FRUIT FANCIES No. 8

Clockwise from top-left: sunglasses Saint Laurent // sweater Raf Simons // candle Saturdays NYC // Cereal magazine // sweatpants Junya Watanabe // trainers New Balance // backpack Ecoalf 

I guess something like "neo-sk8r boi" is the look? Because who doesn't need an $1100 Raf Simons leopard patterned Alpaca sweater and Junya Watanabe sweatpants? Bless.

If you're in the market for something a little more reasonably priced, I highly recommend this Saturdays NYC candle, Santalum + Cedrus. I got it the other week as an early birthday present to myself, along with this book. Oh, yeah, I turned 26 this past weekend...maybe more on that later. Or never, depending on how the mood strikes me. Also of note: the Ecoalf backpack. It's made of recycled fishing nets! Hot damn, amiright?

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WE'LL ALWAYS HAVE PARIS

Chelsea recently moved to the city and I couldn't be happier. Nothing like having a bestie around for frolicking and galavanting...and also eating your weight in good cheese, drinking tons of coffee and rhapsodizing about Paris. Speaking of, I just finished David McCullough's The Greater Journey (I blogged about starting it here), a historical work that's unexpectedly gripping from the get-go. McCullough artfully weaves together the lives of American expatriates in 19th-century Paris; I wish it were twice the size, really. One of the details I found most fascinating is the way art students would spend days and weeks replicating paintings in the Louvre.

As much as I respect and appreciate copyright law, it made me think about how truly helpful it is to attempt to copy something as a part of the learning process. It can teach you so much about which elements of a work you really appreciate and why. It's one of the reasons I think Instagram is such a great tool for photographers - there's endless inspiration and no harm or hassle in trying different styles of shooting. I've found that my favorite Instagrammers make great use of shadow, negative space and a simple or muted color palette.

Instagram is not the Louvre and an iPhone photo is not Degas, but here are a few of the accounts on IG that have influenced how I shoot: @jasonhudson, @alice_gao, @dabito, @amerrymishap and @lifeserial. And don't forget to follow me @thisfruitsnaps! Images, clockwise from top-left: spoon at La Colombe, Chelsea at home, the backyard of Saturdays Surf NYC, my book.