One of my favorite girls is featured on Daily Candy today.

Daily Candy - Sand and Deliver

www.alexandracassaniti.com

Alexandra Cassaniti moved to the neighborhood last year and took over. All the ladies will be trying to dress like her soon and they sort of can since she's launched her own line. It's an online catalog right now so beg all your favorite boutiques to start carrying her summer themed stuff in time for you to hit the beach. She'll even design you a custom surfboard. (That's Alex in the picture showing off a custom lighting bolt pattern on one of our hometown beaches in Encinitas. That's right. I grew up with an up and coming designer, jealous?).




Available in these LA stores:

CURVE
154 N. Robertson
Los Angeles, 90048
310.360.8008

OPENING CEREMONY
451 N. La Cienega
Los Angeles, 90048
310.652.1120

Labels: design, fashion, shopping

Those who know me know I like things - but I am not a material girl - even though my closet says different. I often give in to the fleeting happiness gathered from beautiful clothes, shoes, jewelry and other stuff. These three are on my happy list today:


Atelier Hoodie by Eloise. Available at Anthropologie, just in the stores, not online anymore. Softer than the most expensive terry cloth hoodie and way more flattering. The wide band in the middle hugs the curves in the right spot. The wide bell sleeves and slightly puffed shoulder elevate this to a not-so casual sweatshirt. Plus the crochet details is just right, especially the row on the back, which compliments a lady's lower back just the way we like it. I'm trying out more layering options for this piece because if worn just with jeans the BF thinks I look too much like a Shirley Temple character and calls me good ship lollipop.




Thanks to the eames photostream on flickr I now know the U.S. Post Office will release Eames design stamps later this year. I'm a big fan of commemorative stamps. I'm not a collector, I just really enjoy the trips to the post office when they have a wide selection for you to choose from that doesn't include Christmas imagery or stamps made for weddings. I must plan a Saturday visit to the Eames House in Malibu soon as well as the Eames Office - the gallery/store that's gotta be cooler than the closest DWR.




My inner teenager wants to scribble all over my notebooks I heart Missbehave Magazine. Even though it's New York City centric it's full of sass. Like Jezebel, sometimes the sass needs to be taken like salt in small doses, other days I crave for the foul-mouthed fashionistas in training and say, bring it. I'm indulging in all of their guilty pleasures from ghetto-fab nails to the latest plastic-fantastic accessory. The blog occasionally posts party fliers for the LA area. I'll be checking in often to know which latest trend I'm missing out on.

Labels: design, fashion, shopping

In an homage to L.A. Fashion week I spent last night at the new store opening party for Mas Boutique. OK. I went for the free beer. I stayed for the Eastside hipsters meets Beverly Hills ladies-who-lunch shenanigans. Only in Silver Lake on a Thursday night would both tribes of fashionistas fight over overpriced skinny jeans while exchanging plastic surgeon tips.

Speaking of skinny jeans - here's homeboy Jeffrey Sebelia's new Cosa Nostra Spring/Summer 2008 collection. Other blogs have been dissing on the Project Runway winner/vegan but I have to admit the embrace of the spats trend was a bold choice and upped a lot of these otherwise bland housecoats to wearable style. I also like a new designer who opts to design both a men's and women's show. But I can't embrace all the choices. The line is supposedly based on the memoir turned new movie Into The Wild. I can't say I see it. The silvery colors supposedly represent the ill-fated hiker Chriss McCandless ascent into Alaska. I just don't see it. Did McCandless fancy striped sweaters and Toms slipper shoes?






Mas is a cute clothing addition to the 'hood. I appreciate the boutique's location a little off the regular Sunset Junction track, drawing the street traffic out to the Sunset Blvd. edges. I fancied me some knit babydoll blouses and dresses there, especially the $180 yellow tank (I think it was by Clu). Hope the salesladies have a salesrack in the works.


Mas Boutique
3511 1/2 Sunset Blvd.
Silver Lake, 90026
323.663.3112

Labels: fashion, local

Boy was I excited to get up early on a Sunday, don my Etsy purchases and go out to Felt Club early in hopes of grabbing up a goody bag. Well, me and 500 other Los Angeles crafters had the same idea. By 11:00am - the set time for the doors to open to the pretty little Ukrainian Cultural Center - a line had wrapped around the block. Standing in the hot sun did not look fun.

We all knew it would be packed this year, but the extent of the crowd was intimidating, to say the least. By the time I showed up around 4pm food was sold out, but the crowds had diminished. There was still plenty of merchandise to be had. Charles Phoenix hugged mascot Gluey Gluerson and called the raffle. DJ Lance Rock, never one to disappoint, spinned my favorite poppy re-mixes and I learned that very day he's the new host of possibly the best cartoon show for infants ever, Yo Gabba Gabba.

I was happy to meet Robert from Mahar Drygoods and even happier to learn they had a Mr. Toast affiliation. Mahar Drygoods is a cute online shop that Robert works out of his house in Santa Monica. He aspires to have an actual, versus virtual, storefront one of these days.


I didn't make any major purchases, but was more excited to do a little craft-shopping with as many vendors as possible and sign up on everyone's mailing lists.



This lion t-shirt came home with me from Poketo thanks to their bargain bin. A tip to craft shoppers: always look below their booths for the bargain bin section. Sometimes the cast-offs are more interesting than the "perfect" ones on the tables. The cotton is so soft. I plan to cut off the sleeves and shape the tee into a cosy yet skimpy camisole perfect for layering this summer.



A Happy Bacon magnet by SappyMooseTree now smiles back at me from my fridge. It would have been a crime to leave Felt Club without a creation of felt.

A Lucha Libre stencil kit will encourage me to take up cross-stitching thanks to Handmade Nation who were selling a variety of items for charity.



Fuzzy Balls Apparel had free buttons. My friend and I proudly wore the "I'm Fracking Magical" buttons for the rest of the day. She supports the Battlestar Galactica reference while I post-modernly adore Veronica Mars re-referencing "Frack" in one of her better episodes. Their temporary tattoos were a nice give-away as well.



Fomato stole my heart first with their graphic ghost prints and then with their witty birthday cards. Who wouldn't want a birthday card that reads "I'm celebrating your birthday by going to a dive bar in hopes to go home with a stranger"? There are also informative birthday cards on drinking tea.

I'm still on the lookout for the perfect frilly apron. It's gotta have at least four ruffles and tons of brick-a-brack. I'm probably gonna get crafty and make one.

There were lots of options to solve the small wallet that only holds the vital credit cards, ID, cash & change problem, but not one that was absolutely perfect. The DEVO inspired plastic one from Poketo came close. You can buy it here.



The auditorium lacked good AC or ventilation and word is the Craft Fair will move outdoors in November for their Holiday Expo. They're trying for the LACC courtyard.

Here's the thank you email letter from Felt Club maven Jenny Ryan:

Hello All,

This is just a quick e-mail to thank you all for coming out in droves for today's Felt Club: XL Summer Event. We all had an absolute blast!! Believe me when I say that as great as the press we got was, we still had no idea the crowds were going to end up being so enormous. Clearly we have outgrown our venue! Please know that we are aware of the situation and are hard at work coming up with new and better ways to bring you Felt Club fun in the future.

For everyone who has been asking, we are indeed doing a holiday show on November 18, and rest assured that the venue we're using for that show is MUCH larger, very well ventilated, and just downright fabulous. We'll be able to share more specifics with you on that soon, so please stay tuned! We think you'll be very pleased.

Many, many thanks so all of you who braved the crowds and heat to come support the super-crafty L.A. scene. Heartfelt apologies to those of you who couldn't take it, and we thank you so much for supporting us as we sort out our growing pains in order to continue bringing you the very best handmade awesomeness California has to offer. We're extremely grateful for your interest in what we're doing, you're the best!!

Sincerely,
Jenny Ryan
Felt Club

Labels: design, DIY, fashion, shopping

There's a new blog in the Gawker town. That's right. The Manhattan media blog that brings LA Defamer launched Jezebel this month. Written by three sassy New Yorkers, they praise Sassy magazines from the '90s and boo airbrushing and they do it with sailor-tongued abandon. So much so you think they must have been fired from at least three magazine internships before landing this gig. They have quite the manifesto out to reverse what they've identified as the 5 Great Lies of Women's Magazines:

1. The Cover Lie -- Basically, every women's mag cover is airbrushed making the identities of their celebs and models alien or one bland Caucasian invention. There's also the blurbs on those glossy covers promising thrilling articles on the inside that never live up to expectations. I.e. 15 Workouts to Burn the Bulge in 15 min. are really just a page of boring dumbbell presses.

2. The Celebrity Profile Lie -- quote "..As stars use MySpace and Blogger to expose the doting public to their innermost thoughts and crap spelling, the celebrity profiles found in women's magazines have actually managed to get flatter, more nakedly consumerist and less imaginative than the movies and TV shows they're shilling for, and we include Georgia Rule in that group."

3. The Must-Have Lie -- A magazine editor loves a certain nail polish because that nail polish company gave her free nail polish and probably a free dinner and/or a starter condo. On the flipside, the basic must-haves are big duhs. Everyone knows you should have a LBD (little black dress) and decent shoes.

4. The Affirmation Crap Lie -- If you ever once thought the girls from The O.C. looked fat you need to get some self esteem and get some quick before you sign up for another subscription.

5. The Big Meta Lie -- I'm gonna have to paraphrase the girls here: It's a postmodern joke when you know what the word postmodern means but still flip through the magazine pages under the guise that celebphemera and retail therapy is harmless escapism. "The big lie is that we haven't let the norms of the celebrity-sartorial complex seep into the way we see everything in the world, perpetuating the notion that all of life is high school, and the pretty people are the only ones worth your attention, and that all the world would be that way anyway. Because it wouldn't. And though we've found women's magazines to be a fairly trusty engine of hilarious tidbits, it is not all one big joke."

Wow. Hit the nail on the head with that last one.

My verdict is still out to see how successfully anti-disestablishment they can be and still hawk hair products. Gawker is a good gossip read but still ends up selling a bunch of ads and products like any other online 'zine.

But like I mentioned, they do not censor themselves which is admirable. (It worked for Carrie and Samantha, didn't it?) Take this lovely article "Decoding Cosmo" in which they dig out Burt Reynold's centerfold from the Cosmopolitan Mag vaults and generously sprinkle the sass:

Labels: fashion, www.internet.com

Bravo's Top Design came to an anti-climactic finale this week. Even the judges seemed bored by the end of it all. Although, I appreciated their criticism and praise and how no one became the reality show staple bad cop a la Simon Cowell or Janice Dickenson.

Around the design blogs what became the topic of heated typing was judge Kelly Wearstler's wardrobe. I stand by the woman's choice. Her decorating choices are fierce and often off-beat. Why shouldn't her wardrobe or hair be just as playful?

Her unforgettable fashion choices for the show via Bravo TV:







What I didn't know, but was illuminated to just now on a Design*Sponge comment board thanks to anonymous, is not only is Kelly Wearstler an internationally successful designer, but she also was once a Playboy centerfold! I knew the girl modeled, but damn. According to Wikipedia:

Kelly Gallagher (also known as Kelly Wearstler, born November 21, 1967 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina) is an American model and professional interior designer. She was PlayboyPlaymate of the Month for September 1994. Her centerfold was photographed by Arny Freytag and Stephen Wayda. ...Her centerfold appears very briefly in the 1995 film Welcome to the Dollhouse, affixed to the inside of a school locker.

Just let me drag my jaw back from the ground.


From Playboy - I give you Miss September 1994.

BIRTHPLACE: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina USA

BUST: 34" C

WAIST: 24"

HIPS: 35"

HEIGHT: 5' 6"

WEIGHT: 105 lbs

AMBITIONS:
To own my own marvelous design and furnishings business.

TURN-ONS:
Fabulous, intense minds, honesty, huge smiles and a man with a colossal heart.

TURNOFFS:
Lack of communication, cruelty to animals, slackers, and bad design.

ROMANCING MY MAN:
Breakfast in the boudoir, a bit of physical activity, trip to the museum for some mental and visual stimulation, a nibble for two to satisfy the palate and a trip to the beach to see the sun set and the moon rise.

I CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF:
Swap meets, blended coffees, Nicholson Baker novels & good loving.

Nice to know Kelly is an L.A. woman who always had ambition.

Labels: design, fashion, television

Burned-out perfectly fitting vintage t-shirts are a staple on the Sunset strip. Worn under a perfectly fitting small blazer and both sexes can get past those velvet ropes with those dress codes. Tops and bottoms design team The Secession has dressed Lolita Lohan and wants to dress you too. You probably saw her trip on herself while wearing the popular "I Uzi LA" tee. There's still room at this RSVP only event. For you aspiring LA fashionistas here's a party just for you during LA's Fashion Week. Tonight @ Element in Hollywood.

Labels: events, fashion

Naco (rhymes with taco) is the new phase of cool in Mexico and, not to mention, a clothing company. Traditionally "Naco" was Spanish slang for "Tacky" but just like Mr. T gold chains and mullets, what was once hideous is now ridiculously hip. Ok. Maybe not mullets.

Like those lovable redneck lists I give you the tell-tale signs of those possessing a certain Naco (courtesy of today's LA Times article).

I. If you install neon lights around your license plate, you're naco.
II. If you install blacklights under your Acura, you're naco.
III. If you listen to Kiss while wearing a Kiss Army t-shirt, you're naco.
IV. If you wear more than once designer nameplate jewelry at once (Chanel earrings, Versace belt, Dior sunglasses, Voiuton necklace, etc.) you're naco.
V. If you wear sunglasses at night, you're naco.
VI. If you quote Quiet Riot lyrics or can be caught humming at any given moment a Def Leppard song, you're naco.
VII. If you think polyester is formal wear, you're naco.

I could go on all day. The point is, Naco clothing has been around in Mexico City since 1998 but still deserves the accolades for their celver sloganing and constant challenges to the dominant paradigm. Their website hosts some fun facts to get into the world of "Naco" and has choice music picks from the designers themsleves. Thanks to them you can proudly sport a t-shirt that says "Se Habla Espanol" or "Los Ricos Tambien Roban" (The Rich also Rob). As well as "N is for Naco" along with "W is for wetback" and "G is for greencard". Re-inventing a once derogatory word and now celebrating it in good-natured fun is what Naco's all about. Diego Luna, Juanes, and those tough kids in the San Fernando Valley are already fans. Why aren't you?

Naco clothing can be found at:
Aztlan Gallery (various SoCal locations)
Latin Lingo Clothing (Burbank and Northridge)
Bent (S. Pasadena)
Olverta's Village (Downtown)
*Myspace Sale*

Labels: fashion, newsworthy, shopping

Bored at work? Tired of the same old shopping sites to browse? We all know online shopping is the new window shopping and my fave destination is girlshop.com. Consider it hundreds of boutiques, all price ranges, at your fingertips. Most of the shops are updated monthly, rotating out a choice collection of the cutest new trends. Go to the sale section first to browse deals at all boutiques at once.



I've seen their brother site guyshop grow over the last couple years too. A haven for Eurotrash deconstructed suits no longer, there's tons of gift ideas. Start your shopping (or wish list!) early.

Labels: fashion, shopping

Hola Top Design! That's right. A new reality shows abounds thanks to the success of Project Runway. How amazing was it last night to see those designers in the main tent at Bryant Park? I was incredibly happy for each of them. And big props to Echo Park Jeffrey for the win! He was truly the most innovative out of the top four. But how dare those producers toy with our emotions by gushing on an on about Uli. You knew as soon as Koors and Garcia gave Uli nothing but praise right before commercial break she wasn't gonna make #1.
Anyways, shooting is under way for a reality/elimination show this time about interior designers with Todd Oldham in the host role and Elle magazine judging/promoting. I've loved Todd ever since he made diy projects on MTV's House of Style. Remember that? Remember Cindy Crawford? Radar Online reports shooting's already begun here in L.A. and will be airing on Bravo next year. But if the show doesn't have the heart of Tim Gunn it might come in third to Top Chef, already sucking up the water cooler gossip in the absence of beloved Project Runway.

Labels: design, fashion, television

Norway is greater than ever. Before, they gave us Sondre Lerche and fjords. Now, we have oslostil, the fashion blog of Norway. Basically, one girl takes pictures of hip kids on the streets - where everyone is not only very hipster-y but makes it all look so effortless and relaxed - like every cute guy and gal has that "i'm just riding my bike to market and threw on these fabulous boots" attitude.
These kids are inspiring me to get dressed in the morning.

Labels: fashion

They are everywhere. Tapered and too slim for comfort. They even forced the Gap to reconsider its entire line. I speak of the skinny jean. And yes, they do look great tucked into boots, there's no risk of looking like a pirate as the baggy or rolled jeans often look. But they don't look great on all body types. After too many hours considering the look in fashion magazines I tried on a batch myself at American Rag. A great jean boutique with an adjoining vintage section where I get to try on garments from every decade always makes me happy. I can even venture in to the men's department to land a coveted crisp new pair of 501s or discounted Diesel. In not too long I found the perfect pair - skinny to be sure, but with lots of stretch, dark rinse with flair and even cropped. I found Levi's rare Red Tag line and the price was more than half of the other designers on the shelves that didn't make the cut. Even the shy salesclerk was shocked at the 2-digit pricetag. Even if you're not on the lookout for the perfect jeans American Rag hosts a sale 'til the end of the month.
American Rag, on La brea between 1st and 2nd.

Labels: fashion, shopping

I'm getting a little pissed off at my favorite reality show. How can the Project Runway judges (or sneaky producers) be so foolish to let a bright talent like Alison go? Insanity (Vincent) and lack of taste (Kayne and Angela) win over sizing?!? I'm shocked. On the bright side, Michael will take this contest and thank heavens for that.

Labels: fashion, television