total wine totally has everything you're looking for

and so, so much more. If you've ever looked for tequila that comes in a glass gun or Swedish Fish flavored vodka Total Wine is totally up your alley.

8851 sw 136st st

and 

14750 biscayne blvd

aquarium fashion and aquariums

alexander Mc Queen's latest looks like a fanciful aquarium was on the brand's mind and I don't hate it. The colors say coral under black light and the shapes say sea urchin and anemone. The top photo is of my friend ALo petting his pet shrimp in his aquarium. Isn't that precious?


Here are some photos of that time he took us aquarium shopping. 

all other images via style.com

vuvuzela comeback

any chance there's a vuvuzela revival this summer for the world cup. #wishfulthinking

image via here

tinta y cafe, a brickell cafe for cafe

it's not easy to find a cafe in this town. Sure there are plenty of restaurants with sidewalk seating, good places to grad a sandwich, ventanitas serving good coffee and Starbucks, like, absolutely everywhere, but for some reason, it's hard to find a coffee shop, a cafe for some cafe.

Tinta y Cafe is the place that we've been missing. In the virtual wasteland of inauthenticity (really, how many Irish pubs can fit in a place where potatoes are papas not praties) of Brickell, there's a single place that positively reeks of authenticity and is perfectly brilliant in its simplicity.

Tinta y Cafe is a small spot in a strip mall, it has the classic ventanita but inside it's a wonderfully quaint cafe for coffee, classic Cuban sandwiches or a more froufrou take on favorites like manchego, prosciutto and arugula sandwiches. There are two tables, and only one with chairs (the other has stools), a counter with seating and two sofascapes. There are piles of art magazines and a framed cover of the newspaper of the day it snowed in Miami, what more can one possibly want? Beer. Yeah, they have that too.

The media noche is delicious and classic, nothing too crazy, just an old favorite done right and made with exceptional quality of ingredients, but rumor on the street says the big Rafa burger special on Saturdays is worth checking out.

268 calle ocho

an emporium of goodies

emporium in Coral Gables was recently featured on miami nice editor Patricia's New Times boutique column Great Finds, but there were so many precious little finds in there that just sharing one great one didn't seem to do it justice.

The beauty of Emporium is in its hand craftedness, there is a real sense that someone choose to fill this little storefront by a knitting store and a Chinese restaurant, with things that they really loved. There's no single focus in this store, making it an interesting chest of treasures, there are modern friendship bracelets, a children's book about Miami, wedges made of recycled plastic and custom silhouette Christmas ornaments.

2606 ponce de leon blvd. 

#queclasetipa: Jessiza Ramirez of Ropa Vieja

miami nice talks to Jessica Ramirez of Ropa Vieja, a design, fashion and Miami blog run by local graphic designer and overall Miami enthusiast Jessica Ramirez who talks to us about what Miami would look like if she could photoshop the shit out of it. And some other stuff... 

jessica at art basel's standard pop up nail salon be artist dzine. she's sporting the carnival nail.
right after this photo was taken she went to gigi and tried to eat ribs. that's ma gurl. 

First of all, how’d you come up with the most brilliant name in Miami fashion blog history?

Hahaha oh wow thanks, I don't know it was so long ago lol. It just popped in my head bc I became obsessed old stuff, clothes. I'm a recovering hoarder. I also liked how many letters and syllables it had and that it had some meaning. I used to call ropa vieja "ropa sucia" and whenever my grandmother would make it I had this mental picture of meat in a hamper. 

Just a wild guess but you don’t do Ropa Vieja full time, what do you do?

I'm a graphic designer. I work 9-5 at a beauty/hair color accessories company (we make those judge capes you wear when you get haircuts, and bowls and brushes, peluquera  stuff). I do the packaging and graphics. Then I freelance on the side to switch it up a little. 

What’s Ropa Vieja? You don’t just post old clothes… which actually could be a whole blog… a thrift store finds blog! Sorry, go ahead….

I wish I had more time to dedicate to thrifting. I did just find a sweater on Etsy, it smells old lol.  We still have to take our trip to Palm Beach!!

Well it started a long time ago, I was going to Miami Ad School, they always encouraged keeping notebooks and finding "visual inspiration," so I just wanted a place to keep images of things I liked. I was moving around a lot with school and just seeing all these amazing shops and markets in Europe. I wanted to remember them all. I have tons of boxes of business cards and postcards. 

When I moved back from New York 2 years ago, I kind of wanted to romanticize Miami for myself I guess. Sounds funny, but I guess through posting, I could create this world. You've lived in New York, you know what I mean. 

Everyone in NY has this "life" they create in their head, and they have their go to liquor store, their favorite restaurant, their monthly trip to the Brooklyn flea. etc. You're entire day is kind of cinematic, because your entire city has character. I guess through Ropa Vieja, I want to highlight things that gave me this same feeling in Miami. 

I also like to post random neon, pink, and hibiscus printed clothing items. I feel like in Miami you can't really do the Man Repelling Layers things unless you want to die of heat. You have one layer, make it count

I know you have some experience with graphic design at beauty companies, what do you think is the most Miami-appropriate day-to-day beauty regimen?

Oh nice, you're getting all Into the Gloss on me. hahaha. I wish I had one. Funny you should ask, I have a rash on my face right bc I ran out of my moisturizer. I don't know how to get rid of it. I dont have much of a regimen, brush my teeth, then wipe my face with a cotton ball of Bioderma Crealine I think its called. Then I load on moisturizer. I became a product junkie when I worked at Kiehl's, we had a "competitor's closet" and once in a while they'd let us go to town taking all this product home. I had to leave most of it behind when I moved back to Miami.

Since we are in Miami I guess I should say "I never leave my house without SPF", but I hate spf creams. They smell like sunscreen. I use Embroylisse or Olay for Sensitive skin. 

What’s the biggest mistake you see Miami girls make on the reg?

This question makes me queezy. 

Let’s talk more about Miami, real Miami, like Miami private high school style. Where are your favorite places to shop, most importantly where are your favorite secret places to shop?

I look at stuff online a lot. I have stores I actually buy stuff and stores I'd love to get gift cards from. 

I like Madewell on Lincoln road, eBay, and believe it or not, I actually have decent luck at the Off 5th in Dolphin Mall. It's near my work so I go once in a while. I wouldn't say I have one favorite store. 

If I could buy an entire store, I would buy everything at that store At Ease on Sunset. I thought it was a Mom store, but they carry rag&bone/JEANS and a lot of good clean basics. I would also buy everything at Alchemist if I could. 

Best hole-in-the-wall to grab a bite?  

My favorite place is Matsuri. I would have dinner here every night if I could. 

Drink? 

I haven't been in a long long time, but had a lot of fun once at Magnum, my friend Nicole introduced me to. I don't even really remember it bc we had strong margaritas. I also like the Bar in the gables bc its near my apartment. Ol' reliable. 

Any Miamians you find particularly stylish? 

My best friend Kristia Moises, she just moved to open a gallery in Australia, but she's from here, so she counts right? She puts together things I would never think of and it looks good. Also, I don't know her, but Laure Heriard Dubreuil, the owner of the Webster. She kills it. 

A local jewelry designer once told me she finds inspiration in the stained glass windows at Larios, are there any very specific places that you find inspiring, design-wise?  

The Bacardi buildings on Biscayne are my favorite. Also the Kampong in Coconut Grove.

Ok, last, but most important question: If you could give all of Miami a makeover, and lord knows, it could use a bit of a facelift and strip down of all its sequins glory (and a little attention for the loads of really, truly stylish girls that there are here, who really know how to dress up everyday and value a good gold bangle), what would it look like?

This is going to sound crazy, but when I drive around Miami and I like to pretend I have a company called "Spacelift", where I would be hired to redo the exteriors of all the strips malls and condos in Miami. I would want to paint things white instead of those hideous crayola skin tones. I just wonder what condo association meetings are like and who decides that peach or dusty mustard are pleasant to the eye. I don't get it. Anyway. I'm not sure if you were talking about Miami fashion or in general so I went on a tangent, but it kills me. And then the fonts of the strip mall signage are all different, so are the sizes and colors. It drives me crazy. LOL. Note to future building owners: GO WHITE, or hell, go black. I was in Amsterdam for 3 months and they have tons of jet black buildings, its awesome. 

Sitting in traffic would be slightly less annoying if our surroundings weren't eye sores. 

Miami should have more Palm Trees, ficus hedges and I'd love to see all those old Florida homes that are kind of dilapidated near east 8th Street get a makeover. I also think Ponce de Leon Blvd. between Alhambra and 8th Street has a lot of potential. There's a ton of focus on the design district and that whole area, which is great, but Miami is huge, it would be nice if west Dade was given a "spacelift" lol. I wish I could photshop buildings for a living. 


Thanks Jessica! And be sure to check out Ropa Vieja, where she posts amazing sunglasses (as seen above) and local event listings and restaurant reviews, all through the eyes of a graphic designer with nice, nice taste. 

three nice things from miu miu

hold your italian stallions, here are three things from Miu Miu's brand spankin new collection that make me want to clown around.

the make-up is clearly the real standout. it has messy DIY written all over it. 

images via style.com

kony 2012

speaking of good causes...

If you haven't yet seen this video that's making waves on Facebook, Instagram etc, take the 29:59 and watch it.

www.kony2012.com 

april 20, 2012

#queclasetipa: Emilie of Lilibon

miami nice talks to Emilie, designer of Lilibon swimwear, a modern, classic swim line that's so beautiful you just might want to wear it as lingerie and paired with jean shorts...

Just to clarify, before I get started, your bio on your website says you grew up summering on Harbour Island, and lived in Arles and Morocco. You live here now, so where did Miami fit into that story?

I think Miami is a good mix of all of those places and yet a totally new place for me to discover. Miami has a great beach life, an interesting culture and feels like an island. Miami is the middle of it all, there are always people that you know coming through and it fits so well to the bathing suits! 

You’d prefer to go by designer of not just swimwear but “beach lingerie” what is the difference? Is it a bit like the innate distinction between granny panties vs. Kiki de Montparnasse?  

I always thought that going to the water with your  lace underwear/lingerie was much sexier than a real official swimsuit, so I decided to create something in between and for most pieces you can totally wear them under your clothes.  

Let’s talk about Miami. Where are your favorite places to shop, most importantly where are your favorite secret places to shop?

Miami is still new to me, but so far what I really like to do is to go  to the flea market on Lincoln Road on Sundays, it's such a great market I always find really cool things and inspirations. Last weekend I got two old racks from Sak's Fifth Avenue from the 40's!  

Favorite place to people watch?

THE BEACH OF COURSE, I don't even open my book! 

Best hole-in-the-wall to grab a bite? Drink?

I love to go for coffee and lunch to Las Olas, the Mojitos at Tap Tap are great, and sometimes they have cool live reggae music. For a special diners I have a place that I really enjoy going to ...I'm not sure I want to give the name of it... Maybe I'll give you a hint: it's the name of a goddess in Greek. 

Any Miamians you find particularly stylish?

Old people here are super stylish I think.

Mermaids, sand dollars and pin ups are just some of the inspiration for Lilibon, does Miami ever factor into the inspiration boards? Anywhere or things in specific?

I'm really turned on by the nature here and also the late afternoon light, it's always a little hard for me to talk about my inspiration, it's very abstract to me 

You’ve worked as a florist; do you have any favorite native flowers or trees? I’m personally a big flamboyant tree fan…

I'm a big fan of tuberose it reminds me of India, I always try to have a flower print in my collections. 

Ok, last, but most important question: If you could give all of Miami a makeover what would it look like?
I would not change anything I love it as it is, otherwise it would not be Miami.

mark your calendars- music, food, drink, for a nice cause

pencil it in- who are we kidding, whip out your iPhones, set yourself a reminder and put in your calendar- this Saturday there's a very worthy cause with a very wild event happening from 7-10:30 at Artrageous in Merrick Park. 

For $30 at the door you get access to an open bar, live music by Cubazz, munchies by Islas Canarias and OYE Cuban Grill and your heard earned cash goes towards a medical mission in the Dominican Republic. Frankly, we so no reason for you not to consider this your Saturday pregame/ease your conscious of the fact that a drink at a club basically costs the same as a ticket to many drinks and a nice cause. 

More reasons to make this your Saturday night event of choice: 

• In past years this group has hosted fundraisers with music by members of the Gypsy Kings and Spam Allstars- so you can expect this group, who was nominated for a Grammy in 2005, to be equally as jamming. 

• OYE has the best croquetas in town, so maybe we'll get lucky and they'll have the chorizo ones there. 
• This is in affiliation with the UM medical school, so there will be attractive future doctors there to chat about... keeping your blood pressure low? 

bootie bounce

these floral bootie shorts speak to my Spring wardrobe needs on so many levels. 

#queclasetipa 

what are you shopping for right now trendy Miamians? 

Are you feeling floral or is it all a little too abuela chic for you?

chinese takeout

it's a pretty hardcore risk to order Chinese food, or any takeout for that matter, from one of those mysterious menus that appears tucked into your front door. But sometimes, a girl needs some lo mein, no matter where it comes from. Food poisoning risk? I'll take it. 

Turns out, this place, Chef Tian Express, wasn't worth a worry about food poisoning. The vegetables were surprisingly fresh, like actual real vegetetables still the colors they're supposed to be a potentially never canned. The sesame chicken didn't come in a toxic waste color, it was balanced and delicious, not too cripsy, but just fried enough to be delicious and food coma inducing. 

The menu says the chef was the former head of Tropical Chinese, so it all makes sense. Sometimes that risk yeilds a reward- and we don't just mean a good fortune in the cookie. 

what a babe. 

belen vs columbus, marlins park hosts first game

#queclasetipa: Steffy of Steffy's Pros and Cons

miami nice talks to Steffy of Steffy's Pros and Cons, a local personal style blog with a matching online vintage store, Tea and Tulips, talks polka dots, 7 Seas, and Flamingo Plaza. 
                              

First things first, who are you?

My name is Steffy and I run the blog Steffys Pros and Cons and the vintage store Tea and Tulips. I am also a full-time merchandising student at AI. 

So many frills, thrills and polka dots! How would you describe your personal style? Hit me with a few of your style icons?

I would say it's quirky, girly and vintage inspired. Love Alexa Chung, Kirsten Dunst and of course Twiggy.

Personal style blogs are about, well, personal style, but that’s a bit of a journey- unless you were born rocking a sailor dress with red lips and giant straw hats with bow ties. What was that journey like for you? How’d you end up narrowing in on the signature Steffy look?

Hm, well since I was a kid I have always had similar style. My love for polka dots has stuck throughout the years.. growing up I had pink and white polka dotted walls and a midi skirt that matched that was my favorite skirt ever. 

I think at a certain point I lost my style a bit in college because I was busy and doing other things... but my aesthetic has certainly always stuck. 

Let’s talk about Miami. Where are your favorite places to shop, most importantly where are your favorite secret places to shop?

Hehe, well those are secret :) But my all-time favorite place (as I am sure everyone who loves thrifting would agree) is flamingo plaza. It is some sort of warped HEAVEN in my eyes... but only when it isn't overflowing with people. I never really shop outside of thrift.. although I may have to make an exception when H&M opens on Lincoln Rd! 

Favorite place to people watch?

At my school! So many cute dressed people :) 

Best hole-in-the-wall to grab a bite? Drink?

A drink--- 7 Seas in the Gables. A bite to eat... it isn't a hole in the wall but I love this French bakery called Chocolate Fashion in my neighborhood :)

A Gables girl like me! Any Miamians you find particularly stylish?

Why of course my favorite Miami blogger friends Dany of Nany's Klozet, Shareen of Vintage Mavens and Ria of Ria Michelle Fashion Blog :) 

Ok, last, but most important question. If you could give all of Miami a makeover, and lord knows, it could use a bit of a facelift and strip down of all its sequins glory- what would it look like? 

If I could give Miami a makeover I would make it look exactly like the Lower East Side and Brooklyn, because that is where my heart lies :) I would definitely revamp the weather situation as well... and make it many, many degrees colder! And add a few cool Banksy murals on the walls! 

you can find pieces from each of these looks at tulips and tea. 

the sweater in the top photo is from vintage mavens- 

remember our interview a hundred years ago with Shareen? 

the classics

everything with a little modern edge, a  bit more interesting to look at and always nice. 

Karina wears a fishtail braid, gold and pearl long necklace and a thin cross with a white silk tank. 

Yes, they're classics for a reason. 

#queclasetipa

que clase tipa, month of good taste

this is a formal announcement, well, about as formal as we get around here... for now... about a heavy fashion skew that you might notice in our content during March. There's a good chance you won't notice because we've been known to post a picture or two of what we think Miami should look like, but this month, we're focusing on what other people think it should look like, do look like, and what they're making that you can buy.

So, keep a well lined and mascarad (not a word?!?) eye open for our interviews with local bloggers, tastemakers, trendsetters, designers, and cool peeps. If you know some, send over a tip to editormiaminice@gmail.com or tweet us @miaminicepopup, hopefully, throughout the month you all will contribute some really rad looking people and we can get a good little collection going.

For now, here are a few inspiration photos:

via itswhatiminto

all other images via tommy ton for style.com 

is there anything tommy ton shoots that doesn't look absolutely perfectly styled, lit and snapped?

shot at the ongoing slew of fashion weeks in the past month