Welcome to a new FashionBinge feature called "Why Buy?" wherein we tell you why you should buy something. No, no one is paying us to write these. If something is great and we've roadtested it and determined that it indeed does not suck and/or fall apart upon initial handling/ espying, we will advise you to buy it! It if it's terrible, you will not find it here. Make sense? Easy breezy, no? Good! Great.
Okay, our first "Why Buy" is Levi's jeans leggings/ jeggings, whatever.
Why buy them?
Well. I've been wearing a pair for a year, and these were the "jeggings" that convinced me jeggings were, in fact, okay. They're less legging, more thin, exTREMELY skinny black jeans. They look good with absolutely ANYTHING you'd wear skinny black jeans with (for me, that's mostly everything but like... a bathing suit), and after wash after wash they haven't faded, nor do they look too annoyingly new.
You know how EVERYONE is doing faux fur outerwear this fall? Faux fur vests, cropped jackets and stuff? Well I'm kinda "meh" about it. Faux fur's kinda like a laser -- you need to handle it VERY carefully or you could really end up doing some serious damage.
HOWEVER, my coworker Lisa came into work the other day wearing this Marc By Marc Jacobs 'Ridge Loopback' French terry jacket with faux-fur trim. I almost tackled her to the ground in a where'd-you-get-that assault. This jacket is now officially my favorite use of faux fur, since it pairs faux fur with a really unexpected asymmetrical pea coat-style jacket in terry, which is even more unexpected and adorable. It even looked cuter on Lisa than it does on this here model. I suspect it'd look extremely cute on me too. #wants
I'm gonna pat myself on the back as I proudly admit that I'm pretty much TOO YOUNG to remember "Tron." AHEM! Yay, me! I only really know that it was the past's creepy concept of the future, and because there was no Internet, I guess everyone believed it, and what happens in the movie is a computer named HAL kills everybody, including Harrison Ford's and Jeff Bridges' characters, because it knew secrets about the government, and that Journey did the soundtrack, right? Maybe I'll watch it on an iPad for ultimate post-modern irony.
Anyway, Tron: Legacy is being released in December 2010, and Disney Consumer Products is releasing a small collection of super-sweet Tron-inspired couture accessories. Such as...
($795, Jerome C. Rousseau)
A silver, tiered, five-inch platform heel? YESSSS! GOD, YES!
($365, Tom Tom)
Mirrored lucite bracelet, guys. Seriously. Get into it.
... But the real business is Hayden-Harnett's Tron collection.
Like any white-blooded, middle-class American, I LOVE Target. But I DO NOT love the fact that from Target, you can procure not one but TWO different Bigfoots (Bigfeet)?
There's this horrifying Bigfoot costume FOR ADULTS:
Per the description, this ONE-HUNDRED DOLLAR (!!!??!?!) Bigfoot comes with a remote control that "allows him to walk forward and backwards and the 6 buttons are Happy, Angry, Sleep, Fun, Ball and Exercise." WHAT? "Angry" button? Where's the "Total Panic Attack" button?
I do not BELIEVE this picture of a little boy playing with Bigfoot. You know they Photoshopped a photo of a happy little boy face after the actual little boy shat his pants and ran off, emotionally scarred for life. Could you blame him?
Rarely in the fashion world does being a size 8 guarantee you a score at a sample sale. Thanks to funky shoemakers Faryl Robin, if that's you, your number just came up. A shoe sale exclusively for size 8s! Which happens to be both Bingers' shoe sizes...bingo! I'll report back later, but for now, the deal:
Beautiful news for Brooklyn! Shen, a new beauty boutique, just opened on Court Street, in the former Ola Baby space. Now no disrespect to the hardworking, always-shlepping (strollers, grocery bags, babies) moms of Brooklyn, but we needed another kids and baby store like Manhattan needs another Starbucks: to say we needed a cosmetics shop is a pretty little understatement.
I stopped by today and learned that Shen is owned by a former Vogue staffer and a former beauty editor, and clearly they know what they're doing, because the bright, airy, welcoming shop stocks hard-to-find beauty products like Melange solid perfumes, Lipstick Queen, Roullier White's Mrs. White's products (Mrs White's Classic Cold Cream is on my must-try list), Becca Cosmetics, Kate Logan skincare, and Lafco Candles.
Shen also has a cute little kid-beauty section in the back, and they'll soon have makeup applications.
Follow Shen on Twitter at @ShenBeauty, and, most importantly, welcome Shen to Brooklyn!
Ohai! Had to quickly share that there's a free shipping code for NeimanMarcus.com, which adds up if you shop at Neiman Marcus, which I rarely do, except I just did.
I got Tom Ford Black Orchid rollerball. Pennies in the world of Neiman Marcus, but since I'm balling on a beauty budget, free shipping only sweetens the deal.
Singapore's Stephie Says sells BRAND-NEW rotary phones in beige, black, red, and PINK, FTW! I don't even have a land line anymore, let alone a "regular phone," but I kind of want a rotary phone just to put on my shelf and recall the creepy split-pea green rotary phone we used to have in my basement when I was kid. A rotary phone always makes me want to redo my bedroom in all pink and dance around my room like Ann-Margret.
And perhaps you didn't realize it when you woke up this morning, but you're in the market for a dark chocolate skull by Bond Street Chocolate. It's dark chocolate, 3D (naturally), and it's the featured product today on Ahalife, which is a new flash sale site that's kind of like Daily Candy meets Gilt. Each week there's a small boutique of gorgeous gifts, housewares, jewelry, beauty products, apparel and more. Basically, it's the better version of the stuff you already have. Like a DIANE VON FURSTENBERG CAMERA!! And a set of Aftelier Perfumes perfume trios (check out the Naag.com story I wrote about Mandy Aftel and Aftelier, and then get ready to never love another perfume again as much as you'll love these.) And the selection is curated by an international set of fashion insiders, experts, tastemakers, celebrities and philanthropists. So sign up. And this chocolate skull could be yours. I mean, after "chocolate skulls," there's really just there's no backing out at this point.
My little sister lives in Richmond, Virginia, and she has tons of friends who are making cool things that I always want to buy. Often I'm super lucky and she buys them for me! Such as my very favorite t-shirt made by her friend Amie Cunningham who created Thief & Bandit -- it's all handmade, and it's all fun, craftsy shirts with fun, tribal-inspired squiggles and designs, and fabric accessories in bright colors. JUST LOOK at that t-shirt and TELL me it doesn't remind you of all things Tom Tom Club!
I hope you like this fabric necklace, but I hope you don't like it as much as I do, because I really want it. So I can wear it with a white t and a blazer. Or maybe even a busy t-shirt, because busy is the new black.
Please just accept that people are gonna dress up as the Jet Blue guy this Halloween. With acceptance comes tolerance and maybe even appreciation. The costume comes with a shirt, tie, and Band-Aid (for head wound inflicted on the way down). Celebratory "fuck this" beers sold separately.
Well, first the US needs to get its shit together and let ANYONE who loves each other and wants to commit to each other get married.
THEN I would like to hold a referendum on the legality of marrying these sculptural LD Tuttle booties:
If and when that happens, everyone who reads FashionBinge will be invited to my polygamist (since I'm already married) wedding. I will make Catherine be a bridesmaid again.
Believe me, I did not create or doctor this image. You are ACTUALLY looking at a pair of WAX DEMIM LEGGINGS WITH STIRRUPS! Or, if you REALLY wanna go there, they're WAX JEGGINGS with stirrups. Gap! Have you LOST it?
Actually, I don't HATE them or anything. They're so deliciously Olivia Newton John in the last scene in "Grease" that I almost appreciate the sentiment. Anyway, like 'em or not, in the words of Radiohead, "this is really happening."
AND I'M SCARED!And I know that Tory Burch is going all '70s, and so is Rebecca Taylor, and Etro and Derek Lam -- especially Derek Lam. But I don't know if I can commit!
So, Topshop's got a handful of flared jeans for fall. Thoughts?
Oh yes. Today, not only did I buy an awesome Kooba bag for $100, I also bought an awesome lipstick and attended an awesome rock show by the vagenious Marnie Stern. I'm living the good life, people.
Kooba Peyton bag in an unusual but highly versatile dark-green color, $346 online but only $100 in the sample room at the Kooba sale (and who cares if the lining looks like Freddy Kruger had a go at it). It's my new fall bag, and I love it.
After that I stopped by Sephora to kill some time and ended up buying the NARS lipstick in Shrinagar, $24. Berry-tastic. Feels right. Also very fall!
I also applied, but did not purchase, this fantastic dark gray eyeliner: Laura Mercier Kohl Eye Pencil in stormy grey, $19. Making oneself up for the evening at Sephora is a good way to kill 30 minutes, I promise. (I already have this pencil in black gold; may have to supplement soon.)
Finally, Marnie Stern has a new album out today. You should go buy it (at least check out "For Ash"), and if she comes to your town, you should totally go see her play. (She might talk about vaginas a tad too much, but maybe when she comes to your town she will be able to get through more than one song without yapping.)
YAY! It's FALL, y'all Do some fall/winter shopping with this GAP coupon code for 30% off. It's "savebig." It also works for Banana Republic and Old Navy.
I just bought these two shoulder zip pullover sweatshirts, since I realize I own almost no tops that aren't t-shirts, and most of those I hate or have a cat on them, which is fine for sometimes but not all the time. So I'm trying to diversify with some basic tops.
