Top 18 Finds of the Fall

In case you weren't convinced by the snow, cold weather, and holiday festivities already, today is the official start of Winter 09/10. Well, at least in the northern hemisphere. And so, with autumn now long gone, I bring to you the top 18ish finds/posts during the past season of my blog. Click, read, and stay warm.

1) Designer: Camilla Wellton

2) Fashion grad student: Wolfgang Jarnach

3) Label: Tara St. James’ Study NY

4) New collection: Liza Rietz F/W 09/10, Alexandra Groover S/S 10 and mydearthing Hindset Collection

5) Basic piece: mydearthing Fingerful Warmers

6) Future purchase: Patricia Ayres Artisanal coat

7) Custom made piece: Attila Design dress

8) Package in the mail: 4 pieces of ArtLab perfection

9) Want: ‘Carrot’ style pants

10) Musician: Kelli Scarr

11) Artwork: The Berlin Project

12) Website: Denim Therapy

13) Blog: The door in my wardrobe

14) Post: Interview with Susi Quillinan

15) Personal information: In case you want to know.

16) Future project: Making my own John Galliano, Yohji Yamamoto, or Maison Martin Margiela piece.

17) Most worn pieces: ArtLab Space Odyssey dress, mydearthing Fingerful warmers, and this outfit.

18) Most beautiful coat ever: Any by Kristofer Kongshaug

Links à la Mode, Round 5

As I was rather excited about my Denim Therapy find, I submitted it to IFB for their weekly Top 20 picks, and voilà!, it was picked. Be sure to click away and read the other 19 posts!

The Countdown Begins

Edited by Dramatis Personae

The countdown has begun–not only until the end of the year–but until the end of the first decade in the 21st century. That’s kind of amazing to think about. Styletastic and Sway, Sway, Away! both look at fashion from the Oughts with two distinctly different visions. [the3st] interviews the founder of ModCloth, while Wicked & Whimsy reviews Closet Confidential (by the hilarious Winona of DaddyLikey fame!).

Since this will be my last edit of links a la mode for this year, see you all in 2010!

Links à la Mode : December 17th

• 39thandbroadway.com: – How Brands Get Burned By Celebs
• A Typical Atypical: – Suffering from Buyers Remorse: The Real Deal
• Brunette and Pink: – Makeup Tutorial: Leighton Meester Inspired Winged-out Smoky Eye Look
• DailyDivaDish – Create a sparkling New Year’s look with the Tarte Treasure Chest Giveaway. Enter to win this limited edition kit.
• Friend in Fashion – Sugar and spice and all things nice – Unearthing the unique designs of the fabulous, Arizona based designer Monique Martinez, through the captive lense of Galaxie Andrews.
• Grit and Glamour: – The Trend Conundrum – Trends are a tricky thing; what makes some women look so pulled together is not a wardrobe full of the latest styles and trends, but the ability to know which ones to avoid.
• i'm the it girl: – My Love Affair With Hermes and the Great Debate: Kelly or Birkin?
• Idiosyncratic Style: – 12 Great Holiday DIY Projects – Give something special this year (even if you are short on time and money).
• kaKofonie Of si(gh)lenS: – My most amazing (and green!) find this year: Denim Therapy, a company who will restore your tattered favorite jeans to like-new condition. Seriously.
• La Société de Mode | The Fashion Society: – Combats are stomping their way back into style.
• Pursed Lips: – Thoughts/quotes on Lady Gaga as a powerful tool, if a difficult one to reach, for designers.
• Style on a String – Getting down to the wire: Gifts for the Stylish Geek who is kind of Girly too.
• Styletastic: – As the 00’s are coming to an end, we look back at the fashion memories that will define the decade. Ah the memories!
• Sway Sway Away!: – Sway Sway Away! presents Caitie’s bitching and moaning on the worst trends of the Aughts.
• THE COVETED – Love it or Leave it: Rodarte for Target
• The Fashion Planner: – The Fashion Planner shows you how to make a jaunty beret.
• The Working Wardrobe: – Beware of “business casual” being too casual for the workplace.
• tick tick heart: – A focus on the varying fashions of some of our quirkier leading ladies in film.
• White Rabbit: – Pros and Contras of Artificial Nails
• Wicked Whimsy: – Closet Confidential: A Review
• [the3st]: – Success & Getting There: Interview with Susan of ModCloth.com

Possibly the best find ever: Denim Therapy

I may have just found the greatest website ever. Whilst on Outsapop's blog, I clicked on a link in her blogroll, which led me to a lovely site called Ethical Style: Behind the Seams. This in turn led me to what may be the greatest and greenest company to ever exist since denim was created: Denim Therapy.

We all know what it's like to finally find the most perfect pair of jeans, only to love them to pieces, and eventually have to sadly relinquish them to the rag pile. But no longer! Simply ship your beloved pair of holey/torn/wrecked jeans to the angels at Denim Therapy in New York, and they will magically repair them to look like new in about 2 weeks. They use MatchPerfect™ to select the thread that most closely matches that of your jeans in terms of colour, weight, and wear. Then, they use that thread to not simply patch the holes, but rather actually reconstruct the damaged area. The cost for repairing holes and rips is about $7/inch. They will also repair hems, zippers, pockets, and belt loops, AND they can insert stretchy panels to create instant maternity jeans (see photos below; they'll even take out the panels once you're back down to your pre-maternity size!). They do ship internationally, and work on any brand and colour of jeans.

What a simply fabulous idea. This website would've saved me a lot of heartache over my favorite dying jeans, and a lot of time aimlessly searching for an inferior pair to fill the void. I've honestly altered my daily wardrobe quite a bit within the last 9 years (I used to wear jeans nearly every day!), largely because I loathe the whole jean shopping process, and am trying to prolong the life of the one almost perfect pair I've managed to find (my Joe's Jeans). I wonder if I should follow Tricia Hoke's lead and get maternity panels put into those dream Diesel jeans that are just an inch and half too small in the waistband. No one would ever have to know...

Free return shipping if you put in your order by December 31st!