The only hipsters I hate are the motherfuckers who write quasi-intellectual hate email to me. I get so many messages that are like, "Fuck you, man. You're the hipster...You're using a false term to describe something that's just a social construct." Okay, I get it, you went to college. What do you want from me? A grade? You want me to grade your email? 'F' There. You get an F. Go away. Everyone went to college.
If you can't tell in the video, the smaller text on the banner hanging outside of the frat house reads "No tolerance for intolerance." This was part of the University of Chicago protest to the protest (kind of like backlash to the backlash?) by Westboro Church this week. The Westboro camp waved classic signage like "God hates fags," while the student body responded with ones like "God hates the new Facebook" and "God...shoulda put a ring on it." I'm all warm and fuzzy inside.
There's something inexplicably thrilling about prowling eBay for vintage. In the process of hunting for, say, ridiculous sunglasses, you come to realize the sweet-spot brands to shop for: ones that aren't so major that there's tons of B.S. to dig through (Chanel, Gucci, Dior) but the ones that aren't too obscure to turn up results. I spent, oh, some 20 hours recently searching for a new-old bag, and, as my shopping evolved my go-tos for the world of oversized leather sacks you throw your shiz in and try not to set on subway floors became Bottega, YSL, and Coach by Bonnie Cashin.
Yes, I said Coach. And I f-ing hate Coach—no offense to my many stylish friends who own bags, keychains, and wristlets. But the brilliance of Bonnie Cashin, who lauched the company's women's accessories line in 1962 after doing big things on her own in the ready-to-wear world, is that she totally got simplicity. No logo fabrics, no weird tassles—just modern shapes in cool colors with unexpected hardware, like exterior kiss-lock pockets.
Here are some of my favorite classic designs by the B.C.:
Ok, I'm sorry, but I want to be upset with this grade-school style blogger Ava of Because I Love Style, but she's genius. I can't actually READ her site because you have to be invited—good parenting, wha?—and I'm apparently not cool enough for that, but there was a post over at the die-for Sea of Shoes about, and I can't get enough. I mean, we're not talking Limited Too here, folks. We're talking diy Ann Demeulemeester sandals SLASH boots. Holy.
If you were wondering it doesn't get better than this.
I have apparently missed the boat. It was only today that I heard about Sarah Haskins' video series for Current TV called Target Women. (My friend R sold it to me immediately by calling it Jezebelian.) ANYWAY, it takes down advertising aimed at chicks, and the creator is this v. Comedy Central late-night-style personality who is an alum of both Harvard and the Chicago comedy scene. (*I* wanna be an improv star!) The latest video is about how wonderful it is for men to get their GFs/wives gleaming hunks of fugly jewelry for the halerdaze (that's "holidays" w/ J's Minnesota SLASH Chicago burbs room mom accent). Please watch.
The street style blogs are insanely overwhelming, and, to be honest, I don't need Mr. Sartorialist's commentary on what some chick is wearing or where she's standing. Thus, this aggregator site streetstyl.es is genius, pulling in the posts (photos only, thanks) from all the big real people fash sites and tons you've (or, I've) never heard of. THANK YOU.
In the days leading up to the election, T was calm and confident. The polls were good! Intrade had it in the bag! And I, on the other hand, was an f-ing wreck. I'd read Politico, Huff Po, The Daily Beast, 538, and Gawker all day and then watch Colbert, Jon Stewart, Rachel Maddow, and the best election team on zee television at night. Now, part of this stems from the fact that I'm an impatient person who just wants things to happen, dammit, no matter how bad that thing's gonna be. But it's also that I don't have nearly enough trust in numbers now that I spend my life in letters. But, alas, Nate Silver has renewed my faith. Check it:
Right now, Barack Obama has 63.7 million popular votes to John McCain's 56.3 million, whereas third party candidates have roughly a collective 1.6 million. That works out to 52.4 percent of the vote for Obama and 46.3 percent for McCain ... conspicuously close to our pre-election estimates of 52.3 percent for Obama and 46.2 percent for McCain.
This was as of last night, and so every last vote hadn't been tallied, but...yah. Sold to the girl in the orange sequins blog.
Now, if I see one. more. story about Don Draper/Mad Men style...I swear. But the sixties is one of my favorite decades to be ignorantly nostalgic for (along with the war-plagued forties!). I stumbled upon this REALLY awesome blog called Found in Mom's Basement that archives vintage ads. I couldn't give an F about eighties business, but check out some of this Beatles-era stuff:
There's hardly a shortage of Gossip Girl coverage on the internets, obvs, but I am fully in love with the recap that Gabe of Videogum writes every week. (To be fair, I'm fully obsessed w/ him and the videos he does as well.)
ANYWAY, here are highlights from his most recent write-up. SPOILER ALERT. Gag.
"The reason that [Serena] doesn't want to go to Yale is because it's for "over-achieving bookworms and preppies, the Blairs of the world." Wait, what? Over-a-wha? Bookwhats? Sorry, Gossip Girl. You cannot change the rules in the middle of the game. Nelly Yuki, the girl Blair tried to destroy in season 1, episode 15 before absorbing her into her clique, is an over-achieving bookworm. Blair is an over-conniving c-word."
And:
"MEANWHILE, Nate Archibald decides that he likes a 35-year-old extra from the movie Singles, so he goes back to her dorm room to make out with her, because that's a thing that happens all the time on college campuses. The girls just can't wait for some 17-year-old guys to make out with. They're so sick of making out with people who've graduated high school."
And:
"So now both of the girls excuse themselves to the porch where they throw purses at each other's faces and pull on each other's gorgeous hair."
Lots more where that came from. CW, you're the best/worst.
One of the best things on the whole internets is the Fri. Fine Lines feature that Lizzie Skurnick writes for Jezebel. Basically, Skunick revisits Y.A. novels and gives her grown-up interpretation of them. "Y.A." is definitely pretty loosely here as pretty much anything of literary value (sorry, Sweet Valley High) that you read in your youths. The schtick is getting a leetle tired now that she's been at it for a while, and—as a warning—the books can be pretty girly. But, OMFG, this week she posted about The Long Winter, the sixth book in the Little House series.
I LOVED those f-ing books. My mom thought I was insane, wanting to read about 19th-century kids, but guess what? Over the years I have discovered that A LOT of the good readers I know (hi, D and K) were also into this business. (I'm clearly trying to pat myself on the back here.) SO THERE.
ANYWAY, here are some of the best Fine Lines posts that are are teeens more gender-neutral:
It took me until 2008 to realize that writing things on the internet doesn't (necessarily) make you the most annoying person in the universe. Then my friend had a dream that I had a blog where I posted a photo of myself in an orange sequined dress. Hot.
In the days leading up to the election, T was calm and confident. The polls were good! Intrade had it in the bag! And I, on the other hand, was an f-ing wreck. I'd read Politico, Huff Po, The Daily Beast, 538, and Gawker all day and then watch Colbert, Jon Stewart, Rachel Maddow, and the best election team on zee television at night. Now, part of this stems from the fact that I'm an impatient person who just wants things to happen, dammit, no matter how bad that thing's gonna be. But it's also that I don't have nearly enough trust in numbers now that I spend my life in letters. But, alas, Nate Silver has renewed my faith. Check it:
There's hardly a shortage of Gossip Girl coverage on the internets, obvs, but I am fully in love with the recap that Gabe of Videogum writes every week. (To be fair, I'm fully obsessed w/ him and the videos he does as well.)
I LOVED those f-ing books. My mom thought I was insane, wanting to read about 19th-century kids, but guess what? Over the years I have discovered that A LOT of the good readers I know (hi, D and K) were also into this business. (I'm clearly trying to pat myself on the back here.) SO THERE.