I embarked on the predictable post-graduation tour-de-youth when I finished college a couple of years ago. I rallied my two best girlfriends and packed my reasonably sized backpack with the goods I thought I needed to get me through Central America in six months. Included were my favorite pair of jellies. Yes, jellies. Along the way, people gave me a lot of flak for my jellies: “Oh my god – are those jellies!?” Yes, they’re jellies. “Are they comfortable?” Yes, they’re comfortable.
They mold to my feet, they’re waterproof (take that Chaco), and they have little breathing holes to keep my feet aerated. Plus, in the life of my closet, anything without a heel constitutes a walking shoe.
-Assistant Editor Hanah…off to explain to Toshio that there is a world beyond eco-sneakers…
Buying something nice to sweat in always kinda seemed like buying fancy dishrags. Why bother trying to look cute while you're doing crunches under fluorescent lighting at the gym, anyway?
Then I bought a set of moisture-wicking thermals for skiing, plus a jacket with zip-up vents-all twice as thin as my previous gear but equally warm, and therefore far more comfortable. For my birthday this year, I got a little golf outfit, including this organic cotton polo shirt. It has perfectly placed pockets on the sides that I can fill up without having to work around when I swing. Here's to technology...and OK, looking cute when you're active.
-Jenifer Morgan...off to tee up...
As I don't live in a 30s Fred Astaire movie (alas), the sweeping floor-length former-bridesmaid number I've got doesn't tend to get much play. Nor does that cute kimono-pattern dress hanging in my closet with the I'm-cutting-off-your-circulation-now sleeves...nor my previously perfect black dress that has a giant snag on the side (inflicted by an evil cab door...aided and abetted by the three host-bar martinis consumed beforehand, no doubt).
Thank god for tailors. Just when you think you might need something new and consider chucking something you actually really like in principle, in they'll swoop, and the best ones - the ones with skill, imagination, good taste, and fair prices - can make you a whole new dress by shortening the hem, clipping off the sleeves, or creatively camouflaging imperfections.
-Jenifer Morgan...off to dress up...
Last Sunday, as I was hanging out in the best park in the world,
Dolores Park, soaking in the rays with good friends and thinking about how if I died right then and there I'd be OK with that, because my life was generally pretty awesome, I did not realize that I might owe the sunny San Francisco weekends of late to CO2 from cars.
Or at least, that pollution could explain why it rains more often during the week than on weekends. So says a new
NASA report, which attributes the greater tendency for rain to fall on weekdays to human-generated pollution.
So maybe they call it "Sunday" for a reason.
-Toshio...off to admire my tan... As we established yesterday, a guy lathering up with a brush and shaving with a straight razor (especially if he exercises his right to vote afterwards) = hot. Conversely, a guy who cannot dress himself = antithesis of hot.
It's not about wearing designer duds, mind you...in fact, trying too hard to look good can be just as much of a turn off. I'm talking about things like pleated pants (you really want to accentuate the size of your bladder?), XXL shirts on not XXL bodies (we can still see the belly), sweatpants (unless you're doing something that actually makes you sweat), all-denim ensembles (why??), shiny "nightclub" shirts, mesh anything, muscle tees, long socks with shorts, any form of socks with sandals.
Seriously, no matter how nice or smart or innately handsome you might be, if you show up in a conventionally grown cotton Bon Jovi half-shirt for dinner out (or even in), ain't no one gonna swoon.
Stylish, organic clothes that actually fit on the other hand...
-Jenifer Morgan...off to the CA polls...
I went through a phase last year where I wore a plain white T-shirt to the office four days a week (the fifth day I was always on my couch - at Ideal Bite, we get to work from home once a week). While I was teased about it by my more style-conscious coworkers, it was totally OK according to the company dress code, which is, obviously, pretty minimal. Yep, this is the
life.
The dangerous thing about living this lifestyle? A slightly less conscientious man than I could easily fall into that most unfortunate of routines: showing up to the office in a
high-waisted drapery every day. The intraoffice smack talking would get nasty.
-Toshio...off to count my blessings...
When I was in Venice last year, I escaped the millions of littering, rude fellow tourists and the resulting apathetic, run-down Italians by spending a lot of time in incredibly overpriced and relatively deserted traditional Venetian costume shops. (Sounds fun so far, huh?) But really, despite it all, I had a great time trying on fanciful dresses and masks and capes. And hats-one of which I ended up buying (see photo).
I had the hat shipped home, due to its delicacy and awkward size (and did a bit of carbon offsetting on my return). I love it and will keep it long past the time when people start wondering if I'll ever arrive at a costume party as something other than an eighteenth-century militia dandy.
And although the supercute hats in our tip today don't really require one, I thought I'd mention a few eco-hat box options out there, in case you have a giant, feathered number that needs storing like mine does. First check out
eBay for truly unique vintage options. If you want cheap and basic, the Container Store has a
set of three made from recycled fiberboard. And if you want to have a hand in designing your own, Sarah's Hat Boxes makes cute
round fabric-covered versions from recycled chipboard and nontoxic adhesives.
-Jenifer Morgan...off to put a lid on it...A few things are so cool that they're untouchable (Elliott Smith, skin-tight jeans, free food...), but the fact is we can't guarantee that the goods recommended in today's tip will still be derision-proof by the time your hipster giftee tears off the
recycled wrapping paper later this month. Whatever happens, our picks were pretty cool on Dec 5th, 2007 - we will totally stand by
that.
-Toshio...off to ride my (non-fixed gear) bike home...The fur section-in most big department stores, there's a little more wall space separating it from the rest of the store and it's tucked in a back corner. There's no curtain, but it's always seemed to me like the porn room at a video store, the opium den at the back of the restaurant, the sorry little power-hungry man behind the Wizard of Oz...
So is the desire for real fur somehow akin to "indulgences" like sex, drugs, and rock ‘n' rule (um, power)? Huh-uh. No. Knowing what happens to animals whose fur we take, knowing that people profit from cruelty, and especially knowing that there are faux-fur options that match or exceed the 40s glamour we all occasionally covet...there's just no reason to move the curtain aside and delve into that dark place.
OK, so most of us don't-but if you haven't already clicked through to the article about misleading faux fur labels in today's
Personally Speaking section, please do. It may give you a shock (no graphic photos or anything), but it'll help make your future faux-fur purchases that much more informed.
As an aside, the team was in New York last week to celebrate the launch of our first local editions (you're reading those, right?!). We got to meet actress
Jennifer Coolidge, who impressed us by wearing a faux-fur jacket with a sign on the back, "Faux Fur Forever."
-Jenifer Morgan...off to admire an Arctic fox wearing its own fur coat...Little known fact: Jenifer M - our Senior Editor (and assigner of blog topics) here at the Bite - was my best friend when I was eight years old. She moved away while we were in our early teens (drama, tears, lots of letters), and we lost touch a bit throughout high school and college. Years later, we lived together for a couple of years in our early 20s, clumsily attempting to make a tinderbox San Francisco flat into something livable and charming and (long shot) cool. Because of this early familiarity, we have keen insights into what makes the other person tick.
Some people consider this long-term knowledge to be an asset in the workplace.
Others simply think of it as blackmail fodder.
Instead of using that fact as an excuse to throw Jeni-who-wore-unicorn-tee-shirts-her-entire-childhood under a bus for making me write a blog about yarn, of all things, I'll stick to the topic at hand. When we were about 10, we were both in 4-H, and we took a course on crocheting. I'm sure we made beautiful potholders that matched our hairbands and friendship pins.
But I think that was the last time we probably thought about yarn until we researched this tip. Who knows? Maybe now we will grab an organic skein and make a sweater or two. I'm just not really sure where she's gonna put the unicorn decal.
-Heather... off to do my 25th year of penance for ruining Jeni's Ralph Macchio poster by kissing it with lipgloss on...
Beth
Elisa
Kay
Hilary
Brett
Hannah
Jenifer
Jen
Heather
Who's got the creepiest virtual representation of them all?
-Toshio...off to get over the flu before the weekend comes...To me, lingerie is something reserved for relationships...a little treat to spice up an evening with someone who has seen you after you've been crying or working out or screaming your head off unnecessarily about nothing in particular simply because your computer crashed three times that day.
In short, lingerie has never struck me as something to wear while wandering around the house on your own (itchy lace and creeping thongs), and why bother donning any during already-hot-enough new flings, or wearing any out in the hopes of a random hot evening? (I'm lucky if my legs are shaved, let alone if my underwear matches.)
Since I am perpetually single, then, this tip - at first glance - seems not to apply to me.
But lately, I am subscribing to the "If you build it, they will come" theory of life, and thus, have decided to put on some Mon Cherie hemp knickers.
-Heather...off to clean out my underwear drawer...
The dress code around the Biter offices is casual. Like, casual-casual, not just biz-casual, so I can wear pretty much anything I want to, and most days that means a t-shirt and jeans.
My favorite tee brand is American Apparel, easily. Made sweatshop-free in the U.S.A., they're form-fitting and available in too many colors to count. Plus, they're intro'ing new organic styles all the time. Their founder is...unique, but then again, so are Heather and Jen (in non-sleazy - but just as shocking - ways).
-Toshio...off to write a tell-all book about the behind-the-scenes goings-on at a green start-up biz...
There's nothing in the world that doesn't get
somebody excited, sneakers included. I've been obsessed with some pretty weird stuff (witness my delirious love for the band
Ace of Base like eleven years after they were popular), but I wouldn't consider myself sneaker-obsessed.
I have seven pairs of sneakers in my closet, which some think is a lot for a guy. But that's not even close to an obsession when you compare it to the people in this
Washington Post article. Basically, some "sneakerheads" are willing to wait in lines in the same way
Harry Potter maniacs waited outside bookstores in droves last month. Lucky for the earth, with shoe brands as big as Nike jumping on the eco-bandwagon, soon this'll be one obsession that doesn't have to hurt the earth as much as my Ace of Base obsession hurts people's ears. What's your weird obsession?
-Toshio...off to listen to an imported, deluxe remix album of previously unreleased Ace of Base B-sides in Swedish...True story... I lived in the NW corner of Alabama for 3 months while my then-boyfriend tried to finish a book that he probably still doesn't have an outline for. It was like a study-abroad experience. It definitely felt like a movie, with crazy Southern accents and ideologies (and remember, I am from Atlanta so I promise you they were pretty damn extreme). The craziest part, though, was all these stories that the old timers had, and somehow the press wasn't powerful enough (or brave enough) to bring them to light.
The one I remember most clearly is the case of a certain big bad awful company dumping toxic sludge from a PVC plant into a river. Their scientist supposedly tested the water all the time and it was just fine. But when a local non-profit did the test, they found levels of carcinogenic chems at 3000x the allowable level. When they put a fish in the water in a walled-off area, it only took him 5 minutes to start swimming side ways. Of course the true old-timers will tell you that they saw three-eyed fish in that there river before it was fenced off for health reasons. I believe them.
Humans are so damn clever, you know? But clever to a fault. We've figured out how to make things that can't be destroyed (genius if we actually kept a shower curtain for 1,000 years in our family). HOPEFULLY we will soon shift that cleverness to the right direction, like getting off oil and returning to what is really SMART...connections between land and people.
-Jen... off to drink a beer. That was intense, dude...
A few summers ago when I was an intern in DC, I had political aspirations. All of us interns were pretty ambitious, and whether our sights were set on a Nigerian ambassadorship, a seat in the Minnesota House, or the UN Secretary-Generalship, we knew that there were certain skills we were gonna need to get there, like the ability to match Senators' names with their states, and schmoozing.
I'm OK at making small talk - don't really enjoy it (I doubt I'm unique in that respect) - but in DC the schmooze factor was above and beyond anything I'd experienced growing up on the West Coast. The Intern Coordinator of the non-profit I was working for said that in order to make it as a schmoozer - and by extension, in politics - I'd need to become an expert on one of two things: wine or golf, neither of which sounded appealing at the time.
On the wine count: I've always been more of a beer drinker and I'm no good at spontaneously coming up with adjective-heavy verbiage to describe what I'm drinking ("harmonious aromatics hinting at ripe apricots, with a subtle trace of waxy botrytis," anyone?).
On the golf count: I'm not really into golf either, though I can appreciate the fact that without it, miniature golf, golf carts, and all those good times with my dad and uncle on the driving range wouldn't exist.
Thus, my desire to usurp Kofi Annan's position at the UN has been put on hold - for now. But as sustainability becomes more and more integral to the concept of political correctness, wannabe politicians are gonna have to start stepping it up from an eco-perspective and taking the environment into consideration in everything they do.
Lucky for them, when their Intern Coordinator asks, "Wine or golf?" they've now got their choice of schmoozing topics: biodynamic wine or eco-golf. Which would you choose?
-Toshio... off to Google mini-golf courses in the Bay Area...
Growing up in the polyester 70s and the rayon 80s and the oversized cotton plaids 90s, fabrics came in 3 flavors. Occasionally, silk entered the mix, annoying in its need for drycleaning and inability to shun stains, or itchy wool that never seemed able to move with grace from the cold outdoors to heated interiors...
So I have to admit to a fascination with all these alternative fabrics cropping up these days. From soy to bamboo to lyocell to organic version of your favorite cottons... clothes shopping has never been so varied. Sure, they are eco, but beyond that - they are also beautiful, soft, textured and fabulous.
Check 'em out.
-Heather... off to put on my bamboo jammies...So many people say that, right? Well, supposedly some people just have sensitive skin, and we aren't really allergic.
Anyhow. When I was 8 my grandma knitted me yet another sweater, and my mom yet again forced me to wear it. Sans undershirt, I might add.
So all I remember is walking through the mall around Christmas and saying, "This sweater itches me" - and my mom just about ripped me a new one with one look, as of course I was being disrespectful to her mother, my grandmother. Next? I said, "But it does!!" and took it off, to reveal this big red welts. "SEE."
Anyway, now that I live in MT and am outside a lot, I am a HUGE fan of Smart Wool... Nature is the best source for keeping warm. The Smart Wool people make gear that works, and somehow doesn't itch.
Off to go out to dinner ... we're in NYC and it is a COLD 12* while it is 60* in Bozeman... that is soooooooo not right! I didn't pack my Smart Wool... only have fancy pantsy clothing that definitely is not warm!! Jen
Seriously... I DO love the skinny fit of the Del Forte jeans... but my butt. Not-so-skinny. Too much time in the office eating client-intended organic chocolates.
We did just get back from Green Festival in SF and go to meet so many of our friends and clients... usually one in the same. One of them is Summer from BTC Elements. Turns out she is the one that fits perfectly in those skinny jeans (she is gorgeous, tall and thin.) However, at the BTC Elements booth I tried on the skinny jeans for Heather (I really wanted to make them work for real) butt...Heather said they looked good on me from the front (thanks there, Heather ol' pal.)
Anyway, it is my goal to fit perfectly in them in a few months. I am going to get in mega good shape. We found a few cleansing mixes at the conference... stay tuned... if I lose 10 lbs I will definitely splurge on the $180 Del Forte skinny jeans as a reward.
Off to the airport to sit on my butt some more... jb
I still haven't found a good yoga top with a built-in shelf bra.
I have, however, found many pairs of fantastic yoga pants (most of which were listed in today's blog).
I admit to a bit of shame for being at all concerned about this topic. At the end of the day, yoga is meant to be an ego-free practice, designed to help us all to let go of our attachment to material things. So why am I devoted to having cute gear?
Well, because - as we said - when your ass is in the air for nearly 90 minutesat a go, you need all the help you can get.
-Heather... off to chant some forgiveness mantras for swearing in the blog...
For years, I didn't know how much I loved clothes. Oh, I loved earrings. No doubt about that in anyone's mind. But the clothes bug - that bit me much later.
So Greenloop has come along at a nice time for me - at the intersection of a love of sustainability and a love of fashion. And we've been chatting with Aysia since we first started as a business, so it feels good to see how far they've come in such a short period of time.
And if you check out their site, you'll see that a good many of the products and brands that we constantly recommend here on the Bite each day are all already there in one place. Some faves: John Masters, HER Design, GreenToe, Miessence, Loomstate, Trillian...
As for me, I am all about their current clearance options, and want pretty much everything except the bathing suits on this page: http://www.thegreenloop.com/Eco_Fashion_clearance_Huge_savings_on_green_fashion_s/236.htm
Feel free to use it as a gift buying guide for Heather, friends and fam...
-Heather... off to buy that Loyale dress if I think it can get here in time for Italy...
See Heather in Sunday's SF Chron story today, she cut her BITER tee good look, HS! ... ECO-CHIC / Web site pitches 'sassier shade of green' - she has received one marriage proposal thus far, and counting....
Okay, I am definitely one of the world's largest bamboo fan. So much so that I made my brother put in bamboo flooring into his new cosmetic dentist practice in ATL, and so much so that I try to wear only bamboo tees if I am wearing a tee. And the fact that bamboo has this property that is anti-bacterial so therefore non-smelly... bonus!!
There
seems to be more product options now - like this one line of higher
fashion bamboo clothing that is coming out in the fall... stay tuned on
that.
But for now, grab an inexpensive tee from Bamboosa to workout in, or wear, or both. That is what I do. Just ask the dude that I met last night at the brewery - I wore my blue Bamboosa to work and then the barn. I don't think I smelled. But if dude is reading, feel free to disagree.
Off to get my Bamboosa shirt out of the dryer.... don't ever dry them fully.... just fyi from a bamboo pro... - Jen
Why do we love baby clothes so much? Does it bring back fond memories of dressing up baby dolls? I don't know, but I have two things to confess to you Biters around this topic:
1) One day Heather and I, after a phenomenal business meeting took ourselves to champagne at Balthazar's and concocted a hilarious plan. It was based on one of your comments to us - "Hey ladies - why don't you have kids so we can comment with authority on baby-related tips." So we decided to have a sweepstakes around impregnating me so that you Biters would be happy. Is that wrong? I am starting to have "baby pangs" after all so this could work out great for everyone... especially if the winner of the contest is hot. Lol.
2) I love the Crick so much and do the whole goo goo gaa gaa with her a lot... so am afraid with a real baby I might be so obsessed that my life would change drastically... well I guess of course it would, but I mean, I might never let the baby out of my sight. How would I work? How would I ride? How would I run in the park with the Crick (oh yeah they do make those little jogging strollers but is it legal to ride a horse with your baby in a papoose?)
If you have any thoughts to share on baby clothes or any of the two confessions / questions, go for it.
Off to dress the Crick up ... kidding, I only did that once - Jen
Does anyone remember that popcorn that came in red, blue, yellow and green? The seeds were dyed and then the popcorn popped up all colorful. And what about Magic Sand? That stuff was equally weird. Where did these products go? Probably the way of the dodo bird since they were probably horrible for you. I mean, the Chia Pet is still around... that is because the Chia is good stuff.
Anyway, color grown cotton isn't that weird. Just as a rose can grow in different colors, so can cotton. But it actually doesn't come in tons of colors, just variations of tan / moss green, which darkens with washing.
Off to look for more Chia varieties for my collection - I have the Chia donkey, turtle and tree.... Jen
I have a few slightly obsessive-compulsive tendencies. One is that I MUST clean the dryer lint filter immediately upon opening the door. It is like this little prize: "Let's see what the lint bunny laid for me to day!" Okay, maybe I am confessing too much, but there is this beautiful thing about removing all the stray fuzzies from clothing in one nice little soft sheet - don't you think? Regardless, here is the point: doing this is actually a GOOD HABIT. Here's why: A clogged lint filter can increase energy use up to 30%, and may be a fire hazard.
We all have friends who have never thought of cleaning their lint filters, right? I see my friend�s filter absolutely suffocating from its own good deeds, with grey fuzzy gunk just pouring over. I ask if they ever clean it and they shrug like they have more important things to do. Well, I tell you what, Mister! When your energy bill comes in high and your clothes are still damp after a 70 minute cycle, you will think twice about the coy shrug!
Okay, I am really not the Dryer Lint Nazi. I promise if I come to your house I will check for a bottle of good wine before I check the dryer filter. (And then if all goes well with both we can check for belly button lint).
Off to set some lint bunnies (and wine vapors) free - Jen
We encounter a lot of great green products here at the Bite, so we generally try to leave our product-plugging for the Wanna Trys in the daily tips. But lately, I’ve found some products I love so much I can’t help but shout about them (I’m sort of that way when I fall for someone, too – this could explain a LOT about my strange dating life).
I digress… my favorite find of the summer, bar none? My Toe Foo flip flops from Simple Shoes. I love these things. I wear them almost every day. If you run into me in Brooklyn, I can almost guarantee you’ll see the light green, cozy-comfy, pieces of walking heaven on my feet.
Check ‘em out at http://www.simpleshoes.com/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=9129&model=Toe+Foo.
They ain’t cheap, but they’ll last...
-Heather... off to contemplate the fact that my feet have gotten bigger due to age and yoga...
When I was growing up, we dried all our laundry on clotheslines for at least 6 months of the year. It was an initial marker of summer... that moment we first "did our sheets on the line."
There is nothing on earth that smells as good as it does when you crawl in between crisply laundered, perfectly sun-dried sheets. I swear to you... nothing. It's as if you took every cut-grass, beach-relaxed, spa-sated scent in the world and wrapped it in cotton and coolness.
My first semester of college, I didn't get to go home until the Christmas holidays. I got home after a day of travel, late at night, and crawled into my bed.
My sheets had been line-dried. They had "that scent." My mom had done them at the end of the summer and stored them in the linen closet so that they would smell right when I first came came home.
It was a little sunshine and a lotta love in the middle of a snowy December, and the thought of that - the foresight and care that it took - overwhelms me sometimes still. My parents have done that for me every year since - wrapped up a little Big Sky sunshine for a cold fall or winter first evening home.
They say that scents are our most powerful sensation for memory recall. For me, line-dried sheets wrap summer and love into one perfectly green package.
-Heather... off to crawl into satin sheets in San Francisco... a whole different kind of memory...
This is just so bizarre... it is happening.. life moving at an accelerated speed. I still sometimes write 1999 on checks... (okay it happened once, but it really freaked me out, it was like my brain fritzed out and ran backwards.)
And then I start hearing myself saying things like THAT (above) and it reminds me of when I was a child and listening to adults say time passes so quickly, and I was like "blah blah blah... pa-LEASE... it can't pass fast enough... I want to be old enough to wear makeup, to drive a car, to date." I am not sure if I remember when time switched from going really slow to fast. Was there one day where it was neutral? Like an age-equinox? For me, I guess it was in my mid twenties.
You?
Oh, right, vintage clothing.. so, can 80's clothes be vintage? I think of vintage as something valuable, and the only value my "Franky Says Relax" tee shirt has to me is all the fond times I remember in it.. skating around the roller rink with leg warmers with my feathered hair wings that touched each other in the back.
Off to listen to some Depeche Mode.
- Jen
Right. One of these days I'll de-closet a few of those skeletons, and when I do, Biters will be the first to know. But for now I'm fine just sticking to those other things in my closet, like t-shirts. Everybody has a favorite tee...a shirt that beyond good reason has stood the test of time and a washing machine. You all know my fav is my turquoise Bamboosa. A little boring, but still nothing can beat it. What's your in closet? Extra points for the Biter who has the most witty or racy tee out there.
In other news, don't despair about the broken Bamboosa link. Apparently their website was hijacked(!), but will be back up and running later today. Ah, silky bamboo.... Jen...off to go shopping (just kidding, not with Biter bills to pay and eco-battles to be won!)
Fashion is one of those tempting things, like fattening food, smoking, drinking, unprotected sex. . . very self-indulgent and bad for you. However fashion is also very bad for the planet. Think about it.. every time Vogue says that square-toed shoes are out and pointy are in, we all want to get a few new pair of shoes to keep up with the times. And some people probably have the financial ability to transform their wardrobe every season.
Heather and I were just interviewed for an upcoming article in the Sierra Club’s e-zine, and the writer asked what I missed most about NYC, to which I answered public transportation - I loved to just zone out and watch people and read a book while being productive (I was being rapidly transported to work with little eco-impact). And what did I not miss at all? The fashion temptations. Just by walking home from work I would pass fabulous stores and boutiques and convince myself that I needed these new _________ --fill in the blanks, and yes it was usually shoes because unlike jeans because they usually fit!.
And have you been to a Goodwill lately? The majority of the ones I have tried to donate my stuff to are only taking donations during very small windows of time, and if you leave stuff there you can be fined $500! The point is that they are bubbling over with STUFF, and last year’s fashions.
Anyway, I would say try to buy classic cuts, classic styles, and next time you pass by that store window without succumbing to temptation, pat yourself on the back – your pocketbook and planet thanks you.
Off to get a pair of pants stitched. (They are classics but I don’t sew… and someone recently pointed out the hole in the crotch - not too fashionable in anyone’s opinion.)
- Jen
OK, so let's be honest here. I can't write a blog on being a hipster. As anyone can tell you, I don't fit the mold. Oh sure, I have my moments. And I'm not fashion-challenged (anymore, in any case). But ask me to wander Williamsburg or the Lower East Side, and I become painfully aware of how tragically unhip I truly am. (And neither of those places is even the center of hipster-dom anymore now, so again, I flail).
Thus, instead of pretending I can speak authoritatively on the subject, I've decided to latch onto one of the bullets in the Wanna Try section: Vintage t-shirts.
Vintage tees are amazing. My sister-in-law got a great Rolling Stones one to wear to their recent concert. I'm forever on a hunt for a � sleeve baseball tee version from the 70s. eBay makes everything so, so easy...
ALMOST as great as vintage tees are non-vintage, all-organic, vegetable-based ink tees by the great guys at TS Designs. The Bite loves their stuff. And strangely enough, TS Designs just HAPPENED to make the Ideal Bite "Biter" tees... ahem.
Here's a pic of our fabulous designer and her fabulous husband (and Biter Blogger) in one of said tees (click it for a better view).
And we are selling them, just in time for the holidays. Should you want to buy one ($25 including shipping in the US), feel free to drop us an email at tees@idealbite.com and we'll get one out to you! (Note: the women's shirts are made for little tiny people who must live in dollhouses. If you normally wear a medium baby-doll style woman's tee, get a large. Men's, on the other hand, run about a size too big. Go figure).
-Heather... off to sleep in my Biter tee...
Since I will be at GreenFest SF this weekend, I am missing what is perhaps my absolute most favorite day in the City: The NY Marathon.
I don't know of any other day that restores my faith in people in quite the same way. First off, you marathon runners are complete nutjobs, but I have an unbelievable amount of respect for you. I mean, there is no reason whatsoever to run that far, but the sheer grit and determination it takes to do it inspires no end of continuous awe in me.
And then there are the spectators/witnesses. Supporting and yelling and hollering out names of people they don't know... Clapping continuously. Screaming when screaming is needed. Parking themselves on the slight hills to yell at just the right time. Carrying signs and water and flags.
In the end, a marathon is a luxury - it's a play day for people who have a LOT - a lot of food, a lot of fitness, a lot of access to great running shoes and a lot of time to train or to cheer on the trainers.
But it beats the first snowfall in this town, hands down (and the first snowfall is breathtaking), and when I see those runners coming down the Park toward the finish line, it always makes me cry.
-Heather... off to GreenFest, where I hope someone will run and let me cheer them on...
If I get to have multiple lives, in my next one, I'm coming back with a wicked sense of fashion and the wherewithal to act on it. As NY heads into Fashion Week, I suddenly want runway clothes.
Until recently, I've been fortunate NOT to have the shoe fetish that seems to attack everyone I know.
But all that changed this season. For whatever reason, this season's shoes are killing me. Perfect heel sizes and fantastic ribbons... even the casual sneakers are calling my name.
I have just one pair of outrageously expensive, beyond-fab shoes. A pair of Guccis that scream out "Jessica Rabbit" and that I only wear about once or twice a year when I want to knock the socks off a person or occasion.
But in my next life, I'm going to own the Stella McCartney ribbon shoes from her fall 2005 line. Her site is flash, so I can't put a pic of them here, but trust me - in those shoes, I could leap tall buildings in a single bound (and know that she made the shoes sustainably at the same time).
-Heather... off to dream of Jimmy Choo Crackled Gold and Marc Jacobs Turquoise T-Straps... I know, I know... they're leather...
So if you are a guy, you might not want to read this posting (unless you are titillated by women in sports bras, in which case, read away, freaky boy).
Anyway - what is up with yoga tops? Seriously... how is it that no one out there has figured out that not all female yoga practitioners (or teachers for that matter) have tiny little breasts? I can't tell you the mad envy I have when looking around the studio at all the little spaghetti-strap-clad women in their cute tops. I'm supposed to be sitting there, concentrating on my practice, thinking deep and blissful thoughts, and instead, I'm checking out Briar's latest little yoga top, thinking how much I hate the fact that she can wear that while I am stuck with a running bra and wife-beater tank top from Old Navy.
Now, don't get me wrong, my Old Navy tank and sports bra get the job done (the job being keeping me strapped in while I hold a handstand). And for years, I've had a serious belief that one should never buy workout gear - you should just recycle old summer clothes, because it's not a fashion show, people.
But then I did yoga teacher training. And let me tell you - having the right clothes (when doing yoga 20 hours a week) makes a huge difference as you try to move through poses with aplomb or adjust practitioners without tripping.
And let's fact facts. I want to look cute. Even when sweating like a pig in trikonasana.
So here's the deal - I'm on the hunt for the best yoga top for women who look more like Jane Russell than Gwyneth Paltrow. Please send your suggestions to submitatip@idealbite.com. If we use your tip, I promise to publish a picture of you in your yoga top and to take a picture of myself upside down in a handstand-scorpion in it as well.
In the meantime, for those of you making do with what is out there, here are a few sites that carry my favorite yoga gear (and/or really good sports bras):
http://www.titlenine.com/
http://www.prana.com/
http://www.bepresent.net/bpstore/
http://www.lucy.com/
Check out today's tip for great and green organic cotton gear.
-Heather - off to strap myself up and teach a class...
