Lovin' It - Little Brother Feat. Joe Scudda

Did I ever tell you about the time, I got four pairs of shoes for $22.80? I didn't?!?! Well that's because it only happened on Wednesday and I'm still pinching myself, as I don't believe it's real. I told my Father as my Mum and I were leaving,

"It's 25% off day at Salvation Army, but we probably won't find anything".

On the contrary.


These shoes I already own in black. The soles are walked off and the side is unraveling on one shoe. They are known to me as the "Daft Punk Wipe Out Shoe", as I wiped out in the streets of New York in these and had to go to a Daft Punk concert that night, achey and all. But somehow, I've grown attached to my black pair, so I'm happy to send them off to the dumpster and replace them with this brand new, nautical blue pair. ($4.99)






These Kenneth Cole strappy shoes, I would never pick up in a store on my own accord, but I think they look quite sweet on, I love the gold lining and they are really quite walk able. It would have been a disservice to myself, not to buy them. ($6.99)






Every year around this time, I start panicking over the very idea of boot shopping. As you know, if you don't buy early you get left with nothing. If you wear a size 10, you buy them when you see them because most stores only carry one pair in your size of each style. If you can't swallow the price, too bad. Which is funny because every pair I fall in love is usually out of my budget by about $300. I've never found the perfect pair of black boots. Until now. They're even worn in. Hurray! ($8.99)






Okay so they don't make these Staerk moccasins in my size. I guess I'll have to settle for. . .



. . . these mint green Tod driving loafers.

Tod's to me, is one of those luxury brands that you only buy if you have excess, excess, excess. Therefore I would never expect to find a pair at Salvation Army. In these babies, I might actually blend in, in the British Airways first class cabin. Two minutes after I found the shoes cast aside on the floor, I noticed a fellow shopper watching me carefully. She asked me where I found them and if I was going to buy them.

Yes, lady I'm gonna buy them.
Yes, I know exactly what I'm holding in my hand.
No, you can't have them.

(Yes Peas , I still think you're a nutter over the leather bag incident , but I kind of know how you felt).



A driving shoe, is a shoe with a leather bottom and rubber spikes, as seen above, next to the $4.99 written in marker. Yes. Four. Ninety-nine.

(Photo of Staerk Booties: Shop Adele )

See Through Love - Arthur Russell

Not sure what to do with those polaroids you shot last summer at the beach? Why not submit them to Dazed and Confused, Polaroid Nation?

You know you aren't doing those pictures any justice by letting them sit around in that dusty old box.

I became mesmerized by the user submissions. Here are my favourites.

(Photo Credits: Julie Pike, Chris Polinsky, Martha Boxley, Rodolpho Asin, Cecilia Duarte)

Summer Special - Land Of Talk

Everyone has a job when we set off for summer holidays in France. My Mum's job is to inspect the cutlery in any dining establishment and constantly ask why everyone smokes, my sisters and my collective duties were not to piss my Dad off and my individual duties included holding things for Dad in the airport.

"Here hold the passports".
"Grab my guitar".
"Put these tickets in your knapsack".

One summer I managed to collectively lose both my tennis shoes and my father's Ray Bans between Charles De Gaulle and a train station. My father is very sweet and not at all very materialistic, so he just shook his head about the sunglasses (meanwhile my mother reminds me from time to time). But everyone knows that a twelve year old without tennis shoes is like a duck without water.

Upon reaching our destination of Montpellier, my father and I walked to the nearest clothing outfitter where he purchased tennis shoes for my sisters and I. Although, they looked identical to the ones above, they probably weren't by Bensimon for they only cost 50 fr. . . but I loved them all the same and wore them through the school year until my toe poked through a hole in the corner. Just perusing their website makes me long for a pair of simple sneakers, like the ones I once loved. Sometimes simplicity is key.
Check out the ribbon sneakers in the collage above. C'est chic, mais non?


(Photos: Bensimon.com and the Bensimon Facebook group. . . who'd have thought. . . )

Purple Haze - Groove Armada

There's an interesting New York On The Street report with Bill Cunningham about the change of seasons and colour. It's very true. I already feel it in the air. I just love his voice! It's simple mahhvelous. When I saw this fabric at the thrift store, I knew this rich purple would come in handy soon. This dress will have straps and a pretty little hem, in the future. But for now, it's a simple little, late summer, dinner party, dress which works best with a handful of nice accessories.

And by "nice", I mean "cheap":

Purse and necklace - Target
Shoes - Nine West

What You Think About. . . - St. Germain

Outlet shopping today. The usual Calvin Klein undies, the score of a lifetime, an Alexander Wang top for $60 (down from $264). When I stumble upon something amazing, I usually, gasp, giggle or sometimes sigh which I follow up with a marathon sprint to the fitting room. If it fits like a glove, I come dancing out of the fitting room and sashay straight to the register. If it doesn't fit, I drag my feet, sigh (sadly), put it back on the rack and admire it for a few minutes more before moving on. In this case, I ran straight for the cash register. I was almost finished with my transaction when the sales lady slapped down the receipt for me to sign. My mother, leering over my shoulder, craned her neck specifically to get an eyeful of the price.

Yada, yada, yada, something about me being horse whipped for paying that amount of money for a single top. My best defense?

"But it's ALEXANDER WAAAANG!"

Touche.

Frightening Lives - Broken Social Scene Presents Kevin Drew

Every once and again I'll read an interview with Sienna Miller and occasionally she comes across as a little. . . self pitying.

I begin to play the world's smallest violin in my vast imagination, in her honor. The Poor Little Rich Girl song is nails on a chalkboard to my ears. I live on a tiny budget. I do a boat load of odd jobs in between jobs. I never went to a fancy boarding school and designers do not throw free clothing at me.

But she laughs at herself, a lot which I do very much admire.

When I saw this, my ears burnt and my head hurt. How barbaric and how very cruel.




What sort of time period are we living in where the general public acts out in such inappropriate ways? And why is there so much bullying of the females? No one spray paints "dirtbag" on male celebrities houses (though that would be equally horrible, it's your house for cryin' aloud and you have to look at it every time you enter and leave). And yet even in a time where she could be miserable, she looks absolutely stunning, with no make up. Hang in there darlin'.


(Photos: D Listed, where all bullying is fair and equal ).

M.I.A. - M.I.A.

I know I've been M.I.A. I've been in Maine. With a ten year old and a twelve year old. The god sisters. As I was quite hands on with Sarah's camp , I felt I had to make up big for not seeing much of Sammi during that time period. So I offered to drive to Maine to pick her up, from her summer camp. And as they say, no good deed goes unpunished. I kid, I kid.

MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS INCLUDE:

1. Not leaving either of them behind at a rest stop (though help me lord, was I ever tempted sometimes).


2. Thrift shopping with Sarah the Sales Lady. (We purchased the plaid hand bag slung across her arm at a Goodwill in Connecticut).

Me - What do you think of this shirt? (Holding white shirt with kid with afro). I would only be using it for ballet
Sarah - No way, I don't think it's you, lemme find you something else.
Me - Okay, nothing too ugly though. . .
Sarah - (Eyes light up as she comes across tie dye wonder).
Me- Drop it.
Sarah - But it says "dance" on it. . .



3. Both girls developing an appreciation for my fun loving eye wear. I think I might have to purchase a pair of wayfarers for each of them, because there's no way I can part with my childhood ones.




4. Getting out of the Marc Jacobs store in Boston under $100. I say the cotton scarves ($35) are probably the best deal, as they are thick, colourful and seemingly warm (I really haven't tested out mine yet). The key chains are very nice too ($5). They make for cute luxury prezzies. You should see people's eyes when you hand them out.


5. Getting Sammi and Sarah into M.I.A. Before I got in my car to drive home, they memorized the first verse of "Paper Planes". And with that, I felt my job as the cool older sister figure had been fulfilled.

Left Bank - Air

I always feel at this time of year, we all start to rush the seasons along, anxiously awaiting autumn. But summer has cooled down dramatically on in the DC area and I find it to be quite tolerable and nice. But that still doesn't stop me from adoring the Sonja Rykiel's autumn collection. Not only does the clothing rock, I want to wear it while strolling along the Seine . . . but the models look like they're having fun, for once. It's amazing.





Do excuse my pouty face, it was the only pic I had in focus. I can't wait to purchase this super fun sweater. It's simply a matter of paychecks.

In A Manner Of Speaking - Nouvelle Vague

This broke my heart. Broke it in two.

Sometimes I feel guilty over my love of fashion.

At some point we have to ask ourselves what the cost of that flawless image is. What are we teaching our girls? Not just China, but everywhere. . .



PS- I think Yang Peiyi is adorable.

Escapade - Wynton Kelly Trio

For those of you wondering about my hush-hush gig with my candidate of choice. Here's the finished product below. A four hour set up, for less than a minute of lines.

Mothers, Sisters, Daughters, Wives - Voxtrot

Here is my Dad and my Mum off to a wedding yesterday. My Mum and I will never fully see eye to eye, when it comes to style and fashion. But over time we've gradually come to accept our differences and we sometimes offer each other genuine advice on outfits.

We like the same things, we wear them differently.

For example on Saturday, I would have shortened her hemline, given her a more defined waist, (the shoulder pads were already in place), and thrown in some gladiator sandals.

I knew that look sounded very familiar. . .

(Photos: E! Online )

Margarine Melodie - Stereolab

Annie Spandex , I'm always happy to hear when another, shares my love for Marimekko . My entire family is naturally attracted to their bright yet minimal design process and somewhere in the last twenty years, we've managed to accumulate a lot of Marimekko. I've been quite lucky, in my thrift finds this year. On the day that you commented, I took my mother thrifting and I scored that butterfly chair cover for $6! I was thrilled!

Meanwhile, a couple months ago, Peas and I were scouring Salvation Army, and I came marching out with this stretched fabric. . . for once again $6. (I got some amazing Bodum coffee mugs that day too). One should keep their eyes peeled for Marimekko in thrift stores. Often the store employees have no idea what a treasure they've received.

Desiree - Caribou

I have been obsessed with this lovely pair of Mary Jane flats ever since Jen blogged about them. I've been avoiding the word "obsess", ever since Sister Wolf pointed out how stupid it sounds, thrown in with the usual pretentious fashion jargon. But what do you call a pair of shoes that you check eBay for every day, Sister Wolf? Sounds like a slight obsession to me. Recently I stumbled upon this knock off pair from Delia*s . And while I normally don't believe in knock off anything, I have to say, a $600 purchase on my easy come, easy go salary just doesn't sounds like the brightest idea of the moment. Do you really think Kaiser Karl is gonna starve from the loss of my $600? I highly doubt it.

I don't know if I can do it. The Chanel flats are clearly WAY more awesome. Le sigh.

Swimmer - Kathryn Williams

I realized that some days are just made for the pool.
I realized that I have way too much Marimekko (if there is such a thing).
I realized every self portrait I took had my face covered by my floppy, trusty sun hat.






Does anyone else remember this Holly Hobbie portrait from childhood? Was I the only child puzzled by the fact that you could never see her face?

Groove Is On - Groove Armada

Dad, you can stop reading now. No groove here. But if my groove were on, I would have already put in my order to Agent Provocateur , who is having a crazy sale. I know it's still pricey, but I personally believe that good underwear pays for itself.

I still might get this set. Although it doesn't look extremely practical as undergarments, I often find practicality to be highly overrated.

(Photos: Agent Provocateur.com )

Sweet Song - Blur

I'm back. Tired, emotional but somewhat pleased with the way things have turned out. In a moment of weakness, I took on a one day freelance gig, although I had had no sleep, the entire week. But it was Madame Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi! How could I say "no"? I happen to be a supporter of Madame Speaker. I think she's a great role model and knows how to pick her battles.

Her apartment is decorated with beautiful modern art, and her bathroom has Molton Brown Thai Vert hand wash (an item I think belongs in every lovely living space).

After we wrapped, she came around and offered us all Dove bars. I thought it was very sweet, indeed.

(Photos: Amazon.com )