Twinkle Toes

All photos by Strathcona Stockings

I have a hard time resisting a good galaxy print, and a sweet pair of socks, so when I saw those two things flawlessly combined by Strathcona Stockings, I became immediately obsessed.  While it was the dreamily hued cosmo print that initially caught my eye, Strathcona has plenty of other colorful and beautifully executed hand-printed trouser socks.  The current roster of original prints include a cornucopia of fruits, blooming flowers, exotic birds, palm trees, and dreamy watercolors, and I could imagine my life and my wardrobe would be a whole lot more fun if I had every single pair in the collection.  At $36 a pair, they are a small splurge for a pair of socks, so I will probably only stick to one pair of star-spangled socks to start with--at least for now.

-Tiffany

White Out: DIY Bleached Floral Jeans

BDG Floral Jeans courtesy of Urban Outfitters, Acne blouse, LD Tuttle heels, Slow and Steady Wins the Race sunglasses and bag, Hitch Ring necklace c/o Bond Hardware, chainmail collar necklace c/o Jewelmint, Triskaidekaphobia tooth necklace, Cara Croninger cuff

I haven't done a good DIY in ages, but luckily, the lovely folks at Urban Outfitters helped get me inspired again.  To celebrate the latest collection of their in-house denim line, BDG, the U.O. team, who are longtime DIY enthusiasts, took over The Hole gallery and transformed it into a slap-dash denim workshop.  Guests were given their choice of BDG jeans to customize, and work stations were set up for bleaching, shredding, studding, and painting your jeans, with plenty of pre-made examples on hand for anyone in need of creative direction.

While I'm not such a big fan of most bleached denim anymore, I felt inspired by the washed-out floral print of the Calla for April 77 Marky Jeans, and decided to see how a pair of the black floral BDGs would look after a good bleach out.  The ladies at the bleaching station gave it an all-over spritz, and within minutes, my black jeans had faded to a light orange, with the ghosted out silhouettes of the flowers remaining.  Since the spritzer didn't cover the entire surface area of my pants, I ended up bleaching out the jeans a bit more at home in my bathtub using three parts water to one part bleach, until they were evenly faded throughout.  I love the results so much that I'm already making alteration plans for the rest of the untouched jeans in my wardrobe.

The floral jeans before the first round of bleaching

Hanging up my newly bleached jeans to dry on a rack with various other DIY denim projects. Photo courtesy of Urban Outfitters.

Other styles from the BDG collection

-Tiffany

Never Nude

Connector necklace and bracelets courtesy of Naked Label, Ideeen sweater, Todd Oldham dress, Chloe heels, sunglasses courtesy of Norma Kamali, Slow and Steady Wins the Race bag

While plenty of designers list futurism as a source of inspiration, few manage to translate the concept as gracefully as Allison Press of Naked Label.  For her latest collection, Cosmos, Press created necklaces that looked like they are adorned by tiny swirling planets, pendants that resemble alien vertebrae, and space-age laser-cut acrylic bangles.  The pieces touch on the universe and the cosmos in an abstract manner, without ever getting too literal.  My favorite group, which Allison kindly sent me, are a set of Connector bracelets and necklaces, made out of rubber tubing filled with tiny blue beads, and connected by three different sets of magnetic clasps that serve as industrial looking accents.  I'm also obsessed with the UFO necklace, which I've been wearing non-stop.

Naked Label UFO necklace and Rapscallion by Samantha Pleet romper

-Tiffany

East Coast, West Coast, Sample Sale

Seasonal markdowns have begun, and temptation abounds.  Nonetheless, I am resisting the urge to impulse purchase things I know I'll soon regret, and am instead trying to be adult and save my cash for the sales that count.  I just received word of two good ones that are coming up, one for each coast.  In New York, Mary Ping, Slow and Steady Wins the Race, Mandarin & General, Emmanuelle, and Haerfest are teaming up for combined sample and inventory sale. In L.A., our friends at Blood is the New Black are having a massive sale which will include $5 shirts, and free beer, margaritas, and barbecue to sweeten the deal.  If I were on the West Coast, I wouldn't want to miss it.

-Tiffany

Dress Up Dress Down

All photos courtesy of V by Verlaine

The summer heat wave has rolled in with full force here in New York, and frankly it is just too sticky and humid out to wear anything nice, anything that's dry-clean only, anything that you can't toss into the wash after drenching it in sweat.  Durable, machine-washable jersey is a good material of choice for this weather, and while I have many thin tees and tanks appropriate for the soaring temperatures, sometimes you want to put on something a bit nicer--something that doesn't make you look like you're permanently on your way to-and-from the gym.  That's where V by Verlaine comes in.  The Verlaine diffusion line maintains the same design principals and draping techniques that are trademarks of the main collection, but the clothes are all constructed in lightweight jersey, and priced between $150-$250.  The result is effortless and easy without looking sloppy, which is just about as high-maintance as I can get in this heat.

-Tiffany