High School Prom

No really. That's actually what this post is about. I was prowling around Net-A-Porter today and saw that Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi of Preen now have a second, more affordable line called Preen Line, and it reminded me of my high school prom. Or, as we called it in Canada, grad formal. Time for a bed-time story.

When I was a senior in high school, my parents were just starting the process of transitioning to New York. My father would work in New York on the weekdays, and return to Toronto on the weekends, but his commute provided my sister and me with the perfect excuse to go dress-shopping in NYC. After a few days of searching, I found what I thought was THE dress at a little store called Acne in Soho (no, not the ever-popular Swedish brand, whose Soho outpost opened a couple years after I graduated). The dress was from Preen's Spring 2006 collection (before they were so popular) and is pictured below (the plaid dress), except it was a variation that substituted the plaid cotton and gray jersey with the dusty pink silk and dusty pink jersey seen on the second dress shown below. The salesperson draped the dress a little more elegantly than it was styled on the runway, tying the midsection in a bodice-like fashion more reminiscent of the waist of the second dress. The result was immaculate.


My parents, unfortunately, didn't understand my vision. I thought that it was a great representation of my refined fashion sensibilities and that I could totally pull it off, but they thought that it wasn't formal enough and that it was too expensive. So I ended up wearing this very pretty, but much less interesting, Mandalay dress. The kicker? The Mandalay dress was more expensive than the Preen one! This story really has no point, other than the fact that I still get angry in a forlorn sort of way whenever I hear anything about Preen, and wish I had been able to wear the dress I initially wanted to wear.


I think that the only way I'm going to be able to get over the whole incident is if I get to wear a Preen dress to a formal event in the future, and maybe this time my parents' seal of approval won't be required. But just in case: Mom, any of the looks below (all of which are from Preen's Fall 2009 ready-to-wear showing) would do...

Pretty please with a cherry on top?

Valentines Day Fashion

I finally bought them. I've been pining after these Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent shoes for forever, and another Valentine's Day single is all I really needed as an excuse to purchase these expensive puppies. Not only are they particularly indicative of my mood, but they're also an item I'm going wear all the time. Useful in so many ways. Picture from Planet Blue.  

Yummy Summer Dresses

You're probably not aware of this, but I kind of have an obsession with Fighting Eel. Designers Rona Bennett and Lan Chung work out of Hawaii, and the landscape inspires their basic, but always fun, dresses made from super-soft jersey fabrics. I already have three Fighting Eel dresses and... kind of... want to... buy some... of their Spring 2009 dresses, a few of which are shown above. 

The Choker

I'm bringing it back. I don't know if I've really thought this one through, but I've been gravitating towards chokers for a while now, and that's always a good sign. It's going to happen. Start by buying this sweet bronze choker from Marion Mercer. 

P.S. I'm done for today. Really. I think.

Bijoux Mignons

Yes this was in Daily Candy NYC today, but I like it too! And so will you! Delicate jewelry from Phoenix Roze, designed by Guy Rozenstrich, based in New York. 

RIVER PHOENIX

Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit. Anyone who knows me from my middle school dayz will know how OBSESSED I was with BOTH Stand By Me AND River Phoenix. Chris Chambers I love you with all my heart. I just saw this Alpha 60 shirt in a Style Bubble post and, despite recently realizing (in all seriousness) that I have far too many clothes, purchased it immediately. According to some... other... blogger cited by Susie Bubble, this tee "has become the uniform of every indie wannabe on the East Coast" of Australia, but, really, who cares? I am so so excited.

Argh!

I had been wanting some low, plain black pumps for quite some time (which are harder to find than you would imagine) and was in love with the 3" inch red Marc by Marc Jacobs ones I saw on Shopbop.com. After waiting... and waiting... for a black version to appear, I figured that I was pining after a shoe in vain, and settled for a less plain, but none-the-less beautiful, pair of low vintage Chanel black heels. But of course, the red heels are now available in black on Shopbop.com. And while I'm not one to complain about vintage Chanel pumps (that were also less expensive than the Marc by Marc shoes), it's just frustrating! This always seems to happen, and these Marc by Marc pumps are just plain to perfection. Get your hands on a pair while you can - they will always be in style and should last you for a very long time - and don't forget to check out the open-toe equivalents also available for purchase on Shopbop.com. GRRR!!!

Aujourd'hui

Fashion I've been craving ever since... today:

Ligne 6 Martin Margiela "Paintbrush Motif Tunic" from La Garconne.

BAD-ASS Alexandra Cassaniti sunglasses from Creatures of Comfort (though I just checked and they're cheaper on the Alexanda Cassaniti website) with frames that change colour depending on the intensity of light.

AND, in other news, Lyte, a line of super cute hair accessories designed by Molly Rhymer, now has a website of its own. Yay! I'll definitely be buying one or two soon.

Hats, Again

I had been planning to write a post about how bowler hats are the new fedora for winter for a while, but by the time I actually decided to write it, I figured it was self-evident. Apparently not. Refinery 29 posted a story today about post-fedora hat trends, all of which I have been down with for a while. My favourite specific styles included in the posting are the bowler hat, the wide-brimmed floppy hat (got one last summer), and the riding-style military cap featured at the bottom, which I've coveted for a long time (there's a great Pinkham Millinery one at Totokaelo) but am trying not to spend money on! The straw sun hat that the woman in the Face Hunter picture is wearing is also amazing. Sigh. I should start a savings account just to fund my hat obsession.  

Practice Makes Perfect

I'm a total sucker for labels that focus on one item of clothing or one accessory in a quest for perfection, and I'm also a proud Canadian, so I really don't know why I've only just learned about Smythe. This made-in-Canada line, designed by Andrea Lenczner and Christie Smythe, consists entirely of jackets (and some vests). Aren't the ones below, from Smythe's Fall 2008 offering, just divine?

Lovely

Alexander Wang at Creatures of Comfort.

Some Sick Kicks

These Gucci shoes are r-i-d-i-c-u-l-o-u-s. Apparently they're men's sneakers, but I think they're pretty effeminate... And I want a pair. Of course!

New Fling

Favourite casual line of the moment: Something Else. Designed by Natalie Wood (who is, of course, Australian), Something Else offers a nicely edited collection of t-shirts. Another plus: Ms. Wood appears to have a thing for wolves - like me! (See above). How could I resist? I first took note of her while browsing the OTTE website, where you can find some of her shirts.

Ewww

Apparently, American Apparel ads now come entirely "stripped" of any disguise of their usually more "subtle" exploitation of female sexuality. I'm boycotting this shit. Jezebel has written a much more in-depth and well-articulated article. Check it out. 

Erica Weiner Jewelry

So, for some reason, I decided to look through all the websites of the vendors at last year's Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn, and found the best little jewelry-maker. Erica Weiner, based in Manhattan's Lower East Side, makes lovely vintage-looking jewelry, that's cheap, too! I'm enamoured with her long gold necklaces, all of which are under $100. 

My Picks From...

The Totokaelo sale:

ACNE bird shirt

Les Prairies de Paris Bali Lezard Shoes

Pinkham Millinery Sloper DC with Vintage Trim

Ebay Store

So recently I've been spending a lot of time on Indie Cult Vintage's ebay store. I just bought another piece from her (see below), and find her store incredibly well curated. BUT, I also did a quick search on her and have been spending the past hour or so reading some disturbing comments made on various blogs and vintage forums about her selling practices. Hmmm... Haven't decided definitively about whether or not I will be buying from her again, but I will certainly continue to eye her store. 

A New Year's Present for Yourself

If you can afford this, buy it. I love the structure, and rompers have been "in" for a while but are gaining even more ground. I sigh over its beauty. Just posted on Nasty Gal.

My New Baby

I just purchased this UNBELIEVABLE dress from Indie Cult Vintage. I CANNOT wait until it gets here. I feel guilty, ridiculously extravagant, and selfish. Shit. I've promised myself I'm not going to buy anything at all next semester. We'll see how that goes. 

Hawt

McQ at La Garconne and Belle Sauvage at Pixie Market. 

Yes...

... everyone loves to hyperventilate over Rachel Comey. I am no exception. This gorgeous dress is from her Resort collection and now at La Garconne.

J'adore...

Fremont Apparel's Spring 2009 collection is diviiinnneee. See some of my favourites below...

Perfect model too. 

WTF?

From Pixie Market. 

OMG

From Creatures of Comfort. 

Just Had To

I know I haven't been posting. I have  whole list of stuff that I want to write about but I'm just so stressed with school!!! Ah!!! However, I saw a little write up of this site in NYLON and it's so amazing I just had to share it with my limited readership. Beautiful beautiful beautiful handmade hair accessories. GO HERE.