NYC Archives • Madame Lolo

Streets as your living room

July 1, 2011September 19, 2011

One thing that I noticed and fully embraced the minute I’ve started living in NYC is the way we people of nyc take over the streets here, and make them as their own living room.
Not sure if it is due to the small size of a typical New York apartment or maybe it is due to the weather : after 6 months of hibernation during the winter, you just wanna enjoy the concrete jungle and its dirty streets even though the summer are insanely hot!! Or maybe it is just the pleasure of sitting on stoops that makes up for the pain of climbing the steps…

Anyhow, on summer nights, it is a habit I really enjoy, with my girls, or by myself , or just stooping in my block with my neighbors and all of a sudden, the Big Apple turns into a really small village.. How Magic is that ?

Shop And The City

April 23, 2011April 23, 2011

Welcome to New York the Shopping Mecca ! Here is a short list of shopping spots for the ladies handpicked by yours truly

View Shop And The City in a larger map

1.The Apple Store

Central Park – 59th Street & 5th Avenue

You know you are gonna go there, it is the only place you can drag your boyfriend into and then while you’re there you can stroll along to Barney’s, Tiffany’s, Bergdorf Goodman, and even H&M ! Best part about it is that it’s open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, it has the cleanest bathroom, and you can check your email or skype your mom from there. What more can you get ??

2. Bergdorf Goodman

754 5TH AVE & 57th Street

Beautiful windows and the best shoes department in New York to experience a Sex and the City moment !

3.H & M

51st Street & 5th Avenue

No need for an intro here, it is just the best h&m in town, with 3 floors, and of course ya know it is a NYC standard opened 7 days a week…

4.Barneys

Another place to hang out and enjoy, not sure about spending though…, but you can totally pretend to be Carrie Bradshaw or Blair Waldorf up in here !

5. Forever 21

Or Forever 51 it depends who you shop with : from pre-teen to menopause girlfriends you can always find something to (hot) flash to Bieber or Clooney : Super-cheap and borderline tacky but cool if you mix with more upscales brands.

6. Bigelow

414 6TH AVE & 9th Street – West Village

The only Pharmacy in NYC that reminds me of France , I usually go there when missing my favorite French Beauty products or just to see what’s new in beauty-land.

The Strand

828 BROADWAY & 12th Street -Union Square

Le Gibert Jeune de New York , great place to buy books of course but also postcards to send to grandma and get the ultimate hipster look with their cotton shopping bags, better than the I love NY bag.

8.Ricky’s

44 E 8TH ST & 20 more locations

Needs a drag queen touch? Perfect for anything that involve glitters, wigs, cosmetics, hair lines, and sexy costumes you will find at Ricky’s , Plus theere are always some fun gadget to buy. Definitely a NYC spot.

9.Patricia Field

302 BOWERY- NOLITA

To stay on topic Drag Queens meets Sex and The City fans it is THE New York Fashion Place!

10.Uniqlo

546 BROADWAY-SOHO

Always finding something in here, especially the J+ collection ( Jill Sander)

11.Topshop

478 BROADWAY-SOHO

A bit more expensive than H&M and Zara, but a good spot to get accessories & shoes that have a London Hipster touch

12.Muji

455 BROADWAY – SOHO

The only Japanese size I can fit in , actually that my apartment can!

13.Opening Ceremony

35 HOWARD ST- SOHO

The Colette of NYC and the destination for fashionistas.

14.CB2

Broadway & Grand – SOHO

Nice and affordable home decoration store ikea like for new yorkers

15. Steve Madden

I love Steve MaddenChina shoes can’t beat them for “inspired” replicas and awesome colored shoes at their outlet on Rivington ( 2 pairs of uber sexy wedges for the summer for $40)

16.Century 21

22 CORTLANDT ST – FINANCIAL DISTRICT

I thought I should put it on the map anyway because you, dear tourist will go there for sure.

17. MANICURE & PEDICURE

Renew & Relax Inc
50 3rd Ave between 10th & 11th street

Or best mani-pedi as we say here. You will find that in NYC there is literally as many mani-pedi salon as there are Boulangerie in Paris, one on each block, the price is really cheap around $10 for a mani, but the quality varies. I love RENEW & RELAX because all their tools are uber clean, the staff doesn’t change , and my manis are always awesome! Definitely a must do when you are visiting NYC.

And finally some tips to make your shopping experience even better :

Do not wear heels, you are going to walk like never before here, so dear Frenchies use your Converse, dear Italians rock your Puma’s.
Duane Reade is your friend: I can guarantee you , you’ll buy something in it from Tooth whitening, to shampoos, to nail polish or Cinnamon Chewing-gum.
Free WiFI at any Starbuck’s & Apple Store : useful stops if you came with your iPhone or iPad
Choose one neighborhood per day and stick to it : NYC is very dense but huge at the same time, there is no way you gonna see everything in a day or 2. just pick one and enjoy!
Time Square is over-rated : If you must go just pass by and take a couple of pictures, stop by the M&M’s store with your kids and move on!.

Madame Lego

February 8, 2011February 23, 2011

As A true Geekette and street art lover, I could resist posting this NYC discovery : Lego and street art mixed together.

It all started yesterday when I went to the Social Media Week kickoff Party at the NY Public Library, when i saw this on the wall:

and after a little research I found out that there was many like this spread all over the city:

Central Park:

It is actually a global project and featured in many cities such as Tel aviv, Berlin, Amsterdam, and much more.

I have no idea who is behind it but I think it’s pretty cool – Visit their site http://www.dispatchwork.info/

And if you can find legos in NYC Concrete Jungle , why not get Concrete Lego ? Found on Etsy

American Beauty

January 29, 2011

As much as I am addicted to some French beauty products such as Bioderma Crealine, there is some great stuff here as well that I would recommend you to buy and bring back to your home country.

1. ROSEBUD LIP BALM $6

You can find this cult non greasy lip balm almost anywhere, from Ricky’s to Duane Reade & Sephora.
A must-have for all the dry lips out there, perfect for a glossy effect, non sticky, a great base/moisturizer to get the perfect red lips!

2. MAX FACTOR COUTURE MASCARA $9

It is now hard to find as they are discontinuing it, but by far the mascara I have had in years ! I owe this discovery to Maud Laceppe, Rock-Star Make-up artist

3. MOROCCAN OIL Hair treatment $40

I love the smell (non ca sent pas le couscous boulettes…), works great on damp hairs or dry, and a can’t do without for extremely bleached hairs like mine !

4.Crest 3D White Whitestrips Professional Effects

Well so Effective that I have never used the whole box ( or is it that I am too lazy to do so ???) You can find them at almost any drugstore in NYC ( Duane Reade, CVS, etc)

5. OPI & ESSIE NAIL POLISH

You can of course find them in France now, but number one they are cheaper here around $6, and 2 I doubt you have all the crazy collections like the OPI Glee collection, or even Shreck…

If you want a classic natural color go for ” Sugar Daddy” by Essie, I know a few that are totally addicted to this sheer color.

And if you need the perfect red go for OPI “Big Apple Red” after all, you are in NYC no ?

6. Per-fekt Skin Perfection Gel $57

The make-up trick that smooth out and photoshop your skin …

Money Island

November 4, 2010April 4, 2011

Winter is too long in NYC, so today will be a day for a denial post… And the first image that comes to my head ‚when I think about summers in New York, is Coney Island. I love this place, even though I wouldn’t get in the water over there, nor lay down on the sand !

It can get a little crowded as well during summers’ heatwave:

The Iconic Wonder Wheel…

…Reminds me of Paris (jardin des Tuileries)

I like also all the handmade typography you can spot there , very retro feeling :

Freaky 🙂

Even in the winter, it keeps a very cinematographic look & feel:

And in the summer it has amazing saturated colors:

Only in NY

November 2, 2010April 2, 2011

After reading the article from the Voice about the 50 reasons I love living in nyc I though I could add up the typical NYC images that still makes living in NYC

The NYC Skyline

Chinese take-out boxes

sound of fire truck police car sirens

Red Brick WallsNYC Sewer

NYC Steaming Streetsfire escapes

Hot-Dog Cart

“NO PARKING” SIGNS

Something’s always happening here. If you’re bored in New York, it’s your own fault.-Mirna Loy

Stuff Tourists Like # 3

October 11, 2010August 22, 2011

This is the peak season for Tourists : dear Nouillorqueur, I am sure your couch is booked till Labor Day ( and trust me I feel your pain…), and just in case you were wondering how they would spend their day in NYC, I can bet you that they will end up in 2 spots :

Tourists Like to Stop in the middle of a street : Move to the side

Using a Pedicab to get to the Apple Store

this is a no-no using a pedicab is a tourist thing, no New Yorker would ever do that.

Apple Store : la tourneee des grands ducs

Oh lawwwd , where to start ??? I guess with the iPad crazyness, I can tell you I have already shipped several of those giant iPhones to the motherland, and thank you Steve for releasing the iPhone 4 in France at the same time as here …and even if we have 4 Apple stores in NYC, this not a reason to go to every single one and compare the price with the euro/dollar rate, because at the end, it is gonna be hard to carry your 27 inches iMac in your luggage back to France.

So of course , Thank you Steve, with the new Mac Book Air at $999 and 999 euros in Europe, I am gonna have a lot of orders as the Euro /Dollar rate is around 1.40 …

New York Best Kept Secret

August 5, 2010June 29, 2012

New York’s Best Kept secret is NOT Century 21, trust me on that one, but the fact that it has so many beaches all accessible by public transportation. Here are some few options if you are spending your summer in NYC & still want to get a carribean tan!

☼ ROCKAWAY BEACH :

How to get there ? Take the blue line, the A train to Broad Channel, transfer to the S to Rockaway Park-Beach 116th St. (Last Stop).
How Much ? $4.50 Round Trip, Subway ride.
What to do ? Get a beer & a slice at the Sand Bar on the beach, or even order chinese take out and get it delivered on the beach.

☼ RIIS LANDING/ FORT TILDEN

How to get there ? it’s a boat ride & it only works on week-end. Take the Ferry on Pier 11 (same as Ikea boat), click here more infos and schedule.
How Much ? $30 Round Trip on the American Princess. add $5 more if you bring your bike.
Tips: Bring your own picnic to the beach and drinks as it is a wild beach with no lifeguards neither. The boat ride to get there is 45 mins and is amazing , you get to see the Statue of Liberty, Coney Island, and the Verrazano bridge.

☼ FIRE ISLAND:

How to get there ? Take the LIRR train in Penn Station to Bay Shore, then the Ferry to Fire Island .
How Much ? around $60 RT -> $26 for the train & $12 for the ferry (round-trip)
What to do ? try to spend the night there, or the weekend, as it is an 1.5 hour away from the city, and it is a little corner of paradise there, no cars, almost no stores and beautiful sunsets.

Et Voila ! Now You know how I spend my summer in the city 🙂

New York Photo Booth

July 29, 2010December 30, 2010

In the era of all digital images, it became more fun to play with analog pictures, and as I got my summer tan on, it means I am eligible for picture time without the ususally mandatory Photoshop retouching … Here is a quick round-up of the Photobooth (or Photomaton in French) in NYC:

1. Coney Island

Deno’s Wonder Wheel – 3059 W 12th St. Brooklyn, NY 11224- Color

2. 7B

7B – 108 Avenue B – New York, NY – B&W Only

3. Ace Hotel

Ace Hotel – 20 West 29th Street, New York, NY‎ – Black&White Only

And some others I haven’t tried yet:

Lakeside Lounge – 162 Avenue B New York, NY 10009- Black & White

Otto’s Shrunken Head – 538 E. 14th St.New York, NY 10009

Walk on the West Side

May 9, 2010May 11, 2010

On a bright but chilly sunday afternoon, I decided to take a walk on the West side of the city , and here is my West Side Story in pictures with some amazing Street Art characters.

Mickey loves NY

WWest Side Ride

@grenadeboyjc2

One of those day

Elle

Che and Mussolini

Beautiful Brunette

Colors on the Corner

Love this

U just got BrainWashed

BEAU

Wall Kicks

Gay Paris

Monsieur Moustache

Through Tears the Pain

Doggy Style

Monsieur Alec

Madonna

Outie

Lapin aux Chiottes

She Ain’t Nothing to Mess With

Bright Drips, Big City

Dr Spock

DickChick

Hakula / Kardashian

Hello

No!

Even Cops stick on the Block

‘Sup

Parking Sign

Blowing All Up

Red Lights District

Stop in the West Village

Village Paris in NYC

Sure & Faust

Matching Vespa with the House

Str8 From the Sewer

The Dogs are Watching

Freeze

Love Me in Blue

Nobody Cares

$how Me the Money

May 8, 2010May 10, 2010

Scott Campbell

Scott Campbell stacks dollars tattooing celebrities, so he can laser cut his piles of cash, go & check his first NY exhibition called “If You Don’t Belong, Don’t Be Long” – April 29 – May 30, 2010 at 109 Crosby Street (between Prince & Houston).

Shepard Fairey

The final exhibition at Deitch Gallery, is with one of the top money maker of Street Art, Shepard Fairey, aka Obey. The opening was the it event of the year, the whole block was packed, and filled with celebs’. “May Day ” at Deitch Projects, 18 Wooster Street, May 1 – 29, 2010.

Banksy Exit Through the Gift Shop

The best movie/documentary I have seen in a year. Period.

Mister Brainwash

The biggest con artist ever, it make sense to see his exhibition just if you have seen the Banksy Film, I won’t tell more asides that MBW is a Frenchie 😉 – ICONS REMIX – Opening Sunday May 9th at 3pm – 415 W 13th street, NYC, until the end of May. Muchas Gracias @foodrap for the picture, and check out his blog he has super nice pictures on a daily basis.

Flashlights

January 20, 2010February 22, 2011

My first post for 2010 is a quick one on Neon & Typography

Every Word Unmade by Fionna Banner (2007)

rubbish- stefanbruggemann — Rubbish by Stephan Bruggemann

Yann Serandour - I will not make anymore boring art (2005)

google neon — and now Google it for more neon images

Me via this isn't happiness — me (via this isn't happiness)

Inspiration

November 15, 2009October 28, 2010

Yesterday I went to the Anthropologie store on 5th Ave & 16th street and they had the Xmas decoration full on already:

Here is a close up, it is made out of paper cups stick together, and reminded me strongly of a great artist I have seen for the first time at the Met a couple years ago…

Close up at the wall decoration @ Anthropolgy

…Tara Donovan she makes beautiful ‟sculptures” like this one out of thousands of styrofoam cups and hot glue

Untitled, 2003 Styrofoam Cups, Hot Glue Dimensions Variable Ace Gallery Los Angeles, 2005

Close up

In the same spirit I like a photographer named Chris Jordan and his series of mass consumption :

even closer chris Jordan Mont Fiji — Even closer

MoMA with PoPa

November 12, 2009October 21, 2010

Yesterday I went to my favorite museum in NYC, the Moma with my Popa who was visiting me here for the first time. Here are some snapshots taken with my iPhone with the effect of the polarize App, and written on the WordPress App for the iPhone as well.

Apps used for this post : the Polaroid effect is done with Polarize (free App) WordPress (free as well) . Enjoy !

I can’t wait for the Tim Burton Exhibition next week !!

Graffiti New York City

November 5, 2009November 29, 2010

I have always had admiration for graffiti artists, especially for the lettering and typography style more than the cartoon & drawing type.

There is an amazing exhibition at the Cartier Fondation in Paris based on the work of Evan Roth (check his website he always have great art project going on)

I have several shots of graffiti pictures in NYC below :

[nggallery id=4]

some others taken with my phone below :

: Wise

: Skull

: Door on 7th

: Street Light

And finally, some others on my Flickr page:

Update: How could I do a post about graffiti in NYC and not mention Faust ??? My bad, he is amazing, here is below his season greetings and a link to his site, check him out !

Smoking Cigarettes

October 19, 2009December 4, 2010

Some smoking shots of smokers smoking

[nggallery id=2]

Smoking Smokers by Peter Funch from Babel Tales

911 ain’t a joke in this town

September 11, 2009February 6, 2010

Sunday september 9th, 2001

Today is has been 8 years, since the twin towers collapsed, I wasn’t in my favorite city when it happened, as I left the sunday evening before (9/09/01) , this the last picture I took from my stay in NYC this year on my way to the airport. We were gonna saty till this famous tuesday 9/11 but we couldn’t find anymore tickets to go to the Michael Jackson concert at Madison Square Garden for monday 9/10… I was in Paris that afternoon when it happens, and I felt so guilty for not being in NYC. So here I am , in my love town, on a cold & rainy day, 8 years later and still no memorial for the victims, and no more Michael Jackson…

So here are below some pictures of the Magical New York skyline:

Al Pacino and the Twins ( not the Olsen...)

Iconic Image of NYC and its skyscrapers (Peter Adams)

Empire State city, original picture by Peter Adams

Twin Towers in a rainy day like today + fashion week ny

NYC skyline by Michael Kenna

Before the Twin Towers NYC 1951

Downtown view - 1942

II Towers

Irony

Gone Baby gone…

July 9, 2009October 21, 2010

Another downtown NY reference gone this week, after the DKNY mural now the Keith Haring wall on Houston and Bowery is over…

The mural was commissioned by Deitch in 1982 and the new mural will be designed by brazilian graffiti artists Os Gemeos, also courtesy of Deitch…

UPDATE : (also known as too lazy to do a new blog post)

now the mural has changed again just for the time of the big Shepard Fairey “May Day” exhibition at Deitch and I am guessing the Banksy film showing across the street at sunshine theater is a good promo as well. (MUST SEE MOVIE by the way)

And even if I like Shepard Fairey, I absolutely hate this mural, and my favorite part was this just right next to it:

Stuff Tourists Like #2

June 14, 2009March 9, 2010

Another obsession for tourists in NYC, is getting the I ♥ NY tee-shirt, on Canal Street or Times Square. Only tourists get that shirt & wear it in New York on top of it…

There are so much cooler and nicer shirts out there:

Check this one form Reason a Store on 6th street between 2nd & 3rd Avenue:

Or this one very 2009 for $14.99

And below some cool creation based on Milton Glaser logo ffffound randomly on the web.

Quel temps de … shit

June 13, 2009November 16, 2009

I am so tired of the weather in New York, this winter was one of the longest, and June feels like October… so long week ends at the beach, flip flop tan marks, and roof parties , and welcome Sundays at the museum and movies.

Banksy‘s opening at the Bristol museum is tomorrow for my fellow Brits , Francis Bacon at The Metropolitan Museum, Valentino the Last Emperor Documentary, Yayoi Kusama at the Gagosian Gallery, and the pictures to illustrate this post are from Paul Graves.

: Banksy @ Bristol Museum

: Francis Bacon @ The Met

: Valentino the Last Emperor

: Yayoi Kusama @ Gagosian

: Fuck by Paul Graves

: Temps de Shit

Stuff tourists like

June 10, 2009October 21, 2010

Starting today, I will have on this blog a category of stuff that tourists like in NYC, and that we New York Fucking City resident do not give a shit about…

So today’s Stuff Tourists like is : ABERCROMBIE

I am always amazed how EVERY SINGLE friends that is visiting me from Europe, has to make a stop ( more like spend the whole afternoon…) at Abercrombie, even before the Apple Store… Honestly this stuff is a mystery, waiting in line to get into a store full of overpriced clothes that 99% of New Yorkers can’t even stand.

If you want to see real New Yorker topless ? this would be more likely:

: Image via Improv Everywhere

And instead of shopping at Abercrombie, try instead Urban Outfitters, or Forever 21.

The End of an Era.…

June 9, 2009October 19, 2010

The Famous DKNY wall is no longer a mark for tourists in despair, has been covered up. It was a great sign for lost tourists, and ready to shop girls like myself, to enter the Soho Mall

Here is what is looks like today:

Blank DKNY wall — Pic via Animal New York ( great NY by locals site )

for those who missed it

I live litteraly in ALPHABET CITY, and I am…

March 1, 2008October 22, 2010

NYC is a very typographic city, If you love fonts and typography, this is one of the richest environment four your pupils …

The Best coffee in town is at Nine Street Espresso ( on 9th street between avenue C and D)

MEET THE NEIGHBOR : ALLEN GINSBERG 🙂