Fashion

February 2009 - Posts

• RED Hearts: Fashion: Fringe Benefits

  By Charlotte Steinway, 20, reporting from Paris, France, on pret-a-Pocahontas style

  

  Ever since Disney's Pocahontas came out in the mid 90's, I've had a mild obsession with all things Native American. It's gone from an innocent penchant for moccasins to a severe affinity for feathered and fringed accessories. In fact, I distinctly remember the first time I laid eyes on Sam Edelman's "Uri" over-the-knee, tiered fringe boots. I dragged my boyfriend to the store window in Harvard Square and pointed to the glorious feats of footwear: "Beautiful!" I exclaimed. "I thought u were talkin' about me," said a middle-aged man standing in the general vicinity.

  I kept my mind off the boots for a while, deciding that $225 was far too much money for something modeled after the footwear of our hunting and gathering predecessors. I moved onto a pair of far more practical (as practical as fringe moccasin boots can be) $76 Minnetonkas. Then I came across my original love for HALF-OFF on Nordstroms.com and made them my own. All in all, a great success.

  A month or so later I packed up my entire life to study in Paris for the semester, and I had to decide which pair to bring with me. I went with the smaller, lighter Minnetonkas. And now that I've gotten here, French fashion involves a lot of fringe at the moment, including the taupe messenger bag I splurged on during the last week of the soldes (the monthlong sale season, love this country) that matches exactly with the Sam Edelman boots I DIDN'T pack.

  But now that I think of it, wearing the two together could create some sort of gnarly dreadlock of interwoven fringe accessories. So I guess it all worked out. —Charlotte Steinway

  Posted Feb 27 2009, 11:22 PM by admin with no comments

  Filed under: fashion, red hearts, Pocahontas style

• RED Hearts: Fashion: The Flannel Look for 09

  By Charlotte Steinway, 20, reporting from Paris, France, on grunge-free flannel fashion

  

  Marilyn had wind-infused dresses, Madonna had conical bras, and Kurt Cobain had flannel. Lucky for Kurt, his 90s grunge-tastic songs and styles still rotate through today's hipsters' iPods and closets.

  As a wannabe hipster, I am constantly looking for ways to incorporate flannel into my wardrobe. I have no problem with nabbing some cheap-o flannels from thrift stores and flea markets. Yet I hope to give off a more modern vibe, rather than rock a look that SCREAMS "Nevermind."

  Through my trial and error thus far, the look seems largely versatile—-pair a moderately-fitted flannel with some denim cutoffs and Vans and you've got the surfer/skater look from Dogtown and Z-Boys. An oversized flannel with leggings and heels gives you a throwback to MK & A's shabby-chic clubbing get-up from last year. And I tried a big red-and-green plaid shirt with preppy accessories—-large studs, slim jeans, and big bow headbands—-for that perfect Gossip Girl-meets-Bob the Builder look I'm always after! (OK, I completely made that up. I've never tried to look like Bob the Builder. But hey, you get my point.)

  As a native of Los Angeles, it came as no surprise that the other week, at Urth Caffé (which is, surprise surprise, MK & A's alleged fave restaurant), I found myself just one in many, standing amidst a virtual rainbow of large checkered-print shirts.

  Currently, I'm in Paris studying for the semester. I had hoped to be an American original in my flannels. FALSE! Turns out, they're all the rage here too. In fact, I'm writing this from a room in which my host family had exactly three posters on the wall upon my arrival: Brigitte Bardot, James Dean, and lastly, Kurt Cobain. Nevermind. — Charlotte Steinway

  Posted Feb 12 2009, 06:46 PM by admin with no comments

  Filed under: fashion, red hearts, flannel 2009

• RED Hearts: Fashion: Hat Trick

  By Erika Kwee, 18, reporting from Houston, TX, on a cool crochet project

  

  To begin with, let me say that I am not a hat person. I hate wearing them. They tend to squash my bangs awkwardly across my face, or they make my head itchy, or they just poof out weirdly... It's good that I go to school in Texas, where it's not ever really THAT cold.

  But. Over winter break, I decided that I needed a new knitting/crochet project. Besides, I was home in northern California on a damp, dreary Eskimo-hood kind of day and tired of scarves. I wanted a quick, cute project—so I ran an Internet search and came across this free pattern for the "Pretty Puffs Slouchy Hat" on a blog called Crafty Pants!

  Lucky me—sometimes you can't tell by looking with these crochet patterns—but this one was quite easy, even with my rusty crocheting skills.

  If you are new to crocheting, I highly suggest Leisure Arts' 10 20 30 Minutes to Learn to Crochet book for clear and easy instructions. However, if you don't feel like spending the money (especially for the less desirable granny-aged projects, i.e., the coasters and afghans found in the second half of the book), you can always do a quick search for beginner instructional websites and YouTube videos; there are many.

  The night after I found the pattern, I began the hat while watching Love, Actually with my family. It took me the entire movie, plus about an hour, to finish the hat—a grand total of approximately three hours. I used only a little more than half a 100g skein of worsted weight yarn. Quite the satisfying project!

  I ended up giving it to my friend Tracy (that's her pictured), because I thought it would go well with her hair and she goes to Tahoe for snow stuff a lot—many apres-ski occasions to keep her head warm. And it's pretty non-frumpy and maybe even fashionable(!) bit of handiwork if I do say so myself...

  Posted Feb 01 2009, 08:17 AM by admin with no comments

  Filed under: fashion, red hearts, hat trick