Saturday, March 31, 2012

Beat the Stuffing Out of Something: Dammit Dolls

These damsels welcome your heaps of abuse.
The Toad has been MIA for a while, due to a convergence of both happy and sad family events. Events, change, trauma, and family all lead to the same thing: stress. Which is why I'm so happy to have my Dammit Doll.

Given to me (her volatile mother) by my ever patient daughter, the Dammit Doll is a work of cathartic genius. Yes, they're creepy looking in that Mr. Bill sort of way. But, my Dammit Doll is indeed ideal for slamming against a piece of innocent furniture while hollering "Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!" The only creatures in the household not benefiting from this display are the cats, who simply run like hell. You can choose from a variety of seemingly innocent floral prints and various yarn hair colors; they all have the same same skinny stature.

So buy one for your stressed out friend or family member. And beat the stuffing out of it. Go to Dammit Dolls for retailers (Fred Segel Melrose sells them).

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Marni At H&M: Boxy Ill-Fitting Clothing is Finally Affordable!

Look, it's the female duck, camouflaged to hide in the dying reeds. Oh, wait, it's Marni for H&M.! My bad.
Forgive me if I vent a bit about this premium fashion designer for the masses trend. It is stuff and nonsense, simply another publicity opportunity and a chance to crowd crush a few shoppers trying to make a buck by turning the goods around on Ebay.

Take Marni at H&M, the latest in high/low fashion collaboration. Marni has always been a sort of high fashion conundrum for me. The brand seems to want to appeal to the young, yet it dresses everyone in highly un-sex me now schmatte. With the exception of Marni shoes, I've never found anything even remotely flattering. The skirts are too long, the necklines too high, the patterns clash unpleasantly and everyone looks like a bag lady. It is fashion for fashion's sake. I mean, just look at that poor model above: if she can't pull it off, what makes you think you can do it?

And now it's being cheaply produced by H&M. But don't think for a moment that, even though it lists as affordable, you'll be able to get your hands on it. You won't. Because it's gone. Yes, large crowds of people waited with color coded wristbands for a chance to snag cheaply made facsimiles of virtually unwearable fashion. Now it's gone from the chaotic aisles of H&M, smelling of perfume and rage sweat, and will appear on Ebay at prices marked waaaaay the hell up. There's nothing like capitalism at work.

You can read the blow by blow accounts of attempting access to the goods at LA Racked. It makes for amusing reading, and is probably the closest you want to get to this latest fashion extravaganza.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Fantastic Floral Collaboration: Ten Over Six and Of A Kind's Flora Clutch!

The modernist side of the Flora Clutch bag
I'll be honest here about the floral trend for spring: I'm generally against it. Florals evoke, at least for me, saccharine Mario Buatta interiors lashed with clashing chintz. The florals I've seen for spring are appearing on skin tight jeans, for instance, proving that if there's one truly bad fashion idea, you may as well double it up and see who buys it.

So, while you won't be seeing the likes of the Toad in flowery skinnies, there is still a place for spring flowers. Two of my favorite style entities, Ten Over Six and Of A Kind, have collaborated here on a great, very limited edition clutch bag. Notice the judiciously restrained use of the floral pattern at work on this bag; one whole side of it is buttery soft neutral leather, with just a hint of the garden peaking out the top. The genius of this bag is that, if for some reason you really want more flowers, you can just turn it around. These wise touches from Ten Over Six are typical of what the brand does best: making modern and practical the luxurious, but at a decent price point.

How decent? Well, there's only 20 of this bag for $170. It's a roomy clutch for lunch and beyond (would probably hold an iPad, too). And you're guaranteed not to have copycat camellias when you brandish it about town. At Of A Kind, but hurry before they're gone!