blank stare, blink

Cheers For Cher

Posted: May 21st, 2013 by Paula

Yesterday was Cher’s 67th birthday. Sixty-fucking-seven.

Jslow and I love her.

We both paid our homage on separate Halloweens. Jslow dressed as Cher at 4, clomping from door to door in patent leather boots, asking for candy from under a long, straight, shiny black wig, plastic pumpkin in one hand, Cher Barbie doll in the other.

My turn was much later at age 29, donning an equally long, straight, shiny black wig, a tight black tank with a big triangle cut out at the navel, and a black guitar slung over my shoulder. I’m not sure I ever felt cooler. Back then, I even referred to my dating antics as “Cher-like”, going out with much younger guys just as Cher did (remember the Bagel-guy?) I also tending to dress in very short skirts for long client meetings, smoked in my office, broke rules. She oozed rebellion, and I wanted to try.

It was my very uncool parents who introduced me to Cher back in the 70s, as they not only loved her records, but also the wonderful “Sonny and Cher” show where Cher’s wit, spirit and style were on full display every Wednesday night, and where I fell in love with her. I’m not sure I appreciated how truly original and unconventional she was back then: all deep voice, long face, big nose, no boobs, sexy and strong, daring to tower over her shorter husband. She was a feminist in every sense of the word.

She was perfect.

Throughout the years, she has always dared to go her own way, whether it was electrifying the otherwise static Oscars in outlandish Bob Mackie designs, or publicly supporting her daughter when she came out as a lesbian and continued on her transgender journey. I also think she was the first to forgo the last name. Cher was more than enough.

In an era when every singer wants to act and design clothes just because they have a marketing machine and money behind them but no real passion or talent, it’s refreshing to note that Cher has been one of the few who did it all so authentic and well, and is the only artist ever to win an Oscar, Grammy, Emmy, three Golden Globes, have #1 singles in each of the past six decades, and be named best actress at the Cannes Film Festival.

Next month, Cher is releasing a single, “Woman’s World.” Her MOM, at age 86, just released an album.

That, ladies, is called keeping it real in later life.

Sixty-fucking-seven. Happy Birthday, Cher. Love Blank Stare, Blink.

Most of the above images were pulled from chernews.blogspot.com. Another great source for all things Cher is her own blog: Cher.com.

Tags Bob Mackie, Cher, Cher "Woman's World", Cher turning 67, Cher's birthday, cher.com, Chernews.blogspot.com | Permalink | Comments (4)

Mom Style Shop Here

Soft, Luxurious, (itchy) SKIN

Posted: May 17th, 2013 by Jennifer

A lot of itching has been going on in my house. I’m itching from hives. My son from wanting to play Baseball all-the-time. My daughter, dying for the Calico Critter Supermarket. And my husband from my sweats.

I’ve always given more effort to my look outside of the house than in it, and it turns out when I get home, strip myself of my “cute clothes” and heels, I throw on my sweats, and my husband breaks out into his own kind of itching. Poor guy.

I don’t invest in two things: Loungewear or workout clothing. I’ve had the same two sets of workout clothes for the last five years even though I workout four to five times a week. And until recently, my loungewear consisted of either American Apparel men’s sweats or Juicy Couture sweatpants from, I kid you not, 1996. Totally gross. How my husband hasn’t left me yet is a miracle.

lounge In my effort to upgrade myself and my life I asked for a “husband approved” loungewear outfit for Mother’s Day. And to my delight, I opened a box with a lovely two-piece outfit from the brand, SKIN. It’s not a new brand, but new to me and I’m already addicted. All cotton, soft, supple, luxurious feel. Interesting shapes. Simple color palette. Great for layering or lounging. Cute enough to wear out of the house. And the price point isn’t outrageous considering the quality. I can tell these pieces will last well into the years and not go out of style. Just like me, I hope. I’m so excited.

After taking a test drive in my new set, I’m itching for a few more items that aren’t itch worthy according to me or my family.

skin montage

Now if I could just get rid of my damned hives. Go to skinworldwideshop.com to see the entire collection and where it’s available in your part of the world.

Tags activewear, american apparel, barneys.com, cotton, cotton basics, fashion after 40, gift ideas for mom, hoodie, Juicy Couture, Juicy Couture sweatsuit, Layering, leggings, loungewear, mom style, Mother's Day, organic cotton, skin, skingworldwideshop.com, sleepwear, sweatshirt | Permalink | Comment (0)

Shop Here

The Hole in My Wardrobe Only Sequins Would Fill

Posted: May 15th, 2013 by Paula

Last week I loaded my lazy ass on the 1-California and rode out to Susan, a San Francisco boutique and institution for those with the means and taste for the avant-garde.

I was introduced to this special place 15 years or so ago, when my fashion illustration teacher (and author of “Fashion People”,) Gladys Perint-Palmer, suggested us students go there to browse the racks for inspiration.

I was terrified. You just don’t roll into Susan. You have to be “buzzed” in. The other shoppers were wives of surgeons and international bankers dripping in Prada and Givenchy, grabbing armloads of Japanese treasures costing more than a car. Yet the clothes were so interesting and beautiful and different than what you could find anywhere else in San Francisco, I vowed to dust myself off and go back in when my wallet gained some weight.

I made friends with Nancy the manager and Theresa the wonderful shop-girl (who sadly left but was replaced by the equally wonderful Matt the shop-boy!) who helped me chose pieces I could afford, calling me when the big sales hit, and educated me on designers that would become mainstays in my closet before they became mainstays in fashion culture: Rick Owens, Undercover, Tom Binns, Peachoo + Krejberg. Two items in particular have become mainstays in my life: A Junya Watanabe faux fur cape I gifted myself when I turned fifty, and the Hoorsenbuhs wedding ring I picked out two years ago when I married the man of my dreams.

When I entered Susan last week, I didn’t need anything. I rarely do. But after playing dress-up for Matt, and taking a final spin through the racks, I was attracted, like a cat, to the shiny objects peaking out of the right corner of the store. There I found sequins — thousands of them sewn onto sweatshirts and Ts and jeans — the casual stuff I live in.

Turns out this brand, Ashish, was new to Susan and me. Ashish Gupta founded his line in London in 2001, and says his ideal client is someone “Fun-loving and sexy with a sense of humour. She likes to make an entrance.” He grew up fascinated by Hollywood and it’s glitz and glamour, thus his obsessions with sequins and more sequins.

And so I walked out of Susan with two pieces from his latest collection: A black, backless, sequined short-sleeved sweatshirt that I promise is way more practical than it sounds, and the very odd (Jslow is going to HATE them) half sweat-pant, half mom-jean trousers that somehow work. Can’t you see that I really had a hole in my wardrobe that only a sequins and sweat-jeans could fill?

The moral of this long story? Get out there and be inspired by your local boutiques. It’s so much more fulfilling than mindlessly gorging online. I love talking to Nancy and Matt about their lives, and learning about unknown designers. I couldn’t wait to get home and research Ashish and view his past collections, and can’t wait to see what he sends down the runway this Fall. And you know what else? Sometimes it’s OK to buy something you really don’t need. Especially if it involves sequins.

Tags Ashish, Ashish Gupta, Ashish jeans, Ashish sequin top, Ashish sequins, Ashish sweat jeans, Fashion People, Gladys Perint-Palmer, Hoorsenbuhs, Junya watanbe, Peachoo + Krejberg, Rick Owens, San Francisco boutiques, San Francisco Fashion, Sequin top, shopping local boutiques, Susan, Susan of San Francisco, Tom Binns, Undercover | Permalink | Comment (0)

Mom Style

Itching for Mother’s Day

Posted: May 13th, 2013 by Jennifer

I am disgusting. Not a observation. A fact.

I’ve had hives for two weeks. And after my second round of steroids produced a testicle and some chest hair, I learned my hives are a reaction to a parasite that was living inside a delicious oyster I ingested on a Saturday Night that has now settled comfortably inside of me. My body is a house of horrors.

Get me out of here.

The only areas on my body unaffected by the outbreak of hives are my feet, hands, face and head. Scabs cover the rest of me. Including my delicate areas.

Please get me out of here.

If I could scratch myself to death, I would. But with the help of a sedative I foggily get through my days despising my skin, the skin I’m in and the oysters that I used to love.

God, get me out of here.

The only upside to my condition is a massive Mother’s Day payout which started with breakfast in bed, flowers and three bags from Barney’s. Not the usual Mother’s Day, trust me. But I’m not the usual mother anymore. I am now the extraordinary, super-bionic, Hive-a-nator.

And this is my uniform. Up, Up and Away!

hive-a-nator outfit

1. Proenza Schouler lace-inset dress @ kirnazabete.com, 2. Parasite Eyewear “Vixen” sunglasses @ parasite-eyewear.com, 3. Asherali Knopfer nail ring @ farfetch.com, 4. Proenza Schouler Gladiator sandals @ barneys.com

Tags Asherali Knopfer, Asherali Knopfer nail ring, Barney's New York, barneys.com, farfetch.com, hives, Kirna Zabete, kirnazabete.com, Mother's Day, Parasite Eyewear, Parasite Eyewear "Vixen" sunglasses, parasite-eyewear.com, parasites, Proenza Schouler, Proenza Schouler Gladiator Sandal, Proenza Schouler lace-inset dress, Superhero, Vixen sunglasses | Permalink | Comments (10)

Mom Style Shop Here

Kitten Heels: The Purrfect Pump

Posted: May 10th, 2013 by Paula

As many of you know, high heels are a problem for me. Since I don’t have a car, heels are my wheels, and unless I want to be stranded on the side of the sidewalk waiting for some kind kid to tow me, they just won’t do. And just as the price of heels continues to rise, so have the heights, from the more modest 3 to 4 inch range to above 5 and 6, which frankly is dangerous and just looks slutty. And on ladies in our age range, also screams cougar. It just does.

Thank god for the kitten. As in kitten heel.

Structured like the mother (or cat) of all heels, the spike, the kitten heel is shorter, squatter, cuter and more comfortable. Hell, you can even play basketball in them (…feels like a sneaker, looks like a pump.”

Many high end designers latched on to this more modest heel trend, most notably Nicholas Kirkwood, who’s known for his extravagant takes on high-heeled pumps and stilettos. As such, the kitten heel has pounced down to the more reasonably priced brands and price ranges, bringing both the heel height, and cost, down to earth.

There have never been more styles, colors, materials and looks to choose from. Never fear, We are here to help! Below are some of our favorites, from the very affordable to the not so much. Maybe they’ll inspire you to ditch the Toms or sneakers for something a little more feminine and stylish. And not only will you be able to shoot hoops in them, you’ll also be able to mom-it-up without falling down.

Here, kitty kitty kitty…..

1: Bruno Premi cap-toe pump, Yoox.com. 2: Bettye Muller Bardot Tartan pumps, Simplysoles.com. 3: Prego yellow patent pumps, Yoox.com. 4: Pixie Market red studded pumps, Pixiemarket.com. 5: Nine West Quinty pumps, Zappos.com. 6: Zara sling backs, Zara.com. 7: Kartine sandals, Solesociety.com. 8: Nicholas Kirkwood, Brownsfashion.com. 9: Jimmy Choo snakeskin pumps, Mytheresa.com. 10: Daniele Ancarani striped pumps, Shoescribe.com. 11: Sophia Webster PVC slingbacks, NetAPorter.com. 12: Pollini neon cap-toe pumps, Shoescribe.com. 13: Casadei neon pumps, Yoox.com. 14: See By Chloe, MyWardrobe.com

Tags Bettye Muller Bardot pumps, brownsfashion.com, Brumo Premi patent pumps, cap-toe pumps, Casadei Neon Pumps, Daniele Ancarani pumps, Easy spirit basketball commercial, Fashion over 40, Jimmy Choo metalic snakeskin pumps, Kitten heel pumps, Kitten Heels, mom style, mytheresa.com, Nicholas Kirkwood, Nicholas Kirkwood pumps, Nine-West Quinty floral pumps, Pixie Market pumps, Pollini neon pumps, See By Chloe silver pumps, Shoescribe.com, Solesociety.com, Sophia Webster PVC pumps, yoox.com, Zara sling-back kitten heel pumps | Permalink | Comments (2)

WHAT?!WHAT?!

PUNK: Couture to Corporate

Posted: May 9th, 2013 by Jennifer

(left to right) New York Punk 1974, British Punk 1976, Corporate Punk today

Let’s beat a dead horse, shall we?

After the Met Ball on Monday night, after the fanciest of fancy people climbed into their fancy cars and went to their fancy after-parties, and after they grew tired of all of the public fanciness and retreated to their fancy beds and said good-night, I was in Brooklyn saying “good-morning, it’s time for school!”

I may not be fancy, but I have a fancy friend who’s a member of the Met and invited me to the Members Only viewing of “Punk: Chaos to Couture” on Tuesday morning, which I’d been looking forward to since the announcement. But as my in-box became stuffed with Moda Operandi emails hawking “punk” items with very un-punk prices ranging from $300 to $285,000 the concept of Punk: Chaos to Couture was heading straight to Couture and completely bypassing Chaos. Uh-Oh.

I walked up the steps to the Met, white tents still up, red carpet gone, smell of green money in the air. We headed straight to the exhibit on the second floor, bypassing all the antiquities and culture on the first, only to be asked sweetly by an antique gentleman, “Do you wear your hair like that every day, or did you do it special just for today”. “Every day,” I muttered. “Oh it um looks…um…nice”, said the octogenarian. To him, I was a young punk.

I flipped him the bird. Hey, I take this punk shit seriously.

CBGB bathroom at the Met

The exhibit starts off promising with a recreation of the CBGB john—the bathroom from the birthplace of punk on the lower east side of New York, 1974. The text on the wall talks about the band Television and its founding member, Richard Hell. Punk at its core was about music/art/rebelling/counterculture. It wasn’t about fashion, it’s just what they wore: tight ripped jeans, old ripped t-shirts, loads of attitude. Remember it was 1974.

A visitor from London, Malcolm Mclaren found inspiration from the punks at CBGB and brought it back to his then girlfriend, Vivienne Westwood. Through their little shop on King’s Road and Vivienne’s eyes, they added a layer of fashion to punk, and outfitted the movements’ muses, The Sex Pistols, as they sneered and spit out “God Save the Queen.”

430 King’s road. McLaren’s & Westwood’s shop. Recreated at the Met.

Punk was full tilt anti-establishment. And it looked good through Vivienne’s lens. Some of my favorite pieces at the exhibit were Vivienne Westwood’s original t-shirts from 1975+. So simple yet beautifully made, they fit right in next to the complicated couture gowns around them. I think that was the intention of the curators, but I sure wish they kept the Chaos room more “chaotic” rather than bypassing it entirely and heading straight to couture. I wanted to see Vivienne’s shirts slumming with the spit and filth and desperation that time period displayed. I wanted the music loud and my ears bleeding. I wanted the room to vibrate and make me feel something. I wanted the recreation of McLaren’s and Westwood’s store to buzz like it must have in ’75 with the characters that stomped in and out of its doors. All that energy and edge should have been front and center, not pushed to the side to languish in the corner, lifeless and forgotten.

It was clear the establishment wasn’t down with the anti-establishment then and now.

Breaking the law. I took photo’s when they told me not to. How punk is that?

Ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the exhibit pays homage to the designers who co-opted punks’ influence and turned it into saleable goods out of reach to most of us. Designers like Junya Watanabe, Rodarte, Givenchy, Commes des Garçon, Alexander McQueen, Balmain, Giles Deacon, Gianni Versace, Dolce & Gabanna, John Galliano’s Dior, Maison Martin Margiela, Karl Lagerfeld’s Chanel, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Zhandra Rhodes. Beautiful in their deconstruction, edge and wit, and liberal in their use of safety pins, tears, rips and studs. And photographed and modeled on the pages of the other gala co-sponsor, Vogue, to sell magazines, and help make the other co-sponsor, Moda Operandi, god who knows, how much money.

Look, I like the show plenty, mostly because It’s my dream closet. But I’m also a sucker for wanting to praise the beginnings of ideas and movements. Punk at its core does belong in the halls of the Met, because Punk had something to say, started a revolution and inspired the masses. It’s up to us to listen, even if “society” is uncomfortable with it.

Now Fuck Off!

Tags Alexander McQueen, Balmain, Burberry, CBGB, Chanel, Christophe Decarnin, Comme Des Garçon, Dior, Dolce & Gabanna, Gareth Pugh, Gianni Versace, Giles Deacon, Givency, John Galliano's, John Paul Gaultier, Junya Watanabe, Karl Lagerfeld, Malcolm McLaren, Martin Margiela, Met Ball 2013, Met Gala 2013, Moda Operandi, Punk, Punk: Chaos to Couture, Richard Hell, Rodarte, Vivienne Westwood, Vogue, Zandra Rhodes | Permalink | Comment (1)

Crap, I'm Old

Invisible

Posted: May 6th, 2013 by Paula

Friday night a girl walks into a bar.

Only she’s not a girl at all, but a middle-aged woman.

That middle-aged woman is me.

The bar is packed with young, enthusiastic, attractive kids who’ve arrived from their jobs and/or flats full of roommates and hope to start their evenings and life journeys. I’m at the end of mine. And in this place, I have never felt more out of place.

I lean against the bar to talk to my friends who urged me to come, even though I’ve got a good 20+ years on most of them, (knocked down to 10 in the dark and flattering bar light) and realize, to my horror, that no one is looking at me.

It’s not that I look bad; I was having an excellent hair day, felt comfortable in my big pair of men’s Levi’s and small Jockey wife-beater that took an hour to settle on and seconds to assemble, not wanting to look too put-together for such a casual, what-the-fuck outing. It’s just that nothing that I did, save from wearing a ghost costume, would turn me 25.

Last month, collapsed across my therapist’s couch, I whined about the many ways getting older sucks, and how it seems that almost overnight I have become, well, old, at least compared to everyone else I work with, walk by, eat across from or downward-dog next to.

“Well,” she says, “Wait until you are my age, when you don’t just look older, but you are so old no one looks. You become invisible.”

I am obviously terrified by this and curl up into a tight ball.

“Oh no,” says my therapist. “It was upsetting at first, but after a while, it becomes liberating.” She went on. “Because I realized I could truly do anything I want, and no one would judge or care because no one would see.”

I continue to be terrified by this. If no one looks, or cares, why get up in the morning? Why get dressed, or care about what dress to wear?

I suppose I will always care. I want to care. And maybe this fact should give us all the courage to really be and do and wear anything and everything and do it for ourselves. And thrive on all of this transparency. The stage is ours alone.

Back to the bar.

If I’m being honest here, I start to feel, well, relieved that this is all well behind me. Those years, as exhilarating as they were, were also exhausting. Would I trade places with those adorable young girls around me, Brazilian blow-outed and Brazilian waxed, desperate to land a promotion and the next Mark Zuckerberg?

No. And while they anxiously check their lipstick and iphones, I quietly go home to my husband and cats. Invisible.

And one thing is clear: it pays to be invisible. This shit is expensive.

1: Karen Walker “Space Bug” sunglasses, KarenWalker.com. 2: Courreges transparent ring, ahalife.com. 3: 202 Factory plastic clutch, OpeningCeremony.com. 4: Maison Michel “Bibi Yoko” rain hat, colettefr.com. 5: MM6 Maison Martin Margiela PVC ankle boots, BergdorfGoodman.com. 6: Simone Rocha plastic skirt, LaGarconne.com. 7: Valentino trench coat, MyTheresa.com.

Tags 202 factory plastic clutch, ahalife.com, clear clothes, Courreges, Courreges lucite ring, Courreges transparent ring, invisible fashion, Karen walker, Karen Walker Space Bug sunglasses, Levi's 501, lucite trends, Maison Michel, Maison Michel "Bibi Yoko" rain hat, MM6 Maison Margiela PVC ankle boots, Simone Rocha plastic skirt, Transparent styles, Valentino transparent trench coat | Permalink | Comments (10)

Mom Style

Stings Like a Bee

Posted: May 3rd, 2013 by Jennifer

A couple of days ago my daughter asked if she could get a new dress. We were on our way to the car and headed to school. I took a deep breath and responded with, “I’ll get you a new dress when you start wearing the ones that already hang in your closet…unworn.”

In your face! Mom wins round 1!

While my outsides shouted swagger, my insides were filled with guilt and self loathing. “Hypocrite,” “practice what you preach” “yep, she’s your daughter” and “you’re such a loser” started looping inside my rattling skull.

My lovely girl and I have had this conversation many times before, the impetus of many of our mother/daughter fights. She needs, wants, begs for something and then it just hangs in her closet or sits in her drawers until it no longer fits. Or worse, she puts it on one morning, styles it up in her unique voice, shows me—I swoon—and then five minutes later she’s wearing the same old holey, stained, pilled, stretched and stinky thing she always wears day after day, week after week.

The difference this time? A witness. My son happened to be with us and had his own ringside announcement, “You do the same thing.”

Blindsided by a right hook and up against the ropes, I didn’t have a comeback. I mean I could have said something horrible like “shut up” “mind your own business” “this isn’t your conversation” but the only thing I could really say is,

“You’re right”

And as if my legs weren’t unsteady enough already, he hits me with a lethal combination, “What about that leather thing dad got you for Christmas.” and “You never use that cool see through purse. Didn’t Dad get that, too?” A one, two punch that lands me on the mat.

“Ok, you’re right, Dad and I are going out to dinner on Saturday and I promise to wear the leather thing that he got me for Christmas”. I kept my word .

montage

screenshot_698

And tomorrow I have a playdate ready to go with “that cool see through purse.” Charolotte Olympia Pandora Clutch to be exact.

I’ve scheduled to take a few more unworn friends out in the coming weeks. The evidence will be up on instagram.

I might be the older, wiser mother in my house, but my kids can be great teachers when I listen. And obviously they’re pretty deft in the ring.

The winner and champion is not me. I need to hit the speed-bag. I’m staging a comeback.

Tags Bliss Lau, blisslau.com, Charlotte Olympia, Charlotte Olympia perspex clutch, charlotteolympia.com, Charolotte Olympia Pandora Clutch, mother daughter fighting, mother vs. daughter, Pandora Clutch | Permalink | Comments (4)

Shop Here

Buy, Sell, Repeat

Posted: May 1st, 2013 by Jennifer

I apologize if you’re all sick of hearing about my closet journey. It continues as I get side-tracked with the usual goings-on of a mom. This project, had it taken place during my selfishly young adulthood, would have taken a few days tops. This project, today in my selfishly older adulthood, is now entering its second month with “closet days” wedged in between family, friends, appointments and making dinner.

I truly did have that many clothes that needed to be “processed”, but I also no longer have the luxury of setting aside day after day for just one project. None of us do anymore.

Through these two months I’ve learned that the binging of clothes took decades, the purging only 4 days, and now I’m in the ultra fun phase of selling my items at consignment stores, and the “since I’m there”— browsing for gems to update my wardrobe.

Consignment? Used? I know! Like the leather jacket of my youth I wrote about a week or so ago and wanting it again, the idea of buying used is starting to make a lot of sense in my life again, today. In high-school and college I only bought and wore vintage. I loved being the only one to have what I had in my closet and on my body. I felt badass.

As I’ve aged, my tastes have evolved, I’ve had more money, and I’ve liked that I can afford what I want. Finding designers that speak to me has felt rewarding even if it screamed full retail. Who wants to wear someone else’s castoffs? Not me.

Now I know I’m just being silly. What I like can easily retail for $2,000, and that’s a hell of a lot of money – a used car! A dishwasher/dryer and microwave! Something with motors that actually does something! So why pay full retail when there are others out there doing the work for you, spending loads of loot on what will eventually be over well before they get around to wearing it? As they move on to the “next it thing”, and sell the “yesterday’s over it thing” at a consignment store, I arrive and “maybe I’m not that over it” and well…score!—for well under what it retailed for. Like maybe a price of blender.

Fashion is hit and miss. Trial and error. Binging, purging and regurgitating. And although I’m a fan of anyone and everyone treating themselves to an item with an exuberant price tag once in a while—yes, you’re worth it— it’s also incredibly thrilling to find something extraordinary and unexpected or better yet, that piece that has spent years on your want list. Consignment stores can surprise you like that. And the price tag will, too. Talk about a bargain.

I should mention I’ve made close to $2,000 on reselling my “over it” items and using the money for some new thrills. I’m totally getting into the whole “buy, sell, repeat” rhythm of fashion. It’s genius and a total insiders way to have fun with fashion and finding your style. Not only that, but it’s the ultimate form of recycling, and being green is always in fashion.

I hate getting my picture taken. And even worse, taking my own picture…it’s gut-wrenchingly awful. Below is my own private uncomfortable misery captured digitally while trying to look “cute”.

Consignment Montage

(from left to right)

1. Junya Watanabe Comme Des Garçons denim/linen dress. Never worn and tags still attached. Usually the hangtags that stay on in my closet say H&M. A closet that has Comme Des Garçon hangtags is a whole other level. Obviously a cast-off from someone who can afford to buy and not wear. At this price I can afford to buy and wear all summer.

2. 2011 Prada skirt. I couldn’t resist the look of giving birth to a pineapple. And this little number substitutes for my Spring/Summer 2013 Dolce & Gabanna obsession.

3. Theskeyns Theory leather tank. Another “tags still attached and never worn” score. Thanks compulsive shopping, rich lady! Retail was $795. I paid $295. Still pricey, I agree, but I’m wearing it with everything and I will have for-ev-er and it’s a leather tank dammit! Worn with my new Rick Owens brushed silk mermaid skirt. $125. Seriously! Now that was full on robbery. Arrest me.

4. Byblos deconstructed jacket. Peplum loveliness! Craziness abound. Wasn’t looking for it, but there it was in consignment heaven! I’m in love.

5. Rick Owens cellophane dress. Totally wacky with cape and all. But it’s beyond incredible. Now if I could just get invited to some grand gala. I would never purchase this piece at full retail which is approx. $1500, but at $450 it’s absolutely worth it.

And a word to the wise, Rick Owens is all over the consignment stores in NYC. As is Lanvin and Chanel and really any other brand you can think of. Below is a list of online consignment etailers and my favorite NYC and Brooklyn brick and mortar stores. Happy Shopping.

On-line Consignment: ebay, vaunte, bib + tuck, the Real Real, Closet Rich, Portero, Poshmark

New York Consignment: Tokio 7, Goldenfisch, Eva Gentry Consignmnet, Second Chance, Roundabout

Tags Byblos, Comme Des Garçon, Consignment, Consignment Stores in NYC, Eva Gentry Consignment, Goldenfisch, Junya Watanabe, Junya Watanabe Comme Des Garçon, Resale, Rick Owens, Roundabout, Second Chance, Theyskens Theory, Tokio 7 | Permalink | Comments (2)

9 to 5 Crap, I'm Old Shop Here

A Fanny Pack for a Busted Ass

Posted: April 29th, 2013 by Paula

Ladies, ever have one of those weeks? Where there is too much to do, not enough time to do it in, and you’re so tired from trying to do it all that what you actually do is riddled errors and self-doubt, making you want to put your head down and cry like a baby?

For me, it’s all been professionally induced. I feel like I just ran a marathon but at every mile had to drop and do 100 push-ups followed by a five-minute wall-sit. Thinking and typing and calculating and spread-sheeting and talking and more typing and revising has given my brain and body such an intense workout that and I am sore all over. Given that the brain is our largest muscle, it’s no wonder I can barely answer a simple question, like, “which way to the Wharf?”

For Jslow, it’s all been family induced. Living across the country from her parents and siblings has meant long visits by said parents and siblings and the entertaining and scheduling and juggling and shuffling that goes along with that.

Which means we’ve had no time for our beloved blog.

When I’m stuck “in the weeds with work”, I’ll occasionally take a quick check of shopping sites in search of a smile. The other day, while on Kelly Wearstler, I came across this Fanny Pack. Yes, a fanny pack.

The fanny pack, which popped up on the round bellies of squares in the 1980s, is the Rodney Dangerfield of hand-bags, the “butt” of many a style joke, that horrendous symbol of the middle-aged tour-bus tourist that descends on our neighbors abroad and screams Ugly American without that Ugly American uttering a single syllable.

However.

I can’t get this bag out of my head. I walk everywhere, and not only would this be practical as hell, but I love it’s rocker-like edge. I dream of donning this bad-boy slung low over a pair of beat-up Levi’s and scuffed boots. Fanny pack? More like Ass-kicking pack.

Still, Jslow ain’t buying it. “The last thing anyone would want to do” she writes, “is to add pounds to our mid-sections.” She does have a point. Also, strapping this on would ruin the line of any jacket tossed over it — adding bulk, thus resulting in a serious silhouette set-back.

What do you think? Has the stress of the past week blown my ability to filter out bad fashion impulses? Or am I onto something here? Should I bring the Fanny Pack back? Or am I smoking crack?

In the meantime, I leave you with this gem from a band called, you guessed it, FannyPack. It happens to be about a true fashion don’t, the “Camel Toe.” We’ll leave that for another time.