Archive for the ‘Accessories’ Category

My day has been kind of busy, and I haven’t really had a chance to find something to post about. As I sat in traffic, I resigned myself to posting a quick “I like this skirt” before trig. Then I remembered that Hannah had sent in a suggestion yesterday, but I hadn’t had a chance to look at it yet. With great haste, I opened her email:

I found this awhile ago.  I don’t know about you, but every time I see it, I can’t help but think of Kira from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (yes, I watched it proudly when I was 12 and I am not ashamed.) And now I’m going to be responsible and balance my checkbook. Yay adulthood!

This is called a Chain Ear Cuff. Sorry, that’s the picture of Kira that Hannah included in her email. This is the Chain Ear Cuff: You can see how one might confuse the two pictures. This is perfect if you’ve ever looked at the jewelry counter at Bloomingdales and thought, “I like the layered necklace trend, but would love it if I could wear it on my ears.” Or if you’re in a post-apocalyptic world, because, if I’ve learned anything from Hollywood, it’s that even in a dystopia, women still love to accessorize.

And, apparently, it’s standard-issue at the Star Fleet Academy.

At least once a week, while pushing my hair off my face, I manage to pop my hoop earring out. This is why I only wear $3 Claire’s hoops. The idea of a chain earring makes me wince – so many more things for me to catch with my fingers, my hair, the buttons on my sleeve, the sales tag of the shirt I just tried on. This style is restricted to only the coordinated residents of the dystopia.

But let’s go back to that picture of the model for a second. It took me a while to figure out why this picture looked familiar, but I finally put it together: this is like the bondage version of “The Girl With a Pearl Earring.” It’s not just me, right? If Vermeer had been into the seedier side of the Dutch culture at the time, he would have painted Mistress Model instead.

Lady Grey Chain Ear Cuff – $176

Today is a day of great importance: it is 9/02/10. Understandably, anyone alive during the early 90s (or the five teenagers who watch the remake) are in a tizzy over this. Even the city of Beverly Hills is going all-out, with a celebration the likes of which has only been seen in the Math club on Pi Day.

True story: the year was 1994. I was at an all-girls camp on the east coast, and we had to send three letters a week home in order  to get Candy Canteen. My counselor confiscated my letters and refused to let me have my weekly sugar fix because – and I quote – “90210 is not a real zip code.”

I had to have the head of the camp show her my records as proof that yes, it was a real zip code.

I guess it’s fitting that the 90s have come back with a vengeance in the past year, just in time for such an iconic date. Walking into Wet Seal has become a surreal experience; much of their stock looks the same as when I first shopped there.

All it’s missing are some ripped tights and a pair of Docs. That would have been my dream outfit when I was 8.

Yup. Seeing them still fills me with a juvenile giddiness that I can only describe as “Oh my god, Snick is starting!”

The 90s are everywhere. It’s hard to escape the shoulder pads and high-waist pants that we all thought had been laid to rest with the advent of low-rise jeans and LFO’s anti-Chinese food diatribe, “Summer Girls.” But the 90s are back, and have been for a while. It’s a truth that must be accepted – the 90s are not just an era any more, they’re an industry.

Tell me you wouldn’t have seen this outfit on an extra in a “Blossom” episode. Pair it with a giant hat, and I think you’ve got a hell of a Halloween costume on your hands.

This 90s resurgence – because this is all about me – makes me feel old. Like, crazy old. The best movie ever made is 15 years old – which means that the movie is the same age as Tai. There are teenagers with drivers licenses who have never seen a map of the Soviet Union. I was in the car the other day alongside a 30-something year old guy who was blasting “August and Everything After” while his two kids played with their iPhones. Kelly Taylor became a teacher at West Beverly. When did we all grow up?

In truth, 90210 was a little before my time – I was born in 1985, so the trials and tribulations of the Walsh clan went over my head. That’s why, to me, what’s most off-putting about this 90s nostalgia is what I saw at Hot Topic the other day:

It was one thing when Busted Tees sold Beets t-shirts. But when a major retailer thinks there’s enough of a market for nostalgia gear – suddenly, I feel bad for rolling my eyes when my dad would hear Cream on the radio and say, “This really holds up. It sounds like it could have been made yesterday, doesn’t it?”

Sorry, Dad. I understand now. I’ll be saying the same thing about Toad the Wet Sprocket in five years.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go watch Clueless and Empire Records to console myself.

Side note: is it just me, or does Reptar kind of look like David Letterman?

Wet Seal Plaid Knit Dress – $16.99

Doc Martens – $124.95

Forever 21 Satin Rosy Skirt – $7.99

Hot Topic Doug Let It Beet T-shirt – $23

Hot Topic Rugrats Retpar Die Cut Backpack – $30

Hot Topic Salute Your Shorts Camp Anawanna Tee – $22

When I was a small child, I wanted earmuffs. They looked so wintery and fun. The Peanuts gang wore them, and if the Peanuts gang wore them, they must be worth owning, right?

I can only imagine that they would have quickly degenerated into this once my brother and I started fighting.

ModCloth Winter Bloom Earmuffs – $37.99

There is nothing more off-putting to me than realizing I like something I always thought I hated. This happens most often with pop music: first, the Kelly Clarkson Revelation of 2007 (“Oh god, I love “Since U Been Gone”). Then there was the Taylor Swift Reckoning of 2009 (“She wears high heels, I wear sneakers, she’s cheer captain and I’m – WHY AM I SINGING THIS?”).

Most recently, I am ashamed to say, was the Katy Perry Addiction (admitting you have a problem is the first step). “I Kissed a Girl” repulsed me – what shameless pandering! I thought. Then my boss introduced me to “Waking Up In Vegas,” and I bought it on iTunes. I tried to explain it away, arguing that it was bought with a gift card, so it doesn’t count, and besides, I only got it so that I could dance around singing into my hairbrush, like Casey on “Greek.”

And then I heard “California Gurls.”

I tried to avoid it. I did. But there’s this radio station in LA called “My FM” and it plays a mix of really great rock and really bad pop, which is the music equivalent of crack for me. They’ve taken to playing “California Gurls” every fifth song, and I am powerless to change the station. The first time I heard it, I rolled my eyes at how bad it is (“so hot we’ll melt your popsicle” – really?). Then the second time I heard it, I thought it had a kind of catchy tune. By the seventh time, I was singing along and dancing in my seat because I HAVE A KATY PERRY PROBLEM.

As much as I try to fight it, there are certain things that, in spite of myself, I really like. It tends to go against the persona I’ve created for myself, resulting in this weird self-embarrassment, where I don’t want the Cool Amanda that exists solely in my head to know about this new realization. I worry that Cool Amanda will think I’m such a sellout.

Which is all a long lead-up to a clothing confession:

A week ago, I bought a fedora. This isn’t the exact fedora, but it’s similar enough, and both are from Urban Outfitters. Mine is black with a brown band. I wore it unironically this weekend to a bar. And you know what?

It looks good. I hate that it looks good, but it makes me look spunky as hell. I put it on in the store as a joke, and my boyfriend insisted I buy it.

At the time, I wrote it off as a fluke. I have a good face for hats, buying one fedora doesn’t mean anything. Sure I got a couple necklaces to layer with it, and I tried on a pair of skinny jeans. But that doesn’t mean anything, right?

But, over the next few days (and the purchase of a vest), I began to accept what was now obvious.

I think I caught hipster.

This leads to an obvious conflict. I’ve caught hipster but I unironically love crappy pop music. In fact, I so rarely enjoy things ironically, I’m worried this newfound hipster within will have nothing but disdain for Pre-existing Amanda. I fear that the two sides will do battle and leave behind a shell of my former self; will I become an Amanda so torn between sides that I’m reduced to shopping at Hot Topic for Kelly Clarkson shirts while wearing jeggings?

I’m so afraid, you guys. Stylish, but so afraid.

Urban Outfitters Gracie Newington Fedora With Silk Band – $48

When I was growing up, Hot Topic was a refuge for the local “alternative” kids who were only at the mall because it had air conditioning.

Or so I heard – I can’t remember ever going into one until I was out of high school. As a young teenager, I wouldn’t dare shop at a store that was so obviously trying too hard. Plus, I was afraid of it, with the loud music and withering glares from the overly-pierced employees.

But now that I’m older, I can safely step foot into one on occasion. One such occasion arose today, when I was at the mall between classes (I have a four hour gap in my day).

The music was still loud, the employees were still overly-pierced. But as I wandered the aisles, something caught my eye.

Justin Bieber? Seriously, Hot Topic?

Seriously. They are selling tons of Justin Bieber merchandise.

For those of you unfamiliar with “that Bieber kid,” as I call him, this is the guy whose face launched a dozen Hot Topic shirts:

It’s like going to your high school reunion and finding out that the anarchist from your math class is now a corporate lawyer. Even if you thought he was a tool at the time, you can’t help but feel a little disappointed and saddened by what he’s become.

I never particularly liked Hot Topic, but this is just kind of embarrassing. “Bieber Fever” should not have spread to the psuedo-goth institution. Is nothing safe?

Back in the day, the “alternative” girls would have rolled their eyes in disgust and talked about how Tool is way better. Sure, they would all go home to their secret Bieber shrines and listen to his CD over and over again while crying, but publicly they’d never admit to owning anything Bieber-branded.

But it seems that these days, Hot Topic caters to both the be-pierced and the teeny boppers. Want a new Twilight t-shirt? They’ve got it. Looking for a way to store your makeup and show whose Team you’re on? Your search is over. Need some packing tape?

Tape away.

Justin Bieber Hearts Rubber Wristband – $6.99

Justin Bieber One Time Football Tee – $11.98

Twilight New Moon Wolf Pack Tattoo Packing Tape – $4.98

Because the internet is so slow here, I was not going to post a Friday Feets for today (also, I avoid work at every opportunity, even with the stuff I like doing). But mostly, the internet was just really, really slow – except, of course, from 10pm to 10am, when most of the guests are asleep and not awake catching up on Jezebel.

I’ve been on a shopping hiatus due to lack of funding. I’ve tried to get a research grant, but apparently “Ugly Clothing and the Human Psyche” is not a legitimate field (yet).  But with fall lines rolling out, I can’t help it – I have to shop J. Crew’s fall collection. Despite having moved back to LA three years ago, I still shop like I live in New York – tights, skirts, warm coats. Basically, all the things I only need for maybe six weeks in LA.

I try to stick with shoes for Friday Feets, but I have too many tabs open to not give J. Crew some Friday Feets attention. And so, today’s theme is …

Even the Chairman can appreciate their tailored yet casual style.

J. Crew Thigh Highs – $18.50
You know how Clueless is one of the best movies ever made? I think that movie is the reason I am obsessed with plaid, pleated skirts. I also desperately want to wear thigh high socks. Sure, my legs look like sausages in them, but in my head, I look like a total Betty and fit for a day at the mall with my best friend Dionne.

J. Crew Herringbone Tights – $22.50

I’ve always loved the way herringbone tights look but have never owned a pair. This year, that will change. These come in black, brown and grey; I’m having a hard time deciding between the three.

J. Crew Wool-Blend Ribbed Tights – $26.50

I bought a pair of these last year and they were ridiculously soft. They come in the basic neutrals and a few colors – I’m leaning toward the “vintage wisteria” (basically, a dusky pink). Sometimes I size up with tights, because they can get too … well, tight, but these wound up being a little big on me last year, so be careful with sizing.

J. Crew Beaming Blossom Ring – $50

I’ve never been into cocktail rings. I get why people like them, I’ve just never seen any I liked. This, though, is different. Unlike most that I see at places like J. Crew or Banana Republic, this one actually manages to feel vintage and modern at the same time. I also love the variations within each petal – it has actual texture, rather than just looking like a molded daisy with some rhinestones thrown in the middle. I normally wear the same two rings ever day – these Tiffany stacking rings (there was a third pink one, but it disappeared a few months after I got it). If I bought this ring, I’d definitely swap them out more often.

J. Crew Crystal and Chain Necklace -$55

I’ve never worn a lot of jewelry – I normally wear cheap silver hoops, a necklace my grandmother gave me, and my stacking rings. While out shopping the other day, my boyfriend convinced me to branch out a little, and I came home with a couple necklaces that looked really good layered together.

I’m now addicted to layering necklaces. Yes, I realize this puts me a good four months behind the trend curve, but I’m a late adopter and also am incredibly likely to accidentally choke myself with too many necklaces. But this prelayered one is kind of perfect. It’s not too heavy like some of the necklaces that layer in chains, so it has a nice bit of daintiness to it.

J. Crew Northern Lights Necklace – $75

I really like this necklace. It’s not as long as it looks in that picture, so I’ve included a picture of it on a mannequin.

Like I said, it’s not nearly as long as it looks in the picture.

I’m not big into pearls, but I like the way a double strand looks. This gives you the same shape, but without the Jackie O-ness of a double strand of pearls. It also looks like it has a nice weight to it – I want to wear it to a gallery opening with a drapey top, looking effortlessly cool.

Of course, in that scenario, I’m four inches taller, capable of drinking wine without grimacing, and kind of look like Jennifer Aniston. So, not all that likely.

But I’ll still buy the necklace. I think it might work with this Urban Outfitters necklace I bought the other day. In the meantime, I’ll practice my “No, this wine totally doesn’t taste weird and acidic” face.