Cult Film Screenings in New York City this Week

We wish we had more options of going to the movies just watch great films we get nostalgic of, instead of rolling a dice and seeing the next Hollywood production, which may be good- or Not.  For those of you in New York City this week (March 1- 4), the First Time Festival is screening of both new and old films at the Loews Village 7 Movie Theater in the East Village.

Some cult favorites to be screened this week include Pi, The Virgin Suicides, and one of our favorites - Welcome to the Dollhouse!  We were still teens during the 90's so we have fond memories causing mischief and battling moments of social awkwardness and existential discombobulation.  At times it feels like Dawn was someone we knew in high school, or better yet was ourselves!

We miss getting away with wearing these sweaters of the homespun look!  Can't do that in a work setting anymore.

much safer than self injury wouldn't you agree?

Leather Cuffs All Grown Up

When we think of leather cuffs, we usually think of accessories for teenagers, like punk rock cuffs that have metal studs, or goth cuffs that have spikey studs. 

We love these leather cuffs from Hayden Harnett , an indie design team based out of New York City.  These cuffs are upgraded with soft american tanned-leather, and heavy duty super shiny metal studs.  It's the punk rock look all grown up!  These stand out well enough to be noticed in both a casual, or formal setting.  Which are your favorite colors?


Snake Skin Celina Cuff



Silver Ramone Cuff

classic ramone cuff

Get Your Hands Dirty With Denim Shirts

When we're getting our hands dirty on manual activities like patching up cracks on our walls with spackle or painting our next great masterpiece, we're always careful to throw on a t-shirt, or any other top we don't mind dirtying up.  

Besides a t-shirt, there aren't many other tops that can still look good with a stain or two as denim shirts, because you see, denim shirts are just like jeans, they look better with use and age.

DSQUARED2 Sailorette Denim Shirt

 

 

Maison Scotch Patchwork Shirt

Current/Elliott The Perfect Shirt

Williamsburg Fashion Weekend

We went out to Brooklyn this weekend to check out Williamsburg Fashion Weekend to be impressed by their emerging talent.  We did have fun - YES, but we weren't too impressed, instead of models briskly walking down the runway to show off each outfit to the audience, they each danced for a good 5 minutes to fill up time since there wasn't much to present. 

The fashion show was held in an empty former industrial building and it had an open bar, which was fine but it was a little irksome to sit through long 20 minute intermissions after every 20 minute presentation by a single designer just so the organizers can sell more beer.  Otherwise, it was a good place to mingle and bop to loud thumping music.

comic book meets fairy tale cosutmes

military-print inspired menswear

fashion inspired by video games - Game Over T-Shirt

Pocket Squares for Women

Who says pocket squares are just for men? Pocket squares come in so many colors and patterns that you can use them to breathe new life into your navy blue blazer every time you wear them.  Pocket squares for men's wear typically have the triangular or puff fold, but a nice simple straight fold looks best on a women because we have narrower shoulders.

We found simple instructions for this from the Art of Manliness blog - this can be achieved in 2 simple steps where you fold the pocket square into a smaller square, then fold again so it fits into the blazer breast pocket.

from the art of manliness.com

This pocket square fold can be worn like this ...

set-fashion.com

Go to pocket square heaven on vandafineclothing.com - a men's accessory shop selling fine handmade accessories from a husband and wife team based out of Singapore.

vandafineclothing.com

Montreal Fashion Week

If you like couture, follow NY Fashion week but if you're looking for inspiration on putting together a fantastic everyday outfit, Montreal Fashion Week is much more inspiring.  Montreal Fashion Week has a website showcasing all the designers featured this year, we've discovered so much good stuff just looking at this!  

Annie 50 is a Montreal based clothing company inspired by - 1950's women's fashion (conservative) and rock n' roll.  This is the link to their shop, but their main website has beautiful look books.

We like how these cropped blazers by Annie 50 are cropped at the bottom like a men's inner blazer!  These pair so well with dress shorts as comfortable work attire for the spring.  They give the illusion of lengthening the height of your torso so you can look taller with these too!

Dress Shirts Made to be Untucked

You just don't want to tuck these chic long tail dresses coming from the Funktional clothing line.  We like how they have the nice tail flowing in the back, for a relaxed elegance.  Looks super cute with skinny jeans and a pair of flats for a walk about town, or heels for the office.  

 

Funktional Striped Worker Button Up Shirt in Indigo/Black Stripe

Valentine's Day Sweets

Valentine's Day is coming up, we love it not for the sappiness but for how fun it can be to pick gifts for this day.  There's the usual chocolate and flowers but the best time we had choosing Valentine's Day gifts was on Old Time Candy, a website that sells you guessed it, candies from the past. We used to adore these.. and still do

Candy Cigarettes from OldTimeCandy.com

Old Time Candy is running a special now too! - get 15% discount on Valentine's Day orders over $100 at OldTimeCandy.com. Use Code: heart13 (not combinable with other discounts)

Looking Good In Black and White

Looking good wearing monochromatic colors like black and white can be tricky- done well you'll look chic, done poorly you can end look like a badly dressed waiter.  

Black and white look best with pieces that have texture contrast - a blouse with sheer and matte contrast never disappoints.  The softer fabric of the sheer shirt helps soften the tone on a pair of black jeans.  So there you have it, a matte and sheer top over denim - three texture contrasts in just one outfit.

We're in love with this one...

FindersKeepers Shirt at Needsupply.com

Accessorize black and white outfits with bracelets or necklaces that give a good contrast to these two colors, gold or brass works well, like this cuff worn by the model

Cuffs by Odette New York

The Shirtdress

A shirtdress turns a menswear classic of dress shirts into a semiformal and comfortable women’s wear staple.  It’s simplicity makes it so easy to dress up with just a bracelet and necklace.  They go well with flats; or low-rise leather boots for an edgier look.  We like to opt for shirt dresses that either have a 3/4 sleeve or can be rolled up as such to accentuate a bracelet or ring that complements this outfit.

Shirtdress from Needsupply.com

Smittened with the Satorialist

We could spend the whole day browsing the posts on the Satorialist.  This blog by photographer Scott Schuman doesn’t focus on a particular fashion style per se, he merely takes pictures of people in a street setting in urban areas.  His collection of photographs are visually compelling – giving each each individual a spotlight of their own unique sense of style.

The A.P.C line has a couple of pieces where they appropriate their men’s shirts into women’s shirt dresses – like the one below we caught on Satorialist.

Shirt dress by A.P.CSheer button down shirts works very well in contrast with heavier materials such as denim, and leather bracelets adorned with metal (sometimes studs, sometimes not).

coordinating a sheer shirt

Dreaming of Blazers for Warmer Days

It’s so cold here in NYC, but it should warm up the next coming week for short sleeve blazers.  We love the one below from Built By Wendy, this is from her Spring 2003 collection (yes, a long time ago, but it’s chic enough to withstand the test of time!).

It’s beautifully tailored without being too frilly like the ones at Anthropologie. This one has nice crisp clean lines with a built in back belt – we’re looking forward to spring, we’ll start looking at that as short sleeve suit season

Some Girls like Shiny Diamonds, but Others Prefer Shiny Oxfords

Oxfords are multi-occasion shoes, just because they are neither too formal nor dressed down.  Usually they don’t stand out quite often, but they can really make your outfit look much more polished if they’re shiny and iridescent like these.  Doc Martens are for college, but these are chic enough for work.

Jeffrey Campbell’s Shiny Pink Oxfords from Needsupply.com

Iridescent Oxfords from Needsupply.com

Aluminum Free Stovetop Espresso Maker

It’s medically documented that it’s best not to cook with aluminum ware, because long term use can cause health issues such as alzheimers.  Most espresso stove top makers are made with aluminum, but we’ve found one made with stainless steel, and beautifully constructed too!

If you’ve never used a stovetop espresso maker, they are very easy to use.  It works by forcing hot water steam UP through the grinds like any espresso machine except in this case the water is traveling UP towards the coffee grinds, as opposed to DOWN.