Acne is a lifestyle brand that I truly adore. Of course I am a fan of the products they create; their shoes are always exceptionally designed, the clothing generally boasts interesting silhouettes, and their twice-yearly Acne Paper magazine is something worth sitting down to read. 

My fandom, however, is actually reserved for the brand itself. Without much advertising our showy promotions, Acne manages to primarily communicate their utilitarian-chic aesthetic through their actual garments and the way they present their wares. 

That approach speaks to me on so many levels. 

Because if we're all honest with ourselves, aren't we actually buying into the lifestyle, the dream that a brand suggests, when we doggedly run behind a particular shoe designer or pret-a-porter label? Doesn't a brand's aesthetic quality determine who is drawn to a LV logo tote vs a logo-less Jil Sander clutch?

I think so.

And if that's the case, one has to note how impressive it is that a brand can achieve this through it's output, and not through flashy 5 page ads in each glossy magazine, or through the self-promoting antics of its head designer.

Frankly, I'd rather align myself with a brand whose designs quietly demand my attention. If you know what I mean...

NB Images copyright © 2012 Au Courant Studio, LLC, All Rights Reserved 

Of course you know I had to do the exact opposite. 

Can't remember which street I took this on - perhaps it was White? However, it was only after hop-skipping across this fallen police barricade a few times that I noticed a cop having coffee some distance away. 

My heart instantly dropped into my loafer-clad big toe; was one of New York's Finest about to upbraid me for disregarding the message clearly written on barricade's face? 

Thankfully, he was a down-to-earth soul who only shook his head, waved and laughed as I quickly backed away from NYPD's property. 

I guess there are indeed a few good policemen out there...

Wearing: Old cashmere scarf; H&M men's denim shirt; Uniqlo jeans; Bass leather loafers 

NB Images copyright © 2012 Au Courant Studio, LLC, All Rights Reserved 

UNDER CANAL

Whenever I'm traipsing around the city, the most random things tend to happen. And above all else, I think that's what I love about NYC - the unexpectedness of the place.

The goodly hubby and I used to live in an apartment on one of the craziest streets bordering Washington Square. At any given time, you'd see one - or all - of the following things occurring:

• Men/Women/Transvestites exchanging fisticuffs
• Cops sleeping with their mouths open on the job
• College kids vomming all over the place
• Even more college kids - and grown-ass adults - looking for ganja, but buying dried parsley, unawares
• Lost tourists confounded by the street numbering, especially in Greenwich ("Waidaminute! How come west 4th & west 12th streets meet on a corner?! This ain't right, y'all!")
• Vagrants hawking poems written on cardboards (this actually happened for months outside my window)
• Priests having one too many drinks at the corner bar
• Women crossing the cobblestoned streets and falling - face forward -  in their 6" pumps