Diane Von Furstenberg

Thurley

I got these two at Urban Outfitters for a steal and they have a lot more to choose from:

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I’ve been wanting to try this style of drapy sweater for a long time and the price was right to give it a shot. It’s soooo cozy! I love the architectural look, the slim sleeves, pockets, and how I can wrap myself up. I want to try some pinned effects with extra large safety pins soon.

Here are some others I’ve found that might tickle your fancy (all at UO):

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you can get them in the plaid button-up variety

embellished

sequined

sheer

floral

and of course the plain t-shirt style

Check out American Apparel’s vomit-inducing search results for “crop”.

These aren’t from risque brands like Frederick’s of Hollywood (hell, their selection is more flattering than this mess). These are from trendy places like Free People and TopShop which means they will be everywhere soon.

What the hell is going on? I was ever-so-thankful when t-shirts started getting a bit longer. It’s infinitely more flattering. I hate saying that this is one of those things only teeny teenagers (and club tramps) can pull off but it is. I’m what most people would consider “teeny” but I’m also a normal adult female with some mush around the middle and there is no way in hell I would be caught dead in one of these shirts. The sad thing is that women of every size are going to see this trend and attempt it and look… bad. The only way around it is layering one over a longer tee or tank. This Flashdance madness has to stop.

• Hipster Puppies! The captions kill me.

- clara is always first to change the subject to politics, but gets 90% of her information from gawker and the daily show

- muffin arrogantly insists that she doesn’t “own a tv,” but still watches mad men and arrested development on her macbook pro

- trigger says the words “bike culture” out loud at least once a day

- lucky thinks this unagi is too salty, and he knows because he lived in japan for a month

• Retail therapy and spoiling myself a bit. I am an extremely generous person but there comes a time when you have to say to hell with a bit more debt and get yourself something you really really want. Having a birthday coming up is the perfect justification – because I’m beginning to feel as though if I don’t spoil myself, no one else will. I can’t wait for these to arrive! They’ve sold out twice already so I put myself on the waiting list and as soon as I received the email, they were mine! I have no idea when, where or what with I’m going to wear them. Yes, I know they’re ridiculous but sometimes ridiculous things just speak to your heart – like my two pet rats, red eyeshadow, that time I let my friends dread my hair, and rhumba panties. No regrets. They can sit next to me on the sofa while I watch Hoarders for all I care.

• I’m finally meeting some of my favorite Richmond Twitter ladies for coffee on Wednesday night! I’m really excited! Between this and my lady friend dinner last week I’m giddy about getting out and about with cool chicks. This winter has driven me mad!

• How does one forget they have a brand new red wool pea coat in a storage closet for oh… say, 8 years!? No idea. It’s from the Victoria’s Secret catalog and I bought it new with tags off of eBay for like $20 one summer, put it away in a garment bag and just recently found it, thinking something else was in the bag. I’m a genius.

• My painting project is coming along nicely. Slowly but nicely. I will post finished pics soon!
• Moggit picks out the most nonsensical and utterly stupid examples of modern design. Hilarious.

via indexed

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• I’m in no way a PETA nut. I love meat – try to buy humanely raised meat/dairy every chance I get, but I seriously will not give it up. I am one pork chop away from being an anemic mess. Anyhow… I hate the circus, I hate zoos, I hate Seaworld, etc. I am sorry that trainer was killed but we needed a wake-up call. No animal should be used for entertainment (under the guise of education) unless it’s already a domesticated breed (petting zoos and pets in general), is receiving medical attention/rehab to be released back into the wild eventually, or there is no way it could survive in the wild on its own for whatever horrible reason.  If it’s possible for people to take a little peek at these animals then fine. Large fish aquariums don’t bother me that much but for christ’s sake! Mammals! Killer whales are intelligent mammals who live in families, travel hundreds of miles a day, have sophisticated modes of communication – all reduced to some deluded  egomaniacal asshat standing on its nose to pop music so someone can make a buck. Give me an effin break! I’ll get my animal education from documentaries thank you very much.
• Let’s get back to the retail therapy thing. I used to be a compulsive clothes/shoe shopper. I wouldn’t make major purchases but stuff starts to add up and after I got rid of over 50 pairs of shoes and purged my closet in preparation for a move, I thought I had seen the light when I saw all that money I had spent get donated to Goodwill. I have been sooo good for almost a year. Well… I really just redirected my spending on my bf’s and my first apartment together. That was healthy and fun spending for legitimate things we needed but it still satisfied something inside me that needed to be excited about something. Lately, I’ve been stressed/disappointed like whoa and well, I’ve caught myself getting sucked into the clothing/shoes spiral again. Today, I went out for an hour to blow off some steam (shop) and had about 20 things in my arms to try on. Had all of it fit, I seriously was going to buy every damn thing and eat ramen until the end of next week. Thankfully nothing fit right (damn tits) so, I stepped back and reassessed my stress and bad habits. This is something I’m going to have to keep in check for the rest of my life.

These items aren’t currently available but they do special orders so, I’m sure you could request any of these:

cufflinks for him

So, for future shopping, I would take note of any of these recurring trends:

- There was a lot of fur. It made me uncomfortable. I would like to think that we have evolved beyond this insanity but no. Good looking fake is always an option.

- statement coats – architectural and bold

- deep wine, rust and so much blue

- strong bright prints

- velvet, leather, satin, tweed

- blazers galore! menswear styles in general

- hats! big crazywarm fuzzy hats!

- belted waists – I especially liked the golden brown belts over pale grey

- socks! slouchy, at the knee and above – get thyself some cute sheer trouser socks for a few bucks and try em out! adorbs!

- The white tights at BCBG Max Azria really stood out. They’re always a fashion “don’t” but looked fresh to me paired with graphic solids. Thakoon included them with darks/muted tones.  Milly embraced white tights as well- solid. textured and dotted. Adorable with bold minis.

- platform heels, lace-up mid-calf boots – especially with pointed toes

- Also, if you see something wonderful in a dark pewter shimmer… grab it up. Everyone embraced this metalic texture and it was really quite lovely, dramatic, and an easy thing to work into your existing wardrobe, transitioning from day to night nicely.

So here are my favorite wearable picks for Fall 2010, after another grueling amount of time perusing all the collections on Style.com. (Wearable meaning something I would wear in a heartbeat!) I tried to stick with things that actually looked WARM and comfortable and functional, or were just exceptionally rad. Tiny gorgeous dresses were a dime a dozen so I left a lot of those little gems out this time but I did include a few. It’s easier to keep warmth in perspective when you’re sitting at your laptop shivering.

Barbara Tfank

Cynthia Steffe

Donna Karan

Just Cavalli

Badgley Mischka

Rebecca Taylor

Matthew Williamson

Cushnie et Ochs

L.A.M.B.

Diane von Furstenberg

TSE

Lutz & Patmos

Kinder Aggugini

Carlos Miele

Helmut Lang

Michael Kors

ADAM

Burberry Prorsum

Vera Wang

Ports 1961

Chris Benz

Carolina Herrera

Chris Benz 

Vivienne Tam

Matthew Williamson

Jeremy Laing

Nanette Lepore

Holly Fulton

Clements Ribeiro

Oscar de la Renta

Mary Katrantzou

Milly

Thakoon

Prabal Gurung

Maurizio Pecoraro

DKNY

Gianfranco Ferré

Dsquared²

Bibhu Mohapatra

Donna Karan

Moschino Cheap & Chic – for Halloween!!!

(all photos via Style.com)

- For my birthday on March 23, my mom is getting me this sweet white laptop bag by Acme Made. I’ve had my eye on it for a while and it’s on super sale!

- Heading back from our ski trip we hit IKEA and I got the red PS cabinet for our kitchen! That thing was such a bitch to put together and I managed to bend part of it in a fit of Hulk-strength rage, but the bf fixed that right up and it’s stocked with all my serving dishes, mixing bowls and dumb shit women find necessary to have in a kitchen! Yay! So now, I can quit talking about it!

 - On the Target clearance rack, I found a blue cable knit hoodie… not the cardigan I wanted but that’ll do pig!

- For my b-day, I’m also getting a toaster and that weird curling iron you just pull through your hair a certain way! I am stupid excited about having a toaster! Pathetic.

- I got a haircut! Really, it was just a trim but she cleaned up my layers and blended my blunt bangs that have been growing out. Hell yes.

- I found a big fish bowl that was collecting dust at my folks’ house and finally transplanted my enormous Schefflera plant. It’s still dropping leaves like crazy but I think it’s just the heat being on in the winter.

- Not the Tiffany necklace or the one I had that looked just like it but, I finally found another chunky chain necklace. It’s a bit shorter and it’s light as a feather (cheap shiny coated plastic) but it’s the look I’ve been wanting and at $6.80, I won’t feel so bad when I lose it… and that’ll do pig as well.

- The last thing on my list to get is a chest of drawers. I saw that top one with the glass fronts in person and it was made like crap. The bottom one is solid wood and at the same price… it will be mine next trip to NOVA. The flat front has got my head spinning thinking of ways to try some SylvanSF-esque type treatment with decals like I wrote about earlier.

Not a bad whack at taking care of business in less than 2 months! I cannot think of another single thing that I want or need in my life right now other than the usual love, food and happiness. Everything else is just cake. That’s a nice feeling.  

What’s on your list?

Today, I needed to pop into Marshalls for an extra set of rocks glasses since I’m having lady drinkie time at my place before we go to dinner this Thursday. $4 for 4 of these glasses!

I noticed that they’re overhauling the shoe department so it looks more like an actual department rather than dishevelled racks of shoes in the wrong size sections. I had to go check it out… right? Justified by the fact that I don’t have a pair of brown wedges yet, I swiped these cork cuties up for $20. I am going to wear these out this summer!

I couldn’t forget the bf. He received a sweet $70 Ben Sherman button up with French cuffs for $10. Hell yes!

I don’t know why this shape trend is coming back for anything other than the goth scene. These are neither feminine nor flattering shoes. They make your feet look enormous and they’re heavy, cumbersome and awkward to walk in. Childish at one glance and wicked schoolmarm at another. For some reason, people in the fashion world are going nuts over these monstrosities, like this is the new shape of shoes to come. I sure hope not.

Miu Miu is doing them for Spring 2010 in god-awful dated and juvenile prints on delicate satin. Proenza Schouler for Fall 2010 is also embracing the chunk but they’re even worse in leather with that curved heel!

Spare yourself this passing fad but if you MUST, then I would just invest in some cheap clunkers from a goth store. Good grief they’re ugly!

Don’t do it!

Miu Miu S2010RTW

Proenza Schouler F2010RTW

(above images via style.com)

And here’s your standard $40 chunky goth heel fare: