Painfully Hip

a potpourri of silly fashion etcetera

October 26, 2008 – 1:28 pm

Last night I was lucky enough to get guest-listed (thanks Sam Hunt!) for the sold out Lykke Li show at The Empty Bottle, which conveniently happens to be all of 1 block from where I’m staying.

It was a stimulating show and Lykke Li was excessively smart in a voluminous black linen caftan, which for most of the show, I assumed was floor-length because of the 7 deep breadth of dismayingly fixed hipsters obscuring my view. I communicated my frustrating curiosity as to the style of her shoes to my friend Meg when, as if sensing my laser eyes, Lykke Li randomly lifted her ankle high in her hand revealing that the caftan was indeed a tunic worn with black leggings and fairly innocuous wedged ankle boots. And of course her signature tangle of chunky gold chains. I approved.

In the spirit of total randomness, here is the most self-indulgent bit of mid 80’s cockamamy from some thoroughly vacuous narcissistic daytime TV star who, after systematically documenting the contents of her closet (overusing the word “fashion” as if it was going out of style), apparently thinks we’re on the edge of our fucking seats to find out that she wears both orange rouge and powder blush simultaneously. But only sometimes. “Fashion is something that is acquired by looking at a lot of different fashions.”
HILARIOUS.

(via the cheeky knitting blog knitters = angry mob, who apparently did not share my penchant for knitted skinny pants).

Some Hip Links for Vous:

Trend de la Crème

how to NOT spend $150,000

Don’t miss the epic finalists for Daddy Likey’s Halloween Costume Story Contest!

I’m absolutely dying over this midcentury Kent-Coffey dresser that Katherine at BackGarage scored for $50.

Possibly one of the greatest inventions of the 21st Century. Bloglovin. It’s like Tivo for the internet!

Ok, it’s lecture time.
Darlings, I’m disappointed in you.
For one, I thought I taught you guys that free shit? Is the BEST shit.
B) I have $750 worth of free shit to give away to 3 Lucky girls.
Finally, as of this moment I only have TWO contest entries. WHAT GIVES?
PUT ON YOUR JEANS AND POSSIBLY (at this point very likely) GET $250 worth of FREE SHIT SHIPPED TO YOUR DOOR.

Thank you.

amber |

beauty, celebrity style, fashion |

Comments (8)

Slip on your hottest jeans and get Lucky

October 24, 2008 – 8:22 am

Everybody loves contest time!

Do you ever wear jeans? Or maybe go out on the town? Do you ever do those two things simultaneously?
Then you TOTALLY QUALIFY to enter to win.
Win what, you ask? Oh nothing… just the chance to be featured in Lucky effing Magazine AND maybe even style a photoshoot for Lucky Brand Jeans!

I know, RIGHT?

If that prize isn’t good enough for you, Ms. Fancypants, then the deal’s about to get sweeter. Take your insulin shots now, because if you enter the contest at Lucky Style Spotter and then paste the URL of your entry into the comments of this post, voila, you are also entered to win this lavish cornucopia of goodies worth $250!
Click to zoom.

Holy hell, are those TIC TACS??

TAKE NOTE: This part of the contest is only for the legion of the Painfully Hip (US residents only), and after we vote on Tuesday November 4th, we’re going to feel empowered enough to choose the 3 best outfits! Each one will win $250 worth of awesome, so your chances to win are seriously colossal.

To Enter:

Lucky Style Spotter

Easy Peasy.

Remember, you must paste the URL of your Lucky Style Spotter “My Denim Transformation” contest entry into the comments of this post to be entered to win the gift bag from Painfully Hip!

So hurry up and show us yer denim. Make us proud. Blow those previous entrants out of the proverbial water. They wouldn’t know hip if they broke one. Oh wait, I’m totally one of those entrants (you expect me to pass this up??). I take it back.

Good Lucky to you.

Winners will be announced on Election Day Tuesday, November 4th 2008!

EDIT: Ok, its been 24 hours and only two entries?? We have THREE PRIZES to give away. C’mon guys, I know you have a photo of yourself wearing some futhermucking jeans! Git ‘er dun.

amber |

beauty, etc, fashion, shopping, super scores! |

Comments (36)

Cosby Sweater Couture

October 23, 2008 – 1:24 pm

Coziness is at the top of my list of favorite moods. I flee from soggy, cold climates like the plague. I’m a spooning aficionado. So sweaters are essential to me. However, I’ve never experienced the sensation of being dressed arms to ankles in knitwear. After seeing this collection by Marie-Louise Vogt via Fashion156 on a chilly Chicago day, that’s ALL I want to do.

You can purchase all this beauty for a very shiny penny (240,00€ - 380,00€) at Style Server.

Not that those cut-out vests would be entirely cozy, but still, I’m absolutely hankering for those skinny pants and cocktail dresses! That poncho could easily become a staple (the bicycle shorts, maybe notsomuch). Do you think I would be completely and utterly remiss to attempt to sew scraps of vintage uglysweaters together to devise patchwork wonders like these? I don’t know, but as soon as I get back to my beloved sewing machine, I’m going to busy myself with such janky-ass futzing, PRONTO.

amber |

diy, fashion, painfully clever (DIY), seasons change, shopping |

Comments (13)

thrift star of the day: awesome all day

October 21, 2008 – 4:34 pm

I’ve been wanting to include more random streetstyle photos on this blog, but the problem is that I get incredibly shy about approaching people with my camera, especially intimidatingly stylish people. But one of my best friends in the world, Rory of AwesomeAllDay.com (seriously kids, check it out. Especially if you enjoy things that involve NO SHAME. A very good read.), makes perhaps the best streetstyle liaison one could hope for - he’s likeable, fashionable, and willing to approach almost anyone and be their friend. Except for, perhaps, a rabid grizzly bear. The band though, no problem. In fact, he’s probably already done shots of Jameson with them.

Anyway, here are some photos he took of his adorable friend Adam as he was sighted on the streets of San Francisco. The actual streets, not the show.

shirt- thrifted
jacket - thrifted
boots - thrifted
jeans - diesel
Everything that was thrifted was thrifted in Portland.
All. Hail. Portland.

amber |

Street Style, men's fashion, thrift stars |

Comments (5)

a galaxy of thrift stars today: is there something in the stars?

October 19, 2008 – 12:30 pm

Double Yoo Tee Eff?!?!
Wardrobe_remix, although always inspiring, has been a tad scant in mind-blowingness lately… not to dis the latest picks (who are all amazing), after all, there is a possibility I’m just becoming jaded (can this sentence GET any more convoluted?? How bout another “…” and I’ll throw in an “anyway?” for good measure)… So ANYWAY (perhaps this’ll go in Guinness? I’m just going to go ahead and SLAUGHTER ALL PUNCTUATION RULES), I was going through wardrobe_remix today for my fix when, holy guacamole, no thrift star left behind, its time for an epic post.

Galaxy, whatever you’re up to up there? Keep. it. up.

Step 1: Retrieve jaw from floor.
Step 2: Remember why you watched “Annie” in the theatre six times.
Step 3: CHECK OUT HER BLOG: Fashion Forestry

Mega-cute! Ultra-hip! I simultaneously want to call her “Punkin” and buy her a shot of whiskey.

This geometri-splosion of a dress was self-made out of Ikea fabric. Take THAT, mass produced swedish goods!

I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a swell execution of the “hipster pin-up” look. Rrrrrowr.

Verhext, the elfin model of the mountain, fresh off her hewn redwood log runway, heads directly to her balsa wood pinhole camera photoshoot. After that she’ll be a little late to a meeting with her yodeling agency.

The look on Rebecca’s face is priceless. She’s drunk on pure trench perfection, excessive dimples and sunshine abuse.

This photo is perfection. Whiteapple (blog!) bought this sweater and kilt on the same day. Don’t you love it when you look in your thrift store bag and just go, “Hm, how ’bout I just wear these together?” Try it sometime.

Oh sweet thing! I’m just going to spew some adjectives here if you don’t mind. Honeyed, darling, precious, twinkly, gleaming, dimpled, winsome, twee (-but not too).

I want, nay, NEED this cardi.

Of course, this’un’ll do as well. Take THAT, punctuation rules. And fashion rules too, while I’m at it. I’m on a mutinous rampage on rules in general. Later today we’re sneaking round flasks into an NHL game in our bras.

amber |

thrift stars |

Comments (11)

thrift star of the day: dumpster love

October 18, 2008 – 12:09 pm

originally uploaded by wihelminasunshineupton for wardrobe_remix
A large portion of this outfit was accrued from trash piles and recycling centers. NICE. Some people don’t look this cute after being styled by Rachel effing Zoe for $6,000. Seriously.

amber |

thrift stars |

Comments (6)

check me out: all glossed up

October 16, 2008 – 5:51 pm

Sacramento Magazine were nice enough to interview and shoot me for their Up Front Personal Style feature in November’s “Best Of” issue! Thanks so much, Sacramento Magazine!

Sacramento Magazine Painfully Hip Interview

(click for legible closeup)

Written by Dayna Dunteman
Photograph by Tyler & Christina Mussetter (SO awesome to work with!)
Hair by Nicole Kniss (Thank you, Nicole!!)
Makeup by Christina Mussetter
Top from Thunderhorse Vintage
Jeans and pumps from Bows & Arrows Vintage
Scan by Josh Neely

Because of my need to be more mobile, I had recently lightened my closet by more than half and I was desperately low on wardrobe choices for this shoot. So I reached out to my favorite local boutiques. Thanks to Olivia, Trisha, Jen and Lacadia (Cuffs) for the beautiful clothes they let me borrow (although I ended up purchasing these vintage jeans -$10!- and now I live in them)!
The magazine (of course) somehow just happened to pick probably my least favorite outfit of the 5 or 6 that were shot, but I’m definitely in no place to complain, I’m stoked. I mean, I did style the whole thing.

So by the by, I am totally loving (like, I want to make out with…) Chicago, but with the economic shambles the country is in, nevermind the rising airfares, I’m having a real tough time trying to save any money for my globe-trotting journey. New sponsors and clients are sparse. Rather depressing, I sure did a bang-up job of picking a time to attempt this. What a slump. So. In a few weeks it’s back to California I go before the weather here turns morbidly awful (so I hear). Perhaps a jaunt to Milwaukee, a flight to San Diego and LA, and then to lovely Sacramento for a little bit to gear up again. Copenhagen is a surety, just not exact on times. I also want to hit New Zealand, Spain, Thailand and Peru.
Wish me luck, I’m gonna need it.

amber |

check me out, clothing swap, fashion, shopping |

Comments (17)

thrift star of the day: a walking garden

October 15, 2008 – 10:19 am

originally uploaded by skylarkandson for wardrobe_remix

Anyone even vaguely acquainted with me knows that weather like today’s (grey, soggy and cool) puts me into an instant funk. Hence, this blooming parade float of an outfit to lift ye olde spirits. Bravo.

PS Total BOOTgasm.
PPS I was trying to think of who she reminded me of, and she’s Michelle Williams’ doppelganger fo sho! N’est-ce pas?

amber |

thrift stars |

Comments (7)

Ask Painfully Hip: What to Wear Whilst Weight is Waning?

October 14, 2008 – 1:43 pm

Hey!
I love your blog!! It has helped me begin to tune in on what styles really work for me and fit my personality. Recently, I cleaned out my whole closet and got rid of A LOT clothes that I know I don’t wear. But also, i’ve been losing weight, and I don’t know what to wear during these in between times. I haven’t dropped a clothes size yet, but I know I’m close to it, so I really don’t know what to do! I kind of let go of a lot of my old styles, but am reluctant to buy new clothes because I’m afraid they will be too big for me in a few months. Do you have any suggestions?

Thank you,
Jo

Ah, the awkward stage. Nothing fun about being in-between. Firstly I should say that really, instead of “getting rid” of all those old clothes, you should have thrown a clothing swap, missy! Then we wouldn’t be having this problem. Have I tought you nothing? Well, make sure you do throw a clothing swap once you drop the full size and you’re set! I’ll forgive you just this once and try to help you out here, nonetheless.

I recently (accidently) lost almost 10 lbs. on what I like to call “the single diet”- I was newly single, and I hate to cook for just myself, am incredibly busy/lazy (case in point: it took me exactly 4 months to finish this post - Sorry Jo) and have no real schedule, so I end up living off mere snacks whenever I remember to eat. But I was able to keep a lot of my old clothes since I figured out a few tricks with some styles that still look good on me now that they’re a tad bit oversized.

You’re also very lucky because the oversized look just happens to be a la mode, as beautifully illustrated by Betty. Check it.

But if you are sick of your old wardrobe and really just want to show off your waning waist, here are a few pieces you can invest in to maximize your existing wardrobe and flatter your quickly-slimming new figure.

A corset belt.
Trapeze styles may be on the out, but you can still wear those overly-forgiving babydoll dresses from last year by cinching them with a wide belt. Get a nice statement belt that will make you feel like a stunnah even if you’re wearing your comfy “I’m bloated and lazy clothes.” You can also use it to cinch too-big pants and skirts into a chic paperbag waist.

la meow for wardrobe_remix

A cool belt paired with opaque tights or leggings is also a good way to convert your spring dresses and tops into layering lovelies for fall.

corazones rojos for for wardrobe_remix
belt and leggings

fashionfillers.com

High-waisted skirts or jeans.
Tuck a loose-fitting t-shirt or frilly blouse into high-waisted vintage skirts or pants and you’re instantly tailored.

johnnycutcorners for wardrobe_remix

A cropped vest.
Give your too-big dress or top a little structure and a style-injection with a vest that hits right at the waist.

tralfamadarling for wardrobe_remix

Most of all, it’s good to be healthy but don’t be too hard on yourself and remember this:

You’re more beautiful than you think - the flaws that you believe are constantly glaring out at the world like a large goiter are most likely only visible to you. Be unrepentant. Be happy to be you. Wear your personality and creativity with the confidence that you know exactly who you are and what you love, and eventually your peacock swagger will appear, along with the realization that you really are precisely as hot as you feel.

SO TAKE A FEW CHANCES AND HAVE FUN SHOPPING!

amber |

Street Style, ask painfully hip, clothing swap, fashion, painfully helpful, shopping, thrift stars, trend alert |

Comments (4)

The Most Painfully Hip Site of the Week: Advanced Style

October 12, 2008 – 1:22 pm

My friend Ira of Being Totally Sweet In Chicago pointed me toward this site that has been getting a lot of press lately called Advanced Style which features photos of, er, mature men and women with amazing style. I bet when I’m older I’ll be wearing the craziest duds I can lay my hands on just because, so what, I’m your elder.

Check this out, these elders look amazing and can probably pull off ANYTHING.