Duo is a cute little East Village boutique owned by sisters Wendy and LaRae Kangas (who I interviewed back when they had just opened shop) which carries a unique mix of vintage clothing and modern lines by hard-to-find local and independent designers like Keller, Bodkin, and Dusen Dusen. Show your support for local designers, too, by checking out their current sale, with items up to 75% off.
337 E 9th St. (212.777.7044)
I love the fact that Toro Y Moi’s name is Chaz Bundick– which couldn’t possibly be for real– because it reminds me of the character Budnick from “Salute Your Shorts” (did anyone else watch that Nickelodeon show as a kid?), and I also love the fact that he did a electro-hazy version of Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature.” I’m also feeling the 23-year-old South Carolina native merely because he’s a hapa (Filipino/African American) like me.
Check out his debut album Causers of This if you need a dreamy and mellow soundtrack to supplement your chill-axation.
Today is all about celebrating love, I guess. Personally, I’d rather celebrate clothes. So in an effort to compromise, let’s celebrate couples with cool clothes.
From the S/S 2010 collection for a mere $59.95. I’m stalking down every H&M in the city until I get one.
If you think Etsy shopping is all handmade knits for hippies, you definitely haven’t checked it out in the past light year. If you had, you’d know it is full of covetable items by local and international independent designers whose handiwork often rivals the runway.
Take Garbage Dress, for instance– the Etsy shop of Zana Bayne, a Brooklyn-based designer slash fashion blogger– whose pieces are part medieval warrior, part space cowboy, part goth fetish, but 100% must-have amazing leather accessories (all priced at a reasonable $85 to $150). If you don’t know her already, go ahead and get acquainted with her harness and shoulderpieces, because you’ll probably be seeing a lot of them on Brooklyn’s finest this year. Get a peep at her work after the jump.
I love capes. But the one major problem with them is that I like being able to use my arms. Unfortunately, when you wear a cape– you don’t really have any.
Still, there will always be courageous souls who defy limitations. Here are some winter looks from people who say “eff arms,” because it’s all about preserving the hotness, even at below zero.
If you haven’t heard the good news yet, rumor has it that the “Jersey Shore” cast will be invading Fashion Week– possibly even modeling in some of the shows. Some might feel their appearance would be a travesty to the prestigiousness of this bi-annual event, but as someone who has worked in the industry before, I know firsthand that it needs a little injection of humor sometimes, because fashion people can take themselves waaay too seriously (i.e. did anyone see The September Issue?) Honestly, I would love to see some of them sitting front row next to the Misshapes or something, all greased up and doing the fist pump while the models come down the catwalk. And besides, who wouldn’t love to see Snookie bouncing around in a Cavalli show?
If you didn’t already take a cue from their “GTL” (Gym, Tan, Laundry) motto and know that it’s a MUST to look better than all the other girls at the party, learn how to turn trashy into classy and get the Snookie look. And most importantly, don’t forget your Bump It.
Not that I haven’t been lusting after one of these ever since I interviewed Lindsey and got to paw through her entire collection in person, but they were a bit out of my price range up until now. Just for Valentine’s day, to keep you all warm and cozy if you don’t have a guy to do it for you, all Lindsay’s cloaks on the website will be on sale for $600 (down from $900-1000) for four days only– February 4th to the 7th. So if you lost out on scoring a Pendleton x Opening Ceremony coat because you waited too long for them to go on sale (yes, I’m still raw about it)… then you should definitely snatch up one of these while they’re hot…or warm, or whatever.
Get your trigger finger ready. These are my personal picks.
If you see their videos for “Crystalized” or “Basic Space,” you’ll know that The xx barely move except for their lips and a slight furrowing of the brow. But they don’t have to actually gyrate to communicate the hardcore lust-driven lyrics heard throughout their 11-track self-titled debut record XX. I can’t even imagine how stoic they must be in concert, but maybe they kick it up a notch when performing their own original versions of Aaliyah’s “Hot Like Fire” or Womack and Womack’s “Teardrops”– which seem strange covers, but yet work so well. Somehow they create a perfect marriage between seemingly antithetical genres: their tunes are simple mellow indie rock riffs, a la The Cure, but the words contain pure R&B goodness, a la ’90s Toni Braxton.
Check out some videos and a live performance from this South London band after the jump.
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