Tag: Fashion

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Wanderlust

My all-time favorite place to work in NYC, The Hudson Commons

Yesterday, I ran to a local fabric store looking for last minute embellishments for a dress I’m working on. Going through the rows and rows of material, nothing spoke to me. Even as I sit in front of my computer, I am at a loss of words. I am not feeling inspired and it is the worst feeling. I know why; I am lacking miles.

While I have not become an international traveler just yet, I have been fortunate enough to travel out of state at least once a quarter. In fact, last year because of my work obligations, my yearning to see friends and spend quality time with my kids, I clocked 28,722 miles, visited 8 states and the District of Columbia. I provided a glimpse as a tour guide to friends and family members who hadn’t visited some of my favorite places. I worked on a mountain top and near the coast line. I had one-on-one time with each of my kiddos (I decided for their birthdays that they would receive gifts of experiences and memories, not material items). I witnessed their grins from ear-to-ear as they were able to enjoy their passions of musical theater and outdoor art and beauty. We, the three amigos, traveled a trifecta of times together as a pack, and they were able to sit front row for one of my shows on a hotel rooftop on a beautiful, CLEAR afternoon in San Francisco and got to experience the magic of NYC during the Christmas season. I was able to take them along because of the gifts I received throughout the year and the points I had accumulated.

A travel must…fresh flowers from local markets like these peonies from Seattle’s Pike Market.

My daughter taught me that I should ALWAYS book a hotel room with a freestanding tub and fill it with flowers and local bath products because that, in itself, is a vacation even when it is a work trip.

Taking Reservations for NYFW SS19 and AW19 seasons. Inquire within. 🙂

Nothing makes me smile more than giving someone a glimpse of my New York and definitely, love when I get to show my travel companions Fashion Week.

But the best thing about traveling is immersing yourself into the location. Do you ever travel and just people watch? I do this ALL THE TIME. Either sitting at a café, patio or walking around the city with my earbuds in and shades on. I love hearing the languages swirling around my head and seeing the street fashion (it’s just as incredible in Denver as it is in NYC). And when I don’t have the budget to travel afar, I travel to my little piece of Europe–Santa Fe, NM. I sit on the patio at Mangiamo Pronto, with my Prosecco and Caprese Salad and watch what is happening around me.

Why do I love to travel? It opens up a world of possibilities in my creativity. It gives me sanity and it reminds me of the freedom I have to explore new places. I actually enjoy the open road more than traveling by plane when I can. My reason: I get to explore hidden places along the way, see the beauty of the landscape and skylines, listen to my favorite music while playing Carpool Karaoke AND if I am the passenger, dance in my seat (well sometimes, when I’m driving solo on a long stretch of highway I dance in the driver seat). Once I reach my destination I try to take advantage of what my destination has to offer: cuisine, art, outdoors, music, sports and relaxation.

Air travel is not glamorous in my mind. Gone are the days of dressing up and the customer experience; it’s more like a cattle round up (I’ll let you know if that changes when I get my own private jet). I have to be careful what I pack, plan on being at the airport two hours early (I don’t like running to the gate…I missed more than one flight because back up at security). In certain airports, I need to be prepared that once I do pass through security, that the gate will change and I’ll have to run through the airport to the right gate like Home Alone, or even better, my flight will be delayed and my original arrival time of 8:00pm becomes midnight (or more like the red-eye pushed out an additional hour and a half on the day before your fashion show).

Traveling, I only stop at exits
Wondering if I’ll stay (stay)
Young and restless
Living this way, I stress less – Nelly Furtado

Travel is not without it’s pitfalls. As I mentioned missed flights and delays, I’ve also dealt with lost luggage, getting lost in general, and if you read, I Scream. You Scream., sometimes it doesn’t start off on the right foot. One time, I actually forgot my purse at home on a west coast road trip. I didn’t realize it until we reached Gallup, NM and went to pay for something. Thank God it was my birthday (my actual birthday), so my wish that year was that no one could be mad at me when we had to turn around to get it (it added 3 hours to our first destination, Las Vegas, NV, and became comedic story later).

So when I saw the AirBNB commercial in response to the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the ban on certain countries’ citizens traveling to the United States, it made me realize how important it is to us, as human beings, to travel to different places. We learn about cultures through the experience of sights, sounds, touch, taste and feels. We learn to appreciate differences and similarities that we all have. Our country from the very beginning was made up of explorers: from the first citizens who crossed over the Bearing Strait to the Europeans conquerors. I can’t believe we aren’t welcoming ALL just because a select few have done harm. If that was the case, I’m surprised we, as Americans, haven’t been banned from traveling to most foreign countries because of the current administration’s isolationist and divisive attitudes, and the treatment of migrant families seeking asylum.

From my view at NYU’s Women’s Entrepreneurial Festival to Urban Chicness in Nob Hill (ABQ photo via Erin Killion Photography)

My design has been influenced by the places I’ve visited. The colors, the access to fabric and materials, the sights and structures all play a role and that influence is from traveling stateside. Sometimes my photos are even printed on the materials I use.

And here I am today, again feeling the need, no, the intense craving to travel. I went into 2018, visiting NYC once again for fashion week and again being able to see NYC for the first time through the eyes of one of my best friends, Laura. A month later, I was playing at Universal Studios with my kids and enjoying the sound of the ocean. I layered this leisure with work in the LA garment district.

I went into the year planning to show for the first time internationally with an invitation to London Fashion Week, immediately contacting the BG to get to work on teaching me French because I was definitely going to cross the Chunnel into Paris for a spell.

And then life happened, as it normally does, my contract ended. The lack of income stability, car problems and other unexpected expenses zapped my bank account. Fortunately, the start of a new position is helping me get back on track and catch up on outstanding bills from a few months of being unemployed. However with the start of a any new role, no available paid time off yet, and the lack of seniority to ask for time off, I had to rethink how to fill this wanderlust. I’ve considered a weekend road trip–going to Scottsdale, but as hot as it’s been here, I opted to not spend time on the surface of the sun in July. I was also invited to go to Denver and nearly hit the road a few weeks ago but the stars didn’t align, so instead for the moment, I’ve been living vicariously through friends and family that have been sharing their domestic and international travel photos or even better yet, sending me post cards (P.S. I love receiving them! You can send them to me at PO Box 65035, ABQ, NM 87193 with the simple note…”wish you were here”). I love those photos more when they include a little Hopeless + Cause Atelier.

A family trip to the Badlands of North Dakota and Mount Rushmore included a H+CA tee (and a special young man who celebrates his birthday also on July 5th…happy birthday month A!)

I’m about half way through my birthday month, and who knows. I may hit the road to go hiking on my mountain or head out of state for a little escapade. Maybe I’ll just take the train to Santa Fe and play tourist in my favorite American-European town. I will get back in my travel grove soon enough and get that injection of inspiration (even blogging about it NOW has got my mind churning and I realized the dress I’m completing is traveling to Egypt). Until then, I keep this close to me:

I LOVE this but don’t know who to credit.

With light and love and a touch of wanderlust, and wondering, where are you traveling to?

Dara Sophia

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Divine Intervention

Saturday was the first day in my life that I’ve lived longer without the physical presence of my mom. I knew it was going to be rough and while I had commitments that morning, the rest of the day was unknown. I had a few friends reach out and ask how I was doing. I had S:D time which was wonderful reprieve, seeing my Smitha for a few hours, but after being home for the remainder of afternoon and early evening, I decided I was going to go to my favorite rooftop to people watch and listen to my beats while I write. I had started a different blog, Beauty of the Unknown and thought I would get the right inspiration being a fly on the wall. On my way to Hotel Andaluz, I got stuck in bottle necked traffic as I-25 was rerouted to the Pan American side road. It was 102 degrees, 7pm and annoying. However, 25 minutes later I got back on to the freeway. As I started to accelerate, re-entering I-25 from Montano, I felt a surge and then the car started to slow down.

I pulled over to the shoulder and of course thought <EAR MUFFS>, “What the fuck!”. I sat for half a second and plotted out what I was going to do. I had my laptop with me. I had my AAA card. However, I left my mobile phone at home, purposely, because I wanted to disconnect and focus on my writing. I was at the Comanche exit. Traffic was light. I thought about sitting on the side of the road to wait for the Department of Transportation Help Vehicle to come by. It was 7:45pm and sun was lower on the horizon. If I had to walk, I knew there was no place nearby that I’d be able to walk to for a phone. So, I said a little prayer and got off on the Comanche exit and decided to head back north toward my brother and sister-in-law’s home. Hoping they would be there, I drove to each light on Pan American, turning off the car while I sat for the green light, and driving with my hazard lights on. I laughed and thought, “Of course, my plans are always derailed.” I arrived at their home about 20 minutes later. Surprised to see someone arrive so late and unexpected, my brother and niece came out first. Then my sister-in-law and nephew came out. My brother took a look at the vehicle, and the culprit, lack of oil.

He added what he had. Then ran to the store for more. Yvette opened a bottle of wine and we sat down and talked, and laughed, and talked. Jeremy returned and added the oil. By that time, it was close to 10:00pm and my brother offered to follow me home. He urged me to take it for an oil change first thing in the morning. As I drove home, it hit me. I wasn’t meant to be alone writing on this day. I was meant to be with family even as chaotic as it was. I made it home safely. As the tears streamed down my face, I knew it was divine intervention. I wiped my eyes and went inside. I sent a text to my brother and sister-in-law thanking them for their time.

This wasn’t the first time someone has intervened in my life and recently, it was professionally. On the one-month anniversary of Jennifer’s death, I woke to an email, titled, British Vogue’s Designer Profile. Of course, that got my attention at 5:00am, so I opened it to read this:

Good afternoon,

I wanted to get in touch as I came across you online and I think you would be perfect to showcase on an upcoming Designer Profile page I am creating for British Vogue.

I am currently putting together our exciting ‘Designer Profile’ page in our Autumn issues, starting with the August issue and following a campaign running across September and October. These are key issues in 2018 and are regarded as unmissable sources of inspiration across the Autumn fashion weeks, with the September edition being one the biggest, bumper fashion issues of the year previewing SS19 international collections. After reviewing your online presence I feel that you would make a really unique addition to the page, and appeal greatly to Vogue’s affluent readership.  

The email continued on… I was trying to determine if I was dreaming, if it was a phishing email, or if it was indeed real. I read it again. I googled the address listed and when I found it was legit, I responded. Hopeless + Cause will have a small feature in August, September and October. In August, H+CA will celebrate it’s 3rd birthday (mark your calendars for August 25th) and I couldn’t think of a better way to honor, Jennifer, my friend, my first customer, and my muse in fashion forward design, than featuring her. She is still pushing me to follow my passion and that nudge is now crossing borders.

Have you read Elizabeth Gilbert’s book, Big Magic? I’ve talked about the book and movie that made her famous, Eat. Pray. Love., and how one line and the support of my friend propelled me to continue to design. That line inspired me to create the brand name, Hopeless + Cause Atelier:

Ruin is a gift. Ruin is the road to transformation.

However, I must admit my favorite Elizabeth Gilbert book is Big Magic and its honest approach to “creative living beyond fear”. Every page is a turner. The first time I read it, I was gasping for more…like it was my breath of life. Gilbert talked specifically about inspiration and sometimes creatives, when in the right element, were a vessel to the divine. When so moved by creativity, you, as a creative, need to go with that flow. I have felt that way, it is like a renaissance or an epiphany, and in a way a religious manifestation through the work I am creating. I loaned the book to my friend, Annie, when after a wonderfully deep conversation, she mentioned being in a crossroad in her life. She was heading on a family trip to Mexico. It was the perfect opportunity to dig a little deeper in what she was feeling and how she wanted to move forward. As I do with all my beloved books, I loaned it to her. I told her to read it and to feel free to highlight or underline themes that spoke to her. I asked her to share her wisdom in the margins, but when she was done to return it to me (my library of books is sacred to me…I only keep the ones that speak to my mind and soul). She returned it with a personal note stating that it already added value to her life…and I “too” can’t wait until we catch up over wine.

I fully believe intervention comes to us in many ways: in words, in actions, in creativity, in someone physically telling you, “you are at a crossroad in your life and here is what I see.” It’s even in that asshole that tries to pigeonhole you in your self-actualization. There is some divinity in that, but only when you see and move beyond. As Gilbert honestly states, “let them have their opinion, let them be in love their opinion…but never delude yourself to believe that you require someone else’s blessing.” It is up to you to be open like a vessel for the next big thing, to engage in it so it can come to fruition, or to deny it and continue as is. It is your free will. I know my mom is no longer physically with me, but every so often she has her subtle and not so subtle ways of telling me she is along for the ride and sometimes even guides me there.

With light and love,

Dara Sophia

Vogue U.K. aka British Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle brand of Conde Nast International with a readership of 1.3M.
Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert, Riverhead Books