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Monday , February 8, 2010

BREAKING NEWS: ELIZABETH BARKER OF NOGOODFORME.COM TO WED RINGO STARR'S ADORABLE SON

(L to R: Zak and his mom and dad, Zak dreamily wondering what's for dinner at the Barker/Starkey house tonight, Zak and my future godgrandfather Keith Moon.)

WOW WHATTA GAME HUH????? I ate at least four big cookies, drank some really complicated beer, wore a $3 sweatshirt with a big hole in it, and - most importantly - met the boy I'm gonna marry. His name's Zak Starkey and he's in The Who. His dad's this guy called Ringo, who invented the USB. He's a Virgo and he used to play drums for Oasis and his godfather's Keith Moon, and that's about all I know about him except that (a) he makes lots of Stupid Drumming Faces, which doesn't get in the way of the fact that (b) he's So Totally Adorable and (c) we are absolutely positively without-a-doubt MFEO. I celebrated that last revelation by getting my ass kicked at Wii Bowling, and then coming home and posting photos of Zak on my Facebook, including that supercute shot in the middle. (Awwww...)

Anyway: something you may not know is that today's not Superbowl Sunday but Superstarr Sunday, partly due to the fact that Ringo's getting his star on the Walk of Fame tomorrow but mostly because of that beautiful Ringo Rising! post LJ wrote this morning, and also cuz of that whole thing about me and Zak falling madly in love with each other at the Superbowl halftime. For me, the most special part of Superstarr Sunday was realizing how it's so hard to be a mopey moody loser when Ringo's humbly dominating your day. And after Google-image-searching the hell out of Zak, I re-read/-listened to my Heavy Rotation post on "I'm the Greatest" by Daddy Ringo Warbucks and then gave myself a hearty pat on the back for knocking that shit outta the park in a serious way. Somebody pour a bucket of Gatorade on my head or sumthin'.

Tags: Barker loves the Beatles, cookies, Keith Moon, love, Ringo Starr, Superstarr Sunday, Wii Bowling, Zak Starkey

Tuesday , January 12, 2010

We're Obsessed: Nick Cave's Soundsuits, Now Invading L.A.

Lately I'm into costumes, like wearing facepaint or buying old seafoam-green floral-collared minidresses that make me look like a go-go dancer on her way to Sunday school. My dream costume, though, is the above piece from Nick Cave's "Meet Me at the Center of the Earth" exhibition (on display now through May 30 at UCLA's Fowler Museum). It's one of the collection's 35 "soundsuits" - wearable sculptures made from materials like vintage toys, sequins, and bottle caps, and (as Kat explained a while back) worn for Cave's modern-dance performances. I went to the opening last Saturday night and wanted real bad but to jump right into the bird-branch soundsuit (which can be seen in full here), as well as the one at the bottom right (which shall henceforth be known as the "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" soundsuit, btw).

And I wonder if, given LJ's ornithophobia, it would totally bug her out if I wore the bird sculpture next time we get together? Would the kitty-cat mask offset her terror, or just intensify it all the more? These be the questions one must ask oneself, before slipping into a full-body suit made of pretend birds and beads and other beautiful objects.

So: the Fowler's open Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. and Thursday from noon to 8 p.m.; admission's free. Get there fast as you can, and check the Fowler's Twitter for times and locations for upcoming soundsuit dance performances.

+ Continue reading "We're Obsessed: Nick Cave's Soundsuits, Now Invading L.A."

Tags: art, Barker loves the Beatles, birds, dance, L.A. goings-on, Nick Cave but not that Nick Cave, textiles

Sunday , January 10, 2010

"For Emily, Wherever We May Find Her," by Laura Jane Faulds & Elizabeth Barker

Today our beloved Emily Richmond departs for her circumnavigation. We will miss her very much.

LJ: Two years ago next May, a total stranger traveled from Los Angeles to Montreal with seemingly no purpose but to meet me. Her name was Emily Richmond, and she was dead right on. That May, Emily and I made four videos together: one where my ex-boyfriend and I watch Spice World, one where I try clothes on, another trying clothes on one (which involves a dumpster), and one where I ask strangers their zodiac sign. Not surprisingly, all of them are brilliant. One of the hardest things in the world to get groovy at is Creative Collaboration, but Emily & I nail it without even trying. I'm the star, and she's the man with the plan. Emily Richmond is an Aries and a John. I knew from the first moment I saw her, standing in front of the hot dog restaurant by the park in my least favourite city in the Universe: this babe and I were meant to be bros.

LIZ: The first time I met Emily Richmond was in a bar in New York City. The second time was in a bookstore on the Sunset Strip. The third was in a bar in Los Angeles. The fourth was in another bar, down the street from the bar I was just talking about. And I don't remember where the fifth meeting happened, 'cause after that it was like "Dude, I know you. This is happening." Emily Richmond and I were fast friends and also "fast playmates" (although not in a Playboy kind of way, despite the bunny ears and scratchmarks Emily's wearing in the above photo). We are "partners in play or recreation," our three favorite forms of recreation being (1) surfing, (2) stalking semi-famous wannabe sex criminals who love iced coffee and sensitive '90s bands, and (3) eating extravagant salads at the Marina Del Rey Cheesecake Factory. It's a rough life but somebody's gotta live it.

And oh hey, I lied, I totally remember the fifth time I hung out with Emily Richmond: It was in my house and she and LJ showed up at my door with a bottle of Boone's Farm and a video camera, and maybe also an apple and some fizzy water. I broke them the sad news about Jett Travolta and instead of crying about it like dumb ineffectual babies they wrote a song called "RIP Jett Travolta," LJ on vocals and Emily Richmond on my cat-hair-covered guitar. I don't have the mp3, but I think you can probably find a bootleg recording on cassette tape in the dusty basement of a public library on Easter Island, or something like that.

+ Continue reading ""For Emily, Wherever We May Find Her," by Laura Jane Faulds & Elizabeth Barker"

Tags: Elizabeth Barker, Emily Richmond, Laura Jane Faulds

Saturday , December 5, 2009

Love: Boy Meets Girl (A Q&A With Designer Stacy M. Igel)

Boy Meets Girl and its distinctively adorable logo first caught my eagle eye on "Gossip Girl," when Jenny Humphrey slings a Boy Meets Girl tote on a clothing rack on one of the episodes where she interns for Eleanor Waldorf. (Is it just me, or do I kind of miss Eleanor Waldorf and Wallace Shawn as the stepfather on the show? And does anyone remember the first Eleanor Waldorf on the pilot, the less clucky-motherly one?) Even a committed Goth appreciator and dark side denizen couldn't resist such playful, sweet and beautifully fun his-n-hers profile silhouettes -- I carted a canvas Boy Meets Girl logo tote everywhere till it finally died an ignoble death in the middle of a flash thunderstorm last summer. The logo and company is the love-and-brainchild of designer Stacy M. Igel, a fellow hardworking Chicago girl (like yours truly) who found her way to NYC and began building her company slowly but steadily. It's been eight years since she founded her company, and she's been expanding from t-shirts, totes and tops into a full collection of clothing that retains the lighthearted spirit while adding a bit of sophistication and citified sharpness in the line and detailing. (Seriously -- have you seen that leather jacket? It's off the hook, and only $154! Crikey, that's an insane price point!) It goes without saying that I think all three members of the nogoodforme troika could sport something from the line and look completely awesome in our own way. (I think I would give Liz a hoodie, LJ the taker/giver t-shirt, I want the honeybee one or the sweater, and we can all Sisterhood-of-the-Traveling-Pants it with that leather jacket.) She's doing it ethically as possible, too, using organic and sustainable materials and manufacturing whenever she can, and she's a big supporter of various causes. (I also have to say, it's great to see a fashion company that shows its clothing on girls who look cute and normalish and not emaciated.) Read on to learn more about Stacy, how she came up with her genius logo and her dream to be on Oprah, that patron saint of hardworking Midwestern girls everywhere.

+ Tell us a little bit about yourself -- where you grew up, were you a creative kid, what was your first fashion memory? How did you become interested in fashion? Did you always know you would do fashion or was this path a surprise for you?

I grew up in Chicago. I told my mom at the age of 4 that I would only wear dresses to nursery. I also told her I would move to NYC and start my own fashion line. So I began my life as a fashionista at the ripe old age of 4! I outfitted my pre-K classmates and staged fashion shows in my school cafeteria. I even made and sold charm necklaces to my friends in 1st grade! My mom was an entrepreneur and I believe it was transported to me in the womb! It's been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember...

+ How did Boy Meets Girl get started? How did you get the idea? What was the initial vision, and how has it grown and changed since its beginnings?

I designed and sewed some of my first tops in my NYC apartment that I shared with my college girlfriends. I was sewing and designing for holiday gifts, birthdays and special events in my free time while working full time as a designer at Izod. I kept my poor roommates up while sewing all night. But they were amazing and always my best promoters. They would wear my stuff out and inevitably someone would ask them, "Where d'ya get that"? From that point I started taking orders from friends of friends.

I knew I wanted to design a different line that spoke to an energetic, edgy and playful young woman with a confident and carefree spirit. During the process of creating this vision I knew I needed a logo that encapsulated that girl. One day my boyfriend at the time (now my husband) invited me to his parent's house for dinner and I noticed a picture frame containing silhouettes of their three children from when they were younger. My parents had a similar picture of my mom, my sister and I when we were about the same age. I thought about us and how we still both had these young, playful, carefree versions of ourselves inside of us and I knew right then and there my brand would be called Boy Meets Girl® and that I'd use our silhouettes for the logo.

In the beginning I was working out of my apartment. I was sewing, selling, promoting (even my first "showroom" photo shoot for Lucky Magazine's "One to Watch" was actually shot in my bedroom), shipping and doing basically everything by myself. Slowly (and I mean really slowly), I was able to afford to bring on a small team but we still worked out of my house. When I was finally able to afford my own space it was the size of a closet in Union City, New Jersey. I took a small bus from Port Authority everyday with my computer on my back to a rundown building with no running water. (The building has since been condemned!) Needless to say I appreciate my current space in the Garment District, complete with track lighting and a working elevator among other plush amenities! So that's how I've grown. I really have not changed all that much...I still love to create, it's just that now I am creating a larger and more complex collection with many more moving pieces and personnel involved.

+ Who's the ideal Boy Meets Girl customer? Who are you designing for?

She's an energetic, edgy and playful young woman with a confident and carefree spirit. She is an influencer/tastemaker who appreciates, but isn't defined by, trends. She is a doer - no wallflowers here. Life is not a dress rehearsal!

+ Boy Meets Girl has been spotted in shows and movies like Gossip Girl, Sex and The City and others. What would be the all-time ultimate movie or show that you'd love to see your clothes in?

A fashion show on OPRAH definitely! Oprah, can you hear me? Chicago girl here making waves in the fashion world. Have your people call me!

+ Who are your inspirations in terms of life, fashion, business, etc?

I am inspired by so many different types of people. If I had to pick a designer, right now, it would have to be Coco Chanel. "Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening." I believe absolutely in this quote.

As far as business mentors/role models: Elie Tahari, Zandra Rhodes and Elsa Klensch, all of whom I've worked for, were all hard workers even after they'd "made it" so that was an eye opener for me. I was smart enough to recognize that the hard workers were usually the individuals who got the big opportunities in life. They were also the ones who were prepared to capitalize on those opportunities.

+ What's your personal favorite item from your line, and why?

I love my faux leather jacket & reversible vest. Not only are the affordable but they are also sexy while at the same time totally wearable. They look great over my signature Boy Meets Girl logo organic tees and they pair well with many of the BMG dresses too.

I also love my cotton/cashmere "confession" vest that is mixed with faux leather detailing and BMG snaps and my taker/giver v neck tee!

I am also really excited about what's coming out in Dec/Jan in stores. Check out the studded jersey blazer! (You can see pics from my recent fashion show too at www.boymeetsgirlusa.com)

+ Whose closet would you personally like to raid?

Kate Moss.

+ Tell us a beauty/style secret...

Beauty: I've tried all the other stuff but a simple tube of toothpaste is the absolute best remedy for preventing blemishes.
Style: you can take any old t-shirt and recycle it, making it new, by filling up your bathtub with pomegranate seeds, herbal teas or other natural juices. What you'll come out with will be a vibrant, environmentally conscious new look for yourself.

+ What are some of your all-time favorite musicians, books, movies, tv shows?

Musicians: Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens, Patti Smith, Santigold
Books: The Catcher in the Rye, The Fountain Head, The Hottest State
Movies: Singles, Harold and Maude, Airplane, Reality Bites
TV shows: My So Called Life, Dawson's Creek, Charlie Rose

+ What advice would you give to an aspiring fashion designer or entrepreneur? What do you know now that you wish you had known when you started out?

I learned the importance of hard work and customer service. There are a lot of amazing people in this world. While you may not always be the most creative, charming or brilliant person in the room, you can be the hardest working and most dedicated -- that is something that is totally within your own control. By working hard, my bosses took notice at my earlier jobs and my employees take notice now. It's leadership by example and I think it fosters loyalty and camaraderie.

Also I got this from a fortune cookie tonight and it fits in so well here:
"Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment."

+ Give us a hint of what's in store in the future for Boy Meets Girl...

Expect more cool collaborations. This year I collaborated with the Soho House to design fashion forward uniforms for the servers. I also joined forces with the Cooper Square Hotel to add to their brand-name selection of goods for sale in the hotel room mini-bars. I created an exclusive line for Urban Outfitters which sold in all UO stores and online this year. On the charity front, I developed a limited edition tee to help spread the word on saving the bees (please check out www.vanishingbees.com and http://vanishingbees.co.uk/about/sponsors_and_supporters/). I also joined forces with teen actress Sammi Hanratty to help fight bullying in schools (proceeds of the shirt sale go to www.bullybust.org) and Boy Meets Girl sponsored the Young Survival Coalition In Living Pink gala by providing BMG gift bags for 500 attendees. Two areas I would love to collaborate on for sure this year are shoes and hosiery!

Tags: awesome logos, Boy Meets Girl, hardworking midwestern girls, Oprah, Stacy M. Igel

Tuesday , November 17, 2009

Love: A Garment That Combines My Affection for Hoodies With My Affection for Physics

I missed the Imaginary Shopping Spree boat yesterday because, you know, I'm crazy. But if I had managed to not be stupid-busy-and-super-insomniac-y at the same time, I would have posted these hoodies by the charmingly named t-shirt label Ex-Boyfriend. Who doesn't love a hoodie? They're tomboyish and practical, and these in particular name-check some standard-issue heroes of physics in a beautifully simple and elegant typeface. (Now, if this hoodie was a super-citizen of Nerdsville, it'd mention Ed Witten, Garrett Lisi, Stephen Hawking and Lisa Randall. But I merely quibble here 'cause I'm nerdy about astrophysics...my thesis film has one as the main character!) At any rate, they're super nerdcore, but so am I obviously. They come in both dude and lady versions, which is sweet, and they're kind of perfect in a casual geek chic way.

(By the way, those interested in some kick-ass books on astrophysics would do well to check out Warped Passages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe's Hidden Dimensions by Lisa Randall and Michio Kaku's Parallel Worlds: A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos. Nonreaders can Netflix the whole "Elegant Universe" tv series, hosted by Brian Greene...on par with my bizarre crush on Timothy Geithner, I have a weird crush on Brian Greene.)

Tags: astrophysics, geeks, hoodies, nerds

Wednesday , November 4, 2009

Love: Envelop

This is one of those sites that makes me rue the fact that I don't live in Europe! Belgium-based Envelop takes artist- and member-created graphics and patterns and applies them to all sorts of sundry articles: aprons, place mats, tote bags, basically anything that is a textile. Normally, you'd get a bunch of "I'M WITH STUPID" logos plastered on coffee mugs, but not with Envelop -- they vet their patterns, so everything has a certain level of visual quality. I have to say, the results are pretty stunning, especially if you have a strange fixation with really cool aprons like me. The site's fairly new so the selection may not be super-extensive (yet), and I'm waiting anxiously for someone to design a really cool duvet. But the site's relative youth (they're still in beta) just means there's more room for all you artist, illustrator and graphic designer types out there to become a member and submit your work. I'm only sad that I have only dollars and not euros, but they do ship worldwide. Still, if only I could live in Europe...

+ Continue reading "Love: Envelop"

Tags: aprons, artists, Envelop

Friday , October 17, 2008

Add us on Bloglovin'!

Maybe everyone else already knows about Bloglovin' (the site that lets you follow all your favorite blogs in one cute place), but I just discovered it a couple days ago. Just go here, sign up, type "nogoodforme" in the search field, click the little plus sign and voila!: we're instant BFFs. Now, here's a photo of a pumpkin eating another pumpkin.

Tags: Bloglovin', nogoodforme.com, pumpkins

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

Monday , September 8, 2008

Love: Laura Dawson

Laura Dawson started off as a stylist in the music industry and began her Brooklyn-based line in 2002. Since then, she's been featured all over the place, including mentions in Lucky, NYLON and other cool places. It's easy to see why her work's been getting tons of attention: her dresses, tops and bottoms are all youthful, kicky and eye-catching -- and pretty much guaranteed to get you all sorts of "I love that dress!" refrains when you're out and about at night. I love how her designs have a lot of clever detailing and favor unusual shapes and silhouettes, but they're still on the urbanely clean tip, making them completely wearable and enduring beyond the current season. City girls will love Laura Dawson, but so will funky librarians, studious rock stars and other gloriously contradictory creatures -- she's very versatile, and it will be exciting to see her grow and expand as a designer. We're so psyched that she is kindly donating her zebra dress to our event-only raffle drawing at Spirit Animal House this Tuesday night at Pianos -- this would be one of the top prizes I'd choose for myself, personally, because it's really just the best thing ever. You can be there to fight me for it, or you can just buy a ticket for the internet raffle and avoid reckoning with me 'cause I'm super-tough and will throw down.

Tags: Brooklyn girls, Laura Dawson, Spirit Animal House, zebra dresses

Love: Emily Elizabeth Jewelry

When it comes to jewelry adornment, pretty plant life ranks second only to wolves and doves and all other creatures great and small on the Liz Lust-O-Meter. Por ejemplo: I often fantasize about stealing my friend's palm-tree charm necklace, and that Allison Daniel Designs leaf pendant that Kat recently posted about makes my heart grow three sizes bigger.

Another leafy wonder, the lovely bangle below was donated to the Spirit Animal House charity raffle by Emily Elizabeth Jewelry (who also offered up this fantastic charm necklace, featuring a gold-plated ball chain, crystal quartz, and jade stone). If the bangle were all mine, I'd probably wear it with my vaguely laurel-wreath-esque forest-green feather headband, and then go prance about like some dashing little wood sprite.

When she's not making the nature scene, Emily works with other darlingly wacky charms, such as golden safety pins and Saltine crackers. Check her Etsy shop to see more of her necklaces, bracelets, bangles, lariats, earrings, cuffs, and score a raffle ticket or two for a shot at scoring yourself some fancily handcrafted goodness.

Tags: bangles, Emily Elizabeth Jewelry, jewelry, raffle prizes, Spirit Animal House

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