All posts by Lee Theodoros

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.

Eating Out

JB’s Burger Opens on Smith

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Provence en Boite’s newest spin-off a couple of doors down on Smith Street promises delicious burgers, hot dogs nestled in baguettes, salads and ice cream, sort of a laid back, faster food version of the bistro that moved into the neighborhood from Bay Ridge a few years ago.

Given the apparent success of Oaxaca Tacos nearby, which is also working on its own spin-off for 4th Ave., near Carroll Street, JB’s Burger should do a roaring trade too. Named for Executive Chef and co-owner Jean-Jacques Bernat, who with his wife Leslie Bernat, runs Provence en Boite, the newly opened JB’s Burger takes over the space once occupied by Patois, and most recently by La Petite Provence.

Here’s hoping the burger/hot dog formula works better than the couple’s short-lived La Petite Provence, which offered much the same fare as the restaurant proper but in the small-plate style sweeping New York.

With the sun shining at last, there’s been a crowd outside and a lot of buzz about the newest burger joint; my husband spied a burger on his way home one evening and commented that it “looked really good.” I’ll give it a try next time I’m in a burger-beer mood and report back.

JB’s Burger is at 255 Smith Street in Carroll Gardens; 718 254 0007.

Events, Style

Counting Down to Posen Pop-Up

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Chic + Edgy: Snap-Tape Dress
Red Ruffles: My Pick

Brace yourselves; the next pop-up shopping extravaganza is almost here – bringing the glamour of  Zac Posen’s slick, sophisticated designs to Target in yet another high-end collaboration. This time though, it’ll be short and sweet.

Since New Yorkers apparently cannot wait for anything, there will be a mere 24-hour pop-up preview beginning 11pm April 15. The collection hits Target stores nationwide more than week later on April 25.

The speedy preview comes after the much-hyped four-day Liberty of London for Target pop-up store sold out a day early, leaving a lot of shoppers wanting and waiting for the supplies to land in-store and online.

The Manhattan-bred wonder boy’s collection is all priced below $200 and includes a long printed evening gown, lots of prom-ready party dresses, and bathing suits, including a snazzy black and gold number. The most pricey piece is a cherry red leather motorcycle jacket at $199.

A few things already caught my eye; a brocade tie dress in a floral print, a classic tuxedo jacket, a chic little blue snap-tape dress (pictured), which has a lot of edge, and my prediction for the big seller, a bright red ruffled tulle dress just made for a party (pictured). Some of the floral and polka-dot prints though take me right back to the Madonnaesque 80s; not to mention the Hawaiian print shirt and Bermuda shorts, which take me to the local Trader Joe’s, and not in a good way.

Adding to all the buzz about Posen’s latest Target collaboration – he did a range exclusively for Target Australia back in 2008 – aspiring film director Gia Coppola has teamed with all-girl band The Like to make a fun and flirty video promoting the new collection.

The pop-up shopping fest, which promises a party atmosphere with bands, including The Like, DJs and other surprises, runs from 11pm Thursday, April 15 until 11pm, Friday April 16 at 481 8th Avenue, at 34th Street.

–Photos from the Target Lookbook courtesy of Fashionista.com

Raves, Style

Like It, Want It

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I Like It Too!

I love graphic arts; probably something to do with my job at a graphic design magazine and writer’s thirst for the brief, catchy one-liner. Well, I discovered this Anthony Burrill print hanging on a friend’s wall at the weekend and wanted to take it home.

“I Like It. What Is It?” was exactly what I asked my host, several times, in fact, until he introduced me to Burrill, a UK-based designer whose work spans witty posters, to film and Internet projects. Trained at the Royal College of Art in London, Burrill has designed ad campaigns for London Underground, DIESEL and Nike, among others; and covers for The Economist and Wallpaper. He’s also produced interactive web-based work for bands such as Kraftwerk and Air, murals for Bloomberg and Priestman Goode, and designed the identity for KesselsKramer’s London base KK OUTLET.

But it’s his woodblock posters, each one signed in pencil, that I really fell for. Burrill uses traditional woodblock letterpress techniques to convey his message on 100% recycled paper.

His appreciation of simplicity comes across loud and clear in his trademark one-liners. He’s not saying anything particularly deep or cerebral, but the direct, uncomplicated style makes it something you want to repeat, or at very least hang over a desk someplace visible.  His limited edition prints – including one of the most well-known “Work Hard and Be Nice to People” – have become mantras for the design community and beyond.

The April  issue of Creative Review also features Burrill’s cover art. To see more of his work or to buy one of his woodblock prints, check out his website www.anthonyburrill.com.

Eating Out, Events, Raves

Ring in Spring With Tacos, Markets and Ball Field Feasts

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Yay! Finally something useful is moving to a street I frequent. First Oaxaca Tacos opened around the corner from us on Smith Street, making for the first fast, friendly and delicious place for delivery or a quick late-night meal at the bar. Now, Oaxaca is opening an outpost on 4th Ave., between President and Carroll Streets, which is wonderfully convenient for me, since it’s right around the corner from where my children go to school.

Fourth Ave. is otherwise pretty barren, save for Root Hill Café, Brooklyn Lyceum a bit further down and the down home Latin American food at Yomaris Restaurant. So the addition of Oaxaca Tacos is most welcome. I already predict after school visits for a quick bite, or stopping in for a late lunch when I arrive too early for school pickup.

I’m a fan of the soft tacos, especially the fish, or the bowls of rice and beans with chicken mole or carne asada and all the trimmings. There’s no opening date yet beyond early April  for the new Oaxaca at 250 Fourth Ave., according to the website, but the sign is up and the bodega it replaces is long gone.

What a nice change to have something I like in a useful location. From our Carroll Gardens address we manage to be just far enough away from everything we utilize; walk up to Henry Street for bread and bagels (Mazzola + Marius), hike up Court Street for Citibank and CVS, down to Atlantic Ave. for cheese, olives and pita bread (Sahadis + Damascus Bakery), Atlantic again to cruise Urban Outfitters and soon Barneys Co-op. Now if we can get someplace on Smith Street, near Degraw please,  to get a good cup of coffee and a fresh baguette, I’ll stop complaining.

Oh, and speaking of good stuff, I should mention that the Carroll Gardens Greenmarket, which sets up outside of PS 58 and across from Carroll Park, resumes Sunday, April 11.

Also good news for fans of tacos and beyond, the beloved Red Hook Ballpark vendors will be setting up their stalls again May 1.  And the satellite vendors at the Brooklyn Flea’s Fort Greene and Hanson Place venues will be at your service from Sunday, April 11.

Spring is in the air at last …

Events, Style

Barneys Co-op For Brooklyn

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Barneys Co-op is opening in Brooklyn, so come September, fashion-minded locals will be able to pop into the new Atlantic Ave. location en route to Trader Joe’s for a bag of avocados and some mini mochi ice creams.

Located in a new building at 194 Atlantic Avenue, the Co-op store – aimed at a younger fashionista and dubbed the “wayward offspring” of Barneys New York –  has Trader Joe’s on the corner of Atlantic and Court Streets, and Urban Outfitters just a few doors down, making for a bustling block. Stroll across Court Street in the other direction, and there’s Jonathan Adler and a string of boutiques and antique stores to poke around.

Now I love to wander around Barneys proper but the Co-op stuff, much like the annual warehouse sales, have never really been my thing. I’ve inevitably bought some lower-level Barneys frock, lured by the Barneys cachet, only to never wear the darn thing. Nevertheless, it’s always good to see a new business in the neighborhood.

Barneys Co-op is slated to open sometime in September and is part of a national expansion for the often financially embattled Barneys; Santa Monica will also get getting a new outpost.  All in all, I guess it’s a good sign that things may be picking up, and if you can afford Barneys price tags, even at the less lavish Co-op level, life can’t be all that bad.

Rants

Ni Hao Australia: Say No to Censorship!

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Australia is a democracy, or at least it was when I last visited. The laid-back land of no worries offers the right to vote, to live freely and as of now, the right to think for oneself – but that could all change if the current government gets its way.

There are plans afoot to censor internet content in much the same way that Communist China does. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and his Communications Minister Stephen Conroy have outlined plans to force Internet Service Providers to block a blacklist of so-called refused classification or RC websites for all Australian internet users. If adopted into law, and let’s pray it isn’t, the screening system would make Australia one of the strictest internet regulators among the world’s democracies.

The blacklist would include subject matter that most of us find abhorrent such as child pornography, sexual violence, bestiality … but where do you draw the line? There’s a very real risk that that anything from regular porn sites and YouTube links to sites on euthanasia, anorexia, or fringe religions from satanic worship to fetishism and even Christian sites could slip onto the banned list. Not to mention that such a broad filter also runs the risk of restricting news coverage of illegal activities.

Political Suicide

The blacklist would apparently be compiled and updated based on complaints from the public, government censors and URLs provided by international agencies. How could these entities not know what’s best for us – let me count the ways! Not only is it is political suicide for a government with a national election looming, but fraught with all sorts of freedom of speech ramifications. Add to that the threat that real educational and informational sites could inadvertently be blocked, and the whole thing is a big, stinking, ill-constructed, and hopefully ill-fated, mess.

Sure, the motivation is noble. We all want to shield our children from seeing things they shouldn’t, which is why children have PARENTS and don’t need the government for a big brother. Besides, most children watch television and there is plenty of cursing, sex and violence on regular programming, let alone the slew of uncensored cable channels or ever-popular video games that anybody can get access to. Does the government plan to monitor and control these too?

That Australia would even toy with internet censorship – at enormous cost to boot – let alone allow the nation to be tarred with the same unfavorable brush as China, where centralized censorship abounds, is beyond me. Search giant Google has just pulled out of doing business in China, to protest such censoring; followed fast by GoDaddy.com, the Internet domain registering company.

Friendships in Jeopardy

Now Google and rival search engine Yahoo are condemning Australia’s proposal, dubbing it a heavy-handed measure that could restrict access to legal information. And even the U.S., Australia’s most coveted security ally, has weighed in. U.S. State Department officials reportedly raised concerns about the planned internet filter, which would defy the free-flow and ease of access to information that define democracy.

From a technical standpoint, the proposed filtering system is so broad that it would likely slow down Internet speed too. Interestingly, when my husband and I first visited Australia together about a decade ago now, technology-savvy husband was impressed at how advanced Australia seemed; the span and sophistication of everything from cell phones to internet speed were leading the pack. Our most recent visit in 2008, revealed something different. Australia, he said, had stood still, while everyone else had caught up and then some. Internet speed was already wanting, and with censorship proposals in the works, Australia could lose its footing as a player in the modern technology arena.

And one more thing, besides the obvious and indecent infringement on freedom of speech and thought, I wonder what happens if deviates can’t freely surf the Internet? Would they be more likely to act on unsavory urges? I’m no therapist, to be sure, but I can’t help but think that keeping cyberspace free and unfiltered is a good thing, especially if it keeps people inside glued to their computers rather than out on the streets causing trouble. This may be naïve of me, like I said I’m no therapist, but hey Prime Minister Rudd, it’s something else you may want to consider.

Events, Raves

Obama Framed

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Obama A La First Grade

It’s not every day you invest in art. But we did a week or so ago, at our children’s school Arts Day, an annual fundraising event where each class creates a saleable project for parents to bid on. There were quilts and pictures and bound collections of children’s art, and then there was this, I think fabulous, tiled painting of President Barack Obama.

Created in a similar vein to the works of famed American artist Chuck Close, who is known for his paintings based on a grid pattern, it can take a minute or two of staring from a distance to work out who it is, as we discovered when some friends glared at it with a confused squint. But once you get it, you can appreciate the colors and delve into each child’s individually colored and decorated tile.

It just happened to be the work of my son’s first-grade class and we just happened to lodge the winning bid and bring home this colorful piece, which will eventually grace a wall. I was in the classroom to help the children decorate their tiles and it’s no small miracle that it actually turned out looking like a person, let alone the President.

Rants

Welcome to Australia …

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LET ME SEE IF I GOT THIS RIGHT:

IF YOU CROSS THE NORTH KOREAN BORDER ILLEGALLY – YOU GET 12 YEARS HARD LABOR.

IF YOU CROSS THE IRANIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY – YOU ARE DETAINED INDEFINITELY.

IF YOU CROSS THE AFGHAN BORDER ILLEGALLY – YOU GET SHOT.

IF YOU CROSS THE SAUDI ARABIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY – YOU WILL BE JAILED.

IF YOU CROSS THE CHINESE BORDER ILLEGALLY – YOU MAY NEVER BE HEARD FROM AGAIN.

IF YOU CROSS THE VENEZUELAN BORDER ILLEGALLY – YOU WILL BE BRANDED A SPY AND YOUR FATE WILL BE SEALED.

IF YOU CROSS THE CUBAN BORDER ILLEGALLY – YOU WILL BE THROWN INTO POLITICAL PRISON TO ROT.

IF YOU CROSS THE AUSTRALIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU GET –

A JOB,
A DRIVER’S LICENCE,
A SOCIAL SECURITY CARD,
WELFARE,
FOOD STAMPS,
CREDIT CARDS,
SUBSIDIZED RENT OR A LOAN TO BUY A HOUSE, FREE EDUCATION, FREE HEALTH CARE, A LOBBYIST IN CANBERRA,  BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF PUBLIC DOCUMENTS PRINTED IN YOUR LANGUAGE, THE RIGHT TO CARRY YOUR OLD COUNTRY’S FLAG WHILE YOU PROTEST THAT YOU DON’T GET ENOUGH RESPECT – AND, IN MANY INSTANCES, YOU CAN VOTE.

Now, I don’t generally open emails with jokes or group messages for fear of downloading a virus or reading something annoying, or just plain silly. But this gem sent from an Aussie mate gave me a good laugh, in part because it is so true, so worrying and just so Australian in attitude.

From the cynical content, to portrayal of the collective chip on the shoulder and the national pastime of whinging, (that’s the US equivalent of whining or moaning), it has Aussie stamped all over it – and I say that as an ex-pat with some level of nostalgia and love for the country.

In light of some of the crazy stuff going on around the world at the moment – the ludicrous controversy surrounding health-care reform  in this country, for one; Google and then Internet domain registering company GoDaddy.com pulling out of China to avoid censorship demands; and a whole slew of other irritating news the past couple of weeks, all bearing the common thread of just how much say should any government should have in our lives, the above commentary offered some light relief, while also being a tad too close to the truth about my homeland.

For what it’s worth, I commend Obama for having the Presidential balls to make health-care reform happen, and I am yet to see why people are so irrationally against it, to the point of brick throwing, threats and name calling.  Brand me a socialist if you must, but public health care works just fine in Australia … more ranting on this to come, I swear.

I also commend search giant Google, and others to follow, for saying so long to the enormous Chinese market, rather than operate under the country’s Big Brother surveillance and censorship.

I’ll be ranting plenty more on both those issues once i clear my house of marauding six and seven year olds in need of pizza, cake and goody bags! Meantime, it’s nice to know that someone had the sense of humor to write and email the “joke” above.