My least genuine thoughts related to Germany.

Berlin, Germany: I was nearly done dragging my friends through Künstlermagazin (trading out my chunk charcoal, once called a "wildly impractical travel supply" by my dear friend Ellen, for the more sensible willow pencil) when I first met Karl. He was conducting some intense colored pencil competitive research. I was debating the best hue of black for a European vacation. It was love at first sight. Or more accurately I was in awe at first sight. I believe he was in need of a color consultant on his new collaboration with Faber Castell and my "Blue Black or Green Black" monologue caught his attention. Either way, we sensed an immediate mutual respect. He whisked me, my three friends, two cats and one dog off to Stein for two exquisite months of analyzing colors, tagging along to Chanel fittings and Fendi shoots, playing with Legos and becoming lifetime besties. Come November 1st, the project came to a close and he sent us on our way with one very beautiful, very unique and very expensive box of colored pencils in hand. Give it up for a most prized possession award.

Tokyo, Japan: As thrilling as I found two straight months of debating the intricacies of a pigment to be, the girls were getting a bit antsy. Catching wind of their boredom, Karl surprised them with tickets to Tokyo. Laura and Ellen passed out immediately upon boarding the plane. Sonu, however, was so psyched to be headed to Japan and beyond jacked on coffee that she sat up binge watching Project Runway All Stars Season 1 whilst powering through crossword puzzles for 6 hours until she was very abruptly disrupted by a paper airplane. She turned to the sender, pleasantly surprised to see that it was not obnoxious children but rather a well dressed gentleman. He gestured for her to open the plane. "Surreal 26 down" was scribbled inside. She looked to her crossword and sure enough, clue 26 read "Webster's Word of the Year" and "surreal" fit perfectly. The two struck up conversation, ten hours later they were in Tokyo and twelve hours after that Sonu escorted Tomas to the Plaza Hotel for his World Monuments Fund Honor Award. She wore Bottega Veneta, of course, but the true key to her ensemble was a small hairpin engraved with her own initials "SJ".

New York, United States: When the ladies returned from Japan they requested a quick alteration in our itinerary. Tomas had offered himself up as tour guide to the most nostalgic of American German bars, under one circumstance: we take a detour to Cologne. I quickly obliged under a single condition of my own: we take an additional detour to Ghent (one never forgets one's first cup of mint tea sans the tea). All parties agreed and we were off to Cologne's Brauhaus, off to Ghent's Cafe Den Turk and eventually off to New York, pets and Tomas in tow. Many planes, trains and Uber rides later, we finally happened upon Loreley. It was a perfect replica of our earlier stop in Cologne and entirely unrelated to our visit in Belgium, though that detour was certainly worthwhile. "This can be your home away from home" Tomas explained, for all the nights of missing Germany that lay ahead of us. To this day the group of us still make the trek out to Manhattan each year in hopes of living out our German dream once more. Although seeing as it has not yet been a year, we have not had the pleasure of reuniting. I'll be sure to keep you posted as to how our first anniversary visit goes.

On to the clothes!

Left to right: MCM Berlin Hat Box, Bottega Veneta Fall 2016 RTW

Left to right: Bottega Veneta Resort 2017, Chanel Couture Fall 2016

Left to right: MCM Gold Visetos Drawstring, Fendi Couture Fall 2016