and YSL. In and around her expressive little lair in the 8th arrondissement, the easy-going beauty shows us how she masters the modern version of laissez-faire style.




Above: In a cafe near La Madeleine wearing a vintage Dior jacket, Urban Outfitters T-shirt, Marc by Marc Jacobs jeans, and Chloé shoes. Enlarge Image


Describe your style in three words or less:
Classic, bohemian.

What are your five key wardrobe pieces? 1. Isabel Marant skirts and shirts
2. American Apparel T-shirts
3. Black studded biker boots
4. Chanel Ultra ring
5. Chloé shoes

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• September 2, 2009 9:00 AM
• My Style

Beauty & the Blog: Models Who Work the Catwalk and the Internet!

By Connie Wang & Piera Gelardi

Beautiful images and non-stop round-the-world adventures are musts for the best of bloggers. So, it's no wonder that more and more globe-trotting top models are turning to the web to tell their side of the glam life. From the poetic musings of Daul Kim to the chatty ruminations of Coco Rocha, these pretty faces prove they can do more than just strike a pose—though, we suggest a good spell-checker and flickr account to take it to the next level. And with the upcoming debut of the "The Beautiful Life," a new CW drama centered around a gaggle of co-ed mods living in NYC, peeping into the lives of these mysterious beauties won't be too hard. But if you want even more behind-the-scenes scoop, flip through these model blogs— they may not be Pulitzer contenders, but they sure are a good read.

Coco Rocha, Oh So Coco


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Coco Rocha dominates the catwalk and the glossiest of mag pages, but from her sweet blogspot, you'd never guess the 20-year-old stunner routinely rubs elbows with the biggest in the fashion world. We're fans of her lip-dubbed videos (more of these, please!) but it's the posts where Coco's pictured with her BFF and fellow blogger Behati Prinsloo that has us hitting refresh.


Daul Kim, I Like to Fork Myself


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Written in the kind of rambling style of e.e. cummings, the fierce-faced Daul Kim lays it all out on the line: insecurities, pure moments of sheer joy, and random inspirational videos and photographs all comprise her scattered posts. Revealing both the wonderful bits of the job (Independence! Art!) as well as the darker side, Daul shows that modeling truly is a multifaceted industry.

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• August 18, 2009 8:49 AM
• My Style

Got What It Takes To Be Fashion's Newest It Girl? Take Our Quiz To Find Out!

By Piera Gelardi & Xiyin Tang, Design by Joshua Covarrubias

It Girls get a lot of flack for being pretty 20-somethings who do nothing but party and look pretty for the camera. But oh! How wrong could you be! Contrary to popular belief, it takes a lot more than just money and a DJ gig to be the next Harley or Alexa—there's a certain art to Itness, if you know what we mean. But whether you've always secretly aspired to internet famedom and a free pass into (the now defunct but still talked about) Beatrice, or merely want to see how far you could go in the world of It, play our game and find out if you've got what it takes. Who knows? You could be the next Dree in the making!

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• July 16, 2009 10:10 AM
• My Style

Lisa Mayock

Vena Cava's Lisa Mayock sounds off on her All Hell Breaks Loose style. By Christene Barberich, Photography by Kava Gorna

Left: Lisa in the doorway to her living room wearing a vintage Anne Klein jumpsuit, Vena Cava necklace (a sneak peek at Spring 2010--"expect beaded safety pins, collage prints, and acid-washed silks"), and vintage heels. Right: In the closet, a Pee Wee Herman doll wearing a Day of the Dead mask sits among Lisa's purse collection. Enlarge Image

A few months ago when Gap's recent designer collaboration broke in NYC, you may have been confronted by one of the collection's soaring billboard images featuring three gorgeous models and two equally striking designers: Vena Cava's Lisa Mayock and Sophie Buhai. Did they totally outshine Raquel Zimmerman? Pretty much.

But being extremely devoted VC followers, we're not surprised the Vena Cava message is making its mark out in the world. And certainly much of that mark stems from the style genius of the designers themselves, whose mutual penchants for old and new textiles, uncommon historical references, and incongruous match-ups runs deep. In fact, we spend much of our time wishing Lisa--an expert at pairing beat-up sweatshirts with oversized silver chokers or party dresses with Keds--would impart a few of her style secrets. Lucky for us, we got a private tour of her newly made-over Williamsburg nest, which like her look, has a lost-and-found sort of elegance and ease. How does she make it look so easy? We wish we knew...but here are a few tips to get us started.

Lisa on the street in Williamsburg wearing a pot leaf shirt from "Salvation Armani" (what Lisa likes to call it when she feels fancy), Chronicles of Never sunglasses, and Vena Cava's boyfriend mesh cardigan. Her lipstick is from a Polish 99-cent store. She has a lifetime supply stashed in her freezer. Enlarge Image

In 10 words or less, describe your style.
"How about three words: Confuse and Amuse. Some kind of incongruous element is always essential--a sweatshirt worn with a beaded collar, or a long black gown with an old E.T. pin from the '80s always makes me feel like myself."

Left: In the kitchen, Lisa wears a Vena Cava asymmetrical jacket, Marion Vidal ball necklace, old Adidas shorts, and Vena Cava for Via Spiga shoes. Right: Accessories galore in her covetable closet. Enlarge Image

Tell us your five key wardrobe pieces...the regular things you can't live without.
1. White Keds with studs on them.
2. Big silver jewelry--I feel kind of naked without lots of jewelry on.
3. VC black mesh boyfriend cardigan.
4. Acne pale gray men's shirt.
5. An ancient black shredded sweatshirt.

In the living room surrounded by some faves from her record collection, Lisa wears her favorite ripped sweatshirt and a Jane D'Arensbourg glass and ceramic necklace. Enlarge Image

What are your earliest memories of fashion? Things that made you feel early on you wanted to be a designer...
"I had a best friend growing up whose mom had the most incredible style--solid silk dress-suits with short pencil skirts, a severe black bob, and large colorful stones. I remember wanting to touch everything she had on--it was like visual candy."

Left: In the bedroom wearing a sequined Clements Ribeiro dress that leaves a trail of neon sequins everywhere she goes. Right: A Mary Meyer shirt hangs in the closet adorned with beaded necklaces. Enlarge Image

You can only wear two designers: Who would they be?
"'70s-era YSL and Gilbert Adrian."

Do you wear your own designs?
"Yes."

Porcelain hand forms, a Jane D'Arensbourg necklace, and a bowl of vintage beaded jewelry displayed on a credenza in the closet. Enlarge Image

We all loved your recent Gap collab. Do you have any mainstream basics? If so, how do you like to wear them?
"Yeah! I love plain indigo skinny jeans with some kind of funny oversized T-shirt or sweater, a classic men's style button-up shirt with leather leggings, or wrapped around the waist with a short skirt, and I have a very oversized men's Carhart jacket that I like to wear with dresses when I feel like they're a little too girly."

In front of an Egyptian watercolor in the kitchen, Lisa wears a fringed Vena Cava dress. Enlarge Image

What wouldn't you be caught dead wearing?
"That's a difficult question. I often have complete changes of heart about certain looks. And I love things that are good taste/bad taste and other things that are just plain tacky. So, honestly, the only thing I can think of right now that I would never wear is a 'sexy' Halloween costume. Which you may see me in come October."

Left: Lisa wearing a vintage crochet dress in her closet (if you can even call it that). Right: A giant pencil rests in a nook in the closet--it recently provided hours of entertainment at one of Lisa's dinner parties. Enlarge Image

Name something in your wardrobe you'll never throw away?
"Old T-shirts, sweatshirts, and leather pieces...they just keep getting better with time."

Not that we're surprised, but your apartment is off-the-charts cool. And we hear you just gave it a little makeover...what look were you going for?
"If I had to give it a name, it would be called 'Things I Like.' That was pretty much the only criteria."

Left: Her favorite slashed sweatshirt. Right: A porcelain monkey hangs in the living room above a pile of pillows to break its fall (should it take a dive). Enlarge Image

You're a Brooklyn lady, but if you could would you pack up and live somewhere else?
"Udaipur, India was the most strange and wonderful place I've ever been to. There's a thick layer of mist over everything, dense green foliage that looks like the jungle, a castle in the middle of a lake, and they sell medieval weapons on the street. What else do you need?"

A very welcoming chair in the living room. Enlarge Image

If your style had a theme song, what would it be?
"'All Hell Breaks Loose' by the Misfits."

Lisa in the kitchen wearing a mens shirt by Acne, a Tuleste silver choker, a ring from a street cart in Oaxaca, and Vena Cava leather leggings. She just started reading 2066. Enlarge Image

Photography by Kava Gorna, www.kavagorna.com

For more on Vena Cava, check out their new blog, vivavenacava.blogspot.com

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• July 16, 2009 10:10 AM
• My Style

Vena Cava's Lisa Mayock Sounds Off On Her All Hell Breaks Loose Style

By Christene Barberich, Photography by Kava Gorna

Left: Lisa in the doorway to her living room wearing a vintage Anne Klein jumpsuit, Vena Cava necklace (a sneak peek at Spring 2010--"expect beaded safety pins, collage prints, and acid-washed silks"), and vintage heels. Right: In the closet, a Pee Wee Herman doll wearing a Day of the Dead mask sits among Lisa's purse collection. Enlarge Image

A few months ago when Gap's recent designer collaboration broke in NYC, you may have been confronted by one of the collection's soaring billboard images featuring three gorgeous models and two equally striking designers: Vena Cava's Lisa Mayock and Sophie Buhai. Did they totally outshine Raquel Zimmerman? Pretty much.

But being extremely devoted VC followers, we're not surprised the Vena Cava message is making its mark out in the world. And certainly much of that mark stems from the style genius of the designers themselves, whose mutual penchants for old and new textiles, uncommon historical references, and incongruous match-ups runs deep. In fact, we spend much of our time wishing Lisa—an expert at pairing beat-up sweatshirts with oversized silver chokers or party dresses with Keds—would impart a few of her style secrets. Lucky for us, we got a private tour of her newly made-over Williamsburg nest, which like her look, has a lost-and-found sort of elegance and ease. How does she make it look so easy? We wish we knew…but here are a few tips to get us started.

Lisa on the street in Williamsburg wearing a pot leaf shirt from "Salvation Armani" (what Lisa likes to call it when she feels fancy), Chronicles of Never sunglasses, and Vena Cava's boyfriend mesh cardigan. Her lipstick is from a Polish 99-cent store. She has a lifetime supply stashed in her freezer.Enlarge Image

In 10 words or less, describe your style. "How about three words: Confuse and Amuse. Some kind of incongruous element is always essential—a sweatshirt worn with a beaded collar, or a long black gown with an old E.T. pin from the '80s always makes me feel like myself."

Read More