Pretty in Pink

I think we should all remember that october is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and do something special to support the cause...
Even if it is picking up pink m&m's or something...

Patrick Wolf among the Sheep

I was just looking through Bazaar and saw this Burberry ad and I was sooo surprised

Why?

for those of you who do not recognize the bloke in this picture, let me introduce you to one of the most talented young musicians I have ever met (not literally but figuratively speaking of course): Patrick Wolf

I would highly recommend all of his albums (his latest, The Magic Position came out within this year). He is barely 21 (if that) and he writes his own music. He has a very unique style. He is melancholic, a little pissed off. His music is dancing with violins and pops in your head reminding you, demanding you... Oh so great!

Anyways, what is he doing in the Burberry Fall 07 Campaign I do not know. He's quite the fashionable guy I guess... I like it though... He is not trying to look like a Prada model - he is very much his pissed off aloof self.

Yup buy The Magic Position... Or Wind in the Wires...

Wanted: Bad Posture

This is one dilemma I have with fashion photo shoots. Why is it that we grow up thinking good posture is so important yet all these designers make their models slouch in their ads?
The PR explanation was that new styles are more care free and fits everyone and models need to show that they are not perfect. It is supposedly an attempt to connect these designs with the real world... (What???)
I just don't buy it... I think it is a fashion trend... Some artsy thing none of us can explain.

America's next top model loves it too... I hear Tyra and the crew directing their models to hunch, thrust their pelvis back and slow more collar bones...

I think it looks kinda artsy and cool but why did this trend start? I do not know

Not Your Ordinary Bodega

I have discovered about the coolest thing in Boston. I think it may just about be one of the coolest boutiques I have ever been to. Bodega is a cult classic, hidden on Clearway Street and Mass Ave, a few blocks from Berklee School of Music.
You feel like you are walking into a cheap and cheese new york deli.


Then when you walk in, you see this hipster bingo dude that looks nothing like your ordinary deli manager, checking email on his MacBook. He completely ignores you. If you know the drill, you know what to do. You go in front of the vending machine. And an automatic sliding door opens and you enter this cool shoe store.

Hiphop is blasting through the stereos. The selection of men's sneakers are amazing. Vintage looking Nike's, Asics, Vans and Converses and a bunch of cool brands I have never heard of.
Just the pseudo vending machine looking sliding door is enough of a gratifying experience. And the cool sneakers are just a plus.
Just a cool cult thing to do... Loving it!

Staple Scarves

As fall fades to winter, I feel the urge to go scarf shopping. And this fall/winter, scarves are bold, colorful and really make the outfit stand out. I think the leopard and paisley prints are this season's hottest!!! Like so...



such a cheap way (2 for $15 @ every street corner) to look stylish...

Solar power + fashion = Zegna?

Rumor has it that Ermenegildo Zegna designed a new Solar-Powered Jacket, which is set to hit stores in November. What a wacky thing? Apparently, you can accumulate solar power with this jacket to charge your phone or ipod while looking like you are an aluminum wrapped stuffed turkey. Definitely not my understanding of high end fashion.

5 hours of direct sunlight and you are able to power your ipod or cell phone. I mean if I have 5 hours to kill, I will go home charge my ipod and cell phone while watching 2 netflix movies instead of standing still under the sun... Really...

I knew that ecological wear is making its headlines in fashion (which for some reason, I don't think will catch on unless Gore makes a documentary out of it) but solar jacket is taking this green concept to a whole new level. A fugly new level...

Oh yeah and this awesome practical jacket comes with a nice price tag too. $750 for a souped up windbreaker. So do you dig it?

Fall Shopping - Lovin' the Plaids!

The weather is getting chilly here in Boston. Signs of fall are slowly appearing. And my fall fashion catalogs are pouring... One thing I absolutely love this fall is plaids trend. It is such a versatile, sporty, girlie yet tomboyish awesome thing...

Ashley Olsen is sporting it very well...













Plaid shirts are on top of my fall shopping/wishlist. As well as this gorgeous Philip Lim dress


I think this is a great investment. You can dress up, dress down, wear to work, on the weekend... I love it!!!

Fall Shopping Continued - Ballet Flats

Ok peeps... I am getting together my shopping list while trying to save some money for fall shopping. I know summer is great and all but fall shopping is just fabulous because you can layer, add rich textures and make them all work together. And I am hearing Boston in the fall is gorgeous. I am a little sick of muggy and hot summers of New England anyways (and remind me of this when it is bone chilling cold in February)...

Anyways, without much digression, I would like to disclose the first fall item on my must buy list. Maroon colored patent leather ballet flats... I am posting a couple of the ruby gems in this post to give you a glimpse of my agenda. I think maroon will be the hot color of the season. And it is practical too... It goes with both black and brown very nicely. I am scavenging for the perfect pair... What else is on my list? To be continued...

Prada
Marc Jacobs
And Chloe

Miu Miu Dreaming

Fall shopping is coming near. What are some of my must buys these days? Of course the wide leg jeans, some cute silky blouses and a pair of killer black boots (dare to dream about luscious Louboutins!!!)

But somewhere up there on my list is a beautiful black bag with just the right amount of sparkly hardware to pop in the dready fall/winter days. I love the Jimmy Mahala Hobo, the quilted Marc Jacobs classics and of course the Muse by YSL.

But there is one new addition to the black obsession family now. The Miu Miu Matelasse tote. Ohhh what a beauty... And at $1590, may I say, it will not be mine this fall/winter... Oh hello gorgeous!

Croc Monsieur

So I don't know if this is a Boston thing but I have been seeing a mind numbing number of crox (crocs) lately. It is hard to miss them because they come in florescent colors. Even the most subdued people are not afraid to flaunt their bright orange crocs. Crox are replacing Birkenstocks and flip flops combined. It is CRAZYYYYY. For those of you who walk on the street with your eyes closed, crocs are plastic clogs that look like this

So I went to the Croc's website to better understand the mania because Croc is making a sizeable impact on the Boston community.
I would like to note that the website is extremely Web 2.0 forward with super Flex capabilities and such.

But my actual quest was to find out WHY do so many people wear those hideous things??? I believe a lot of people felt the need to be pursuaded so they actually posted reasons for wearing these things.

So here they are and why I still will love my Manolos more

1. Really soft, super comfortable and molds to your feet: Well comfortable is a subjective term. For me, super comfortable means not having to wear bandaids with my shoes. And some of my shoes, after wearing bandaids for wks do mold to my feet and stop giving me blisters.
2. Barely there, weighing only 6 oz: I do not think I ever had the problem of my summer shoes weighing a ton. My flip flops probably don't even weight 3 oz.
3. Vented so air passes through, keeping feet cool: Well instead of opening holes why not wear sandals? They are meant to keep your feet breezy.
4. Non marking slip resistant soles: I don't really quite care about the non marking feature but slip resistant actually sounds great. And when was marking soles ever a concern?
5. Bacteria and odor resistant: Ewww, I am not even going to comment on this. If you have bacteria and odor in your shoes, throw them out and buy new ones, seriously!
6. Ultra hip italian styling: Did anyone say Prada? Oh Croc, my bad!
7. Port holes allow sand and water pass through: When will I be concerned that my shoes do not have port holes to pass sand through? While gardening? Oh wait, I live in the middle of the city. I do not have a garden.
8. Can be sterilized in water and bleach: Uhm going back to my point 5. Time to buy new shoes people. New shoes...
9. Easy maintenance, just wipe clean: Yup, that solves your shoe maintenance issues. I mean, how many hours a day do you spend maintaining your shoes? Wow what a time saver!
10. Orthotic molded foot bed: Ok, I will give you this one... I do know that I sacrifice arch & heel support to look 4 inches taller... I am sure I will pay for it in 20 yrs.

Ok, I have to give it to them that these things are amazingly convenient with a solid heath benefit. I understand how they can easily replace smelly Birkenstocks. But I think they are a little too out there for me to let go of fashion or flip flops. I am still not convinced why I should walk around looking like a psychedelic Danish Milkmaid. Long live Choos!

A List Shopping

When frustrated with shopping (oh btw, I am totally over that spring shopping hump - maybe a bit too much), it has always been my dream to design my own clothes. And so now many fashionista celebs, who are known for their awesome style are coming up with their fashion line.
Kate Moss designing for Top Shop, Mary Kate & Ashley moving up the fashion food chain (from humble beginnings of Walmart Tees) to their high and low end line, SJP with her super affordable Bitten and Sienna Miller with Twenty8Twelve (her birthday).

Firstly, I have to say my fashion icons have been Sienna Miller and Kate Moss. I like anything and everything they wear. They are bold and edgy and a little tomboyish with a girlie flair. I hate categorizing people's fashion sense but I think that's how I would describe it if I had to (not that I had to, but whatever)
Both of these ladies I think did a really amazing job at channeling what people like about their style and creating a fashion line.
Sienna's line apparently will be a middle of the road (not cheap or super expensive line). I wonder where it will sell and whether it will even make it to the US. What a tease...

This is Sienna's











and this is Kate Moss's


I thought SJP's was a little bit like GAP by SJP (which she has done by the way). So I am not v. impressed. I was expecting Sex and The City but affordable but she went in everyday necessities direction. I tnink it would have been nice to see her prove that glam does not have to be expensive.

As for the Olsen Twins, I have not seen their line but expect great things from them as well. They have the money and the taste. They gave us sneak peak at CFDA of the Row (the couture one) and Elizebeth and James (the relatively affordable line?). By the way, even doing two price points is an excellent business idea. The buzz around it is great (drum roll). You know Ashley always walks around with a few things she has designed and if their designs for the masses can catch that vibe that the twins have (MK on her good days of course), I am sooo going to Intermix to buy their stuff. They are looking to sell at Bergdorf and Barney's as well. Wow what a line up!

I really have to say this although it has nothing to do with anything... Did anybody else notice how Posh Spice's fashion sense has gone nuts? And she really cares about fashion too. Awwww...

Why haven't I thought of this?

Last night I did not feel like going out but everyone did! So I was sitting at home trying to find something to do. It never fails to amaze me that we have over 800 channels on cable and still consistently cannot find a single thing to watch. So instead, I turned to my friend internet and started Googling. I came across a really cool website:

http://www.livepersonalshoppers.com/


It is not what you initially think it is. It is not a website of personal shoppers who charge you for shopping instead of you. (By the way, I always wanted to have that as a profession! Get paid to shop? Sweet!!!!)

First of all, the business genius lies under the fact that this website is completely free!!! It is such a great business idea! They are a website that have partnered with a bunch of retailers. They have online shopping experts that could help you find the right wine, book, music, movies, tech gadgets, gift for people, baby stuff, high end fashion and budget apparel... etc. They chat with you to understand what you like and help you find it online! And they are very helpful and friendly people.

Now I was chatting with them at 10pm or so. I do not know how easy it would be to chat during the week at their peak hours. But you can also leave them an email and they get back to you with shopping ideas.

Wow, if I was an entrepreneur, this is the type of company I would LOVE to start. Why haven't I thought of this one?

I highly recommend checking it out.

Shopping muse gone? Or spring 07 shopping sucks?

So here we go with my first real posting (the other one doesn't count because it was about me and this page is supposed to be about my opinions on things not on myself). And this posting will be about Spring 07 shopping.

So I am the type of person who likes going spring shopping in February. It just makes me think of sunny beautiful spring weather and forget about yucky winter while engaged in spring dress investigation. So in January I was browsing through Spring fashion snapshots in W, Vogue and Harper's Bazaar and got super psyched! The pages were flowing with beautiful spring dresses in geometric prints, ethnic fabrics and I really love the hint of 60's and 70's channeled through the cuts and designs. I am embarressed to admit that I even cut out a few of them thinking that I want to be reminded of these candy colored beauties when spring stuff hits stores.

So then, I waited patiently for spring stuff to actually come in. It is such a tease that in January, when you are sick of layering on winter clothes, magazines allure you with spring clothes but you cannot actually buy them until March. So I was ready to shop as soon as my favorite stores showed the first signs of spring shipments.

And to my disappointment, I was not able to find anything I liked, which believe me, happens very very rarely. Except for a few cute Alice and Olivia and Karen Zambos dresses, the aisles of fashion were not appealing to me. It is almost May and summer shipments are probably fast on their way from China and Italy. And here I am with a bad taste of spring fashion in my mouth. Now I don't know if it is because I was not in the mood for shopping or spring 07 really sucked.

Well I am really hopeful about summer. I really am...