Bad Timing. Good Timing.

Just coming up for a short breath of air to let you know that this latest absence is due to crazy (but good) life changes (no, I'm not preggers!).  Said change has been taking up pretty much every waking hour for the last couple of weeks.  That's the bad timing.

The *good* timing has to do with the last post (btw, the 1989 throwback just happens to be my 89th post on here - it's hard to contain your excitement, I know).  My parents recently sent me a big ol' package (more like a bunch of boxes) of my high school and college junk.  Oh, and what glorious garbage it is!  J. Crew magazines from 1995!  Mirabella magazines (I totally forgot about that one)!  And...  Seventeen magazines - including one with Cameron Diaz's youthful face gracing its cover, and for sure some Bonne Bell and Unisa ads within.

Photos forthcoming.  In the meantime, is there anything from your high school or college years that you still cling to?  Why can't you bear to part with these things?  Bonus points if it's anything as ridiculous as my aging subscriptions.

Alrighty.  Time to slip below the surface again.  See you soon!

No Foolin'

4.1.2012.

That's right, it's the first of April.  Also known as April Fool's Day.  Lucky for you, I'm too lazy to come up with some witty joke to play on you guys.  But I did enjoy Refinery 29's homepage "har har" today!  Take a look at who's on their "cover":

Experience more flashbacks, including news and celebrity shots, here.  Or just be glad you're too young to recall that decade.

This is perfect timing, really, because when I checked the Swatch watch Facebook page today, they were showing off their newest pics, submitted by their loyal fans.  I am so tempted to send them this:

Look, ma, it's a Swatch cast!  I jest, I jest.  Minus a couple watches that are hiding from me at the moment, this is my beloved Swatch collection, none later than 1987 (I think).  Some have been in my possession since the days of dodgeball, pre-algebra, and listening to Prince's Purple Rain cassette.  And a few are eBay acquisitions.  Love 'em all!  I promise I'm not about to torch them (or my arm) - that would be a very bad April Fool's prank, for multiple reasons.

Did you collect the 80's Swatches, too?  Still have any?  Was there one you were "just dying for" but your silly parents wouldn't budge?  Maybe you, um, wore your Swatches around your ankles in high school (like I did)?  Or stuck one of the Pop-Swatches into your Ocean Pacific tee?

Let me know!  In the meantime, I'm going to pull out my old Electric Blue perfume and give it a couple good spritzes :)

Kidding!

Images:

#1 - Refinery29.com

#2 - my own

Denim Developments...

I think it's time for another one of my "?" entries.  You know, the ones where I trot out a new trend and sort of give it the stink-eye treatment.  It's not that I totally hate it.  You just won't see me running out to scoop up a bunch of these guys.  But my limited taste doesn't mean you don't have to love these.  Maybe you're proudly sporting a pair as I type?

I'm talkin' 'bout all those printed jeans.  Stockists keep stocking them.  Maybe this is because it's like every denim designer has embraced the trend.  I've noticed what started as a steady trickle really ramped up to the fact that seemingly a third of Revolve's "New Arrivals" (posted on Tuesday night) consisted of said  denim dreams.  Seriously, that single post showcased stuff from nearly every one of their regular jeans brands.

Take a look, starting with AG Jeans:

The ikat pattern is everywhere...

Ahh, reminds me of the days of acid wash jeans...

Bleulab carries on the python trend:

One of my favorite denim brands, Citizens of Humanity, introduced these eye-poppers earlier:

Yep, you can show off your flower power in shorts, too!

Current Elliott's designs:

You can combine two trends here...

The most conservative of the bunch?

J. Brand's latest:

Joe's Jeans...

Relative newcomer Mother denim, which my friend and her sister adore for their softness, redefines "Yowza."  Patterns aren't enough for you?  You want a full-on landscape painted on your lower half?  Consider it done:

Lest we forget your backside:

They also offer those normal, boring patterns:

Rag & Bone gets all 80's on us...

Rich & Skinny...

And, closing out today's set, more shorts from Siwy:

How are your eyes adjusting?  Mine are still refocusing.  What's funny is that, as crazy as I was for Missoni for Target and all those zigzags, I just don't love any of the patterned jeans that I've seen.  OK, I kinda, sorta, maybe like the pink acid wash ones and the darker pink florals.

And while I think I'll pass on all the floral-y jeans by Citizens, they do give me a mild case of the warm fuzzies.  But perhaps that's just because they remind me of this:

Now *that's* what I'm talkin' 'bout!

Happy Thursday,

Maggie

All images:  Revolve.com

The Sunday Evening Post

Hi guys,

I am still in the midst of an incredibly crazy, busy, stressful run.  And I'm not even talking about today's launch for the Jason Wu for Target line!  So I'm gonna be brief today.

First, I found some more old things in a box today.  Look familiar?

And...

Did these images tug at some old heart strings?  Are you also holding onto some of your junior high trinkets?  Or did you toss them like flaming garbage?  If you chose to cling to them, like I have, why do you think you did this?  Because it reminds you of good memories of "way back when?"  The design?  Collector's habit?  Or pure laziness?  Am I the only one sitting on stuff like this???

Second, so what do you think of the Jason Wu launch?  My friends and I are still debating whether it's as nutty as the Missoni for Target collaboration.  While I have yet to hear about any websites tumbling down, some pals have reported a repeat of what the stores experienced on opening day:  lines out the door, pushing, shoving, snapping up everything in sight before others could, women eyeing other women's carts like circling vultures, and all that cray-cray jazz.

Did you partake or refrain?  Hit the stores or shopped from the safety of your home?  Maybe you just raised the big sign that says, "PASS" on it?  Or are you still thinking about your long strand of faux pearls from the Limited Express?

Whether your brain is idling in the era of telephones that were nailed into the wall (and had a long, curling cord) or trying not to fritz out with your iPhone 4S, I'm hoping my past neon brights or current speculations on the Jason Wu line will compel you to share your own two cents :)



Images:  my own

From OMG... to OMD

This weekend, my husband and I are taking an eagerly anticipated trip in the musical wayback machine.  We're going to see, yes, OMD (aka, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark).  Did I just date myself?  Eh, who cares.  OMD was one of the many bands who formed the soundtrack to my junior high and high school life.  From songs like "Joan of Arc" to "Tesla Girls" (Spike, if you're reading this, break out the Li'l Debbies ;), their biggest hit is arguably "If You Leave," which is synonymous with that classic Brat Pack flick known as Pretty In Pink.

Music is so often linked to fashion, and the 80's are an excellent example of that quirky, tacky and yet sometimes wonderful marriage.  It's hard not to think of my own crazy teenage fashion blunders while watching all of the outfits on parade in this movie (yes, I tried the bowler hat look; yes, I looked kinda silly).

While I relive my teenage years at the upcoming show and try not to blurt out, "OMG, they look so OLD!", here's a You Tube video which melds "If You Leave" with someone's nice montage of movie scenes.  Gotta love the Maxell poster in the record store images - brings back memories of making mixtapes, and recording Rock Over London off of WNUR onto my many Maxell blank tapes.

Did I say I was old?  And proud of it :)

Enjoy the clip and feel free to share your favorite 80's bands, stores (anyone remember Foxmoor?) and/or fashion "experiments."  We'll discuss soon!

Video: courtesy of You Tube, go here for the source