Sunshine Day
Courtesy of Glamour.com
One of my obsessions in the summer months is definitely strawberries. It looks like the writers at Glamour share my appreciation for the summertime fruit.
Keeping your hair healthy is hard work, especially during the summer months. Being somewhat of a bottle blonde myself…I don’t go Heidi Pratt light, but I do have highlights…I know first hand how dry hair can get and that it needs extra attention. Here are some tips from Marie Claire to keep your tresses in tip top shape.
Maybe this is a little bit too much information, but website TresSugar has compiled a list of Maxi Pad Ads from different decades. I found it facinating. You can pass on it if you’d like, but’s just interesting to see adds from different decades. TresSugar also put together a list of what they call ‘Must Reads’ for July. Worth looking at for trips to the beach.
The page of TresSugar however, that I’m so excited about is the slideshow featuring girls that wear glasses! A flamboyant boy last weekend told me that glasses are having ‘a moment’ which made me really happy since I’ve been wearing spectacles since I had an eye injury last October. After wearing contacts for 10 years, it’s an interesting shift to say the least. TresSugar is helping make that shift just a little bit easier.
Also, Coach has a new collection called ‘Poppy.’ The website is fun to click through as well as utilize to drool over overpriced handbags.
Lastly, Perez put up a video of Kendra of Girls Next Door fame’s wedding. It’s cute. And, if you’re not a fan of Kendra’s laugh, not to worry. She doesn’t giggle too much.
What a Drag
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This past weekend, Gay Pride took over NYC. Marking the 40th anniversary of the riots at Stonewall, where police beat up a group of gay men at bar without a liquor license. The event took place on the same day as Judy Garland’s funeral - a woman who into addition to following the yellow brick road, had a huge gay following.
One of the men, dressed in drag fought back, marking one of the first times that gays resfused to be seen as submissive, but rather chose to fight back. The celebrations this past weekend were a world away from police brutality. The police lined the street on horseback to ensure that no one bothered the gay population that dominated Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood this weekend - more than usual, and the drag queens look gorgeous.
Also this past weekend, BET hosted it’s awards show. A bunch of stars came out for the night, and many paid tribute to Michael jackson. The O’Jays performed a tribute in addition to Ne-Yo, Jamie Foxx and Maxwell. I’m glad they performed - even Maxwell who got bad reviews. They put in a better effort than my spin instructor this past weekend who wouldn’t play ANY Michael Jackson. It was just really upsetting. In addition, those on the red carpet at the BET awards looked amazing, including Beyonce, Alicia Keys, and Kanye West’s on again off again girlfriend, Amber Rose.
Lastly, this writer at Glamour magazine needs help picking a floppy hat. I got one this past weekend for the beach. I’m super excited to wear it. Apparently picking a hat isn’t usually as easy as my experience.
Rat Tales
Eva Mendez wearing Jimmy Choo's
Famed Shoe Designer Jimmy Choo is collaborating with H&M! This article from the Wall Street Journal gives more details, but all you really need to know is the shoes will be avaliable in the fall. Ahh!
All this rain doesn’t make for such fun times with the flat iron. I’ve been trying to figure out how to create the perfect curls for the past few days, and while I’ve had some ok waves, Marie Claire explains how to get full out ringlets. They even have a video if you’re a visual learner like I am…or if you just like videos.
The Metro’s style blogger speaks out against 80’s trends that she thinks should never come back. Reading it made me remember how protective some little boys were over their rat tails in the early 90’s. I think it was a hard thing to let go of for some. Why did that ever seem like a good idea? ‘Mommy…I want a rat tail!’ What?
The Metro also did a list of things that Organic Beauty Product Company founder Yael Alkalay likes. It’s like a Hippie Oprah list. Nice.
No Need To Stay In The Lines
Do you long for the days when you could still color with crayons? I’m not talking about those nights at Sugar Mom’s…check out these rings! They’re sort of pricey, but you can COLOR with them! Awesome.
Glamour Magazine wants to solve your beauty dilemmas on the cheap. Beauty tips include pouring dark beer into your hair and putting egg yolk on your face. Whatever, you already have it in your fridge, so what do you have to lose?
Perhaps this is Politically Incorrect, but it’s still entertaining. In addition to showing you the way to coloring bliss, The Frisky tells you what you should wear during fashion week in cities around the world that aren’t New York, Paris or London.
The Frisky also points out recent fashion trends that mirror what was popular during the Great Depression. However, these aren’t frocks that look like they were pulled out of the Grapes of Wrath or inspired by those depressing Dust Bowl pictures. These are cute outfits with strong lines and lots of structure.
Lucky Magazine wants you to have some luck! Go, enter some of their contests before someone else does!
Why can I still buy Sparks?
One of the colorful ads that, according to state attorneys, was aimed at attracting underage drinkers. What they failed to realize is that Sparks was really targeting the vast Urban Manchild market share and picked up teenagers by mistake.
When I first heard about the government winning the war on Sparks, thus forcing 19-year-olds across the land to take the extra step of combining Red Bull and vodka, the press release from Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller seemed to clearly state that there would be no Sparks, no longer:
MillerCoors will stop producing, marketing and selling “Sparks,” its top-selling pre-mixed alcoholic energy drinks, Attorney General Tom Miller said Thursday.
Seems pretty straightforward, right?
On top of that, much of the Death of Sparks coverage on my radar was of a mournful, candle-in-the-wind bent: It’s gone. It’s dead. After January 10, 2009, it’s OK Cola.
Friends with whom I used to drink Sparks in college and I were therefore bummed that a historically accurate recreation of that one legendary night of the taser, the two feet of snow and the ¿Quien Es Mas Macho? contest was now off the table for future college reunions.
We made some grandiose statements about the end of an era, swore up and down we were going to buy up all the remaining cases in the city for future black-market sale out of an ice-cream truck parked behind Making Time, forgot, then promptly turned to crystal meth to make up for the loss in party stamina.
Kidding about the meth part! Meth is terrible! But when orange-and-silver cans continued to show up on shelves well after the back inventory should have run out, I shrugged, figured maybe MillerCoors had taken it to court after all and forgot about it just as completely as I forgot about my stockpile/grocery cart/Making Time plan.
But wait, have you looked at those cans lately?
Happy Birthday, Jeans
I live in my jeans. Skinny jeans. Boot cut. Flares. Light. Dark. I have a whole closet full of them and thank my lucky stars each morning that I can wear them to work.
Today is apparently the 136th anniversary of the blue jeans. Or so I learned at Mentalfloss.com. This article chronicles the history of jeans and drops a couple fun facts. Click here to see the full story.
• Levi Strauss’ jeans, both pre- and post-rivet, were dyed with indigo because (1) indigo was inexpensive and readily available, and (2) dark blue denim hid dirt and stains well, which was great for Strauss’ miner customers. The seams were sewn with orange thread to match the color of Davis’ copper rivets.
• Early jeans had the rivets on both the front and back pockets, but because of complaints that they scratched saddles and chairs, the rear ones were covered up in 1937 and removed in 1967. Today the rear pockets are strengthened by reinforced corner stitching.
• The double row of stitching across the back pockets of Levi’s jeans – known as the Arcuate stitching design – has been there since the earliest pairs made in 1873. For a few years, the design was hand painted on the pockets of each pair of pants when the government rationed certain materials, like thread, during WWII.
• A pair of Levi’s 501s is composed of 1¾ yards of denim, 213 yards of thread, five buttons and six rivets and requires 37 separate sewing operations during manufacture.
• In 1997, Levi Strauss & Co. paid $25,000 for a pair of 100-year-old jeans found in an old Colorado mine. This oldest known pair of Levi’s jeans went on display in the company museum.
(Full disclosure: My boyfriend wrote this article. But I think it’s pretty interesting. And it’s actually style related! Be thankful I don’t link every single article he writes about Bruce Springsteen.)
Single-Sleeve Madness
While surfing for pictures from the The Met Costume Institute Gala the other night, I kept running into pictures of people with a single sleeve — particularly this one image that is shown again and again of Kate Moss in a gold single-sleeve dress and a matching turban.
Blake Lively from Gossip Girl, seems to be particularly attached to the single shoulder-bearing cut; here she is twice (above and below) wearing a single-sleeve getup.
I personally like the trend when the ‘’sleeve” is a little shorter, and in a shorter, more flowy form. Think something along the lines of this Beausoleil Jackie Ruffle Dress by Juicy Couture.
How do you feel about the single bare shoulder trend?
Manic Monday
Mike Mergen for the New York Times
It looks like the New York Times finally realized that Philly is a city worth spending time in. They ran a piece on what to do with ‘36 Hours in Philadelphia.’ They picked some good spots, including Silk City Diner and The Magic Gardens on South Street. If you think they’ve missed something, you can comment and let them know what they forgot.
I’ve seen this before, but Philly is once again on the list of top 10 cities for new grads.
New York Magazine has predicted the trends for fall. 80’s Velvet and Lady Gaga looks? Do you think the idea of not wearing pants will go mainstream?
It looks like Crocs are no longer doing well. Even though I was never a fan, it’s a little sad. What will suburban moms working in the garden wear now?
Also, here are some pictures taken at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, or the “Nerd Prom.” Honestly, I just wish I was nerdy enough to be invited.
Sunshine Day
With the sunshine finally peeking out and temperatures rising, you might be inclined to throw on a sundress. Just make sure you don’t become a don’t. I’m open to a lot of different interpretations of things, but sun dresseses are not something to mess around with.
Recently, you may have been tempted by a good buy in a thrift shop, Salvation Army or Goodwill. If you’ve ever been tempted by a pair of shoes in one of these stores, but also a bit skeeved out because you pictured someone else’s sweaty feet inside of them…here’s how to disinfect your footwear.
Glamour magazine also has a list of the ‘50 Most Glamorous,’ which translates to powerful and stylish women that have made an impact. Love it.
Cosmo has put together a list of exercises to do in order to get whipped into shape like your favorite celebs.
If you need something to help pull you through until 5 o’clock, check out TopShop’s video podcast, as well as this necklace that they’re selling. Afterward, head on over to Net A Porter’s site to be inspired by brights for summer. For something a little more affordable, but also a little less bright…check out Alexander Wang at the Gap!
Joie de Vivre
Courtesy of Gossip Girls
I’ll be honest. I had no idea that the premier of Star Trek was going to be such a big deal. Apparently, it was a huge deal. Amongst those on the red carpet was Hayden Panettiere, who was rocking some new ink. Supposedly, Hayden had a tattoo of the word vivre - ‘to live’ in French, and has expanded upon it. I can’t quite make out what the entire tattoo says. Can you?
Cosmo has compiled a list of 100 products that celebs swear by, while People.com has a slideshow featuring links to inexpensive options to ‘recreate the look.’
Also Paula Abdul performed last week on Idol, which I’d have to say was better than expected. However, BET points out, not many people actually want to see her make a comeback. Do you? Do you care?