Saks ad

Shepard Fairey’s new ad campaign for Saks Fifth Avenue ushers in a new age of prosperity… for him, anyway. The New York Times reports today on his design company’s recent work for the New York-based retailer.

To be fair, according to the Times, the designs were “largely realized by Cleon Peterson of Studio Number One, Mr. Fairey’s design company in Los Angeles.” But it was Fairey’s name that became internationally known via his Obama posters, so it’s nice to see him cashing in, as well as making sure proper credit is given.

For my taste, he could distinguish himself a lot more with his Obey clothing line, so maybe the Saks gig will lead to better things in the fashion world. (Disclosure: I’m available for style consulting. Trust me, I’m an expert. You should see my credit card bills.)

While the article mentions a Rodchenko vibe and Fairey says he mixed in a swirl of WPA agitprop art, I also sense a whiff of El Lizzitsky. Whatever; it all looks pretty great and right for the time to me– and if all of that Soviet-inspired imagery makes conservatives a little jumpy about the growing wave of socialism sweeping into power, all the better.

Since weirdness is L.A.’s chief export, it should surprise no one that some guy makes hundreds of dollars an hour as a t-shirt mohel – “artistically” cutting up t-shirts for overhyped fashion factory Ed Hardy.

I swear, I’ll never understand haute couture.

(via the Jewish Journal. )

Girls:  Tired of your hair looking plain jane when you hit the town on Friday nights?  Well you’re in luck.  Last week, purely by chance, I happened onto this hair salon, “Harroin:  Addicted to Style” smack in the middle of Hollywood and they are running a really fun (and pretty cheap) deal.

On Fridays, from 7-11 pm you can drop by and get your hair styled in an up-do, or any other fashion you yearn, for a mere $25!!! They even have a DJ and free champagne to sweeten the deal.

It was my birthday and before the festivities began, I had gone for a coffee at Caffe Etc on Selma and Cahuenga and walked over to check out how much a blow-out would be.  It was super cool and I looked great to boot.  I’m definitely going back with a pack of girlfriends.  Fun way to start the weekend!!

They’re at 1553 Chauenga Blvd. in Hollywood.  323-467-0392, but no appointment neccessary for this one.

Just look at all those horrified exclamation points there in the subject line! Yes, it breaks my heart to say that Regeneration is being forced into closing its brick-and-mortar shop, by these foul economic times that have befallen us all. [shakes fist impotently at sky.] I doubt there’s much we can do to keep ‘em open (and its Etsy site will remain open), but we sure as hell can send ‘em out with a bang. Regeneration, I’m broke, and I swore all anyone was getting from me this year were cards, but you’ve made me recant. I’ll be there. With the paltry sum I have left before payday, I shall arrive, and buy as much as possible, and then in the grand tradition of any quality holiday shopping spree, I shall keep it all for myself, and everyone will still be getting just cards.

I saw Cracker open for the New York Dolls tonight, and their lyric here properly sums up my holiday shopping behavior:

” Well I was gonna bring you flowers, but I didn’t.
It’s the thought that counts and I think I’m a bit too broke.”

American Apparel is too goddamn expensive.

I remember when American Apparel first started up and they were all up in that “fair wages, fair day’s work” thang. Then the whole thing transitioned into cracked-out seemingly-underage models posing with that pouty, poufy “I just got hit in the face by a brick” look, and seems like people forgot a lot of the labor issues. I hear a lot about how AA is no longer such an industry leader in terms of fair labor practices, and now that I’m looking for reasonably priced tees, I’m quite stymied.

You see, inspired by recent crafty things like Felt Club & Unique LA, I decided to get back to handpainting tees like I did a long-ass time ago. But I need shirts. Shirts I can AFFORD. American Apparel is not affordable–not in any volume, at least. There are these shirts from No Sweat, but they’re still too pricy for me, unless I plan on selling these shirts for a fricken’ mint.

Now, I used to hear about there being one day a week when you could go down to the AA plant on Alameda and root through their slightly-wonky seconds: you know, the color was a little off, or a seam wasn’t perfectly straight. And these were discounted. Dear lazyweb, does that day still exist?

Or are there, somewhere out there, low-cost sweat-free shirts, just waiting for me to discover them?

Halp, Los Angeles! Halp! I ask here because I know there are a lot of other crafty ladies out there who’ve asked the same question, and also because I want sweat-free operations to have a chance to sound off in a public forum if they can offer me a good solution.

Not the cake you eat, the CAKE you shop at!

Get a jump on the holidays – she’s got amazing one-of-a-kind jewelry, accessories, and some really great handbags.

SATURDAY NOV 8th
10am – 6pm
SUNDAY Nov 9th
11am – 5pm

Holiday notecards up to 70% off
VINTAGE rummage boxes starting at $5
All HIGHWAY & ELSPETH HANDBAGS 20% off

CAKE
4649 Russell Avenue
Los Angeles CA 90027
in the heart of Los Feliz, just off Vermont
next to FRED 62
323-644-5699

Or perhaps, better to say, if you’d like a big “Thank You” for voting, many places around town will honor your civic duty and your “I Voted” sticker with freebies and discounts tomorrow. 

UPDATE (11/4):  I just read in Daily Variety via the AP that Starbucks is giving a way a tall brewed coffee to anyone who asks and Ben and Jerry’s is giving away free scoops from 5-8pm!

Big thanks to Thrillist for this list.

Krispy Kreme will offer a free star spangled donut to all who come in with their sticker.

OBurger will give you free organic fries or cookies with the purchase of a burger.

If you feel the need for a drink tomorrow night (whether in celebration or just sheer relief that November 4th has finally come) Colorado Wine Company (in Pasadena) will offer 50% of selected reds and whites.

Amoeba Music will be handing out $2 gift certificates.

Tart Restaurant is offering free desserts for all comers with their I Voted stickers. They are also offering discounted drinks and a special election night menu.

Chrisophe Salon wants you to look good no matter what the outcome. They are giving 50% off gift-certificates and on the spot services.

Get your vote on early to get this deal: If you need to gird your loins in the middle of the day, Pink Taco is offering a free well-shot of tequila and three free pink tacos at lunch.

At Pitfire Pizza you can choose between either an “Edison Ale” or a McCain/Obama specialty soda. They have a special election night menu and are having a drawing to win a pair of “Vote Shoes” by Tom’s Shoes.

At the O’Neill flagship store in Anaheim (I know I know, not LA, but I’m including LA-adjacent in this post…) you can get 25% of most clothes in the store.

Ask your local favorite retailer if they are doing anything to say “thanks for voting”!

So many choices out there for minding the date – but there’s only ONE Barracuda Girl 2009 Pin-Up Calendar!

These are printed in an extremely small run, so be sweet and click this link to order one.

Days and months are in English, Hawaiian, Japanese, French, German and Spanish with many international holidays, plus holidays invented solely for the benefit of Barracuda Readers!

$12.95 and free domestic shipping – wow!

Yep, Obama boxer briefs are marked down from $29 to $7.49 at the Andrew Christian Factory Store, located in Glendale, for a limited time only. Make up your own joke about them, if you must.

Andrew Christian Factory Store, 325 West Cerritos Ave. Glendale CA 91204; open Mon.-Fri. 10 AM-5 PM.

My friends at Beautiful/Decay are holding a sample sale this weekend and it’s looks to feature deep discounts on some rare and unique stuff:

They will be selling rare, limited run and unreleased samples and never before seen Beautiful/Decay prototypes- for all you who love those exclusive designs. The sale will feature the insane discount of 50 to 80% off everything, including shirts and hoodies. Who wouldn’t like a one of a kind t-shirt or hoodie for the holidays? So come out, meet the Beautiful/Decay crew and get your hands on some great deals.

This is a good opportunity to pick up some early holiday gifts for the streetwear fans on your list and save some scratch at the same time.

B/D Sample Sale
Saturday, October 18, 10am-3pm

Agenda Showroom
645 N. Martel Ave., L.A., CA 90026

Learn to make these!

That’s cool – but if you still want to give it a try I’m doing another one.

I’m telling you, socks are SUPER easy if you use the Magic Loop technique, and since nobody left my last class crying or cursing, apparently I’m just the person to teach it to you.

This time it’s broken over two Sundays (hey it’s a lot to learn in one session), and again it’s at The Little Knittery in marvelous Atwater Village.

MAGIC LOOP CLASS $50: Learn to knit your first pair of socks using the Magic Loop. Class will also cover turning the heel, shaping the toe, and kitchener stitch bindoff. (2 Sundays).

October 19th and 26th, 12 – 2 p.m.

Reserve your space by email: knittery [at] thelittleknittery.com, or by phone: 323-663-3838.

Look: East of Eden – Silver Lake Gallery Alliance is holding what will be it’s first annual multi-gallery exhibit this weekend at Barnsdall Parks’ LA Municipal Art Gallery in Los Feliz.

Exhibition organizer Zara Zeitountsian, owner of Black Maria Gallery in Atwater Village, tipped me off to her plans last spring.

“I predict it’s going to be a major event that will have historical implications for the future of Los Angeles art and how the East Side is perceived. I think people will be surprised by the scope of the work.”

Participating galleries are La Luz de Jesus, Black Maria, LAMG, Farmlab, drkrm, Ghetto Gloss, Gallery Revisited, Thinkspace, Junc, Materials & Applications, Acuna Hansen, Bert Green Fine Art, De Soto, David Patton and Tropico De Nopal.

The three day exhibition will be free to the public and include an opening night reception on Friday evening and a Saturday night gala with a portion of the art sales being donated to The MOCA Contemporaries, a volunteer fundraising support council of MOCA.

Guest project spaces will also be on display, including Guey Smart: Emerging Latino Artists Exhibition and the interactive Fresh Pressed T-shirt printing workshop.

Sept. 19-21, free; Barnsdall Park, 4800 Hollywood Blvd. LA 90027

Wear: LA belt buckle, from popKiller. $14; 7503 Sunset at Gardiner LA 90046 and 343 E. 2nd St. Downtown LA 90012

Grow: Lithops from Trader Joe’s. Maybe you’ve seen these little buggers labeled as “Living Stones” at TJ’s. Some may find them a bit creepy, especially the ones that look like brains. A type of succulent, lithops need minimal water, a lot of sun and they bloom during late summer and early autumn. $5.

Avoid: The revived “preppy look” for men. Worse than the frat boy look, it was suitably horrifying the first time around in the ’80s, making those sporting it look like young Republicans. One can hope that LA men are impervious to actually buying it, even though it’s inescapable in stores now. Jeans, T-shirts and flip-flops never looked so good.

Ok, gird your loins for snark. Fall Fashion Week is coming, and while looking around online for info I ran into this–excerpted below–which, okay, okay, is for last year–but I just couldn’t resist posting their portrait of the “fashion forward Angeleno.” Get this: “…the beautiful Angeleno cannot live without her sage green YSL bag and eco-friendly denim while jumping into her hybrid.”

Does this mean I’m marked for death without my sage green YSL bag? Boy howdy, am I bummed I’m not one of the beautiful people right now. Where’s MY hybrid?! Will they march me to the city limits if I don’t have a hybrid–perhaps even “in shades of lime, mint and Kelly green, reflecting the palette of an environmentally friendly spring season”–by fall? I, too, wish to “run errands in grey and purple wool oversized sweaters”! I want to “look no further than this season’s feminine looks to seal the perfect evening outfit to celebrate spring at celebrity and fashionista favorite hotspot, Hyde.” I know I want to “celebrate spring” at a celebutante bar, definitely. Can’t *I* “drive to the trendy shops of Robertson Boulevard, ready to pick up spring season essentials”? Essentials? I thought essentials were toilet paper, soap and DSL. OMG, color me SOOOO last season!!! [claps hands to cheeks, aghast] How could I be so…so…UNFASHIONABLE?! The horror!!!

This breezy bulls**t marketing blurbage is so awesome in all the wrong ways, I keep trying to dig up this fall’s version of the same thing, but alas, the current Fall Fashion Week website offers no gems as brilliant as this. Click thru for the full version in all its vapid glory.

Read the rest of this entry →

Hey you, in the pink leathered, high-heeled, high-topped Chuck Taylors.  Yes, man, I’m talking to you…Where’d you get those shoes? Are they comfy? Can you ball in them?

High-heeled Chuck Taylors

Belt: Gypsy knife buckle and belt, available on Etsy from Hurtcouture, a Downtown Los Angeles-based design company. With “plans to expand the line of weaponized items,” the buckle knives are so real the company reports two wearers recently had them confiscated by airport security. How long before we see Angelina Jolie kicking ass with one of these on the big screen?

Re-read: Please Kill Me, The Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain, Grove Press. I scored a fresh copy (my first copy didn’t make the cut for my move west) at the new Skylight Books 1814, recently opened next door to the original store, doubling the size of the shop

A deluge of eyewitness accounts of the ticking cultural time bomb and explosive emergence of punk on to the world stage and my current nightstand reading. Read the rest of this entry →