Tie-Dye Done Right

I treat tie-dye like I treat tequila -- cautiously, sparingly, and never after 3AM.

($200, Diesel Black Gold, Farfetch.com)

That said, this Diesel Black Gold is everything right about tie-dye. Think moody, inky darks, to avoid looking like you took your style inspo from a container of Wavy Gravy or Phish Food.

It's Time For... CAT FASHIONS!

In honor of my cat Sim's untimely demise, here are a bunch of cheery cat clothes and accessories. Yes, I'm a cat person. DEAL WITH IT. I used to try to air on the side of discretion when shopping for or styling myself with cat-related fashion, so as not to look overly young. But at this point, I'm like fuck it.

($78, Marc By Marc Jacobs, Zappos.com)


($35, Marc By Marc Jacobs, Zappos.com)

Love Marc By Marc Jacobs' Fantastical Tale cat rings in brass and black resin. See? Marc Jacobs gets it!

($76, Your Eyes Lie, Topshop)

British upstart Your Eyes Lie makes excellent, photorealistic digital prints -- like this giant cat print dress -- on the softest jersey dresses. They look fantastic with leggings, run large (yay!), and are super layerable.

($13, Asos.com)

Two baby kitties in a heart ring! Ee!

MAC's Fabulous Felines collection is obviously my favorite collection of all time. When I found out they were doing a cat collection, I almost fell out of my chair. Why I wasn't asked to be a consultant on the collection I will never know, but I'll let it slide. This time.

My favorite of the Fabulous Felines are the Leopard Luxe eyeshadow quad. LOOK at that gold! And that muted orange! So autumnal chic.

($36, MACcosmetics.com)


($14.50, MACcosmetics.com)

Love MAC's Cunning very berry lipstick. It's sold out online, so check your local MAC store.

($25, Paul & Joe Beaute, Beautyhabit.com)

It's CAT LIPSTICK! LIPSTICK IN THE SHAPE OF A CAT! I wrote about it for Naag.

($40, Joseph Aaron Segel, Prettysnake.etsy.com)

Designer and RISD professor Joseph Aaron Segel sources vintage sweater and prints cats and sews hilarious, huge stuffed animals eyes onto them! And check out his Pretty Snake acid cat screenprinted t-shirts!

($38, Joyrich, Karmaloop.com)

LOVE Joyrich because they always have comfie, casual, cheeky streetwear. Love Karmaloop because they ALWAYS have promo codes.

Hayden-Harnett: Surprise Sample Sale!

I left the last Hayden-Harnett sample sale empty-handed, but they made up for it with this sale. They announced it on Tuesday afternoon on Facebook, but sadly I wasn't able to get down to the Nolita store until last night after work. It was obvious from the largely empty racks and the disaster-zone dressing room that they'd had quite a crowd during the day. Amazingly enough, the sale featured actual samples from the fall 2010 line, meaning mostly small sizes. And yet...she shoots, she scores!


The salesgirl was sort of instrumental in convincing me to buy this cool bomber, the Cromwell jacket, in charcoal herringbone. It also comes in brown (below, far left):



Only $60, and guess what it retails for? $538! Jeebus. (Methinks H-H's price points are a wee bit high, but their sample-sale prices, in this case, were just right.) In any case, I win. Is it time for wool jackets yet?



I also got a cozy, cropped sweater vest (above right, worn open). Love that scoop neck! And the zipper! Needed no convincing. $60. No word on retail price, as it's not on the H-H site yet. After a long, annoying day, that's what you call retail therapy, folks.

Some other things from the fall collection that I'll be on the lookout for at the next sale:


Welles large hobo tote, $544, and I guess a Welles hobo/cross-body bag (as yet unavailable)—love that poppy color!



Pistol & Dagger scarf, $95, in many awesome fall colors.



Coats and jackets galore!

The sample sale is at the Nolita store in NYC, on Elizabeth between Houston and Prince, and runs through Sunday, from 12-8 each day. Everything is $20-$70. Long live Hayden-Harnett!

YES, PLEASE, WANT! Cheap Monday Night Sweater Dress

($99, Cheap Monday, Karmaloop.com)

Cheap Monday's eerie, Egyptian-inspired sweater dress is what I NEED to be wearing right now. Someone with $99 to donate to my cause, make this happen. (Note: my cause is THAT I NEED TO BE WEARING THIS CHEAP MONDAY DRESS. kthx.)

Topshop Fall/ Winter 2009 Preview, Y'all!

In which I editorially select some of my FAVORITE pieces from Topshop's forthcoming Fall/ Winter '09er stuff. Did I hear a niner? Lots of chunky knits, studs, fake furs, feathers, and '90s grunge inspiration topped off with some '70s boho-meets-coke den attributes. Mix, but never match, okay? Look for the pieces to hit Topshop stores and Topshop.com starting nowish.


From the Horror Girls collection.



Will I EVER get over the raging perma-bone I have for pyramid studs?

Because I LOVE a sequin jacket, peeps!


Besides finding like $50 in your pocket, what's better than a banded sweater with a nice scoopneck, hm?









Both sweaters are from Markus Lupfer collection, and they're $170.

... Seriously, I will HAVE MY WAY with that leather bag and those black studded heels. Both are absolutely the last night I need right now (weddings don't pay for themselves, as it turns out!), but I can't stop OCDing about them in my widdle brain.

Okay, now for the Topshop Fall/ Winter '09 stuff that I am NOT feeling:

NO. Muppets died for these sins. I cannot handle THAT much '90s.

Please, no. Don't EVER EVER EVER wear a feather headdress unless you are an actual factual Native American engaging in some sort of purpose-driven ceremony.

This Sacai Cardigan Is $649. What Am I Missing? Besides $649.99?

I love a guy in a striped cardi. I think they're an Everydude staple as they look great across the board. But did I miss something here? Not convert the currency correctly? How the filfflarnfilf is this Sacai men's striped cardigan $649? DOLLARS! The PRPS cashmere cardigans I've been ogling are half that. This looks like the type of cardigan you could get from Topshop for like 1/16th the price. (Oh look! You basically can!)

($649, Sacai, Colette)

No, this isn't cashmere, and no, it doesn't even come with a car or a pony or anything.


Better deals:

($13.99, Target)

See? Sensible!

($24.99, Converse, Target.com)

$24.99! For a sweater! It MAKES SENSE!

($34.99, DKNY, Amazon)

Also not wack!

($70, RVCA, Jacksurfboards.com)

Order -- it has been restored in the universe.

This Yumz Wilen Sweater At Bad Joan...

($40, Wilen, BadJoan.com)

... Is seriously just $40... It looks so comfy it's off the radar.

A word or two about Bad Joan really quickly, while I have you here -- Bad Joan takes lotsa cute designer overstock (like, really small but really great designers) and marks them down 80%. For srsly. So, when you join "the club," so to speak -- you just email them for the promo code, which you'll receive immediately -- and "Joan" hits you back with a promo code that you enter at checkout, and BAM, you get 80%. No joke, no gimmicks. Miraculously, you can even return stuff. I ordered a great Wilen sweater myself, and with the exception of it being too big, it was gorgeous. But I was too lazy to return it, so I gave it to my mom.

Anyway, Bad Joan is the brainchild of Brooke Wilen, an L.A. knitwear designer and the owner of Wilen. These days she spends most of her livelong days (what the hell's a livelong day anyway?) doing BadJoan. Definitely check out Wilen, and I highly recommend the Marcello Toshi shoes and Jenny Han tops and dresses.

Anthropologie, I LOVE YOU

This needs very few words.



Moth "Knotty Pine" cardigan, only $39.95!! Down from $148. I'm in reverse sticker shock. And heaven, as I await its arrival on my doorstep. Or my cubicle desk, as the case may be.

I mean, did you SEE???



Love. Today, it's a cardigan.

Is This Sonia Rykiel Sweater Really IB Diffusion In Disguise?

I know she like gave birth to the entire concept of knitwears -- seriously, like the idea of clicking two needles back and forth simply didn't exist before she came along -- but I can't deal with this totally '80s Sonia Rykiel throwback sweater:

($435, Sonia Rykiel, Net-a-porter.com)

Clearly IB Diffusion was ripping off Sonia Rykiel back in the day, but this looks like IB Diffusion to me! I'm so confused! It's like I'm walkin' on sunshine!

Anyway, check out this weeeeird YouTube tribute to vintage Sonia Rykiel pieces. What's with the creepy Halloween organ music???


Anyway... YAY OBAMA!

Vintage Video: IB Diffusion = Mastubatory Knitwear, Exotic Animals, Helicopters & More!

Wowsa! Who knew when I signed up for those Barbizon modeling classes at the mall that I'd find myself convulsing in the bustling city sidewalks, creaming in my knit ankle-length skirt as the result of a simple phone call, and masturbating myself to quivering orgasm on my couch while fantasizing about a couple of tacky sweaters!

Other things I never would've foreseen: owning the unseemly combination of a tiger, a snow leopard, and average house cat! Good thing I'm also leasing all this creepy, vaguely outsider modern art too! And the cats don't even TOUCH my exotic flora -- it's the darndest thing!

And now if you'll excuse me, my helicopter's waiting outside to whisk me away to my job,. which consists of convulsing on a platform inside of an art gallery while wearing a beret! I'm today's IB Diffusion Woman, and the world is my IB Diffusion oyster, and by oyster, I mean umbrella of deliriously bright, hideously outstretched, funk nasty oversized acrylic knits! Viva la Diffusion!

What Is The Cut-Off Age For Cat Sweaters? Plus: We The Free Looks Like A Knee-Jerk Ew

($128, Rendez-Vous By Paul & Joe Sister, Urban Outfitters)

And have I passed it? Am I too old for sweaters with kitties on them? Does that mean I need to get rid of my scotty dog sweater?

Am I also too old for this very '50s pink princess phone?

($50, Urban Outfitters)

Worth getting a landline reinstalled? Probably not. Fun to look at though.

Okay, so as much as I'll admit to Urban Outfitters being a guilty pleasure/ (un)necessary evil, I don't think I can deal with their new offshoot brand, We the Free, which recently opened on Smith Street. I passed by last night and saw the new storefront, which I hadn't passed since its past life as a dry cleaner.

In the window, I peeped a few pairs of cool-looking studded Chucks, plus several folded pairs of vintage Levis -- suggesting vintage boutique? buy/ sell/ trade? store in progress? -- and some deconstructed-looking sweatshirts and LOTS of open space occupying what's gotta be 1000 square feet. At least. The decor was teetering between art-school-grads-open-a-makeshift-found-space-on-a-dime, and major-corporation-creates-a-blatant-attempt-to-create-a-store-that-emits-an-art-school-grads-open-a-makeshift-found-space-on-a-dime look. And upon closer inspection and further research, the former is case. I'm sorry, but this shit looks absolutely terrible.

An American Eagle-lookalik knit tank for $98????

Thank goodness I'll be able to find $58 knee socks in a pinch!

... And then there are"these"... !?!?!?
Someone's aborted knitting disaster? ... For the PERFECTLY reasonable price of $148!


And those studded Converse? $168. $223 if you get the horbs knee socks too!

Lates.

Sweater I Need RIGHT This Second! Animal Bandido At Fred Flare!

It should be much more than obvious why I NEED this rainbow bright reversible magic pyramid sweater. It's $95, but really $47.5 per side when you think about it! It's by Barcelona brand Animal Bandido, and it's available at Fred Flare, where you can also read a lil moar about the brand.

It's like a cotdamn Tom Tom Club video come to LYF!


Also, I went to check out the opening of Fred Flare store in Greenpoint, and it was like retail Disney -- the happiest place on earth! And speaking of Disney, I picked up this Disney treasure chest ring for $44 -- I'd wanted it for forever:

($44, Disney Couture, Fred Flare)

I love it so much I slept in it...


... And I got these denture ice cube trays!

($10, Fred Flare)

So necessary! So best!

Oh yeah, Fred Flare ALSO carries JONATHAN ADLER products! LOVE! Come holidaze, I'll be goin' crazy bonkers coconuts bananas shopping there. Especially shopping for MEEEEEEE!!!! WEEE!