Cravin' Smokin' Cigarettes (Jeans, That Is!)

I have so many heels that I end up not wearing enough because I need more cigarette jeans -- the ones with the perfect amount of ankle slouchiness. Otherwise, wide-legged jeans (even bootcuts) with heels always feel awkward on me. Like I'm trying to pull off a lady-sailor look or something. Plus, what's the point of even wearing heels instead of flats if your pants are going to conceal them? So, without further adieu, tons of cigarette jeans -- some '80s-inspired -- at a host of price points...

($174, Deener, Couturecandy.com)

I really love the slightly Western detail of the stitching and on the pockets.

($174, Furst Premium Denim, LF Stores)

Okay, please don't kill me. But I actually sorta love these totally '80s acid-washed jeans. Have I been brainwashed? Regardless of whether or not you now loathe me, you must admit: Furst does some on-point skinny jeans. And perhaps you'll find these less of an affront on your anti-retro tastes.

($159, Joe's Jeans, PinkMascara.com)

Perfect ankle-to-heel ratio!

($139, Earnest Sewn, RevolveClothing.com)

For those of you not tubular enough to rock the Fursts.

($111, J Brand, RevolveClothing.com)

Perhaps you recall past posts where I slammed colored jeans. Well, I am a big fucking hypocrite. While I don't own any jeans that aren't a shade of blue, black or grey, I've come around and am warming to the idea of denims in shades other than those usually reserved for pens. I have discovered that I'm really not into bold, primary colors, but I am into the more muted, dusty shades that don't aren't a blinding assault on the eyes but instead a nice subtle alternative to blues and greys. (Again, yes, I'm a total hypocrite). Case in point: these great J Brand jeans in "gingerbread." Hee! Gingerbread!

($72, J Brand, RevolveClothing.com)

These J Brand jeans in "Brick" might have to be my next purchase.

($58, Paper Denim, Labelspree.com)

Not my 100% faves, but a great deal. BTW, has anyone shopped Labelspree? Legit or not?

($49, Rock N Roll, Lip-service.com)

According to the site, Lip-service.com deals in punk and goth gear and festishwear and is a destination for fashion freaks. I fall under none of those categories (except maybe "fashion freak," though probably not in the way they're referencing). I have a grand total of three piercings -- all in my ears -- and the only ink on my body is the occasional errant pen mark. But, I'd definitely try these out for $49. Check out the lavender ones too.

($38, Rock N Roll, Lip-service.com)

Cute! And stretchy! Will buy! (Minus the wallet chain, of course).

Beauty Bloggers Unite!

As you may've noticed, we’ve been starting to do more beauty coverage on the 'Binge lately. Why? Because eyeshadow is like crack to me, and, as I told Mary-Kate, I realized one day that I have about 20 lipglosses in my bag at any given time, so I might as well do something constructive about it.

On that note, last night I went to a dinner thrown by MAC and met some wonderful beauty bloggers and editors including, but not limited to...

+ Erika at Makeupbag.net
+ Fellow New Yorker Anne of TheJetSetGirls.com
+ Marina of Makeuplovesme.com
+ Amber of Beauty Blogging Junkie
+ SpoiledPretty's Daneen
+ Shannon of GottaSpa and MakeupMinute (she lives on top of a mountain!)
+ Canadian Beauty's Henna
+ Kristi of Beautiful Decay mag (she has extremely awesome hair that in my wildest dreams I could never achieve. Wah! Annoying.)
+ And the fiesty, fiery Julia of All About The Pretty

We laughed, we boozed, we exchanged cards, and yes, there was lots of talk about “that New York Times article.”

When I read it the other day, I found it fairly ridiculous. (The beauty bloggers I spoke to (there were a few who were quoted in the article and pretty much poorly represented) all agreed that they DON’T write positive reviews about products they actually hate (if they hate them, they either don’t blog about them or they SAY that the product sucked) AND that of all of the products they receive for free, they spend exponentially more on products they’re going out and buying anyway. It’s the job of PR people to send out products out to review. Companies are getting smart and listening to bloggers. But beauty bloggers would be going out and buying products even if they weren’t receiving them. And they’re putting their share of cash back into the industry too (and, yes, you could argue that the industry doesn't need any more money, but that's not the point here).

I loved that Julia of All About the Pretty railed against the article, saying that what wasn’t highlighted was the $300-some-dollar Chanel face cream she walked into the store and bought.

And BeautyBloggingJunkie has aggregated a ton of responses from beauty bloggers here.

The products beauty bloggers buy often get as much attention as the ones they get for free. (Music bloggers go to free shows all the time – and there’s no backlash about that, as well there shouldn’t be. If they see a show for free and the band sucks, they still sucked, you know?)

The NY Times piece also seemed to make these women out as though they sit around on life-sized white powder puffs, wearing silk robes, drinking (free) champ, looking like a pre-Sunset Boulevard Gloria Swanson while their live-in makeup artists apply free buckets of NARS eye shadow by the shit-ton or something.

But from the women I met, that couldn’t have been farther from the truth – these women are working day jobs (some have more than one), they have kids, they're supporting themselves (and others), and they’re going to Fashion Week on their own dime. For almost all of these women, beauty blogger (like most blogging) is a labor of love. It's a relief. And like Gottaspa’s Shannon said: even if she never got free products, she’d still be buying products.

Anyway, it was great to meet these women – they’re smart, funny, well-informed women who know how to hustle. They’re basically running online business for free. No one’s paying them. They’re working for free because they love it, and they’ve turned their passions and hobbies into communities and constructive creative content they can share with others, which, at least for me, is most of the fun of – and the point of -- blogging.

What's Up, Ombre?

I stopped into the Brooklyn LF yesterday. As usual, I browsed and made some mental notes yet bought nothing. I like a lot of the merch they have there, but their prices are nothing short of shout-rageous, especially when other stores push the same goods for less. Also, they blow out the trends into overdrive mode, which gets to me a little. And another thing: shit is strewn all over the damn place. I get that they're trying to create a messy-chic aesthetic, but if I want to trip over errant shoes, I can do that at home.

However, I was smitten by their Jeffrey Campbell black-and-white ombre heels:
They're $120 at LF, yet Urban Outfitters -- and by the way, LF is basically Urban on coke -- has a few remaining sizes for $74. Too bad I'm not a 9.5. Point is though, the quest for ombre heels is ON!

Also, I haven't really been posting much Fashion Week stuff because a.) of busy-ness and b.) so many other floggers are way on top of that shit. And can I compete with Style.com? Uh, no.

Anyway, some shows I would've clawed someone's eyes out to see:
+ Alexandre Herchovitch
+ Three As Four
+ Abaete
+ Rachel Comey

Shows I did see:
+ Samantha Pleet -- Review coming soon -- promises!

Seat of Your Pants Shopping

As in: You are sitting on your duff, even though there are deals to be had out there, in the real world. Luckily, there are deals to be had online right now, too. Here are a couple I snagged yesterday (and one I didn't).



Naturalizer "Looloo" patent-leather kitten heels, $10.70 (!) with $10-off coupon code SBK27. At that ridiculous price, it's a good way to try out blue shoes. And since they're pretty similar to my absolutely beloved Payless kitten heels, I'm pretty sure I'll like them.



Speaking of Payless, they have some of the (all of the?) Alice + Olivia stuff in. Lotsa polka dots. I'm kinda meh on them. I am a fan, though, of this cute flat from Lela Rose, $30. Everybody in polka! (I'll wait to inspect these in-store before purchasing.)



Aerosoles is also having a ridiculous sale. I've been eyeing these "Vice President" boots for a while now, but was unsure about the off-white heel with the black boots. But then I decided it's just oddball enough to be cool. And they're only $39.99 now, down from $180, so I pretty much had to buy them. Yay!

Style Diary: Travelling and First Day

The all important travel outfit. I am far from a seasoned traveller. The furthest I had ever been prior to New York was Crete which was a four hour journey, this was twice that long and comfort was the key. Before the trip I visited Uniqlo and picked up some great basics. Quite surpisingly the first part of this travel outfit diary is filled with colourful bargains from the store which is seemingly taking over London town and in particular Oxford Street (seriously how many Uniqlo stores can you fit in such a small space?) and prior to this I had never bought anything before. Excuse the below mugshot looking image. I'm not really a psycho killer, blame my crazy stare on jetlag or something.

The 'New York Here I Come' outfit

1 - Uniqlo grey ribbed top

2 - Unconditonal wrap trousers

3 - Omar Kashouri cardigan

4 - Battered old Converse. I am looking for some new hi tops on this trip

The 'New York Here I Am' outfit.

1 - Unconditonal t shirt with bibbed front

2 - Uniqlo red jeans. Red jeans? This has to be my most unusual purchase ever, but I like them. They have a good selection of colourful jeans and these add some colour to my otherwise monochrome focused palette.

4 - Uniqlo (yes Uniqlo again) blue cardigan. I thought I was over cardigans but they are so useful when layering and again this adds colour!

The first day in New York was spent wandering around downtown, concentrating on Soho and Nolita. It was a relatively quiet day because I was just getting used to my surroundings and if i'm being honest a little grumpy because I was tired. The shopping highlight for me was INA, a consignment store which had some interesting items, friendly 'stoned' staff and great music. I tried on a pair of Prada trousers which had stirrups. Unfortunately (or luckily) they were just too short for me, they fitted like a glove otherwise (althought I was a little perplexed by the stirrups). Off to Brooklyn today which has a host of great stores and Brunching options.

Victoria's Secret Ugly Boot MVPs

In honor of the impending professional football competition, I'd like to employ the follow sports metaphor: if Victoria's Secret footwear were a sports team, these three pairs of boots would be neck and neck for MVP:

($89, Victoria's Secret)

When a 5" heel just isn't enough, run a yard and a half of the tackiest crushed velvet you can find -- OOH! BLUE! PerFECto! -- up your leg, install a stripper pole in your bedroom, and just call it a day.

($180, Ugg, Victoria's Secret)

How do you improve upon the "perfection" of regular Uggs? Metalicize them. Then wrap them up in zigzagging ribbons like the world's worst gift! Voila! Tres Tomb Raider!


FabSugar scored the hooker-boot homerun! Sequins AND animal print AND metallics? Where do I sign up?

I landed in New York last night so I awoke this morning into a world that feels more like a film/tv set than anything else. It is my first time in New York (my first time outside of Europe if i'm being honest!) so I am just getting used to this new world. The best little anecdote that sums up my feelings thus far comes from a walk from the hotel down Fifth Avenue in search of a good breakfast (which we found, I had French toast with Canadian Ham) and I saw a church which looked familar. I then realised that it was the church shown in the Sex and the City episode where Carrie bumps into mr Big who she finds out takes his Mum to church every Sunday (I have seen every single episode multiple times because my flatmates have the box set and are obsessed!). As you can read I'm pretty excited and with good reason. There will be so much to write about and show you over the next 6 days. The shops I visit, the sights I see (good and bad) and I will also share with you my little travel outfit diary, which will begin with my travel outfit alongside the first 'I'm going to fly the British style flag' ensemble that will be posted later on today...but first I need to go out and explore this new yet strangely familar land!