Friday, June 15, 2007

Bag lady...

That was my mom's nickname at work for awhile. That is also a brilliant song by Erykah Badu, one of my favorites of hers, actually.

Bag lady you gone hurt your back
Dragging all them bags like that

I know I'm not the first person ever (or here, even, right, starbright oogi? hmm?) to go through what I'll call bangst -- but I figure I'd share mine in the hopes of healing.

This week I got it into my head that I need a new bag. Not just anything, but SOMETHING.So I've decided to use the interwebs to research this thing known as the "it" bag. I don't really want someone else's "it" bag -- I want my own. Not to say that I have not coveted "it" bags in the past.

I mean... it started a few years ago, with my yearning for this:

[amazon.com, bunnyshop.blogspot.com]

... a Marc by Marc Jacobs Stella. Preferably in aqua....or any color except pink. And now I don't even think it's possible to find one easily. Or maybe it's too easy now. Or something. I don't think I could have bought it then, though, and I guess I can't now, even if I could afford it. But it doesn't have the same freshness, anyway. I still love the shape and the straps, but the patch pockets look a little wimpy. I'm not fond of the shiny press-lock thingies either.

Sadly the current MBYMJ styles do not inspire the same lustful feelings in me. Quinn, Faridah and Deborah are a'ight, but somehow... meh?



[nordstroms.com]



OK well actually....kind of hot for that teal Quinn now. Damn.... She had dumps like a truck, truck, truck... I've always been fond of trapezoids. And the buckles on the Deborah straps? *melt*
[Interesting reading: this handy-dandy history and guide to avoiding fakes. ]


More recently, on a shopping jaunt with km, I fell hard for the Chloe Bay bags (below, below). Then I remembered I'd seen the Chloe Paddington (belooow, left) in Bazaar a couple of years ago and felt like it was another high-end bag I could covet in addition to the beloved Stella. And then after some fervent interweb trawling, I discovered the even more expensive Chloe Silverado (belooow, right) and Edith (not pictured) totes.



[net-a-porter.com]



But these bags are all fantasies. Castles in the sky, with chunky hardware. Though I like to pick up a fashion mag or two from time to time, and though I knew that Mischa/Lindsay/Sienna/Nicole/Kate/Kate/Kate were the ones making these bags "it" -- I wasn't really burned out on them. And so I would think of them, constantly, and how shocking it would be if I actually did buy one, because one would cost more than the rest of what I was wearing, all together.

I guess nobody ever told you
All you must hold on to
Is you, is you, is you

Well what kind of straps do I hold onto me with? This week I tried to pin it down. I looked up a bunch of "mid-range" "independent" bag lines. I even looked through my backissues of Lucky(bastards) and used the damn "YES!" stickers. [sidebar: I still find it weird to say "bags". They're "purses". But it seems weird to say "purses" because these things are freaking huge. "Pocketbook" is practically Shakespearean - it's like "bodkin" or "varlet".]

As I told lilbunny today, a lot of the thrill in this for me is the sticker shock, and the potential exhilaration of buying something yoooooge like this. But also, it was kind of fun for me to think about what exactly the hell I wanted: to put aside all the Debbie Downer-ism of price and functionality, and think about aesthetics. Now it might seem to you that I do a lot of that -- but I really don't.... Or I guess I don't think about it systematically, so this was new to me. And now that I think of it... probably pretty boring to you. Er, sorry.

I knew I liked bold hardware and a generally rugged-yet-cute look (still talking bags and not boys here). I knew I wanted leather, and a tote, shopper, satchel, maaaaybe a hobo (again - bags, not boys) shape. From perusing various bag blogs and the entertainingly named BagBorrowOrSteal site, I tried to pick out the common denominators (without balking over the math).

I like (not all once):
• rectangular/trapezoidal shapes or slouchy versions thereof;
• pockets on the outside;
• wide, flat straps;
• contrasting topstitching;
• a sprinkling of studs or grommets;
• either glazed leather or the buttery soft super-matte kind;
• a color that's neither black nor brown (favoring grey, blue and yellow right now).

I can do without:
• fringe or lots of tassels;
• ruchingruchingruching;
• quilting or chain (ick);
• any shape that looks "organic" or bodily (ick ICK).


But anyway. Newfangled brands that I like so far:
Kooba. Gustto. Gerard Darel. SHIH by Stephanie Lin. Hayden Harnett. Tano. ANI. Gryson. Aleya NY. Rachel Nasvik. Frye (OK not so new!) Ananas. Tylie Malibu (could I really buy something named that, especially when it's all looking Laguna Beachy?)

I'm told these are the shiz, but I say "whatevs": Anna Corinna, Botkier, Rebecca Minkoff (though her colors are nice).


Bag lady
Let it go, let it go, let it go, let it go
Ooh, ooh
Girl you don't need it


I'd like to believe that.


[in other news, we need a new background and template. any suggestions?]

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Lucky Bastards

Dear Lucky,

You won me over with ON-TREND and WELL-EDITED -- those were just too, too fabulous and continue to be endless sources of amusement.

You made me gag a little with STATEMENT-Y and VINTAGEY, but again -- I forgive because I realize that other words and phrases ALREADY IN FOTHERMUCKING EXISTENCE *ahem* may be too clunky to use in a given blurb, or too long to fit neatly inside your cute little thumbnail product images which collaborate so well together to create the small multiple layouts that I love.

But you've lost me with WORK-Y.

There's no excuse for it. PROFESSIONAL, TAILORED, CLASSIC, SHARP and, yes, even TWEEDY are sobbing in a corner, and they cannot be consoled. Also sobbing with them? The entire English language.

Also, those pants are suffocating that girl's crotch, and the pleats just add bitchslap to injury.

<3 zuppe

Frillseekers: Live from Central Park



Shall we party with Ozomatli?

Ozomatli
Babylon Circus
DJ Joro Boro
Saturday, June 30, 2007
From 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Central Park SummerStage (free)

"It’s a day of fusing music styles at Summerstage, as a band, a circus, and a DJ sample everything from gypsy folk to Jamaican dub."

What do you think?

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Death is Not an Option.

You must choose.








Top Chef's "finest". Later I might add a selection of Top Chef's "passive-aggressivest" for your choosing pleasure.

I finally saw part of S1's Episode 1. There's just something about those Irish men. I know he kind of sucked, but I could listen to him yell about nothing for hours....:






OK, maybe just one hour.

Spread out over small increments.

I vote for Team Season 1 for tonight's showdown!


...So it was as predicted -- Season 1 totally destroyed Season 2. I can't believe how much affection I had for Stephen after the gritty kale that was Season 2. My newest life motto:

"I've been executing this sort of excellence for years now."

Oh Stephen, you slay me with your effortless brilliance.