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
Vogue Ten Best Dressed List. Alexa Chung is #1! Image via Vogue.
Vogue Ten Best Dressed. January Jones is #10! Image via Vogue.
Out of the blue, I decided to check out what was going on with Vogue online, and lo and behold! The Ten Best Dressed list for the week has two “leggy” denim looks! One of my fave style muses, Alexa Chung, is featured spotlighting her tanned gams in denim hot pants (her favorite kind!). Mad Men’s January Jones, pulls together an uptown ensemble with a dark indigo pencil leg jean. At #1 and #10, Chung and Jones bookends the list, respectively.
– Kathy Ng Hassan
Yippee, it’s that time again! What I’m actually excited about, besides the sale (and who doesn’t love a sale?) is that I can shop for the coveted men’s tapered jeans. Most of them are only 30% off, but a deal is a deal. I don’t know about you, but this style is hard to find in Los Angeles, unless you want to pay über full price.
While you’re there, you can also preview the Fall/Winter 2010 collection.
– Kathy Ng Hassan
What on earth would I want with a trench coat when it’s about 100 degrees in the shade? Somehow, even in the current heatwave of summer, James Jeans has managed to capture my attention with the Kate Crystal denim trench coat. I like the slim sleeves and trim tailoring throughout. Could this be an addition to my new fall wardrobe? It’s only a few months away. It’s always good to be prepared for a sudden cold snap, right? It’s so dark blue. It’s on sale. I can picture wearing it with a pair of white jeans. Or… white denim leggings! Dare I?
– Kathy Ng Hassan
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
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
This is a lovely turn on a jeans shirt, even though it isn’t actually denim. D&G has produced a sweatshirt that has been fashioned to resemble a denim or chambray button down shirt. Very clever. Get yours now on sale at FORWARD!
– 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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