My Universe: Clémence Polès

I've been a fan of the Passerbuys for years now, so it's not surprise that I wanted a deeper peek into the world of its creator, Clemence Poles. Her voyeuristic (in the best way) site reveals the habits, routines, objects and places that inspire those around her, and offers up a glimpse behind closed doors of a diverse range of women in her Rolodex. Perusing her archives feels much like a stroll through Manhattan at the end of the day, a time to create narratives about those you see on the street, but in her world, we get to join them at home where they reveal what they find interesting and engaging. And with a year spent mostly by ourselves, her archives are the perfect, and safe, entry into the homes of others. Today we're asking her what she's loving as of late, and turning the camera to her. Welcome to Clemence's universe, a world of passersby.

MY THREADS

Jeans I’ve yet to find jeans that feel comfortable

T-shirt White Hanes boys tank in medium

Socks Muji

Heels James Rowland heeled sandals

Sneakers Salomon XA-PRO Fusion Advanced in black

Boots Vintage Stuart Weitzman

Sunglasses Céline Cat-Eye Acetate Sunglasses

Watch Vintage s.t. dupont watch

Sheets Parachute Brushed Cotton in White

Bag Moroccan market bag

Jewelry Laura Lombardi and Sophie Buhai

Designers Lemaire, Low Classic, Priscavera and Baserange

Lingerie / underwear Great Eros, Noo, and Out From Under has some great high waisted underwear

Shop Beverly’s

Online shopping site Maimoun or bust. 

Style Icon Sarah-Linh Tran and Forough Farrokhzad

 

MY BAG OF TRICKS

Astrological sign Sagittarius Sun, Capricorn Rising and Moon

Workout Chloe Ting or A Second U 

Morning rituals I wake up around 7am to the soothing voice of Jeff Spurgeon from WQXR. I’ll doze in and out of sleep with classical music playing in the background but really start waking up around 7:30am when Jeff plays Morning Bach. I then reach for my dry brush and slowly brush my entire body and ease into consciousness. Once out of bed, I open my curtains, and make my way to the kitchen to make myself some hot lemon water with a dollop of honey. I’ve recently upgraded my cups and bowls to ceramics from Shino Takeda and it’s made the whole experience more of a ritual since. 

Evening rituals I cleanse with Mater’s Rose Bar, wash it off with a muslin cloth, spritz some rosewater then put on a serum and finish off my routine with a face oil (Pai Rosehip Face Oil). Refreshed, I make my way to bed and put on an ambient album to fall asleep to, my go-to lately are this playlist from passerbuys and this one hour loop of the Fishing with John opening theme.

Astrologist Fariha Roisin 

Shower or bath Bath

Extrovert or introvert Introvert

Stress management techniques Listening to Tool

MY KITCHEN 

Tea or tonic drink I like trying new herbs and usually buy in bulk from Flower Root in the East Village. My go-tos are Sage, Yarrow, Genmaicha and I’ve recently been into Burdock Root. I can’t really do without caffeine and while I was a huge coffee drinker for years, I was often advised that my high anxiety as well as digestive issues might be one of its side effects. I’ve since switched to matcha, and the benefits are pretty unreal, I highly recommend the switch. 

Salty or sweet Salty

What’s always in your fridge Lemon, Hemp Milk, Eggs, Labne, Goji Berries, Flax Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Spinach, Spinach, Fennel, Celery, Dijon Mustard, Anchovies and Tart Vinegar

What’s always in your pantry Olivar de Luna olive oil, Rustichella d'Abruzzo pasta, peanut butter, raw honey, sourdough bread, basmati rice, couscous, popcorn, dried herbs and spices.

Go-to dinner recipe Grilled sumac salmon with labneh, parsley and lemon, served with a fennel salad dressed with olive oil, salt and lemon.

Snack It’s been hard to let go of my goûter since moving to the States, so when the clock strikes 4pm, I like to have something sweet, this either takes the form of a chunk of dark chocolate, or an expedition in the neighborhood to find a pastry or piece of cheesecake. 

Drink Red wine is definitely my vice, but I only drink low-intervention wines as it’s easier on my body. I love anything that Georges Descombes puts out, and typically get my wines from Discovery Wine.

Grocery store Trader Joe’s, Eataly, Union Market and Tompkins Square Park Greenmarket

Spice Sumac, Zaatar, Turmeric, Fenugreek, Cinnamon, Cumin, Gomasio and Furikake

Herb Parsley, Cilantro, Basil and Mint

Cookbook The Saffron Tales by Yasmin Khan (the only book that helped me perfect my Tahdig) and Bazaar by Sabrina Ghayour

MY MEDICINE CABINET 

Soap Mater

Lip F.Miller Lip Balm

Perfume or Cologne ORMAIE Les Brumes

Hair stylist Dlala Salon or Maria’s Hair Salon in Greenpoint (haircut is $25)

Shampoo Giovanni Hair Balancing Shampoo

Hair Oil Balmyard Beauty Siren Hair Oil

Cleanser Mater’s Rose Bar Soap and Bioderma Solution Micellaire

Toner Heritage Store Rose Water

Serum Face Reality 5% l-mandelic serum

Moisturizer Dr. Bronner's Organic Coconut Oil, Drunk Elephant’s Protini™ Polypeptide Cream. Aurelia Cell Revitalise Night Moisturizer, and Pai Rosehip Face Oil

Mask Sheet masks from Sunrise Mart

Beauty tool Black Obsidian Gua Sha and roller

Makeup La Roche-Posay SPF 50 Tinted Sunscreen, Drunk Elephant O-Bloos Rosi Drops, Guerlain Terracotta (light), TooD Beauty Sister/Brother Color Creme

MY DIGS

Home East Village

Piece of art in your home Cristina Bolt Candleholders and Souda Concrete Side Table 

Museum Neue Gallery, The Met, MoMa, Storm King, and American Museum of Natural History

Pets My crested gecko sci-fi <3

Restaurant Altro Paradiso, Wildair, The Commodore (best fried chicken in NYC), Takahachi EV, Souen, Divya’s Kitchen

Cafe Win Son Bakery (best donuts in NYC), Patisserie Tomoko, Il Buco Alimentari and Tokuyama Salon Café

Furniture designer Marcel Breuer, Poul Kjaerholm and Le Corbusier

Minimalist or maximalist Minimalist

Dream dinner party guests Forough Farrokhzad, Abbas Kiarostami, and Shirin Neshat.

Most used kitchen gadget Black & Decker Chopper

LIGHT MY FIRE

Inspiration Going to the cinema

Quote "The plants are very psychic but they can express it only by silence and beauty."- Sri Aurobindo

Films A really tough question as I don’t want to take over an entire paragraph (or page potentially) but you can find some of the many films I loved here.

Albums Again, another tough one, but I’ll plug in some albums I’m currently listening to:

Black Metal 2 by Dean Blunt

Ekizikiza Mubwengula by Don Zilla

Cybernetic Defiance and Orgasm: The Essential Henry Kawahara

The Heart Sutra by Susan Alcorn

Sounds of The City by Maria Teresa Luciani

Books Conversations with Kiarostami by Godfrey Cheshire, A Social History of Iranian Cinema Volume II by Hamid Naficy, Douleur Exquise by Sophie Calle

 

WIRED

Apps ClueNTS

Website www.passerbuys.com and www.x-archives.com

Podcasts Enough. PodcastQuoi De MeufChai & ConversationsLe Chemin de la Philosophie

Computer bag Building Block Brown Bucket Bag

Favorite Instagrams @servideo @shashamovies @this_is_relevant @theslowfactory @subwayhands @gramparents

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