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Today Bobby and I went to South Street, which is Philly's much more ghetto equivalent of the Village or Georgetown. It is the home of quirky tourists, plenty o' posers, body piercing and tattoo enthusiasts, and 13-year-old schoolchildren shopping without parents' consent. It also makes for some cool shopping, with its plethora of drag stores, costume jewelry, funky art, head shops, and vintage boutiques.
I wore a pretty similar outfit today; It's been my virtual uniform for the past week or so. I'm standing outside of a vintage consignment shop called Retrospect, where I found the most incredible 70's brown bomber jacker with paisley lining. I'll post it soon.
Bebe leather jacket, Rick Owens cardigan, DIY shredded Windhand shirt, shredded black denim shorts by No Future, leggings (?), Ann Demeulemeester boots, Balenciaga sunglasses, Fendi scarf as headband, Margiela bag, Pamela Love & Chanel jewelry.
Tattooed Mom's, or more affectionately known as "T-Mom's," is the local watering hole for Philly's steeziest.
Bobby wears: Alpha flight jacket, Pentagram t-shirt, Tripp NYC jeans, and his own high leather zipper boots.
Dudes Boutique (621 South St, 215-928-0661) is a leather goods store where, true to its moniker, I always find something leather and good. I got this amazing blue tooled leather briefcase by a company called WaBags that I absolutely love; I use it as my laptop bag on tour. They carry very high quality leather for reasonable prices, and guarantee their products for a year and will fix them free of charge if anything goes wrong. The owner's name is Dave and, also true to the store's moniker, he is the nicest dude.
These flowered Docs would look great with a 70s print dress and a courderoy blazer.
Obviously, I bought the patent green Docs. They're electric green in person; my camera sort of failed to capture their true awesomeness.
Amazing studded leather jacket that was custom designed by the owner. I wish I had gotten a close-up of the zippers; the teeth were all alternating colors. So cool.
I used to go to this shop SoHo (521 South Street, (215) 440-9922) when I was like 13 to get my ears pierced. I'd always come out with one extra hole in my ear, and an awesome t-shirt or piece of gaudy costume jewelry. SoHo it is not, but the cool owners are aware of the tongue-in-cheek nature of this store. They carry a wide selection of trendy accessories, cheeky shirts, and I believe will still pierce your ears for 8 bones, LOL. I always drop in here when I'm on South Street and usually come out with a satisfyingly kitschy goodie. Tonight it was a big oversized yellow Wu-Tang t-shirt.
Belt overload! Love the neon colors; it reminded me of FRUiTS. I was tempted to buy the gold-studded white leather 3-row one for myself.
Lots o' trendy shirts. Note the cool oversized print AC/DC one.
Knitted hats and canvas bags.
An overdose of a case full of studs and spikes. I'd still rather have the Givenchy spiked headband, but you can fashion a much cheaper one with this shit!
WWJD? Tell you to buy like 5 of these fashion rosaries and look rly fly.
Crash Bang Boom (528 South 4th Street, (215) 928-1123), formerly Zipperhead, was THE store for punk rock essentials when I was trying to out-stud and out-spike everyone in the Western hemisphere. Years ago, before they became popular, Zipperhead was the only place I could get pegged jeans. Years later, I still love visiting this shop. The photos basically say it all.
Printed pumps & mary janes
The gothic lolita kicks on the top shelf can look pretty cool these days if paired with an ultra-feminine dress for juxtaposition.
Cosmetics & sparkly eyeball ornaments.
Your new girlfriends.
Tons of punk shirts ... DIY inspiration for me.
I want that Murder Junkies shirt with the John Wayne Gacy clown print!!
Lots of gaudy creepers ... love it.
I have a business meeting on Wednesday to talk about my future merchandizing endeavor ... very excited!
Also, Pentagram is touring again in mid-March and we'll be hitting up the West Coat. You can see the tour dates by clicking on the Pentagram icon in the Affiliates section on the right. See you in LA-LA land!
xo
This Margiela bag I just got from eBay has a really cool 90s grunge feel to me. Since we'll be leaving for tour again in 3 weeks, I need a smaller bag like this for cosmetics, toiletries, hair appliances, etc.
I also got my PHI boots today and they're pretty spectacular. I wore the black open-toed/open-heeled pair out to lunch today. We ate at Fuel, a great place for wraps/smoothies on Passyunk Ave. This joint has a very modern, laid-back atmosphere (so my husband doesn't have to whine about wearing a jacket or tie), and the tasty food isn't overpriced. Afterwards we headed to my favorite vintage shop, Sweet Jane. One of the owners there makes really great vintage-inspired clothes (she made the maroon courderoy overalls I wore in a post awhile back). I picked up another pair of similar overalls in blue, a printed 70s collared dress, and some feathered earrings. Love that shop.
I'll have an outfit post soon, I have a lot of new pieces to share. Have a great evening. xox
I've been having good luck on eBay lately.
Incredible PHI lace-up ankle boots ... I think I have enough black leather ankle boots at this point. I believe I saw these in Vogue not too long ago and they really caught my eye, so I was stoked to see them on eBay for a more than reasonable price. Something about this height on a boot makes a woman's legs look really good, even if you have short gams like myself. I really couldn't resist the cut-out back and signature PHI heel. Shoes with this type of heel (height, shape, and width) tend to be comfortable. Even though I was determined to buy ONLY flats until I have the baby, flats just don't give you the same IRULETHEWORLDFUCKYOU sensation that heels offer. If Jamie Lynn Spears can wear platform heels while pregnant, then I sure as hell can.
I also couldn't resist these gorgeous brown leather thigh-high platform PHI boots:
I don't have any thigh-high or extra tall boots, so these will be a very nice addition. I like the shiny black heel in contrast to the brown leather.
I'm glad I held off on these other PHI boots I was eyeing:
Also really cool, in all their mesh buckled chrome-heeled glory, but don't really have the "I NEED IT" quality that the other pair had. These are still listed on eBay, for those who like them as much as I do. You don't see a whole lot of good PHI on eBay, but ever since their sale there has been more good stuff.
Hope everyone had a beautiful Valentine's day. My husband and I did what we both like to do most: languish around and watch movies. Except we ate an entire box of chocolates to give a nod to the occasion.
The Louboutin flats were pinchy, so I exchanged them for these newly-released-to-the-public Ann Demeulemeester covered straps wedge sandals. I've been eyeing these for months now and am sooo excited for their arrival. I rationalized the price by telling myself I can wear them in the winter. They're very similar to my Chloe Sevigny strappy wedges from Opening Ceremony, except the straps on these are covered underneath, and the buckles are more understated. The wedge is also shaped differently; I like how they're squared off in the back. And obviously, Ann D. can do no wrong. I've never bought anything by Ann that I've regretted. I can say the same thing about Givenchy and Rick Owens, but not many others.
I feel like I'm pretty much ready for spring ... even though all I've done lately is buy shoes.
I really needed a new pair of good flats since I'm 4 months into pregnancy and will be getting bigger and not be able to deal with heels this summer. I came across these Louboutins on Saks and fell in love:
So my husband treated me to them for Valentine's day. I fall comfortably into the "reformed punk rocker" category so I will never get over studs. The stud trend was just a convenient happenstance for me because I've been studding my clothes for 10 years. True story: once my ex-boyfriend Josh (still a dear friend) sliced his knuckle off while studding my leather jacket with a steak knife. It had an X-Ray Spex backpatch and a hand-painted Misfits logo. We had to take him to the E.R. for stitches, so I don't think that project ever got finished. But we did stay together for about 6 years after that, so I guess he felt it was worth it. He is also responsible for the fully studded vest I wore in a post about a month ago (NOTE: that vest is not leather. It was originally blue denim and we painted it with leather-look acrylic paint). Josh was one of the coolest kids in our high school. He had 12" bright red liberty spikes and flawlessly studded clothes.
My husband is a hippie so he developed his style way before the punk movement came along (and obviously, he hated disco). He's still very much into bellbottoms, embroidery, moccasins, and fringe.
In the front, wearing a printed t-shirt and a gold & emerald choker (1970). He hasn't reformed in any way -- he's still completely the same. That's probably one of the things I like most about him. Even when it meant being completely poor or ostracized into obscurity, Bobby always stuck by what he truly believed in. He never "sold out" or changed the things he liked to make his own life easier or to gain friends. The recent "vintage rock revival" has been a blessing for us, because it's almost impossible to make a career out of being a musician. My husband has, in the past, washed cars and mopped floors during the week and played on the weekends. It was always worth it to him.
I just scored these beauties on eBay:
High red leather Chloe "Doc" boots from several seasons ago ... so excited! Doubtful, but I hope they come before we leave. I've wanted these boots for so long and they were JUST listed in my size. Such a great shoe. Anyone who owns this boot, are they comfortable?
My husband hates lace-up boots, but he still has these incredible red platforms he wore in a photoshoot with Death Row in the 1980s:
Photo credit: Death Row Archives
Have a great day!
One of my favorite stores in Philadelphia is Joan Shepp. I actually much prefer this store to Barneys. It's a 2-story gem on 16th & Walnut and they have the best selection of Dries Van Noten, Comme Des Garcons, Y-3, Martin Margeila, Ann Demeulemeester, Givenchy, etc. The associates there are very sweet, very fashionable, and so helpful and accommodating. I was in there today since I was in Center City anyway. An awesome woman named Elaine helped me. I had been eyeing this huge Givenchy bag and a very pretty Ann Demeulemeester duster that would look nice once I'm further along in pregnancy. However, once Elaine showed me this Comme Des Garcons coat:
... I quickly forgot about the Givenchy bag. And at such a fabulous markdown, I had to have it. This is such an incredible coat. It has dramatic asymmetrical draping and is constructed out of the most durable Army-Navy material. Elaine also showed me how the outer layer can be buttoned in the back and it turns into a really incredible lightweight long vest for spring. I love this coat and it's definitely coming with me on tour. I'll try to take photos with it on before we leave ... it looks incredible.
Since I also needed a good, durable bag that would fit my Macbook for tour, I also picked up this huge black leather tote by Jas M.B. With it I also bought a smaller clutch with a removable strap. The little bag can be used as a clutch or worn as a belt so you don't have to fuss with it. Great for traveling; I'll post photos soon.
Any of you Philly natives or anyone visiting Philly needs to stop by Joan Shepp, because you CANNOT walk out of there empty-handed! If you won't be in Philly anytime soon, they also have a great web shop. They have a pretty incredible Margeila selection also, and there's a pair of net booties I'm eyeing for when we come home from the tour. Do Margeila shoes run small on anyone else? I size up a full size when buying Margeila footwear.
Have a great evening!
Bobby got me this awesome Christopher Kane dress as an early xmas present:
Love it! These dresses and shirts are even better than the animal print ones from a couple seasons ago.
I took a long shot and emailed the Ann Demeulemeester headquarters in Antwerp to see if they had any of the triple-lace ankle boots left from f/w 2008. I didn't expect a reply, since these are STILL so coveted and long sold out. To my extremely pleasant surprise, a very sweet woman emailed me back saying they had ONE pair left in the prune color in exactly my size! Not only that, but this wonderful angel of a woman offered them to me for FIFTY PERCENT OFF! Of course, I immediately bought them. So, now I have these beauties coming in the mail:
Oh, how I have searched. I am so excited! THANK YOU to the amazing people at Ann Demeulemeester for digging these up for me!
I leave you with another gem from Jeffrey Lee, a beautiful black&white photo of my husband's jewelry box:
