Weighing In: Headbands

Quite clearly, headbands have been around for a while. A preppy staple, we credit Hilary Clinton's overuse in the early 90s that first launched this trend into a nationally debated topic.

More recently, LC ahem, Lauren Conrad of the Hills fame and recently tapped as a fashion "maven" by some media sources, had been noted for frequent headband use.


What do we think aside from the fact that Lauren Conrad does not a fashion "maven" make? Well let's not split hairs here, I mean, she's wearing a headband, on her head. We really aren't going to spend our time having a whole lot of issues with that choice. What we do have problems with is the quite disturbing trend we noticed all summer of girls in New York wearing headbands around their foreheads hippie style or Rambo style if you prefer. We prefer that this trend go the way of the poncho but we're very afraid after this montage from New York Fashion Week by Fashionista.

Say it isn't so.

Weighing in: Ethno-scarves

The pseudo-ethnic print scarf has taken over...Manhattan at least. Can anyone confirm or deny its use in other locations, we're curious? Regardless, whether we like it or not, it's this year's pashmina and it looks like it's going to be around at least for a season. We knew something was up when the Keffiyeh was the new hot item this summer and we've struggled with the concept of women running around the city wearing what has looked to us, rather like a babushka. We've changed our minds recently having seen it worn the right way exactly twice. Once by a very stylish close friend.


And once by our favorite twin.


We're not even going to bother enumerating the rules this time. We just leave you with the notion that if you're wondering if the word babushka applies to you...step away from the scarf. Thank you.

Nixon - Less Watergate, More Watch

Purveyors of style and trends that we are, we are sometimes shocked, year to year, by the lack of variety in certain realms of fashion. While this has constantly been an issue in the area of men's winter coats (Peacoat? Check. Parka with removal insert? Check. Bomber jacket, whether down or other variety? Check. Same options, annually, for the past decade. Next?), we understood, as winter coats are a staple and tend to run on the expensive side of things... therefore, not necessarily an item one would want to throw out every spring.

That being said, we have always had higher hopes for accessories. Accessories, to state this in the most obvious way, are little touches by which one can assert his or her own style and point of view. Why then, we ask, is there so little variety in what current trends deem as the best men's watches out there? Having seen between 5 and 10 magazine spreads on men's watches, we're struck by how... monotonous they tend to be. This is why Nixon, a watch brand displayed off-runway by the stars of skate, surf and snow, is such a refreshing sight.

While formulating a new eccentricity when it comes to telling time, we find the innovation and simplicity of Nixon's styling a welcome change. We, of course, appreciate the ability to simultaneously figure out what time it is in 10 different time zones, operate a stopwatch, and handle some long-division, all from the comfort of our own respective wrists, but we'd rather save that space for something that has a little more form and a little less function.

Betsy Addendum:
Admittedly, I've been trying to copy Phat Tony's style since the early days at McDowell School of Dance where I deeply coveted his pas-de-bouree-petit-jete. The recent call out on the wonders of the nixon watch being hardly any exception, I was struck by a theme. It seems that lacquered wood in unexpected places is a surprisingly effective design element right now.

Take for example this Furni Gator alarm clock:


We have been obsessed with this item for a few years now having seen several similar designs on the market. We realize now that it is the wood element that lends the clean lines and brings us another modern take on a natural element for the home. Love it.

Wizard Chic: It's time for Harry to call it a day...

I love Harry Potter.

I do. I've read all the books, multiple times, and I think that every moment spent devouring page by miraculous page was time well spent. From the point Hagrid knocked through the door of that dirty seaside cottage to when Mrs. Weasley bitch-slapped Bellatrix (well, you know what I mean), I couldn't get enough. Even after most of the movie versions have tried to tear down the wondrous fantasy J.K. worked tirelessly to create, I have stayed by Harry's side. He's my boy, we're peoples.

But there are lines to this fantasy world that we should really try not to cross.

What? Okay, so we are not the first to jump on this bandwagon, but regardless, we can't do anything but speak out. We've discussed a great many topics, and can't deny that there are some good things that are happening in this look... but the issue can be boiled down to one point...

Not since Gandhi has anyone been able to rock glasses with a perfect circle frame (and before you ask, no, not even you)... It took someone fictional to actually get people even thinking about this look again, and we beg of you Marc... keep it fiction. And to those who are enjoying this look... if it's children's fantasy fiction that really speaks to you this season, might I just say this: If McGonagall saw you like that, she would be so pissed. She'd turn into a cat, scratch your face off, and laugh. True story.

There's another ad making the rounds in this month's magazines that could drive this point home (and Bets, any help in finding said ad would be amazing)... picture those glasses on an androgenous human being, rocking an oversized sweater, wool 3/4 length pants with a hint of elastic in the hem, and, as a cherry on the proverbial sundae, army boots. Surprisingly, the boots were the only thing that screamed "fashion" to me. Everything else seemed a bit... well, editorial. And for those of you who don't know, "editorial" is fashion-speak from "Kind of a big mess, but, like a car-accident, you can't help but stare."

I might be off on my translation, but my fashion-to-English dictionary is SO five minutes ago. Please forgive.

Beanie Man

So we've already admitted to watching "the Hills" and now there's no avoiding commenting on the phenomena that is Justin Bobby.


For those still feigning not to watch, Justin Bobby is Audrina's on again off again boyfriend who has mistreated her in the past and has, most likely, swooped back into her life to cash in on her fifteen minutes and then leave her in a flaming pile of reality show detritus. The ridiculous moniker Justin Bobby comes from the fact that his name is Justin but his friends call him Bobby. Aside from being really fantastic TV, and possibly an even better villain than Spencer, we couldn't help but notice his propensity for wearing ginormous floppy beanies somewhat on the order of Adam Brody below:

Clearly, this look is not new, we credit Colin Farrell for its genesis and note Wilmer Valderrama for his studied imitation. Justin Bobby aside, we're even starting to see it on the East Coast. What's next, Kansas?

We're not saying the beanie is inherently bad. We feel the look is highly informed by he who wears it such that the hats tend only to look good on people you already like. Therefore, the floppy beanie is in a trend "safety zone" so to speak. What we fear is a "trucker-hat-isation" of the concept which unfortunately, might be right around the corner. If that's the case, we have just one request.

Can we just skip saturation and go straight to backlash please?

Weighing In: Ray Ban Wayfarers

The latest fascination with Ray Bans classic Wayfarers is an interesting matter of taste. While we admit they're being overused in hipster circles, we can't quite write them off. The style was most recently stamped in our memory by classic 80s film and television:


Looking a bit further back, the Wayfarer first launched to its most significant fame as worn by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Chloe Sevigny is credited by many to have brought this look back in this millenium but we like to share that credit with The Closer's Lieutenant Michael Tao.

We find it dificult to create any hard and fast rules here. We think Wayfarers look good on lots of people and great on few. Try not to do this:


We suggest taking great pains to bring your look back to the Millenium at all costs. It's so easy to make mistakes here but as you can see, this look isn't going anywhere for a while:

The Britney Spears Headscarf

There's no one on planet Earth right now that personifies the phrase "done lost her mind" better than Britney Spears. She's a baby-dropping, cheetos-eating, train wreck of an aging pop star and we all know she flipped out and shaved her head a few months back but we'd much rather see her sporting some kind of fierce GI Jane buzzcut rather than what she's been doing.


The Britney Spears headscarf. This look says sloppy to us. We really hate it. We think it might be ok to and fro the gym or at the beach but really never else. And what's most disturbing is the idea that this trend is spreading.



Scary.

Get it Together: Neckwear

We’re noticing a trend. People are wearing scarves in the summer. We don’t know why, we just call it like we see it. Sometimes they’re gauzy, sometimes they’re delicately knitted lurex. And sometimes, on really special occasions, they’re what Teen Vogue has deemed the "breezy, global-chic scarf."

Kirsten, we sort of love you. And we say this like we’re the best of friends, which we sort of are:

Must we take our fashion cues from this guy?

I thought not.

Skeched Out

We're tired of the casual sneaker for women. We think it's a cop out. We think that keds were lame the first time around (sorry Mischa Barton). We don't think your laces should match your shirt (sorry Carrie Underwood) We strongly believe that in life one should aim less for Marissa Cooper and more for Summer Roberts. Marissa has a funny accent. We think the casual sneaker is silly. It says dilletante. It says, I can't be bothered to run but check out my new tracksuit. Unless, of course, you're sixteen. Or you live in New Jersey. Then you get a pass for things like that.

Weighing In: Jazz Shoes

Let's be really blindingly honest here. It pains us that we need to write about jazz shoes. Pain of the physical sort. Picture the pain you might feel when watching oh say Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School. What? Oh no, just kidding. We don't watch that. (We may, however, Love New York...)

We've seen many a disturbing thing in our lifetimes. Things that get our little judgemental minds all in a tizzy. Things like pleated pants.

While we can wholly endorse jazz hands and, even their cute little sister, spirit fingers (not to mention their accompanying Bring It On trilogy), but this is really upsetting us.



Jazz shoes... why or how they entered popular culture in the first place is an incredible mystery to us... and this is coming from someone with a bit of a dance background. Picture PT & Bets stride-leap-stepping across the hardwood waxy floor at McDowell School of Dance... so we can appreciate jazz shoes for what they are... split-soled non-street shoes made to leap across a freshly waxed hardwood surface and not leave black scuffs. They are not, however, for everyday-wear. Before you ask, you're not being refreshingly ironic by wearing jazz shoes outside of your "one-my-way-dance-class-and-on-my-way-back" routine. We also know that most of you are not Debbie Allen. You're not fooling anyone, you're just being inappropriate, and not just a little silly.

I think the message here is simple. If you're wearing jazz shoes and you're not doing this:



We really can't help you.

You're welcome.