When the thermometer hits triple digits, the layers come off. Way off. And there you have it: a denim corset top. Are you feeling a little bit saucy? Do you have a hankering to be a bit dominating? For the girl on the loose, this little denim top is a versatile focal point for all your other statement pieces: a naughty-meets-nice ensemble of a big baubled necklace coupled by the bad girl spiked stompers. So which one are you? It’s fun to keep them guessing.
– Kathy Ng Hassan
The Warehouse Store Pop-Up Outlet at The Block at Orange.
Have you noticed all the vacancies at your local mall? Obviously, retail hasn’t completely rebounded from the slow economy, but that doesn’t slow down the folks at The Warehouse Sale! Look for TWS’s Pop-up Outlet Stores across the country. The Smarty Pants at TWS are filling a void: they get on a short-term lease at your local mall, they bring business to your area, you save money, the denim brands get Pop-up store benefits — it’s a win-win!
I say, thank god! Do you really want to drive out to the convention center anyways and pay, like, $12 for parking when you’re trying to actually save money on your designer jeans? I thought so.
SEE THE LATEST TWS POP-UP OUTLETS
– Kathy Ng Hassan
On Dec. 19, an exclusive men’s and women’s collection from William Rast will launch at most Target stores and target.com and will be available through Jan. 22. William Rast has proven that a celebrity can be successful in the design world. The brainchild collaboration of Justin Timberlake and his childhood friend, Trace Ayala, was introduced in 2005 and has grown into a thriving business.
“Our guests have varied tastes and this collection provides the perfect mix of rocker attitude and laid-back appeal for men and women everywhere at affordable prices,” said Target spokeswoman Katie Heinze. Prices for the Target collection were not available, but William Rast jeans cost $165 to $229; leather jackets, $395 to $595, and fashion tops, $95 to $165. “The collection for Target was inspired by the essence of the William Rast brand — the iconography of biker culture and American denim heritage,” said William Rast chief executive officer Colin Dyne. (WWD).
Finally, a real premium denim collection available at Target for a fraction of the price! I can’t wait to see how they fit!
–Nikki Cho Russo
Seriously, stop everything right now. Ladies who have been dying to slip into a pair of J Brand/Hussein Chalayan couture jeans or the J Brand/Duarte rock ‘n’ roll inspired collaboration collection better log on — right now — at Gilt Groupe. The jeans are priced from $89 to $109. Still plenty of styles and sizes to pick! Sale ends 7/13 9 PM PDT.
– Kathy Ng Hassan
Why bother going to sleep tonight. If you even want to stand a chance at scoring anything decent in your size, you may as well drag yourself out of bed and head on over now with a liter of coffee (or some other legal stimulant) and stake your place in line. As of this morning, I read there will be some heavenly steals on some Rag & Bone jeans for men and women.
– Kathy Ng Hassan
From Refinery29:
Rag & Bone Sample Sale
What: If you haven’t already fallen in love with everything Rag & Bone, now is your chance. Hit up the semi-annual sample sale at Chelsea Market for some sweet deals. T-shirts are $45, dresses are $175, and leather jackets are below $595! Click here for more details.
Bottom left: Railcar Fine Good's Steven Dang at his design table. Bottom right: a women's denim prototype.
You may wonder what inspires our favorite denim designers. Would it be a movie star? An oil spill in the gulf? For Steven Dang of Railcar Fine Goods, it might just be a classic motorcycle, a vintage car or even the inner workings of a train. An engineer by trade, Steven Dang got tired of tinkering with cars on the side.
Recently, I had the opportunity to visit Railcar’s design studio in Los Angeles. He pulls up a heavy duty sewing factory-style stool for me to sit in and practically bowled me over when he showed me his ginormous roll of selvedge denim. Of course, I had to touch it. Amid the scattered patterns and denim prototypes stacked on one of his drafting tables, sat a cup of coffee. Calm and well-spoken, Steven admits he doesn’t get much sleep between his engineer work and Railcar.
“Everything we do is by hand.” Steven explains to me that his workwear-inspired shirts don’t just come out of a cookie cutter. From the cut of the sleeves and shirtail, to the shoulder panel and even the flow of the fabric’s design, he is careful to mirror the patterns appropriately. “Visually, it has to make sense.”
I did scratch my head at first, wondering why a man who repairs the Metro Gold Line by day (actually, he does that at night), has any interest in fashion design. “I love working with my hands and building things, and I see what I do [with Railcar Fine Goods] as that.”
Of course, I had to ask him if he had a fave pair of jeans he couldn’t part with. “I don’t. But I catch myself wearing the prototype of my Spikes fit all the time lately. This will probably be that pair.”
Described as ” Industrial Americana fitted clothes,” Steven sews small productions and sampling from his quaint (and relatively immaculate) home studio and uses select factories in L.A. to take care of details. “I don’t like using mass production factories because small details get lost in the production process; and, I never use overseas manufacturing.”
So far, so good. Steven has successfully garnered himself some upscale and niche stockists. As we spoke, American Rag World Denim Bar was signing on to carry Railcar.
Look Out For:
Fall - Women’s denim
Next season - Men’s Sonny straight leg jeans
– Kathy Ng Hassan
Rachel Bilson in the Paige Jimmy Jimmy Skinny. Image via Paige USA PR.
Sometimes, a girl needs some direction in the denim department. With so many brands out there, where do you start? Consider Paige Premium Denim. The brand prides itself on its expert fit. Known by insiders for its butt-lifting abilities and comfort — a special cotton fabric lining inside the waistband — Paige is a jean that you could wear all day. Worn by petite celebs and tall supermodels, Paige Premium Denim has a lot of styles to choose from.
And, another incentive for trying them out, if you’re still unsure, a good selection of the ladies’ jeans are on sale at Gilt Groupe for under $100. Look for Peg Leg, Boot Cut, Flare, Ankle, and shorts styles.
Sale ends 6/17 at 9PM PDT.
– Kathy Ng Hassan
Hey dudes, you really need to move on this one, because the coveted Nudie Jeans are on sale in a variety of styles right now at The Sample Sale. Prices range from $99 to $109.99 (regular $99 to $275). You can score your dry selvedges, organic, bootcut, skinny and even a tapered dropped-crotch ”Big Bengt” jeans (Carrot fit) at a steep discount. Check it:
– Kathy Ng Hassan
The heat hasn’t even begun to beat us down yet, so it’s no time like the present to load up on those summer-friendly shorts that will take us from day to night… while on vacation! Work Custom Jeans has a nice array of denim shorts that is just a little more interesting than the usual cut off, cropped or hot pants variety. Street cred: celebrities from Supermodels to actresses have been seen wearing Work Custom Jeans.
Pictured (L to R):
Work Custom Jeans Panther Army Green Cut Off shorts ($187, on pre-order); Work Custom Jeans Sidewinder Shorts, seen on Nicky Hilton ($152); and Work Custom Jeans Moto Zip Shorts, seen on Lindsay Lohan (on sale - $69.60).
Available at BLACK LABEL BOUTIQUE
– Kathy Ng Hassan
If you’ve ever shopped at Martin + Osa, then you know it’s an upscale and more sophisticated version of American Eagle Outfitters. I like to think of them as a cross between Banana Republic and JCrew.
Any who… not only are their stores closing all around, they’re having a sale online to clear out their merch. Save 30% off sitewide. Lots of jeans for men and women, including tops, accessories and some shoes. Please note: this is a Final Sale, so no returns.
– Kathy Ng Hassan
The Denim Therapy Company was created in 2006 with the goal to fix any hole, hem, or broken denim regardless of damage severity. And to do so with unconditional love, carefully repairing all denim as if it was our own.
With the expertise, experience, and passion of two fashion-forward friends, Denim Therapy was first introduced to New York City. Because the repair is not a patch – and is much better than a patch, Denim Therapy’s innovative jean repair solution provided all of us with a new way to solve denim problems. It was the first opportunity to have our favorite jeans reconstructed, rather than poorly patched by a dry cleaner.
The response to the unique repair, exceptional customer service, and overall convenience of an online repair service was tremendous.
The Denim Therapy buzz traveled quickly from NYC on to Los Angeles to Chicago and Miami. With denim enthusiasts sending in their favorite jeans from as far away as Sydney, London, and Hong Kong, Denim Therapy has truly become a denim doctor to jeans of all brands and origins.
Three years later, thousands of jeans repaired, and over 20 leading fashion news recommendations, Denim Therapy maintains the same goal that started the company. At the end of the day, we are happy to know that with so much of our love pouring into everyone’s favorite denim, there is that much more love in the world.
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