La Matera
When Brook Stroud (right) was a senior in college, an uncle invited him and his younger brother, Alex, to join him on a trip to South America. Together, the trio spent a week fishing, camping, and cattle-herding at a ranch alongside the property’s well-seasoned gauchos, and then they headed to Buenos Aires. “We kept seeing the same colors and patterns and fabrics in the stores in Buenos Aires as we’d seen on the gauchos,” Brook explains. Intrigued, the brothers bought a slew of wallets and belts with woven accents as souvenirs.
It wasn’t until the following summer—when Alex returned to the Argentine countryside alone—that the idea to actually make something of their new fascination surfaced. “Alex definitely had the ‘a-ha’ moment,” explains Brook. “He figured that instead of just bringing belts back, we could actually work on designing a line ourselves.” The brothers’ aim? To create a hardwearing, B.A.-inflected take on New England’s preppy ribbon belt standard.
The resulting line, which they launched in 2012, is La Matera—named for the spot where Latin American families traditionally unwind together after long days at work. And while the belts are produced in the United States, Brook and Alex are holding onto their international roots. Up next, the Strouds plan to add a range of wallets handmade in Italy—which sounds muy bueno, molto buona, and all-around really awesome to us. —mattie kahn
comments, reblogs & likes
Hare+Hart Knows Buenos Aires
And now you do, too.
As we imagine it, Jennie Engelhardt and Emily Harrison of Hare+Hart spend all of their time eating medium-rare steaks, cracking open bottles of Argentine red, and tangoing until sunrise. But when the design duo is in Buenos Aires—they both also do time in NYC—they have to get work done, too, as they produce all of their line’s elegantly simple leather goods just outside the capital city. Here, the nine places you’ll find them when they’re not hanging out at factories. —lydia woolever
The bar at Milion.
Milion
Emily: “It’s a bar in a huge, old, three-story mansion in this chichi neighborhood—like the Upper East Side—called Recoleta. Argentines aren’t huge drinkers—so it’s not like the New York cocktail scene—but they make these amazing basil cocktails here. And there’s this beer called Quilmes, which is definitely cheaper to drink than water.” (Paraná 1048)
La Cabrera
Jennie: “This is a special-occasion parrilla, or grill. Emily gets their bife de lomo (tenderloin), and I like their ojo de bife (rib eye). We usually share an order of mollejas (sweetbreads) and provoleta (grilled provolone). We’re definitely not vegetarians.” (José Antonio Cabrera 5099)
Domani
Jennie: “Medialunas, or ‘half-moons,’ are the Argentine version of a croissant. They’re smaller and sweet—they have a little bit of honey on top. They’re everywhere, but the best are at Domani. It’s a block from Emily’s apartment, so we go there and do work a lot. It’s like a weird sort of IHOP or American diner.” (Salguero 3006)
Bosques de Palermo
Emily: “Bosques de Palermo is this big park with grassy areas and paths and lakes not far from my apartment. Jennie goes running there; I walk my dog.”
Jennie: “People are always having maté with each other in the park. It’s like tea-slash-marijuana. You drink out of the same straw and pass it around like you pass a joint. If people invite you to share maté, it means they like you. It has more significance than just sharing a drink.”
Kansas
Jennie: “This place is hilarious. It’s trying to be really fancy, but it’s also trying to be very American. It’s like a nicer Chili’s. They have nachos and french fries, but my personal favorite is the fingers de pollo—the chicken fingers. We go for happy hour a lot. The Argentines love it so much—from fancy, older people to these trendy, mulleted hipster kids, all hanging out at this suburban American chain restaurant in Argentina.” (Del Libertador, Av. 4625)
Palermo Soho
Emily: “We both just love shoes. Palermo Soho is a neighborhood near my place that has great boutiques Jennie’s been in Buenos Aires less than 24 hours, and she’s already been to Mishka, our favorite spot.”
Campo del Fiori
Emily: “After steak, Argentina’s big food is fresh, homemade pasta. It’s a staple. We go to Campo del Fiori for this amazing pre-fixe lunch. You get a drink, appetizer, fresh pasta, and then a dessert, all for like 12 bucks.” (Venezuela 1401)
San Telmo Antique Market
Jennie: “Every Sunday in San Telmo, this neighborhood downtown, there’s a huge fair with all these arts and crafts and antique vendors—jewelry, furniture, clothing, trinkets, these amazing lights and chandeliers from all centuries. I got some really cool old glass apothecary bottles there. It’s hard to transport stuff back to the U.S., but it’s a great place to just walk through and look around.”
Shampoo
Emily: “This is a silly, fun club where we go dancing. Argentines aren’t big drinkers, but they’re big partiers. They’re really into techno. You don’t go out until 2 A.M., and everything’s open ‘til sunrise.”
Don’t miss out on Jennie and Emily’s made-in-B.A. edition: This black leather bucket bag is rockin’.
comments, reblogs & likes
Hare+Hart
comments, reblogs & likes
Designer’s Designer: Joanne Lee of Eayrslee Does Summer in the City with Delfina Balda
Let’s just be honest: We’d all love to take a summer vacation right about now. But if a tropical getaway isn’t in the cards, we can still dress the part, right? Today, Joanne Lee of the ridiculously chic bag—and wallet!—line Eayrslee shows us how it’s done. —julia silverman
“My Delfina Balda tunic is the perfect thing for this ridiculous heat wave: light and breezy, but totally standout. Delfina has created this exotic vacation fantasy world with her brand—I love wearing my tunic and going over to her backyard to sip umbrella cocktails. I’ve literally been living in mine since I got it two weeks ago, and people are starting to think I only own one dress!” —joanne
Want to see more brilliant ‘n breezy designer picks? We’ve got you covered here.
comments, reblogs & likes
Lyndsey Butler’s 10 Travel Essentials
She really has the whole packing thing down.
“I try to go out of town whenever I can,” says Lyndsey Butler, the woman behind the suitcase-ready, leather-fueled line, Veda. And while most of her travel used to be business-centric, she’s been able to squeeze in more genuine vacations lately—and is starting to get into surfing. “I’ve been a few times—in Costa Rica and Bali—and understand the concept, but I’m not that good. I can stand up, but I can’t say that I can do much more than that,” she explains. “But it’s fun. Any little progress you make, you feel like you just conquered something—like, ‘I stood up for half a second. I’m awesome.’ I kind of feel like I did when I first started Veda.” Here’s what Lyndsey puts in her carry-on for any excursions that involve sun and sand.
1) A Breezy Black Dress
“I like to pack a lot of black because it just makes things easier—you can dress it up, dress it down. This is part of my spring collection, and I just love it. It has a leather front and a silk back. It’s light enough for walking on the beach but covered-up enough for going out to dinner.”
2) The Latest Issue of The Paris Review
“I try to pick them up every season. I get really into the author interviews. I collect them, but not really intentionally. They sort of feel like books, so I can’t throw them away.”
3) A Teeny Bikini
“I usually like the tiniest bikinis I can find—which becomes a problem when you’re going on vacation with anyone but your closest friends. I just want to get as much sun as possible. I think this one is Brazilian. I got it on the beach in Miami.”
4) A Moleskine
“I usually have some sort of a notebook. I don’t necessarily collect things, but I keep a lot of things in it—mail, pictures of friends, old receipts I don’t want to lose.”
5) A Beachy Lotion
“This Mountain Ocean Skin Trip lotion is always with me, and now my boyfriend won’t stop using it. It’s really nice and coconut-y.”
6) An Oversize Denim Shirt
“On the plane I wear shirts like one I got at the RRL in Malibu with boots and black Citizens leggings/jeans—jeggings, if you will. Then, when I get to wherever I’m going, they pack up nicely.”
7) An Easy Leather Jacket
“Sometimes wearing black in the spring can be a little bit harsh. We’ve been doing this Max jacket since the first collection—I have it in every color we’ve ever made—and for this season, we treated one to look like washed denim.”
8) Too Many Books
“I always bring more books than I need—like five books for the three days that I’m going away. Last night I stayed up until two in the morning finishing Freedom. I’m going to try to finish Flaubert in Egypt next.”
9) A Small, No-Fuss Bag
“On the plane, I’ll have a big bag, but once I get somewhere, it’s nice to be able to just tote around my ID, cash, lipstick, and camera. This Alexander Wang one is great because you can only fit the essentials.”
10) A Bright, Vacation-Ready Cover-Up
“I just got this when I was in Argentina. I have a lot of things like this that sit in a little suitcase, ready to be sifted through when it’s time to go to the beach. You get most of these kinds of things when you’re in an exotic place, so they have a story.”
Check out Lyndsey’s exclusive design for Of a Kind! It’s leather, it’s striped, and it’s amazing.
comments, reblogs & likes
Of a Kind
Bianca, this studded wonder by Mara Carrizo Scalise is calling your name. Okay, and maybe mine a little bit too. I love a belt with statement hardware as an alternative to piling on the jewelry. —claire
Rock Belt Italian leather handmade belt with gold cone studs and gold
hardware.
(via tanya77)
