Lara has a sad post up over at Plaid Pony Vintage; we actually feel kind of weird talking about this so we’re just gonna quote:

It’s clearly been a while since my last post.

As some of you may be aware my brother Adam “DJ AM” Goldstein passed away in August.

For the past 2 months my husband and I have been spending most of our time in LA which is on the other coast from our home in Philly. It’s been a crazy time with a lot to do, but our primary focus has been pulling together the eBay auction of my brother’s sneaker collection. Over the past 10 years my brother has amassed a collection of sneakers totaling close to 900 pairs. The collection is amazing and contains a lot of rare, vintage and otherwise really cool pairs…

Aside from collecting, Adam had two great passions in life. One was clearly music, but the other that people may be less aware of was helping other addicts to get sober. I have been so touched by the stories from countless people I’ve met and heard from who have expressed how much Adam had impacted their lives. For those of us who were close to Adam there was only one option for what to do with his sneaker collection…  We established the DJ AM Memorial Fund for the purpose of continuing Adam’s work in recovery in his name.
All of the proceeds from the auction will go to the memorial fund.

Anyway, we’re so sorry for your loss, Lara, and if any readers are interested, the eBay auction is right here and the memorial fund’s page is here.

www.welovetonywang.com

Philadelphia-based fashion designer/blogger/student/PR man Tony Wang thinks you should love him, at least, that’s what his web address claims (www.welovetonywang.com). Decide for yourself tomorrow at Wang’s first Philadelphia trunk show. Hosted at Matthew Izzo, the afternoon boasts 15% off Wang’s 3st (said “thirst”) line as well as freebies from BCBGENERATION for anyone in attendance.

The afternoon guarantees plenty of male-friendly pieces though Wang says his skinny ties (a mainstay of his collections) could be for ladies too according to a recent interview. I can already picture his thin ties spattered with geometric shapes fluttering in the wind behind hipster boys on track bikes and if the current trends of asymmetrical pixie haircuts and boyfriend jeans are any indicator of where women’s fashion trends are heading, Wang’s collection should appeal to the masses. Bring on the androgyny!

R.S.V.P. via Facebook…or just show up.

Friday plays host to quite a few events, including Fashion & Soul a shopping happy hour by Showroom 77 at Ms. Tootsie’s on South Street.  From 5-10pm snag $7 drinks and soul food downstairs, while upstairs (after you’ve presumably cleaned up from all the BBQ wings) shop among local designers, including Strangefruit, Walish Gooshe, and Commenwealth Proper.  It’s like Philly Fashion Week all over again.  Paperless invite here.

Or, depending on what part of town you’re in, you can always head to Made to Order as they unload new fall womenswear and accessories from Hellz Bellz, CTRL, Rojas and more.  One of the sponsors is Nuvo, a sparkling liqueur with Red Bull, which says everything you need to know, really.  After party in the Piazza at PYT, open bar 10-11pm!  More info on their blog.

Saturday morning Fashion for Food takes place in South Phil (and combines two of my favorite things).  Pro boxer and Philly designer, Simon “One Punch” Carr is hosting a food drive at the Marion Anderson Recreation Center (where all proceeds will go to) starting at 11:30am.  Tickets are $15 for the live entertainment event (and perhaps a pap shot of Mayor Nutter, who is supposed to attend?) and guests are encouraged to donate a canned good and/or winter jacket.

Poshreview.com is hosting Fashion Rocks Philly—a glammed out “tour” of the luxury lifestyle and fashion website as it celebrates its Philly launch at Patou Restaurant from 7-10pm.  Aside from a fashion show (and more food!) the tour goes through each category on the website, from Jewelry to Arts and Culture will be on display.  Head to their website for more info.

If you’re looking for something a little more subdued, The Toothless Cat art gallery in the Piazza will be hosting an art opening for their latest exhibit, Wild Things.  Expect paintings from tattoo artist turned fine artist Bird Reynolds and additional works from artists Monique Ligons and Joe Leonard.

But wait wait! If you’re not completely physically exhausted by Sunday, you should probably exert the rest of your energy at the Philly Roller Girl Tryouts at Millennium Skate World in Camden.  Starting at 11am, battle it out for the chance to compete with the league.  The website recommends bringing your gear—pads, helmets and all—and I do to.  Bruises aren’t stylish, ever.

This metal trashcan was laser-cut into a lace based on Philadelphia’s street grid by artist John Briscella, a designer inspired by his growing up in Philly. Here’s the explanation, which, uh, doesn’t exactly reach the heights of sensitivity about the homeless:

When its cold out, its kinda of the rage to have metal barrel fires on the streets of Philadelphia… well at least for the homeless…

By using a 5-axis laser cutter used in car manufacturing and metal barrels used in industrial storage, the hobo-chic design is transformed into a großartig fireplace that emanates the qualities of the city, wherever you decided to have a fire.

I loathe that thing the fashion/design complex does every once in a while that glamorizes some subset of the desperately poor for the irony/novelty points (”I give you… DERELICTE!” being the image that comes to mind, although yes I am aware that Zoolander is not real. But hobo chic? An actual, infuriating term).

But just pretend I didn’t just show you the description, or pretend there was a better explanation. Pretty amazing, right?

Courtesy of Kaboodle.com

If you’re looking for somewhere to keep track of all of your holiday shopping and wish lists, look no further than Kaboodle.com. They’re currently featuring this USB drive on their homepage, which is shaped like a key.  While it’s probably not a good idea to leave your entire key chain hanging out of your USB port, the key is still one of our faves.

If you’re interested in cupcakes without the calories, FredFlare.com has just what you’re looking for. Fred Flare also has the cutest Holly Golightly sleep mask. Now if only we had a little mailbox to store our perfume like her to spritz on the way out the door.

While we were browsing through some December magazines, we noticed an ad for Dillard’s. Even though their closest store is in Virginia, you can still purchase things from them via text message! We found this dangerous and intriguing. By using the service Shop Text, you can register to receive updates on sales and promotions from some of your favorite shops, as well as make purchases. We registered but didn’t link it with our billing information — it’s just that it’s SO EASY to make a purchase that impulse buys could get to be too much of a problem.

Lastly, blogger Chandra Hayslett caught our eye recently. A former newspaper reporter who is in love with fashion, Chandra describes her love affairs with things like capes from Anthropologie and patterned tights. Chandra describes things in such an accessible way that we’re starting to fall in love too.

Courtesy of Glamour.com

Happy Hump Day!  This morning Marie Claire’s got links to the 25 beauty products that will change your life. While we haven’t tried them all, we can’t argue with the benefits of the Chanel Nude Blush or Mac’s Bronzer just to bring a glow to your face during the drab winter months, the Jergens Natural Glow Express Body Moisturizer which helps us look like we had a nice weekend getaway to Cancun even if we sadly haven’t taken out our passports, as well as Olay’s Body Wash with exfoliating ribbons. With such a moisturizing body wash, you can even skip a post-shower moisturizer. Nice. Marie Claire also posted tips on how to care for your skin depending on your climate.

Lilliana Vazquez, who contributes to NBC10 posted some  cute and affordable sweaters on her blog – The Cheap Chica’s Guide To Style. Glamour magazine is also looking out for your wallet, with their list of shoes for $50 and under.

Philadelphia Magazine is on the lookout in Rittenhouse Square, spotting some styles that they love as well as a type of yoga we hadn’t seen yet. It’s called Slackline Yoga, and it’s done on a tightrope. Philadelphia Magazine spotted Jennifer Nehila practicing Slackline and did a writeup and shot video. Just as Jennifer mentions, YogaSlackers.com gives more information on the practice as a whole.

Lastly, we’re not sure how the #4 resturant on this ESPN list earned it spot, but we’re cracking up.

We mentioned a couple of days ago, spurred by the above excellent neon skyline tattoo above (done by Chad Knight at Boulevard Tattoo in Collingsdale), that we were gonna try to round up the boldest and beautiful-est Philly-love tattoos. We found a lot of LOVE Parks, a lot of sports team logos and a lot of Liberty Bells, but we’ve sorted through them all and come up with the neatest ones, starting with a rather less abstract skyline than the one above:

Damn.

it was composed from 3 different photos found on the google image. design was re-drawn based on those photos. it was rearranged so that all main buildings can be shown in narrow space. i had hard time finding the “perfect photo” and unfortunately could not find one thus end up just making it up (based on the real thing).

This tattoo, still in progress, is being worked on by Masami Inagaki, a PAFA graduate with skills. She works out of Gemini Tattoo up in the Northeast, you can contact her there if you want some work done starting in 2010. But not koi:

i will be taking a break from koi tattoo til next summer. (9 koi designs just this year alone. sorry i’m bit tired of them. thank you for understanding!

These three are by Benjamin Harris, who works at Sink the Ink in Willow Grove. He got his degree in illustration from MICA and then did animation in video games, and boy are these some good-looking, original tattoos.

This one, of the giant clothespin sculpture at 15th and Market, was done by Clay at Body Graphics, at 4th and Bainbridge. It was emailed in by Kristen (whose leg that is), who said:

I got it because I wanted a Philly tattoo and I also wanted to make fun of the massive amount of people who have the Love Park sculpture tattoo. Hey people, there are other things that represent our city other than Love Park and the Liberty bell!

Indeed! It’s tough to strike the right balance between “instantly recognizable symbol of a city” and “touristy cliche in real life,” but the red clothespin does it pretty well in our opinion. Or you could just go across the street…

…to City Hall. I said goddamn! This was done by Shane O’Neill, who works out of Wilmington, Delaware and who obviously does some pretty fucking amazing black-and-white photorealistic stuff. O’Neill is an illustration graduate of U of Arts, so probably saw this south view of City Hall pretty frequently back in the day.

And as long as you’re gonna do the LOVE Park thing, you may as well get done it beautifully. From John Howie of Moo Tattoo on South Street near 5th.

Joey Vento? Can’t imagine anyone else would get this; although it looks very nice, we can’t imagine there’s more than one person willing to act as a billboard for Geno’s. It does, however, very much recreate the atmosphere of that one gaudy, neon-ass block, so we’ve included it regardless of opinion of Joey Vento. This one was done by Philly Ink Tattoo, near the Allegheny El stop.

What more can you say? There is no place like home, especially when home is a Keystone Ben Franklin surrounded by Mountain Laurels and fireflies (those would be our state flower and insect, btw). Not entirely sure about the lilies and the Canada Goose (as our state bird is in fact the ruffled grouse), but I did find out while looking those up that our state toy is the Slinky and that is totally sweet.

Like the clothespin above, this one was done at Body Graphics, but by Carla Hopkins, who has a portfolio that’s heavy on the interesting before-and-after coverup work. We suggest you click through the link, because tattoo coverups are inherently pretty tragicomic.

By Braden Kendall of Eddie’s Chinatown Tattoo (in, uh, Chinatown). We like the pairing of these two little demonic birds with Philly imagery (PA may be the ruffled grouse, but Philly is the HELLBIRD WITH EYES OF FIRE. Or probably the Eagle, on second thought. Never mind).

Lastly, I was positive that if I went looking I’d find at least one person with a tattoo of Will Smith, and, as it turns out, I was triply correct. One person has this insane Will-Smith-as-Hancock on his leg, by L.A.’s Cecil Porter:

And it is alleged that not one but TWO people have this same tattoo of Will Smith eating Rap Snacks, and that the tattoo copycat is Creighton Barrett of Band of Horses.

OK, seriously, as an unconfirmable rumor that’s way too good to be true, “The drummer from Band of Horses ripped off a tattoo of Will Smith eating Rap Snacks” of  of this ranks up there with “Nicolas Cage was once arrested for stealing a chihuahua” and “A-Rod has two paintings of himself as a centaur over his bed.”

If it exists, Rap Snacks Willie is always hiding under a lot of plaid stuff in photos. Anybody got a picture of Creighton Barrett with his shirt off?

Aw, one of our Philly blog buddies got featured in an Apartment Therapy house tour! Jealous! Lovely house, Elizabeth (of Peacock Feathers), but I swear to god if you’re the one who bought the big stuffed marlin/sailfish thing from AIDS Thrift about three years ago when I was 22, broke and waiting for my sad paycheck to clear so I could come back and buy it, I am going to march over to your “eclectic rowhouse” and I am going to scuff your fancy wallpaper.

Honestly, there are no better words than were in  the original post:

Hello…First let me start off by saying that i paint as a hobby..i love to paint with paint brushes but i also paint with my breasts…there are alot of woman out there with breast cancer and once i start selling these painting and get my buisness going i will be able to donate to breast cancer research..here is the first painting that i have done and if you have any suggestions or requests i would be more then happy to take your order…The minimum for this painting is $50 (obo)..the size of this painting is 12×16..please email me with any comments questions or concerns and i will return your email asap

thank you

OK, I was going looking for stuff for one of my semi-regular This Week in Craigslist Art posts, but I had to find out more about this one.

Who are you (in a non-specific way)?

My names is Ashley.I currently am working in childcare. Its not great money but i love the kids.  I am a healthy 22 year old woman that just wants to make a difference in the world.

What is your art background?

I took art classes through out highschool and the rest i taught myself. I have always loved to paint and it has always been a hobby that i love.

How exactly does one breast-paint, technically?

It’s actually pretty hard. I start by painting one breast watever colors and design that i would like to put on the canvas. Then I place my breast onto the canvas to make a “Breast-Print”. (It sounds easy but it really isn’t)After i have done that i just touch it up by hand painting the backround and such. I would love to paint more pictures and expand beyond flowers. I want to make things that monthers that breast feed or even woman who have had breast cancer can hang in there homes as a symbol of woman hood as well as a gift of life.

What materials do you use?

Acrylic paints, my breasts, paint brushes, water, and a canvas to paint on.

What got you interested in raising money for breast cancer?

I have met countless woman with breast cancer. Breast cancer runs in my family. My aunt past away last year after a 3 year battle with breast cancer. I have watched my best friend of 6 years slowly wither away with this disease.I would love to donate the profits that i make to a breast cancer awareness foundation. I want women to know that it is important to get tested. You can never be too safe.

Indeed! So if anyone wants a breast painting, you know where to get one.

Breast Painting – $50 (montgomery county)

Upon first glance: Is that thing from a Dali landscape, Star Wars, Hell or a disco ball? 

I can’t wrap my brain around those shoes and everything around them. What am I talking about? Um, well, aside from presumably millions of dollars of borrowed couture, I’m talking about a music video that is impossible to watch only one time. Lady Gaga (and the Haus of Gaga) have really outdone themselves this time with Bad Romance… and I love it. 

In fact, the outfits attached to those shoes are compelling me to make-up words. Really– you take one good look at the McQueen shoes in front of you and tell me you don’t get all Anthony Burgess on me. I dare you.
 

This video has all the standards from our favorite Fame Monster: lingerie, hairless pets, Bladerunner Replicants, synthesizers, spirit fingers, a foreign syndicate, twitching, latex … and I’m pretty sure she’s single-handedly raised Ferragamo from the dead. Jesus.

Here are some stills from the Bad Romance video… She must wear 10 separate intricate outfits/ dresses/ works, including one by Alexander McQueen that leaves her looking like a creepy, bolted, gold-studded cupcake/geisha/ant with 10-inch heeled stiletto hooves.

“The singer-songwriter-pianist-provocateur seems to be one of the few pop stars these days who really understands spectacle, fashion, shock, choreography all the things Madonna and Michael Jackson were masters of in the 1980s.” (Speakeasy)

Closing thoughts? Lady Gaga and Alexander McQueen need to go pro-create and begin breeding their own little army of slicked back, shiny, matching offspring. Have you seen his Spring/Summer 2010 line that debuted to her soundtrack, with her custom dress from the video as the last outfit in the runway show? Music met couture and fell in love. In fact, they’re paired off  and make more sense than coupling milk and goddamn cookies.

Click here to view the embedded video.