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Sunday , September 28, 2008

You know the world is coming to an end...

...when the staff of Vogue Paris all wear flats to one of the most anticipated shows of Paris Fashion Week:

Sorry to be so Paris Vogue-centric these days, but yes, that's Carine Roitfeld, Geraldine Saglio and Emmanuelle Alt, all wearing black flats at the Gareth Pugh show! This, from the team that basically spearheaded the torturous, scary-sexy shoe trend. I think it's cute; I bet Carine issued a memo or something: "Come on, you guys, let's freak everyone out!! It'll be rad!" (The pic is from Jak and Jil, by the way -- a blog with some of the best shoe porn I've seen in ages.)

If Team NOGOODFORME were to show up at Paris Fashion Week, these are the shoes I'd bet we'd wear:

Laura Jane: Keep Company
Liz: Vans
Kat: Converse

Okay, I lied for me...I'd wear the Tashkent by Cheyenne boots I got from Clarabella on hella sale! I just like the idea of us all wearing quasi-athletic shoes to a fancy fashion show.

(By the way, that Gareth Pugh show in Paris seemed pretty effin' amazing!)

Tags: Carine Roitfeld, Emmanuelle Alt, Gareth Pugh, shoes, Vogue Paris rocks

Tuesday , September 23, 2008

Love (and a Q&A): Vivien Cheng

Based in England, artist and designer Vivien Cheng takes vintage handbags and turns them into whimsical, utterly marvelous works of art. Literally -- she paints on them in painstaking and gorgeous detail, drawing designs and motifs that emphasize the beauty of their original designs while taking them into new, fanciful directions. I love how it's a bit Art Nouveau, a bit nature-whimsy -- and completely eye-catching. (And, needless to say, quite eco-friendly.) Vivien's work is carried in such London boutiques as Covet, and she's starting to make waves here in the U.S., being recently picked up at Sophie Roan in NYC. (She also has an Etsy shop -- yay for online shopping!) Her work is one-of-a-kind, serene yet vibrant -- and it's wonderful to see the care and attention paid on each item.

Not only is she talented and creative (our favorite type of being around here), Vivien was kind enough to answer a few questions about her work and process for nogoodforme.com!

+ Continue reading "Love (and a Q&A): Vivien Cheng"

Tags: art, eco-fashion, eco-friendly, handbags, vintage, Vivien Cheng

Sunday , September 7, 2008

Spotlight on StyleDetox.com (and a coupon code for readers!)

The indie online boutique Style Detox was started up by a former music industry publicist in San Francisco, and the link to music shows through its indie- and rockabilly-influenced inventory and jewelry selection. There are dresses that would make an early Gwen Stefani salivate (including a checker picnic print halter dress so cute that it makes me wish I could wear gingham without looking like a dork), and super-cute quirky jewelry selections. The site also carries a carefully selected collection of vintage items of all sorts, and best of all -- everything is super reasonably-priced! Which also means, I've noticed, that things sell out fast, so my advice is to pick up what you want when you can. There's no excuse not to, especially since Style Detox is offering a coupon code for 10% off for nogoodforme readers: just enter nogoodforme10 at checkout and let the magic happen. (By the way, this coupon won't expire, like, ever! Fire at will!) They also donated some adorable jewelry to our Spirit Animal House charity raffle, so clickety-click on the little button below to buy a raffle ticket for a chance to win these (and many, many other wonderful things!)

Tags: accessories, coupon codes, deals, jewelry, shopping, Spirit Animal House, Style Detox

Friday , September 5, 2008

Jezebel Stationery: Correspondence for the Vagabond Heart

I became infatuated with Jezebel Stationery's paper wares because of the gorgeous use of silhouettes, but I fell in love with the Brooklyn-based company for the poetic names and titles it calls its t-shirts, tote bags and note cards. The look of Leigh Batnick's work is classical and rooted in traditions like old photography and 19th century silhouettes, but there's a fresh, modern twist to the actual scenarios and images depicted. Lovers of vintage, language and vintage language will love the nods to the Gilded Ages of past, and those with angelic poets in their hearts will fall in love with the words inscribed. Listen to the names of the items Jezebel donated to our Spirit Animal House event, and you'll hear how the words are just as imaginative and beautiful as the designs themselves:

(left to right: "one day blanche birthed a mad, bad bibliophile" organic cotton tee; "dear virginia, an odalisque on a payphone" tote bag)

(left to right: box of cards: "waltzing matilda at the cafe lovely" box of cards, and "for louise moon, fragile as fingernails" box of cards)

Keep an eye on Batnick -- not only is she now selling their own jewelry, but she's also launching an interior design branch in 2009 and is working on a capsule collection of dresses. If it's anything like her cards and t-shirts, it is sure to be full of a straightforward grace. Needless to say, you can get a jump on your Jezebel fix and get a chance to win the tote or the card sets by buying a ticket to our Spirit Animal House raffle. (If you're dying for the shirt, you have to come to the actual party!)

Tags: Jezebel Stationery, silhouettes, Spirit Animal House, totally charming

Thursday , September 4, 2008

Love: Be.True Jewelry

The world keeps on spinning, spinning, spinning, and even in the face of deadlines, monster madness and the upcoming apocalypse, we here at nogoodforme HQ keep gathering prizes for the Spirit Animal House charity raffle. Our latest choice lovely is a pretty little sterling silver necklace from Be.True. Designed by Gin Bartlett, Be.True features jewelry rendered in beautifully clean, contemporary lines, which highlight the often exquisite metals and gems each piece is made out of. There's a nice sense of balance with each item in the line, and it's all crisp enough that it works with a variety of aesthetics. It's jewelry that's made so you can wear your heart on your sleeve: direct, straightforward, yet often tender and emotional. Be.True also has their own charitable giving campaign -- purchase a "Be" cuff or necklace and a donation will be made to a charity or non-profit chosen for that month by Be.True. Be.True has a substantial eco-friendly component to its company and is making more and more jewelry from recycled silvers and golds, so keep your eye on them on the sustainable front as well.

The necklace that Be.True so kindly donated to Spirit Animal House's charity raffle is a lovely silver chain with a 1" wide pendant that reads "LIVE." There's also a darling teeny sapphire encrusted in the pendant; it's very light and delicate and serene. It's available for some lucky winner to run off with, so buy a raffle ticket or two in support of our favorite animal charities like BARC, ARK II or PAWS/LA and cross your fingers that we pull your name out of our fedora!

Buy a raffle ticket to win the Be.True "LIVE" necklace:

Tags: Be.True, eco-friendly, jewelry, raffle prizes, Spirit Animal House, sustainable

Wednesday , September 3, 2008

Love, Love, Love: Thelma Design

Obviously, myself and my fellow nogoodforme.commers Kat "Wolfchild" Asharya and Liz "Possibly a Sea Turtle?" Barker are stoked to high heaven about the impending radness of SPIRIT ANIMAL HOUSE. I think it is safe to say that we are the three most excited people on the entire planet right now, except for Barack Obama in the wake of finding out about Sarah Palin's sinner of a daughter.

Things recently became EVEN MORE EXCITING over on our end since finding out that Thelma Bjork Jonsdottir, our resident Icelandic Headdress Designer of choice (okay, it's official: there is nothing cooler to be in this world than an Icelandic Headdress Designer), is contributing the insanely magically mind-blowingly fantastically beautiful headdress seen below to our wicked-amazing SPIRIT ANIMAL HOUSE RAFFLE!!!!

Tragically for all you non-New Yorkers, this headpiece is one of our hyper-special event-only prizes, which I'm sure you can understand. But luckily for all you non-New Yorkers, you can totally address the intense misery you are presently experiencing by impulse buying, like, FIFTY raffle tickets right now!

All you have to do is click this button:

There! You did it! Don't you feel loads better now?

And to all the New Yorkers out there who, like us, are counting down the nanoseconds until Tuesday, September 9th (Wait- what happens September 9th? I forget. Oh, right! SPIRIT ANIMAL HOUSE!!!!), good luck! I'd be jealous of you for winning this gorgeous babe of a headband if it wasn't totally obvious that one day Thelma will be my own personal headdress designer. She'll live in a treehouse in my backyard, with her spirit animal (an Arctic Fox), and I will never have to face this world bare-headed again.

PS: If you're so inclined, check out the interview Thelma did with us a few months back! She is one of the best nogoodforme.com interviewees of all time

Tags: Barack Obama, headdresses, Iceland, raffle tickets, Spirit Animal House, spirit animals, Thelma Design

Thursday , July 24, 2008

Accessories (And Q&A): Nashelle

When I first saw the jewelry of Nashelle, I had that rare feeling of being mesmerized by the grace, simplicity and beauty of the design. There's a lovely quality of serenity to the designs from Nashelle, a line based out of Bend, Oregon -- they echo the shapes and motifs of nature and are a bit Art Nouveau in feeling and are so elegantly done that each piece is like a little piece of art. It's a line for people looking for something personal and organic in feeling -- for those looking for genuine emotion and meaning rather than flash or trendiness in their fashion. Plus, Nashelle is totally fair trade and uses recycled metals and recycled 14k gold, kicking in an eco-friendly angle to their operation.

Nashelle designer Heather Beeson was also kind enough to answer a few questions for us about her background and inspirations behind such lovely work.

+ Continue reading "Accessories (And Q&A): Nashelle"

Tags: accessories, Alaska, eco-fashion, fair trade, jewelry, nashelle

Saturday , July 19, 2008

Thrift Scores with Laura Jane: Value Village, 07.18.08

Few things in this operatic escapade we call life are as straight-up awesome as having a killer thrift-shopping experience. It's impossible to predict precisely when a class-A Thrift Score Day is going to hit you; sometimes, all I want is to immerse myself in rack-scouring for hours on end, yet come up entirely empty-handed. On other occasions, I dip into a Sally Ann or Goodwill to kill a couple minutes and exit hours later, exhausted, red-eyed and reeking of mothballs, weighed down by two giant sacks of crap in either hand.

Thrift Scores with Laura Jane is a brand-spanking new feature dedicated to sharing the results of my positive thrift scoring adventures with the world. Yesterday ended up being one of the "Thrift Scorriest" days of my entire life; check the goods!

+ Continue reading "Thrift Scores with Laura Jane: Value Village, 07.18.08"

Tags: Albert Einstein, diaper bags, dresses, J.Crew on J.Crack, preppy, punk rock, rompers, scrappiness, sneakers, Snoopy, Thrift Scores

Friday , June 27, 2008

Giveaway: A super-hot Bryna Nicole clutch!

Bryna Nicole is an up-and-coming accessories designer based out of San Francisco, and her bags are pretty awesome: they manage to be vintage-inspired without being hopelessly retro, mostly because she uses the most delectable materials you can imagine, not to mention lively, contemporary colors. Made with soft suedes and leathers, eye-catching colors and versatile shapes and lines, her bags can work in all sorts of situations, from the most straight-laced business meeting to drinks at your local dive bar. They're simultaneously fun yet classic, and even better, you can carry them from season to season without getting sick of them -- or having them break on you. (Quality, my friends, it really works.) Anyway, we have a Bryna Nicole Jaden clutch in turquoise to give away here at nogoodforme.com. (It's the first pic below; plus there are a few more images of Bryna's stellar work. The actual bag we have a bit more teal-ish in hue than the picture indicates.) I've been staring at the Jaden bag for about a week, really wanting to keep it for myself, to be honest -- suddenly developing a craving for a bag that "pops" against an outfit and thinking it's both 1980s roller girl AND a perfect summer "going out" bag. The material is divine and the detailing is super quality -- you'll love it, trust me. So what are you waiting for? Leave a comment below (be sure to register with a valid email address!) -- we'll draw a name in a week and some really lucky duck will be racking up compliments all summer long. I'm already jealous!

Bryna Nicole Spring Jpegs 002.jpg <

Tags: accessories, bags, Bryna Nicole, contests, giveaway, promotions, summer, turquoise

Monday , June 16, 2008

Love: Alex & Chloe

This probably should've been my Imaginary Shopping Spree this week, but I didn't want to blitz you with my rampant accessories lust. Which is a newfound thing, this accessories lust: it seems that buying fewer clothes like I've been trying to do causes me to seek more sartorial variety through other means. The old adages are correct: you can "switch things up" with a change in jewelry, shoes, bags, etc. Now I know why people are so ga-ga over these things! I've gone specifically nutsy over Alex & Chloe lately: they have a toughie-chic aesthetic, with so many of their necklaces, earrings and bijouterie reminiscent of studs and chains and hood ornaments and the like, but everything is so beautifully pared down that it's almost minimalist. These are my favorites:

1. Feather pendant

Okay, okay, so many of you are so over the "birds/feathers/animal motif" thing, but honestly I never will be. Animals are awesome, and such awesomeness transcends the cycles of style. I love how this pendant is really stark; it's like the jewelry equivalent of Banks Violette, which you know I love. (That's pretty much the best way to sell me jewelry: all you have to say is "But it's the equivalent of Banks Violette!" and I'm about a third of the way there.) If it's possible for a feather to be bad-ass, this would be it.

+ Continue reading "Love: Alex & Chloe"

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