Noel Duan

    18 May 2012

    townandcountrymag:

With a high entry fee, cliquey social events and unspoken rituals, it’s no wonder the annual TED conference that was once a geek haven is starting to feel like the most exclusive club in the world.

So are we cool or something now, Silicon Valley?

    townandcountrymag:

    With a high entry fee, cliquey social events and unspoken rituals, it’s no wonder the annual TED conference that was once a geek haven is starting to feel like the most exclusive club in the world.

    So are we cool or something now, Silicon Valley?

    18 May 2012

    Fabulous home theaters are tucked into the basements of plain suburban houses. Bespoke jeans that start at $1,200 can be detected only by a tiny red logo on the button. The hand-painted Italian bicycles that flash across Silicon Valley on Saturday mornings have become the new Ferrari — and only the cognoscenti could imagine that they cost more than $20,000.

    […]

    The two counties that make up Silicon Valley have some of the highest concentrations of wealth in the country, and the share of wealthy households is growing, according to the census. Nearly 14 percent of all households in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties earn more than $200,000 a year, just below the 16 percent of households in Manhattan.

    Still, one of the parlor games here is the effort by many to distinguish themselves from the much maligned coterie of bankers and other members of the 1 percent in places like New York and Boston. Wingtips and silk ties are rare. Cycling and kite-boarding are preferred over golf.

    Bill Gurley, a venture capitalist in Menlo Park, tells what happened when he began working as a Wall Street analyst in Manhattan in 1993, fresh out of business school. A colleague turned his tie over to check the label. “My first day at work,” Mr. Gurley recalled, “I was told to replace all my ties with Hermès and never to wear brown shoes again.”

    He did not heed the advice. Nor did he last long on Wall Street. He is a partner now at Benchmark Capital, which recently profited handsomely from Facebook’s $1 billion acquisition of Instagram.

    Somini Sengupta, “Reticent Rich: Preferred Style in Silicon Valley,” The New York Times

    Someone should write a Gossip Girl-esque novel about my hometown. I nominate my high school for the backdrop. (Just kidding.)

    18 May 2012

    “Our most successful cover was the millennium issue - which didn’t have anyone on it, but acted like a mirror so you could see your own reflection!”
    — Alexandra Shulman, editor-in-chief of British Vogue

    18 May 2012

    jumiyori:

My bra for EDC 2012, designed by the awesome Framptastic Inc. I don’t care what ya’ll think, I’m in love with this babe.

I really need to get myself to a music festival before I get too old and I can no longer justify wearing something like this.

    jumiyori:

    My bra for EDC 2012, designed by the awesome Framptastic Inc. I don’t care what ya’ll think, I’m in love with this babe.

    I really need to get myself to a music festival before I get too old and I can no longer justify wearing something like this.

    14 May 2012

    Spent the weekend visiting friends at the University of Oxford, where I finally put my Missoni ballgown skirt into use for a formal event. (Faces blurred because I didn’t ask for permission to publish faces.) Much gratitude to Madame Paulette on the Upper East Side for shortening the skirt for me (you know it’s a good place when they can tell you which season your skirt is from), although I still had to wear six-inch heels.
Two things I realized this weekend, when I wasn’t trying to keep up with the Brits at the pubs (trying is the key word) or eating scones and Cadbury chocolates:
I really want to apply to Oxford for postgraduate studies. Dream school. And yes, it’s frustrating when people tell me I shouldn’t pursue further education. If you have the opportunity, why not learn more if you have the thirst for knowledge?
I’m really lucky to be close to my friends from high school. To the high school graduates of 2012: You may grow apart from some of your high school friends (and that’s okay), but you might also find yourself halfway across the world with some other high school friends, getting dressed up like it’s prom again (and that’s okay, too). Whatever. Four years later, it’s still fun and worth the tripping in heels.

    Spent the weekend visiting friends at the University of Oxford, where I finally put my Missoni ballgown skirt into use for a formal event. (Faces blurred because I didn’t ask for permission to publish faces.) Much gratitude to Madame Paulette on the Upper East Side for shortening the skirt for me (you know it’s a good place when they can tell you which season your skirt is from), although I still had to wear six-inch heels.

    Two things I realized this weekend, when I wasn’t trying to keep up with the Brits at the pubs (trying is the key word) or eating scones and Cadbury chocolates:

    1. I really want to apply to Oxford for postgraduate studies. Dream school. And yes, it’s frustrating when people tell me I shouldn’t pursue further education. If you have the opportunity, why not learn more if you have the thirst for knowledge?
    2. I’m really lucky to be close to my friends from high school. To the high school graduates of 2012: You may grow apart from some of your high school friends (and that’s okay), but you might also find yourself halfway across the world with some other high school friends, getting dressed up like it’s prom again (and that’s okay, too). Whatever. Four years later, it’s still fun and worth the tripping in heels.

    14 May 2012

    “You can be stylish and powerful, too. That’s Michelle’s advice.”
    President Barack Obama at Barnard College 2012 commencement

    14 May 2012

    “My first piece of advice is this: Don’t just get involved—fight for your seat at the table. Better yet, at the head of the table.”
    — President Barack Obama at Barnard College 2012 commencement

    13 May 2012

    Afternoon tea at the Grand Café in Oxford! (Taken with instagram)

    Afternoon tea at the Grand Café in Oxford! (Taken with instagram)

    13 May 2012

    Pierre Hermé macarons straight from Paris  for my friends! (Taken with Instagram at Oxford University)

    Pierre Hermé macarons straight from Paris for my friends! (Taken with Instagram at Oxford University)

    5 May 2012

    define-space:

i really admire the design for these stairs and how they incorporate a wheelchair access ramp. in a world were barrier free design is essential to living a full and happy life, its amazing to see landscape architect Cornelia Oberlander has taken literal steps to design stairs AROUND a ramp, instead of the other way around.

    define-space:

    i really admire the design for these stairs and how they incorporate a wheelchair access ramp. in a world were barrier free design is essential to living a full and happy life, its amazing to see landscape architect Cornelia Oberlander has taken literal steps to design stairs AROUND a ramp, instead of the other way around.

    5 May 2012

    teenvogue:

Finals week style tip: Trade your sweats in for silk pants - which are just as comfy but infinitely more stylish! Check out more college student street-style here »

Good luck with finals, everyone!

    teenvogue:

    Finals week style tip: Trade your sweats in for silk pants - which are just as comfy but infinitely more stylish! Check out more college student street-style here »

    Good luck with finals, everyone!

    5 May 2012

    Teen Vogue snapped some Columbia/Barnard/NYU students (including moi!) for their final exams week college street style story! Personally, I’m craving Colby Jordan’s Isabel Marant sneakers (such a Parisian staple!) and Morgan Fletcher’s pastel jeans (she’s also one of the most amazing people I’ve met at school). Click here to see why I’m so lucky to be surrounded by peers who inspire me both intellectually and sartorially. Next finals season, I’m putting away the Lululemon yoga pants for good. And can someone please teach me how to make a top knot with my hair?

    Teen Vogue snapped some Columbia/Barnard/NYU students (including moi!) for their final exams week college street style story! Personally, I’m craving Colby Jordan’s Isabel Marant sneakers (such a Parisian staple!) and Morgan Fletcher’s pastel jeans (she’s also one of the most amazing people I’ve met at school). Click here to see why I’m so lucky to be surrounded by peers who inspire me both intellectually and sartorially. Next finals season, I’m putting away the Lululemon yoga pants for good. And can someone please teach me how to make a top knot with my hair?

    3 May 2012

    “I have so many lives to live!”

    Remark from one of my favorite graduating seniors, who I chatted with briefly as I wrote my final paper of the semester. (It got done. It always gets done.)

    I submitted one fall internship application this week. Just one that I really want. And if I don’t get it, I’ll live — there are so many lives to live, after all.

    3 May 2012

    Last Friday night, I landed in New York, hoping to get some sleep after two weeks of final assignments. Instead, my friends dragged me out, and my sleepless night became a haze of too-sweet margaritas, liqueur-filled chocolates and sketchy carbohydrates to soak up the night. All while wearing a cashmere crop top, a pair of silk pajama pants, $20 loafers and a temporary “tramp stamp” of a grizzly bear.
Today, I finally finished my last paper, booked my train tickets to London/Oxford and booked my plane tickets to the Amalfi Coast (Capri and Sorrento). Hi, summer.
This passport is getting more use than ever before.

    Last Friday night, I landed in New York, hoping to get some sleep after two weeks of final assignments. Instead, my friends dragged me out, and my sleepless night became a haze of too-sweet margaritas, liqueur-filled chocolates and sketchy carbohydrates to soak up the night. All while wearing a cashmere crop top, a pair of silk pajama pants, $20 loafers and a temporary “tramp stamp” of a grizzly bear.

    Today, I finally finished my last paper, booked my train tickets to London/Oxford and booked my plane tickets to the Amalfi Coast (Capri and Sorrento). Hi, summer.

    This passport is getting more use than ever before.

    3 May 2012

    nataleiigh:

    A must-read!!