Go Green Wear Blue

Conscious denim by H&M
Creative!
by Gustav Johansson

Buffalo Exchange

My sister found out about this magical cave of wonders and told me (and our massive amount of unused clothes) about it. We decided to give it a go. Basically, Buffalo Exchange is a thrift store that buys clothes too - so we packed up all of the clothes in our closets that either didn't fit or weren't worn anymore and drove down to Brooklyn to test our luck in the selling game. There was a little bit of a line (other hopeful vendors) and this nice woman went through all of our stuff, taking some and putting back others (and she did the "putting back" part very nicely might I add - there was no judgement of any kind, just "well, what we're looking for is stuff that pertains to current trends or really great basics or cool vintage" as she placed back an old H&M jacket into our suitcase). This is how it works: she would buy something, say a pair of jeans, and price it at $10 (the price at which people would buy it in the store) and tell us that we could either take 30% ($3, for the mathematically challenged) in cash home with us or we could have %50 ($5) to use in the store. We ended up taking the cash because the store was closing, but there was some amazing stuff in there! Tsubi jeans, Diesel, Rag & Bone, some amazing vintage shoes, more Nike Air's than I can count! Can't wait to go back when I have more time (and more clothes to recycle!). Highly recommended.

Song of the day: Bermuda - Kisses

Another Vain DIY project (pt. 5)

I'm not going to lie but this photo-shoot stuff is kind of fun. That's my inner-Leo peeking out I'm sure. Or maybe it's my deep inner desire to BECOME THE NEXT POP SUPERSTAR. The looking through the pictures and editing the colors (ok, Kevin Colombu did that part) and seeing something I made in artistic and perfectly framed images is also kind of fun. Not so fun is clicking "publish post". I guess I find it too vain to have all these pictures of myself but, in my defense, these clothes are mine and therefore fit my being the way I like them to be fit. I guess what I'll have to do is start making clothes and shtuff to fit others so that I can make them the models! Who's in? :)

p.s. P. Diddy, if you're reading, I also sing and dance.

Blazer: Thrifty Shoppy! It's basically the magical epicenter of the universe, no big deal. $12.

Asian-inspired appliqué: again, one of those beads-n-stuff places in NYC fashion district (I'm going to guess somewhere around 37th & 7th or so - think 5 block radius) - it's actually a two-part piece that connects in the middle, meant to be a variation of a button, if you see what I mean (click on pictures to enlarge) - $8.

+ a peekaboo of my previously DIY studded jeans.

Song of the dizzay:

my new obsession = Erik Hassle.

This version of "Hurtful" remixed by Penguin Prison.

Sneak peak

Guess what DIY project, now finished, is coming up...! (Image via Jak&Jil)

Inspiration DIY

Original look: Jak&Jil

The second I saw this I knew I needed to create a similar look. It's almost as if she were in Terminator or something and a layer of prosthetic skin was ripped off in an overly-aggressive battle, most probably involving some sort of automatic machine gun and/or flaming hot magma, revealing the inner mechanics of her robotic being. Anyway, in the words of Tim Gunn, I "took a trip to Mood" (although most definitely not on the same budget) and bought some studs. Ok, they DID have the larger, square ones, but I felt as though the smaller round ones were nicer and would look more detailed. Of course, this is something I regret insofar as it probably took me about 3 times longer to get them on the jeans than I would've had I bought the bigger ones. However, I am happy I got through them all - with a little motherly help of course, thanks mom! - although my left index finger seems to be permanently indented. Photos of the finished version to come soon. Take THAT Schwartzy!