Madewell comes to Bird

According to our beloved WWD, J. Crew brainchild Madewell has joined the ranks of Alexander Wang, Acne and Proenza Schouler to extend its offerings toward the heart of hipster paradise, also known as Brooklyn's Bird, with three locations in Park Slope, Cobble Hill and most recently, Williamsburg. Being one of the first retailers in NYC to obtain a LEED certification, Bird kicks off this strategic alliance with a shopping event tomorrow night co-hosted by Nancy Whang of LCD Soundsystem, as WWD proclaims, "Hipsters welcome."

I want dat.

So while I may or may not be able to attend this baller opening event seeing as how Midtown will monopolize my time, a girl can still lust after the monochromatic wonders that (along with Rumi, of course) have inspired a gradual yet soon-to-be-complete shift in my design aesthetic. Let's step outside of the box now, shall we?

Cotton Asymmetrical Zip Jacket

Ligne 6 - Martin Margiela, $255

Perfect Tencel Button Shirt

Current / Elliot, $198

Dianetta Melange Cashmere & Silk Scarf

Faliero Sarti, $339

Sun Spike Necklace

Wendy Nichol, $405

Striped Silk Tennis Shorts

Rag & Bone, $255

Large Leather Zip Pouch

Comme des Garcons, $135

3 Stitch Knit Brass Cuff

Wendy Nichol, $310

Sazerac High Heel Ankle Boot

Rachel Comey, $425

On a slightly unrelated note, Bryanboy has the very best taste. How unbelievably awesome are these Mugler F/W 2011 booties? Yum.

At Kenzo. How could you possibly not love him?

Here's to you, fashion. Cheers.

Grrrrrrrrrr

Seriously, the more "enlightened" I become by the existence of revoltingly-preppy (read: boring, conservative, and risk-averse) Plain-Janes who claim they are these earth-shattering fashionistas, the more I want to continue harshly scrutinizing their so-limited creativity, shred anything I own that remotely reminds me of going to school in the South, and then invite their pastel-piqué-cotton-sporting selves to do the entire fashionsphere a favor by kindly jumping off a cliff (and taking their painfully-awful Vineyard Vines totes with them, while they're at it). Aggressive, violent, geedy? Yes. But to call these sentiments unwavering would be an egregious understatement, especially as a seasoned fourth-year undergraduate whose summer was spent socialite-ing around the world's greatest city and being exposed day-in and day-out to what fashion truly means. Attention all die-hard Jack Rogers and Vera Bradley fans aka logo-obsessed fools: I dare you to spend an afternoon in Chelsea. Yup. Enjoy being ripped to shreds by people with aesthetic standards that aren't shallow as a shower.

Here's an inspirational outfit that if attempted in Winston-Salem would undeniably warrant snide comments from just-left-the-kitchen slampieces and confused stares from frat daddies (all hail the mighty and magnificent Man Repeller).

Lace Tee

Kimchi Blue, $32

Venice Denim Shorts

Friend of Mine, $165

Leather Double Keeper Tipped Waist or Hip Belt

ASOS, $34

RSASKTH1 Polyester Solid Thigh-High Sock

American Apparel, $16

Bowmer Suede Wedge Heel

Aldo, $100

The Bike Bag

Madewell, $98

Also, on a completely unrelated note, I really fucking want the Lita's. Now.

Lita, Pewter Glitter

Jeffrey Campbell, $160

LOLZ how would people react if they saw me doing finance problems while I was sporting these, along with my brand-new white Studio Beats? Social experiment time.

Here's to you, fashion. Cheers.

Since 1937

It's actually absurd the amount of Madewell stuff I deem aesthetically pleasing as well as legitimately versatile enough for real life. Here's a free-for-all post with no point whatsoever other than to publish a bare-boned wishlist from now until the end of time. Take note of peripheral pieces like charcoal tights and mid-calf leather boots serving as offshoots from the lace-up combat boot and cousins of the basic riding boot from a few winters past. Let it be established now that my priority colors to test run for winter '10-'11 are mustard, silk blue (a color/texture that I totally just made up), olive green, apple red and as usual, the ever-popular plum. F/W is my very favorite time to experiment with mixing textures and juxtaposing even the most unnatural, unexpected color palettes.

The more I expose myself to certain crazy talented style bloggers, the more willing I become to challenge established boundaries and show off outfits that I'm expecting will warrant confused looks and whispers back and forth between all-too-typical plain janes who hold their Burberry scarves, Hunter boots and Speedy totes in the highest of overly-conspicuous designer logo esteem. (To Wake girl at GSO: yes, I myself shop online enough to recognize you spent several hundred on your Juicy equestrian boots-- congrats! They're certainly nice, but with that fat investment, could you not pick out something with a bit more soul during your latest trip to Neiman's than a pair of boots displaying an obviously branded company crest?) I realize it's all a judgment call of taste and preference, but four obvious designers in a single outfit via logos? Gross. And so begins my never-ending rant regarding esoteric philosophy... how I got here, I'm not quite sure. So I'd better stop before I become too bitter about how much it STS in even more ways than one.

Back to my initial intentions, presenting Madewell.

Base #1: Black Biker Boots

Starry Nights Blazer, $198

Pemberly Blouse in Gemstone, $118

Nightbeam Shimmer Shorts, $125

The Buckled Biker Boot in True Black, $173

Base #2: Brown Biker Boots

Costwold Vest in Hthr Llama, $128

Perfect Chambray Shirt, $68

Campfire Cargo Shirt in Cornflower Wash, $70

The Griffith Pony Bag, $350

The Biker Boot in English Saddle, $230

Base #3: Black Wedge Booties

Sweatshirt Top in Hthr Smoke, $68

Plié Tank in Black Nude, $52

Gilded Racerback Tank, $88

Seeing Spots Tank, $88

Silk Tulip shorts in Dark Olive, $88

The Cinch Sack in English Saddle, $158

The Leather Wedge Bootie, $248

I'm so looking forward to Christmas break when I can go on a full-out spree because God knows my wardrobe and I very much deserve it.

Here's to you, fashion. Cheers.