As half of the “in crowd” heads to Art Basel Miami to show art, mingle, and find excuses to drink martinis with photographer Bruce Weber at the Standard Hotel or down  shots with artist Terence Koh on a boat, the rest of us here in cold wet NYC can cheer ourselves up with accessories. After all the holidays are upon us (Happy Hanukkah!); Christmas is just around the corner. So with that pair of Hudson jeans you’ll be gifting your fave gal or guy, keep an eye out for fab accessories.

Seen in the slideshow: Bespoke tailor/designer Amber Doyle dones a stunning vintage snake necklace. Jeweler Waris tucks a vintage silk handkerchief into a classic jacket and also wears a simple silver bracelet. Martin Cohn wears some embellished black fingerless gloves by ThreeAsFour. Artist Megan Marrin made the gold circle necklace, under her line called “Megan Graves.” Image guru/stylist Montgomery Frazier works his best Ralph Lauren newsboy prep look.

Natalie Portman as the “Black Swan” opening this Friday

Think Natalie Portman is pure vanilla? You’ll think again after seeing “Black Swan,” Darren Aronofky’s dark psyche thriller where Portman plays a ballerina, plucked from the corps de ballet and cast as the Swan Queen in “Swan Lake.” Portman is challenged by the sexy Vincent Cassel — the ballet master– to not only play the innocent swan but also her dark twin who seduces the prince. Sayers, Portman’s character, does not seem to be in touch with her sexuality – so much so that the ballet master needs to feel her up, get her hot and bothered, and then leave her alone in a studio so she can sublimate this violation into a role. Then Mila Kunis, who plays rival dancer Lily, enters the scene. She comes late to practice, smokes, drinks, pops pills, and haunts Portman all the way past that lesbian sex scene the two of them share under Aronofsky’s hand held camera. It looks like he must have shot that one on the edge of their bed and hints at the director’s life long fantasy about ballet girls. There’s blood, an overbearing mother who infantilizes Portman’s character, a crazy old ballerina who throws herself in front of a car — Winona Ryder!– and lots of other surprises.

Hudson got a sneak peek the other night, and the film “Black Swan” opens nationwide this Friday. You may never look at ballet dancers in the same way again.

Just in time for the holidays, along comes a little shop that could have been plucked out of a Dickens novel. Doyle Mueser in the West Village caters to the guys who love bespoke tailored suits, and also to those who love one of a kind shirts, accessories, and jackets that can mix and match with Hudson Jeans. THINK Pete Doherty and his natty tailored jackets and rock n’roll dark jeans. I’d bet Pete could rock a pair of skeleton cuff links that are individually crafted for the store. How about the leather carry all bags?  All can be mixed and matched with Hudson for one cool vibe. Note: some chic jackets for females are also on display.

Designers Jake Meuser and Amber Doyle have joined forces on a little side street and will personally consult any bloke interested in stream lining his style. Yes, there are off the rack shirts and jackets that these two wunderkind talents will alter on the spot.  Like a good pair of jeans, these pieces are made to last a life time.

Doyle Meuser Bespoke, 19 Christopher Street, NYC.

In the USA, the day after Thanksgiving, this weekend marks the beginning of the holiday rush through to the new year. Hudson shot this exclusive video of Patti Smith singing during the Fortnight music party at Southpaw in Brooklyn.  It seems fitting, since Thanksgiving marks a time of gratitude for plenty that Patti is singing this folk song. Check out some of the intial lyrics, below. Also, check out how at almost age 64 (December 30, 1946), the godmother of punk rock still spits a yellow streak on stage!

Congrats, Patti on just winning the National Book Award for her memoir of her early years with artist Robert Mapplethorpe in Chelsea, NYC!

Lyrics:

“What is it children, that falls from the sky? Manna from heaven, from the most high. Food from the father. We shall live again, we shall live again!”

Just a few days ago, I was invited to a private sale at New York’s Pierre Hotel, of Lanvin dresses, shoes, bags, bangles, and coats done for H&M! As genius as Alber Elbaz may be, he smartly did not offer any denim. And, if you ask me, skinny Hudson jeans, including the new collection by Georgia-May Jagger would give Lanvin’s Parisian flare a cool rock n’roll edge.

Check out the nifty leopard and ribboned clutch and the hot red pumps with rhinestone heels in the slideshow above.  (The actual sketches were personally drawn by Elbaz himself.) Also on offer, colorful bow ties — great for guys and girls— belts with chain links; leather gloves; red hanging floral earrings; and chain link necklaces. The jackets proved especially unique. The zebra striped trench would work with any style of Hudson jeans, while the fake (but soft) hip waist mottled white fur jacket would make any skinnies sizzle!

Sounds like a Thanksgiving holiday weekend accessorizing with your Hudson jeans is in order!

Outside Rubirosa, hottest little spot in town, at 235 Mulberry Street

Don’t let the basic sign, “pizza bar”, fool you into thinking that new pizzeria-restaurant Rubrosa does not register as a “hot joint.”  On any given night this new tasty eatery will boast a fair share of fashion designers, artists, music pr reps, and cool hipsters, all who were initially curious to see what co-owner Angelo Bianchi — former doorman at the Beatrice and Sway — had gotten himself into.

Only three weeks old, Bianchi and some of his native Staten Island pals — specifically chefs Al DiMeglio and A.J. Papalardo– are serving up delicious old school pastas (lasagna for two!); meatballs; seafood salad; braised octopus salad; artichokes stuffed with breadcrumbs and pecorino cheese; and thin crust pizzas with creamy sexy mozzarella and a crunchy bite. (Price range: $16-$25) The food hits the spot on cold nights and feels like the whole place consists of one big intimate party of people within the six degrees of separation range. One friend remarked, “This is just like Max’s Kansas City,” referring to the famed restaurant where Andy Warhol and all the “it people” of the moment ate several times a week. I replied, “It’s better and younger!”

The joint, named after famed 1950′s Latin playboy Porfirio Rubirosa, might showcase a lot of good looking people, but they seem to leave their attitudes at the door. Most are wearing fabulous jeans (Hudson friendly zone) with great accessories. After all, how pretentious can you look when sinking your teeth into some fat gravy laden meatballs?

Rubirosa, 235 Mulberry Street, between Prince and Spring.

The couple was spotted in Beverly Hills, both in HUDSON.  Derek wearing the Five Pocket Bootcut and Minka in the Collin Signature Skinny in Holywell.

Jennifer Aniston seen wearing the Carly Flap Pocket Straight Leg on the set of her new film, Wanderlust.

Just when you think all the bands sound like poor imitations of Eighties New Wave, along come a few guys from Brooklyn who sound like the Clash.  As part of the Fortnight Journal music show case, local band Outernational took the stage. They rocked hard like punks on some tunes, gave us something like Irish fighting songs on others, and even a little Los Lobos with trumpet included to mix it up.

In this exclusive video, shot for Hudson Jeans, lead singer Miles Solay — a self proclaimed Communist– gets his boys roused with “Fight Song.” There’s also an anti-war song in their repetoire called “Sir, No Sir.” They’ve just come off tour with UK punk band GBH and last year they opened for Chris Cornell.

As part of the Fortnight Journal music showcase last week at Southpaw in Brooklyn, Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers wowed us all. She plays the haromonium  – similar to an accordion with a reed sound, used in Indian music– with her full body. Time Out New York has called her “the best lead singer who doubles as an air raid siren.” She was born in New Jersey to old world traditional parents and while she’s billed with “happy hookers,” in Brooklyn, I only spied this one “teddy bear” looking guitarist.  You’ll find her playing round town at haunts like Mercury Lounge. And while this video shot for Hudson above says it all, I could not help but include these recent comments she made to New York Press, below. Rock on!

When did you realize that this instrument could be utilized for a more unique approach towards rock music?

When I was in high school, we moved to a more affluent town when I was 12 and I couldn’t compete with the other students. My grades started to drop and of course Nirvana happened. Nirvana was a big fucking deal and still is because that band twisted the nuts of American society. It sounds lame to talk about something that has already been talked about a great deal, but the early ’90s made a huge mark on me. By the time I hit the 8th grade, I was loud, obnoxious, cynical and tough. I made the rich chicks cry in the bathroom for messing with me, and made friends with the delinquents. I’m a scrawny, bizarre looking Indian chick, a total weirdo, but when I heard that music I felt powerful. I wanted to make music or be creative in some way because it was free of rules and societal limitations. The only problem was that I wasn’t allowed to play the guitar, so I had to find things in my house that I could play around with when my parents weren’t home.

As a child, were you strictly raised on traditional Indian music, or was there other types of sounds influencing your young mind?

The Western music ban started when I was 8 and lasted till I left for college. My sister and I were sneaky kids and would make the excuse of going to the library. Most public libraries have decent music collections and we would hide tapes and CDs in books when we’d borrow them. There was also the Princeton Record Exchange. I’d cut class a lot. I used to have friends transfer CDs to tape so I could listen to them since I didn’t have a CD player of my own till my senior year in high school. My sister brought in a lot of NWA, Public Enemy, Junior Mafia, Biggie, Mary J Blige, Eurythmics and Depeche Mode. I brought in the Doors, Velvet Underground, Smashing Pumpkins, The Cramps, New York Dolls, Joy Division, The Stooges, Patti Smith, Bauhaus, Sid Barrett and Pink Floyd, man this list can go on…

Oddly, when I read about your parents making you play harmonium as a kid instead of the desired guitar, I couldn’t help but think of the story of Weird Al and his accordion. Being the only one playing this instrument may initially make you feel less cool and on the outside, but in the end seems to give you an edge. Would you agree?

I will always have an edge regardless of what I play or do with my life. I’m that kind of asshole.