I Die Friday: a little Balenciaga, a litte bomb metal

 

 

 

 

From Top

Rani Arabella Cashmere Love Pillow, $149

Balenciaga V-Neck Dress , $2,150

MorningMug, $29 

Chie Mihara Mar Wedges, $420.74

Topshop Chiffon Overlay Shift Dress, $80

peaceBOMB Story Bangle, $60

Look Good

OMG TGIF right? Here are a few things for your oracular enjoyment. Black, white, and red are always a classic combo. Isn't this Balenciaga V-Neck Dress major? Both this and the Topshop Chiffon Shift Dress seem like the perfect two LBD's - one feminine and whimsical, the other a little edgier and structured.  

I just discovered the Spanish Chie Mihara shoe label and it's really fantastic. I lived in Spain for three years and I don't remember ever seeing this brand. Wish I would have picked up a few pairs when I was there (since shipping can be a tad $$)! But I highly recommend taking a look at the site- there are are several some fantastic and original designs.

Do Good 

 

peaceBOMB Story Bangles!  PROJECT PEACEBOMB makes something ugly into something beautiful and for a good cause. These aluminum non-war and war scrap metal bracelets are made from the metal of undetonated bombs. They tell a story about  the Secret War, 1964-1973, during the Vietnam conflict which left Laos the most heavily bombed country per capita in history. Profits go towards supporting artisans in the area, the community development fund , and the removal of undetonated bombs which, at the current rate, will take 800 years to remove.

 

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Hayleigh Hatcher Will Make You Look Foxy

Look Good:

I’m blessed with several friends who also happen to be really talented New York hairstylists. If you don’t know what this means I’ll break it down for you:  it is equivalent to winning the beauty lottery.  A good deal on a great hairstyle with fun girlfriend catch-up chat time?  It’s basically the bee’s knees.  On Sunday I got the royal treatment from my gurl, image consultant and hair stylist extraordinaire, Hayleigh Hatcher from Time-Bomb-Shell.  She gave me a loooong overdue trim  and gorgeous body-full style that made me look and feel as close to Farrah Fawcett as I ever will in life. 

Meet Hayleigh Hatcher: 

Let me just say Girlfriend totally respected the meaning of the word “Trim”. She didn’t even front.  Hayleigh even stopped and got my permission before taking a tiny more off the front section, which was fried and dead as a doornail. Thank you Hayleigh. You’re my hero. I didn’t want more than a trim because I’ve been growing out my locks for the first time in years.  I think my hair may currently be longer than it’s ever been in my life, which is like, really liberating considering my mother would never let me grow it out as a kid and I'm still in therapy for it (jk. she was totally on point. my hair was SO fine and stringy as a kid). But I was resourceful: I’d just prance around the house with a turtleneck hanging from the top of my head pretending to be Rapunzel. Killed it. Problem solved. 

 This is me all sad with my sad locks before the cut

So currently I’m at the point where an inch too much off the bottom might make me cry.  But did Hayleigh make me cry? NO. She made me gorgeous and smiley and I love her for it. The styling she did after the trim was magical. She lifted my sad, thin locks into a mane. I’m not sure how she did it, pretty much witchery, but huzzzah I looked pretty foxy. She told me so. Besides witchery, for light hold Hayleigh used Blow Up Thickening Mist and finished with blow Pro Faux Dry Shampoo for maximum volume at the roots.

You need to book an appointment with Hayleigh Hatcher stat.

Magic witchery happening

Do Good:

Hayleigh isn’t just a talented stylist, she’s also extremely giving of her time. Besides cutting the hair of her friends in need, she is also planning on cutting women's hair who were recently released from jail, preparing them for interviews and to re-enter the workforce.  Dang.  

For an appointment email Hayleigh: hayleighdee@yahoo.com

 Foxy final product yay!

Basically Rapunzel

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Cambridge Satchel Company x Christopher Shannon

Look Good:

Loving this snazzy collaboration between Cambridge Satchel  Company x  Christopher Shannon.  Gracing Spring/Summer 2013 men’s runway in London last week, for me, it was love at first (thumbnail) sight. Cambridge Satchel Company is already king of the sleek English schoolboy bag. The collaboration with Shannon maintains the satchel's classic shape but, of course, Shannon funkti-fies them in his signature, spectacular way - color blocking, fringe, shine, even just a good old sleek black model. The backpacks belonged to men on the runway but I’m pretty sure they’ll be unisex on the street.

Last year Cambridge Satchel gifted me a black satchel with my initials monogrammed on it, seldom do we part. The genius of Cambridge Satchel is in their mastery of the classic combined with fearlessness of the fresh and progressive. In addition to the classics, they offer a variety of bags in vibrant colors including some of the most intense neon shades around. So what started as a cult blogger fad has become a global fashion staple. Superb quality and equally fantastic design is not something that fads are made of- Cambridge Satchel Company is here to stay.

Do Good:

Locally produced & Handmade-

All CSC bags are handmade in British factories. Employment is kept local and employs over 40 people  in the area.  

Anti-Bullying -

Cambridge Satchel Company is not just a little committed to Doing Good. Company founder Julie Deane began the company in part because her daughter was being bullied. CSC contributes to anti-bullying charities.

 *prices and stockists forthcoming

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This Blog is a'Changin: Look Good. Do Good.

Have you noticed that I've changed the description under my blog title from "All things WTF? OMG!!" to "Look good. Do good."? This is because since this blog's inception in 2008, it has transformed along with me. DMU-DMD began as a vaguely fashion related project, documenting my life and visual fashion inspirations in a fun tongue in cheek way - before, during and after my move to New York from Cleveland for fashion design studies at Parsons. Since 2008, obviously, I have changed and so has the world. Let's be clear I am still hilarious and stylish and humble. But I have also become more focused on how my love for the art of fashion, and all things visual, can somehow align with my dedication to doing good and living well.

Perhaps the inherent consumerism in fashion has started to rub me the wrong way - it is an art form but it's also a big business. I'm not jaded enough to think that fashion is all bad. I don't think we should feel guilty about wanting to look good and express ourselves through esthetics. This desire is as old as mankind. But in my opinion it's our responsibility as visitors on this planet, including businesses, to somehow give back and to live fairly and responsibly. I will now cast a wider and hopefully healthier net, focusing more on balancing aesthetic discussions with topics regarding giving back to 'from which we came' and leading healthier, more earth friendly, empowering lifestyles. 

From this point forward all posts will have not only a Look Good bent, but a DO GOOD focus. I would love to hear from readers about anything they think is relevant to the above. Submissions welcome. Art, books, music, fashion, design, people, interiors. All of this will now be included on this blog. and I'd like your input. And let's have a sense of humor about it all mmm k?

We're in this together.

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Men's Clothing: Is Preppy So Yesterday?

“I got really bored of this pseudo gentlemanly dress code. I hate that preppy look. It is only really good if you are that person in the first place.”-Ben Kirchhoff  , English fashion designer

I loved this quote from a story today in the style section of the New York Times. I tend to feel the same way  about men's clothing at the moment. I don't find the preppy look as refreshing or interesting  as I did a few years ago (read: tortoise shell eye-wear, Red Wings, and button up to top  button dress shirts SNOOZE). I am in the mood for COLOR and (a little) whimsy on dudes. Throw on a pink lace dress for all I care! Just make it more interesting puleez. But, in the spirit of my post yesterday, and as Kirchhoff said, if you're that dude then do your thang. 

I am just one wo(man). What do you guys think? 

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Tavi Gevinson and Iris Apfel on Why You Shouldn't Give A Shit

Yesterday afternoon Tavi Gevinson, editor of RookieMag.com (age 16), and style icon Iris Apfel (age 90) had a discussion at the Met. Moderated by New Yorker writer Judith Thurman, they rapped about what it means to be chic today. But if you came to get style tips then you came to the wrong place. The discussion instead turned inward even, dare I say, feminist  (although Apfel claimed much of feminist theory to be 'bunk', I would pin her as a feminist positively). In a refreshing change of pace from the typical fashion dialogue their discussion revolved around empowerment and the power of fantasy, highlighting the importance (and challenges) of digging deep into oneself in search of personal style. Apfel likened the process to as difficult and self revealing an experience as a session on the psychologist's couch.

In terms of her own style Iris said, "I put together everything in a gigantic rush...I am the world's oldest living teenager." She also said that since she's a self-proclaimed "accessories freak", she relies on architectural clothes that can be embellished. While Tavi described her outfit planning process as more cerebral - her pieces often selected and put together for individual significance, in a collage sort of way.  Both women expressed sadness at fashion being a form of stress and disparaged  'rules'  laid out by women's magazines. Apfel said, "Dressing is great fun and when the fun goes out of it you might as well be dead." Hear, hear! She also said that she learned a long time ago "if someone doesn't like how I put myself together it's their problem, not mine." THANK YOU IRIS!

Iris and Tavi both agreed that ageism is a horrific epidemic, seen even more in the beauty world than in fashion.  But Apfel noted the fact she was asked to speak yesterday, was recently part of a wildly successful MAC campaign, and is 90 years old and just now getting tremendous accolades, as proof of a significant cultural shift. Women are yearning to be relevant no matter what their age. (I'd even add that it is our social responsibility to fight ageism by celebrating ourselves, and our beauty, no matter our age.)

Most of all I learned something I've always kind of known but these two woman put especially well...

Photos: Me, Rachel
How to not give a shit about what other people think about you and/or how you dress:


TG: "The fact that something appeals to you and you're drawn to it. That should be enough."


IA: "The fashion police aren't going to take you away and, if they do, you might have some fun in jail."


TG: "Confidence came after I started forcing myself to wear things I was shy about."


IA: "In the '40's I was probably the first woman to wear jeans. I'm not a rebel. I don't do things or not because I'm trying to be rebellious. But I don't live to be trendy. You can't live to be trendy and live to have personal style. Nobody can wear everything."


TG: "I just try to stay busy so I don't have time to care about what people think..And then I ended up finding similar like-minded weirdos."

IA: "If someone doesn't like how I put myself together it's their problem, not mine."


All this said, it's still nice to get a little approval. Iris pointed at me and said she liked my outfit (goes well with the hot dog truck, right?)

I can die happy.

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