I Can Has Ray-Ban Wayfarers?

Ray-Ban Wayfarers are the trench coat of sunglasses -- they're timeless, they look good on everyone, and everyone should own at least one. Or several pairs, if you're me.

The nice folks at ShadesDaddy asked if I'd like to review a pair of sunglasses, and since I'm becoming somewhat of a Wayfarer hoarder, they kindly sent me a pair of Ray-Ban's Button Pins - Summer Special Series #4 Wayfarers, which have fun, hazy badges and little peace signs printed all over them.

($125, Ray-Ban, Shadesdaddy.com)

It's like someone took Kevin Arnold's big sister Karen's political ethic and printed them on a pair of sunglasses.

What I love about Wayfarers is that the style is instantly identifiable, but Ray-Ban keeps renewing a tried-and-true product with unexpected new prints, patterns and colorways (impossible to resist for a collector like myself) without altering the signature Wayfarer shape.

I'm especially into the whimsical pink-striped take on these tortoiseshell Wayfarers:

($125, Ray-Ban, Shadesdaddy.com)

And as a New Yorker of 10 years, I have to endorse the Rare Print Subway Series. (I own them in orange with the Subway print on the inside).

($120, Ray-Ban, Shadesdaddy.com)

Oh, and sidenote: these aren't Ray-Bans, but it's worth mentioning that these plastic black sunglasses, hand-beaded with seed beads by jewelry designer Jenny Dayco, just moved to the top of my very very long covet list. Available at Oliver Peoples.

Summery Beach Essentials

From top:
French Connection Aviator sunglasses Nordstrom.com
Havaianas Brasil flip flops Endless.com
Striped bathing suit Delias.com
Organic Match Eco-Tote Rugby.com
Photo source: teenvogue.com, Italian Elle vi.sualize.us

Celebrity Summer Style: Sunglasses Edition

It's always fun to see what sort of accessories some of your favorite celebrities are wearing, especially when it comes to sunglasses, that summer and all year round celeb staple. I came across an adorably colorful photo of Drew Barrymore in New York yesterday, leaving a photo shoot dressed in a springy dress and stunning hot pink novelty plastic sunglasses, which, by the way, I MUST HAVE!!!! So let's have fun checking out all the different shapes and styles each celeb prefers for shading their peepers, and if you know the specific designer brand any of them are wearing , please do share it with us!...

Drew Barrymore

Lady Gaga goes old school in Ray Bans

Katy Perry

Cheryl Cole

Halle Berry

Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen

Eva Mendes

Kylie Minogue

Taylor Swift

Isla Fisher and daughter Olive

Twilighter Ashley Greene

Katie Holmes

Alexa Chung

Jennifer Aniston

Miranda Kerr (engaged to hottie Orlando Bloom) in Balenciaga

Gwen Stefani

Kim Kardashian likes hers oversized. How on earth does she not get a migraine??


Photos courtesy of peoplestylewatch.com, stylebistro.com, outfitidentifier.com, teenvogue.com, elle.com, dailymail.co.uk

Alexis Bittar: Spring 2009 Preview

Brooklyn jewelry designer Alexis Bittar is one of those rare gems whose designs are so fantastic that I'd wear any or all of them... or even several pieces at once. Case in point: his '80s-inspired Risky Business brooches, which are part of his textured, highly tactile Lucite collection (his Lucite pieces are some of my favorites, and they're also impeccably designed yet indestructible), and his Deco-y parrots. Also, do NOT miss his stacks and stacks of gumdrop-colored Lucite bangles. I crave them all like candy... And below that, his tilda wood earrings from his Elements collection, and assorted icy, angular, and rose gold bangles. When I sleep tonight, I will dream about that white bangle with gold shards -- on the far right -- from the Miss Havisham collection. Alexis Bittar's Spring 2009 pieces are available January '09. Sweet Dreams!

More Vintage Hollywood Glasses!

(Apprx $14 USD, eBay)

OMG! Someone bid on these Hollywood-esque vintage '80s glasses! NOW! Or, cough up $545 for these Alain Mikli glasses.

Hollywood Glasses!

($545, Alain Mikli)
From the new "Twist & Shout" collection...

"You know I would never interrupt you when you're getting a piece of wood!..."

Topshop's First Step Toward Taking New York: Taking Over Williamsburg's McCarren Pool Parties

Topshop still hasn't opened in New York (boo), but they're establishing their presence at the hipster magnet that is Williamsburg's (the Lower East Side of Brooklyn) McCarren Park Pool Parties -- a series of free concerts held every Sunday afternoon all summer in the shell of a former municipal pool. It's hot and sticky as fuck there, but the music is free, and the fashion entertainment factor cannot be measured, as Catherine's demonstrated in the past. Also, last Sunday's Hold Steady show was supposed to be absolutely face-melting, but it also poured like the heavens were having a going out of business sale, so I skipped it.

Anyway, Topshop and Topman have set up camp (a little beachy area, specifically) at the pool parties this year, to promote the forthcoming NYC arrival of our very first ever Topshop/Man. Chicks are roaming around dressed in Topshop gear (cue jealousy), and they've set up a photo booth where you can snap pix of yourself -- I'm thinking it's probably like the Helmut Newton photo booth project they did back in London.

Here's the schedule for the rest of the summer. Ronnie Spector (!!!) is this Sunday, and I'd definitely recommend seeing the Ting Tings on July 27.

And with that in mind, check out some of my favorite pieces from Topshop's High Summer line:

(Apprx $99 USD)


(Apprx $39 USD)

(Apprx $15 USD)

(Apprx $19 USD)

(Apprx $148 USD)

(Apprx $29)
Very Lily Allen.


(Apprx $89 USD)
Topshop's answer to the Prada fairy bag. Wonder if these bleed.

(Apprx $59 USD)
Also want!

+ Check out more of Topshop's High Summer collection, and buy stuff here.

My Trip To The Mall + Mary-Kate Olsen's Orange Wayfarers

A few weekends ago, I traveled down to my half-hometown of Virginia Beach. While down there, I stopped into Lynnhaven Mall with my sister, who wanted to check out the new Wii games. (My parents and I got her a Wii for Chanukkah and her birthday because we are collectively awesome.)

First of all, I must congratulate Lynnhaven Mall on doing an excellent job keeping up with the forward-march of time and integrating itself seamlessly into the 21st century. (For excellent stories and photos of abandoned malls, check out one of my favorite blogs, Labelscar, which tracks malls into their obsolescence, which is nostalgic and creepy and fascinating to me.)

Anyway, mid-mall, Easter Bunny photos were in full effect (some things never change -- as long as there are suburban shopping malls, there will be opportunities to sit on the laps of the Easter Bunny and/or Santa for an overpriced photo), and while we considered doing the stupid high-school-level ironic photo, we opted for an even more juvenile approach: standing in front of the Easter Bunny photo area and aiming for a photo. (Again, some things never change.)

The half-assed result, featuring my sister:

This all leads me to the fact that Lynnhaven Mall has a For Love 21, brought to you by the makers of Forever 21, except it's accessories-only, like a Claire's or Icing or whatever store you're probably a bit too old to shop at but you do anyway, like me.

So, I popped in and picked up these fun orange wayfarer-style sunglasses:

($5.80, Forever 21)

And then, lo and behold, who should I see traipsing and tramping about gay Paree but little ol' Mary-Kate Olsen herself, wearing a startling similar pair of orange sunnies!

(Credit: JustJared.com)

Ugh. If I had a Euro for every time MK tried to waste my flavor!

Apparently hers are Benjamin Eyewear (more on that at FabSugar), by Benjamin Montoya, whose new line was featured in FOMK (friend of Mary-Kate) Jenni Kayne's S/S '08 Fashion Week show in New York and can run you up to $500, so looks like I saved a cool $494.50! How you like me now?

Should you indulge in a pair of Benjamins, might I suggest these great pair of clear ones, named after Jenni Kayne. They'll set you back about three and a half Benjamins:

($325, Benjamin, LeeLeeLunettes.com)

More cute retro sunglasses:

($85, Sabre Vision, AntiApparel.com)

More of my wayfarer obsession:
+ Love Lily Allen's
+ Love Sienna Miller's
+ No love Paris Hilton's