Chobani store, Soho

Ever since the Chobani store opened in Soho, I've been wanting to go check it out. My favorite plain Greek yogurt is the 2% Fage plain, but Chobani has some really fun flavors like apple cinnamon. I didn't know what to expect from the store, but it was cool!

Raymond, in nothin' but Uniqlo (and shoes by Calvin Klein)

The inside of the store is really fancy. They sell plain yogurt with different topping choices, and you can watch them make it behind the windows.

I chose fig and walnut, and Raymond had chocolate/pistachio/orange/mint. The sales girl said his flavor is the favorite sweet one, but I liked mine better for sure. 

And the best part? You get to keep those little glass bowls!

I love my freebies, and my Uniqlo linen shirt.

Fashion's Night Out: SUNO/Minx manicure!

After asking about 7 Saks salespeople where to go and after 45 minutes of waiting, I finally got my SUNO/Minx manicure!

Minx manicure on a gorgeous Theory coat

I chose this great Hawaiian-style print:

But I was also really tempted by this one the girl next to me got. Those are little people on the nails!

The process was a bit more involved than I thought it would be. The stickers heat up under a lamp while they buff your nails to be a little more smooth. Then they stick them on really carefully, use tiny scissors to trim away the extra bits, and let it sit for a few minutes while they do your entire hand. The sticker ends get filed off on the end of your nail. 

My hands were totally burning under the heat of that lamp!

Otherwise, Fashion's Night Out this year was pretty much a wash. Too many people, no sales, no free stuff and almost no free food. There's usually drinks and cupcakes at a bare minimum! I waited forever to get this manicure and I showed up half an hour early. Next year, I'm renting a movie and making my own damn cupcakes.

Marni for H&M

I was up so early this morning that the express train was still local. The payoff was a bunch of women's accessories and men's clothes from Marni for H&M!

Raymond was nice enough to come with me to the Flatiron (5th Ave. at 18th St.) store.

We got up at 5, in line just after 6, and the line was about 50 people long.

Not too bad! At around 7, H&M employees/security came out with a loudspeaker and explained the system. People would be let in the store in groups of 30, with each group having 15 minutes to shop. We ended up being near the end of the second group, let in at 8:25. They began letting people in around 8:05, and they scheduled five minute cleaning/restocking breaks in between groups. 

There were some interesting people in line. Two ladies had my short Plus J Uniqlo coat. The two in front of me chain smoked for hours. These two ladies were a few people ahead of me and were wearing items that were very similar to the ones being sold.

At 8:20, we were let in the doors and we went upstairs to the Marni area where we waited in a blocked off line right in front of the tiny little shopping area. It was nice to be able to scope out what to grab first! Here's the view from below; I was way too excited to take any pics while I was up there.

It was actually really fun! The other people waiting were generally friendly and happy, and the employees pumped us up by yelling "Go Team Green!" etc. (referring to the color of our arm bands) and counting down the minutes and seconds until we got to go in.

When we finally got there, it was civilized madness. Everyone was focused and fast, but still polite. Since there were only 30 of us and they had just restocked, there was plenty of most things for everyone. The only thing I heard a complaint about was the lack of small sizes for some of the shorts. A lady I met in line also told me later that she couldn't find the silver shoes she wanted, or a couple of the dresses.

The quality of the line was pretty good! Honestly, I felt a bit oversaturated when it came to the women's clothes, but I really loved some of the men's items for me! I grabbed a bunch of the women's accessories as well, including two bracelets, the sunglasses, one of the layered necklaces, and two sequin collars.

 The line was still going strong when I left.

Damn, my hair looks good today!

XOXO

I got the coolest sunglasses ever!





Sunglasses by Alexandra Cassaniti, coat by Jcrew, necklace by Forever 21, sweater dress by 3.1 Phillip Lim (on major sale at Bird!), bracelets by me

I think sunglasses are my new thing. It's possible I may be a highly sensitive person, and I was reading about how those traits are often translated physically too. I have sensitive skin, sensitive eyes; light flashes give me migraines, etc. I'm also highly sensitive to hideous fashion, so I had to get these amazing Face It glasses, to shield me from Uggs, leggings as pants, etc. I love them so much! I saw them originally in Creatures of Comfort, but then found them on the designer's website for way less. They came with a little bag of neoprene scraps labeled "Surfer confetti." SO CUTE.

Some fun DIYs are happening this weekend, will post in a few days! In the meantime, I was so excited to read about Mariko's glitter shoes! I can't wait to see them on! Make your own using my DIY post!

Shibori circle scarves

I'm working on some great new items for the shop! Keep an eye out for silk and wool shibori circle scarves, and some cute new pouches!



I'm also working with Raymond to design a leather color-blocked backpack for him for spring.

How did I miss this???

Cambridge Satchel collaborated with Comme des Garcons, and somehow it slipped past me!





I don't love the metallics (they also have a brown and a matte white) but I do love the new handles! I'm still aching for a fluoro though; if only they still sold them somewhere I can redeem my credit card points (Bloomingdale's, I'm looking at you!). The Bloomingdale's special edition blue neon bag sold out so fast, and I'm so sad I missed it!

Choose your own adventure

Now this is the kind of choose your own adventure book I would have liked when I was a kid!



Madewell's new video lets you make choices about what style you want and shows the models dressing up in whatever you chose! So fun! Click on over and try it; and they're still having 30% extra off sale items if you're feeling shoppy.

I don't want to grow up...

I picked up the new Jcrew catalog this weekend, and I only want to wear the kids' clothes!



Pretty color schemes, comfy-looking clothes! I think I can knit the sweater dress.



I hope my future daughter is this cute. In the meantime, I really want to wear casual sequins and star-print dresses. You can't see it in the pic, but she's wearing the outfit with desert boots (which I have, naturally)!



Once again, future baby and style icon. I've been wanting that overnight duffle bag for awhile (monogrammed, of course).



The outfit on the left is the only women's version I was really into, and I love that there's a child's version that's almost the same except for the colors. I'll do a combo of the two with my navy coat and some neon arm warmers!

Finger it!

I'm sorry, somehow I left off the best product of all on Connect Design: finger sticky notes!

I need these.

I don't know who's behind Connect Design from Korea, but whoever they are, they've seen inside my mind. I want so many things on their site! I need my planner to be combined with my watch:





I need my mugs to have animal tails:



And I really need 1. an iPhone 4 and 2. this kit to customize my own case!



And I need to be able to not only tell people what time it is, but show them without having to cramp my arm.



So cool!

Jesus is watching you.

First I saw this awesome Jesus watch on a marketer at Refinery 29:



Then I was clicking through a slideshow of detail shots from Paris Fashion Week at NY Mag's The Cut:



What's going on here? Is the Jesus watch a trend? Because I love it! After I saw the first one, I made a mental note to search for it on Ebay but got distracted, and later I just thought, "Well, how many Jesus watches can there be, anyway?" Turns out: A LOT.

So is this a thing now? I'm going to make it official and call it a thing.

The grand tour

Another highlight of my trip: eating dim sum with my Aunt Rebecca. We ate shark's fin soup while she laughed hysterically remembering the time that my mom and dad came to visit and drank milk with lunch, "just like baby!!!!!"



After lunch, we went on a tour of empty restaurants and bars in high places, looking to see which one had the best view. This picture was taken in the hallway in a rooftop bar in Tsim Sha Tsui. Aunt Rebecca always gives the best small gifts, which is how I ended up going home with "Glaring Bright" pink lipgloss and a big box of dried noodle packets in my suitcase. They remind me of the time I was living in a village/tiny city in northern China and my white grandma sent me a care package full of ramen noodle packages.

The effects of Hurricane Irene

Thanks, Irene, for delaying my Outnet shipment an ENTIRE DAY.

Otherwise, it's business as usual post-Irene. The subways were closed on the weekend, but unfortunately everything was back up and running on Monday morning. We were told to expect delays, so I left an hour before normal and ended up being an hour and a half early for work. A lot of people stayed home from work so the commute was actually shorter than usual.

In other news, I'm off to Asia on Thursday! Can't wait to get my Fei Yue's, my fancy pottery, and a bunch of fabric to sew!

Lanvin's fall campaign video

Dance like no one is watching. Let this be the only time I ever speak those words.

BB Cream

I gotta say, I might be biased, but Americans are totally behind on the skincare and makeup front. Koreans are using awesome things like stem cells and ointments originally developed for burn victims. And there's Japanese mascaras that use wax and silicone to make your eyelashes so lush and thick and curled that you look like one of those dolls that have eyes that fall shut.

via Ebay

Super creepy, no?

 

 

 

 

But lately I've been getting really into it, especially since I read this article in Marie Claire about how Koreans are ahead of the curve as far as technological innovations in skincare. Basically, Koreans are winning when it comes to skin, and the main treatments the article mentions are lasers (SO EFFECTIVE), stem cells (sci-fi), BB creams (so easy) and high-potency collagen. I don't know much about the collagen treatments because it seems like the person that they interviewed for the article bought the rights to distribute in the US, so we don't get to know the names of the international competitors.

This post gets a little long, so read on to find out which products I've tried and which ones have actual results!

Mining the sale

God I hate it when shopping sites/magazines use the phrase "mining the sale." Yet that's what I'm doing.

Here's a few things I like in the current Jcrew sale:



I think if I got this sweater, I'd spring for the $10 monogramming.



Is it a boot? Is it a pump? I don't care, I still love it.



A trench cape is my dream, but in the meantime I suppose I could make do with this trench vest.



I love oxford shirts as much as I like subtle novelty detailing. /total lack of sarcasm

Give me a head with HAIR.

This blog is about to be hijacked by beauty info, because I just got my Sasa order in and I can't wait to talk about my Kiss Me Heroine Make mascara and remover! And BB cream and stem cell lotion!

In the meantime, check out this wig pamphlet that came with my Sasa order.



"Huh, weird, those girls don't look like they're wearing wigs at all!"



"Pretty cute! So Japanese, with the voluminous curled-under bobs!"



"Huh. Ok."



And finally, a close-up look at the back page where you can see samples of each of the hair colors that the wigs are offered in. Asians love to dye their hair all manner of shades of brown, with such subtle differences that you would never have imagined there could BE so many browns. Including the awesomely named "Congo Brown" and "Latino Brown." IDK, personally I would have thought Congo Brown would be darker? And Latino Brown, I have no idea about. I'm not even going to attempt a comment.

Whoa, freshness.

Ever since I started "helping" my bf shop, I've been paying a lot more attention to cool things happening in menswear. It's all about the details!










pics via Ronnie Fieg

These Ronnie Fieg x Sebago Spinnakers are so perfect for the look I imagine for him: sexy, sporty prep with just a pinch of edgy dandy to keep it from being too Polo. I love the subtle tonal difference in the colors of the leather on the upper, and the red laces are so saturated! I can see these standing on the floor of the Ace Hotel as well as walking into Vanessa's for some 4-for-$1 dumplings and a bubble tea.

We're probably going to end up going for this one though:



since the Ronnie Fieg ones are sold out in his size.