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Fashion/Design

The Best Thrift Store in Austin: Finding Designer Clothing for Cheap

One of my all-time favorite thrift stores in Austin is Thrift Town.

Located at the intersection of Stassney and Machaca, this Southwestern thrift store chain is not only fun to shop at, but features monthly deals and contests. Sign up on their mailing list for frequent coupons and notifications on when they’re running sales.

Occassionally I’ll walk away from Thrift Town empty handed, but often I’ll walk away with some real gems for cheapies.

Here are some of my favorite finds at Thrift Town.

Yes, that is my boob.

 

Nanette Lepore embroidered dress- $2

Betsey Johnson pink satin dress- $9

Laura Ashley antique felt hat- $6

March 2, 2012 by
Fashion/Design, Pop Culture

The Best Reproductive Organ Inspired Finds on Etsy

Sometimes I like going through Etsy to find whatever interesting reproductive organ inspired items they have for sale.

There is never a shortage of them, that’s for sure. People have a healthy or unhealthy- I’m not sure which- fascination with their naughty bits and things that go in them, around them or outside of them.

Here are a few of my favorite finds below. Try not to get all excited now.

An artist in Austin made this pillow, so I will be careful not to say anything snarky. My only question is, “WHY?!?”

 

Since we’re on the theme of pillows, why not snuggle up to the largest condom you’ve ever seen? Truth be told, the pillow does look kind of comfy and baby-proof.

I like the idea that you must play the piano with this thing staring you in the face. What if you get really into piano playing, lean over and poke your eye out? How would you explain that one to friends?

Bloody tampon inspired catnip toy. ‘Cause we know how much cats love playing with used tampons.

 

The (more…)

March 1, 2012 by
Fashion/Design

Ladies, Do You Love Wearing Men’s Clothing Too?

I like men’s clothing.

I wish this were my big Ed Wood-like announcement in the form of writing rather than a poorly shot and performed film about transvestism, but it’s not. Everyone in my life has known that I’ve liked men’s clothing for a long time.

Ever since I was a little girl I’ve never thought strangely of wearing a bowtie, suspenders or suit. If spotting a colorful tie or loafers while thrift shopping, I must add them to my collection, a collection that also includes top hat (collapsible), fedora, two tuxedo jackets and several fitted pants.

This love of men’s clothing could have come from the fact that my family owned a casual and formal apparel store, but they specialized in women’s clothing, not men’s. My comfort in wearing men’s suits could have been cultivated by my mother’s encouragement to be whatever I wanted to be and not let anyone make me feel bad about myself.

CONTINUE….

February 7, 2012 by
Fashion/Design, Music

Life and Style Icon of the Day- Warren Zevon

Yesterday, I asked my father, a pianist and music lover, if he was familiar with Warren Zevon’s music. Considering that Zevon was a classically-trained musician, popular in a pivotal decade of music for my father and featured piano in many of his songs, I figured he was a fan.

“Sure, I used to listen to him back in the day. Has he come out with anything new lately?”

“Dad, he’s been dead for eight years.”

“Oh, wow. Really? I guess I haven’t listened to him since “Werewolves of London”.”

After my Dad said that, I figured he never actually listened to Warren Zevon at all. “Werewolves of London” is not a song you bring up if you’re a fan.

At one point that was the only song of Warren Zevon’s that I knew as well and I kind of hated it. It was on every Halloween compilation my mother owned and it would get played over and over during the holiday. After each howl, I swore off Zevon more and more.

I spoke of Zevon a bit on my recent CultureMap post about being indie-ignorant (more…)

January 19, 2012 by
Fashion/Design, Pop Culture

The Photography of WeeGee: Are Crime Scene Photos Art?

The other day, Flavorwire, one of my favorite pop culture sites, posted a most anticipated art exhibits of 2012 list. In it, they mentioned a photographer I never heard of: WeeGee, or Arthur Fellig.

WeeGee was a press photographer in the 30s and 40’s who documented life and death in New York City. He never shied from photo-taking at crime scenes and made sure to get the most dramatic photos possible (even if it meant staging the photo, as seen with ‘The Fashionable People’ three photos down). According to Wikipedia, WeeGee carried a dark room in his trunk and worked out of nightclubs to ensure his promptness.

WeeGee’s gritty photography quickly earned him acclaim and in the mid 40’s, his work was shown at MOMA, and he released his first book of photography. Later on,  he even was honored by the great acting talents of Joe Pesci, who loosely played WeeGee in the film The Public Eye.

What do you think of WeeGee’s work? Do you think it’s exploitative or do you find it an important (more…)

January 11, 2012 by
Fashion/Design, Pop Culture

For the Love of the Lady Mustache

Yesterday I wrote about beauty in the media and how we compare and contrast. I made a little footnote on Facebook that I still dig Zooey Deschanel’s peach fuzz ‘stache. It appeared that you did too. A lot. You freaky mo-fo’s.

Because of your fetish for the lady fuzz, I decided to write a post in honor of the female mustache. The womanly whiskers. The lip caterpillar. The Man Tickler. The Wo. The Frida. The Lady Grimley.

If you Google “Lady Mustache” or “Female Mustache” you don’t find a lot of  appropriate photos (however, in that search you will find a picture of me as Freddie Mercury considered a facial hair “fail”), but you do find glossy magazine articles advising you on how to get rid of the pesky lip creature. Shave it, bleach it, wax it, rat trap it, stick your face in a boiling hot pot of water and scrape it off your face with a pumice rock. Everyone hatin’ on the lady ‘stache, but why?

Oh, because they’re fucking terrifying? Sure, I won’t argue with you there.

But (more…)

December 14, 2011 by
Fashion/Design, Pop Culture

Beauty in the Media and Why We Constantly Compare and Contrast

The other day, I came across a Buzzfeed article titled ‘10 Scary Celebrity Close-Ups‘. In it, we are gifted extreme close-ups of celebs such as Katy Perry, Zooey Deschanel and Jennifer Aniston. I’ll be honest, the article brought some joy to my life after discovering a giant pimple forming in the middle of my forehead. Whoa! Look at Zooey Deschanel’s peach fuzz ‘stache! I found myself saying. Hot damn! Katy Perry looks like a wax figure! I giggled with delight. I secretly hated myself for thinking such things, but it felt oh so good to see these revealing photos.

But why? Why did it feel so damn good?

Even as someone who worked behind the camera and saw firsthand that celebs are human beings too, it’s still difficult not to compare and contrast when seeing photos of polished and perfect celebrities. Their skin always flawless, their thighs cellulite-free, their stomachs flat and toned and their hair always perfect. And even though we have nice reminders that is indeed not always (more…)

December 13, 2011 by
Fashion/Design, Pop Culture

Has Banksy Sold Out?

The other day I was hanging out at Austin’s uber-indie book store Book People and stumbled across a row of Banksy greeting cards.

My initial thought was, “Oh my God…guerrilla artist, now Hallmark?” but then I thought, “Eh, people need to make a living.”

Selling a line of greeting cards of your famous work does seem kind of counter-intuitive to the guerrilla art culture, but who am I to judge? If you Google “Banksy greeting cards“, a link to Banksy’s shop comes up but the link is dead. The search blurb says, “Banksy neither produces or profits from the sale of greeting cards, mugs or photo canvases of his work. He is not represented by any of the commercial galleries…”

I don’t know. What do you guys think? Kind of difficult to trust a guy who made Exit Through the Gift Shop. 

What do you guys think of Banksy? Sell-out, artist, or marketing genius?

 

December 12, 2011 by
Fashion/Design

Winter Fashion Staples: How To Look Stylish and Not Like Ralphie From A Christmas Story

It’s that time of year. That time where we Texans contemplate if we miss summer or not. 108 degrees or 40 degrees- which would you take?

Yes, Winter is finally here and I am completely not prepared.

I grew up in a town that has 8 month Winters and because of that and moved far, far away, as quickly as I could.  Because of this, I pretend that Winter no longer exists.

Every Winter I think I can get away without a heavy jacket and gloves and every Winter I suffer. Greatly. Or rather the people around me do. They have to listen to my teeth chattering and my exaggerated pleas for survival.

But, this year I’m going to be smart. This week is the first butt-ass cold week of the year and I’m already getting my Winter checklist ready. A checklist that doesn’t involve sweatpants. You know, the one where you can still look stylish and not like a bundled up Ralphie from A Christmas Story.

Check it below.

What are your winter staples?

Sheer Circle Scarf– This is quite possibly the (more…)

December 7, 2011 by
Fashion/Design

The Best Nerdy Glasses for Your Boyfriend

“I want to get a pair of glasses like David Byrne has in the “Once in a Lifetime” music video,” my boyfriend said to me the other day.

If he only knew how long I had been waiting to hear those words come from a man’s lips.

I remember the first time I saw the “Once in a Lifetime” music video. I thought, “One day I want to date a man who dresses like a faux-evangelist.”

Little did I know those days were the beginning of my transformation into a hipster.

The David Byrne “Once in a Lifetime” glasses are not that dissimilar to the George McFly glasses. Another man I had a crush on as a child.

Needless to say you can tell why I’m so excited that my boyfriend want to get- eek, dare I say, hipster glasses.

See, this is the problem with cool glasses. If you want to wear vintage or unique glasses, you get labeled a hipster no matter what. Well, what if you just dig old glasses? What if you’ve wanted to wear old glasses ever since you were a little girl and you really don’t (more…)

December 2, 2011 by