Filed under: fall/winter 2009, shopping | Tags: boots, fall/winter 2009, shoes, urban outfitters, what i want now
I’m kind of a photo buff (or at least, I aspire to be) and as I was idly flipping through Urban Outfitters and wondering what to do with all my leftover 4×6 prints from photography, I happened upon this wonder. Truly a godsend and currently on sale for two for $25, so I suggest you snap one up before they all go!
I’m an avid shopper – not compulsive, mind you, Becky Bloomwood has nothing to worry about in terms of competition. Rather, I shop sales, clearance, vintage – and whenever a good deal comes along it’s hard not to get carried away and buy a few impulse buys. With a student’s budget (read: zero income at all) you find yourself to be empty-handed quite a lot of the time. This shirt describes the condition of my wallet at the moment. Shopaholics who are always finding themselves short of cash – why not make it a trend? 
The wide-necked collar and almost unfinished sense of finality of the message is enough to make me hand over my debit card. I adore the longer-cut sleeves and boyish slouchy feel of the top! Now if only I could get my hands on those jeans..!
What proud member of the Francophiles Anonymous Association could pass this up? Oh fine, we’re hardly anonymous – you could spot us a mile away in our trying-too-hard-to-look-French ensemble, the dog poo we carry on the soles of our shoes for luck, and our poor attempts to slide a phrase or two into conversation. Don this top for a subtle, cute, and definitely un-creepy touch of Paris in your outfit.
Gorgeous, buttery soft, and neutral – so it matches everything. And under 100 bucks to boot! (See what I did back there?) Seriously digging the laces and the old-timey feeling of the detailing on the side. I suspect these will feature heavily in my fall look – can you not help but immediately start to visualize dozens of outfits all revolving around these amazing boots?
I know it’s still summer, but who can’t help but already check out pieces for fall? This lace-inset sweater is cozy to the max and oh-so-comfy. I can already imagine wearing black skinny cords and a warm wool peacoat with hot chocolate in hand with this beauty.
Hope you enjoyed the latest installment of What I Want Now! Stay tuned for more!
(Oh and there will be more: I want a lot of things. )
Filed under: fall/winter 2009, shopping | Tags: fall/winter 2009, h&m, shopping
I am VERY pleased by the Fall shows this season.
Who knew the recession could actually have some benefits? The tight restrictions on spending seems to have hit even the designers living in their bubbles. As I browsed through stills of each show online, I came to the realization that – gasp! – the clothes were actually somewhat wearable.
I love the wackiness of runway shows, don’t get me wrong – but sometimes I felt like the designers were playing a big prank on us. Who remembers black lipstick last fall? Really, Yves? Really? And I even thought that EVEN THOUGH it was YSL and EVEN THOUGH he’s a legend, people wouldn’t be stupid enough to buy into the trend.
They. Did. Once more, my faith in humanity was shattered.
Black lipstick taking the stage at YSL's Paris show. Props to Kirk McCoy.
Black lipstick was everywhere! Sephora came out with limited edition shades, articles were entitled “How to Wear Black Lipstick and Not Look Like Marilyn Manson.” They even had waitlists for Lancome’s glittery black gloss. The YSL original was there with its own waitlist, users comparing it to “latex for your lips.” To make a long story short, the fashion world ATE IT UP.
Messy makeup at Alexander McQueen. Props to Sweetcat.
But when Alexander McQueen tried to pull the same stunt by smearing red lipstick on the faces of all his models for his show, people gawked. They stared. They tweeted their friends.
Please, Alexander. You must know clown makeup hasn’t been in style since.. well, never. Unless you’re the Joker, who is totally badass.
Only the Joker can pull this off.
There is a point to all of this, however. I just wanted to say I’m glad the overly bright, overly unrealistic designs of the past are finally showing up less and less. I used to find myself buying into the hype and purchasing something, such as a silver lame top blinged out with sequins, feathers, and rhinestones, just because the media said it was hip, only to find that it had gone out of style the next week.
Being in a recession, however, is forcing designers to think straight and put more thought into their collections. In order to keep selling, they have to put out clothes that allow a little more wear during uncertain times.
That said, there’s no need to wear all black. Muted shades of yellow, purple, and red are fine additions to any fashion-conscious individual’s wardrobe, as well as olives, khaki, and cream tones.
Warm olive, American beauty, and purple heart. Props to Pantone.
In other news, my mom treated me to a shopping spree in honor of my fifteenth this Friday! We hit the local H&M and I put on my best snobby attitude for the bitchclerks. (FYI: Unless you’re like me and know a bit of Swedish, the link will be, well, Swedish to you. Pretty pictures are a universal language, however!) I couldn’t help it.
After traipsing in and out of Emporio and Neiman Marcus and Saks in the city (you see what I did there? SAKS in the city? Get it? Oh, why do I bother..) like a queen, the shabby H&M seemed just that – shabby. And ridiculously undersupplied to boot.
About 5 percent of the merch at the Post St. H&M (my heaven – I know everyone in there by name!) in the city was available at this H&M. Where was the DAA line? Where was the extensive line of print skirts?
That aside, there WERE a few cute things I picked up. Two organic tees – one of them featuring Alice on a chessboard (DEF wearing that to Tim Burton’s new flick) and the other adorned with twirling ballet dancers, a gorgeous purple skirt made of some velvety/felt material, a slouchy purple cardigan, a navy blue flapper dress with fringe, a light blue denim-y shirtdress, and two umbrellas – purple and black, both with large white polka dots. All under $150! Rebecca Bloomwood would be proud.
I love these. I LOVE THEM. If I could marry a piece of clothing, I would be in a polygamous relationship with my closet.
Still on my shopping high, I walked around the Row, basking in the wonderful mix of warm SoCal sun and barely-there breeze that San Francisco never quite receives. Hearing the opening strains of “Billie Jean,” I went into Diesel, where it was being played at full blast.
As I flipped through racks and racks of discounted denim, I sang along to the words of the song. The lone salesgirl came by and asked if I needed any help just as the song was coming to an end. I smiled in reply, gave a curt “No,” and left the store, still humming to myself.
The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. My mom decided to do some shopping herself, which pretty much always equals sheer boredom. We divided our time between browsing kitchenware at Sur La Table and haggling with the frazzled salesladies at Gucci. Well, my mom haggled. I stood in the corner trying to pretend I was vastly interested in a depressingly ugly hangbag emblazoned with hordes of tiny G’s.
Typical aznmom. Even in upscale boutiques, she still has to try to be the cheapest person in the store.
She did treat me to Pinkberry, though. The prices were ridick. $2.00 for plain frozen yogurt?! The container they served it to me in was smaller than a monkey’s balls on a cold day! And with toppings, it cost $3.50.
Still, I was hungry, and the call of cold froyo was irresistible. And when I bit into the pineapple-and-kiwi delight, I found I would have gladly forked over a tenner for the absolute deliciousness.
All in all, not a bad day, hm? Here’s hoping tomorrow will be even better! Chinatown photoshoot FTW!
- CG
