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Posted by Nina Lalli at 12:20 PM, November 14, 2007
We've been toying with the idea of an Olsen-inspired concept for winter. Kind of a disheveled rich girl thing, which would only be complete with a ratty-looking fur jacket/coat/stole. But this is tricky. How do we all feel about this trend—morally, aesthetically, etc.? Is fake fur better than real? Is vintage better than new?
We decided to take a vote, and asked two-dozen fashionable 20- and 30-somethings. The results are below, and they were somewhat surprising. Please add your two cents as well!
"i would wear anything that is dead. my preferred coat choice when going to kate's joint and/ or yoga."
"Very Little Edie. I'd go for vintage, and real. The point is that once upon a time, you had all the money in the world...and look at you now."
"I feel like new fur reminds me of my father's goom-ba guinea wife whereas vintage fur is classy. I don't know why this is."
"I think fur jackets are pretty gross. Not that leather is any better ethically but leather isn't as in your face as fur. Fake fur doesn't look or feel very good. If you're gonna wear fur, vintage is definitely better than new."
"this is a good winter concept. it requires lots of broken-in leather and underpinnings with sequins."
"um, ok. vintage is yuck. it's not like your dear readers can afford good vintage, and vintage from andy's cheapies or whatever is going to smell like a poisonous old hag. so that's a no. i'm saying really good faux is good, and really good real is fine if you have the cajones to pull it off. on the other hand, if you do have cajones you should not be wearing fur."
"Ratty but not really ratty. I like the look of awesome fur with a messy bed head, very MK. I'm all for vintage fur. I'm for REALLY GOOD fake fur...so good it looks super real and is super $$$. Morally I have to say I'm not for new fur but secretly I'm for it. I also think fur is for night time activities. A fur coat at 9am just doesn't work for me ....unless you are doing the walk of shame and then I love it."
"Fake fur's great, but the Olsens aren't ratting it up enough in those photos. Although one time, my sister had a really ratty fake fur-trimmed coat, and it looked like a giant vag on her. She was not pleased when I brought this up."
"Look: animals who are furry are cute, there's no doubt about it. Panda bears, seals, even beavers. They're adorable! But buying fur is not exactly equivalent to choosing your lobster in the tank at the Chinese restaurant. The mink or whatever (and those are ugly) are long dead. That doesn't make it right, but I think it makes wearing fur less wrong than some would have you believe. Just because you and your vegan Oberlin-alum friends boycott it, doesn't mean Russian oil barons and their mistresses are going to.
The reason I vote for vintage over new fur is not political, it's aesthetic. Unless you're going to spend $14,000 on a Fendi shrug, anything you find is going to be, frankly, hideous, because it was designed for a target customer with horrible, horrible taste: dentists in St. Louis, mobster wives in Brighton Beach, hip hop artists. You want fur that's like 'Oh, I borrowed this from Anna Wintour,' or 'Oh, my great grandmother was the Queen of Norway and this was hers.' For that, you're going to have to buy something vintage. Then you're going to have to put on sunglasses that are way too big for your face and buy a Venti iced coffee and there: You're an Olsen."
"my ratty fake fur is kind of better because it brings in an element of a loved teddy bear or something."
"pro. i wear this giant weird vintage fur when i'm ready to be ridiculous. so yeah. it's already dead. you're not supporting the industry or whatever, just whichever hipster street vendor/grandma you buy it from. warning, though, old fur smells like, well, old fur."
"my mom had an old skunk-fur coat and whenever it rained it stank like skunk -- until a dog totally attacked the coat at a dinner party and ripped it to shreds. my mom wore a parka home that night."
"i think fake is better."
"I think the best fur is one that frames your face and makes you look glam rather than one that hangs there and makes you look like you have on a bathrobe (like ashley pic #3) I had a good one in my riot grrrl phase, too bad I don’t have any pictures. I don’t like new, I think fake is fine, and vintage is better (though smell is indeed a sticking point).
Posted by Nina Lalli at 5:17 PM, September 27, 2007
You know when you're stoned (or not) and you're watching TV and every commercial seems like a spoof of commercials? And you're, like, really not sure, even when it's over? Well, this article, similarly, has destroyed my mind. Here's a little taste:
BEAVERTON, Ore. (AP) -- Nike unveiled Tuesday what it said is the first shoe designed specifically for American Indians, an effort aiming at promoting physical fitness in a population with high obesity rates.
The Beaverton-based company says the Air Native N7 is designed with a larger fit for the distinct foot shape of American Indians, and has a culturally specific look.
Also, FYI, every post on Threadster from now on will be filed from Beaverton, Ore. 'Cause I'm a grown-up.
Posted by Nina Lalli at 5:30 PM, September 14, 2007
Personal Umbrella Holders, duh. Or should we say "puh"! (It's been a long week, culminating in a vicious hangover, so just bear with us.) Obviously, Diddy started it all with his ingenious wingman, Fonzworth. A couple years later, this has apparently ceased to be hilarious and become real. Last week, our own tipster reported from the fashion week tents that a drag queen had exited a suburban with a PUH by her side, and Jezebel brought us the photo above, of Anna Wintour rubbing her PUH in our faces by putting her hands in her pockets. As our informant said, Lord have mercy.
Posted by Nina Lalli at 4:10 PM, September 12, 2007
After seeing an extremely leggy blond work some teal skinny jeans and stilettos at a party recently with much success, we, in Carrie Bradshaw fashion, couldn't help but wonder. Should we, too, get in on this revival? All signs are pointing to absolutely not since we are neither leggy nor blond nor very willing to wear stilettos. Also, we can't afford more than one pair of jeans per year, and your only jeans can't be magenta or lime green.
Still, we polled a group of fashionable acquaintances on your behalf. And here are the results. Please add your two cents, as well.
From the boys:
"No one, ever, under penalty of death. Exceptions include Andre 3000 and.... Well, he's the only one. Confidential to the sweaty dude working at odin this summer: you look ridiculous."
"I think they can totally work -- if you're ghetto fabulous or an art student. Also depends, of course, on the color."
"like early 90s hip hop colored denim? i say yes, kid n play is coming back"
"Only really fat or really skinny people can pull this off."
"red, green, tan, yellow, yes; but purple no. Always muted, never neon."
"Do you mean actually going out and buying dye and coloring them yourself or buying grey jeans? Holler."
And the girls:
"I'm going for it. In purple and blue. But red, esp. paired with cowboy boots, gives me bad Texas-hometown flashbacks."
"In 7th grade, my friend Dana bought a pair of dark dark green jeans at the Gap. They cost her $40. I found them on the clearance rack two weeks later, for $2.99. I bought them, was thrilled, and then never wore them. Not even once."
"Colored denim is very cute on boys and girls. Reminds us of second grade. Dont try to look grown up in it. Dont try to sophisticate it cos that would look dumb. No business ladies. Get a kid haircut. put away the shades unless they are plastic. also not good with winter jackets probs."
"dudes in colored denim = deal breaker"
"I don't think men should wear colored denim ever even gay men. Skinny girls can wear them but really sickly skinny."
"only those nostalgic for the 80's should attempt it and they still will look like they are trying to reclaim there crappy youth- but it does look cute on toddlers."
"I think it can be ok but it depends on the color. Anyone can wear them: boys, girls, short, tall, fat, skinny."
"Only for beyonce. Def not ok for dudes"
"black and white can be good. bright colors, not so much, unless you want to look like an extra from a TLC video. 'ain't too proud to beg,' anyone?"
Posted by Nina Lalli at 4:02 PM, August 31, 2007
Here's our chance to beat the Times to declaring a trend. If we could only believe it, we would be telling you that permed fauxhauks are going to be huge for men this fall. Huge!
From Craiglist:
Male Model Wanted for Perm Wave (Think Ryan Phillipe in Studio 54) (Chelsea)
Hi
I am a hairdresser working in a high end salon, need to design a profile for the NYTimes about upcoming looks for the fall. One of them is a perm for guys, you should have a reasonably full head of hair, it needs to be 4 inches long all over, it will be cut into a highly textured fauxhauk (longer in the middle short on the sides)
the finished look is like Ryan in Studio 54 (see photo) doesn't matter if you are blonde or not NO RELAXER previously in your hair, it will fall off
Please call me right away, no money offered but pr exposure and a good cut.
Posted by Nina Lalli at 9:27 AM, August 20, 2007
This bag has got our consumer-culture reflexes all confused. First we laughed, then we read the description on cafepress.com, which sells the tote for $19.99:
Anna Hindmarch got nothing on me. Inspired by the "I'm Not a Plastic Bag" totes floating around this baby let's the world know that you're not gonna fall for the "it" bag of the moment.
What's that apostrophe doing? Wait, more important, doesn't this bag just out you as a different kind of sucker, maybe one who is trying even harder than the original ones? Ooh, brain hurt.
Posted by Nina Lalli at 4:32 PM, August 17, 2007
My first instinct on this whole oxford trend was no way. But the more hot hipster girls I see wearing them, the more I am drawn to them.
I have a clear memory of Denise Huxtable wearing faded blue sweatpants and a gigantic men's overcoat, and looking like the hottest, coolest person who ever lived. And I thought, I need sweatpants like that, and I need to steal dad's overcoat, and then I will be really hot too. But of course, that was the opposite of true, because Denise Huxtable was abnormally amazing, and therefore could do that thing where she wore unflattering clothes and they ended up flattering her, in that they said to the world "I am so incredible that I can wear sweatpants outside." It really doesn't apply to me, or most of us.
So the question is, are oxfords only for today's Denises? The skinny, bad-ass hip girls who look endlessly cute in things that would render us even stumpier and more manly than we already feel?
Naturally, I turned to my stable of fashionable 20-somethings. Results after the jump. And please, feel free to cast yours too.
"they might not be easy to pull of, but i think they're good."
"i think its awkward not sexy nerd in a middle aged librarian sort of way- but not dykey. i think its the least sexy shoe option out there-second to the ugg."
"i am definitely not doing that."
"i vote yea but only for some - if you're going for depression era chic...and who isn't these days. but not with knickers - that would be overdoing it"
"i already bought these. that's my vote."
"horrid. they're definitely a trend but make me think of sad, pasty girls, mid-90s, wearing doc martens and smoking kools. yuck."
"totally into this. although, i've never been a fan of the wimpy, 'feminized,' slimmed-down version of an oxford. i wasn't during the 80s, and i'm not now. nothing's better than a lady in men's clothes, and men's brogues."
"I like vintage oxfords. They are an attractive and comfortable alternative to high heels, flip flops, sneakers, etc. However, I think it's important not to wear vintage oxfords with an overly shabby vintage-looking outfit, otherwise you end up looking too Williamsburg-y."
"I think these are better for girls than for boys, in the same way that vests and wide pants are good in an Annie Hall sort of way for girls, but make straight boys look ridiculous. My mother just bought a pair, after searching for several years for a pair in her tiny size. She will be relieved to know that others will be easier to find, once Lindsay and Nicole start wearing them."
"eh
survey says!
no"
Posted by Nina Lalli at 2:12 PM, August 2, 2007
Anlo, Alix Wide Leg Trouser Jean, shopbop.com
18th Amendment, Colbert High Waist Flare Jean, shopbop.com
Oh God. We have, despite our generous portion of thigh meat, gotten accustomed to "skinny jeans," or as a friend calls them "tight, fat jeans." When they went from low to high-waisted, we instinctively sat that one out. No one wants to see that. But now, what's with all the wide-legged jeans? They look so laid-back and hippyish -- and maybe even comfortable. But can short girls wear them? Should they be high-waisted, or low? Do we have to wear heels? We polled some more fashionable girls, the kind of girls who actually wear flattering clothes. (Plus one gay man, who is more fashionable than any of our girlfriends).
The results are inconclusive. Here are some highlights:
"When I was really skinny, 25 lbs ago, I could rock it. Now, not so much."
"The wide legs are a bad idea. The low waist is a never, and the high waist for tall people, but I feel like they should be wool or tweed not jeans. Why is this coming back into style?"
"obviously skinny people can wear anything. i myself am pro-high waist, if only to take care of my pesky lovehandles. i am never wearing anything low-rise ever again. i've decided that i'd rather look like a mom than like i'm trying to look like a teenager."
"I'm casting my vote for high-waisted wide-leg pants. They look much better than the low-waisters. As for short girls, I don't know."
"tough one. I sort of don't think it's okay. they can only be good if they FLATTER the ass. on a short girl, that might mean they have to be low-waisted...."
"generally, i think if you're petite wearing anything high-waisted is pretty flattering. you'd have to wear it on your natural waist, that is, much higher than most people actually do, but it gives you the illusion of length. similarly, i think a fuller leg will further enhance that illusion, but wide leg... well, there's so much room to interpret what a 'wide' leg really is."
We're leaning towards either skipping this trend altogether, or going with the high-waist, for lengthening and slimming (they should be tight through the hips). Also, the low-rise is a little too reminiscent of the kind of flared jeans we wore in high school, while the high-waist has hotness potential, a la Three's Company.
Readers, please lend your wisdom. The next step is the mortifying one, of course. Trying them on.
Posted by Nina Lalli at 1:17 PM, May 22, 2007
In New York Magazine's Home Design Issue, amid a lot of exuberant declarations only comprehendible to the super-rich ("trapezoids are the next rectangles," "computers are the next faucets,") was the simple news that "gray is the next chocolate brown," beneath a photo of a lacy gray napkin. For those of us who use paper-towels, Sarah Jessica Parker made the same announcement on Oprah last week, where she unveiled her nice-but-dull and super-cheap clothing line, Bitten. So, um, trade in all your chocolate brown stuff or something.
Posted by Nina Lalli at 1:30 PM, May 7, 2007
Yes, she's probably still a size zero, but we have to say, we were pleased and surprised to notice the slight tummy on this H&M model. Not that it made us feel like trying on bikinis, but still.
H&M
558 Brodway
(212) 343-2722
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