i am infatuated with people who get infatuated with things, therefore, i am infatuated with peter davis because of his infatuation with bernie madoff. in the weeks surrounding the scandal,the bi-coastal journalist dedicated his facebook status (which he changed every few hours) to the park avenue criminal who swindled loads of cash from blue bloods around the world. what was more interesting to me: the case itself or davis' impassioned response to it?
davis is one day younger than he legally is. born on friday the 13th, his mother, house beautiful editor-at-large senga mortimer, quickly changed the date to the 12th, for the sake of superstition. "my entire life, my birthday has been a lie," davis tells me over a cup of java at milk on beverly, "it even says the 12th on my birth certificate, but i was really born at 12:01 am on the 13th." this set the precedence of a life less ordinary for the overachieving gaycialite.
raised in nyc, davis had california dreaming as a young buck. "i have always been obsessed with la, because it is the opposite of nyc in every good way. when i was 13 and living on the upper-east side, i dressed like a skater kid from la, wearing opi shorts, punk rock t-shirts, and checkered vans. i pretended to surf, when all i did was skate up and down park ave." vans became one of davis' first infatuations, throughout the years collecting over 275 pairs, which he plans to auction off on ebay sometime this year. he is also going to be featured in a book about the shoe company that is in the works.
peter has scribed for the likes of vanity fair, the new york times, and the new york observer, and is currently the editor-at-large of paper magazine, where he also maintains a popular blog titled "peter davis' status update." under famed literary agent lynn nesbit, he is in the process of penning a novel about "a talented mrs. ripley type in new york city." "all of my socialite friends should be very, very, scared," davis quips, "the book is fiction, but definitely draws from real life experiences."
in the fall, peter will add fashion designer to his palate of titles, as he and pal thomas whiteside are launching a mens swim trunk line donned brukes. "brukes will compete with vilebrequin but at a much lower price point. they will retail for around $100. we just got the first samples back, and they are incredible!"
though peter is the great-grandson of davis cup founder dwight davis, don't expect to talk tennis with him. "people assume that i follow tennis, but i don't even know who is playing in the davis cup! my friends will send me emails about what is going on with it, and i pretend to know what they are talking about, but i really don't have a clue."
if you want to know more about peter, try adding him as a friend on facebook. hopefully, he will delete one of his 5,000 friends to make room for you.
hole in the wall: sam's bagels on larchmont. despite the fact that are reliably rude to me, and the decor is 1974, they have an authentic nyc bagel.
fine dining: aoc for small and pretentious dining. the ivy for starfucking, though not the food.
brunch spot: the coffee table in silverlake
late night dining: mozza. i go there to support the owner, who lost all her money to madoff.
bar: the tiki-ti on sunset. it only seats 9 and 7 of those are real alcoholics. i don't drink, but i still love it.
hotel: the chateau. because andre gives me a discount.
jukebox: spaceland
karaoke: any of those places with private booths on sawtelle, because i am tone deaf.
live music venue: spaceland
reality television show: intervention. i am obsessed. i own every episode on itunes.
reality show that needs to be made: the one about my life. i have been approached several times, but i would never allow it.
coffee: the coffee bean. i love the ice blended.
t-shirt: martin margiela, when i want to overpay.
store to splurge: martin margiela.
store to save: koontz hardware in west hollywood. i am a shopoholic. i could redo my whole life in one shopping trip here.
magazine: paper
book: into thin air by john krakauer
movie i can watch a million times: earthquake, the 1970's disaster movie.
movie this year: revolutionary road
television show i can't miss: intervention and cops
band of all time: the clash
new band: tv on the radio
album i can listen to from start to finish: the clash, give em enough rope
the most embarrassing song on my ipod: christina aguilera, beautiful
downtown gem: little tokyo. the whole area is great for magazines and food.
blackberry or iphone application: shazam. it tells you what song is playing.
home furnishing store: lawson fanning on beverly.
beauty product: right guard deodorant
la escape: sawtelle blvd. because i can pretend that i am in tokyo.
weekend escape: my friends house in big bear.
one thing missing in la: a good subway/monorail
the article of clothing i wear the most: my tux jacket. i even wear it to the grocery store.
bed linens: schweitzer. they are overpriced, snobby bed linens that my mother bought for me.
website: cityfile.com. even though they write mean things about me, i still read it.
blog: this one
guilty pleasure: 3-5 ice blended drinks from coffee bean a day.
la moment: being mistaken 3 times in one night for rachel zoe's assistant brad. after the 3rd group approached me, i finally just signed autographs and took photos with them.
trend prediction: the return of punk rock
the strangest thing in my pocket: white margiela spider encased in plastic keychain
if i could be anywhere right now other than here: tokyo
dj: sam ronson. i know her and she is nice to me.
artist: cindy sherman
sexiest actor/actress: anjelica huston
something i wore that i will never live down: an eye patch, when nothing was wrong with my eye. my friend, parker posey, told me to take it off, but i wasn't about to let her get all of the attention!
swimming trunks: brukes
beach towel: steven sprouse for target.
sunglasses: my custom designed peter davis sunglasses from a.r. trapp
tacos: malo
next hot neighborhood in la: the deep, deep valley
camera: leica
computer: mac only. i loathe pc.
shampoo: clark's botanicals
painting: the garden of earthly delight by hieronymus bosch
beach: matador
watch: rolex only
hike: temescal canyon
one thing i miss about being 16: constant making out with everyone
best advice my parents ever gave me: stay out of the newspaper. i didn't, obviously.
worst advice my parents ever gave me: stay out of the newspaper
one thing i did in the past i wish i could change: told the truth about my age in print
