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Archive for July, 2008


Mag-tear 2: Hot Toppers

I am usually not a hat person, but I am slowly developing a love affair with head gear. As of late there are some stunning hat makers and hair accessories I have been eyeing, and these mag-tears just provide further inspiration.


Vogue Nippon, “One Day In Tokyo”
More than anything, I am adoring the simple fedora that is coming back in style – it’s so elegant and boyish. This is definitely on my wardrobe wishlist this month.


Coco Rocha in Vogue Nippon August 2008, In the Sweetness of Day
This hat is like a cross between childhood hero and evil queen.


Natasha Poly in Vogue Russia, July 2008.
I love the form this headpiece makes, and the way it makes the body attached to it an accessory. She looks like a gilded tulip.


Jessica Stam, “The Sheltering Sky” Ph: Patrick Demarchelier
Vogue UK May 2008

Pining for big bows, but worried that you will look like a Lolita nightmare? This is a gorgeous example of how a big bow can be quite grown up, elegant, and whimsical and fun all at once.


Siri Tollerod in Dazed & Confused July 2008, Hand-Painted Foliage
Come on, don’t we all wish we could wear crowns?

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July Mixtape: Hot Asphalt Mix


“365:20 .. Lost in Music” by fwumpbungle

You have to love July. It’s quintessential summer – smack-dab in the middle of the season, free of the early eagerness of June, and the sentimental farewells of August. It’s summer at its fullest, most bang-out fun in its hot, sticky glory.

Here are some fun beats to keep you bopping. Make sure to open up the windows, grab a tall lemonade, and dance around in your underwear – the ideal summer apparel.

The Playlist:
Santogold – L.E.S. Artistes
Hercules and Love Affair – Hercules Theme
Laura Marling – The Captain And The Hourglass [Explicit]
The National – Squalor Victoria
Dengue Fever – Tiger Phone Card
Panda Bear – Bros
Blonde Redhead – Slogan
Angels Of Light – Sunflower’s Here To Stay
Gnarls Barkley – Going On (Album Version)
national skyline – some will say
The Anambra Beats – Ayamma
Naughty by Nature – O.P.P. [Ultimix Remix]

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Beating Mondays


sleepy king and hello kitty by beckitten

Some mondays are worse then others. But sometimes, you hit one of THOSE Mondays: that day when every nerve in your body is quailing that you have a whole week ahead of you.

Never fear! There are some sure-fire cures to Monday-blues. Here are some of my favs.

Water, water everywhere
Often, being tired or crummy-feeling is the result of being dehydrated. Particularly on Mondays, the habit for grabbing a caffeine-coffee fix is at its strongest – but don’t do it, it’s a trap! Caffeine can often leave you feeling a lot worse than when you started. Instead, reach out for some cool, clean water. Nothing’s better to get your metabolism in motion. You can even spruce it up with some lemon or orange, for a citrus-y burst of flavor.

Can’t live without caffeine? Try some green tea instead. I am a huge fan of Ito-En teas – they are delicious and unsweetened, and the best tea drink I have found since returning from Japan.


Ito-En Teas

Walk it out
Trapped under that early-morning sluggishness? Refresh yourself with a brief walk. Sometimes, mental and physical sluggishness is just a result of too little physical activity. Take ten minutes to take a skip around the block, and return perked up, light-footed, and ready to face the day.

Dress it up
Especially on Mondays, the urge to just crawl into the first clean thing you can find is strong. But sometimes, nothing can get you more revved up to face the day than wearing something fly. Avoid that early-morning indifference by picking out your duds the night before – not only will you have something great to wear the next day, but you will shave precious time off your morning routine by cutting out all the rooting in your closet.

Write it down
Uninspired for week? Take the initiative and make Monday your official “planning” day. Write up lists of all your goals for the week and things you want/need to accomplish. Dig out your calendar and schedule your plans for the week, and make lists of calls your have to make to get those plans happening. Suddenly, your Mondays will transform from being dreaded grind-days, to creative events that get your fabulous week rolling.

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mo mo mociun


mocuin collection

I love the homespun, colorful look of Mociun, the designs of Caitlin Mociun. A native Californian and graduate of RISD, Caitlin creates work that is heavily based on arts & crafts, creating pieces with couture detail but heavily grounded in the tactile realm of patterns, fabric and material. The result is a collection that is natural, personal, and longing for you to reach out and touch it.

See the full collection here

Snatched from Allure

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Inspiration Machine 2


Clockwise from left:sadandbeautiful (Sarah), flint knits, martianmermaid, Sarajea

1. Learn how to do a handstand.

2. Invent a signature drink, and name it after yourself.

3. Give names to all the dogs you pass throughout your day.

4. Give yourself a french manicure, but with bright, brilliant colors.

5. If you could have a castle, what would you name it?

6. Think of the perfect date, then take yourself out on it.

7. Reach out to a distant friend once a week.

8. Design your own coat of arms.

9. What would you name your own planet?

10. Swap back rubs for hugs. Or vice-versa.

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Birdie Time

Admit it, you love birds. Everyone does – ok, except for that one person we all know who had that terrible incident with a pigeon when they were 12. Is there any species so bright, so lyrical, so winged? Whether a robin red-breast or a cockatiel, birds make us happy. Here are some fine ways to adorn your life with our fine feathered friends – that won’t leave you with clipped wings and a dirty birdcage to clean when it’s all said and done.


Chirping Bird Magnet

These magnets are not only utterly adorable, but they chirp when you touch them. Available in plethora of appealing colors and patterns, these fine fellows are a simply delightful way to cheer up even the stodgiest office.


Birds of a Feather Mobile

The closest thing to an angel on your shoulder is a birdy over your head. This lovely wooden mobile will keep the creative vibes moving through the room whilst you work, without all the trouble actual birds over your head may cause to your coif.


Golden Egg Savings Bank

What better way to remind yourself to save up for that nest egg, than keeping your spare change in an ACTUAL nest egg. Also, anything that makes your house feel like a fairytale I believe is a GOOD thing.


Sarah Mcneil Bird Pins

These bird pins by Sarah McNeil are utterly adorable. Perfect all year round, they would be an utter joy come December. I can picture no better way to spruce up that drab winter coat than with these bright little touches of spring. (Snatched from myloveforyou)

Know any awesome bird products? Let me know!

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Claimed!: Jodhpur Pant by Orphan

I have found the pants of my dreams. I want to marry these pants, move to the country, and have a family of shorts with them.

They are Orphan Jodhpur Pants and I CANNOT get enough of them.

I will be honest, I was rather nervous about these pants. Sure, they looked amazing on the model, but a garbage bag full of banana peels can look good on a model with the right stuff. Could I really pull these off? I decided to give it a shot, and I am sooooo happy I did.

The pants are the most tailored piece of clothing I have ever owned. The amount of craft and detail put into them is simply breathtaking, and makes me feel like I really own a piece that has a lot of love poured into it.

There are large sectional pieces placed through the seat of the pant, so the result isn’t just a saggy bag, but a carefully dropped seat that drapes just right.

To counter the looseness of the seat, the legs are tapered to within an inch of their lives, in an incredibly clever way. The buttons along the side allow the wearer to make these pants as form-fitting as possible, without going through hours of trying to wriggle yourself into a leg with the aid of Crisco.

But the piece de resistance is certainly the buttons in the crotch. Running the entire drop of the crotch to the top of the waist, and peeking just so from the cover cloth for an effect that is divinely sweet and fun. The effect is simply glorious.

I have a feeling these guys are gonna be my uniform this autumn. Thank you, Pixie Market!

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Yambushi


Collage by Yambushi

There is something so tactile and wonderful about the art form of collage. It’s equal parts creativity and scavenger hunt – about seeing the potential in the images around you. Yambushi’s collages are a perfect example of how exciting the results can be. Utilizing clippings from vintage magazines, comic books and movie posters, Yambushi’s pieces resemble cultural mandalas, pieces of cosmic importance that are rife with iconic imagery from our past.

See the Yambushi’s collection here.

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Inspiration Machine 1


Clockwise from left:Miss Lulu & The Teaspoon Shortage, anneso_cachemireetsoie, ElisabethD, Fjola Dogg

1. If you could decide the uniform of the planet, what would it consist of? What would the the color palette be?

2. Dress as the spirit of your favorite food.

3. Name each of your toes.

4. Pick a day of the week. Dub it your day. Make sure to celebrate it throughout.

5. Eat everything with chopsticks.

6. Keep a journal of all the animals you encounter.

7. Drink a glass of water the same way you would an expensive glass of wine.

8. If you could make a totem pole, what animals would you stack?

9. When you are in a particularly great mood, mail a postcard to yourself about why.

10. Carry sparklers in your purse for fun emergencies.

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My Bug About Bags.


“Designer Handbags” by allaboutreplica

As well as being shoe crazy, I am rather bag crazy, though in a different way. I love many, many shoes, but I love very few bags. I am a bag snob, a bag elitest, a bag snubber.

My main bug with bags is that there are far too few that accomplish being both functional AND stylish. I do not understand why this combination is so tricky to perform – maybe I have a different set of standards than those of the rest of the world. But it seems to me that any sane-minded person would desire an ultra-compartmental, ultra-pocketed bag that is also stylish enough that it doesn’t look like I am dragging around a glorified pocket protector. Is this so wrong?

Far too often I eye a gloriously constructed bag from across a store, only to be sorely disappointed when I pull back the zipper, clasp, or other closure device. Whether it is big and chunky, small and dainty, or mid-sized and manageable, exteriors aside, designer bags are often just a sack, and that bothers me deeply.


“Louis Vuitton Voyager Handbag, Prague” by julie3jax

My bag must be so much more than a sack. It is my life containment unit, the vessel for which I choose to carry all the accruments i deem necessary in my daily life. That means books, wallet, technology and a variety of tiny implements. When you toss all of those into a simple sack, do you know what you have?

A nightmare, that is what you have.

Similarly, every time I find a bag that can actually add a little order to my life, it tends to be hideous. On several occasions I have found myself contemplating the purchase of a piss poor looking bag, simply because those are the ones that tend to be organizational miracles. They also look like the equivalent of wearing a non-ironic fanny pack. And it is not a question of lack of talent – because there is a rising market of bags coming out that ARE incredibly compartmental – they are just not being marketed to me. I was recently admiring the computer bag my CD picked up. It was super – it had pen and pencil holders, and was riddled with compartments and sections galore. It was also pvc – a charcoal black, bulky man-bag, and a very nice one at that. It’s great for guys, but there’s no way I would be caught carry one.


“jimmy-choo-face-bag” by Kevin the Collie

Designers of the world, hear me. I believe we can DO THIS. We have the technology. We have the wallets. The modern woman of today is carrying hella’ more than a compact and handkerchief. We are professionals, students, mothers. We have a MOUNTAIN of stuff to carry around, and we have no time to waste rifling in our purses looking for lost lip gloss.

We love your bags. Love them so much we will go as far as to LEASE them, like they were Buicks. But you have to do something for us in return – make bags that fit our needs. Next time you make one of those giant sack-purses that are all the rage, try chucking a divider or two in that thing, maybe even more than a single zippered pocket. Why must my cell phone, keys and Altoids all vie for that coveted pocket? Is there a moratorium on zippers??

I dream of a day, not too far in the future, when I can have a bag as beautiful on the inside, as it is on the outside. Like Oprah Winfrey, except with a convenient shoulder strap.

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