Recently in fashion Category
Ohh I just love Hel Looks, a street fashion blog for Helsinki. I've been following the site for over a year now and they consistently catch the best-dressed of all current subcultures, as well as those who just stand out. But god I can't express enough love for this girl's furry legwarmers!!! She's 16 and she says, "I mix cyber punk and Japanese style. Colourful style brings me joy."How fun to be young and growing up in a big city.
Er, does anyone else see the subliminal message here? Perhaps it's me running on a few hours' sleep, or the lingering effects of staring at pre-calc formulas for too long. All I can tell you is that I glanced down at my mom's bills on the table this morning, and this one was upside-down and telling me, "Shop & Feel."Whoaaaa, my mind-grapes are totally blown!
The other day, this post about shot-up polos from Attus Apparel made me think of a great book called Feed, by M.T. Anderson. It's a YA sci-fi novel, but don't let its genre deter you. Feed is smartly written and an entertaining read, even if you're an old-ish adult or don't typically enjoy sci-fi. Told through the eyes of a 14-year-old boy who thinks visiting the moon "completely sucks" and would rather watch the show Oh? Wow! Thing!, Anderson's narrative paints the internet (the feed) as the ultimate marketing tool for corporations. Cultures and subcultures are easily profiled and sculpted to consumerist perfection due to constant interaction with and observation by the feed. For a more in-depth review, follow this link.
A common motif in Feed is the constantly changing trends that get more and more ridiculous every week. One of the fads is remarkably prescient of this concept by Attus Apparel:
When we got there, Calista and Loga were getting out of Calista's car, and it was like, Whoa, because they were wearing all torn-up clothes. They were walking normal, but they looked like they'd been burned up and hit with stuff...
"Yuh," said Loga. "It's Riot Gear. It's retro. It's beat up to look like one of the big twentieth-century riots. It's been big since earlier this week."
- Feed, pp 158-9
Maybe those Attus Apparel guys read Anderson's novel? NOTCOT speculates all this violent pre-distressing of clothing is a response to society's obsession with crime dramas like Law & Order or CSI. I'm thinking it has more to do with conditioning our youth to get used to war, especially since this little vid by the company mentions that one guy's dad used to be a marine...Either way, this fashion statement's straddling some yellow cautionary tape between amusingly ironic and blatantly distasteful. They're not charging a hundred bucks for bullet-holes. I found it interesting that the little logos flashed at the end seem to call out to a number of different youth subsets - the jock, the frat boy, the punk, the xtreme sports lover...it's all a bit too clever.
654 South Ave, Rochester NY, 14620
Tues-Sat 11-7
Sun 12-5
Finally, a place to shop in Rochester! No more picking through the multitude of cheap & gaudy to find the 1 or 2 affordable & cute pieces at H&M or Gadzooks. And no more knock-offs, thank god. This is the real thing. Real designers! Hurray. Gentle Fawn, Fyasko, Little by Jenny, and more. There's even some cute home products designed by Pop Ink. This place is cooler than some stores I've been to in Montreal. Maybe that's because I can't afford to shop in the really cool stores in Montreal, but shhh. That just brings me to my next point, anyway. This place is super affordable. I walked out with an adorable tee-shirt that only set me back $19. And 19 is my favorite number! Felicitous? I think so!
Check them out sometime. If clothes ain't your thang, there's always fun stuff like light-up oinking pig keychains and lomography cameras. Plus it's right next to Lux so if you're fed up, buy yourself a beer.
From the RocWiki:
The newest addition to the South Wedge, Thread: entertaining with design, art, and fashion -- gridding the scale from clothing to meticulous necessities. Scavenging from grassroots and established companies as well as providing an outlet for local artists to showcase and sell their work. Never serving you the same course twice, Thread will always stock the newest (clothes, clothing, garments, outfits, attire, garb; dress, wear; togs, duds, getup, threads; apparel.) to keep the eyes, mind, and soul stimulated, ascending your style into heightening fashion.
