shopping for guys is hard

if you have a hard time finding clothes, think about how much harder it is for a guy. i mean, at least girls can wear skirts and dresses. guys are limited when it comes to fashion so no wonder you always see them in jeans and t-shirts. i remember when i'd go thrift shopping with my boy roommate and i would always find tons of stuff for me but there was never anything for him. all the men's clothes were always huge and sort of old mannish; not stylish at all. it also never occurred to me that boys bought clothes at regular retail stores, at least the guys i know don't. but--it got me wondering, if i were a guy, and i bought stuff online/at the mall, what would i wear?

first off, i'm into shoes, and if i were a guy, i'd be into colorful kicks.
i love this color for shoes, and you can't go wrong with pumas.

i'd also need some "flat" sneakers because sometimes pants don't fit nicely over chunkier shoes.

during the wintertime, i'd wear these boots so my feet wouldn't get cold.


i'd wear little silk ties with slim-fitting buttondown shirts...


hooded coats...



simple cardigans and sweaters. i'm sick of seeing western/plaid shirts on guys.


hoodies all the time...


and of course, scarves with everything



it was pretty tough finding things that i actually liked, and most of what i picked is fairly expensive for the average young guy. i tried to go with more wallet-friendly places like urban outfitters, but their blatant ripoffs of vintage styles and the feminine fits turned me off. so, maybe the next time i see a guy who dresses cute, i'll ask him where he got his outfit (for future reference, of course).

yesterday was new york, today is the boonies

i feel like even if i lived in new york there would still never be enough time to visit all the shops. the main goal was checking out the garment district, and i spent way too much time in mood fabrics, so by the time i made it to the vintage shops they were all closed.

but i must say, i was impressed with mood. there were NONE of the tasteless, country fabrics i'm used to seeing. just full of beautiful fabrics that actually look like they could be fashioned into cool clothes. i was looking for a nice black wool, however, at $30+ a yard, i decided that i'd settle for jo-ann fabrics. then i needed half a yard of some silk fabric, but since one yard was the minimum i would have to spend at least 12 bucks. so, as lovely as the store was, i had to leave empty-handed.

then i headed out to beacon's closet, of course, since my friend lives just a few blocks away. while i was waiting for a changing room, the guy working there looked through my stuff and said i had "impeccable taste." go me. i tried on a pair of really nice a.p.c. jeans; they even had the cute little selvage detail. i swear a.p.c. makes the best denim but no one believes me. i looked at the pink price tag--$30. not bad for jeans that usually retail for $130, i thought. but then i found out that pink tags were 50 percent off. so, i scored a pair of jeans for $15.

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in about 8 hours i'll be going to my mom's house in the boonies, which means i'll get to use her car, which means thrifting galore. i've discovered it's really hard to thrift in cities without a car. i'm limited to subway-accessible places and sometimes i really have to dig to find stuff. obviously, you have a better chance of finding good vintage if you go to the smaller, less frequented thrift stores that are not overrun with young, hip folks. so, instead of hitting up the typical black friday stores, i'll be going to the goodwills (last year everything was 50% off!), joann fabrics and michael's. i'm not foreseeing having to resort to violence to get what i want, but you never know with middle-aged moms and their craft supplies. i'll wear heavy boots just in case i need to hurt somebody.

so, i'll be away from my studio/internet until i get my thrifting fix. i won't be able to answer any questions or e-mails until saturday or sunday, and i'll send out orders on first thing monday morning.

cheers to stress-free holidays.

just so you know...

i just finished listing a few random but good things on ebay: an urban outfitters coat, an armani jacket, a vintage dress, and a nicole miller dress. check it out.

i was hoping i'd get to post a bunch of new stuff on the site by tomorrow, but i don't know if i'll get to it since i still haven't edited any of the pictures. i'm going to new york on tuesday so my deadline for the site and my school project was tomorrow. maybe i won't go to sleep tonight...

also, i'll be away on thursday through saturday for the holidays, so i won't have computer access to process orders, answer questions, etc.

alright--back to work!

bradley baumkircher from project runway 3

never thought to look at his site but i'm really glad i did because his clothes are extremely cute. i particularly like his fall 05 line. some examples:






i would wear all of it, really.

ever-so-forward-thinking

even though we haven't hit thanksgiving or christmas (those holidays are overrated, anyway), i'm really psyched up for new year's. mainly because i want to wear something edgy and different, like this jenni kayne dress:

yeah, too bad it's almost a thousand bucks. i guess i'll have to do what i always do, thrift something up. preferably that something will be black and sparkly.

also, i'm making a vow to myself that i will learn to wear high heels by then. i did have these 2-inch ones but then i wussed out and sold them on ebay. i wore them only once, and my feet started to hurt soon after i put them on. even so, last week i went ahead and thrifted a pair of really nice vintage high-heeled sandals. i practically had to battle it out with this other lady for them (long story), so the moral of the story is: 1. don't mess with a professional, and 2. since i went to so much trouble for the shoes i should wear them. plus, i've heard that heels make you walk upright, and if there's anything i need to work on it's my poor posture.

usually, i hate knockoffs, but i don't think you can tell these shoes are steve madden:

definitely not as nice as repetto or marc jacobs but for 70 bucks you can't really go wrong. i love this style of shoe, even though it's "trendy" or whatever. i find they surprisingly work with a lot of outfits. i have a tan pair of vintage jazz shoes, and they're such a fresh alternative to regular flats. i don't think i've worn flats in weeks!
well, since i'm completely broke, if i want to get the shoes i must follow the law of conservation. i have to get rid of something before i buy something. it's my new thing. so, i should have some stuff up on ebay on sunday. of course, i'll use this thing as some shameless self-promotion. ; )

bostonians

you should come check out the fashion collection at the mfa on sunday.

from the web site:

"The designers highlighted in this exhibition—Azzedine Alaia, Hussein Chalayan, Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, John Galliano for Christian Dior, Christian Lacroix, Maison Martin Margiela, Olivier Theyskens for Rochas, Valentino, Viktor & Rolf, and Yohji Yamamoto—bring a unique and clear vision to their work, while still maintaining the high level of craftsmanship for which Paris is justly famous."

it's free with a student ID (i'll be recycling mine from two years ago). i'll be there and i'm totally awesome, so you should go, too. haha, just kidding, i won't be there you stalkers.

hooray for loose fit jeans!

as i mentioned before, jeans and i don't get along. skinny jeans and i definitely do not get along. since slimfit jeans have been around for a while now, it makes sense that looser "boyfriend" fit jeans are making an appearance. it's usually how it works in fashion, i've noticed--extreme reactions to trends from season to season. for instance, if it was about volume one season, probably the next season you'd see a lot of fitted silhouettes. that sort of thing.

i tried on these boyfriend jeans from the gap and they were a bit too stiff to look right. also, i didn't like the wash at all; it was too blasted in the butt, which is a major pet peeve of mine. i still don't know why completely dark, unwashed denim hasn't come back yet...


these levi's didn't look too promising from the photos, but i'm a fan of the brand so i ventured into urban outfitters today before class. it turns out that they're styled "exactly" like the original 501s, the classic style i think levi's should stick to. other than that, the wash was decent (not too much whiskering), and they were soft so they hung pretty nicely. hmm, $192? i think not. i shall stalk the sale section...


lastly, i came across these cowboy jeans from j. crew. it's an interesting concept: looser in the thigh and pegged at the ankles. sounds terrible (mom jeans?) but i personally think it's brilliant! perfect for those who want the slim look without having to wear painted-on skinnies. they're loose in the thighs, a pretty body-conscious area for most people (including myself, and i don't think i have a weight problem or anything), then slim at the ankles so you can wear flats. last time i checked, j. crew never fit me properly but it can't hurt to try...


i always tell myself i've given up on finding the perfect jeans, but once in a while, ones like these make me go on the search all over again.