shredder and izzie

new fifth avenue shoe repair zipper blouse.

this weekend: palm springs

so leanne won. i mean congrats. her line was cohesive. impeccably sewn. i guess i was just thrown off by the two-tone color pallette. it was kind of senior year FIDM to me. i definitely appreciated michael kor’s comment referring to her as “petal marshall”. so sad. and her boyfriend is gay for sure…sorry girl.

i ended up watching the movie “the wackness” last night, and it undoubtedly lived up to it’s name. with rave reviews from sundance i had some hope of reliving my summer of 1994, but was left with my parent’s overview of kurt cobain’s suicide and the new generation of new york city hip hop. i can almost hear my mother saying “is rap music about killing people?” thank god for boston’s jamn’ 94.5 or i probably would have spent that summer listening to pearl jam nonstop. i have to admit that the soundtrack carries some major mid 90’s jams like ll cool j’s “round the way girl” and a tribe called quest’s “can i kick it?” the music brought me back to the days where my friends and i would sneak smokes from their parents and sit at the park in our cut off denim short shorts and oversized mickey mouse tee’s and wait for the cute bad boys from other schools to come talk to us. i probably still feathered my hair at this point and had a massive collection of chuck taylors. come to think of this, i should have brought it back this past summer in la, but i guess i’ll just have to wait until ‘09, and hopefully a move to nyc.

in other news, i received a lovely new rag & bone pleated dress from an unnamed accomplice yesterday. unfortunately, i think i’ll have to pick up a new pair of black patent peep toe pumps to complete the look, but when was that ever a problem?

i have a ton of pictures on the way, but my macbook pro is in the shop due to some serious dead pixels after it was dropped getting into a cab in ny. SO SAD. i pray for it’s timely return. until then, my fellow fashion fiends…

man, i am seriously bumming out about how hot it’s been in la lately. it was 102 last week! really? really. it makes me miss boston a little bit more, but i know in about 4 weeks it will probably be snowing there SO WHATEVZ.

i’ve been shopping a little bit too much lately. not only for these end of season goodies that have somehow fallen in my lap, but for ANYTHING really. last weekend i got my puppy, shredder, who has been so much work but is the best little companion. this past friday night i went to turn on my little 20″ flat panel and decided it was much too small…so i hit up best buy with shredz and we were just way too overwhelmed with all of the selections and we asked one of the employees to pick one out for us. easy breezy. so after our nice salesman basically took apart my car to fit the tv in, i descended upon silver lake. when i arrived home, realizing my roommate wasn’t there, i decided since i’ve been working out i could lift this tv up 2 flights on stairs all by myself! after about 30 mins and a lot of roley poley with the tv(thank god those things are extra padded in the box), i put it up on my tv stand and stood back in amazement. the tv was as long as my full size bed! whoops. since needless to say i now have an at home movie theatre in my little room and a little dent in my checking account. oh wellz, you only live once right?

as far as fashion goes, i can’t get over the below posted acne cardigan. i got it in boston at a nice, new extentsion of the tannery in harvard square. 70% off! dropped shoulder, batwing sleeves, and a nice slate blue? how could you go wrong when the temp finally falls below 70…

ps - please listen to the once soundtrack from 2006. it is a really nice transitional piece from summer to fall. and watch the movie if you get a second!

Hipsters from Dumbo to Dubai will be sporting buffalo check shirts (pbr in hand) this fall. The question is, how might one seperate him or her self from the slim fitting, darted shoulders masses? The answer: Surface to Air. Besides directing music videos, and installing art all over the world, Surface to Air Paris just released, what I consider, their “breakthrough” collection. Featuring leather jacket collaborations with the electro-super-duo, Justice, as well as tons of smart cut basics - the collection deservers a serious scoping. I call dibs on the shirt above, keep an eye out Allston.

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I wonder how many people graduate high school and college every year and say “I want to work in the fashion industry!” I know those were my sentiments exactly, but man, I wish I would have just gone to medical school like my father told me. I’d probably be working the same amount of hours and would make 5 times the amount I make now.

Well, it sounds pretty snazzy to be the “Senior Allocator of the United States” for one of the fastest growing retail companies in the world. I wish my ten year high school reunion would come sooner so I could say it over and over again to unsuspecting housewives and lawyers. I’m sure my calculus teacher would look at me in amazement and think to herself, “but, you really were not good at math…” Hey, I question it myself sometimes, too! But look at me now!

Anyway, the fashion industry isn’t really as fantastic as we all hope it will be. I spend 50 hours a week tied up in a factory office and the rest of my time logged into my work computer from home burning the midnight oil. Hey, it’s salary, so it’s expected! I can’t say I really mind, but in a way, I think I have lost myself to this industry. I don’t have enough money to keep up with the designers I used to lust after, and I don’t have time to study many up and coming trends, unless they involve polycotton blends and what’s on lastnightsparty. I don’t dress up anymore, I don’t have fun in my closets, and I certainly gave up on any sort of style I thought I once had. It’s sad, but true, the fashion industry is not as fun as it looks.

Matt and I are going to work on some shirts soon. Until then, I guess I’ll just rant and rave on this thing until he decides to post something with a little more substance. I’ll leave you with my last thoughts…

I think it’s only appropriate to end the summer and start a new beginning to dear, old, MoM. Unfortunately this lady has been ignored and is apprehensive to start anew, but I think all parts agree; it’s the right thing to do.

MoM was created in an attempt to launch the brainchild of Massachusetts natives, Matt and Lorinda. Busy schedules and the duo now being 3,000 miles apart has led to the sad dissolution of this blog, but a revival is surely in order.

So, I’m sitting here listening to Nelly’s “Ride Wit Me”, eating a Halloween size bag of peanut butter M&M’s, and reminiscing about summer’s past. I think I went through a phase of wearing striped tube tops from Abercrombie & Fitch and Guess cat eye sunglasses the summer this came out. Not necessarily the beginnings of fashion icon, but then again, who starts out like Peaches Geldof? Anyway, I always like to look at how the seasons are so heavily influenced by music and vice versa, and I can’t help but think if Ride Wit Me came out this summer I might break out a halter top and capri pants and drink Mike’s Hard Lemonade at my friend Abby’s pool house.

Thankfully, summer is coming to an end and I’m nipping at the heels of my favorite fashion season: fall. I’ve already prepped my collection of blazers, cashmere cardigans, and billowy dresses for the rough abuse they will endure this “winter” in Los Angeles. I still can’t believe I bought the infamous Alexander Wang houndstooth coat last season and wore it ONCE while I was attending Christmas at home in New England. Too cold there, too hot here, sad, but true.

I’ll leave you with a snapshot of one of my favorite lines to see thus far for Fall: boy by band of outsiders.

Ralph Lauren Purple Label meets early 2000’s Chloe and Yves Saint Laurent!

Usually one to wince at the Target GO! collaborations, it seems we may all be pleasantly surprised by Rogan Gregory’s newest unveiling. Already the talk of a couple fashion blogs and inevitably hearing some of my stylist go-to confidantes whispering about the line’s street release date (though they always have first dibs anyways), I am lead to believe Rogan may actually be on to something. Unlike his predecessors who attempted cheaper versions of their high end creations and ended up with hideous polyester concoctions, Rogan seems to be embracing price point and budget and fathering items that are both casual and innovative. By the looks of things, I’m sure with my return to NY I’ll see many the cookie cutter soho-lite clad in these items, but I especially look forward to seeing each girl’s take on the animal print pieces.

For the first time in a long while, I went shopping. Surprising, I know. I decided to stroll down the vast wasteland also known as Melrose Ave. in Los Angeles. Not typically a fan of this supposed “urban and designer fashion mecca”, I expected to get angry and leave within the first fifteen minutes I was there. Lucky for me, Melrose always has a few surprises in store.

For those who has never had the chance to experience Melrose Ave., here is a brief description. Imagine the worst mall you have ever been to in your life, except it’s outdoors and reeks of piss instead of chinese food. The streets are littered with preteens in heavy mascara, cougars with their fluorescent thongs hanging out, overly orange tanned eurotrash, and worst of all, people pretending they’re overtly important. The stores favor this clientele, with what seems like endless replicas of the same silkscreened linen oxfords and jeans, and slinky polyester Rave-esque dresses in every window front. Granted, once you reach West Hollywood you hit more designer boutiques(ie, Marc Jacobs, Maxfield, Fred Segal), I still grimace when I know I have to venture Melrose instead of Newbury Street in Boston.

As much as I like to knock this street, there are definitely a few places I consider favorite shopping destinations.

Slow Boutique, 7474 Melrose Ave: I probably would have never set foot in this place except when a friend pulled me in on day. This store is a cross between a mismatched vintage free for all and a little Japanese dress store in SoHo. There is a brand called Plinko that honestly makes some of the cutest flowly cotton dresses and ruffled shirts I have ever seen. The price is right at $35-$95, with 10 times better quality than Forever 21.

Creatures of Comfort, 7971 Melrose Ave: Although the customer service is TERRIBLE and you are lucky if you can even get a “hello” out of the sales associate, I can’t help but stake out this boutique for up and coming designers. The design of the store is minimal, but easily shopable. They carry Society for Rational Dress, A.P.C., United Bamboo, Grey Ant, and f-troupe. I was especially fond of the Rachel Comey summer pieces they had in, but ended up taking home a fresh new pair of Repetto suede and patent leather oxfords!

Kendo Boutique, 7218 Melrose Ave: Limited edition hand picked Nike’s for women? Yes, please! Ignore the staff though, they are pricks.

Wasteland, 7428 Melrose Ave: Every time I feel a little broke, I fill a bag full of clothing of Christmas past and sell it at Wasteland. Once in awhile I will walk away with a a prized designer piece from last season, like my coveted Jil Sander 3 button black blazer. As you can tell, they buy and resell vintage, designer, and just plain cool clothes. A definite stop on any LA tourists shopping list.

American Rag, 150 S La Brea Ave: Okay, okay, I know this isn’t on Melrose but it’s close to the Melrose and La Brea intersection, and is in my top 5 favorite shops in Los Angeles. The vintage section is pretty fantastic, though I am not the biggest vintage enthusiast out there. The rest of the warehouse-like store is filled with the seasons best pieces for men and women from some of the most interesting designers out right now. For women, there’s Rag & Bone, Vanessa Bruno, Helmut Lang, and Clu. For the gents, there’s Acne, Comme des Garcon, Fillipa K, and Nom de Guerre. The shoes and accessories are out of this world, and I only wish I could raise my credit line to be soaked in these jewels and leather. Don’t forget the denim bar, which will also make your mouth water.

Rag & Bone has teamed up with Barneys to create a tasteful online flipbook for their new Summer collection. Filled with perfectly tailored sportswear and dresses, this is a fantastic way to showcase their classic line to any consumer. If you are in the market for any timeless black and white pieces, this is designer to go with for all seasons.

I didn’t know this existed, the Band of Outsiders blog. So much content.