Sore Loser

So I bid on this sequin -- and looped dangles! -- dress of absolute fabulosity on eBay the other day.

Totally thought I had it in the bag at $25.

Yeah, it sold for $57.

Now I'm off to a house party so I can drown in my sorrow.








* Photo property of Indie Cult Vintage

Laugh Of My Day

My friend O. sent this email out this morning:

"[Redacted] and I are throwing a party at our place tomorrow night to welcome back sunlight, daylight savings time, moustaches, kickstands, harpsichords, unicorns, cabooses and freedom fighters.

Feel free to come by any time after eight."

It made me laugh so hard for some reason. I love unicorns! What a fantastic way to celebrate meeting my editorial deadline.

Now back into writing hibernation.

xoxo
Haute Hippie






* Photo property of andymangels.com

Pick Pocky

I just wanted to tell y'all that I have to go into temporary fashion hibernation until my editorial deadline is over this Friday.

But I will sign off with this one thing: I love Pocky.

Eating it right now.







* Photo property of Google Images

More, More Dior!

First and foremost, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUSHI RANA!!!! You know I had to shout you out, girl...love ya!

I'm keeping this one short and sweet, since little ole me has to spend tonight doing some work.

All work and no play is certainly no fun, but the light at the end of my tunnel comes in the form of this totally fabulous, absolutely gorgeous, mega spring-worthy platform heel from Christan Dior.

Ah, the towering height, avant-garde heel, web of shiny leather straps, slightly curved toe and magenta hue.

It's seriously the Gisele Bundchen of shoes.

I totally j'adore Dior.






I'm Lovin' it: These Valentino shades just have to be mine come Summer '07. There's something disco-vintage about this pair of sunners -- as the Aussie folk call them...I think. I'm the type to usually spend no more the $18 on sunglasses (except for a Gucci pair I bought years ago, but they're embarassingly outdated). However, if these look good on me, I'll gladly fork over $275 bones for the Valentinos. My aviators are gonna be SO jealous.

I'm Over it: How I have to spend the rest of my evening. And wondering why, oh why my romantic life is so goshdarn complicated. Any other ladies feeling me on that one?? This picture of Kimora Lee Simmons and Tyra Banks sucks, too. Drag queens.

Track of the Day: "Dude You Feel Electric" by Shout Out Out Out Out. They describe themselves as:

"Shout out out out out = two drummers + four bass players + two samplers + five synthesizers + one vocoder. Volatile dance music."

Nik 7, Jaycie Jayce, Whitey Houston, Jack Wolfskin, Gravy and Snarf are electric alright. So is this electro-disco-rock track. And so is their "Tiiiiired" jam. Damn, this band rocks hardcore. I'm such a sucker for electro anything. Maybe I'm really a robot.

www.myspace.com/shoutoutoutoutout

* Photo property of jcstudio.com, nymag.com, myspace.com/shoutoutoutoutout, perezhilton.com

Smythe and Wesson

Today my ultra-fabulous boss R. did something she shouldn't have.

She showed me the website for Smythe Jackets.

I'd been waxing poetic to her about an eBay store with (in my opinion) the best collection of vintage coats and jackets I'd ever seen, and BAM! She hit me back with this label of fun, hip and visually arresting jackets, coats, blazers and vests from BFF design duo Andrea Lenczner and Christie Smythe. While Lenczner did time as a buyer for Holt Renfrew, Smythe made her way around New York and Europe, working for fashion super-brands Prada and Celine.

So if you're over the thick funnel coat or puffy parka you've been sporting since the cold hit around November '06, take a look at the Smythe Spring 2007 Collection. Cherry prints, canary yellow, train conductor stripes, plaids, leather elbows, girlish bowties, cropped and below-hip.

It's all ripe for spring picking.











I'm Lovin' it: Springtime is here. Which supposedly means romance is in the air now that March 21st has come and gone. If you're flying solo like yours truly, you might want to visit Secrets Of The Ladies Room. This fun, girly sex toy online boutique -- founded by friends Cynthia Ellefson and Cheryl Kuo -- is for nice gals who don't want to feel too diiirrrrty. You know what to expect browsing through here. Men are always wonder why ladies go to the powder room in packs -- it's because secrets are sometime best kept just among the girls.

I'm Over it: Editorial deadlines. The pressure is officially on. And missing Sushi's birthday due to my car finally arriving in V-Town from La-La Land sometime this weekend.

Music Video of the Day: Um, has anyone seen "Candyman" by Christina Aguilera?? The girl is certifiably H-O-T. I dig the video's peppy choreography, glossy cinematography and pin-up girl costumery. Seriously, love and marriage has done Aguilera good a thousand times more than it did Al Bundy.





* Photos property of revolveclothing.com, sweetspot.ca, nowtoronto.com, dailycandy.com, Google Images

Haute Food-ture

It's not enough these days to wear fancy clothes, slip on fancy shoes and carry fancy bags.

Even grocery shopping has become haute.

Case in point #1: Urban Fare, located in the heart of Yaletown. This upscale food emporium is not only rumored to carry $400 baguettes flown in from France, it also made the top three "Best Places to Pick Up In Vancouver" in the Georgia Strait for 2007. Hooking up aside, it's fun to frolick (not that kind, though) between the aisles picking up the freshest of fresh halibut, primo olive oil, truffles and $12 organic granola. Sure, the place probably marks items up 800% but if you can snag yourself a hot date on Saturday night with a cute Yaletown professional from bonding over cherry tomatoes in the produce section...well...why not??




Case in point #2: Meinhardt Fine Foods on swanky South Granville. I absolutely adore the way Meinhardt branded itself with this:

"Food is romance. Food is adventure. Food is travel without going anywhere. Food is history. Food not only transcends language, it offers a language of its own. Food is sensuous. Food is colour, texture and possibility. Food is life."

Now should you be a bonafide foodie like myself, even if you've never been to Meinhardt you would head straight there after reading such romantic prose related to eats. My best guy friend Big Brother K won't get his meat anywhere else but this place -- and trust me, the marinated lamb skewers are drop-dead delicious. Meinhardt is quaint, cozy and certainly has a personality all its own.




Case in point #3: Whole Foods. I was first introduced to this American organic grocery super-chain while living in La-La Land, with a location on Wilshire Boulevard not too far away from my apartment in Santa Monica. It was the place to get great hot or cold lunches priced by weight during lunchbreaks, snap up those lemon-zesty pita chips, sneak mini creme brulees into your basket or purchase fresh organic greens. Just imagine my joy when I spotted a location in West Vancouver near my magazine publisher's headquarters. Rumored to be true: a Cambie and Broadway store is opening, launch date yet TBD.





I'm Lovin' it: Hello, I'm Haute Hippie and I'm a mascara junkie. Trainer Jill Hughes founded Marvalash, a mascara that does wonders for those with short and long lashes. Hughes' product program implements the use of dry and wet brushes to achieve lashes worth batting: prep with the dry brush, apply mascara with the wet brush, then alternate back and forth till you reach desired effect. No more dropping $25 dollar at Lancome anymore!

I'm Over it: A comment left on my last post. I was vaguely disturbed by it -- probably because it listed more than 15 passages from the Bible, as well as over 15 links to religious blogs. Was it because the word "vodka" appeared on my blog, thus damning me to the eternal fires of Hell?? Or is this a friend playing an elaborate joke on me?

Power Couple of the Day: Tory Burch and Lance Armstrong. Not sure whether to put a question mark after this cateogry today, just because it's so intriguing and odd at the same time. WASP-y, well-liked, socialite-turned-designer Burch and Sheryl Crow-ditching, Tour de France-winning Armstong heating up the NYC society scene? Sure, they're mighty pretty together, but I just can't picture Lance feeling comfortable sipping champagne and snacking on beluga caviar with the Hearsts, Trumps, Mortimers, Lansings, Gubelmanns and Rockefellers.





* Photos property of urbanfare.com, meinhardtfinefoods.com, wholefoodsmarket.com, socialiterank.com

Hola Lola Y Maria

I've never been much of an online shopper -- eBay not withstanding.

Sure, I BROWSE-shop like tomorrow's judgement day, but I've yet to make a substantial purchase from a virtual boutique.

Oh, but today, I met a cyber-store that completely changed my mind. Lola Y Maria is the newest kid on NYC's Lower East Side block, harboring the one of the best Latin American designer rosters I've ever seen -- with a few other countries speckled in. Of course, the fantastic thing is you don't have to live in the Big Apple to have their labels in your closet, thanks to a fancy little techno process called e-commerce.

Admittedly, some of the brands gracing Lola Y Maria's racks I've never heard of before: Coven Brazil, April Rose, Feral Childe and Tori Nichel. Then, of course, there are the oldies but goodies: Geren Ford, Fighting Eel, Prospect 44 and H Fredricksson.

So long Ron Herman, Satine and Lisa Kline.

Lola Y Maria has stolen mi corazon.








I'm Lovin' it: Quilted bags are quintessentially Chanel. The fashion house picked up on luxury consumers' obsession with digital watches, masterminding a perfect blend of digital timepiece and quilted Chanel aesthetic. Don't you worry -- it's less than $3,000.




I'm Over it: Missing this art exhibition at the Merry Karnowsky Gallery on La Brea in Los Angeles. I love Miss Van -- and I'm so heartbroken I don't get to see her work up close and personal. Maybe I'll enlist one of my Angeleno buddies to go take cameraphone pictures for me. That'll do the art justice...riiiiight. If you live in L.A., for the love of god please go see this show.




Artist of the Day: New Young Pony Club. This new wave, electronica group from London names "vodka, cake and emotion" as their major influences and live by the motto "when in doubt...clap." I was SO sold.




www.myspace.com/newyoungponyclub



* Photos property of lolaymaria.com, woostercollective.com, myspace.com/newyoungponyclub

Whiteys Rule

Argh, I know.

My post-age has been lacking the past several days. Apologies all around!

To the topic on hand: white shoes on men.

Yes, old school fashion etiquette dictates that white shouldn't be worn after Labor Day. White shoes are also a reminder of Don Johnson in his Miami Vice heyday, but I must say white shoes on guys is where it's at these days. A few of my male friends sport the look from loafers to casuals, and it manages to look sleek -- not cheesy.

A little web scoring on Zappos turned up a few numbers that are male-friendly and style-worthy (fair warning, one of the pairs is camel and white).

Dsquared2, in particular, has been killing it with the whiteness:

I'm Lovin' it: After weeks and weeks of searching danceshop websites, it hit me like lightning (or like that egg hit my chair on the patio of Las Margaritas three years ago and splattered my new white jacket -- who eggs random people lunching on patios?!) -- Wolford! The king, er, queen of tights brands undoubtedly would have those shiny tights I've been seeking. And, of course, they do.

I'm Over it: Mint-infused water. I'd been dying to try this flavored H20 ever since Fashion Week Daily had it on their site last year as a hot-ticket item. Ambled down to Urban Fare with my pal Tom Tom yesterday after a little Croque Benny brunch at Provence Marinaside in Yaletown, and after excitedly hyperventilating that they carried it, was then thoroughly repulsed mid-sip at initial taste. It's like being at the dentist and accidentally swallowing a mouthful of fluoride. Yummy.

Track of the Day: "I Love Boosters" by The Coup. My buddy Ads B. saw The Coup duo Boots Riley and Pam the Funkstress in concert this past week, and on Sunday introduced me to their upbeat, funky sounds straight from Oakland, California. This song gives hilarious props to stickin' it to the man and doing a little five-finger discounting. Apparently, Pam crooned a track to Ads from the stage at the concert. He was in high heaven. Literally and figuratively, I'm sure.





www.myspace.com/thecoupmusic

* Photos property of zappos.com, last.fm/music

Hardy Har Har

Fashion and design go hand-in-hand.

That explains why Philippe Starck designed watches for Fossil, why Frank Gehry designed a jewelry collection for Cartier, why Donatella Versace designed hotel interiors and why Fabien Baron designs for everything under the sun.

This style annum, there has been a lot of emphasis on the structure and architecture of clothing, jewelry and accessories -- particularly shoes. The Howard Roark -- protagonist of Ayn Rand's heavy, heavy novel The Fountainhead (trust me, it took two years before I finished that literary Goliath) -- of shoes is Pierre Hardy, cobbler of Hermes and Balenciaga.

Single-handedly, Hardy breathed new life into the House of Dior's shoe collection in the late 80s, then worked creatively for Vogue Homme International and as an professor at the Ecole Superior des Arts Appliques. In addition to launching a new handbag collection, he's also a fantastic artist who captures shoes through different visual mediums.

There is a rhyme and reason for every curve, cut-out, strap, heel and toe (or peep-toe, whichever you prefer) of a Pierre Hardy masterpiece.

And even if there wasn't a rhyme or a reason, he still holds the royal title of cobbler king.

I'm Lovin' it: Dsquared2, one of my uber-stylish L.A. BFF's favorite brands. After hitting it big on the international fashion circuit, the cutesy Canadian twin duo of Dean and Dan Caten packed up their things in Toronto and made Milan their atelier base. If you're unfamiliar with the Dsquared2 brand, think Dolce & Gabbana, but slightly funkier. I'm particularly digging this cross-over belted dress. It's candy striper-esque without being porn-star cheesy or goody-two-shoes.




I'm Over it: My friend Mikey tagging me in old pictures on Facebook. I had blonde hair back then -- with my complexion color, it wasn't a good thing either. Thank god dark is in.

Artist of the Day: Sebastien Tellier. This electronica artist from France looks slightly like John Lennon, circa the 70s and minus the tiny lens, round glasses. His second album "Politics" was re-released due to popular demand -- his latest album "Sessions" is bound to live up to the hype. If you enjoy the musical vibrations of Air, Royksopp, Thievery Corporation and the like, you'll probably crush on Sebastien Tellier pretty hard.

www.myspace.com/sebastientellier

* Photos property of pierrehardy.com, sebastientellier.com