Tuesday, July 31, 2007

VANS X MARC JACOBS

I've recently recieved the shipment of the Vans x Marc Jacob slip-ons a couple of days ago at our store and I'm not too impressed with this pack because they didn't include any sk8 hi's, chukka's, or era models! (The Rubber-toe eras are made but sold exclusively to the Marc Jacobs stores) They're all slip-ons and I'm not a big fan of slip-ons at all BUTTTTTTT... there's an exception. All the shoes comes in screen printed canvas and I think these two designs are actually pretty cute. Cute enough to make me purchase my first pair of slip-ons.

The Wingtip.


Oldschool.



They're the perfect summer time shoes. Dress it up dress it down however and still be on the classy tip.

For the southern Californians, if you're in OC you can find them at Carve/Blends at The Lab in Costa Mesa or Beatnic in Fullerton. If you're in LA then just head straight to the Marc Jacobs store off Melrose.

To check out the rest of the models and for locations check out the Marc Jacobs website.

xoxo
Dianne

Monday, July 30, 2007

DIOR JOAILLERIE


First of all... Here's the thing... Usually I'm not a big Christian Dior fan (except for their perfumes) because I think John Galliano is a crazy bitch! I mean... his ready-to-wear is never ready to wear and should not be worn anywhere if you don't want to look like you just came out of a Circus. But recently I've been looking into their Fine Jewelry line a lot and I'm amazed. There are 10 collections all together in different styles for your various taste! My favorite collections are the Excentriques and Diorette. The two collections carry fine jewelry that's extremely detailed. Definitely takes a lot of skills and craftsmanship. The genius behind this line is Victoire de Castellane.




Her designs are absolutely enchanting and Dianne loves dreamy enchanting things so check it!



Diorette. So damn adorable.

Milly-la-Foret collection. Gwendoline ring. Gold, Onyx and Diamond.



Seeing these fat rocks you just gotta constantly remind yourself to grind harder. These babies cost a ton. I, myself probably wouldn't drop the kind of cash that people do for their jewelry but these pictures I pulled out are for inspirational purposes. At the moment my contant self-reminder is WANT VERSUS NEEDS. It's true...

I'll leave it as that. Goodnights ladies. It's now almost 4 in the morning Los Angeles time. I'm signing out.

Dianne

Thursday, July 26, 2007

ANYONE GOING TO SEE PRINCE?


Finally got my Prince tickets through today. On the ticket pre-release day, I ran around the office begging for someone to let me use their O2 account to secure tickets. At £31.21 they weren't the cheapest in the world and i'm craaaazy brass right now but I put that to one side and purchased them, looking forward to being one of the lucky peeps to see the legend live and direct at the O2.

But now the tickets are here I'm thinking this: do I actually want to go anymore?

I bought the tickets about 5 minutes after the booking system opened, on pre-release day. But the only tickets available were in the upper tier, like a million miles away from the stage so I'll be squinting like a motherfucker to see a man who was pretty small to begin with. When I bought the tickets, there were only a few dates available. Then more became available. Then more after that. Pretty soon, it was like everyone and their mother had an 'exclusive' ticket. Then Prince started hooking up with racist newspapers to give away his new album, convincing everyone that this six figure business deal was an act of generosity. Call me cynical, but the whole thing is starting to feel like a marketing scam.

Maybe I'm just being silly. The fact is that I do love Prince and would like to hear him live. But going to this concert doesn't feel organic and right to me...it feels like I'm going to be taking part is some large-scale PR wankfest. I'm not really in it. So I think I might be selling my tickets.

Oh, I don't know. I'm feeling sorry for myself today...the painters being in and that.

Josephine x

WEEEELLLL!

It's HEEEEERE. And we've all hyped it up already (for good reason). So ladies, if you are indeed NYC based... maybe you'd like to come out to DQM and join in the excitement. This is, after all, the FIRST TIER 0 Sneaker for all a' us flyy, funky fresh, totally wikked, boogie girls worldwide!


(click image to enlarge)

xo$

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

PARTY ARTY ARTY

Hey Ho Kids, The last good part-ay that i went to was the Gullyver party at Plastic People a few weeks back, oh and Sinden and Radi's Bday do...but here's more party goodness with Chaingang and Friends on Friday in SOHOOOOOOO!!!! Nicky from Bond, Acyde etc will be DJing, come on down!!!

MTTM X KAWS

Kaws is like, my favourite man at the moment - When you have to deal with some many fucking bullshitters on a daily basis you are stunned by how sweet, patient and amazing he is! (Check out my shoot in i-D next month for some Original Fake goodness!) He's hooked up with Married To The Mob again this summer to produce this delicious "Rattle" bikini, a follow up to last summers Hands bikini...As usual, limiited numbers..only 200 these will be available at $175 a piece from Friday July 27th at Original Fake (Tokyo), Alife (NYC), Colette (Paris) and on the MOB Website


Monday, July 23, 2007

IT'S BEEN SAID ONCE BUT IMA SAY IT AGAIN!

...CLAW MONEY BLAZERS!....

will be released this Saturday 28th, and ladies, it's a time to celebrate because these babies are our own, first ever TIER 0 release, yes yes, just for us WOMEN!!!

-For those who don't know, a Tier 0 account is basically an account which has been given by Nike to only around 12 stores worldwide. Whichever product, usually collabs, or sneaks made in smaller numbers, will only be available at these selected Tier 0 stores. To try and make it even more exclooooooosive, these stores have been forbidden to put any of this product online to mail out.

Now, Im not gonna lie to you, when I first saw pics of these blazers, I just saw another blazer with an all over print. But last week I got to check them out for real and lace them how i wanna (some pics have 'em laced sooo tight, they look like a clown foot!). I have to say I am very pleased with our first release :)

The choice of materials really shows that they have been given a lot of thought, love and consideration. And with the choice of 3 very different colourways, at least 1 of these is bound to grab ladies from different walks of life. Although, they seem to only come with 1 set of laces :(





The coloured panels are dished out in canvas with a leather (or canvas just for the black) tongue and toe, with a dash of patent on the swoosh and heal panel.
My favourite part however, has to be the 3M print, that's right, it's reflective...





It's nice to see some real love for the ladies. Although the Puma Bonnies weren't bad, our lil' feet hardly ever get to sport some attire which doesn't consist of pink, doesn't have flowers, butterflies or things of that nature, or a model which hasn't been altered to suit our stereotypical tastes. We also like to wear trainers/sneakers that we won't see on every rudegyal's foot.
Apologies if it seems like I'm ranting, but this is something I feel passionate about as I'm surrounded by it all of my working days. I've loved kicks for just over 10 years now and remember a time when brands made women's kicks in colourways that even men would die for (I think that's gonna be a whole new post).
The point is, especially for us in Europe who hardly get a look in the big kids section either and can't stretch our feet to men's sizes, that these big brands need to do their research PROPPA!!! I have a long list of ladies who come into Foot- Patrol looking for some decent "non-girly" trainers (we don't all just shop in Topshop), here's hoping these are the first of many.

Thanks to Nike for choosing a real, strong lady to collaborate with, more info on Claw Money further down this blog by Dianne.
Get 'em while they're hot (and still VERY reasonably priced) girls, at a Tier 0 store near you.

much love
peace.x

DAFT PUNKIN!

So lastnight... Daft Punk finally came to LA! I've been waiting for this show forever. Ever since Coachella everyone's been talking about their legendary performance and I never got to see it with my own eyes until lastnight and I gotta admit it... I was COMPLETELY blown away. It was one of the best nights of my life and the best show I've ever seen hands down. Even if you didn't like Daft Punk, you would still be able to enjoy the show. Everyone was just lettin' loose and just danced all night. It was so amazing that I didn't even care about the sweaty dude on ecstacy bumping in to me on his half naked body. Fuck it! Everyone was there for the same purpose and it was worth every single minute of it. I was gonna cry about the ticket price but the experience was priceless. No words to it. Nothing compares. If you've never been to a Daft Punk show... PLEASE... go to one and you'll have a story to tell your children and grandchildren that mama or grandma LIVED!























Ratatat, Sebastian & Kavinsky opened the show with some mellow tune to warm up.

This is the beginning of the show which drove everyone insane because the anticipation was so intense. They did a a good job because once they opened with "Robot Rock" the crowd exploded.



The light show was craaaaaaaaaazy. When "Around the World" came on, the rim above the pit lit up and everyone pretty much went out of their mind. This is towards the end of this clip.


This is their encore performance. The Robot suit lights up! You know usually at a Wu Tang show people throw up the W sign and at a Jay-z concert they throw the ROC. Well here we threw up the Pyramid! Kinda like the ROC but a complete triangle.



I wish the show lasted a little longer but its all good. So worth it.
If anyone that's in Berkely, Chicago, Denver, Seattle, and New York please don't miss the show! If you're not in those cities, fly there, drive there, do whatever you gotta do to get your ass there and I promise it'll be worth every single dollar or Euro. If you need help on finding tickets holler at me!

Last but not least... Anybody that attended the Dafter Party got to meet Daft Punk face to face including Sebastian and Kavinsky! Thank you thank you thank you Laxxy (www.girltalkgear.blogspot.com) for taking care of us like always! Love you mamas.

This show changed me in some ways. (As corny as it sounds) I always listen to people talk about the old rave days and how it was like to be free and dance til' dawn but I've never really been there myself and I felt like I didn't know what it was like to really LIVE. The show wasn't a rave but well... last night I lived. We all lived. Susan and Brittany you guys are the bomb and I'm glad I spent the night with you girls.

If you were at the show... show some love on the blog so they know what its like! I'm out ladies...

DAFT PUNK FOREVER AND ALWAYS.

Ciao,
Dianne

Thursday, July 19, 2007

WHO REMEMBERS...



Jaq here! Though I'm currently NYC based I just returned home from a quick trip to Shangri-L.A (Cali raised, yes yes y'all) where I found this unopened walk down memory lane in my garage. I remember begging and BEGGING my parents for EZ 2 Do, but when I finally got it I completely lost all interest! Kids, kids, kids......

xo$

p.s. Check the hilarious-beyond-press on nails on the right! I found those in my old room! What are they, slip on tips??!

p.s.s. WAH! girls are linking all over the place. Big Ups to the Fly Girl Mahelia from Amsterdam who's kicking it in NYC with her 5411 crew and is organizing a showcase (August 4th, save the date!) that yours truly will be performing at... flyer coming oh so soon! NOLA D's still on this bitch!

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

FRESH TO DEF IN MOSCHINO...COACH BAG LOOKING HALF BLACK AND PHILIPINO


I hate coach: it's not for me. I know it's raahhh popular over the pond but I find it gives a bit too 'imitation is the sincerest for of flattery' nod towards mid to late 90's Gucci accessories (not the best times for the brand imho) because EVERY item seems to have that dodgy monogram print and G's really do look a lot like C's. But Moschino, MOSCHINO: well the 90's were its heyday (I'll never get over those newspaper prints) fast-forward to 2K7 and they've released this hot purr of sunglasses. THEY'VE GOT A HEART CUT-OUT ON THE BRIDGE. I love hearts. They're the best: easy to draw, nice on a print and sentimental or dead hard and sort of tough when you strike a nice arrow through it.

A more than decent alternative for these hard times now WayFarer backlash has hit. Imma still hold out for the Oakley Frogskins re-release though (I slept on the Supreme ones, sorry).

Mmm-mmm iridium lenses. 2cool4school.

Monday, July 16, 2007

I HEART JERU

Some folk have told me they think I was born into the wrong decade. Sometimes I have to agree - God knows I was too young to appreciate the 80s for the rockin decade that it was. I think I love retro old skool music a bit too much...and I'm really talking old skool! When it comes to Hip Hop, old skool is the best skool for me these days, no doubt.

I bloody love good 'ol NYC Hip Hop (c.1990-1996)! Brooklyn emcee Jeru The Damaja, for me, fully reps that fresh, gully, niceness that was Hip Hop for that time (one of the most noteable eras i think!), so it was all good news to hear that he would be blessing The Jazz Cafe with a gig last night. If you don't yet know his stuff too well I'd highly recommend looking up his material asap, coz he really is da shit!!!










The late Sunday night gig turned out to be really fucking excellent. There was a seriously wicked selection of tunes during the setting up, and the quick warm-up set from Jeru's DJ was even better. Jeru absolutely tore the mic apart for the whole set, which I think ended up nearing 2 hours - the dude definetly still has it! He performed loads of classics, did some great freestyling, and performed bangin new joints (I'm not just saying it, the new joints really are heavy and I'll be coppin them fo' sho'!). Between the jams he even kept the crowd entertained with joke telling, cussin out some of the irritating crowd members Def Comedy Jam style, and talking about his love for practising kung-fu. He even jumped on the decks for a lil' bit at the end of the show. Yep, t'was a great night indeed...I left Camden that night feeling very pleased with myself as I also copped Jeru's autograph in my tatty organiser. I just feel like a loser for not bringing my The Sun Rises In The East vinyl to get that signed instead :-(
Jeru The Damaja's new album is out in October

Sunday, July 15, 2007

IS IT MY GO, IS IT YOUR GO?


The following ish might be old hat but i thought i'd share nonetheless.

It took me a while to like Beth Ditto. My logic is that anyone that hyped doesn't need my interest so I won't give it to them. Plus I'm not usually that convinced by anyone NME champions: afterall they do take payment for promotion; we all need to live. Then i decided to forget all the cotching w/Kate Moss and wearing spandex etc, she can do what she likes- she's not my sister. I thought about her as an artist (and saw her being very humourous and nice on The Friday Night Prroject) and BLAMMO: i liked her. The Gossip make nice catchy songs that might mean something, they look like they're having a decent time- none of that moaning about the downsides of celebrity unlike some AND most importantly, she has a really nice voice as showcased in this video where she sings a cover of one of my favourite female RnB artists: AALIYAH (RIP).

Nowadays RnB seems to be some kind of dirty word, synonymous w/premiership footballers, particularly that Rio Ferdinand, 'yoof' making up noise w/it on the back of the bus on their tinny mobiles (God help us: you gorra love those 'sound clashes') and orange girls up inna de club perpetuating that 'sexy' dancing hair tossing, funny overly lipglossed pouting, hair extensions provided by russian orphans(human hair prices have gone up- found out in the BSS yesterday) drinking alcopops and probably wearing dressses that were made to be tops teamed w/white stilettos and their G-Star clad boyfriends.

ANYWAY. I don't care. Aaliyah was a don and her songs translate just as well in 2007 when a size-18 white girl from the deep-south who managed to get herself in VOGUE with a badman voice sings 'Are You That Somebody' in a hot and delicious fashion (allow some of the more gratuitous screaming) as they did in 1997. So that makes Beth Ditto a don as well. I think when/if she performs it again she should adopt the A-Typical Aaliyah circa 1995-98 look; as showcased earlier this year in WAH Magazine. Boxers hitched high under baggy trousers/jeans, a crop top and an oversized Tommy Jeans waterproof. Don't forget the stunners for one to peep over in what is to be an alluring fashion. And straight ironed jet black hair is a must. Aaliyah abs optional.The 6th anniversary of her death is coming up on August 25. If I'm working at the shop (Fred Perry's an Aaliyah-free zone more's the pity), I'd quite like to play her greatest hits, but i feel it will require me begging John, my manager w/the beggings of a beggar. Afterall, Aaliyah wore trainers too.

In Conclusion:
Things that are popular can be good as well, yeh? Trailblazers- the both of them.

Cherriout:

Beth Ditto







Aaliyah










I still like Aaliyah's the best though.