c h a r k a t t a c k !

FNO in Venice | September 8, 2011 | 6-10pm

Velvet, VelvetMen, Graham & Spencer, 39 sixtyone Summer Sample Sale in Culver City This Weekend!

via 3.bp.blogspot.com

Sample Sales in DTLA

One of the benefits of living in Downtown LA is being in close proximity to the Fashion District where you can find nearly anything from unofficial Disney gear, party supplies in bulk to high-end runway garb and everything else in between. While the latter is usually not open or sold to the public, come on over to the Cooper Building and California Market Center on the last Friday of every month where showrooms sell off their samples!

Bring cash, prepare to undress in community dressing rooms or on the spot and wear flats cause it's easier to take the elevator to the top floor and work your way down every floor. And do know that not everyone participates so, don't go barging in to find out -- there will be a sign at the door if the showrooms have samples for sale.

Other times, you'll just get lucky. I stopped by the Showroom Seven Sample Sale and I am never disappointed. Their price points range from $10 - $400+ and their sizes have a wider range 0-10 depending on the brand. I snagged two Orla Kiely bags from their Spring/Summer '10 line -- a real steal!!! One is a bright yellow cross body bag (a replacement for my Gryson for Target $20 cheapie bag that has unraveled) and the other must be a sample or sold only in Japan or UK since I couldn't find it online anymore, but it's a carry-all with the same color scheme as the photo below of the cross-body bag. In other words, don't miss this sale if you're an Orla Kiely fan!

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Who wants to go to UNIQUE LA on 4/24 + 4/25?

I do! I do!

I'm going to make make the 3-block trek. Any takers? Thinking of going from the start on Sat until 3:30 and all-day on Sunday. Let me know!

Louisa Parris 2010 Collection

(Top: Louise + Bottom: Trilby)

Just got an e-mail from a designer friend of mine regarding her latest collection and I am just thrilled to hear from her and see what she's been working on. We previously worked together back in San Francisco when we featured her debut collection at Gen Art's Fresh Faces in Fashion. She wasn't in stores yet, but I was convinced she had it in her to succeed. All of that seemed like a lifetime ago and I just had to reminisce with the video of the fashion show. Oh some days I just miss the exciting and fast-paced world of fashion.

Entered: Tory Burch Shop Style Challenge

More Tory Burch...

Be a culture vulture this weekend.

Pop Culture Vulture, originally uploaded by Jeff Rickard.

Bank of America Sponsors Free Museum Admissions

Any Bank of America card (one card = one admission) grants you free general admission to any of the listed museums nationwide during the **FIRST** weekend of each month!  This promotion started last year and is continuing through this year all the way until January 2010.

Chillin' Holiday Party
80 Fashion Designers + 180 Painters and Photographers + 7 DJs
Saturday, December 5, 2009
8:00pm - 2:00am
Mezzanine - 444 Jessie Street, San Francisco CA 94103
$8 at the door; Must be 21 + ID

Lower Haight Art Walk : Holiday Edition

Come one come all and kick off the holidays with the merchants and neighbors of the Lower Haight!! Nearly 30 merchants are participating with art shows, live painting, live music, bands outside on the sidewalks, drinks, snacks, merriment, and TONs of specials. Merchants will also be competing for Best Window Display and Best Decorated sidewalk tree. The whole Lower Haight is participating in this one from the 400 block all the way to the 700 block so it'd definitely not to be missed.
Friday, December 4th, 2009
7:00pm - 10:00pm
The Lower Haight in San Francisco

The Arts District Open Studios
Saturday, December 5th
12:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Downtown Los Angeles Arts District
Holiday Limousine shuttle service
After Party at East 3rd Steakhouse and Lounge (734 E. 3rd), 7pm to 2am
Full list of artists and venues

GuerrilLA Drive-In
The Muppet Christmas Carol
Sunday, December 6th
8:00pm
1032 S. Main Street, Downtown Los Angeles

Unique Los Angeles
The largest Independent Design & Gift Show in the West Coast. Shop directly from over 300 designers and artists, support local design, our economy and have a blast!
December 5th and 6th
11:00am - 6:00pm
California Market Center - 110 E. 9th Street, Downtown Los Angeles
$10 for unlimited re-entry on both days with a portion of a proceeds to benefit 826LA plus a tote bag, a drink ticket and free workshops.

QoTD: Denim

How many pairs of jeans do you own? How many do you wear?

Fifteen. Twelve pairs here in LA and three pairs up in the Bay. And believe it or not I wear them all! One is getting a little worn which I'll need to trash or patch up soon.

A little J. Peterman Love

The name, J. Peterman is synonymous with Seinfeld's character, Elaine who worked for Mr. Peterman himself (a fictitious self, of course) a buyer passionate about his travels and the story behind each piece of item he sells in his catalog collection. With the weather finally showing signs of Autumn leading to Winter, I couldn't help but think about J. Peterman and his classic sensibilities, clean lines and timeless pieces perfectly paired with any modern look.

A little love to J. Peterman by charkattack on Polyvore.com

Items in this set:
Vintage Dresses: 1930’s Vintage Black Lace Dress | The J. Peterman Company, $198
Adventurous Shirt-Dress | The J. Peterman Company, $149
Paisley Women's Scarf | The J. Peterman Company, $79
Women's Sweaters: Black Bowtie Cape | The J. Peterman Company, $275
Women's Outerwear: 50's Sabrina High Button Jacket | The J. Peterman Compan..., $198

It's gonna be a busy Thursday in DTLA.

What you need to do when you are in Downtown L.A. for all of Thursday, August 13th. And I truly do mean the entire freaking day.

Barneys Warehouse Sale
The first two days it'll be open to the insane shopping public at 8:00 AM and will run until 9:00 PM in its new location at the LA Convention Center's South Hall. Be prepared to pay $12+ for parking, an elbow or two and to disrobe on the spot if you must. Wear some spandex for a more accurate fit or guesstimate.

EM Productions
The fashion house of Grai, Grey Ant, IRO, Onward into the future, Scout, Seneca Rising and Society for National Dress are hosting a sample sale Thursday + Friday from 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM at the Cooper Design Space (Room 402). Never been to this showroom so, I'll go investigate...

Downtown Art Walk
The festivities will start at noon (thank GOD!) and with 39 galleries to hit up it couldn't have started any earlier. Check out the map up top to print and plan out your day. Take note of galleries closing early like the not to be missed Museum of Neon Art which closes at 2:00 PM.

Pacific Electric Lofts Sidewalk Sale
I can't speak for everyone, but stop by the Chark Attack booth where I'll have vintage goodies. We'll be open between 5:00 PM until 10:00 PM. 610 S. Main Street (at 6th Street)

Chark Attack, A Pop-Up Vintage Shop.

Chark Attack, A Pop-Up Vintage Shop, originally uploaded by charmiebeez.

Tomorrow is Downtown LA's Monthly Art Walk and the very first time Chark Attack (my pop-up vintage shop) will be open! I've got loads of vintage (and vintage inspired) necklaces, sweater clips, belts, shoes, bags and clothing at really reasonable prices. Some of the vintage items I have are over 20 years old and have never ever seen the light of day. Insane, right?! Hope to see you there!

Chark Attack!
Pacific Electric Building
610 S. Main Street (6th Street)
Thursday, August 13th
5:00 PM - 9:00 PM

*Parking available on the street and three adjacent lots within 100 yards.

Anna Wintour: The Early Years via Jezebel

Before she was called all sorts of mean things, fired girls who were "obese" (or too fat for fashion), sat front row with oversized shades showing no emotion and wore the infamous bob with bangs...she was normal-ish.

I mean just check out that thing she's doing with her lips and mouth with shiny white things peering out of them. From the universe I live in that's called a smile Anna.

Please try doing that more often and add in a girl with something to hold on to in your layouts, pictorials and covers that has never landed a speaking role or made my ears bleed.

[source]

Tracy Feith for Target

I love most things mod, hippie and can double as beach wear! That's why this collection for everyone's go-to brand, recession or not Target [tar-jay] has been my favorite.

 

A good runway song.

I've been meaning to write this post after I've had some trouble looking for good runway/catwalk music for St. Vincent de Paul's Discarded to Divine's Live Fashion Auction. My main concerns lie in the fact that this was more of an auction than a traditional runway show with the auctioneer's voice as the primary amplified sound, but I still wanted to add a fashion flair and entice bidders by evoking their emotions through sound. So, here's what I ended up selecting for the 20 pieces that evening and hopefully, this will be useful to someone out there!

1. Fever (Adam Freeland Remix) \\ Adam Freeland & Sarah Vaughan
2. 11h30 \\ Danger
3. Great DJ \\ The Ting Tings
4. These Boots Are Made For Walkin' \\ Nancy Sinatra
5. 6 Underground \\ Sneaker Pimps
6. Ce Jeu \\ Yelle
7. Laura (Riko Mix) \\ Scissor Sisters
8. La la la \\ The Bird And The Bee
9. Strict Machine \\ Goldfrapp
10. Ice Cream \\ New Young Pony Club
11. Give It Back (Eric Wollman Dub) \\ Gaelle
12. Anthonio \\ Annie
13. I Love to Move In Here \\ Moby
14. Kiss the Sky \\ Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra Featuring Nino Mischella
15. Train \\ Goldfrapp
16. Porcelain \\ Moby
17. Girl and the Sea \\ The Presets
18. Tengo la Voz \\ Nortec Collective
19. Wayfarer \\ Kavinsky
20. Tribulations \\ LCD Soundsystem

Acrimony Turns 1!

They have some of the best clothes with indie designers from around the world and I can't really pass up a good party especially with the "I Can't Feel My Face" peeps. RSVP to info@shopacrimony.com and let's meet up!

Twitter contest!

One of my favorite graphic designers, Chris 'KMOS' Francisco is conducting a contest on his twitter page where a random follower will win a CMYK four-pack of Tees as seen below. All you have to do to enter is this:

1. Retweet the following message thru your personal Twitter account. If you
currently don’t have one, please make sure to sign up. It’s the only way to
get in on this joint.

Message:
RT @SRxMM FREE Summertime gear for you at: http://tinyurl.com/cgmffz

2. Follow SRxMM on Twitter. Just click here and select the Follow button.

If you are our lucky winner, you will receive a Twitter Direct Message of
congratulations, which will then be the moment we request your desired sizes
for ALL 4 shirts included in the CMYK Pack & mailing address. Good Luck and
THANK YOU for entering.

Good-luck!

Discarded to Divine 2009

I'm so excited to be a part of such an amazing organization and just want you to share some of the amazing pieces pulled from a pile of unused clothing at St. Vincent de Paul created by both seasoned and student designers who are mostly based out of the Bay Area. To get more details on this event or if you'd like to be a part of it visit - http://www.discardedtodivine.org.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

FASHION FRIDAY

Fab Friday 3/13 - by charkattack on Polyvore.com

Arlo Weiner is the elementary-aged son of Max Weiner, the creator of Mad Men (lurve it!) and is super into fashion while kids his age are into video games, computers, cooties (?) and such. I'm still debating whether this is cute or radically annoying, read his quotes and tell ME what you think. Uh-huh, thought so. The innocence of childhood is officially non-existent. Thank-you superficial world! [GQ]

I was only half-joking about carryin a Klein Tool Bag last summer (which would double as my carry-on to NYFW) until I saw it at DWR Tools for Living and on the arm of a MAN. Well I guess I was onto something since The Gentleman's League is creating custom tattooed man-bags. Yeah, I can't believe it either. I would have made mucho dough instead of sitting on mine. [Racked]

American Apparel wants your help to "Legalize Gay" by buying their overpriced t-shirts with the words "Legalize Gay" screen-printed on in a myriad of color combinations. Just ask yourselves, "Is $17 too much to pay since Christian groups spent/raised over a gazillion dollars to prevent the gays from marrying and enjoying the same benefits as the straighties?" I did not think so. Gay lovers unite! [American Apparel]

Chillin', per usual.

 

Last Saturday, we stopped by Chillin' at 111 Minna Gallery and it's only gotten bigger since the very first time I went a few years ago at Mezzanine. The hubby was the photographer for the evening and you can check out his photos here. There were a lot of designers I didn't recognize which can only means the downturn in the economy is still not a concern in the Bay Area and peeps be spendy. I mean everyone was either shopping or drinking like there was no tomorrow.

Well, if I did have some cash to burn, I would have picked up something from the jewelry line by Stephanie Mufson who created pretty portraits on tiny wood pendants. Very cute and stood apart from the fifty or so designers that evening.

Later, Hot Challenge also performed a set (not really my taste) and was glad to see Brandon from Rondo Brothers spin. Can't wait for the next one!

Fotogs at charlotte ronson show

the 2nd anniversary is cotton.

A chambray shirt and japanese selvedge jeans are some things I can hug the boy in while looking cute.

 

rbags

Going to the fashion shows and other events (even the local grocers) over the past few years I've collected a handful of re-usable bags (sometimes made out of recyclable materials) which were mostly given gratis. I've never actually bought enough stuff to use all of the bags but I might as well use them, give them away people who don't have one or lose them to the landfill, but we don't want to do that.

fashion tip#1: babydoll dresses

Today, I took it back to the 90s and wore a babydoll dress over some dark wide-leg denim (technically 70s) and DID NOT check the weather report. Was it raining you ask? Nope, it was windy and guess who didn't wear a tank top under their babydoll top? ME.

And guess who flashed passerbys when a big gust of wind came on by? ME.

Lesson learned? You betcha!

My first time in the tents

Thanks to my wonderful besties from the Left and Right Coasts along with Mr. Joe and a rat we played pinball with for my very first New York Fashion Week! It was a much needed vacation, regardless of the fact that I was just there a month ago for eight days. That was a quasi-business trip. This time it was for pure pleasure and eye candy.

Five-ish days of fun with the besties from the Left & Right Coasts =)

• Akiko Ogawa at Bryant Park
• Art Bar
• Automatic Slims
• Benjamin Cho at The Altman Building
• Brooklyn Bagel Company
• Cendrillon
• Crif Dogs
• Dark Room
• Home Sweet Home
• Le Souk
• Lit Lounge
• P.D.T.
• Pete and J at the Living Room
• Ramen Setagaya
• Rice to Riches
• Serendipity 3
• Sin Sin + The Leopard Louge 
• Susan Ciancolo at the Mini Space
• The Annex 
• The Skinny
• The Spotted Pig
• Tony Cohen at Bryant Park
• Veselka
• Wine Bar - I can't remember if this was the real name or not.
• Winegasm      

Loving This Look

Earlier, a friend of mine asked me what I thought of a new boutique that recently popped up. I said I wasn't sure since my style is a mix of victorian style-hippy chic+ old-skool adidas, if there's such a thing. But here lies what I like: bold colors, curve-emphasizing shapes, tried & true patterns and I bet they can rock some adidas with these outfits.

Fashionable Ode to the Warm Weather in SF

MPB: April 11, 2008

MPB: April 11, 2008, originally uploaded by charmiebeez.

 

Fashionistas

Last night, my calendar stars were aligned and I actually made it to my friend's monthly mixer of female entrepreneurs at Ramblas that recently just opened a "chapter" in San Francisco. The wonderful and inspiring women I met were from all different backgrounds, but all seemed to run parallel since my friend and I run in the same fashion circles. They were animators from Pixar, haute couture/fashion/accessories designers, fashion/beauty PR and a woman who started a business selling one of a kind painters' accessories. It was an interesting group indeed as we all discussed what we are all currently looking for and just to find out what is out there. It was just nice to actually go out and meet ambitious women who are work-a-holics like myself and I'll slowly introduce their lines and wares here once I get my business cards in order.

Today, I also had the pleasure of meeting with two lovely women who are doing such a great thing for St. Vincent de Paul. For three years, they have put on Discarded to Divine, a fashion show and auction to re-vamp the surplus of women's clothes at SVdP into extreme haute couture designed by fashion students and local designers, to be worn on the runway and auctioned. I just took a tour of all of the garments and it really is amazing what a piece of thread and handy work with a needle (in a sewing machine) can do. It simply blew my mind.

This is an event you cannot miss and not only is this a good fundraiser for SVdP, but it is a great way to get people interested in becoming more "green". Here's what you can do to help: (1) buy tickets and (2) donate MEN's clothing to SVdP - the ladies were telling me their clientele is 90% male and they definitely need the basics to take charge of their life again. So, people who read this (all 10 of you, I know where you live I have analytics tracking your every move. jk.) raid your grandfathers', uncles', dad's, brother's, husband's or boyfriend's closet because you know half of his stuff he hasn't even looked at, knows exists or couldn't fit in to anymore.

Ridiculously Large Sweaters

Left: Cheap Monday Fiona Sweater
Right: Lily McNeal Kalle Grandpa Cardi Jacket

Both ridiculously large, but adorable in their own way.

I saved $659.20 dollars!!!

And no, I didn't switch my car insurance to Geiko.

Earlier this evening, while in Palo Alto I stopped by Bloom Butik to take advantage of their 80% off sale. They are closing on Friday (also everthing will be 90% off) and everything is on sale with all of their shoes at $30 (they were a bit too dressy or mom-like for me so, I didn't take advantage of that). I also missed out on their furniture and fixtures, most especially their Sapien bookcase, which I am trolling Craigslist for and a Jonathan Adler Whale Pitcher (I love sea life!). But I did get a few things from Mike & Chris, She-Bible and Malene Birger:

• By Malene Birger Keyes Necklace - thick black leather loop with a large, shiny old-fashioned key
• Mike & Chris Aldridge Tee
• Mike & Chris Joey Cardigan
• Mike & Chris Malcolm Cotton Dress Tee - like all M&C this is very soft and comfortable without sacrificing a casual style
• She-bible Classic Dress
• She-bible Dogpatch Tee - super-soft white tee with faint multi-colored spots

'Twas a great bargain hunting day.