Guerrilla Art #6

I'm thinking this is another Swoon...famous female street artist. Found it on Bond St near Lafayette.

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Green Chic #5

New meaning to 'juicy couture'....meet the 'juice bag'

It's all well and good to wear organic cotton...but when you can enjoy the comforts of modern living, such as an ipod or a cellphone without plugging into an electrical outlet, how genius is that?

As you may or may not know, there has existed once upon a time a very workable electric car (the movie Who Killed the Electric Car literally made me cry...no joke), and solar panel technology has been around for years and years. I think we can all dream of a utopian home completely off the grid...maybe with a watermill off a river, windmills, organic gardening, and yes, solar power. ahhhhhhhhhh.

Well, I don't know about you, but I don't have one of these homes yet, and as fashionable as 'green' is, people don't seem to be ready yet for that sort of change. But hey, why not start with a solar paneled beach tote? Spend all day baking in the sun, and listening to tunes. Or hell, why not this crazy solar paneled bikini? It even has a USB drinks cooler. Fantastic... if you don't like

swimming, and you love the babes on Bladerunner. 

You could also do the backpack if you are hiking and want to charge your GPS...could come in handy...and maybe ruin plot points for treacherous lost-in-the-woods survivor movies. Or else, perhaps you want the messenger bag, to keep your cellphone juiced for all your business meetings. 

Granted, the technology is not yet there to power a large device such as a laptop with one of these bags. It can't store up quite enough power at a time...but one day...one day....

Hey, let's face it, we all run around with a bag full of devices: iPod, cellphone, PDA, GPS, digital camera...and we all panic when the little red battery light goes on...this no longer has to effect us. AND we can burn less coal. Who's in?

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Richard Chai for Target Preview!!!

Ahhh, I just love those days when I get a sneak peak of what's to come at Target. First I get to dreaming when I find out who the next designer is, then I get to drooling when I see the photos, so finally I can binge when they are released for sale.

*sigh*

And this looks like it's gonna be a good one.  As some of you may or may not know, purple has been a staple in my closet for about 20 years, so I will start my accolades for Richard Chai's Go International line at color choice. I am also a big fan of patterns, but I am choosy about what sort of patterns. Richard stays true to his design aesthetic with what looks to be brushed plaids, stripes, and oversized graphic florals. The silhouettes are fabulous too, I love the pleat bottom teal blouse and the skinny shorts. And of course, I am obsessed with long thin cardigans. I wear my grey one constantly, so I am excited to add a few more colors into the mix.

The line is due to hit stores in August. As soon as I know the actual date, I'll make sure to let you al know!

Pics from NYLON

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Green Chic #4

Burning Torch

Hey guys, you know I am on the lookout for all things Green. In a world where it's so easy to obsessively buy designer lines from Target (ahem), I gotta keep my eye out for the little people who are trying to do it right. Designer Karyn Craven started Burning Torch in 1999 in Los Angeles. She is devoted to eco-responsibility, using recycled vintage materials and organic products.

I definitely prefer her fall/winter 2008 line to her summer 2008...but then, I feel in fashion, there is always more room for exploration in layering in the colder months. I love to see her sensibility in texture...from fabrics to patters, there is always a coziness to her pieces. It's a very victorian girly aesthetic a la Anthropologie....Altho, she is much higher end, having graced the floors of Barneys NY.

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Japanese Designer Series: Limi Feu

Somewhere along the way, I have become obsessed with Japanese style. I can't pinpoint when it started, but I do know that it was sometime after I had visited Tokyo. This is unfortunate for me, because had I known better, I could have done some serious shopping during my stay there. Now I will definitely have to be going back.I think my obsession started in the streets of NYC. I live near what I consider to be Japan Town. There are a lot of fantastic Sushi restaurants in my neighborhood, and I always seem to be seeing girls in the most imaginative outfits in the street. It is these girls that started it for me. They deftly mix patterns and textures, have just the right combinations of neutral tones with popping colors, layer the most unlikely items together, and play with volume and silhouette like no others. I wish one of those girls would take me on as an apprentice or something.

In the mean-time, I am making it my business to study great Japanese designers. So I will bring you along in my quest in this series.

Today I had a look at Limi Feu. She is the daughter of Yohji Yamamoto, and changed her last name Feu, when she saw it in a french dictionary (it means fire). She seems to have taken on a lot of the sensibilities of her father, with the dark fabrics and the oversized flowing draping. However, at times she adds her own amount of femininity and young street aesthetics. She definitely punks up the styling a bit, pairing her feminine looks with big bovver boots...a look I have adored for at least the last 2 decades of my life. Also notice the re-appropriated menswear looks. Another fantastic trend (which I covered with my tux post). Nothing sexier than a gal sporting her boyfriends clothing in a half comfy, a little bit bad-ass, half walk-of-shame kind of way. yummy.

I wish I could tell you where to find her stuff in the US, but alas, I have no leads as yet. In the mean-time you could try an online japanese shopping service such as Rinkya

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Paul and Joe Sister for Urban Outfitters

Wow, Urban Outfitters is really giving Target a run for their money.

They have been churning out designer collaborations right left and center. Of course, no really big names yet...and one must admit that Urban has always been a collection of different designers, rather than an eponymous label. 

In anycase, I have always been a fan of Paul and Joe, who have recently launched a diffusion line called Paul and Joe Sister....now that diffusion line is further diffused as a limited Urban Outfitters line (can I say 'diffused' or 'line' any more times, I wonder). It's available now on-line. I haven't checked the stores, but you might find some there too. It definitely has the Paul and Joe aesthetic: incorporating a lot of white/black combos in a very tux meets girly kind of way. I think the actual Paul and Joe Sister line looks more innovative than the Urban version...but perhaps its a good intro for us. Get us hooked, so we can buy the more pricey stuff later.

Paul and Joe Sister pic above, Urban Outfitters below...

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Renegade: Ach Ach Liebling

Ach Ach Liebling came all the way top the Renegade craft fair from San Francisco. I just love her use of imagery, and materials such as plastics and mixed metals to create motif rich vintage inspired pieces. I can no longer harp on about why I love this trend...but just assure you that designer Joanna Petrone definitely has her finger on the pulse. And watch out...new motif trend alert: The Moustache!!

Check out the dainty brass and silver stackable facial hair inspired rings below. So ironic!

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Renegade: Chainchainchained

I am noticing that a few Renegade jewelry designers perhaps use the same source of brass ornaments...but who cares if they are cute! More to go around.

I got the dainty arrow earrings  from chainchainchained pictured above, and have been wearing them everywhere. Just when I was getting bored of earrings, this pair is not to big and garish, and not too small. Plus, ever since Karen Walker featured arrow print clothes and pins, I've been obsessed with arrows.

It's funny how little motifs find their way into our consciousness, and then jewelers and textile merchants across the land cash in: skulls, birds, bugs, feathers, and arrows....whatever will be next?

And I also gotta say that I am diggin brass these days. Partially for it's warm coloring, and perhaps also a sort of chintsy hipster irony...but mostly cuz of the whole vintage trend we have going on right now. In anycase, we are all in luck, cuz brass is cheap, and perfect for casting into interesting shapes. Plenty to be found on Etsy, peeps.

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Guerrilla Art #5

Williamsburg again...but I have no idea who did this...anyone??

I do so love bees in art and jewelry...this one is after my own heart.

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Green Chic #3

The Melissa shoe

Gals...summer is here...hot days, but the odd rain shower and those pesky guys hosing down the sidewalks make the Jelly Shoe the perfect trend. Yes, yet another style from the by-gone days of the 80's has found it's way out of fashion-purgatory and back into the lime-light.

Just about every designer has a version, Marc Jacobs , Cesare Paciotti, even Fendi (to name a few). But those designers are just dabbling....the place to go for all your Jelly shoe needs is Melissa.

Melissa is a Brazil based company whose ethos is firmly rooted in environmental and economic sustainability.  All their shoes are fabricated in such a way that they can be recycled into a brand new pair (customers in Brazil can drop their used shoes off!). The manufacturing process makes use of all it's own residues, thus leaving practically zero waste on the environment, and Melissa employs 20,000 people in 12 vertically integrated factories.

Now lets get down to the fashion...creative director, Edson Matsuo is always in pursuit of new ideas in the realm of plastics technology and design. So far he's had a great result with the innovation of MELFLEX, a material that molds easily and comfortably to the foot, as well as being highly recyclable. On top of that Melissa has been collaborating with great designers and artists for years: Campana Brothers, Judy Blame (with his punk styling), Karim Rashid, Alexandre Herchcovitch, and this year Vivienne Westwood (due out in the fall)!

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Renegade: Hoibo

Check it out, I found something cool that was not jewelry at the Renegade Craft Fair. The line is called HOIBO, and it's a great collection of bags and tops. I loved their silver linen hobo bags with the rope handles. The bags are washable, so they have graciously screen printed rope tying instructions on the inside...just in case you weren't a boy-scout. And if you are a leather lover, I found one lone lusciously buttery leather black hobo bag...complete with rope.

Of course, Hoibo is still just sold in Canada...but to me, they seem like good fodder for the buyers at Barneys Co-op.

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Lulu Frost for Urban Outfitters

Image from Lasplash

I first discovered the ever beautiful reclaimed vintage costume jewelry of Lulu Frost last year when I was researching a project of eco-sustainable fashions. Her work was gloriously displayed in Kaight, a Lower East Side boutique dedicated to environmental responsibility.  It was there that I learned that wearing vintage and using vintage materials is the fashion equivalent to recycling. I have been a fan for years of anything rusted or beaten up, held together by tape. I always thought it was my punk rock background, for when I was a starving artist, I actually needed safety pins to hold my clothes together.  But in looking around me, eclectic combinations of jumbles of old decaying metal finds from grandma's closet has become the hottest thing going since skulls (when I went through a similar, 'what, you like them too?' phase).

So yes, like Subversive, Lulu Frost designer Lisa Salzer is bringing her vintage vision to the masses with a small collection for Urban Outfitters.  As it will only feature 5 different designs, you must understand that it will only allude to the authenticity of a vintage find...but surely will infuse her great taste. And for that alone, it will be well worth checking out. It should hit stores this November. 

All images are from Lulu Frosts collection...watch this space for previews of her capsule collection for Urban.

Images from Kaight

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Sample Sale Alert

Obedient Sons 

Great womens wear inspired by menswear, as well as actual menswear. Edgy englishman.

70 Greene St (between spring/broome) NYC

Saturday and Sunday 11am-6pm

Rag and Bone

Also very menswear (for women and men). Edgy equestrian.

425 W. 13th St, 3rd Floor (between 9th ave/Washington) NYC 

Thursday and Friday Noon-8pm

Castle Starr

Voluminous silky pieces with interesting metal embellishments.

494 Eighth Ave (entrance on 35th St) NYC

Thursday and Friday 9am-9pm

Form

Neutral tones, fabulous architecture. 

510 Broome #7E (between West Broadway and Thompson) NYC

Today! 6pm -9pm

Jill Stuart

30%-50% off modern feminine

100 Greene St NYC

June 21st to July 5th

Accessories: Jill Stuart, LAMB, Harajuku Lovers

Unique handbags and accessories...dude it's Gwen Stefani.

145 West 18th St (between 6th and 7th Ave) NYC

Today 10am-8pm

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Renegade: Erica Weiner

I must preface this by saying that I had already discovered Erica Weiner before the Renegade Craft Fair...under similar circumstances, at artists and fleas in Williamsburg. As you know by now I have a love for all things antique and distressed, as well as slightly dark and disturbing. So about a year ago, I was chuffed to have found Erica Weiner's lovely brass Bee earrings (bugs are a great motif for those who enjoy oddities). They eventually broke, but the lovely Erica gave me a new pair at Renegade! She definitely stands behind her work. 

I was overwhelmed at her booth, as she has been busy in the last year! She has added old photos to her repertoire of materials, including actual civil war tin types. I ended up going for a great necklace with portraits of young women from the 40's, cuz it's one of my fav eras. Ericas work mainly consists of pieces made from found curiosities (such as vertebrae from a small snake) and vintage finds, so the collection is ever changing and unique.  At this point to say vintage jewelry is a trend is a massive understatement. Expect it to be one of the things comedians talk about on "I love the 00's" on VH1 decades from now.

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Botkier Sample sale

Pic from the Botkier website

As you all know, I recently reported that fab bag designier Monica Botkier was going to do a guest line for Target....my only reservation being: how good can it be if it's all fake leather?

Well, if you have the same concern as I do, but still can't afford a real Botkier, today may be your lucky day (well actually, tomorrow through sunday). Just trot on down to the sample sale where you may be able to pick up a bag that was formally priced at $695 for $275 (prices are 50%-70 off). Not quite Target prices, but then, it's the real deal baby! You'll be paying for quality buttery leather and gorgeous design that should last a lifetime. Oh, and she does shoes now too...

Where:

172 Mercer (between Prince/Housten) NYC

Times:

Thursday 10am-7pm

Friday, Saturday 10am-6pm

Sunday 10am-5pm

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Renegade: Fernworks

Oh my god, this booth blew me away head an shoulders above the others (sorry others, I swear I'm a fan...but you gotta admit...). The Fernworks booth was packed shoulder to shoulder. Credit cards were taking turns to get the old fashioned carbon paper treatment. The place was a buzz with commerce. Why? sheer beauty. Mystical misty layer on layer of peaceful fantasy nature-meets-hitchcock mystery beauty. Yes, resin can be a most amazing medium when put in the right hands. In this case, the capable hands of one Faryn Davis.

I could go on and on, as one who simply enters into and gets lost in the works...I'll let you decide. If you are a meditator, you could choose a resin piece that simply contains grass and the typset words "still", or if you are a little bit dark, the black crows on a wire, darker still, the broken body of a dead bee in a ring.

Really, words are just fluff. The pics above are mine, the ones below are from the website. Enjoy.

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Topshop Fall 08, get ready!

I just love the feeling of antici........pation.

Topshop has released its fall 2008 collection preview pics...and seeing as how the one on Broadway is due to open in October 11th, I think we may have a fighting chance at actually buying some of this stuff.

Below are a few of the looks I loved. View the whole collection here.

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