Stylish Thought

Ok, breaks over! Apologies for those who have been patiently waiting for updates (all 3 of you), but my head is cleared and my cup runneth over with new thoughts.

(Image: “Mommie Dearest” Numero 97 October 2008 foto decadent)

With Halloween upon us, thoughts of dressing up and youth have been swarming around. An avid fan of “playing dressup”, yes even in my mature age, lately I have lost my zeal for the art of clothing play. I can distinctly remember spending hours upon hours trying on outfits, mixing and matching, changing shoes, trying on blouses with dresses, pants with skirts and causing total disarray in my room by the end, being too exhausted to tidy up.

With “real” life in full swing, times to play dressup are few and far between and I quite miss them. Not only is playing dressup a cathartic experience it is also a time to see what is still relevant in my closet and what has reached it’s expiration date. As Halloween looms and kids (and adults) decide on humorous costumes and get in the spirit of playing dressup, I remember that for me it’s not only Halloween that harks me to get in touch with my inner costumer.

In times of strife, both personal and economic, getting in touch with the sillier and more festive side of things is always a plus. Playing dress up is one of those simple luxuries that can help you pass the time and get back in touch with your inner child. I know this Halloween I’ll be getting in on the costume action (I’ll post pictures later) and I’m making a promise to myself: to schedule more time to play dress up and remember the flights of fancy that clothing can bring.

Firstly, apologies. It’s been an extremely slow blogging week here at Stylish Thought, not because of a lack of thoughts, but a need to get my overabundance of thoughts in order. Most of these thoughts include ways to make this blog more interactive and bring more to you readers and also some thoughts on my real life and a couple of projects I’m trying to get off the ground.

With all that’s going on, I’ve self-diagnosed myself with Adult ADHD (not to worry, this hasn’t been confirmed by a medical professional) but with all the things swarming in my mind, I had to take a week off so that I could come back to Stylish Thought more thoughtful. Lots more thoughts and posts in the next weeks, I promise. Stay Stylish and thoughtful.

Fashion editorials are one of the many aspects of fashion that transport you to a different time and place and are some of the most arresting images. This Bang Bang spread from the October 08 Numero is a confection candy coated, femme fatale complete with Chinese bob and mannequin-esque poses. They conjure up images of 60′s psychedelic secret agent flicks and the colors are eerily intoxicating.

Images from Fashionation

I love fearless, funky females. Nikka Costa fits the bill and has been recording her own brand of hippie, funk soul. All Nikka Costa heads knows that she has raspy vocals, soulful 70′s beats and a message that deserves mainstream recognition, though it eludes her. She recently released her 3rd CD on October 14th, Pebble to a Pearl and it’s infused with her rocking brand and eclectic style. You can listen and download here

Money is trivial…blah, blah, blah. We’ve learned over the last few months that money is indeed not trivial and it’s quite important to the survival of entire nations. With that said, there still seems to be some fashion houses that continue to produce absorbently priced pieces and guess what… while I’m annoyed at the price tag, I’m secretly lusting after said pieces.

One such item is Balenciaga’s Giant Lattice City Bag. At a whopping 2695.00, I’ll never see this bag, outside of in Barney’s New York. But alas A Girl Can Dream.

The internet has taken over, submit, there’s no use in fighting it. Embrace it! There are great benefits to becoming a slave to the WWW. One great perk is e-tail or online shopping. Avoid long checkout lines and bitchy shoppers, plus if your agoraphobic this is your saving grace. With the economy and global markets in such distress, there has been a slew of discount designer sites that boasts exclusivity and low prices. Some are invitation only (which isn’t hard to get) and sales last from a couple of hours to a couple of days, with many items selling out in the first hours.Here’s a rundown of a few of the major sample sale websites.

1. Top Button- This website has been around for ages and with good reason. Top Button is an extensive listing of sample sales in New York and LA. Subscribe and get the latest fashion information. They have also launched an online sample sale site TopSecret.com.

2. Ideeli- Ideeli is a rare gem in the sample sale stratosphere. Not only do they specialize in mainly accessories; jewelery, handbags and glasses, it frequently has amazing giveaways (most that are reserved for paying members.) One hitch: it’s invitation only.

3. Gilt Groupe-Gilt is great for last year’s piece that you can’t get out of your head. If you can resist, you can get Stella McCartney, Valentino, Charlotte Ronson and others at a fraction of the price. Sales normally last 24 hours, but items sell like hotcakes.

4. Hautelook- Hautelook goes along the same lines as Gilt, but with for low-end designers and at times is more affordable. The design is killer and it truly feels like an exclusive club, if you dig that sort of thing.