Arlene and I were tooling around the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago today and were reminded of one of the main reasons we love our town: the neighborhoods! Broadway on the North side is a very unassuming, off-the-radar, socially neglected, adorable location with a thriving retail scene. We drove in to get soup from one of our all-time favorite lunch joints,Soupbox. (Delish. If you’re ever in town, stop by for a bowl.)

As we were driving down Broadway, we noticed the Threadless store and were ashamed to admit to one another that we had never been in. It’s a pretty fabulous Chicago success story and we love to support our local entrepreneurs. Sooo, after picking up soup to take back to the studio, we decided to head back up the street and check it out. But…

Spare Parts

…we got sidetracked by the serious cuteness of Spare Parts. I was gobsmacked by a leather elephant in the window and we just had to go in. So glad we did! After more than 20 years, this fantastic little shop is better than ever, featuring a variety of goodies in a variety of price points for a variety of customers. Arlene got a piece of artwork and a great tie for her husband, all for under $50! And I am definitely going back for the elephant! 

         artwork by Adam Kaplan                                   Flying Fish necktie by Josh Bach  

So, back on our quest to visit Threadless. The quick 411 on them: it’s a t-shirt company that started as an online competition — the winner had their shirt produced and sold. And now… it’s HUGE.

The first floor is all t-shirts, each with its own video screen displaying a close-up of the shirt’s design as well as shots of it on both men and women. Super cute. And as if that wasn’t enough, we ventured up to the 2nd level expecting more of the same, but instead what did we find? An ART GALLERY. Seriously? Those guys are insane. And some very cool stuff, as well…

So, back to the car, to soup, to work.

Passed this along the way…

I’m sure I’d appreciate it even more if I actually did anything physical, like biking. 

Also passed this along the way…

Well not exactly, but we did indeed get flashed. That’s right. A lovely homeless man wearing an old-school plain grey sweatsuit lumbered uncomfortably close to us and then proceeded to lower his pants and show us his penis. Never thought I would utter that sentence in my life!

All in all, a pretty interesting day.

On a side note, I’d like to give a big THANK YOU to Crystal of Plush Palate for featuring us on her blog. She did a lovely story, so please be sure to check it out here. Thanks, Crystal!! We’re so flattered!!!

of fashion!!  Truth be told, I was not looking forward to working all weekend.  But being the fanatic fashion person that I am, some good fashion can really turn the day (weekend) around!  We had such a great time styling.  We just had to share.

We style every piece that is offered in our on-line boutique.  We like to show you up to three separate looks per piece.  We say it all the time…buy what you love, love what you wear…lots of different ways.   Saturday was all about that….

Today we shot our May cover story at a phenonmenal art center here in our neighborhood, Lill St,  and with one of our favorite models, Michelle Hicks. 

               hair & makeup in our studio, Chicago

                         finished product

              our never-ceases-to-amaze-us photographer, Dane…and Blythe!!

and fashion’s not fashion without a little streetstyle…

our amazing intern, Amanda, never disappoints…

We really, really love good fashion shot on a really, really good model. Never underestimate the power of a really good model paired with a really good photographer. Magic.

I was surfing the other day looking for inspiration and came across this editorial from Vogue Italia, Nov 2008, shot by Steven Meisel. It has a very distinct Grey Gardens feel to it and seriously feels like the set of a glamorous old movie. Now that’s what I call art…

I just had to!  Just like fashion, art brightens my day.  Check out more here…www.morenewmath.com

Many thanks to the lovely Helen Yi for introducing us to Matthew Ames.  A designer that is creating more than just fashion with the simple form.

So, when Arlene and I launched this website we pretty much did it all by ourselves. Just the 2 of us — buying, styling, shooting, writing, selling, marketing, accounting, shipping, cleaning.  You get the point. Luckily, we came across this fantastic, sassy little sprite named Amanda (that’s the lovely Amanda, on the right)…

She was a recent performing arts grad from Loyola University and had decided to throw away the life of an actor and march forward toward a fabulous life and career in fashion journalism. She was dying to do anything in fashion and when we met it was clearly a match made in Heaven.  Amanda is a gifted and talented (and super-stylish, of course!) writer who has been a contributor on TWENTYTHIRTYFORTY.net since its launch.  Amanda is all grown up now and has spread her wings and started her own blog — sassafras (with Amanda, it’s all about the sass).  It’s a great blog.  And I say that with the utmost objectivity!  Here’s some random pics from her site…

Fabulous, no?  The girl knows her fashion.  And since she’s really a writer, her blog is thoroughly entertaining.  Very refreshing in the blogoshpere!  Get to know her a little better here.

all photos lovingly borrowed from sassafras

Well, I have finally seen the new Valentino doc. If you haven’t, please don’t wait any longer. The opening sequence gave me chills. It’s sooooo glamorous. Glamour schlamour you may say, but no matter how ordinary our lives, how quirky or odd or avant-garde or casual our style, what girl doesn’t appreciate a little glamour?

Boys like a little glamour, too!

While the film doesn’t really highlight the early days of the struggling courtier, it does a phenomenal job of providing a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the workings of fashion today and the ways in which the business has changed. It’s amazing to see the way that the Valentino house runs (over 100 seamstresses and only 1 UNUSED sewing machine.) It’s fair to say that not too many young designers could operate that way. And not to dismiss Alessandra Facchinetti, but clearly she wasn’t up to the Valentino standard. But then again, who is??

The thing that really got me about the film is Valentino’s unmistakeable love for dressing women. An interviewer asks him, “Do you know what women want?” “Yes,” Valentino replies. “What do women want?” “Women want to be beautiful.” You’re absolutely right, Signore Garavani, we do want to be beautiful. And thank you for doing it so brilliantly for the last 45 years.

the designer with Princess Rosario of Bulgaria

all photos courtesy of Style.com

I think that sometimes people (those not really into fashion) forget that fashion designers are artists. For people like my husband, for example, there is nothing artistically intriguing about fashion. As I was flipping through the April/10th Anniversary issue of Nylon Magazine (if you’re not yet a subscriber, get on it!), there were pages and pages of birthday cards imagined, drawn, shot, and styled by various designers and design houses. I just love such obvious illustrations of the deep connection between art and fashion, don’t you?

all photos scanned from Nylon Magazine. Happy Birthday, Nylon!

During our last photo shoot, I realized our incredible photographer did not recognize or was familiar with Blythe.  Honestly, I think he was thinking “what’s up with the creepy doll pictures around here?”   If HE’S not aware, I knew I had to spread the love about Blythe….c’mon, there’s no better Art+Fashion than BLYTHE!

photos lovingly taken from Gina Garan’s book, this is Blythe