Painfully Hip » hip hunting

Preen Anniversary Party in Tucson, AZ

amber — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 20:21:47 +0000

Finally! The photos from the Preen Vintage party in Tucson (please do check out their blog).
Thank you to our brilliant photographer, Ryan Mihalyi. (Please be sure to check out his amazing flickr).

Amber, Diana, and co-owner Emily

Singer/Songwriter/Ukulady, Michelle Blades

Steff Koeppen - Singer/Songwriter/Talent, Personified

Diana and her brother, Asher Deaver - singer/songwriter/boy-shaped cuteness

Asher Deaver

Lovely Diana in her thrifted backless frock

Roadtrip friends forever!

Me in my new Preen dress constructed by Emily

And some extremely fashionable guests:

I will always remember this lovely girl as the spitting image of PJ Harvey

See more from this event on Ryan’s site!

Tales from the West Coast

amber — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 20:30:45 +0000

Oh man. Going on a West Coast Tour with three amazing bands and pretending to be a musician was apparently my dream come true. Seriously. I learned the songs along the way and then wailed on that uke just like I knew what I was doing. And I met so many hip kids with false respect for my fake talent! I had been planning on getting more street style photos of locals, but unfortunately riding in a van with 9 peoples’ stuff covering up your stuff is not conducive to always having your camera with you. Luckily I was able to whip it out in Olympia where hipness was rampant.

A few random shots from the tour…

Seattle.

Olympia.

Portland.

Arcata.

Sacramento.

San Francisco (Giants game).

One of many highlights? I found a delightful thrift store in Cave Junction, Oregon where they were having a wondrous thing called a “Bag Sale…” Stuff a grocery bag with anything you want for TWO FUCKING DOLLARS (Um hi, Death? I can welcome you now). I kept everyone waiting in the van for me, but made up for it when I came back and handed out practically free presents like I was Santa Claus.

Diana!! Thanks so much for stylishly picking up my slack whilst I was endlessly searching for sub-par wifi on the road. You are the BEST.
And another huge thanks to all the kind-hearted hipsters who put all of us and our abundance up every night!

if short shorts are wrong, i don’t want to be right

amber — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 23:27:23 +0000

here’s what it looks like when you take a motley gaggle of reluctant hipsters, marinate them thoroughly in delicious homebrew and invite them to a ballfield on a stunner of a day:

actually, it was rather hawt out:

let’s pay some bills! Pet Sounds and Waterloo short short roller disco shorts available at Waterloo. yes, Fabricio sent us these shorts for free for the ad, but really, these things sell themselves. they are ridiculously comfortable and needless to say, did not hinder our drunken baseball skills in the least.

…and here’s what they look like when you hand them another beer and a few microphones:

…please, thanks and nice ta meetcha, a most satisfactory time was had by all.

Wilco: Journey into the Greek Theatre with an Anchor Steam and a Camera

Eve — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 20:16:32 +0000

It was my buddy Steve’s (pictured) birthday and he wanted to see Wilco. I was thinking it was going to be in the 70s in Berkeley so I wore this.

Top: Charlotte Russe like 4 years ago: $19

Cropped and buttoned jeans: Nordstrom Rack on my birthday: $16

Woven brogues: Thrift Town $4

Teal beret: Sac’s Thrift Avenue $2

Sunglasses: Target $12

(Oh in case you’re wondering, Steve’s t-shirt says, “Guns don’t kill people, people with mustaches kill people. Steve swears that he got more looks when he had a mustache. I say mustaches are so late 90′s europop.)

Knowing I should be prepared for a rogue cloud or cold front, I changed. Down vests! Perfect for the bay area, where the air is crisp and foggy, but not “cold”. Nobody saw my blossomed top. Except you guys.

Down vest: Sac’s Thrift Avenue $2

Favorite Tee: Gap outlet: $4.50

It was only an hour between when we got there and when the show started, so I didn’t get as many as I wanted, but here are a few of the painfullyhisters I saw:

SO cozy! Fleece and knit. Look at that bag!

Look at the pretty shawl! Cozy! I wanted you to see the guy-on-the-left’s shoes, but that hill was pretty steep so I was all topsy-turvey when I took the picture. Or maybe it was the Anchor Steam in the plastic bottles:

Shoes, bag, Heiney and a nice smile. Her boyfriend offered to move out of the shot but I liked his shoes too.

Blondie is ROCKING the oversized sweater and wide-legged jeans. And the lady on the left had really cute boots, I promise. That leather jacket is to die for. Is that Richard Grieco in the background?

Anyways, it was a great show.

hip hunting for mother’s day street style

amber — Mon, 14 May 2007 18:39:54 +0000

our beautiful older sister is a fantastic mother and chic as all getout. lookit!

handmade couture crepe hat, beaded necklace and sparkley pin (made by tiny child-sized hands, but not in a sweatshop)
silk headscarf, the perfect colour for her gorgeous pale skin
white trapeze top, complete with handpainted grape jelly stain, a great compliment to the scarf and belt
purple sequined elastic belt (i’m pretty sure this is the same belt i wore to my first concert which was, eek, They Might Be Giants).
those straight leg jeans are such a great colour, wash and fit for her amazing figure!
sweet knotted wedges, probably from Payless. she always finds the best styles there.

:::::::

Never was fashion this important in men’s shoes, ever since prada shoes as well as gucci shoes introduced their lines.

Beer-induced fashion hunt.

Eve — Mon, 07 May 2007 15:24:51 +0000

In addition to being a pursuer of fashion, I am also a pursuer of beer. Ladies and gentlemen, I have returned from the 11th Annual Legendary Booneville Beerfest. I bring glad tidings of fashion joy. I found the hippest beer-onistas in Booneville. And when I get a couple beers in me, boy do I get camera happy. I burned through a pair of Duracells in 2 hours. Here is the best of Boonville. The most daring individuals of the bunch. I apologize if the photos are blurry…I don’t know what got into me (oh wait, yes I do!).

I didn’t even touch the surface of beer-fashion-oisseurs at this party. Towards the end, I sat there enebriated and helpless (with a dead camera) as ladies danced drunkenly around an impromptu blue grass set up in fedoras, sundresses, lovely sandals, pleats and hems perfectly placed and unapologetic, with lagers, ales, pilsners, hefeweizens, and stouts in hand.

Heaven.

Jazz feet!

Eve — Tue, 01 May 2007 15:44:52 +0000

Speaking of fashion revolution, I was carousing some street style posts and discovered a new look from Germany:

GOLDEN JAZZ SHOES!!!

It seems as though golden dance wear is definitely the new style on the street as Diana so aptly shows us.

Also you must check out this video from an Oslovian street style site (that’s probably not the right term, but I love that spell check wanted to change it to “Pavlovian” so I’m keeping it) with lovely Rosanna describing her outfit and her effortless style (note: the literal translation of “funny” means “lots of fun”, our German exchange students in high school used it that way all the time).

I love a pair of shoes that feel like a pair of socks. My beloved Le Coqs fit the bill perfectly, but it’s time for a replacement (Oh Le Coqs, you can never really be replaced in my heart, I will never forget the hours I spent staring at you during cognitive psych….).

I remember when I was a kid I wanted to wear my jazz shoes around the house but my mom wouldn’t let me as they were the most expensive pair of shoes I owned until I splurged on a pair of real Chuck Taylors with my $100 of wardrobe allowance in 8th grade.

Of course you can only get something this hip in Europe (if you live in a big city they may have them at the nearest Capezio, but somehow I doubt they would be regulation footwear at the local dance studio), so after shipping and currency conversion (Blame Bush), the total is:

45.3945 USD

Amber may have better luck with her loonies now-a-days.

But what is $45 when you can feel like these guys?

Here they are in silver:

However, I don’t recommend “completing the look” . Or quitting your day job.

I want them.

hip-hunting for street style: vancouver edition

amber — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 22:55:13 +0000

it’s truly exhausting how many beautiful, stylish people are running around my city. so eve and i decided to creepily stalk some of them this weekend, just for you…

look at this lovely, glowing lass we sneaked up on in Stanley Park! fearless! i LOVE the combination of stripes and low-slung patchwork with that teal corduroy jacket! and those SNEAKS? Uma might kick your cute little bum to get at those. sorry we forgot to ask your name, but keep taking those risks. and shopping those thrift stores. you can’t help it, you’re hip.

juli did some very successful thrift store shopping this weekend. she looks like a million bucks but only spent about $18 on the ENTIRE outfit, including the shoes and bag! look at that jacket and skinny corduroy pants! seriously? she couldn’t be any more adorable if she’d dropped 3 grand at Prada.

parmida ALWAYS looks divine. she rocks short shorts like farrah fawcett on drums. but on saturday, in a classic stretch wool shiftdress and tailored peacoat (both bought in a clearance sale at a local designer boutique), she busted it out in oiseaux-print mukluk-style boots which were also on sale for only $120 canadian! GAH! painful! she really should’ve just punched me in the throat, i wanted those so bad.