May 21, 2013
“When we were laying out the book we were consciously trying to mirror the way that we felt from the beginning to the end of our trip. The sequencing corresponds to our disorientation and the elasticity of time we felt as we traveled.”
Yael Malka spent 70 days traveling with her girlfriend, Cait Oppermann, around Europe and they’ve turned their journey into a photo book.
See Yael’s SEA BLUES here Yaelmalka.com
See Cait’s SEA BLUES here Caitoppermann.com
May 20, 2013
Photo courtesy of Meredith Shank
Thursday night, NYU’s Global Center for Spiritual and Academic Life hosted a Feminist.com FemSalon. Big titles for a big event! This FemSalon series was titled “Our Inner Lives: Spirit, Faith, and Action” with the conversation exploring the intersections of spirituality and feminism. The audience was full of excited, interesting women (lots of standing ovations) and the panel was made up of some very heavy hitters (listed below). The first question was “when did you realize you were a feminist and what do you say to people that think feminism and spirituality are together oxymoronic lifestyles?”
Are these opposing ideas to you? To these women, the two belong hand in hand. Tell us what you think: girl@girlsiknownyc.com
Elizabeth Lesser, co-founder of the Omega Institute
India.Arie, remember this song??
Chung Hyun Kyung, wise woman/Theologian extraordinaire
Maria Ebrahimji, Director of Network Booking at CNN Wordwide and author
Rabbi Jill Hammer, spiritual education director and co-founder of the Kohenet Hebrew Priestess Institute
Helen LaKelly Hunt, co-founder of at least five major women’s organizations including Women Moving Millions
and Rev. Jacqui Lewis, Senior Minister at Middle Collegiate Church in the East Village.
- Anna
May 16, 2013
Backpacks = Adventure.
Two hands free with Annebet Duvall, Senior Fashion Editor at Seventeen Magazine.
(we just did this at the copy machine- her bag is Adidas and camouflage!)
Speedo goggles, Topshop unicorn, Raleigh hotel keychain, Swarovski headphones, I Wave needles and Scratch record, Helllo Kitty zip drive, Playlists!
May 16th, 2013
The disco ball at Westway
Breasts! Lots of boobs in the news lately. Angelina Jolie’s double mastectomy letter of empowerment, Kate Upton’s American Vogue cover, the articles (one, two, three, and many more) written in response to Angelina’s letter, John Currin’s 1991 portrait of Bea Arthur (as part of his “acrid fantasy portraits of menopausal women” series)… Take a moment and take a second look. When considering your own breasts – size, health, roundness, etc – notice that although all boobs are not created equal they are all are fun to look at and important to take care of.
John Currin’s “Bea Arthur Naked,” 1991
May 15, 2013
Map by Canyon Castator
La Finca Caribe: Sleep, cook, swim, hangout
Belly Buttons: Get ice cream
Lazy Jacks: Drink tequila
Navio Beach: Jump into the ocean
Hix Island House: Stay in a secluded Eco architecture haven
Caracas: Float
May 15, 2013
Photo courtesy of Fox Fodder Farm
GIK Taylor Patterson in New York Magazine! Read about what she likes to wear and and how it all relates to her bouquet arrangements. Much deserved recognition of a very talented woman.
May 14, 2013
Photo courtesy of Frieze
Duraclear Photographic Print mounted on a lightbox shown at Frieze. Quiet and glowing.
The artist is Kimsooja and she is Korean. Check out her website for more work.
- Anna
May 14, 2013
Violence against women and children remains a serious issue. To understand the idea of prevention and necessity for help, I turned to Stephanie. Stephanie is a social worker currently living in Wisconsin. Her experience working for Hope House, a shelter for women and children, victims of domestic violence is a very real.
Tell me about a moment that offered you the opportunity to gain insight into the world of women who face this tremendous adversity.
“Right away what popped into my head was a particular night. I was sitting at the kitchen table in the shelter with a young woman who was nine months pregnant. It was 2AM and we were talking when all of the sudden her water broke. She looked at me with her eyes really wide and everything stood still for a moment. She was looking to me to help her, that’s what was scary about the shelter. I’ve dealt with abusers threatening me, I’ve dealt with clients who’ve had seizures, filing police reports, ambulances, even death. A bunch of different situations that could be considered scary, but to me, the scariest part was when a woman looks to you to help her make decisions at such a difficult time in her life. You have to be brave and advocate for them when things around them seem to be falling apart. It’s what we, as women, as human beings, should always do for each other. We have to help each other.
I learned a lot about myself working there, I found courage that I didn’t know I had, I also learned the amazing strength women have inside.
Since leaving Hope House, I think about the women I’ve worked with and I think a lot about the kids who’ve come through the shelter. Two years after I left, I was coaching cheerleading and there was a girl on the squad who I recognized immediately. The girl had stayed in the shelter once with her mother. She ran up to me and gave me a big hug, she remembered who I was and told me that she still knew the cheer I taught her while she was at the shelter, it was the first cheer she ever learned. I had to smile because during that sad time in her life, she remembered something positive. She was happy.”
- Jen

May 13, 2013
Kristom Parson is a GIK girl and every month since we’ve know her she has generously sent a playlist of beats and treats. JAM.
Gold (Moon Boots Remix)
Beat Beat
You & Me
Take Over You
Color Theory (Pleasure Curses Remix)
A Stranger Love
Tryin To Be Cool (RAC Mix)
Lift Away
Cyclone
April 25 2013, Donna
Meredith Shank took this photo. Jen is wearing Victoria’s white skort and I’m wearing Jen’s Friend of Mine dress. Sharing clothes, sharing memories.
- Anna
Meet the Bookings Directors. These women scout, cast and book the SUPER BABES for ALLURE, TEEN VOGUE AND SELF. Takes one to know one, I’d say.
Where are you from?
Sandra: London, England.
Ro: I’m originally from Manila, but grew up in Philadelphia and have been in NYC for over 20 years.
Lara: I grew up outside of the city in NJ in a town called Short Hills. If someone has heard of it it’s usually because there is a great mall there.
What do you do for work, for fun, when you’re sad?
Sandra: I am the Booking Director at SELF. I love to cook. It’s a great stress reliever. I love to throw dinner parties and cook for family and friends. It’s a fun way to share your passion with others.
Ro: For work, I’m the Bookings Director at Allure (duh, haha!) For fun, I snowboard, play guitar, go to concerts and movies and hang out with friends. When I’m sad I’ll watch funny (or what I call my guilty pleasure) movies and listen to my iPod.
Lara: I love to go for a run in Central Park. Road trips outside of the city. The beach. Skiing. I am the Bookings Director at Teen Vogue.
Sandra Wilson Hess
How do you dance?
Sandra: Right now I’m a little over 8 months pregnant so I like to dance and sing to my baby. I’m hoping he or she will recognize the songs when they are born and want to dance to them too.
Ro: Not really sure how I dance, haha! I love going to 80′s night at Pyramid Club with friends, so 80′s music usually makes me dance. I’d like to think/hope I can dance like Molly Ringwald does in that dance scene in The Breakfast Club. But I probably don’t.


April 29, 2013
All the babes clockwise from top left:
Farrah Fawcett, Tilda Swinton, Julia Nobis in RUSSH Magazine, Mijo Mihaljcic in Vogue Netherlands, “Portrait of a Girl (Sophie Gray)” by John Everett Millais, Gloria Steinem, Cindy Crawford, Celine Van Amstel for Glamour Netherlands, Diane Kruger, Verushka, “Judith 1″ by Gustav Klimt, Natalie Portman post-buzz, Bjork, Beyonce, Freja Beha, mystery beauty, “Suzanne Bathing” by Tamara de Lempicka.
Who do you think is a super babe? Tell us at girl@girlsiknownyc.com
- Anna
April 26, 2013
Thank you to the teams that made our Party Gift Bags amazing. Really, amazing.
WildFox + Cosabella + Tarte + Bumble and Bumble
JEN + ANNA
Meet Olivia Wolfe and Steph Krasnoff. Their shop, American Two Shot is like a castle full of gems. We took an afternoon to shoot these photos – something feels very right about them holding down the block.
Where are you from?
Olivia and Steph: We grew up in Miami
What do you do (for fun, for work, when you’re sad)?
Steph: I’m lucky to have more fun at work than most. I actually make the decision to remove myself from the store when it’s time to stop having fun and get a few things done. i don’t usually get sad unless it’s Sunday. I have a chronic case of Sunday blues. Sometimes I try to prevent it with plans, and other times I just let it happen. But it’s finally bike weather – it’s really hard to be sad when you’re on a bike, even on Sundays.
Olivia: Work and fun are all one big blur now because I get to work with a bunch of things that make me very happy – friends, music, art, clothes, books. I feel challenged but not overwhelmed on a daily basis, and the times I do feel overwhelmed are the closest I come to feeling sad. The only thing that will make me actually feel sad is the loss of a good friend or family member, even if I just miss them alot, but anything outside of that is really just me being overwhelmed or tired. Or hungry.
Where do you live? Tell me about the idea of home.
S: I live in the heart of chinatown but I definitely don’t think of my apartment as “home.” It’s just somewhere I sleep and do laundry. New York is my home. I may move around a bit but this city is where I want to be and what I miss when I’m gone.
O: I live two blocks from [American Two Shot]. My idea of home is my family, always. My mom especially.
How do you dance? What music makes you dance no matter what?
S: Miami roots run deep, i <3 to get down. 90s hip hop is my go-to but ultimately Uncle Al – Mix It Up will make me dance, no matter what.
O: I’m that girl that walks into the club dancing. Hip hop and rock n’ roll from the 50′s and 60′s make me dance no matter what (Chuck Berry, Chubby Checker, etc).
When did a recent dream come true?
S: I never dreamed the things we’re accomplishing right now with ATS – I’ve somehow managed to exceed my dreams. You’d better believe I’m dreaming bigger now.
O: I’ve been writing and recording music with one of my best friends. From ages six to thirteen I was pretty sure I was going to be a singer and/or FBI agent, so I’m crossing one of those off the list.
Who do you love (go in any direction with this or even tell me what you think of love)?
S: I love my friends a lot. I’ve learned from them, leaned on them, gained support from them, and been overwhelmingly inspired by them. I hope they feel the same about me. And a shout out to my parents, they get some love too.
O: I love about 20 people i think. Most of them love me back, some of them don’t. I’m ok with that.
How did you meet?
Steph and Olivia: We met in middle school in Miami.
FIRST MEMORY OF THE OTHER:
S: It must have been my first day of middle school and the whole class was in the locker room for P.E. I didn’t actually meet Olivia then but I noticed her hair and was really jealous, I still am. I tell her she has pizza hair – even when it’s bad, it’s so good.
O: My first memory of Steph is noticing a necklace she was wearing. I spotted it on her neck in social studies sitting behind her and was jealous because those type of chains were really cool and my mom wouldn’t let me get one. =/
Photos and Interview by Jen
April 20, 2013
April 19th, 2013.
I know this girl, Erica. We dated boys who were good friends. About six years has gone by and the only thing still the same about us… We are still friends.
I hijacked her jewelry, ROBBIE SIMON – grabbed Tessa, Natasha and Mason and went to Chinatown with a camera. These are my favorite shots.
Meet Kristi Garced and Cara Sheffler. Friends and writers, these two are striking and interesting. I met them both on different occasions in different circumstances and was happy to discover they are good friends.
Where are you from?
Kristi: I was born to a Puerto Rican dad and an Italian/Syrian mom in the suburbs of New Jersey. My dad spotted my mom at a bar and followed her home in his car. Luckily, she started dating him instead of filing a restraining order. I loved growing up there. There’s still a swingset and a 15-foot trampoline in my parents’ backyard — I mean, how could I not? And then I loved leaving.
Cara: A semi-mythical place called New Jersey. You take the first right off the GW Bridge and exit the Palisades Parkway just before the New York State/Rockland County border. I spent my entire childhood scheming to leave New Jersey, but now that I live in Manhattan, I love having a two-stoplight town to visit – it’s like owning a country home without the taxes.
What do you do (for fun, for work, when you’re sad)?
K: For work: editor/reporter at WWD. For fun: all the usual stuff, plus puppies and ice cream. For sadness: laughter as a coping mechanism. I remember one of Terry Teachout’s columns for WSJ in which he posited that absurdity and sorrow are often woven together too tightly to be teased apart. Laughing is the best fucking thing in the world. For tragedies too great to be reduced to comedy, a Pisco sour at Bemelmans Bar can cure most ailments.
C: As a freelance writer, I tend to be more sure of my routine than the motivations behind any of my actions (which is probably why I need to stick to a routine).
In what gaps that schedule provides, I work on my own writing and edit Works & Days, a quarterly of new work that I started with two friends last year. Current writing projects include Our Trespasses, a piece about the Donner Party and writing the libretto for Luke Cissell’s operatic adaptation of The Ambassadors.
Where do you live? Tell me about the idea of home.
K: I live above one of downtown Manhattan’s hellish intersections, so I wanted my home to reflect a more calming vibe: clean, white, minimal. More broadly, home is wherever you can be loved and accepted for exactly who you are and dance in your underwear.
C: My apartment is the only one I have ever had in New York City; I moved in two weeks before I graduated from college. It is a rent-stabilized haven plastered with friends’ artwork; the place has hosted so many extended house guests and happy memories that it has become an unlikely island of domestic stability amongst my more itinerant friends.
How do you dance? What music makes you dance no matter what?
K: See above.
C: Constantly and hopelessly. At my most enthusiastic, I remove all the furniture from my living room. As for what gets me out on the dance floor, there’s something to be said about a guy who can properly dip you…
When did a recent dream come true?
K: In the most recent dream I can recall, I had a pet finger monkey (that is, a pygmy marmoset) and it was running rampant inside of my apartment. Still waiting for that one to manifest itself, though I hear those things are pretty high-maintenance.
C: The opening of the Broadway-Lafayette uptown transfer to the 6 train.
Who do you love? Go in any direction with this or even tell me what you think of love.
K: Honest, compassionate, open-minded, what-you-see-is-what-you-get kinda folk.
C: I have always been undeservedly lucky with the friends and family in my life, but this past year has been one filled with collaborations. I’ve felt incredibly privileged to publish the work, and I have curated for Works & Days over the past 18 months. To quote Werner Herzog on the matter, “I only know that the work of great poets and artists does not change the course of my life. But it makes it better.”
How did you meet?
K: Cara and I met at a bar in SoHo, but we didn’t start hanging out until years later when we realized we live two blocks apart. It’s so nice to have a friendship where it’s like, “Hey, want to get a drink?” – “Sure, meet you downstairs on the corner in five.”
C: Through having mutual friends, mutual bars, and strikingly similar hair. Oh, and we’re neighbors!
Photos and Interview by Jen
April 11, 2013
Karalaine Stemle is a woman I know by way of boys I know.
Kara has lived in New York City for ten years and for most of this time, she has been a waitress. I asked, “What interests you?” And by her answer I understood that the drive toward greatness develops from her heart. She’s put everything into her relationships – with every boyfriend came a new situation that she committed to 100%. Kara began at Coffee Shop in 2003. Next came Cafe Noir, The Box, Boom Boom, Lasso, Lovely Day…
I admire anyone who does what they do well.
These photos are important to me. I’d like to honor Kara and the job.
Where are you from?
“I’m from a real small city in ‘Kentuckiana’ called New Albany. It’s a tobacco town.”
Where do you live? Tell me about the idea of home.
How do you dance? What music makes you dance no matter what?
April 8, 2013
Here at Girls I Know, Jen and I like to talk about/feature a wide array of women because inspiration doesn’t always just come from The Top. That being said, the top chicks have been stirring up a lot of attention lately in the media stratosphere: Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In, Anne-Marie Slaughter’s thoughts on still not having it all (and its backlash), Marissa Myer’s aversion to the word “feminism,” Beyonce’s undeclared feminist standpoint, and Hillary Clinton’s potential presidency run.
A Power Woman is easy to spot – she has an acronym title, wears expensive shoes, and asserts a particular outward almost-friendliness (as in, good handshake). I have always admired this woman that strategically navigates her professional and personal life because I am a big fan of compartmentalization but Ann Friedman’s article in NYMag asks some great questions about how this looks to the younger generation.
Mentors are important! Think about the women you admire and then think about the women that might admire you someday. Times are changing/have changed and not only is it easier to be a top tier professional woman, it’s also easier to talk about it. So whatever you end up doing, talk about it! Power doesn’t have to be cold and your teachers weren’t wrong when they said “there’s no such thing as a bad question.”
I’d love to hear what you’d like to ask these women! Email me here girls@girlsiknownyc.com
- Anna
April 8th, 2013
Jackie Steele in Boston. Alaskan postcard. Zodiac symbol translator gifted by taxi driver circa 2009. Slim Aarons iconic photograph. Gordon Stevenson’s hearts and rockets. Blue pavement near an estate in Yonkers.
April 5th, 2013
This is an old envelope I have saved. Writing letters can be therapeutic and are mostly underrated. I suggest giving it a go. Perhaps you’ll write to yourself?
I have corresponded with my father by hand-written letter for nearly 10 years. He has saved them all – I’m sure it’s a flowery array of apartments, boyfriends, jobs and adventure. I’m glad I told somebody!
Send us your letters girl@girlsiknownyc.com
- Jen
April 4, 2013
DeFeo working on “The Rose.” Photo by Burt Glinn
Because it doesn’t come naturally to me, I have a deep admiration for people who can dedicate themselves to one task or job for a very long period of time – I am much more productive when I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, you know? So, I have a new found respect for Jay DeFeo. Her painting, “The Rose,” took eight years of cultivation. She just kept coming back to this 12-foot masterpiece, year after year, until it ended up weighing almost a ton and was in some places eight inches thick with oil paint.
The New York Times calls it her “Sisyphean act of self-editing,” an eternally repetitive process resulting in a really pivotal piece of art. That “The Rose” is admired for the work put into it as much as for the way it looks and what it adds to the hefty contemporary art catalog is impressive. I am in total awe of her timeless obsession to make the perfect painting because I would get distracted two hours in.
I highly recommend seeing Jay DeFeo’s show at The Whitney. Admire “The Rose” and her other works of obsession incarnate rendered in charcoal, pencil, paint, and photography (the women knew few bounds). It’s up until June 2!
- Anna
April 4th, 2013
In keeping with favorites, I’ve built a small collage of Spring 2013 jeans and denim pieces. All are available now! The denim market usually keeps me very interested in the changing movement of fashion as a whole and is my favorite market to cover. These jams are only a few of the best pieces the season has to offer.
Current Elliott – Off white and cropped, the stiletto lowrise. $258 And… the freshman tee. (sooo good) $118 Revolve.com
Goldsign – Best print. $248 shopbop.com
MIH – The sexier boyfriend option. $249 shopbop.com
Cheap Monday – Nice gray. $75 shopthenews.com
Paige – Good black with just enough embellishment. $229 paigeusa.com
Mother Denim – White wash! Rad white denim jacket. $220 shopbop.com
Citizens of Humanity – Overrrrallls! $297 shopbop.com
- Jen
April 2, 2013
This was a gift. Helmut Newton’s iconic photos of women are compelling to look at – the images evoke a range of feelings. Female sexuality and the dynamic between sex and power are a consistent focus; hard bodies, soft bodies, collarbones, breasts; all very idyllic of woman. When I finish looking through I often feel both turned on and turned off by the images.
I like this woman and her shadow. I am very curious what she may have been thinking.
- Jen
March 26, 2013
Do you like Tilda? Do you like Bowie? I love them both. It’s like they represent this higher state of being, like they’re aliens that exist to awe regular humans by breaking every barrier you can think of – music, movies, art, fashion, all of it.
That being said look at this music video they made TOGETHER for Bowie’s song “The Stars (Are Out Tonight).” So cool, so weird, so great.
- Anna
March 26, 2013
This past Wednesday evening, I spent time with a group of very New York, very special women to celebrate a baby girl.
My friend, Rebecca is expecting her daughter to arrive this May. In the photo above you will find her mother, Nancy – she is there in the center.
- Jen
Christo gesticulates
Brucer Weber turns surf boys into models
March 25th
On March 21st The New York Times published an article, Once Few, Women Hold More Power in Senate.
This was an exciting article to read. I was very happy when, upon entering his second term, Obama selected Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat to the United States Senate. Recalling my first opportunity to vote for Baldwin, I remember an uproar was made by the fact that she was a lesbian. Frankly and honestly, when I heard this news I liked her more.
To begin to fully understand the history of women in the Senate, I took a look at who was first.
FELTON
The first woman Senator was 87-year-old Rebecca Latimer Felton of Georgia. On October 23, 1922 the Democratic Governor of Georgia Thomas Hardwick appointed Felton to the Senate in hopes of securing his victory in the next election. He wanted to inspire the newly enfranchised women voters of Georgia to be on his side.
His plan failed – although history was made – and Felton hardly had time to hold her post as a new Senator was elected soon after Hardwick. Something I found Felton said about her moment as a Senator, mirrored the first paragraphs of last weeks Times article in mention.
Here are both:
Rebecca Latimer Felton -
“In her address the following day to a capacity audience, the Georgia senator described a cartoon she had received showing the Senate in session. ‘The seats seemed to be fully occupied, and there appeared in the picture the figure of a woman who had evidently entered without sending in her card. The gentlemen in the Senate took the situation variously,’ she continued. ‘Some seemed to be a little bit hysterical, but most of them occupied their time looking at the ceiling,’ without offering the newcomer a seat. Felton concluded with the following prediction. ‘When the women of the country come in and sit with you, though there may be but very few in the next few years, I pledge you that you will get ability, you will get integrity of purpose, you will get exalted patriotism, and you will get unstinted usefulness.’”www.senate.gov
New York Times Article – Once Few, Women Hold More Power in Senate – MARCH 21ST, 2013 By JENNIFER STEINHAUER
WASHINGTON — An hour before her colleagues gathered for their first vote of a new Congress, Senator Kelly Ayotte slipped into an empty Senate chamber to savor the grandeur of her legislative home. As Ms. Ayotte, a freshman Republican from New Hampshire, sat down at the wooden desk where generations of lawmakers from her state had cast their votes, a doorman marched toward her with purpose.
The desks, he sternly told her, were for senators only.
Ms. Ayotte’s induction that January day in 2011 into the most rarefied ranks of the nation’s political class — female senators — had begun. “The desk thing really stuck with me,” Ms. Ayotte said. “There still just aren’t that many of us.”
Get there girls.
- Jen
March 25th, 2013
Mary Lynn with Jackie
My Grandmother Mary Lynn and her brothers would sing and play guitar often. I was still young when I started paying attention. One of my favorite songs they did was You Don’t Mess Around with Jim by Jim Croce. I remember watching my Grandmother close her eyes so tightly when she sang that I feared with all the mascara she wore, her eyes wouldn’t open again.
My Grandmother raised me, she is originally from the south side of Chicago and currently lives in Wisconsin. I want to know about your Grandma so do tell: girl@girlsiknownyc.com
- Jen
March 21, 2013
Fashion Intern steaming clothes at MILK STUDIOS
Heather Tierney’s greenery from Flower Girl at The Butcher’s Daughter
Jill Collins in the snowfall of March
March 20, 2013
I found my stylist book yesterday. This is one of my favorite photos from the book. Shot with Theresa Matthais and Nadav Benjamin.
- Jen
March 20th, 2013
March is nearing an end and thankfully so, Spring is flirting with us.
From Vanity Fair’s March 2013 issue I loved this photo of Bo Derek. I thought you might also – you can tell I carried it with me for a few days.
Enjoy your day and maybe look here if you want to see more from this issue.
-Jen
March 19th, 2013
AYA KANAI
Photo by Phil Oh
Aya Kanai is the new Fashion Director of Cosmopolitan.
I’m excited, let’s see what happens.
- Jen
March 19, 2013
Isabel Marant by Inez Van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin
Read this great article about Isabel Marant. If you’re this cool, this nonchalant, and this confident in your taste then not a bad word can be said about you. Marant is the Queen of the Parisian cool girl look, balancing bohemian comfort with beautiful materials and some inexplicable ingredient that is sexy without showing a lot (I think it’s “mystery,” but I’m not sure). She’s smart, charming, funny and her priority list is not topped with “MAKE MONEY” which is always a refreshing thing to hear.
In the article Marant says, “It’s true that I am my own muse. I don’t like this word but when I studied fashion at Studio Berçot the director said, “You shouldn’t want others to wear things that you won’t wear yourself,” and that’s something that never left me.”
“Write what you know,” is a saying thrown around all the time in writing schools. Two lessons in different areas of study that tell you that the path to success is finding what makes you you and sticking to it. Something to think about!
- Anna
Isabel Marant by François Coquerel (Telegraph.co.uk)
Marant shot by Paola Kudacki and Mary McCartney (Nowness.com)
A look from the Autumn/Winter 2013 Collection (Style.com)
A look from the Spring/Summer 2013 Collection (Style.com)
March 14th, 2013
AN ARTFUL LIFE
I met a woman on Tuesday named Annie. We had a chat about women in publishing and she brought up Barbara Nessim. This book by Barbara is for sale here now. I will write more about both Annie and Barbara soon, until then take a look at this gorgeous book.
I’d like to be this star girl.
- Jen
March 2013, Meatpacking District.
This is Tessa.
Tessa is one of only two designers for Theory 38. In it’s first season, Spring 2013 many of us are excited because this new collection for Theory is sporty, sexy and also very chic, three components usually complicated to cultivate at once.
Yesterday, I met Tessa at 38 Gansevoort and we had a look.
- Jen
March 8th, 2013
Photo by Bob Adelman
On this important day for women we launch the Journal section of GIRLS I KNOW, ”Lovers”
This year, the International Women’s Day UN theme is “A Promise is a Promise: Time for Action to End Violence Against Women.” Our eyes have widened upon hearing world news related to violence against women and this year was especially difficult to comprehend.
A tribute to women who have overcome incredible odds and very boldly made their voices heard, International Women’s Day is a day for the whole world to celebrate the achievement and advancement of women economically, socially and politically.
Read and know more about today, here and here.
- Jen

Louise Bourgeois by Nanda Lanfranco 2003.
Louise Bourgeois is a Girl I really wish I Knew. Working until the very end of her 98 years, she pushed a lot of boundaries for artists as a woman, as a creative mind, and as someone obsessed with the psychoanalytical properties of creation.
MoMA has installed Louise Bourgeois: The Complete Prints & Books where you can school yourself on her biography, print-making phase, and check out high-res images of her amazing work. Rife with good quotes for your Facebook page or real life (“Art is a guarantee of sanity” or “These works do not illustrate… they are an exorcism… That is what I am after… to dig and reveal”), the site is a good, educational way to lose some hours on the internet. Heavy and incredible!
-Anna
Girl Falling, 1993
Spider, from the illustrated book, He Disappeared into Complete Silence. 2001–02
Mercury is still in retrograde so it’s a great time to read. Badaboom. Here are some books Anna and I have enjoyed very much.
- Jen + Anna
Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Truman Capote
For some reason, I’ve been gifted Breakfast at Tiffany’s three times.
The Bhagavad Gita, Eknath Easvaran
A must read in the the yoga teacher training curriculum. This book is a cornerstone aid to overcoming some of life’s most challenging afflictions and addictions and how to understand journey.
Our Nig: or Sketches form the Life of a Free Black, Harriet E. Wilson
An incredibly telling and special book.
White Teeth, Zadie Smith
A very rich novel about how complicated family is. Easy to relate to!
Ada or Arbor: A Family Chronicle, Vladimir Nabokov
Read this book if you’ve ever felt unsure about what love or a perfect sentence is. It will clarify everything.
Nickled and Dimed, Barabra Ehrenreich
An excellent read, especially if you can relate.
The Rum Diary, Hunter S. Thompson
Puerto Rico, my friend.
Nights at the Circus, Angela Carter
Fun, funny, smart and magical (actually) Angela Carter reinvents the template of legends to make room for girls!

Hey, I interviewed the artist Kim McCarty about her beautiful watercolors for the Opening Ceremony blog! Read what she has to say about the inconsistencies of her medium, the difference between LA and NY, and what happened to macho art here.
- Anna
NATALIE SUAREZ / TIMBERLAND + REFINERY29.COM
GIRLS I KNOW 1ST FASHION STORY / TESSA, SENIOR DESIGNER AT THEORY
R29 INSTAGRAM SERIES / Market work and styling
Spring Break
Coachella
Pastel / Easter
Earth Day / Eco-Friendly
Flat Styling / Cosmopolitan Magazine
Test Beauty / Photographer Anna Wolf
Actress Raye / Model Spencer / Summer test
Test / Photographer – Sam Crawford
Flowers with Photographer Pippa Drummond
Levi’s x R29 Advertorial
Test / Photographer Alexa Miller
SEVENTEEN BEAUTY FAVES
R29 BEAUTY FAVES
Styled Portraits – NYC Girls
Jessemey – Model
Isabella
Samantha
Anna
Skyla Stover
Stef
Maggie
Guys / Celeb

February 2012, Tulum.
The word love is often tossed about and sometimes that’s ok. Here in the “Lovers” section of GIRLS I KNOW we created a forum to pocket all of that adoration. Coming soon, we will share news, links and information about the goings on of those we consider lovers. All of this shaking down in NYC.
-Jen