From Delias: Clever Tees for Hopeful Hearts

Living in the Bay Area, and especially hanging around the Mission (i.e. hipster central), surrounded by geek-chic start-up engineers and entrepreneurs, I see more than my share of snarky T-shirts on a daily basis.  And while we all love Threadless.com, I sometimes get a little fatigued breathing in the self-satisfied clouds of smug all the time.

Which is why I found these darling little tees on Delias.com so refreshing.  Undeniably cute, with their funny little puns and good-natured, whimsical styles, these t-shirts convey something that many others don't: optimism.  In this cynical world, their earnest sense of humor is appealing indeed.  

Save $10 when you buy two online! Here are some of my favorites.

Hot or Not? Dolce Vita Wilde Boot

Unless you have been living under a proverbial fashion nock, you've no doubt been smacked in the face repeatedly by this fall fashion trend: the thigh-high boot. To be honest, like most normal (read: non-fashionista) people, I'm a bit dubious about it and I'm pretty sure it's going to be rather short lived, and thus hardly worth the investment.

That said, these Dolce Vita Wilde boots caught my eye because of the cinnamon-bronze, supple leather and sleek profile.  And the comfortably doable 3" heels. That was from the front.  Then I looked at the backs and did a double-take at the weird cut-outs behind the knees.  I felt instantly conflicted. On the one hand, the spirit of these boots perfectly captures my half-assed attitude towards thigh-high boots, like they can't decide what they want to be.  On the other hand, they really are a little strange.

So I submit to you, dear readers--what do you think of them? Photos shamelessly stolen off of 80spurple.com.

(Happy Friday!) Why Harper's Bazaar subscribers have it better.

Besides the fact that the newsstand price is about $4/issue, and I pay just $10 flat for a whole year's worth of magazines. No, what I'm talking about is a fact little-known outside this special club of people who subscribe to the magazine on a regular basis: we get different covers.  Better covers, I must say.  

Harper's Bazaar newsstand covers don't really stand out from every other magazine out there--huge faces with loud words graffittied all over them.  "Fabulous at Every Age!" is a popular Bazaar saying.  "Bags! SHOES! 437 New Looks! Beauty STEALS!"  I really hate how these kinds of covers treat us like we're stupid.

But oh, the subscriber covers! I'm not sure if other magazines do this, but I prefer Harper's Bazaar to most other fashion magazines because of it (the only other one I love is W, with its awesome photography in that fabulous large format).  Every month I look forward to receiving that delicious piece of artwork in the mail, showcasing that issue's lovely celebrity in some sweeping, epic gown, striking a whimsical, gestural pose against a cinematic backdrop.  Oh, how I love it.  So much that I painstakingly collected some of the most striking covers from the past couple of years and created diptychs so you can compare the subscriber covers to the regular newsstand covers.  You're welcome.

Posted simultaneously to stephanie.posterous.com.

Meet: Andrea Brueckner Handbags

So this may not be news to anyone who follows the fashion world pretty closely, but it was news to ordinary ole me: Andrea Brueckner makes some wonderful handbags.  In keeping with our philosophy of comfortably stylish and beautifully unfussy, her bags are totally wearable.  High quality materials and construction.  Easy-going yet structural shapes. Dumbfoundingly simple and carefree profiles.  And just the slightest touch of sass--or, as I like to say, not too many ding-dongs hanging around (I hate bags with too many ding-dongs!).  

The only thing that sucks about them is their extraordinarily high prices.  But I'll forgive even that for the sake of good design. It's like these bags are saying, "Here we are.  Take us or leave us.  We know we're awesome."

  • Large Saddle Bag, in black
  • Cardiff Satchel, medium, in cream
  • Tierney City Bag, in black
  • Bonneville Pocket Satchel, in white
  • Cardiff Satchel, medium, in black (she makes other colors, I swear, I just love the simplicity of black and white)

Versatility, as seen in the "magic wrap"

A few weeks ago in O'ahu I took some time out to shop (had to take advantage of the lower sales tax). I was attracted to sari silk fabrics displayed at one of the kiosks named Kariza Vintage. A young petite lady was modeling how to wear the garment in many different ways. Enough ways that there is an instructional booklet and a video :P 

The "magic wrap" is made up of two different sari prints, one longer than the other, bound together by a thick band at the top that extends past both fabrics to serve as a belt or sash to wrap around various parts of your body. 

I really like the creative use of silk saris in this garment. I love the bright colors and how the two different patterns play together. This piece also got me thinking more about versatility - garments that can easily take on different forms depending on mood and occasion. After all, none of us want to get stuck wearing the same outfit too often. In exchange for versatility, wearing this particular garment in many styles takes quite a bit of careful wrapping, tucking, tying, and knotting to make it look right. I am sure a bit of practice will make this a smoother process though :) 

How-to: Dressing for warmth and comfort. And, of course, some timeless style.

Let us deconstruct this look, shall we? I saw it on Garance's site and was so very taken by it because it made me feel like sighing in reliefat the same time that it piqued my interest with some cushy textures and structured flow (did I just invent a new oxymoron?). Somehow this woman created a look that is fresh, yet original--I can't point to a single element that follows the season's trends.

via garancedore.fr

I am loving her monotone neutrals (so subtle!), mixed textures and the modest coverage. There is absolutely nothing offensive about her outfit. Talk about comfort. Talk about wearability!

I imagine this look may possibly not work for someone with large thighs or a potbelly, because it is somewhat shapeless. But that doesn't mean one can't try - I love the softness of the sweater, both in color and in the low-slung shape, and the slight ballooning of the harem pants is genius.

But what really keeps the look from moving into "sloppy" territory is a nice structured bag and her very sculptural boots! This convinces me that I am on the right track recently, where I have severely neglected clothes buying in favor of shoe buying. I'm convinced you can make anything look expensive with some excellent, if understated, shoes.

Bravo!

Dilemmas: BCBGMAXAZRIA - Patchwork Satchel $139. To buy or not to buy?

via giltfuse.com

Medium sized patchwork satchel bag. Treated leather with metal hardware. Top zip closure with hidden magnetic snap flap opening and double top handles. Removable grosgrain shoulder strap. Signature logo nylon interior lining with large zip pocket and two slip pockets. Body length 16 inches; height 9 inches; width 4 1/2 inches. Handle drop 4 1/2 inches; removable shoulder strap drop 13 inches.
COLOR: Black
MATERIAL: Leather
ORIGIN: Imported
ESTIMATED DELIVERY: Fri 10/9/09 to Tue 10/13/09

RETURN POLICY: This item is final sale and non-returnable.

Quickie Shoe Post: Diba strikes again

Because really, who needs to pay attention to such mundane things as the progressively colder weather?  Not I.  I'm thinking these shoes would be perfect for the phenomenon known as "indian summer."  Or, if you live in California like I do, it'll take you all the way to November practically.

Diba made one of my favoritest pairs of shoes, some very structural pointy-toed flats in just the perfect shade of subtle gold.  They go with everything, except now they are so beat up that I probably need to take them to a cobbler to fix up.  In "Marrone" I find some really bold, strappy, hippie sandals with this genius touch of basketweave on the heel.  Brilliant.

For Men: Scarf It Down

With the changing of the season - and Steph's post on her personal fall trend, I've got to throw in my two cents on my personal trend of the moment: scarves!

This often neglected accessory is usually more of a utility item that is saved for particularly cold nights or that ski retreat weekend.  It's usually in some awful crimson wool blend that itches and has reindeer and snowflakes all over - unmistakably the calling card of some crafty relative.

But thanks largely to the bandit/afghan craze in street style in the past few years, scarves are reinstated as a legitimate, fashionable accessory both guys and girls can rock. 

If you need some convincing, I did a little experiment.  I put on a ho-hum pair of Gap jeans and a Hanes white t-shirt and then put on some of my favorite scarves to see how they worked.  The result?  Well, I think that the scarves single-handedly enhanced the look altogether.  Granted, it's a bit of a metro look, but you get the idea right?

So scarves are practical, stylish, and now more than ever, they're at almost every clothing retailer!   I find H&M carries the most economic/trendy options (run between $5-$15) but these will last you about a year before getting a little threadbare.  Club Monaco has consistently amazing scarves, but wait for their end of season sales to score GREAT deals on them (regular retail is $79.50, sale price is usually $19.99 - that's 75% off people!).

If you're comtemplating your first scarf purchase: go to Banana Republic and pick a solid color scarf in a light wool (think of a light wool sweater). I like bright oranges, rich purples, and sporty blues for solid colored scarves.  This adds a fresh pop to any outfit. 

For the more adventurous: try a lightweight, wrinkly scarf in linen or very light cotton (they would be like 24 inches wide if you pulled it out and ironed it, but scrunched together it's actually not that big). You can drape them in a bunch of different ways - play around with it to find which you like the best.  Colors in shades of off-white, beige, brown, and light grey or green are what I gravitate towards these days for these kinds of scarves.

I'm not the biggest fan of the afghan-style scarves, but I think that the afghan print is still "in" for now.  If that's what you're looking for, I'd encourage exploring bolder color combinations (beyond black and white) - I especially like teal+grey and beige+brown color combinations. Diesel has cool on sale now for $30 

As the colder weather comes, thicker fabric scarves in wool/cashmere come in exceptionally handy.  I find that in the bulkier fabrics, colors in the range from l off-white to light grey look super fresh on a cold winter night - so you can look for those as they start stocking up for the winter season.

All in all - I think the scarves are much more than something that white people like - they're an accessory that every guy should own multiple of to take his wardrobe to the next level.