A few of my favorite things

Apparently I haven't posted in nearly a month, which has lots to do with traveling and too much work and my computer dying a most gruesome and untimely death a few weeks back. In lieu of a big fancy proper-like post, I'm going to ease back into this with something much more hodgepodge and mishmash and scattershot, as that's what my brain's insides feel most like these days. So, here, a few things I love at the moment and want you to love too:

1. Jennifer of Hollywood

For some reason bracelets make me nervous and itchy, but cuffs are a-okay. The ones I want most right now are from Jennifer of Hollywood, an Esty shop I first discovered with the help of Kime Buzzelli (whose October 18 benefit you must attend if you live anywhere near on L.A. - please please click that link for more info). Some beauties:

And you also most check out Jennifer's Brigitte Bardot Ear Dazzlers. And while you're at it, her fabulous blog.

2. Rilo Kiley live

Home in Boston last Friday night, I took my kid sister to see Rilo Kiley for her 16th birthday. Jenny Lewis wore this fantastic one-piece get-up complete with sparkly-gold hot pants, and damn was she hot to trot. My favorite moment was "With Arms Outstretched," which got me all choked up and will forever live on in my memory as the grandest show singalong of all time. I even get all teary watching the YouTube clip:

3. Random otherness

Such as: Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon by Devendra Banhart (oh so quiet, but gorgeous and perfect for bedtime); Giovanni Styling Glue (best thing ever if you're frizzy-headed like me); the new Stina Persson website; Annie's Book Stop (an old love rediscovered last weekend in Maine - I could probably live inside the store for a few months or so). And something I wished I loved but I just don't: Giant Drag's cover of "Oh Father" by Madonna (you can go listen on Stereogum's little jukebox thing). I like it much better when Annie sings like a weird little cat-girl; here she sounds half-asleep and just sort of awful. Boo.

(above: Stina and Devendra)

R.I.P. Jane Magazine

I have to admit that I was a bit bummed to hear that Jane is folding. Even though the magazine at times annoyed me to no end, there's no other mainstream women's magazine that really espouses a remotely close-to-left-field perspective -- and I did like that they were started to poach some of Lula's creative talent in their fashion editorials. Now what's going to be my guilty pleasure reading when I'm traveling and grabbing bad candy and magazines at airports?

Don't Think of Bunnies

One time sophomore year of college my roommate and I put tons of bunny stickers on our dorm room door and then added a Post-It note that read, "Don't think of bunnies." But now it's almost-Easter and we want to think of bunnies all the time, especially that Cadbury bunny that clucks like a chicken.

Some of our most favorite bunnies of all (left to right and back again): Smushie's wallace wallet, Danielle Maveal's bunnies kissing necklace, Lily + Amy's vintage rabbit t-shirt, Monkeyshines's little white bunny pocket mirror, Vosges Haut-Chocolat's Chocolate Bunnies,* and I'm Smitten's A Gift print.

* We don't usually do chocolate here, but Vosges is probably the most stylish chocolate maker in the world - they even have their own super-cute t-shirts. And the bunnies have names like "Volcano Rabbit" (made with ancho and chipotle chilis and Ceylon cinnamon), and there's even one with ginger and wasabi and black sesame seeds. It's like chocolate bunny couture. I don't want them to ever go away.

The Annual State-of-the-Blog Address

Well, it's been a long time, hasn't it? Between the incredible time-and-energy-devourer that is film school and regular old life to be lived, I haven't had much time for fashion, much less blogging about it. I confess: I had been thinking lately of bidding adieu here -- not only is there the time factor, but there's no denying that my relationship to fashion and blogging is changing as my own life evolves into interesting new shapes. When I started blogging way back in the day in 2003, I started within a context where there were very few other fashion blogs. I'm not saying I'm a pioneer at all, always a notoriously ridiculous thing to claim on the Internet. (If anyone lays claim to being one of the first fashion bloggers, I think it'd be Marilyn and Ernest over at Look Online, to be honest.) But there was a dearth of fashion blogs, much less ones that were more "street" and/or personal in nature, and so I started this one to keep track of what interested me about fashion.

Happily, this context has changed, and fashion in the blog world has truly exploded. There are too many awesome blogs to name, covering all sorts of perspectives from insider dish to geographic-specific street style to more personal takes on the daily chore of putting an outfit together to being hilarious, glorious entertainment itself. (Manolo, we're looking at you on this one.) Everyone has to wear clothes (usually), so everyone has an opinion about them -- and now everyone can blog about it. The democratization of fashion opinion is an exciting thing, I think, especially for an industry that can be so insular. There are so many people out there with sharp eyes and skeptical takes on what we're fed, and it's fantastic that they can be found and heard. And there are plenty of those with a thirst for the new that love to share what they're discovering, which is great as well. But with so many voices out there, so many links demanding to be clicked on, and so many URLs begging to be added to your aggregator, how do you choose what to read? And as a blogger, how do you find and keep your readers? The answer is usually by blogging daily, and unfortunately, it's not something that we can do here. I can't speak for Liz, but I can both say that we both have incredibly full lives, like everyone else -- and ours sometimes takes us far, far from a computer at times, on projects where fashion has to be a distant consideration to other, more pressing endeavors.

And personally, I have to admit that my own relationship to fashion -- and my own style -- is changing. Rarely do I even have time to shop anymore, and the only time I can read fashion magazines is when I'm in transit in one way or another. Hell, I've had to stop reading most fashion blogs on a regular basis because I'm literally not near a computer! It's true what they say about reaching a certain point in your late 20s/early 30s -- suddenly there's no time anymore, especially if one fantastic professional opportunity after another presents itself to be taken advantage of. And on a personal level, the fashion world -- the scary-skinny models, the latest designers, the gossip around it -- doesn't really interest me as it used to. (Of course, this could be cyclical, especially after such a terrible Spring 2007 RTW season -- ughs all over!) I still love clothes, but in real life I have to love them with discernment, and zero in quickly on what "works" and what doesn't. This translates to paying attention to what you know what works, having an instinct for what could work, and ignoring everything else as noise. Fashion goes from entertainment to practicality. Sounds grim, but it isn't, as knowing yourself and your style translates into something even more gratifying -- confidence and freedom, and using both of those to live out your life.

Despite all this, I don't think we'll shut down for good here. I'm just explaining, especially to those awesome long-term readers, why we are publishing a lot less frequently, sometimes disappear off the radar and then get all regular and enthusiastic again. Nogoodforme.com has always evolved, from its more personal "me, me, me" beginnings to an interest in the intersection of music and fashion. Throughout it all, we've always tried to support indie designers and boutiques and, in our own small way, sustainable beauty and fashion. And we're always try to do it all without being too snarky and bitchy. So stay tuned...we haven't gone away. Really!

For the Kim family

Susie Ghahremani of Boygirlparty, who we keep meaning to write lots of adoring things about, is organizing a gift basket of handmade goods for Kati Kim and her daughters. Susie's looking for crafty stuff like blank/greeting cards, picture frames, and scrapbook/photo albums or lovely pampering items such as bath products, eye pillows, scarves, and teas (and she suggests you check out the website for Kati's boutique Doe to get a feel for her style and taste). And, Susie adds, "Kati loves forest animals such as squirrels, deer, birds, etc., so those would be fine to adorn any gifts for Sabine [seven-months-old] or Kati. Penelope [four-years-old] really loves horses. Kati also loves San Francisco things."

All gifts must be received by next Thursday, December 14, but those in L.A. can bring items (clearly marked "For The Kim Family") to Susie this Saturday at Felt Club's XL Holiday Event (held at the Ukranian Cultural Center, 4315 Melrose).

If you're interested in participating, please send an email to susie (at) boygirlparty.com with "kim family gift" in the subject line. Please include your name, phone number, and info on the items you might be sending.

For more info, including where to send gifts, go here.

And for the not-crafty, monetary donations can be made to the family at JamesAndKati.com.