Wednesday, August 31, 2011

.. of Personal Style

Love this blog. Love these guys. Love their style. Love it!




Read a great article about their blog Street Etiquette by the NY Times here. And watch a video of them here.

Truth be told I've always been intimidated by men who can dress. I mean whenever I meet one who can't which is often I always advocate them getting on the sartorial pony ride but if it actually happened I'd be intimidated.

I've always had two firm rules when dating.

1. Never date a man who has longer hair than mine.

2. Never date a man who takes longer to get ready than me.

I think these two might take longer to get ready than me. I'd hate to be the one sitting on the couch checking my watch while in manly tones they scream down the stairs "just 5 more minutes... promise!"

You know who else I think takes longer to get ready than me?

































Though I have to admit it is super cute when I catch my man glancing in mirrors deciding whether to pop his collar or not. Adorable.


Anyway... Street Etiquette. Happy Hump Day!

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

.. of Shopping

For the record I never buy faux leather handbags. I've made an exception.




Yummy.

Don't forget Zara USA e-commerce launches Wednesday September 7th.

Monday, August 29, 2011

.. of Shopping

Getting my first pair of brogues in the mail today.

These ugly little shoes have been on trend for longer now then I originally would have thought. They first popped up this time last year and I figured they would disappear very quickly but they have yet to do so. Last year I became obsessed with a pair from J.Crew, the Elsbeth...


Which also came in a delicious taupe color


But they were just entirely too expensive at $298. It's not that $298 is a lot for a pair of shoes because I don't believe it is, especially shoes of the quality you find at J.Crew. It's that when spending that much money you have to think about the CPW Cost Per Wear. Now a black handbag for $298 is a steal. If you even wear it once a week for a year the CPW is $5 and I don't know anyone with a vag... who wouldn't spend $5 on a handbag.

But seeing as these are oxfords/brogues/technically ugly especially on a woman from a man's perspective I estimated my CPW to be around... $298. So my love affair had to end.

The problem is wearing oxfords/brogues makes me feel like a lesbian. So does wearing earrings by the way and I have no idea why. And I don't mean this kind of lesbian...


I mean this kind of lesbian...


Yikes.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that they are actually men's shoes. For the record I have no problem with lesbians it's just that women approaching me in a bar saying "nice shoes" would take on a whole new meaning and women are difficult enough to decipher as it is.

So anyway I then started focusing my efforts on a less expensive pair from Steve Madden...


or Aldo...



But they just didn't stack up especially to the Alexander Wang oxford...


So I finally bit the bullet... pulled the trigger... swallowed the horse...?

and bought these...


Jil Sander Nylon Mesh Oxfords at the Shopbop Summer Sale. They are from the F/W 2010 line sooo I waited awhile for them to go to 70% off.

Not only are they my first oxfords but they are also my first 'designer' shoes. So we'll see how this goes.

If you don't believe me about their popularity I would like to present a little something I'm calling the "Brogue Brigade" as evidence.

1. on the streets





 2. on the bloggers



3. in the magazines and on the runway




For the record and since I didn't know myself...

brogueNoun/brōg/

1. A strong outdoor shoe with ornamental perforated patterns in the leather.

ox·fordNoun/ˈäksfərd/

1. A type of lace-up shoe with a low heel.
 
For the record I still don't know.

via lefashion, nobodyknowsmarc, stylesightings, mrnewton, lookbooks, facehunter

Friday, August 26, 2011

.. of Style Inspiration

Best of Stockholm Fashion Week Streetstyle...






Thursday, August 25, 2011

.. of Shopping

Succumbed to the Shopbop sale yesterday. Hrmph.

succumbedpast participle, past tense of suc·cumb (Verb)

1. Fail to resist (pressure, temptation, or some other negative force).

Robert Downey Jr. says anything in your life you attempt to control is probably an addiction. And last night I was discussing my cousin's college plans with my mother and it reminded me I was going to go to college for either law or psychology. Alas fashion won out. So at least now I understand how my addiction works!

Best of Sale...

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

.. of Shopping

So awhile bag back (actual typo. decided to leave it. guess what's on my mind.) I talked about the Margiela Shopper that was supposed to look like a grocery bag...


Well, it gets even better...



Actually two different bags by Cast of Vices. The Thank You Tote and The Corner Store Tote both available at Oak NYC.

Better and cheaper. The Margiela Shopper runs you a hefty $697 and the Cast of Vices totes are $282.

As I like my groceries double bagged I will need both. Obviously.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

.. of Shopping

Rebecca Minkoff luggage...






Perfection @ Shopbop

Monday, August 22, 2011

.. of Shopping

This is unacceptable...


It's no secret that Gap Inc.'s sales have been sliding since the early 2000's when they decided they wanted to be fashion forward. When I was a kid Gap was known as the McDonald's of fashion. And that's not meant to be an insult. You always knew what you were getting no matter which one you went into no matter where in the world you were. It was comforting. Boring yes but comforting. It's called branding. When customers know what to expect that's a good thing. They've been a disaster ever since and I can say that because I've worked there.

Besides the fashion vs. basics struggle they've encountered another problem... sizing. When trying to sell 'fashions' to middle America one would think the 'fashions' should be sized for middle America. But they're not. I have yet to get a pair of their skinnies past my knees in any size. Its been ages since I met someone with a 32 inch waist and 3 inch thighs but hey I guess it happens?

This mannequin with legs the size of my wrist is positioned next to a sign that says 'Always Skinny'.

Really Gap? Really? Keep firing your CEOs and head designers because they must be the problem. It couldn't possibly be your lack of direction for the past 11 years! Or your sizing standards. Or your marketing. Or your customer service. Or your completely misguided logo change that lasted 24 hours.


When the Olsen twins are cornering the basic t-shirt market and Alexander Wang can sell a t-shirt with holes in it for $70 there is no excuse! With Gap's resources around the world and the sheer number of stores they have there is no reason they shouldn't be able to source the best materials at the cheapest cost. Really guys, all the consumer is expecting from you is comfortable jeans that don't double as ankle restraints. I promise.

Admitting you have a problem is the first step... and there are a lot more steps after that.

And another thing. When your first markdown is 40% ... what makes you think I'm ever going to pay full price for anything. The last thing I bought from Gap was a pair of pants I loved so much I got them in two colors, navy and army green. They were new so I figured they wouldn't go on sale for at least 3 months. I was wrong. I went in the next day to exchange the size and they were 40% off. I felt like an asshole. I don't like feeling like an asshole. And neither does the average consumer.