Welcome to a new FashionBinge feature called "Why Buy?" wherein we tell you why you should buy something. No, no one is paying us to write these. If something is great and we've roadtested it and determined that it indeed does not suck and/or fall apart upon initial handling/ espying, we will advise you to buy it! It if it's terrible, you will not find it here. Make sense? Easy breezy, no? Good! Great.
Okay, our first "Why Buy" is Levi's jeans leggings/ jeggings, whatever.
Why buy them?
Well. I've been wearing a pair for a year, and these were the "jeggings" that convinced me jeggings were, in fact, okay. They're less legging, more thin, exTREMELY skinny black jeans. They look good with absolutely ANYTHING you'd wear skinny black jeans with (for me, that's mostly everything but like... a bathing suit), and after wash after wash they haven't faded, nor do they look too annoyingly new.
Everyone's been jumping on that J. Brand Houlihanskinny cargo bandwagon and hanging on for dear life. Here's Victoria's Secret's version, the London Jean. I love the olive shade (one of four colors), and the cool ankle zippers and the total lack of bagginess. Admittedly, I have no experience with Victoria's Secret clothing, but for $60, I'd be willing to give these cargos a go.
Curses, Australia! Blast and damn, Lee Licks jeans! DAMN YOUR SORDID PAIRING.
Ugh. These ripped skinny motorcycle jeans are so perfect for me that I can only imagine Lee's designers created an entire Tamar mood board full of photos of me and my favorite things before designing them ESPECIALLY FOR ME! So WHY are Lee's Licks jeans -- they're described as "jeggings" (shudder) but look more jeans than "-eggings" in the photo above -- only sold in Australia??!?!? That makes no sense whatsoever!
Okay, I take back what I said about damning Australians. You people are lovely, and you make a FANTASTIC Riesling. Now WHICH of you lovely Aussies want to send me a pair?
Remems back a few Fridays ago when Catherine posted about lots of fashiony types sharting themselves over J Brand's Houlihan skinny cargo pants and how Bloomingdale's practically exploded trying to keep them in stock? Well, everyone, please calm down and take your seats. Because Hudson Jeans is quietly doing pretty much the same thing, okay?
SickaThanAverage has a great round-up of all of Hudson's Spring 2010 collection, including Resurrection and DIY, which has exposed zippers like you would not believe.
AND, check out Rich & Skinny's Cargo leggings, if you're still serious about skinny cargos:
How great would these look with a chunky cream-colored cowl-neck sweater, or a big, boss black sweater?
And if skinny cargos bring out the "aw hell no!" in you, might I suggest some of my all-time favorite, most-comfiest jeans? Hudson's Signature Bootcut Jeans in a light wash. They're kitty-cat soft and hang purrrfectly on my hips, to further the cat symbolism.
I'm a little late, but: Have you heard about these things? The pants that Bloomingdale's can't keep in stock and have sold 75,000 pairs of? I've definitely seen some ladies in these pants, and I have to say, they look damn good. (Check out the Sea of Shoes chick in them.)
I've been searching fruitlessly for a sequined t-shirt or tank I could dress up with skinny jeans or wear under a blazer, but everything I found was a few hundred bucks... EXCEPT THIS ONE! It's just $36! Thanks, Alloy!
Also, since I'm here, should I get these bleached skinny jeans? Eh?
YOU GUYS I WENT I WENT I WENT! It wasn't a dream, it was a reality. Not only did I STEP FOOT into the 25,000-square foot emporium of sparkly, fringed, multi-tiered British shopping nirvana. I came, I saw, I tried stuff on, and, upon realizing that the prices were more Barney's Coop Warehouse clearance rack than H&M, I put about half of it back. Seriously, the average price of everything I looked seemed to be around $70. Per item. Seriously.
I did end up splurging and getting three items, mostly, I think due to the fact that I was on a total Topshop high after waiting for YEARS. I mean, I bought a lot of Topshop stuff when I was in the UK the other year, but it's all fun and games when you're on high on vacation, and foreign currency feels like funny money (look at all the funny colors and the weird people on the smaller, wider bills! Tee!), but, unlike H&M where you can roll out with a packed shopping bag for under $100, plan on walking out with MAYBE one choice item for $100 if you're a budget (and the Binge is generally on a budget).
These ridiculous patent platforms were fun... to look at... but seriously, they were about 17 inches high. Like, it hurt my neck just like looking up at a heel that high. They'd be perfect if they were about NINE INCHES shorter.
Um, $44 for THIS screenprinted piece of chara? (And it WAS chara in person.) Sad face.
Anyway, will I go back to Topshop? Not until the hysteria dies down. After that? DUH! Of course I will! But again, the prices felt like they were converted directly from their British equivalent. Therefore most of us "regular folks" definitely won't experience the bag-filling glory of H&M. Instead, you'll probably walk out with one or two choice pieces, but hopefully they'll be Topshop treasures.
I really really am. No irony, no shame. Now, I'll be honest, I watched like four total episodes of Sex and the City. Couldn't stand the show, had no patience for it. Thought they were obnoxious trannies perpetuating obnoxious myths about city dwelling (though Friends did a good job of that too with that 24,000-square-foot apartment and mouse-free coffee shop), and their version of being in control of their lives was acting like men with inverted penises. And they looked like trannies.
But I DID like the Patricia Field element of the show, though I do absolutely realize she was single-handledly responsible for trannifying the ladies. Regardless, Patricia Field has always been a style hero of mine, and I truly love the funners that is her Destination Style New York collection for Home Shopping Network:
Yes, it's THE SARAH-JESSICA PARKER SEX AND THE CITY FLOWER SHOULDER CORSAGE dress, but in black, and I think I like it better in black, actually. Especially if you're not Sarah Jessica Parker-weensy: Also, the HSN version isn't AS intense -- doesn't look like an entire garden is blossoming upon your shoulder and rising up to eat your face. And that's a good thing. Granted, the model is a WEEEE bit too '80s-ed up AND like an underaged Balkan prostie, but it'd be super fun to wear the black version to a party, no? I sorta wanna have it just so I can look at it in what's referred to as a closet, but is really just a small crack in my wall that I've shoved clothing into.
Sequins are HAWT now, y'all. If this were red or white or silver or something, that'd be bad bad bad, but I love it in black. Very Dynasty. Makes me wish I were Joan Collins and I could rip Linda Evans' head off.
I didn't see the Sex and the City movie, but apparently trannyboy SaMANtha wore this, which wouldn't actually stop me from wearing it. It'd look so smooth with a little fitted blazer and tank.
Also, on a side note, I'm watching The Rachel Zoe Project right now. The episode where her studio floods. I love that she refers to that as a disaster. Um, now I'm not meteorologist, but wasn't Katrina a bit more of a disaster than a few couture gowns that need to be hung out to dry? Also, I love how, at Fashion Week, her token gay boy refers to the second row as "right behind the front row." Yes! Very good! And the alphabet consists of letters! Also, Rachel Zoe is like drowning is her own fat.
Finally, check out this amazing clip from Dynasty. By the time Joan Collins takes a spill down the stairs, you can TOTALLY tell it's a stunt woman in a wig. Classic.
Y'all, true-confessions time: I don't do any illegal drugs. Nothing. Not even the wizard. Nothing against it, really. I'm not like str8 edge or anything. I just don't enjoy it. And I hate the smell of "drugs." I really do. As a teenager, I worked too hard on accepting my nose to put up anything up it or risk ruining it at this point. And I'd rather spend money on designer finishing powder than the other kinda designer powder. Plus, growing up, I was "that kid" who totally believed that after, like, merely GLANCING at trace residue of any narcotic, I'd pull a Helen Hunt like in the infamous made-for-TV-movie Desperate Lives, where she flies out a third-story window, Superman styley, after like a milligram of PCP. And now I'm pretty much "that adult." And my drug of choice is carbs.
Anyway, to my knowledge, I have never ingested acid or any other hallucinogenic drug (except for Sparks). But right now I question whether or not I am currently tripping my face off, because I just bought a pair of acid-washed jeans:
I am not positive what I will wear with them, but I will make it my mission to wear them thoughtfully and tastefully, with honor and integrity, to cherish and respect them all my days (can you tell I've been to two weddings so far this month?) Seriously, the intent is here is not to dress up like a one-woman '80s parade, but to perhaps wear them in lieu of skinny black jeans, with a nice solid, neutral-colored Tee, perhaps. Or with a wine-colored Tee. With some nude heels. See? A nice mix of the greatest hits of yesterday and today!
I'm sure some of you out there are recoiling in horror, but fuck that. They're gonna rule. We'll see. You'll see! Whatever, HATERS! (God. This must be how Kanye feels!... Funny side note: my dad calls him "Conway.")
Earlier this month, in my obsessive cigarette jeans post, I blogged about how these acid-washed Furst Premium Denim 1820s at LF were trying to holla at me, but at $174, I was not about to hollar back. Well, thanks to the magic of SMS, I received a a text from MK on Saturday informing me that LF is having their one-and-only sale of the year (seriously, how do you just have ONE sale??), and everything in the joint is 60% off.
MK does not lie. Anyway, I tried them on in a size 29, which must be more like a size 4/6, (I'm about an 8/10) because it was Sausage City. So, no go, bro. A chick who works there told me that the 1820s are Furst's slimmest/ skinniest cut, and she also weren't telling a lie. I think the 30s would've even been too tight. So, that's when I harnessed the power of the Innernets and found those Urban acid-washed. Done! But yeah, if you're an 8 or under, check out those deals on Fursts at LF. They're almost all sold out at the Court Street locay, but it looks like they're in stock online.
These are a Lucky Shops exclusive. I'm not sure what that has to do with Bluefly, but I'm pretty sure I tried on a pair of Sass & Bide jeans at the Lucky Shops event, and they ruled. I sorta really want these. They're a nice mix of acid-wash and grey, without too much of the former. And a great price for Sass & Bide.
($265, Casette, MadisonLosAngeles.com) These are fairly hot but also fairly 'speners.
Brown acid = the sophisticated PhD. to your master's-level black acid-wash.
Also, back on the LF sale tip, I swooped down on those Jeffrey Campbell ombre heels: Were: $120. Got 'em for: $48. I don't think they're online (boo), but there were a few pairs at the court Street LF.
Granted, all jeans are skinny jeans on Kate Moss (here in her Doherty days), but here's another example of the classiness of black flats/ black pants. Perfect way to not look like a crazy person in animal prints.
Perfect ensemble for when you're about to take naked pix of your underaged self! On the reals though: I'm basically indifferent toward Vanessa Hudgens, but these flats are cute.
Anyway, especially in the warmer months, ballet flats are the perfect outfit upgrade from flip-flops (which I absolutely abhor), and sandals, which I've never been too fond of. Flip-flops: hangar steak and Cristalino. Ballet flats: Kobe and Veuve. Got it?
PS: DC blogger HeyPretty's post about skinny jeans and boots has little to do with either, but it's a funny read in a self-deprecating-but-not-too-severely way.
PPS: Also, read HeyPretty's post about how fucking shitty Cashmere Mafia and Lipstick Jungle are and how there's a dearth of TV shows that realistically portray working women in their '20s and '30s. Which is why I primarily watch Intervention and Tell Me You Love Me. And Millionaire Matchmaker.
PPPS: I am not actually, nor am I in any way, shape or form associated with HeyPretty. I just discovered her blog today and like it. KThXbYe!!
I truly believe that skinny jeans are here to stay. As MK and I discussed the other night, they're merely a TYPE of jean, not a trend. And the right pair (case in point, the grey Zara jeans I've been wearing for about three years now, 98% because I love them and 2% because of their Xtreme Vanity Sizing -- they're like 8 sizes smaller than I actually am. Win/win!) can truly slim you down if they're not obscenely tight -- though, I will admit, despite the fact that I am short and curvy, my legs -- while far from toothpicks -- are pretty proportional, and I don't have a ton of thigh-age, so that does help with being able to pull them off. And either I'm rolling, completely delusional or a combo of both, but I'm convinced they don't make me look shorter than my 5 feet + 2 inches. Your mileage, of course, may vary.
So, as much as I love skinny jeans, let'sdiversify, people. A girl does need SOME non-constricting jeans in her Ikea wardrobe. (Erps, that'd be me. Stoopid no-closets Brooklyn brownstones!)
Anyway, I'm more than willing to make room in my wardrobe and heart for some wider-legged jeans, though I draw the line at Kate Moss '70-style jeans so wide that if you sewed up the legs and cut them apart down the middle, there'd still be so much fabric that I'd look like a denim-clad Hassidic mermaid.
Sophisticated trouser-style jeans in a nice dark shade is where it's at.
You may not be rich, but at least you can LOOK skinny with the aid of skinny jeans, right ladies? I mean, HELLOOOO! Priorities! Live fast and fuck dieting: just suck it in and charge these slimifying pants! Wee!
Pooooor Posh. If only she were A LITTLE thinner, she could totally be my thinspiration. But, until she sheds at least 15 pounds (at LEAST!), she'll have to remain a heifer. I do love her jeans though. They're by Superfine:
I know I've said that I'm basically anti colored jeans, but I will defend my hypocrisy by saying the following: these aren't some ridiculous color usually reserved for ice cream or emergency vehicles. Blue is a NATURALLY OCCURRING shade of denim. And these are adorable.
