By: Devin VonderHaar

​Planning

​Before taking a trip, being the type A planner I am, I do a good bit of research for each trip. I look through the temperatures each day, what we plan to do each day with a rough itinerary which will later inform my packing decisions. I read through blogs on the places were going to, instagram + yelp for dining choices, beautiful locations to get photos of, and ideas for activities. I also create a google map for each trip, so that I can visually map out the plans + see how long travel will take between destinations.

​I am a big proponent for booking airbnbs over hotels, it feels more like home and theres so much more value in an airbnb. Research the area you’ll be staying in- what is nearby, is there a grocery in walking distance, activities, mass transit options available, will you need a rental car etc. I keep this itinerary with all the plans for each day in a note on my phone for easy access. The more informed you can be, the better your packing will be. And ultimately, the more relaxing the trip will be.

BY: FASHION FORWARD

It is clear by now that fashion production and consumption as it existed until the 2013 Rana Plaza disaster is coming to an end. Over the last half decade there has been a proliferation of independent, local labels around the world. These brands may be locally accomplished and culturally rich, but internationally unknown and lacking sufficient funds to compete in the global marketplace.

At Fashion Forward, we believe that the exploration of the unknown, the widening of discourse, and the broad accessibility of free information is crucial to moving the fashion system forward. For these reasons, we have been working to create guides that feature the most conscious, impactful, and sustainable brands from different countries all around the world. Fueled by our mission to open the fashion system up to new and exciting initiatives, these resources fill a gap in the information available to consumers, allowing them to experience fashion through a new lens. 

Meet 15 sustainable fashion designers from Hungary.

BY: LOTTA YANONG

 The Fashion Map captured photos of the Black Is Beautiful: The Photography of Kwame Brathwaite exhibition at the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco earlier this year. Featuring over forty photographs of black women and men with natural hair and clothes that reclaimed their African roots, Black Is Beautiful: The Photography of Kwame Brathwaite is the first-ever major exhibition dedicated to this key figure of the second Harlem Renaissance.
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Kwame Brathwaite: Black Is Beautiful by Kwame Brathwaite  (Photographer), Tanisha C. Ford (Contributor), Deborah Willis (Contributor)

BY: MAEGAN J ​

If you're interested in gaining insight on  André Leon Talley 's life story, The Chiffon Trenches: A Memoir, has plenty to offer you. However, I thought this book was very dense and difficult to get through. There was a lot of name dropping, insider gossip, and some moments that didn't quite read as being truthful or transparent.

​Despite my problems with the book, Talley draws a very clear trajectory from his humble beginnings in segregated Durham, North Carolina to dancing the night away with the fashion elite at Studio 54, being welcomed to the hallowed halls of Conde Nast, and finally being unceremoniously ousted from the fashion's elite inner circle. As a pioneering and talented black man navigating the world of fashion, I found his moments of personal reflection the most enlightening.

BY: NENA IVON

If you want to know how the international, wealthy, famous, infamous artists, writers, etc. reigned by the glamourous Haute Couture designer Gabrielle Chanel lived between the two World Wars and during the German occupation of France, then this is THE book for you!  Be prepared that this isn't a fluff piece, nor is it totally about Chanel, but rather how she fit into the hedonistic lifestyle on the Riviera and in France at the time between the wars.
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Chanel's Riviera by Anne De Courcy

BY: MAEGAN J ​

​Women in Clothes is a survey-style fashion tome edited by Sheila Heti, Heidi Julavits, and Leanne Shapton. I came across this book three years ago and it immediately became a very pivotal book for me in my fashion journey. What I love about Women in Clothes is that there are no aspirational quotes from designers or tastemakers and no advice on how to achieve a timeless style. Instead, Women in Clothes leans into exploring clothing as self-hood, clothing as armor, and clothing as a means to both reveal and conceal. 
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Women in Clothes by Sheila Heti, Heidi Julavits, and Leanne Shapton

BY: LOTTA YANONG

In 1873, at the end of the California Gold Rush, Levi Strauss & Co., named for a Bavarian Jewish dry goods merchant in San Francisco, obtained a U.S. patent with tailor Jacob Davis on the process of putting metal rivets in men’s denim work pants to increase their durability. It was the birth of the blue jean.

The Contemporary Jewish Museum is pleased to present Levi Strauss: A History of American Style, an original exhibition showcasing the life of Levi Strauss, the invention of the blue jean, and their iconic place in the history of American style. ​Levi Strauss: A History of American Style is organized by The Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco in collaboration with Levi Strauss & Co. Historian Tracey Panek and co-curated by The CJM’s Chief Preparator and Exhibition Designer, Justin Limoges and Senior Curator, Heidi Rabben.