NotCouture Roundup
Click the images to see the posts! A week in review for NotCouture, here are some of the most popular…
Click the images to see the posts! A week in review for NotCouture, here are some of the most popular…
Browsing Oh Joy, i noticed Wickle and their simple, pretty line of perfumes… while i have no idea what their scents are like, the packaging is sweet, in that old fashioned girly feeling way. Fig & Mace sure sounds like a strange one though… their usual come in scents like Muskmallow, Periwinkle, and Scented Tea Leaf with various limited edition packaging - The limited edition line with Katie Brinsley features a delicate chain with porcelain objects hanging from them and Takako Copeland editions come with pure silver silhouette pendants.
Wow. Yay for emails with new products that blow my mind as i wake up. Just im-ed these images over to Shade Elaine (aka Linhchi our NotCouture/scissor loving editor) and the response is a definite “OMG I WANT IT”. Gogo of Toy-Me just gave me a sneak peek at one of the latest pieces from their upcoming collection, and knowing our thing for scissors (remember our sticker collection?)… is taunting us with this incredible silver scissor cuff bracelet, that can be worn two ways! Incredible that it actually opens, now the real question is: can it actually cut? I think we need two each, one for each wrist! More close ups below! And the full collections will be presented at Pitti Uomo next week.
Here’s the teaser: “Paris designer Thomas Jaillot together with Marco De Michelis will introduce a Silver Scissor that wraps around your wrist and mixes with paper art transformations into silver, Origami earings and a Paper Windmill charm and earing.”
Click any of the 100 tiny images to find out more! Even though NotCouture has been up for only a few months ~ i can’t believe we only launched it back in aug! As you can see, as a collective, all of us NotCouture readers sure do seem to love our coats, shoes, and bags…
So we’ve been through quite a few reusable shopping bags here on NOTCOT, and now when i find new unique ones, i just can’t seem to help myself. Latest interesting simplistic luxury variations come from Porter that was featured on HighSnobiety. Their replacement for the standard plastic bag-The Porter x Club King Shopping Bag in nylon (and it seems to have nylon lining layer as well, looks much like a baggu with flaps to secure things) and there is The Porter Grocery Tote replacing your paper bags, only this one is decked out in leather and cotton! And its as brown as your paper, but with a sky blue interior. Honestly i can’t believe this is the 14th reusable shopping bag post… thanks dan implementing tagging and forcing me to start tagging things i can actually know that now… although of the nearly 2000 notcot.com posts, i’ve only tagged everything from 2007 so far, so 2 years to go when i have free time!
Brains + Shiny + Puma Urban Mobility + instant gallery thanks to the Serpentine for $1,400? This new collaborative Reality Bag project looks great. “The Reality Bag is an exciting new product, adapted from the PUMA Urban Mobility Edition Bag, which launched last season. The Reality Bag is designed to reflect the world inside and out through a clever use of innovative materials and design detail. To develop the concept of this original accessory, the Serpentine Gallery invited artist John Armleder to create its look and feel. Armleder also created the concept of the content and invited young artists to create artworks to go inside each of the 1000 Reality Bags. This makes The Reality Bag an original, multiple artwork containing original pieces by the artist himself and by invitees including John Trembley and Philippe Decreuzat. Many other artists will contribute books, DVDs, or anthologies, as Armleder plays with the idea of the bag as a portable gallery. The result is a truly individual work of art.”
I’ve been a big fan of diesel for years now ~ and honestly as much as i liked their clothes, i’ve always LOVED their branding, packaging, graphics/interaction design! But what really blew me away was how horrendous their Fuel For Life customization ended up being. I must admit i’m relieved to see that there are *some* decent packaging/product offerings in this space that aren’t embarrassing… Before i get into this sweet new limited edition ~ i’ve updated the Fuel For Life Customization post with images of the finished product… its more expensive AND uglier than i ever imagined. I had assumed that the mediocre flash imagery would be made up for by the usual diesel packaging/product quality, but instead the result is something i would probably be accused of peddling a bad fake and slapped for if i tried to sell it on ebay or craigslist.
Anyhow, excited to see that they came out with some edgy fun limited editions this season! The limited edition black lacquered box is beautiful and the packaging/bracelet idea with refillable minis is adorable for a gift, but doesn’t it seem redundant to have a clasp when it already opens where the bottle goes? And can’t you think of many different things you could put in that? The main bottles are a bit overly bling’d out for me, but playful and giftworthy none the less.
On more affordable designer options on green friendly reusable shopping bag options… Beau Soleil has stepped in with their new Beau Bag. “A stylish grocery sack! Price is affordable to entice people to help the environment without shelling out a lot of cash.” It is $44 at ShopBop, $40 at Beau Soleil, and $25 (shipping in Jan) at El Sueño Verde. The typography was nice and clean on this one, and its great that there are snap pockets on all sides (including inside!) for all those random magazines, packs of gum, keys, etc! ~ see below for closeups.
For some reason, these new Tank Theory tee illustration graphics have really grabbed me tonight while i was browsing 80’s Purple: I’m not a violent person, Revolution! (close up below of the black/gold going across the back as well), Survivor!… and there is also the Comrade tee below, with the gun behind her back… and on exciting Tank Theory news, i just noticed the really sweet Dungeons buckle that we’ve gushed about before is back in stock (images below to remind you which one)!
I’m sure by now you’ve noticed that casting the everyday into silver and making it some wearable form like jewelry is instant subversive luxe. From plastic vampire teeth for belt buckles and cocktail swords as necklaces, to forget me knot strings around the finger and peeled bark as cuffs… so part of me isn’t at all surprised to see that someone has gone and cast zip ties in silver as rings. In fact, i can’t help but wonder why it wasn’t done sooner. Granted i’d probably have to turn down any man who dared propose we marry with a pair of these, the concept certainly has a lot of potential. Personally, i feel like zip ties are the new duct tape… from tying back cables, to tying plants to poles, looping through dishrags to have a loop to hang them from, tying bad guys up instead of handcuffs, locking your suitcases… (i’m sure you have more examples to insert here)… these rings are from Metalnat by Natalie Gomensoro at Supermarket.
Oakley’s Minute Machine Watches have left us intrigued as to the thickness and how fun they really are in person ~ while having grown up in a house of Rolexes and Tag Heuers , i went through phases from swatches to giant crazy dive watches and for the last few years i have settled on a pretty simple steel tag for all occasions (waterproof and scratchproof faces are a necessity!). There has always been something so appealing about finding unique quality time pieces that have that rugged yet designy/unexpected edge to them… and the titanium bracelet on this Oakley is pretty sweet!
They sent over the Oakley Minute Machine Titanium Edition and i’m quite in love with all their boxes (ahhhh, gorgeous matte black packaging)… so images below of all the packaging as well as close ups of the watch to get a feel for the thickness and how it wears. On the detail i can’t get over… the carbon fiber self lubricating rings on the titanium bracelet are something you must play with if you get near one of these in person… i love the feeling of rolling your fingers over them… and the shapes of the pieces in the bracelet i find mesmerizing. (What can i say, i get inspired by the strangest littlest curves and details?)
Gift Guide Day 9 ~ wow can you believe its day 9 already? Well today i rounded up some of our favorite Reusable Shopping bag options ~ some we use and love, some we covet and think would certainly be more unique! And to mix things up a bit, i also picked a few fun woody accessories!
Respect Your Mother by Local Celebrity… as a t-shirt, this one sky rocketed around the celeb world in green and blue, and as trendy as some things can become, i’ve always had a soft spot for this design. Loved it secretly, but part of me would never wear it here in LA, maybe while abroad though! BUT, i just spotted that they now have a canvas tote bag with it, and simply had to add it to my pick of the moment for reusable shopping bag options… or for my laptop and other random “won’t fit in purse” schlepping. Close up below, and expect this one to show up on the green gift guide to come!
Click the images to find out more! Whether you’re shopping for what to wear, or wearables to gift… here are some of the things popping on up NotCouture to keep you or your giftee warm and accessorized.
Gift Guide Day 17 is all about grooming. Gorgeous gadgets and potions to get you all cleaned up from head to toe- or great for gifts as a not so subtle hint… a little something for guys, girls, both…