Hump-Day Hunk

Full disclosure: there tends not to be a lot of long-haired starving artist/slacker musician types as Hump-Day Hunks on this blog because I typically like my men to have short hair and the (hypothetical) ability to buy me fancy dinners and such. However, I have but one Shaggy Musician slot reserved for - who else? - Jim Morrison, and I am seriously considering carving out another slot for this week's Hunk, singer/songwriter Pete Yorn. Because if I am going to be eating ramen from a styrofoam cup in front of the TV on date night, I at least want something nice to look at. Hypothetically speaking.

Image: Boston.com

Every Knit Helps

Knitters! It's time to put your talents to good use, have some fun, and lend a hand (or a knitting needle, as it were). Carolyn, the stunning woman pictured to the right and a very good friend of mine, is again taking part in Dana Farber Cancer Institute's Caps for Kids Program, in which hand-knitted caps, scarves, mittens and the like are donated to needy children in the greater Boston area. It's already proved to be a great success: last year, DFCI collected over seven thousand items!

The deadline for donations is Monday, November 30th. Feel free to contact Carolyn directly if you're interested in participating!

There Will Be Blood: My Night With Carlos Santana's Shoes

Greetings (again) from San Fran! I should mention that the real reason I'm here was to attend a wedding in Napa Valley this past Saturday evening. It being my first time to the Napa area and the first destination wedding I'd ever attended, I really wanted to, you know, bring it where fashion was concerned. I had a pair of peacock feather earrings custom-made for me (photos to come in a later post!), and I treated myself to a new pair of heels: a direct knockoff of a $700 Sergio Rossi style made by Carlos by Carlos Santana that I found last weekend at TJ Maxx for a measly $29. They were the last pair of its kind on the rack, so I quickly tried them on (they fit fabulously), paid for them, and packed them in my suitcase.

Now, some could argue that it was foolish of me to not wear my new shoes around the house a bit last week to break them in, and they could even be right. But the problem was more complicated than that, in my opinion. Do you see that zipper on the heel of the shoe in the picture above? Well. It dug into the back of my ankles when I stood, and rubbed against my skin as I walked. I initially shrugged this off, as I have physically suffered for fashion in the past and this was no exception. Besides, I thought my shoes looked hot. I soldiered on for about 1000 feet in medium-to-excruciating pain and looked down. My ankles were now bloody, and the wedding hadn't even started yet. Two days later I am still in pain, a little ticked off at Carlos Santana for lacerating me with his masochistic footwear, and unsure how to proceed. Can I return the shoes to the store, even though they've been worn? Should I call the brand's customer service number? Is there a hotline for fashion victims (and I use the word "victim" literally) to get help? Readers, what should I do?

Quick tourist tip: Band-Aids are powerless in the face of an abusive shoe, but you should probably bring them anyway.

Image: Want and Afford

Live From San Francisco, It's My Love/Hate Relationship with Fashion!

Dolls! This week I will blogging to you from lovely San Francisco, California! Follow me as I check out the local fashions, give tips on what to do when you've forgotten your entire makeup bag back home in Boston, sample authentic Californian cuisine, and resist the urge to move here permanently!

Yesterday evening I had the pleasure of visiting the first - and only - brick-and-mortar Timbuk2 boutique, where I was able to pore through swatches of ballistic nylon fabrics in a rainbow of colors while trying to come up with a good enough reason to buy another Timbuk2 messenger bag (your suggestions are welcome).

Afterwards, it was off to Citizen Cake for me and my friends Chrissy and Yuko, where we drank wine, ate duck, and caught up on what's been happening lately in each of our lives. It was fantastic.

Quick tourist tip: If you are like me, that is, particular about eyeliners but prone to forgetting the essentials when traveling (who needs things like underwear anyway?), I suggest Neutrogena's Nourishing liner (I bought Spiced Chocolate, a rich shade of dark brown). It's very similar to the Clinique Quickliner I usually use; it has a built-in smudger to blend the color, but only cost about $7.00 at Walgreens. Crisis averted. Oh, and a note to the FTC: I was not paid to say this. (More on that some other time.)

Image: Timbuk2.com

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love American Apparel

The first time I ever set foot in an American Apparel retail store was three or four years ago in their Harvard Square location. I'd already seen their much-discussed, somewhat risque advertising campaign, as well as heard the controversy surrounding founder and CEO Dov Charney, and wanted to see the place for myself. Perhaps there's some truth to the old adage all press is good press, seeing as it was all that hullabaloo that got me into the store in the first place. Once there, however, I quickly learned it was going to take a heck of a lot more hullabaloo to get me to stay.

Upon entering, I was unenthusiastically greeted by an apathetic store clerk, and immediately felt out of place in this strange world filled with lace leotards, shiny neon spandex leggings, skintight stretch cotton bodysuits, and metallic gold and silver undergarments. It was Olympic figure skating meets Goldmember, and it was horrifying. I took a cursory look at each of the clothing racks and quietly exited the store.

Despite my personal feelings on style, I had to admit that the store was pretty unique. Items felt well-constructed, and the fabrics were surprisingly luxurious given the low prices (yes, even the shiny neon spandex). The clothing is manufactured in California using no offshore labor whatsoever, and the company seems committed to social and environmental causes. Dammit, I wanted to support a brand like American Apparel, but, as was the case with TOMS shoes, I wasn't thrilled about the actual product being sold.

Then while aimlessly wandering the streets of Burlington, VT, last summer with the hubs, I was pulled into a sidewalk sale filled with wonderful things I didn't even know I couldn't live without. Circle scarves! Garments you can wear eighty-six hundred different ways! One-shoulder dresses! Has American Apparel just gotten that much better? Have my tastes changed? And more importantly, do you think I could pull off a magenta beret on a bad hair day? Well?

Image: American Apparel