Suffer for Fashion!

This is the end...?

2008-01-07T09:53:00.000-06:00

I'm putting this blog on hiatus for now. I haven't felt much like writing in here even when I do find the time to blog. I'm not sure if Erik will keep on blogging, that's fine by me, but there won't be any entries from me for awhile most likely. If I do decide to revive her I will let everyone that reads this know, I just don't know when that could be.

I have a lot of goals to accomplish this year. Wish me luck!

Thanks for reading!

Erik's Top Ten Albums of the year

2007-12-19T18:17:00.000-06:00

Hey campers.

As part of my (admittedly early) New Year's Resolution to contribute to this blog more, I will begin by serenading you with my top ten albums of 2007.

#1. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver

Instead of giving you an in-depth analysis of why I love this album so much and how many times I have listened to "Watch the Tapes" this year on my way to/from work, let me just give you these snippets from various reviews of this album:

"Sequenced as well as any LP this decade" - Pitchfork
"Over and over, these songs reveal how a wisecracking record geek can still achieve rapture." - Spin

"I’d be surprised if the genre can produce anything much better than this." - No Ripcord

This is not merely an album, more a soundtrack for an entire generation confronted with the realities of the "real world," forced to cast off their idealism and instead merely laugh at the absurdity of it all.

Moreover, as an admitted "Goddamned track skipper," there is not a single song on this album that I dislike nor skip after listening to it pretty much endlessly all year. Probably my favorite album since Z.

Favorite Track - "All My Friends"

#2 - MIA - Kala

Coming in just the tiniest of margins behind (with a cheap AK in hand), comes not only one of the best albums but one of the most forceful political statements of the year. Kala finds MIA really flexing her muscles, copping well-known samples (not just the chorus on "20 Dollar," but the bass line from "Blue Monday" is in the same song) and hooking up with big-name producers (Switch), but making them distinctly her own. Stylistically, this is an album all across the board - everything from Bollywood standards ("Jimmy") to wildlife samples ("Bird Flu") to frantic, glitchy rave beats ("XR2") is put into the blender and reinterpreted in a totally unique and ultimately catchy way.

In most politics, both sides scream at another but the truth lies somewhere in the middle. MIA gives a voice to a side so startling that even the middle ground is a bit unsettling. Also bonus points for being of the few artists still advancing the "music as political statement" cause.

Favorite Track - "Paper Planes" or "Jimmy"

#3 - Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam

I used to have a very difficult time with Animal Collective, feeling that they were at times a bit too avant-garde and focused on the strange sound and composition and the "art" instead of making something pleasing to listen to.

This album changed that. And how.

By scaling back some of the occasionally overwhelming sound, it allowed me to better appreciate the instrument that is Avey Tare's voice as it jumps all around on this album. Lyrically, this album has some of the more fascinating phrases put to music this whole year.

Favorite Track - "Fireworks"

#4 - Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, are you the Destroyer?

Where to begin with this band? The glammiest of glam, the poppiest of pop, this is a band that arrived two decades too late for the mainstream. If this came out in 1984, it would be all over MTV.

Also, thanks for naming our blog!

Favorite Track - "Gronlandic Edit"

#5 - Daft Punk - Alive 2007

To dismiss this as a "live album" or a "remix album" is a disservice to the intricacy of the mix of these songs. All of your favorite Daft Punk songs are slowed down, sped up, cut up, lined up and mixed into one coherent set, reinterpreting and reimagining even the songs you have heard hundreds of times.

In particular, track 5 is an epic, starting with Steam Machine, slowly dissolving into that oh-so-familiar Around the World bass line, then lined up with Harder Better Faster Stronger - and after an improvised scat-vocal break, the song is officially shifted to "Ludicrous Speed" as two men in robot suits drop into the mix "work it/work it/work it/work it/faster/faster/faster/faster." Seventy thousand people hopping in a field can't be wrong.

Favorite Track - "Around the World / Harder Better Faster Stronger"

#6 - Justice - Cross

This could very easily be #5a, as French House was EVERYWHERE in 2007. Yet another duo with fantastic pop sensibilities crafting unique videos and catchy hits. Even the infamously hard-to-please Kanye gave them props. Kid choir vocals, distorted catchy guitar loops - this is the future of pop music.

Favorite Track - "Waters of Nazareth"

#7 - Burial - Untrue

There is a lot about this album that reminds me of a sped-up Portishead with vocal samples instead of Beth Gibbons. A fantastic album for cold winter days. I could go on about how it's "mournful" and "soulful" and all sorts of other -fuls but it's beyond that - in addition to the raw emotion it's clean and catchy. It's almost better that s/he remain anonymous - I fear that the modern interrogation that has become the interview would prevent the artist from going to their "creative place."

Favorite Track - "Archangel"

#8 - Radiohead - In Rainbows

If this were a top ten list of most important albums released this year, this would unequivocally be number 1. Radiohead once again thought big, and landed the latest haymaker against the RIAA oligarchy.

But it's not. And the music, while typically good and typically Radiohead, is merely very good in a year full of spectacular efforts. I was still hoping for a new Bends.

Favorite Song - "Videotape"

#9 - Kanye West - Graduation

Let me make one thing abundantly clear - I hate the overwhelming vast majority of mainstream top 40 music. Can't stand it, really.

But. Kanye West, for all his brash arrogance and egotism, is the one person in mainstream pop music who is continuing to push the envelope. He understands that the future of music is not in showy, call-and-response "ringtone rap," nor is it the slick, overproduced singer-starlets that seem to be fabricated on television right before our eyes. He's the continuation of the MIchael Jackson school of pop - perfect, ubiquitous hooks that are easy to sing along to and follow you everywhere you go.

In GQ's December Men of the Year issue, Kanye said that Graduation is "nowhere near as good as I'm capable of." I just hope his egotism doesn't lead him to get a pet chimp.

Favorite Track - "Good Life" (sorry, I'm a sucker for that synth line)

#10 - The Tuss - Rushup Edge

Thanks Mitch!

2007 was the year I really got into some of the crazier drum and bass artists, and nothing quite defines crazy drum and bass like Richard D. James. Intricate and meticulous, yet accessible and head-nod-worthy, this album helped open my eyes to a whole new world of electronic music.

Favorite Track - "Shiz Ko E"

Honorable Mention:

Menomena - Friend and Foe
Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends
White Stripes - Icky Thump (Finally, the old Stripes sound again!)
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible (probably #11)
The Field - From Here We Go Sublime

Apparently, from reading other people's lists, I should also have listened to Panda Bear?

Show of the Year:

Hot Chip, the Granada

I don't attend shows like I once did, but I have seen probably my fair share. And in all of the shows that I have seen at the Granada (including the Nightmare on Mass Street), I have NEVER seen people get down like I did that hot, humid summer afternoon. Some of the more subdued tracks took on a new life, most memorably "(Just Like We) Breakdown."

That's all for now. I may add more later. In the meantime, we'll continue consuming media so you don't have to...

"Trollson Twins" by Peta

2007-12-11T13:00:00.000-06:00

On one hand this is extremely amusing but on the other hand this is kind of cruel. But then again, I believe it's cruel to steal a poor animal's skin just to wear it in a fashion sense. There are plenty of faux furs out there that look just like the real thing.

PETA Targets Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen in New Campaign, Calls Them the "Trollsen Twins" Tuesday December 11, 2007
Courtesy of PETA

Move over, Jennifer Lopez.
PETA has a new target.

Well, two targets: Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.
In a new ad campaign to be unveiled today at the Olsens' Walk of Fame star on Hollywood Boulevard, PETA blasts the 21-year-old star sibs — whom they dub the "Trollsen Twins — for wearing fur and including it in their collections Elizabeth and James and The Row.
"Thin-twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are about to get some publicity that will have them running away faster than if they'd spotted a calorie," the group said in a snarky statement today.
The new ad features the twins above the headline "Fur Is Worn by Beautiful Animals and Ugly People."
To coincide with the ad, PETA has also launched a new web site devoted to "Hairy-Kate" and "Trashley."
It features, among other things, a mash-up video called "Full House of Horrors," in which footage from the twins' former hit TV show is interspersed with – you guessed it – scenes of animals being killed for fur.
"No one would argue that Mary-Kate and Ashley could use some meat on their bones, but the last thing they need is hair on their backs," PETA's Assistant Director of Youth Campaigns Dan Shannon said in a statement.

Peta has also created a "game" on their site where you can dress the twins in bloody pelts!

Source

Another Girl Gone Red!

2007-12-07T10:11:00.001-06:00

Mischa Barton recently dyed her hair a fabulous shade of red. I love it of course but I may be a bit biased as it is my favorite hair color. What do you think? Do you prefer Mischa's beautiful blonde tones or her new vibrant red?

Before:

After:

Source for the bottom two: theskinnywebsite.com, although I actually found these on a message board. Sorry, I can't remember where I found the blonde before shot.

Smokin' hot!

2007-11-30T15:37:00.000-06:00

Check out these Christian Bale photographs that set my girlie parts afire! (haha, sorry for that little image but I couldn't help myself).
I've always had a thing for the bad boys and these pictures are no exception. I know I shouldn't be attracted to people who smoke but I have been since my teens. I think it's just the whole bad boy image.

Photographs by: Ellen von Unwerth

See also Ryan Gosling post.

Style Inspiration

2007-11-20T16:13:00.000-06:00

I have a history of loving really awful teenage tv shows. But you know what? I don't care. I love being addicted. My newest love is Blair Waldorf from CW's Gossip Girl. She's a bitch but you like her. At least I like her. But most of all I love watching what the characters are wearing. Here are a few pictures from my Blair Waldorf collection. She is the brunette for you non-Gossip Girl watchers. Even though I kind of doubt I could pull off these looks, it sure would be fun to try!

Various sources: The CW, gossip sites, etc.

I need to keep this blog updated better. I swear I have all ideas of things I should/could post but never take the time to write up a blog.

Be certain there shall be some Project Runway updates in your future. I am obsessed with that show. Obsessed enough to convince myself that I needed a sewing machine for Christmas last year. A sewing machine that has collected dust. A sewing machine that needs a warm touch and some love from it's owner. I hope that I can get motivated to learn more about it this winter.

Also I'm hoping to come up with a new design for this blog. I kind of hate this pink color now.
XOXO,
Mandy

GQ Men

2007-11-07T11:02:00.000-06:00

Enjoy these gorgeous and hot photographs from some recent GQs:

Ryan Gosling

Mark Ronson

All I can say is yummy.

-Mandy

Something to look forward to!!

2007-10-25T18:05:00.000-05:00

Oh yes! You bet your ass I am dying for this movie to come out!

I don't care what anyone says! Ha!

An Update!

2007-10-12T10:47:00.000-05:00

Hello to all of the 3 people that read this blog!
There are going to be some changes happening. My fashion-conscious husband
just informed me that he'd like to make posts on this blog as well, so look forward to that in the future.
And my sister had her baby 10/10/07 so I have been quite busy these past few days.
Hopefully once we get our new computer at home we will be updated more frequently and making this blog more fun.

Love, Mandy

My life is complete once more...

2007-10-01T12:49:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd post these scans from Entertainment Weekly's new issue. Multiple covers from one of my favorite tv shows. I need to buy this magazine! The Jim and Pam cover for sure.

Scared by the Bell!

2007-09-21T14:59:00.000-05:00

Did you often ponder, as I did, if you had the chance, would you choose Zack or Slater from the classic sitcom, Saved by the Bell? I hurried home every day from the bus to catch a few episodes of these hotties at Bayside High.
Taking a look back at these hot bods, even though we had our favorite, it sure was a tough choice, wasn't it?

Do you think you'd still have that same problem today?

Mario Lopez....

OR this beast...
Mark-Park Gosselaar what the hell happened to you??

You still have the time to overcome this hair mishap Mark.

Love,
Mandy

L.A.M.B. Spring 2008 & something scary

2007-09-14T15:21:00.000-05:00

I could not resist posting some of the Spring 08 collection Gwen Stefani debuted at Fashion Week. I got the pictures from Style.com. I'm not a huge fan of Gwen's music. Well, since not since 1996 anyway. Some of her solo stuff can get me dancing although much of it gets me cringing. I can't say the same thing for her design efforts. I love almost everything she wears and designs.

From Style.com:

Now for the something scary. Dear Courtney Love - What are you doing to yourself? So you hated the plastic surgery you had...so you got more? It seems to be when someone uses more plastic surgery to fix old plastic surgery, the result is never good. Soon enough, she will morph into that lady that wanted to look like a cat, or Michael Jackson. It's just sad.
From tmz.com

Weird shoes & some hotness

2007-09-12T12:42:00.000-05:00

Just what was Marc Jacobs thinking when he designed these horrible shoes for Spring 2008? They don't look the least bit functional and they are damn ugly if you ask me.

I came across these pictures of Ewan McGregor today at some celebrity event and decided that he is my number 2 crush, right behind my lover Jason Bateman.

Enjoy this bounty I have bestowed upon you. You deserve it after pondering those disgusting shoes.

Love, Mandy

Style Inspiration

2007-09-05T12:25:00.000-05:00

I wish I could have this laid back but put-together style. I saw this ad for Kersh in the HUGE ass fall issue of Vogue. So I checked them out and so far found out that they are in Canada...not sure where you can get this stuff in the states. I love all of the gray together, but I've always loved gray. It's probably hard to tell because I'm so attracted to bright colorful things most of the time.
My funds are so low I have no idea when I will buy things for fall. I'm sure it will be when I'm actually needing something warm that fits. Many of last years items are too big and weird fitting on me, no matter how many times I've tried to shrink them!

On this week's agenda: Planning a totally awesome (hopefully) baby shower for my little sister. Wish me luck!

I'm ill

2007-08-24T14:35:00.000-05:00

I went to Target today and now I feel sick because they had so much cute stuff that I need!

Or maybe it's the fact that I ate gross Burger King at 10 p.m. last night. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's the actual reason. Ha!

Fast forward to Fall

2007-08-21T11:02:00.000-05:00

If you know me at all, you know I love summer! I dream of summer all year round and even enjoy those hot sweaty days when everyone else is miserable. Now, this year is a different story. I think I have sweated more this year than normal, or maybe it's just that I'm getting old...but I'm actually looking forward to fall this year. Also, with fall, comes the excuse to buy new clothes!
I'm sure I will add more stuff later on but right now here is some stuff I'm totally digging:

Booties or ankle boots - My husband hated the adorable Franco Sarto black ankle boots I picked up from TJ Maxx last winter. I'm having the last laugh now because they are even more in style this season! Ha!

From Zappos.com:
Too lazy to see who these are by.

These are Gabriella Rocha.

I think these are my favorite! Wish I could afford them. Made by Rocket Dog.

From Urban Outfitters:

And you have to have fun tights to wear with them! Also from UO.

The biggest color this season is gray, if you already didn't know, and I love these gray herringbone pants from the Gap:

These cute dresses are also from Gap:

Hmm...is something missing from these potential outfits? Of course, I forgot headgear. Berets, crochet or otherwise are hot this fall. From Forever 21:

Happy Fall Shopping Everyone!

Love, Mandy

I can give you what you want

2007-08-14T13:00:00.000-05:00

I haven't really listened to this band much. I don't know if their new album is good or not...I'll probably check it out. I like the song named Ice Cream and the remix or whatever it is. But what's important here is the clothes.

Sorry, I'm too lazy to look up this chick's name but her heart belt is so adorable! I'm seriously a sucker for anything bright-colored and 80s-esque. I had to steal this picture from myspace because I couldn't find that exact photo anywhere else. But you should check out their myspace anyhow. The album got decent reviews on Pitchfork Media. Maybe my friends over at the newly named Range Life, (formerly known as Midwest Music), will write a review about it. Or maybe they will think I'm crazy.

Love,

Mandy

Hot new car

2007-08-13T15:22:00.001-05:00

I purchased this hot new car over the weekend. I love her already. She's such a classy lady. I think because she reminds me of a shade of lipstick or something. Usually I don't name my vehicles but this one, yes, she is deserving of a name.

These photographs are from the car dealerships website. I need to take new photographs of her soon.

Interesting...

2007-06-27T11:10:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I came across this myspace profile called FashionHouse Kansas City, (www.myspace.com/fashionhousekansascity). I added them thinking, "something with fashion in Kansas!?" Cool! They emailed me and asked if I had seen their sister publication, FACE Newspaper, because they have a few job openings. I have not heard of this publication but am curious to find out more. I'm not going to get my hopes up but it'd be so perfect if it came about.

My Kate Moss Topshop Faves

2007-06-15T12:55:00.000-05:00

Everything is actually more affordable than I thought. These are my picks:

Skinny Leg Jean £50.00 (in red)
Although I'm unsure about my ability to carry these off with my curvy body, I love them:

This little number is called Guatamalan playsuit - naughty! £40.00

I love the two-tone, but I don't think it's available to purchase:

And lastly this "little black dress", £50.00 (also in white)

Wow, that is a lot of black! I was just feelin' it today. Possibly because my birthday is coming up and I'm in mourning.

Love, Mandy

H&M Newsweek Article

2007-06-14T11:31:00.000-05:00

Okay, why won't the H&M going into Legends open already! Damn, how long do I have to wait?

H&M's Material Girls
The retailer speeds ahead with fast fashions.

Web Exclusive
By Keith Naughton
Newsweek
June 10, 2007 - Even on a soggy spring morning, H&M is causing a commotion outside its newest store in suburban Chicago. Madonna and Beyoncé blast from giant speakers as workers hand out gift cards to dozens of shoppers lining up before the doors open to the Bolingbrook, Ill., store. These shivering shoppers are attracted by the two things H&M creates best: discount designer duds and get-it-now buzz. "It's, like, the only store I go into at the mall," says 23-year-old Sabrina Biziarek, while clutching her gift card and waiting for the doors to open.
Since its first U.S. store opened in 2000, H&M has transformed the calculus of cheap chic. With an in-house staff of 120 designers and a nimble network of Asian and European factories, the Swedish retailer can move the latest look from runway to rack in three weeks. And H&M sells high style at crazy-low prices ($3.90 necklaces, $29.90 minidresses). America has become H&M's fastest-growing market, ringing up $231 million in sales this year, up 30 percent over last year. Analysts believe H&M's 129 U.S. outlets could eventually grow to 1,000 stores. "It's in-and-out fashion," says retail analyst Candace Corlett. "They're raising shoppers' expectations for fast, furious, new."
Other European fast-fashion chains are hot on H&M's high heels. Spain's Zara has already set up shop in the United States, while Britain's Topshop arrives next year. Even discount retailer Steve & Barry's is trying to get in on the action with its new line of low-priced basics designed by "Sex and the City" 's Sarah Jessica Parker. But doing quick knockoffs of top designers can lead to trouble. Forever 21 is being sued by designer Diane von Furstenberg for copying her couture. Instead of fighting H&M, though, many of the fashion elite are joining it. Stella McCartney knocked off herself for H&M with a line that included $79.90 sweaters that looked like the $1,665 versions from her Gucci Group collection.
How does H&M get designers on its side? It is careful not to directly rip off their looks. "We don't copy the catwalks," says H&M chief designer Margareta van den Bosch. "We take inspiration from what's happening in the culture, with celebrities and on the catwalks." H&M is ramping up its celebrity hookups. This spring, its Madonna line—a $59.90 "naughty secretary" dress; a $34.90 black corset belt—was a sellout, and now it's rolling out a beachwear collection by Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue. Karl Lagerfeld and Dutch designers Viktor & Rolf have also created cut-rate couture for H&M. The hook: their collections are in stores for only a few weeks.
For decades, Hennes & Mauritz has clothed the "hip & modish" in Europe. Its fast-fashion formula puts a twist—like a different color or fabric—into a look first seen in Milan or Paris. It also mixes street with runway. If five kids come into an H&M store asking for a new hip-hop print, their request gets e-mailed to Sweden, where designers go to work on it. To see how all this translates, NEWSWEEK went shopping with Faran Krentcil, editor of Fashionista.com, at H&M's Fifth Avenue store in New York. "I'm freaking out; this is fabulous," Krentcil raves as she finds a $39.90 gray bohemian shift dress. Chloé offered a similar frock on its spring 2007 runways, but the designer version had a smocking front layered with gold and turquoise. "H&M has taken away all the embellishments, kept it a monochrome color and replaced its crazy gold embroidery with peasant lace. If you wear this, nobody will know where it came from."
As H&M moves into the heartland, though, there are fewer fashionistas up on the latest look from Miu Miu. "It has taken a bit longer to get adopted in the Midwest," admits H&M U.S. president Sanna Lindberg. So H&M took out ads in local papers to explain its frugal fashions. "It's great to know that if I see something in a magazine or on TV," says Cleveland sales rep Nancy Caspell, 27, "I can find it at H&M without having to cash in my 401(k)." Apparently bargain hunters are fast-fashion learners.
With Anna Kuchment, Joan Raymond and Elizabeth Coady
© 2007 Newsweek, Inc.

Party like a rockstar?

2007-06-12T13:00:00.000-05:00

My birthday is just around the corner so I thought I’d make a fun list of items I want!

1. Gift certificate to Forever 21. Look at all the adorable cuteness I could buy:

Yellow babydoll dress

Hot Pink tunic

Satin Leopard print dress even though I don't know where I'd wear it!

Summertime brings out my inner hippie

Or maybe something for work?

2. New glasses. Now you might think this is strange but I haven’t had a new pair of glasses since 1999 and my eyes have changed quite a bit. Plus I stepped on my old glasses and they are very crooked. So I’m blind and have crooked glasses. It’s definitely not possible for me to really wear them at all. I would love some sexy BCBG ones.

I've wanted these BCBG Venus frames for like 2 years now:

But I also like these Dahlia ones:

3. But the most important: Money for a new car. This is probably what I need the most. My Lexus needs new tires, alignment, new power steering pump, possibly new brakes/brake pads, a display that works – in addition to blinking off and on, it no longer tells me how fast I’m going. I’m not willing to put any more money into this car. I need a new one FAST! I have my eye on a gorgeous, hot-n-sexy, Mazda 3 like this one that I can probably not afford.

Now get out there and shop people! Just kidding.

Actually, here's a gift you might be able to afford:

Oops! I meant this:

Love, Mandy