Al Pacino, Master of Layers

I just think everybody needs to see this, okay? This is some serious fashion news. The kind you need to know!

Al Pacino Arrives at Airport, Wears Completely Normal Number of Jackets. In case you are pressed for time, here is the story in pictures.

The end. You're welcome.

The Perfect Yoga Bag(s)

Yoga is so ubiquitous these days that you can barely swing a cat without hitting someone in downward dog. Even I have finally succumbed to it, after much haranguing by my personal spirit animal, Tamar. So you'd think that manufacturers would have figured out how to make a decent gym bag for yogis. You would be wrong. I can hardly believe it, but most yoga bags are made to carry only your mat, with maybe a pocket for your keys and a few bills (and most of them are made of truly regrettable fabrics). But if you also want to throw in your own hand towel or water bottle or even if you just carry a large wallet, your options are limited. If you want to bring all of the above and your workout clothes because you're heading to yoga from work, forget about it. There are a few bags that allow you to strap your mat to your bag, but that just looks dumb, and if you need to set your bag down on, say, a dirty subway floor, well, why even bother bringing your own nongermy mat? (Answer: to save the $2 rental fee, but I digress.)

Anyway, I've been searching for days, and I only found two bags on the entire Internet that fit my criteria. Here they are:

Lululemon convertible Yogi tote, $54 (and free shipping!). Freakin' Lululemon, home of the $98 stretch pants: I never thought I'd buy anything from there, but this is the one I got. The mat goes in the bottom part, and you put your other crap in the top part. If you just need to tote the mat, turn it inside out. Genius. It supposedly has tons of pockets for little stuff, too. The reviews say the handles are too short, but I'm hoping I can deal. If not, or if it's just way too big, I'm going to plan B:

Sundara Studio "Urban Yogi" bag, $65. This one's handmade and designed for a casually rolled-up mat, with room for a few extras. I like the colors of this one—most yoga stuff on the Internet is so cheesily hippied-out you feel like you need to confirm it came from a patchouli-free home. If the Lululemon needs to be returned, I'm totally trying this out.

4 SUPER Cute Tops For Under $100

When staring down into the deep, dark unknown that is my crappy Ikea wardrobe that houses the bulk of my closet (you say "walk-in," I say "hastily constructed particle board rectangle with doors!"), I've started to realize that what I'm really lacking is cute, easy-to-wear tops. Being, um, let's say generously curvy in "places," I try to avoid tight tops because they can look hooch-o-rama and kind of tacky. I aim to be neither of those things. So I like a slightly tailored yet comfortably slouchy top. Even better if it's got a banded waist so I don't look like I'm wearing a paper or plastic bag.

Anyway, here are four adorable tops -- I'm big into lace insets, apparently -- that look perfect with jeans and are still casual, don't get me wrong, but they're a half step up from the t-shirt-and-jeans look. And they're all under $100, so that's even more adorable, you know?

4 Adorable Tops I'd Buy In Second Because They're Under $100 

+ Ella Moss "Kaleidoscope" Lace Inset Sweatshirt, $98, Bloomingdales.com
+ Ella Moss "Chastity" Lace Draped Neck Top, $61.42, Bloomingdales.com
+ Dustie Doll Acid Wash Lace Cutout Sweatshirt, $65, Stantonjames.com
+ BB Dakota cropped Lake Superior Top, $48, Fredflare.com

Here's What The Hilton Looked Like Back In The Day

(Credit: This guy's Flickr)

YOU GUYS! Can you BELIEVE that this was an actual ad for Hilton? Those uniforms are BUHLOWING my mind back and forth, side to side. Is that Conrad himself in that red ringleader Svengali situation? I can't EVEN HANDLE the broccoli chef's toque on the far right. It's like the Love Boat crashed directly into a gay pride float. IN THE BEST WAY EVER. If anyone in the world opens up an actual hotel based on this Rainbow Brite creative, PLEASE CALL ME. I will be there for the opening ceremony. Also, PLEASE equip every room with those "computers."

Also, speaking of hotels, my one-year anniversary (I believe that's the poster putty anniversary? Actually it's the paper anniversary, and you know what's made of paper? MONEY! CHECKS! So FEEL FREE to send me some!) is coming up, and we're headed here for a long weekend next month:

It's the c/o Maidstone in East Hampton. With the exception of a quick day-long work trip, I've never been to the Hamptons, and Jauntsetter had a great deal. I love a boutique hotel, I love a hotel robe.

This Trench Coat Grew A Beard

($380, Topshop)

That's what happened here, right?

FashionBinge Needs A Facelift

So, FashionBinge needs a new coat of paint. If you're really good at site design (and... maybe wanna work pro bono), LMK, 'kay?

Also, what do you want to see more of on FashionBinge? Less? TELL A WOMAN.

Cutest Rainboots Ever?

Tamar told me to blog, so dammit, I'm blogging. And here it is: Holy crap, I think I need these. (I may be getting too...ahem...muscular for my current ones!) But what pattern? They are equally adorable!

Sperry Top-Sider "Shearwater" rain boots, $67. I'm thinking gray leopard....

BREAKING! These are cute too...

Sperry Top-Sider "Hingham" boots, $72.

Annnnnd I wouldn't kick these See By Chloe boots out of bed (or any of the new lace-up Hunters):

But sorry, you're an asshole if you spend more than $150 on rubber boots.

Hi/bye!

OOH! WHO WANTS TO SHLEP TO QUEENS FOR $6 PANTYHOSE?

This depresses me. Someone actually took time out of their day to post $6 pantyhose to Craigslist. I can't know the hustle, but it's like really? This is how you're spending your valuable time on earth. Posting hoisery to Craigslist.

PS: They're brand-new! Unworn!

Oh Woe, Dannijo!

($585, Dannijo, Dannijo.com)

Oh Dannijo. Get OUT of my dreams and ONTO my neck.

I'm in the market for a new necklace. Like THE necklace. Like a necklace that's an entire outfit in and of itself. I even recently said to someone, someday my entire wardrobe will be all black with a different enormous statement necklace for every day of the year. I consider this reasonable. Amen.

Two Pieces Of Jewelry I Won't Be Buying

($695, Haute Hippie, Shopbop.com)

This is some Mad Max ish that looks like someone attached some chains to road kill. And I'm uncomfortable with it.

($21.95, Neivz, Amazon.com)

Though not as uncomfortable as I am with this boobs ring! It's fine to have boobs, and fine to have rings, but I'm uncomfortable standing having arrived at the intersection of both. It's an intersection that just doesn't need to exist.

Kitty Gaga

My cat is super fashionable, obviously.

This Necklace Perfectly Captures The Essence Of New York's Nightly Dilemma

($26.95, Steven Shein, Karmaloop.com)

Good question, because they ain't gonna pay for themselves. RIGHT, ladies?

Wish List: Tiffany Lacquer Bracelets

I saw these Tiffany Elsa Peretti (one of Tiffany & Co.'s original jewelry designers) lacquer bangles at a Tiffany preview event a few months back, and I've had them on my mental wishlist since then. And then lo and behold, Natalie Portman style jacked me when she wore one to the premiere of "No Strings Attached" or "Friends Who Have Sex With Friends" or whatever that horrifying looking Ashton Kutcher movie is called.

($395, Tiffany)

Aren't they just gorgeous perfection? And they're a departure from the silver-heart-chain-bracelets that I usually think of when I think of Tiffany. I love the polished shine. And I'd especially love how the black one would look on my wrist! Right next to a blue one! Right next to an orange one!

No, Really, YOU'RE WELCOME.

($300, Sterling Bartlett, Bloodisthenewblack.com)

All that's missing from illustrator Sterling Bartlett's "You're Welcome" ring is a Kanye shrug. He already threw the Black Sabbath lyric into the inside and a rat on the outside. I just love the how the font itself basically implies that this is the "f--- you" version of "you're welcome." The nastiest "you're welcome" of them all.

(Credit/ Copyright: Sterling Bartlett)

New Year's Fashion Resolutions!

Happy 2011, y'all! It's only been 2011 for 11 days, so far, I think it's -- in the parlance of "Saturday Night Live's" Miley Cyrus Show -- puhhritttty cool!

Speaking of new year, FashionBinge is almost FIVE years old and, and we just broke the 1 million pageview mark! (Snork!) Yay, Web stuff! And thank you for reading FashionBinge! You're... pur-ittty cool! 

Anyway, did you make any fashion resolutions? I never even make real resolutions. (It's like, hey guess what? Go to the gym more and less crap. Okay...) But I have a few unofficial fashion / style resolutions I'd like to... resolve.

1.) Wear less baggy/ shapeless stuff. Skinny jeans I live in. But tight tops? Uh, no thanks. You just get to a certain age where a skintight top can make you look, how may I put this... like a slut? There's no balance! And I love balance. But there's also a balance between HUGE rucksack and something Ice T's wife Coco would wear. And for years I was wearing way more of the latter. Now, every time I wear a top that's isn't tight, mind you, but is actually my size, people are like DID YOU LOSE WEIGHT? The answer is, no. I just stopped wearing tops that absolutely swallowed me. I try to aim for more fitted, tailored tops. And it makes a big difference. Huge.

2.) Buy more silk tops and dresses. They feel a little vintage and elegant, and they even look dressed-up with a pair of black skinny jeans. Especially dark silks.

3.) PURGE MYSELF OF ALL HOODIES! I've never really been much of a hoodie person (except for the year 2002, when I wore a thin grey one like ALL YEAR -- wtf!), but honestly, once you're over age 30, I firmly believe that there are just two places you should wear a hoodie. The gym, and/or camping. The only exception is with a motorcycle jacket, if you're good at making that look happen. I mean, if wearing a hoodie all the time is your jam, then great for you. If you're into hoodies, and you're 96, well, I'd salute you just for being 96. But for me, it's not happening.

4.) Get rid of anything too cutesy-wootsy. Look, I LOVE cat t-shirts and stuff. I just don't need 123 trillion of them. I'm at the point where anything cartoony or cutesy needs to have some level of spectacular edge. Because I just don't need to look like I'm four when I'm old enough to have a four-year-old. (Barely though!) I know novelty prints are big for Spring 2011, but I'm carefully considering wearing anything with a face on it these days.

5.) GET RID OF OLD CLOTHES! "They" always say get rid of anything you haven't worn in a year. And I used to hold fast to like, Carol Brady sweaters and stuff just because they had some kind of vague sentiment attached to them. Those vague sentiments being something like "this is a fun, warm sweather." WHO CARES? It may be cute but it looks like hammered shit on me. Much like the now-old adage of "he's just not that into you," I've adopted a similar mantra for clothes to break myself of the habit of hanging onto clothes that don't look good on me while holding out the hope that they somehow may. IT'S NEVER GOING TO WORK. I don't even mean stuff that is too small. Just stuff that has NEVER worked on me. IT'S NEVER GONNA WORK! GET RID OF IT! GIVE IT UP! STOP TORTURING YOURSELF! THERE ARE 1 TRILLION OTHER THINGS OUT THERE THAT WILL LOOK GOOD. STOP HANGING ONTO THE 14 THINGS THAT DON'T!

Anyway, I finally had a serious come-to-Jesus with my closet and brought a TON of stuff to Beacon's Closet and Black Bear Vintage. This hot pink and blue jumper. IT WAS FLANNEL. It was RIDICULOUS. Changing-of-the-seasons time (aka -- when you pack away your shorts and bring out your sweaters) is the perfect time to do that. After a year-long hiatus in the top part of my closet, this stuff became totally out-of-sight-out-of-mind. It was a lot easier to get rid of that sweater after not having seen it for a year. I could barely remember I owned it, much less justify keeping it. And getting rid of old stuff made me feel SO good. I have the opposite problem of hoarding basically.

6.) Fance it up a little more. Dress up a little bit more. I'm not a total schlump or anything, but as Kurt Hummel said on the show "Glee," " Every moment of your life is an opportunity for fashion." Of course, he's a completely fictitious person constructed by a staff of Hollywood writers, but it's still The Truth. In other words, IT'S 2011! FOR GOD'S SAKE, PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER, WOMAN!




Drake featuring Mary J. Blige & Swizz Beatz - Fancy (Remix) by Hypetrak

THIS Is How You Wear Orange

Before watching Emmy Rossum on "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon," I had almost no opinion of her, good or bad. My only knowledge of her was fact-based. She was in the "Phantom of the Opera" movie. (Fact!) I once saw her on 45th Street holding hands with Adam Duritz. (Fact!) She's in that new show with William H. Macy. (Fact!)

But after seeing her on Fallon in this amazing J. Mendel outfit, she's now unofficially the queen of orange. Orange is my favorite color, but, as we probably all know, it's a really difficult color to wear, especially if you're fair-skinned (and I am!) But Emmy looks absolutely stunning in head-to-toe, two-orange. I love the warmth her gold earrings bring out and her perfect neutral, muted makeup. Kudos to you, Emmy Rossum! Or, as Ramona Singer would say, "kudoose!"

I can't tell if her shoes are maroon or brown, but they're not, THANK GOODNESS, black, which can be one of those worst colors you could pair with orange, lest you look like a walking celebration of Halloween.

But, orange is big for Spring 2011, so here a few tips for wearing orange:
+ Gold accessories. Stay golden!
+ Wear beige, camel, tan or putty-colored shoes. I LOVE the combination of orange and beige heels.
+ If you can pull it off, complement orange with  sky blue or rusty brown accents. Or even a sweet lavender.

(Credit: Redcarpet-fashionawards.com)

Oh, and watch Emmy Rossum on Fallon. She's adorable AND a cat person! YAY!

I'd Get Along Famously With These Shoes

($549, Yotam Solomon, Stantonjames.com)

I can tell just by looking at these Yotam Solomon heels that we'd be a great match. A perfect fit. I love how architectural and slightly post-apocalyptic they feel. A little like a motorcycle boot had unprotected sex with a stiletto.

Yotam Solomon also has a collection inspired by the BP Oil Spill. Proceeds go to the clean-up.

Also love the Verre pump:

($679, Yotam Solomon, StantonJames.com)

They're SEVEN inches high, which is almost taller than me (almost), but I love the color combo. It's like an updated take on "Valley of the Dolls." They make me want to put them on and heat up the lasagna.

Jessica Szohr Stole My Dress!

Jessica Szohr, take OFF my dress and give it back to me THIS INSTANT. Jessica has a habit of stealing clothes from me, you see? Seriously, HOW adorable is this alice + olivia by Stacey Bendet striped "Emmie" dress?

($368, Aliceandolivia.com)

I love how it's styled like vintage Barbie:

Furthermore, I like how it would go with MY ENTIRE WARDROBE! The shoe options alone!

($150, Topshop)

This dress is crying out -- nay, WEEPING -- for a pair of suede bow pumps!

These Boots Are Made For Spendin'

($690, maisonmartinmargiela.com)

I've deemed these cut-out silver-heeled Maison Martin Margiela leather boots worthy of my $690! Congrats! 

2 Cute Loft Tops I'll Inevitably Buy

UPDATE! BOUGHT! They're great. The striped blouse is so light and slouchy. GET IT.

I should really just stop procrastinating and buy these, right? Procrastinating is bad!

($49.50, Loft)

($49.50, Loft)

I love a flowy blouse, and I love Loft. That's obvious.

Snowpocalypse Shopping!

My neighborhood. That MIGHT be a car in the bottom left corner.

I don't know if you heard, but New York City basically turned itself inside out after it snowed here. What? You didn't hear that it snowed in New York? Well it did. You could bury bodies in my three-foot snowbanks in my backyard. (Note: PLEASE don't.)

Anyway, here are the things I contemplated buying:

($259, Elly Clay, Stantonjames.com)

I'm really not a clutch girl myself, but if I were this zippery animal print clutch. Oh wait? There's a chain strap? Hm. Considering moving this from "maybe" to "very possibly."

($129, Aryn K, Babelfair.com)

For YEARS I avoided tie-dye for fear of any and all associations with Birkenstocks, dirty toenails, baggy corduroy pants, and the band Phish. (I will admit a BRIEF dalliance with Phish my sophomore year of high school, but in my defense, everyone was doing it, and it was short-lived. I admit that they do possess a certain level of musical proficiency, but if I wanted to listen to the sounds of a vacuum cleaner, I'd plug in my Dyson, feed it an electric violin, and lay on the couch.) Anyway, I've slowly realized that a black or grey tie-dyed garment, and not, say, a rainbow swirl, can be mysteriously cool. I really love Helmut Lang's shadowy, smoky prints. Anyway, the point is, a DARK tie-dye -- like this great asymmetrical jacket -- can be so appealing. Any combination of red, green, yellow and blue = Ben & Jerry's. Don't do that.

The Year In Beauty: These Are My Favorite Things, Part 5

Without further ado, here's the fifth and final installment of my and Beauty Blogging Junkie Amber's favorite beauty products of 2010. I figured 2011 is as good a time as ever to... post the last post in our series. Which I should've done in 2010, but whatever. I was busy watching "Hoarders" and not making resolutions.

Here are the beauty products we discuss. As you can tell, I veered off course and discussed my seashell shoes and a Marc Jacobs pen that looks like lipstick. Kinda counts, right?

Me: LA Looks Cashmere Curls Gel (the holy GRAIL of curly hair products), Lancome 020 Le Rouge L'Wren Scott Nail Polish (which is highly sold out, unfortunately -- I got the last one in all of Saks), Haus of Price Shoes,  Marc By Marc Jacobs Lipstick Pen, and MOR Cosmetics bath and body products

Amber: Sally Beauty Supply Femme Couture Mascara Set (with glitter mascara!), Beverly Hills Skin Care Advanced Youth Recovery Cream, Philosophy The Supernatural Superbeautiful Foundation SPF 20.