All posts by Lee Theodoros

Style, Wacky

Shaped Rubber Bands: Why Didn’t I Think of It?

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I have these vague imaginings that I will someday invent something and make millions; something simple and practical that people will question how they ever lived without – like that piece of plastic that joins together bra straps to create a crossback and prevent ugly straps peeking out from singlets and sundresses.

I am stunned though at the craze for rubber band shapes. I saw them one day in a local toy store, and by the end of the next day I spied at least three of my children’s friends wearing them. By the weekend, my kids had a couple packs each of these fun money-wasters, and were begging for more.

In case you haven’t seen them, they are colored silicon rubber bands in the shapes of anything from fruit, to baseball players, zoo or wild animals, fairies, princesses, dinosaurs, sea creatures or rock band equipment. Some are multicolored; some have scents; and some are glow-in-the dark. They sell anywhere between $2.50 and about $4.50 for a pack of 12 of varying shapes and sophistication.

Beyond the visual appeal of the shapes, it seems kids love that they can wear them as bracelets or apparently as hair bands, though I think they would rip out hair in the process. When you remove the bands, they return to their original shape and are pretty sturdy, though not indestructible: as my 7-year-old found out, they can break with too much stretching. From a marketing perspective, it’s genius. They are for boys and girls, they can be traded just like Pokemon cards or baseball cards (remember them!), and they appeal to all ages, from five years old to college students and beyond.

I am guilty of grabbing packs of them to send to Australia to my young cousins; and picking some up for my own children, who have already begun trading shapes among themselves, and probably with their friends. My daughter wears them up her arm to school, but my son says his teachers have outlawed them in class, lest the already rampant toy-trading ring grows.

I’m not against the bands per se. They are kind of cool and certainly harmless, unless your vacuum chokes on a stray silicon strand caught in a rug as mine did. I just wish I had thought of it first, because somewhere out there is somebody making my millions.

Oh, if you feel the need to pad said creators’ coffers, and there is a bunch of brands out there from zanybandz to Silly Bandz to just straight-up shaped rubber bands, you can buy the bands in my Brooklyn neighborhood at Pizzazzz Toyz at 281 Court Street  and across the street at Classic Impressions gift and card store, and of course online at Amazon.com or even Office Depot, which I see is selling bags of 20 for just over $3, which works out to a decent deal. But I’m pretty sure any toy store worth its salt is doing a blazing trade in rubber bands right now.

Raves, Style

These Shoes Were Made For Talking!

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Who knew that one pair of shoes could evoke so many memories and begin so many conversations. That pair of shoes being my Kork-Ease  Bette sandals in “luggage” with a suede-covered wedge heel. They are not especially fancy or expensive, but I love them all the same and have worn them on and off for the past two summers.

Kork-Ease wedges

This week I got to thinking what it is that makes a piece of clothing iconic and whether perhaps the classic Kork-Ease wedge meets the criteria? I must have met and chatted the past few days with at least a dozen people, mostly strangers – between Brooklyn and Manhattan, in stores, on the street and on the subway – about these very shoes.

This is generally how it plays out: firstly someone will point and comment to their friend or they’ll just come out and say “I love your shoes”; and then the stories begin. These wedge-heeled walks down memory lane have taken a bunch of my new acquaintances back to sixth grade or so when women recalled either wearing the exact pair of shoes, or begging their mothers for them.

One woman I chatted with on the R train revealed that she wore them somewhere around 1975; adding proudly that they were the first shoes she bought when she “left the projects”. Two older women on the F train and en route to the airport after a girls’ vacation in the Big Apple, said they’d considered buying my shoes during their stay but worried that the 4 1/4-inch heels and potholed sidewalks might land someone in hospital.

Kork-Ease, the company that started business in Brooklyn in 1953 as a “comfort” shoe brand, burst into the fashion scene as a must-have in the 70s. Outlandish fashion designer Betsy Johnson reportedly owned at least 10 pairs; entertainer and actress Bette Midler wore them; and to be sure, any hipster shy of 30 owned at least one pair. As the Kork-Ease Facebook page states, it was the shoe that stood in line at Studio 54.

Well, Kork-Ease is back making its famed wedges as well as an ever-growing range of comfortable sandals and shoes. They’re a little more pricey than in the 70s when they retailed between $25 and $40 but still much cheaper than designer rivals. The Bette heels that garnered so much attention were about $149 online, and pretty much all the big online shoe stores from Zappos and Shoebuy, to Online Shoes and Amazon offer at least some of the styles.

Surely if a pair of shoes can unite strangers, evoke fun memories of one’s youth, and still be current and stylish today, they deserve icon status?

Rants, Style

Where Do Designs For the Masses Wind Up …

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Where do cheap designer duds go once the buzz is over? To the clearance rack, that’s where.

I traipsed over to the Target store this week, after following my own advice and dropping two bulging bags of clothes at the Salvation Army on Atlantic Avenue. My Target mission was two-fold: to check out the Zac Posen collection in person, which was unveiled a week ago, and to see what was left of other recent designer collaborations, including  the much-hyped Liberty of London for Target range and Jean Paul Gaultier’s collection.

Well there they were, the remnants of both designers’ clothes, piled high on the clearance racks. Needless to say there was no buzz there. No styling. No huge “get it while it lasts” graphics; nary a coat hanger even for these forgotten clothes. They were crammed onto a couple of racks, hanging haphazardly or trodden underfoot beneath the 50%-off and 30%-off banners.

These were the same floral dresses and saucy swimsuits that people lined up for just a few weeks ago, though admittedly the choice of sizes was limited to very small or very large. Quite a contrast from Liberty’s fanfare introduction to the masses at a pop-up store in New York, that came with an enormous ad campaign, spring flowers and even hyacinth scent wafting through the air. Jean Paul Gaultier would be no less thrilled, I’m sure, to see what’s left of his collection shoved unceremoniously onto the bargain racks.

Somehow even the deep discounts  couldn’t make this mish-mash of frocks and bathing suits and tunics appeal; everything looked unloved, cheap and garish.

That leads me right to Zac Posen’s collection, which is still very much front and center, having been in store only since April 25. I was disappointed it didn’t show better than I expected. The fabrics had that cheap sheen; the red tulle party dress didn’t live up to my hopes; the cherry-red leather jacket, the most pricey of the clothes at just under $200, looked plastic and glaringly bright; and some of the prints were just plain tacky.

Needless to say I left empty-handed and even more resolved to buy only what I love from now on.

Personal Tale, Style

Shopping Style in Reverse

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You know that feeling when you walk into a room and someone gives your outfit the once over; there are women skilled at casting an eye from head to toe in a nanosecond without so much as tilting their head. I have a relative with that skill. It’s irksome.

Well, you can get that very same feeling in stores all over the city, as I did this week when I set out to sell some long neglected pieces of clothing. For anyone not familiar with the concept, there are stores staffed with skinny, twenty-something hipsters that will pick over your gently-worn clothes, trawling for current styles or hot labels.

For what they deign to keep, the seller gets a percentage of the price tag they will resell it at, or can take a bigger percentage in credit to spend in the store. For instance, Beacon’s Closet, with locations in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg and Park Slope, will pay exactly 35% cash, or 55% store credit, of the price tag that they in turn put on your clothes and accessories. Unlike a consignment shop, where you have to wait for your items to be sold, stores like Beacon’s give you cash or a credit voucher on the spot. It’s a great way, albeit potentially demoralizing, to get something back for clothes that you don’t wear anymore, but are that little bit too good for the donation bin.

Beacon’s Closet and Buffalo Exchange are the two where I have tried my luck in the past. And that’s where I traipsed this week, bulging bag in hand. Like many things in fashion, it’s a lottery. I’ve sold armloads of H&M and Forever 21 tees and tunics, while  Dolce & Gabbana dresses and even up-and-coming Asian designers were rejected at the same time. It’s a crap shoot to predict what they are looking for on any given day.

So I hit Buffalo Exchange in the East Village first. They were pretty full-up, the girl said, but after some back and forth they decided on a Clu  jersey and cotton bubble dress, which I had actually bought a couple of seasons earlier at rival store. The staff at Buffalo Exchange are friendly and pleasant. Even when the girl rips through your fashion history in seconds, she does so nicely.

Which takes me to my next stop, Beacon’s Closet on Fifth Avenue in Park Slope. I have a love-hate relationship with this place. As annoyed as I am most times I sell things there, I keep going back. I feel like I almost have their formula down; there is certain “look” in everything they accept and then resell, and it’s generally not a look I dabble in. This particular day I did well though, selling a Tim O’Connor halter neck top with ruffles down the front, a very 80s black Betsey Johnson tiered skirt, a sequined skirt I bought a decade ago and never wore and a nude leather pencil skirt by the Australian brand David Lawrence. Curiously, both stores rejected a Paul and Joe silk slip dress. That one’s too good for the scrap heap and came home with me.

So, was it worth the schlepping a bag on the subway and enduring the judgments of girls barely beyond their teens? Sure. And what’s more, I didn’t feel bad acquiring a couple of new things with the earnings. A blue and white striped knit blazer-style cardigan from A.Cheng in Park Slope and the Kenneth Jay Lane diamante embellished leather cuff from Outnet, which I have had my eye on for ages.

New Purchase

Outnet, by the way, is offering free shipping though May 19 to everyone who signed up for their $1 sale, as a way of apologizing for the craziness of the online birthday fiasco.

Now, my drawers are tidy. I have a couple of new pieces and my wallet is a little better padded. Not bad for a week’s work.

Events, Personal Tale

ANZAC Biscuits To The Rescue

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Every now and again I find I have overstepped the mark and promised to do something I probably shouldn’t, mainly because I am ill-equipped to fulfill the promise with aplomb. Well, I promised my daughter I would come to her school to bake something – one of those promises you don’t expect to come home to roost anytime soon – but of course, I am on the schedule to bake cookies next week.

I love to cook and am decent at it, but baking is not my thing. It is too precise for my dash-of-this, pinch-of-that methods; not to mention that the idea of baking publicly with a gang of over-zealous four-and five-year old helpers and only a toaster oven at my disposal, actually makes me nervous.

So, aware of my shortcomings, I did a trial run with daughter and her friend this week. We made ANZAC biscuits to mark ANZAC Day on April 25, an Australia-New Zealand holiday that recognizes the soldiers who landed at Gallipoli during World War One. The biscuits, or cookies to Americans, were also called Soldier’s biscuits, because they were baked by wives and mothers concerned that their boys abroad weren’t getting the nutrition they needed to fight a war. The  absence of eggs in any true blue ANZAC biscuit recipe meant they would stay fresh during the long sea journey.

ANZAC Biscuit Trial Run
ANZAC biscuits are traditional and a favorite among Aussies – and so easy to make that I may even pull-off my misguided attempt to make my daughter proud of her mummy cooking in class. Here’s the recipe I remember from growing up in Australia; there are many variations but basically it’s a combination of rolled oats, flour, sugar and coconut with  butter, golden syrup (which you can get easily in New York at Fairway and most well-stocked supermarkets), bi-carbonate of soda and boiling water.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup quick cooking oats
  • 3/4 cup flaked coconut
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 tablespoon golden syrup
  • 2 tablespoons boiling water

Directions

  1. Mix oats, flour, sugar and coconut together.
  2. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the syrup and butter together. Mix the soda and the boiling water and add to the melted butter and syrup.
  3. Add butter mixture to the dry ingredients. Drop by teaspoons on greased cookie sheets (or baking paper).
  4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 18 to 20 minutes.
Raves, Wacky

Light Relief

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It’s been a busy week. A stressful week even, but I finally got some light relief when I stumbled upon clientsfromhell.net, which has plenty of hilarious fodder.

Clientsfromhell.net is a collection of anonymously contributed client horror stories from designers. It lists tales of amusing and sometimes unbelievable conversations between designers and their clients; from their bizarre requests and odd quirks to out-of-the box demands. The conversations are unedited, and oh so relatable.

One of my favorites, which had my husband and I chuckling from our laptops was the client seeking a “deeply spiritual” design for a website, including crosses and perhaps some images of Saints thrown in for good measure. When the designer declares he or she is an atheist, the client eventually decides it cannot work with someone in league with the devil. You kind of have to read the conversation to appreciate its humor.

If you need some light relief or have dealt with some hellish clients, check it out.

Events, Rants, Style

Outnet’s $1 Birthday Sale Leaves Partygoers Wanting

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I had my game plan. I set my sights on one dress, a Manoush tiered silk gown I’ve had my eye on for months, and a Kenneth Jay Lane leather cuff, but neither item was included in the much-hyped Outnet 1st birthday sale that was over in a  flash this morning.

Like thousands of fashion lovers, I cleared my Friday schedule to be ready for the email from theOutnet.com, the discount offshoot of high-end online retailer Net-A-Porter.com,  that would provide the top secret time of the $1 sale. Instead, when I wandered downstairs this morning to make lunches for my children and get them up and ready for school, the email alert flashed and lo and behold just before 7am, the sale was on.

Fast and furious I logged in and filtered for my size only to find a paltry selection; two pages of clothes that I didn’t care for.  For those who’ve asked, the only noteworthy things left at that stage were studded Mary Janes and a Stella McCartney Taffeta jacket that, at a stretch, I may have bought for a buck. The jewelry flashed SOLD OUT, and the handbags, which I would happily have settled for, were long gone. A Sold Out sign abounded by 7.25am, and the next time I checked, the sale was closed.

What a fizzer. It was a great concept. Who doesn’t want a designer piece for just a dollar? But like so many of these recent pop-up stores, Liberty of London for Target  which sold out a day early and the current Zac Posen for Target  24-hour sale come to mind,  or even the snatch and grab for  Stella McCartney children’s clothes at the Gap, the attempt to give everyone a chance to participate leaves most people wanting.

I was one of the lucky shoppers who could actually sign-in to the Outnet site this morning, but there are many, many people who’ve complained that the site crashed or it took them hours to log-in, only to find the sale closed by then. There are gripes galore on Twitter today, calling the sale a bust, a hoax, a joke; a couple of tweeters commented that it was like getting an invitation to a fabulous party and then having the bouncer not let you in!

Not surprisingly, the Zac Posen for Target pop-up sales party, which started 11pm last night and runs until 11pm tonight, was another bloodbath.  I didn’t go after hearing from a friend that racks were bare by 11.25pm. I’m not so enamored of the range that I have to have something right now, but perhaps I’ll take my chances to peruse what’s left when it hits Target. com on April 25.

The moral of all this?  Maybe with the proliferation of social media – Twitter and Facebook, in particular, where loads of people have shared their Outnet frustrations – and guerrilla advertising, have elevated even the world of pop-up stores and deep discounting to heights beyond the average consumer.

Now, even designing or discounting for the masses have become exclusive.

Events, Style

Shop Spring At Callalilai On Atlantic

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Ok, so you missed out a designer bargain at Outnet’s 1st birthday sale, which incidentally sold out in a matter of minutes, and you’re bummed that Japanese department store Takashimaya is closing its flagship Fifth Avenue store – all is not lost. For fashion and Japanese style combined, one of my favorite shops Callalilai   on Atlantic Ave. is hosting a shopping party this Saturday to celebrate the arrival of the spring women’s collection from its Japanese brand Aoyama Itchome.

Besides loads of gorgeous, printed tunics and dresses there will be a tasting of French aperitif Lillet, as well as a DIY jewelry making crash course with designers from Haknik and Liria Shop. DJ Tabu will provide some rhythmic beats to shop to.

The Aoyama Itchome line is designed by Japan native Hogo Natsuwa, who lives in Paris. The cross-cultural influence gives the clothes a great esthetic, more sophisticated than boho but still floaty and artistic.

Callalilai is asking that people RSVP by today at atlantic@callalilai.com. They’ve pledged a 15% discount off your entire purchase during event too, so what’s not to like.

The shopping party will be held Saturday, April 17, from 2pm to 6pm. Callalilai Atlantic is at 296 Atlantic Avenue @ Smith Street, 718.875.1790.

Personal Tale, Style

Ready, Set … It’s Outnet’s $1 Birthday Bash

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I feel like I am going into battle. I have read the strategies over and over; I have cleared my schedule to be near my weapon – computer – through the day. Now I, along with potentially thousands of other faceless fashion warriors, wait.

TheOutnet.com, the discount arm of high-end, online retailer Net-A-Porter.com, celebrates its first birthday tomorrow and will reward followers with a party sale. Everything in the sale is $1 – yep, that’s a buck, a single dollar for an item that could retail for at least several hundred dollars, if you shop right.

The catch is, Outnet won’t reveal what time the sale begins or what clothes and accessories will be offered until sometime this Friday. All we do know, as we hit refresh on our email accounts,  is that we can buy just one, single item for a dollar.

Flying Solo

Now, I’ve followed theOutnet.com since it began. I haven’t bought much but only because I waver too much. I contemplate whether I really need a Rick Owens leather jacket, even if it is 60 percent off, or a Manoush tiered silk evening gown for a mere $220, slashed 65 percent. I stop myself buying for the sake of buying.

But I can vouch for the great selection of designers – from Givenchy and Oscar de la Renta to Sass & Bide and Alexander McQueen – and the often crazy price tags. While most things are reduced by 40 to 60 percent, some random days prices will be cut as much as 80 percent. I’ve missed out on many a Malene Birger frock – one of my personal favorites – in these fast-paced sales. And sexy Louboutin heels don’t even hit the ground before the SOLD OUT banners flash.

I’m predicting the $1 sale will be brutal; worse than my memories of even the most harrowing Barney’s Warehouse sales where I saw otherwise composed women trample thousand dollar dresses, ripping them off hangers and shedding their own clothes with abandon to try things on.

It will be worse even than one of those Target pop-up sales, where hordes of hungry shoppers crush through the doors to grab a Zac Posen tuxedo jacket or a Liberty of London sundress.

It will be worse because we, the shoppers, will be flying solo, victims of our own competitive streaks; trolling the website to stake out coveted items, then going in for the kill, credit cards at the ready.

Flying Off Shelves

This is one time I wish I were an odd size. I daresay size 10 shoes will be a lot easier to find than a predictable 7.5, and anything in the 2 to 4 dress size will likely fly off the virtual shelves. All the thin, hungry women will surely be skipping lunch for this event.

But if you too have signed up to take part in the birthday celebration sale, heed theOutnet.com’s advice. Shop smart and like all good fashion hounds, come prepared. Know your sizes and filter the available items accordingly rather than scrolling through  a bunch of wrong sized clothes, as gorgeous as they may be. And finally, move fast. Whatever is in your shopping cart isn’t yours until you press all the buttons, so don’t do as I do, and contemplate. Just Go!

TheOutnet.com’s first birthday sale will be held sometime this Friday, April 16.

Events, Style

Takashimaya NY To Close

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Another wonderful New York destination, for me at least, is shutting up shop;  Takashimaya, the NY arm of the Japanese department store will close its doors and sell the Fifth Avenue building it resides in come June, according to a notice posted on the company’s website.

This is a jewel box of a store, diminutive and beautifully merchandised, from the floral arrangements it sells, to the Tea Box restaurant downstairs, and the pricey women’s clothes and jewelry. It’s a place I love to wander around and imagine shopping in, but sadly, could rarely bring myself to part with that much cash, which no doubt is one of the reasons it is going under.

The announcement to shutter the store, a Fifth Avenue destination since it opened in 1993, comes after the company’s plans to merge with another Japanese retailer H2O Retailing Corp. fell through. It’s no secret that a flailing global economy has hurt retailers and stunted expansion plans from the US to Japan and beyond, as sales drop and consumers  shun boutiques in favor of bigger, supposedly safer brands.

While Takashimaya’s online sales ceased earlier this month, the store will operate as normal pre-June, according to the website, though of course shoppers are already rubbing their hands with glee in anticipation of a fire sale. As much as I hate to see this store close, I will likely be one to take advantage of deep discounts, or at least to have tea one last time and ogle some of the city’s most glorious floral arrangements.

Takashimaya New York  is at 693 Fifth Ave., between East 54th and 55th Streets.