Kerry Washington

Kerry Washington on stage at the First Annual Essence Black Women In Hollywood Luncheon, at the Beverly Hills Hotel on February 21, 2008 in Beverly Hills, California.

Kerry Washington recently attended an Essence event wearing a stunning Elie Saab Spring/Summer 2008 Couture outfit. Tracee Ellis Ross needs to watch her back because Kerry is fast becoming the new style icon in our community - I guess we can have more than one! I have to say I don’t like the clutch she picked for this look but that’s a minor “flaw” in what is an otherwise perfect outfit.

Interesting project:

Five teams of photographers and stylists are given two hours to produce three images. See the results at LVHRD, and vote for your favourites.

We love colors! (The tights)

With winter coming, tights are all the rage right now. So I figured I'd tell you about the best place to get tights. It's a site called We Love Colors and its sells a wide, and very wacky selection of tights.

So first for your basic tights lover, we've got the solids. In 45 COLORS!!! Yes, Seriously. Here is their color chart:





We Love Colors Solid Tights come in 45 colors and up to a size 4X, which they say should fit a woman around 330 pounds and at least 6 feet tall. Did I mention they cost the extremely reasonable amount of $9 a pair???? I would recommend picking up a pair, or maybe 40! Seriously, even the fabulous Torrid couldn't revival the funk-a-tude of turquoise or hot pink tights!




But that's not all! We Love Colors also sells Fishnets! Their fishnets also come in all 45 colors, but they only come in a standard "1-3X" (one size). This says it will fit up to about 48 inch hips. That means that me and my wide hips might just have to say a prayer to squeeze into them, but there are plenty of plus girls with hips that will fit!








For you wacky tights lovers, try the Splash Color tights, which come in 11 different patterns, in sizes up to 4X, and cost $12. Or go for the Black Striped Tights which come in 44 color combos, and are available in either 1/2X or 2/3X, also for $12.

sprite on rundle street

Stepped into the market in Adelaide, South Australia today to stock up on fruit and chocolate and wound up meeting Trude. (Norwegian, of course. I think I have inbuilt Scandi-radar). Most girls here are wearing shorts and tees through the drought season, but Trude opted for something more along the lines of Edwardian- bohemian. I particularly liked her coiffure and jewelled headband.

Paula Patton

Paula Patton arrives at the First Annual Essence Black Women In Hollywood Luncheon on February 21, 2008 at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.

Paula Patton was the epitome of girlish-chic at the recent First Annual Essence Black Women In Hollywood Luncheon. If you're going to wear a dress this flirty and bold, ease up on the jewelry and just sport classic stud earrings. If you're too big in the chest to comfortably (and safely) wear a strapless dress, this look will work just as well with spaghetti straps. See below for the low down.

Fashion As Art

For those of us who have ever struggled to put together en entire "look" - clothing, shoes, accessories, handbag or satchel - for a special event, it's no stretch of the imagination to think of fashion as an art. Just ask Simon Doonan: visual merchandising has perhaps more in common with curating an art exhibit than with any other form of public display.

Recent exhibits such as the Valentino exhibit at the Ara Pacis Museum in Rome, Italy (that's just one of the striking tableaus on display, at left), "Poiret: King of Fashion" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, and “Balenciaga and His Legacy: Haute Couture from the Texas Fashion Collection” at the Meadows Museum at SMU have highlighted the way in which clothing designers' collections can be curated like any other pieces of art. And even though these shows have already closed, there's always the Museum at F.I.T., a veritable cornucopia of fashion history, replete with gorgeous exhibits. Currently, Madame Grès and Christian Louboutin are showcased both online and at the museum's Seventh Avenue location.

All this is good and well as an adult able to travel about on her own, but as a child growing up in the Midwest, travelling to New York, Texas, or - um - Rome was simply out of the question. Mom and Dad preferred destinations like waterfalls, beaches, or the ever-popular national monument.

Which is why the DCGF is so thrilled that high fashion has reached her hometown of Indianapolis in the form of "Breaking the Mode: Contemporary Fashion from the Permanent Collection, Los Angeles County Museum of Art," at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Finally a dose of sartorial splendor for those who will never make it to LA or NYC. Check out the light-as-air Jean Paul Gaultier dress at right - do you not love how it's suspended and tousled about, as if worn by an invisible cha-cha dancer? The exhibit is all about challenging conventional notions of clothing, from the origami folds of Issey Miyake to the voluminous layers of Yohji Yomamato to Moschino's dinner jacket, literally comprised of flatware and a napkin tie.

It's so refreshing that the exhibit hasn't been dumbed down for a midwestern audience, many of whom are not accustomed to seeing high-concept fashion and haute couture, even in a museum famous for being home to Robert Indiana's LOVE sculpture.

And I'm happy to say that one of my favorite pieces from the LACMA collection is part of this exhibit: Thierry Mugler's "Anatomique Computer" suit. Remember in "Treehouse of Horror VI" where Homer Simpson enters the third dimension? Some say that grid he ran around on was inspired by Atari's video game Battlezone. The DCGF, however, thinks it was inspired by this futuristic-looking blazer. Yes, I just totally geeked out, but am I not right? Think about it...

Long story short, it seems that the fashion powers that be are beginning to understand that fashion belongs to everyone, and everyone deserves the opportunity to observe and marvel over amazing clothes, regardless of their geographic location. Remember: many famous designers came from humble beginnings. And the evolution of the internet allows dissemination of information at a previously unknown pace.

Love Lacroix? Pine for Preen? Yearn for Yigal Azrouël? They're just a click away. And, if you happen to be in Indianapolis, be sure to stop by the IMA and check out this amazing exhibit. Tell 'em the DC Goodwill Fashionista sent ya.

Goodwill’s fashion blog provides detailed knowledge and insight on vintage and contemporary clothing and accessories that are valuable to fashion shoppers. The facts and opinions shared present readers with entertaining, exciting and value based information on vintage and contemporary fashion and shopping trends.

wild wild west

I'm in Vancouver, Seattle and Portland this week. See you soon x

All The News That's Fit To Curate

Good news, dear readers! I just saved you $20. You see, the Newseum (re)opened here in D.C. this morning and for one day only admission was free. Tomorrow, it'll cost ya 20 bucks to walk through the same doors. I, being the astute journalist I am (and wanting to spend a beautiful spring morning out of the office, natch) decided to put my best reporter face forward and see what all the fuss is about.

I arrived just as the bald eagle was released to fly over Mayor Adrian Fenty's bald head (I'm not making this up) and confetti rained upon the crowd. Then, a giant banner unfurled in front of the crowd and on that giant banner was a picture of the same giant banner unfurling in front of the crowd. It was like on Minority Report when the pre-cogs told the police what was going to happen before it actually did. Kinda creepy.
Anyway, I already knew that the Newseum had one great feature about it: a restaurant by Wolfgang Puck, the first in the nation's capital. Called "The Source by Wolfgang Puck," the restaurant features Puck's signature dishes and an extensive wine list. Best of all, you don't have to pay the cost of admission to dine there. Puck himself was walking down the street right after the opening ceremony, and I snapped the pic of him at left. He's just as friendly and outgoing as you'd expect him to be, but much shorter in person. It's nice to have his cuisine in town, though, even if I am a vegetarian.

So what about the actual museum, you ask. Oh, gosh...do I have to? There are a few interesting exhibits, such as the daily front pages of newspapers from each of the fifty states and several countries around the world. What's headline-worthy in South Dakota might not even make the recap section in South Carolina, and all of the typefaces and titles are certainly interesting to peruse. But those pages are outside (i.e., don't have to pay admission to see them!) and there's nothing inside that's quite as creative and engaging, unfortunately.

Here's a rundown of some other things inside, in no particular order: New Yorker cartoons about the media, two gift shops, lots of television screens with rapidly changing images and no sound, a section on the Internet that features zero computers (again, not making this up,) and - finally - a large chunk of the Berlin Wall. Yep, the Berlin Wall. And that one really baffled me, I have to say.

The exhibit's subtitle calls it "A Barrier That Couldn't Block Information," but that is kind of a stretch. Wouldn't the wall be better placed in the Smithsonian where anyone could look at it for free? Not that it isn't impressive and awe-inspiring. The pic to the right show my dad in front of it, which is notable for the fact that my dad is 6'7", so you can see that the sections of the wall are huge. I guess it's supposed to remind those of us who enjoy freedom of the press in the US how others around the world have struggled in their dissemination of information. In fact, the outside of the museum features an absolutely ginormous engraving of the First Amendment on the left side of the entrance. But it all seems a little forced and heavy-handed for a place that peddles fine dining and crossword pajamas by Will Shortz.

Why this foray away from fashion today? Well, it's not often that we get big events like this in DC that aren't related to someone running for office or running away from the law, so I thought I'd bring you the inside scoop. Oh, and they did have one very, very odd clothing item there: t-shirts with plasma screen TVs sewn into the front. You could watch CNN on a girl's chest. But that just felt a little odd, and taking a picture of it felt even more odd. I'm just going to leave that one to your imagination.

I'll be back next week with a fresh batch of Blog the Blogger interviews. And don't forget: the DC Goodwill eBay store is having a tremendous sale right now, with super-low starting prices on most items. Get 'em while you can!

Goodwill’s fashion blog provides detailed knowledge and insight on vintage and contemporary clothing and accessories that are valuable to fashion shoppers. The facts and opinions shared present readers with entertaining, exciting and value based information on vintage and contemporary fashion and shopping trends.

Stripes and Pockets Forever

Frequent link-sender to the blog Robin is making a little room in her closet by listing some dresses on eBay, including this wonderful 1940s stripey dress. Robin thinks it may have been a candy-striper's uniform ... but it could certainly have a new life at work or play, no sponge baths required. Think of it with little navy wedge shoes ... It's B36/W26.5.

I love these 1940s striped outfits -- they're so precise! And that center-front zipper is just perfect. This is a no-nonsense, get-it-done dress, but it can still have fun.

I think Robin has the right idea, too. If you're not wearing something, you should set it loose into the world to be free and be loved by someone who will wear it. (Which reminds me, I should REALLY do a purge of my own over the next month or so. Especially of shoes!)

Nicolette Sheridan Wears Twisted Silver

Nothing can make an outfit like jewelry. You can take a relatively boring outfit and turn it into a showstopper with just a naughty pair of shoes and a few pieces of jewelry.

Speaking of which, I was recently introduced to the reasonably priced jewelry line Twisted Silver. The line consists of lightweight hardware manipulated into uber fabulous pieces of jewelry from earrings and necklaces to charms and belts.

To entice their fans further, they have a sale going on right now with 50% off on earrings until April 7th. Just enter promo code SPRING at checkout.

But I must say do not neglect the necklaces, I love that edgy metal look around my neck… As does Nicolette Sheridan and Brooke Burke who have both been seen sporting the Twisted Silver neck wear.

Top 20 Hilarious Child Star Screw Ups

Fame has a funny way of lifting you up and then dropping you on your head. Just ask these former child stars who lived the high life for several years before succumbing to the darker side of life. Whether it be drugs, alcohol, porn, or all of the above, here are some of the more prominent child star mess ups in history.

1. Jodie Sweetin: As a child actress, Jodie Sweetin got her start in hot dog commercials, but she is best known for playing the comedic role of Stephanie Tanner on the popular sitcom Full House in the early 1990s. As the middle child, Sweetin’s character was always finding dramatic ways to get attention. Turns out this insecurity extended to Sweetin’s real life, as well. After completing high school and marrying a L.A. police officer at the age of 20, Sweetin found herself unemployed and bored. To combat her boredom, Sweetin turned to crystal meth and soon wound up addicted and using the drug daily. When the word got out about Sweetin’s troubles, her former cast mates were there in a jiff. Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, Bob Saget, and John Stamos, among others, banded together to stage an intervention, and Sweetin checked herself into Promises treatment center in Malibu. After six weeks of treatment, Sweetin checked out. She’s been clean since 2006. Now on her second marriage, Sweetin recently gave birth to her first child.


2. Brad Renfro: Brad Renfro grew up as a regular kid in Knoxville, Tennessee, raised by his grandmother, a church secretary. A casting director hired onto the movie The Client, a film adaptation of the John Grisham novel, discovered him while scouting in the south. Though new to acting, Renfro nailed the part opposite Susan Sarandon and Hollywood executives came calling. Renfro nabbed other high-profile roles alongside Brad Pitt, Ian McKellan and Winona Ryder. But his dysfunctional childhood haunted Renfro throughout his life, and his adolescence and young adulthood was riddled with drug and alcohol abuse. In 2005 and 2006, Renfro was arrested for possession of heroin and in 2007 he was sent to a court-ordered rehab center for violating probation. Despite the treatment, Renfro continued to use and in January 2008 he was found dead in his Los Angeles apartment, the result of a drug overdose.


3. Corey Haim: Corey Haim was a big deal in the 1980s, and was considered one of Hollywood’s most sought-after actors. He starred in several blockbuster films, like Lucas and The Lost Boys. While riding the highs of fame, Haim drifted toward drugs, a habit that he continued well after his popularity had died down. Haim admitted that he started drinking and smoking pot on the set of The Lost Boys, and said that soon after he was doing cocaine and then moved to crack. To help take the edge off of the strong uppers, Haim took Valium at night and was soon addicted to that pill. He’s quoted as having said, “One led to two, two led to four, four led to eight, until at the end it was about 85 a day - the doctors could not believe I was taking that much. And that was just the valium - I'm not talking about the other pills I went through.” Haim tried rehab several times to no avail, but suffering a stroke finally prompted him to give up drugs. Now, Haim says he’s drug free. In 2007, he and fellow washed-up child star Corey Feldman starred in a fictional-reality TV show together, called The Two Coreys.


4. Danny Bonaduce: As a child, Danny Bonaduce was a big deal. He shot to fame on the legendary show The Partridge Family, on which he portrayed the smart-aleck son in a musical family. He started that role at the age of 10, but by his late teens the show had ended and Bonaduce began a wandering lifestyle, starring in bit roles and delving heavily into drugs and alcohol. Bonaduce struggled with addiction for many years. He was arrested for suspicion of cocaine possession in both 1985 and 1990 and has been to rehab in 2001 and 2005. He wrote an autobiography about his crazy ways and in 2005 signed on to do a VH1 reality show called Breaking Bonaduce, which chronicled his attempts to stay sober. He relapsed during the show, and it’s since been canceled.


5. Mackenzie Phillips: Mackenzie Phillips is the daughter of John Phillips from The Mamas and the Papas. According to reports, Phillips stared doing LSD and smoking pot when she was only 12. Her parents apparently turned a blind eye to the drug use and even encouraged it, allegedly teaching her to shoot up. Phillips had a role in the landmark movie American Graffiti before landing the role that made her a household name as Julie Cooper on One Day at a Time. During that period, Mackenzie get deep into her drug and alcohol addiction and often showed up to work drunk and stoned. In 1980, she was fired from the show for her addiction issues. Though hired back the next year, she was fired again in 1983, again because of her substance abuse. Phillips went to rehab seven times throughout the next ten years before finally sobering up in 1992. Today, she still works as an actress and spreads her message about the importance of sobriety.


6. Lindsay Lohan: Though she started out as a child model, Lindsay Lohan got her big Hollywood break at the age of 11, nabbing the lead role in the remake of The Parent Trap. From there she continued to get wholesome roles in movies like Freaky Friday and Herbie: Fully Loaded. But her private life was not so chaste. Lohan led a highly publicized life of partying for years before the craziness caught up to her. In a short period of time she was almost fired from the set of Georgia Rule for not showing up due to hangovers, caught by the paparazzi passed out mouth-agape in the front seat of a friend’s car, and arrested for a DUI. Lohan checked into rehab in 2007, but went back after a relapse. According to her father, she was treated for an addiction to alcohol and oxycontin. She’s also been known to use cocaine. Now Lohan is still filming movies and trying to work her way back into Hollywood’s top circles after her addictions had almost blacklisted her any possible hires. She is reportedly sober.


7. Leif Garrett: Leif Garrett started working in show business at the ripe age of 5, starring in multiple TV shows, including The Odd Couple, throughout the 1970s. In 1976, Garrett took a stab at music, releasing a hugely popular self-titled album, from which many songs made the Top 100 singles lists. He was a popular teen heartthrob in the 1970s and 1980s, but today his appearance is a telltale sign of years of heavy drug and alcohol abuse. Garrett’s struggles with addiction first came to surface in 1979 when he crashed his car while drunk on alcohol and Quaaludes. The accident paralyzed his best friend Roland Winkler, who was a passenger. The accident also marked the descent of Garrett’s career and his descent into substance use. Garrett became a notorious heroin and cocaine user and has been arrested for possession of the two substances at least five times, also racking up legal problems from other issues. Garrett tried getting clean a number of times, including in 1999 when he invited the media to film one of his hospital detox sessions. It didn’t work and in 2005 Garrett was arrested for possession of cocaine; in 2006, he was arrested again for possession of heroin. He was ordered to treatment, which he did not complete. Despite making token appearances on TV reality shows, Garrett has no real acting career at the moment and it is unclear if he is still using drugs.


8. Dana Plato: Starring as Kimberly Drummond on the hit sitcom Different Strokes from 1978 to 1984, Dana Plato was the picture of the all-American teenager. But after the show, and subsequently her career, ended, Plato turned to drugs and a life of crime. In 1991, Plato went on a drug fueled trip to a Las Vegas video store, where she robbed the clerk. She was arrested and said the incident led her to seek help for her addictions to drugs and alcohol. However, in 1992 she was again arrested for forging a prescription for Valium. While she maintained in public that she had been clean and sober since then, in 1999 Plato was found dead at her fiance’s parents’ house in Oklahoma. The cause of death was an overdose of prescription medications. Plato was 34 and left behind a 14 year old son.


9. Macaulay Culkin: Ranking No. 2 in VH1’s list of “100 Greatest Kid Stars” is Macaulay Culkin, best known for his roles in Home Alone and Richie Rich. But Culkin is also known for having grown up in a dysfunctional family. His parents had a widely publicized custody battle in 1995, and Culkin is estranged from his father who he accuses of mismanaging his income. In 2004, Culkin was arrested in Oklahoma City for possession of marijuana and prescription pills, for which he had no prescription. He pled guilty to the charges, and while he has admitted to trying lots of drugs and smoking pot occasionally, he says that he doesn’t have a problem. Culkin continues to act today in movies. Most recently, he starred in the movie Sex and Breakfast along with Eliza Dushku and Kuno Becker.


10. Todd Bridges: Another alum of the sitcom Different Strokes, Bridges, like his costar Dana Plato, had his fair share of problems after leaving the show. His legal troubles began while he was still acting in 1983 when he was arrested for carrying a concealed firearm. In 1987, he was arrested for threatening a local car dealership with a bomb and then in 1989 he was arrested for armed robbery after an incident where he pulled a gun on his mechanic in an attempt to take his car from the shop without paying the bill. In 1989, though, Bridges was arrested on his most serious charge of attempted murder. He shot an alleged crack dealer eight times following a dispute in an L.A. crackhouse. He was acquitted from those charges, but was soon racking up more legal woes, including a 1993 arrest for drug and weapon possessions and a 1997 arrest for assault and battery. After this last transgression, Bridges turned to Christ and has since been active with the Trinity Broadcast Network. Since 2000, Bridges has made a host of appearances on celebrity reality shows, including The Surreal Life, Celebrity Boxing, Skating with Celebrities, and Fear Factor.


11. Edward Furlong: Fans first got their glimpse of Edward Furlong when he starred in Terminator 2: Judgement Day, as John Connor, at the age of 13. He also had a role in the high profile movie American History X, alongside Edward Norton. But growing up in Hollywood had a negative effect on Furlong, who has admittedly struggled with cocaine and heroin addictions over the years. In 2000, he checked himself into rehab and completed the program, but in 2004 he was arrested in a highly publicized incident when he drunkenly tried to release, or free, lobsters from a tank at a grocery store in Kentucky, and acting bizarre when the cops arrived on the scene. In 2006, though, Furlong married Rachael Bella, with whom he has a son. He says that he’s been sober since 2002.


12. Haley Joel Osment: This forever-boyish looking actor got his big break in the hit M. Night Shamalyn film The Sixth Sense, in which he uttered his famous line, “I see dead people.” He was 11 at the time and the role earned him an Oscar nomination. But in 2006, Osment was charged with a DUI and possession of marijuana after crashing his car into a black pillar after a night of partying. He was 18 at the time, making the charges against him more severe. He received probation and was sentenced to attend alcohol counseling and alcoholic anonymous meetings. He has since kept a low profile in the media, and most of his income these days is generated from doing voiceover work for different video game characters.


13. Tracey Gold: Tracey Gold’s first acting job came at the age of 4 when she was cast in a Pepsi commercial. Appearing in a few different canceled television shows afterward, Gold finally landed the role that put her on the map in 1985. She was cast as Carol Seaver on Growing Pains. Life seemed grand for awhile until Gold’s insecurities got the best of her. In 1988, Gold began ruthlessly dieting, and starving herself. This continued for several years and in 1991 she was cut from the show due to her gaunt appearance. Gold went on to recover from her anorexia, got married and had three children. But in 2004, she was arrested for driving under the influence after a car accident that injured her husband and two of her three children. While one suffered a broken clavicle and head lacerations, Gold’s newborn infant, who was also in the car, escaped unscathed. Gold has since gone on Oprah to talk about the incident.


14. Scott Schwartz: Whether this is a mess-up or a well-calculated financial move is a subjective call. Scott Scwartz is best known for playing the cute, pole-licking kid in the classic 1983 film A Christmas Story. But when his mainstream acting career began to fizzle, Schwartz turned to the sex industry. In the 1990s, Schwartz starred in over 20 X-rated films, and even won an award for one of his better roles. While Schwartz did turn to the sleazier side of the industry, however, he tried to do so with class, accepting mostly “non-sex” roles. In 2000, he left the porn industry to return to legitimate filmmaking.


15. Adam Rich: Adam Rich made his name starring on the hit 1970s TV show Eight is Enough playing the cute role of Nicholas Bradford. As he grew older, however, his cuteness began to fade and Rich turned to hard drugs for comfort, using cocaine, morphine, alcohol and hallucinogenics on a regular basis. He has said that he began smoking marijuana at the age of 12. Rich suffered a severe overdose in 1989 and has been arrested several times in the 1980s and 1990s for possession of drugs. His most publicized arrest occurred in 1991 when Rich smashed the window of a pharmacy in a robbery attempt. Almost as soon as he had made bail for that incident, he was arrested again for shoplifting. His run-ins with the law died down in the 1990s, and his career never picked up. Most recently, though, both arenas had a little action. In 2003, Rich had a role in Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star. That same year he was arrested for driving under the influence after running into a police car.


16. Britney Spears: We all know the saga that is Britney Spears’ life. Getting her start at an early age on The Mickey Mouse Club, Spears has been going through one of the more public drug-fueled downfalls in entertainment history. Her crazy and erratic behavior has been catalogued by a devoted following of paparazzi and some tattle-tale bodyguards. Spears shaved her own head in a drug-crazed moment in L.A. when she literally walked into someone’s beauty salon, picked up the shears and started clipping away. She ran in her underwear into the ocean, has been spotted sans underwear in a plethora of public appearances, and has been taken from her home in an ambulance after barricading herself in her bathroom with her toddler son. As a result of all this, Spears has lost custody of her children, has been to rehab more than once, and has been committed to a mental ward. Currently, she is still struggling to get better and deal with her mental illness.


17. Drew Barrymore: Drew Barrymore was 11 months old when she appeared in her first commercial. Six years later she landed a role in Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster hit E.T. and became an overnight star. Soon after, Barrymore was partying in NYC clubs until all hours of the morning at the age of 10. Her struggles with substance abuse came and went at a very early age. According to her biography, Little Girl Lost, Barrymore had her first drink at age 9, smoked marijuana at age 10, and did cocaine at 12. Though her mother sent her to rehab, Barrymore relapsed, ran away from home, and then slit her wrists at the age of 13. Her mother sent her to rehab again and the second time it stuck. Today, Barrymore is still a major figure on the Hollywood scene. She consistently lands roles in popular movies and is part owner of a production company.


18. Corey Feldman: Just like his buddy Corey Haim, Feldman enjoyed a booming childhood acting career, starring alongside Haim in The Lost Boys and landing roles in films like The Goonies, Stand by Me, Gremlins and License to Drive (though he got his start in a McDonald’s commercial). But in the late 1980s, Feldman, like Haim, struggled with drug addiction to cocaine and heroin. While Feldman’s foray into the world of illicit substances was shorter lived, it was just as public. In 1990, he was arrested for possession of heroin and cocaine. He went into rehab shortly after and has been clean and sober since the early 1990s. Today, Feldman is married with one child and still acting, though more so in B-roles. He most recently appeared in a fictional-reality show with Corey Haim called The Two Coreys on A&E and was previously on The Surreal Life.


19. Mischa Barton: You know her as Marissa Cooper from The O.C., but Mischa Barton actually got her start acting in Off Broadway shows at the age of 9, starring first in a Tony Kushner play. She moved to TV playing a character on All My Children and then landing roles in other TV drama series. After Barton left The O.C., she landed some lucrative modeling contracts, representing Bebe and other A-list brands. But she proved she wasn’t perfect in 2007 when she was arrested for driving under the influence and possession of narcotics and marijuana. She pleaded no contest to the charges.


20. Keisha Knight Pulliam: Best known as Rudy from The Cosby Show, Keisha Knight Pulliam is said to have picked up a nasty cocaine habit while she was a student at Spelman College. She allegedly started the drug to lose weight, but got hooked. While sources say Pulliam did more than dabble with the substance, Pulliam has never gone public about any drug addictions. Today Pulliam still “dabbles” in show business and has modeled for a lingerie spread in Black Men magazine and appeared in a Chingy music video.

A.P.C. Surplus: A Dearth of Excitement

Last Friday, after having traversed most of Soho, my friend and I made decided to make our way to Williamsburg, Brooklyn - home to skinny-jean-clad hipsters, pretentious parenting blogs, and a disconcerting number of empty storefronts next to million dollar condos - for one reason: A.P.C. Surplus. An astute reader last week commented that I visit the outpost and give my impression of their selection and customer service. Excellent suggestion!

Brooklyn is known for it's compartmentalized neighborhood structure and Williamsburg, Green Point, et. al. are the new hot spots in retail. I just love the map to the left, by the way, which is available from Ork Posters. It helps me get my head around where I'm going. And in the case of A.P.C. Surplus, that's way off the beaten path of most retail in Williamsburg. When you start walking and then keep walking and then walk some more and are afraid you're going to plunge into the New York Bay, you're almost there.

I'm not the first fashion blogger to visit A.P.C. Surplus, and I'm sure I won't be the last, but I can tell you that whatever shiny patina first glossed the outlet store of this still-mostly-obscure-but-fiercely-loved French label has worn off. This shopper and her friend were left with a decidedly sour taste in our mouths.

First off, the retail store is tiny; like, Manhattan studio apartment tiny. The ceilings are very high, though, which helps ease the sense of claustrophobia. (Cool Hunting has some good pics. The second one down shows you pretty much the entire store.) And behind the counter one can glimpse a warehouse of denim, which is sold at full price. The remainder of the clothing, though, is all 50% off. If you've heard that the discount is 60%, well, that was just the promotional rate for the first couple of weeks after opening. Now it's just 50% and that's only for the items with a sign over them.

My purchase at right, for example, was a combo of full-priced and sale merch. The olive drab messenger bag (it's about 8" by 10") was regular price and the cat pin was half off. Not too shabby, but I still dropped $80. As for the clothing, there were two racks of women's, one rack of men's, and a table in the center with about a dozen assorted pieces from their Madras collection by Jessica Ogden. Size and color selection are sparse, but that's to be expected for an outlet store. There were maybe four pairs of shoes and three bags available, too. Perhaps 100 sale items were available in all.

But here's the kicker: service was simply awful. There was one main sales clerk and she was ready to leave around 6:30, even though the store stayed open until 7pm (they open at 1pm). When we arrived, two of her friends were there and we didn't get so much as a glance in our direction. Once they left, another guy sauntered out from the warehouse in the back and talked to the sales clerk for about 5 minutes while my friend and I asked lots of questions out loud about the merchandise. When the sales clerk finally wandered over to the dressing room, my friend asked about a dress with a paper-bag waist, "How does this look on?" To which the sales clerk tartly replied, "Like it does on the hanger." Great! That really helped!

It only got worse. As I prepared to purchase my items, she was texting on her cell phone then looked up and said, "Do you want to take these?" No. I'd like to purchase them, though. Ugh, I paid and walked outside. My friend emerged nearly 15 minutes later. She had been pumping the sales clerk for information, something I couldn't do since I had already been chastised for taking a picture in the store, which they apparently don't allow now.

Exact quote from friend: "I want to slap that girl! I just want to slap her!" I won't go on.

Needless to say, a shopper has to really love A.P.C. clothing to trek out to the Surplus store. The selection is very small, the service is very poor, and the discounts are only on select items. I found better deals on eBay for A.P.C. items. Plus, the items currently in stock are most assuredly from the Summer 07 collection, although the sales clerk insisted they were Spring 08. A quick glance at the A.P.C. catalog on the counter confirmed that the merchandise in the regular A.P.C. store in Soho is, indeed, the Spring 08.

Have I sounded too bitter about my shopping experiences in New York? Because I don't mean to do so. We visited tons of great stores and received mostly good to excellent customer service. I loved Uniqlo, where I bought one of their UT's (Uniqlo T-shirts) for under $16. There it is, to the left, on none other than Chloe Sevigny (she's everywhere!), standing next to Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano in another UT.

I loved Lush, where the sales clerks were our best friends by the time we left. And I received a fabulous eyebrow shaping and great make-up application from the gals at the Benefit counter at Bloomingdales in Soho. Oh, and Beacon's Closet, long-ago recommended to me by Panda Head, definitely made the Brooklyn trip a worthwhile shopping excursion. I picked up a Moschino Jeans blazer with peace-sign buttons for $25. 'Nuff said. And a big shout-out to the bartender at Mugs Alehouse on Bedford Avenue, who kept us occupied with delicious Brooklyn Brewery Lager until the kitchen opened at 5.

All and all, it was a very "New York" trip, full of quirky characters, crappy service, high prices, and utterly redeeming moments of graciousness and humor that made it a great adventure. This fashionista hope to go back soon!

Goodwill’s fashion blog provides detailed knowledge and insight on vintage and contemporary clothing and accessories that are valuable to fashion shoppers. The facts and opinions shared present readers with entertaining, exciting and value based information on vintage and contemporary fashion and shopping trends.

Indiepublic

There's a very interesting community called Indiepublic.
Denise @ Psychedelicat told me about it.

From the Indiepublic website - Indiepublic is an independent art and design community. If you're an artist, designer, retailer, blogger, or just someone who gets giddy when they buy indie, we've saved a seat for you!
So of course, I had to check it out and set up a profile. http://www.indiepublic.com/profile/DandelionVintage

After Thanksgiving

I have the post-Thanksgiving case of nerves I always get at this time every year. With Thanksgiving over, Christmas is breathing hard at my heels, and from now until Christmas Day actually comes, I feel as though I'll be playing catch-up. At least this year, I'm being a bit more disciplined about the situation. Of course, to make things even harder, we're usually out of the country every Christmas although it looks as though this year we may be in Washington - away from home, but not that long aching plane ride away from home.
I've been working mostly on custom orders lately and am finishing a wedding that will go out tomorrow. Lots of amethyst! Then, I have several other custom orders to get made (most for Christmas, so I'm doing okay there), but I've either sketched them out or know what I'm doing and where I'm going with them.
I've been working with different elements. The lampwork earrings above with lapis and carnelian (found in our Holiday Gift Ideas section match a fantastic bracelet on my Handcrafted Bracelets page.
The bracelet is made with freshwater pearls and Swarovski's newest crystals in a wonderful grey opal colour that I love. The silver freshwater pearls are perfect! The bracelet will be on our Swarovski Bracelets page.

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