Wantables — MaxLove X Original Chuck Caps

MaxLove Project — my friend, Audra's, awe-inspiring childhood cancer non-profit organization — just launched its line of new Summer Caps and it's so hard to pick just one.

Do I go full-on "Fresh Prince" with the T.J. Cap above?




Should I skew a little preppier with the Conner?

Or, opt for the Joey Camper's bold floral which looks, to me, like Hawaiian print meets East L.A. graffiti?

They're all so on-point for the beach, a street festival, a picnic, or whatever kind of sunny day activities I'm sure to get drafted into this summer. Not to mention their useful bad hair day-masking and forehead pimple-covering qualities.

There are 11 styles, they're $28 each and 100% of net proceeds fund wellness initiatives for kids who are fighting cancer. I am really very down for a product that helps me look good, do good and be practical, to boot!

Wantables — Let the Spoiling Begin (rather, Continue)

HomeGoods, I'm way ahead of you. Your aisles have been crammed with Halloween stuff for the past several weeks, but my mind has already jet-packed forward to Christmas. Not so much the crafty decorations, or bountiful meal plans — I'm onto presents, presents and more presents!

Bearing in mind my kid's mid-November birthday and Dec. 25, I'm already strategizing which things she'll get and on which of the special days she'll get them. Go ahead. You can judge me. But I'll rattle off the following list of gift contenders knowing that you'll secretly take a break from clowning me just long enough to mentally store some of these ideas:

Djeco is a good fit for my all-consumingly-creative child. The French brand's art kits have exactly what her brain keys into — meticulous designs, copious colors and tons of teeny-tiny little pieces that drive me crazy.

She'd love this Klimt-y kit and it would jog her memory of the exhibit we caught this summer at The Getty.

Me + Mondette

Yay! L.A.-based style wire, Mondette, included my humble little line in one of their to-the-minute fashion write-ups today. I feel so honored!

Sales – Swirl Sydicate Cuties, Alternative Apparel Online, Meet Mykita at Gogosha, and more

Shop 'Til Your Screen Freezes

Let's say you find yourself in one of the following situations...

a.) you're sitting underneath an unbudging sleeping baby

b.) you're waiting in a VW dealership for a recall inspection

c.) you're frittering away your life when you should be looking for a job

d.) you're frittering away your day when you should be doing your job

I have just the thing for you...Polyvore. Yes, after avoiding its addictiveness for months, I finally jumped on the bandwagon.

The main draw of this online shopping site is their "Create a Look" page, where Polyvore's simple directive is "mix & match products from your favorite online stores to create outfits or any kind of collage!" It's the grown-up version of Tada! Shop, which I mentioned before. You can even add music to accompany the sartorial mood you've created. A finger-cramping amount of clicks later and you have looks like these:

Errand-Running by L-ACoolJ featuring Marc Jacobs tops

Dream Date by L-ACoolJ featuring Stella McCartney dresses

Um, nevermind my corny username!

You will diligently sift through the gaudy to get to the gold. You will click, drag, gag and covet. Then, you will look at the clock and you will feel so, so guilty.

Wantables — Laguna Beach Window Shopping Edition

These are far more fabulous in person, trust me.

After sharing a tasty bite at Downtown Laguna's Zinc Cafe and stocking up on kids' paperbacks at Latitude 33, my friend Audra and I hit up the over-priced but noteworthy Laguna Supply. There, she and I fell in love with many things (this is an uncommonly chic OC spot), but none more than the incredibly soft and lovely cotton scarves by LemLem.

I first heard of the brand when they collaborated with J. Crew's Crew Cuts, a couple of years ago. The buzz was that it was the pet project of model Liya Kebede and that she was making floaty, beachy sun dresses for little girls (her own daughter was a poster child for the line). I was excited for the launch because — as silly as it is to admit that one has a favorite — she's my all-time favorite model, for not just her beauty, but also for her international philanthropy on behalf of mothers and children. (BTW, LemLem goods are hand-woven and embroidered by Ethiopian women, who benefit from the proceeds.)

Alas, when I finally came face to face with the Crew Cuts smocks and tunics, I had to leave them on the shelves; there is no way my little cookie monster is ready for white gauzy material, no matter how chic it is. I, on the other hand, could rock it non-stop. So, I was really excited to see Kebede's line offering grown-up goods, even if it was just scarves and sarongs. Alas, I had to pass on them, as well, because I'm saving up for my Euro excursion and $130+ for a scarf doesn't fit into my budget. (Net-a-Porter has them for somewhat cheaper...not that $78-$120 is cheap). I will, however, be stalking these bad boys once sale time rolls around.

P.S. — I wanted to include images of the other things that caught my eye, the store's selection of tunics and bags by Laura Urbanati. While the line's bright yellows, oranges and pinks show zero subtlety, its super-duper uninformative website is the hallmark of restraint.

The Sun Was Shining, I Went to the Mall

I dipped into the The Shops at Mission Viejo today and came across this, where Crate + Barrel was until a few months ago.

Euro fast-fashion chain, Zara, will soon open across from Caché and between Chico's and Bebe — three stores that are pretty emblematic of this cultural terrain (and I want to stress the extreme looseness with which I apply the term "culture" to southern Orange County). It's an interesting development in a mall where stores have been closing left and right (Kate Spade, Kenneth Cole, Mercer and Forever 21's Heritage 1981, to name a few), or have played musical chairs from floor to floor.

The majority of the mall shoppers around me today were stroller-pushing moms in capris and Gap knits, so maybe knocked-off goodies like this, and this will be ripe for my own picking. Who knows? If it's as picked-over as the outposts in South Coast Plaza and The Grove, I'll continue to ignore it the way I do the rest of the mall. But if it has a kids' section...bye-bye, money.

Wantables — Pump It Up (or, not)

Not only do I want these Jeffrey Campbell pumps, I also want to be the type of person who could rock them without feeling self-conscious about their anachronicity (late 80s hip-hop video, anyone?). And, I want to be able to actually walk around in them without a constant grimace of pain and the constant danger of falling.

But, if I see these in Loehmann's a few months from now, it's on.

It's Big and It's Bland, Full of Tension and Fear*

My interest in fashion is one of the many things that fell through the cracks when I became a stay-at-home mom. Style, I'll never abandon; I'm not ready to give in to the lure of everyday sweats. But "the world of fashion" bores me these days. There are no fashion magazines on my coffee table, my last trip to Barneys lasted a cool five minutes and I breezed right past Neimans when I last had an opportunity to go inside. So, while a little voice in the back of my head reminded me it was New York Fashion Week time, I had a hard time getting excited about it.

In all honesty, I only started really following the ready-to-wear collections for work (back when I reported on them as a style writer). But then, I found myself caring about them far beyond the call of duty. Who were the models to watch from one season to the next? Who was on the front row, when? Which bands were playing designers' after-parties?

Now, I guess, I — like the rest of the unwashed masses — need the full-on dog and pony show that 'Project Runway' provides in order to get even the least bit excited about designing clothes.

I would've ignored the to-do all together, if not for a ritual I had with two girlfriends of mine. We had a rich tradition of clicking our way through Style.com's coverage and messaging back and forth about the good, the bad and the affronts to all five senses.

I hope they (and you) appreciate all I do for them! I finally waded through and...everything looks like everything else. With a skeptic's eye, I can see each designer's work taking the express route from high-end boutique to Loehmann's, or its knock-off going straight to Forever 21.

There were a few, however, that instantly triggered my "ooh-la-la" reflex. No blah, blah, blah about trends, fabrication, or silhouettes. Just looks that made both eyebrows raise.

I'm loving the orange and rust several designers (like Narciso Rodriguez, above) threw into the sea of black.

This Jenni Kayne jacket and I could be fast friends.

Jason Wu

Two from Erin Fetherston...

Christian Cota
Carolina Herrera
Badgley Mischka

And I just threw this Suno pic in because it was so refreshing to see a show where the models smiled.

(All photos from Style.com)

*David Bowie's, "Fashion"

Wantables — Early Spring Edition

Unless Janet returns for another scandal, I'll just assume there's nothing going on in the Super Bowl that's worthy of my attention. Instead, I'll direct my gaze toward these covetable new spring goodies that I categorize as "look, don't touch"...

Having short hair means I have a lot more leeway when it comes to statement jewelry. In terms of earrings and necklaces, I can go as big as is comfortable. I would love to wear this Maslodesign vintage melange necklace with a simple scoopneck top, a full A-line skirt and some metallic wedges...you know, to go out on one of those swanky dates that I'm always going on all the time.

I don't take iron pills. I really need to, but I am silly and stubborn, so I don't. As such, I am always cold. Always. Cold. Even in the summer. Far more fun than swallowing horse pill supplements is buying lots and lots of jackets. This lightweight cotton motorcycle jacket would be a nice addition — wearable with jeans, dresses, skirts. (Actually, it's only $54, within my reasonable spending range; it's only a "wantable" because they're sold out of my size at the moment.)

When I was in elementary school, I drew "fashion girls" with feverish passion. They fleshed out the fantasies I harbored as I sat in my uninspired Osh-Kosh separates. This dress over on Modcloth is like a grown-up version of the tiered dresses I heavily favored (no side-tie hair bows, or space boots, though).

Metallic shoes are all I want to wear anymore, it seems. I want to wear these gold Tretorn sneakers until they fall apart. They're so Sophia Petrillo (and I mean that in a good way).

While I'm wanting stuff that I'm never going to have, I'll go on record as saying I want the body it takes to pull off this one-piece. And while I'm at it, better go ahead and want to know how to swim.

Behold the one wantable in this whole post that may eventually end up in my closet. In keeping with my usual Anthropologie shopping habits, I plan to find this dress at the brick and mortar, try it on, visit it at a later date to make sure the spark's still there and then swoop down on it when it makes its way into the "Sale" alcove.

Shrink Ray Chic

I was following protocol — rain = mall — yesterday and came to the following conclusion. The trends that make me long for blindness...might not be so bad on a kid.

For instance, whenever I see a grown woman in Uggs, I want to taze her so bad I can taste it. I am in complete awe of how long the fad has managed to endure — longer than Crocs, longer than platform flip-flops. When I spy the clodhopping eyesores in the streets of OC, they are all too often paired with teeny tiny shorts or skirts, indicating that the wearer is incapable of figuring out the climate. In defense of their precious Uggs, fans will usually squeal "But they're so comfortable!" I can't speak to that, having never worn a pair myself. I can say that on the days when comfort is so crucial that I can barely bring myself to get out of my slippers — after all, aren't they just really ridiculously expensive slippers — I find it's best to just stay at home.

But when I see a chubby bow-legged toddler ambling along in them, it gives me the warm-and-fuzzies. Style-wise, they wouldn't be my first choice. But it's easier to swallow the argument for these toasty, easy-on carefree foot wear for little ones who will ultimately spend more time being carried than actually walking around. More booties than boots. Should they run $90? Heavens, no. But $18 knock-offs? Sure. Why not?

I'm similarly lenient with regards to wee jeggings. If you've remained blissfully ignorant to this trend thus far, allow me to burst your bubble. They are jeans + leggings, offering the illusion of jeans, but with more stretch, often without the actual pockets, zippers, etc. See?

And, like regular jeans, they come in such woeful versions as acid wash, ripped and zipper-ankle. They've been worn by the likes of Lindsay Lohan, Sienna Miller, Taylor Momsen and various other unfortunately famous people you'd never want your daughters to emulate. They are completely unforgiving on anyone besides those wafer-thin celebrities and have the ability to take a look from zero to hoochie in one stretchy swoop.

All the same, when I came across mini-versions in H&M, Nordstrom and even Target, I couldn't help but see their practicality. Aesthetically, I prefer my kid in jeans over most any other bottoms. It's just a quintessential cool-kid staple to me. Jeggings would be perfect for emergency potty breaks because there's no fumbling with buttons, snaps and zipper tracks. Cartwheels, yoga moves (yes, my kid takes yoga), upside-down maneuvers on the monkey bars — in theory, all could be executed with more comfort in a pair of jeggings than a pair of binding jeans. I haven't bought a pair yet, but once I get over my negative associations, I predict they'll be playground staples. (This is certainly slippery slope territory because I've even seen the appeal of these -- they can be done right!)

I draw the line, however, on the other eye-sores I came across in the kids department yesterday: neon puffy paint accents, acid wash accessories and the oddly-enduring buffalo plaid trend. These were wrong back when County Seat was pimping them in the early '90s and they're still wrong, no matter the size range.