I am so scared of wearing white jeans - or any kind of white pants, really. I guess its the theory that white maximizes the booty, whereas black or dark colors minimize.
According to InStyle Magazine’s article “White Done Right”, anyone can pull of the look. What do you think?
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Towards the middle to end of 2007, we started to see the popularity of grey and black jeans coming back to the forefront. But now, as evidenced by these very recent photos of Elisha Cuthbert, Michelle Tractenberg and Kate Moss all wearing light grey skinny jeans - there must be a trend here - and the greys are getting lighter this season. Love this look! Do you think the grey denim trend will have staying power for another season or so?
Loading …Photos courtesy Celebutopia.
If you are anything like me, you try to find ways to save on your designer denim by purchasing it on Ebay or on sale at other retailers - who wants to pay full retail price afterall?! BigCrumbs is a super cool website that will help you earn cash back when you shop online at Ebay, Target, Overstock, Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, Yoox and more! The way it works is you create a free account, and then click on the retailers link via BigCrumbs, and you get cash back into your account, which can be directly deposited into your PayPal account. Give it a try, it works! Start saving when you are shopping for jeans! It’s also great for Ebay sellers because there are free widgets you can use to advertise your Ebay Store!
If you haven’t picked up this month’s InStyle magazine - you must - its a denim lover’s dream. Pages and pages of celebs in denims and new trends - some of which we’ll feature here on the blog!
Well if you don’t know who Padma is, you probably aren’t into all those reality-TV cooking shows like I am. Padma Lakshmi one of the judges on Top Chef, and I have to wonder how she taste-tests all those fabulous foods and still fits into her skinny jeans! Padma credits Paper Denim & Cloth as her favorite brand of jeans, but says she also loves Earnest Sewn, Rich & Skinny, Diesel and more… Love her! And what about that pile of jeans…don’t you want to just dive in?!
After reading countless articles about counterfeit items on eBay, you may feel hesitant to take the plunge and buy a pair of jeans for yourself. Have no fear! While eBay may seem daunting to a beginner, if you follow these simple steps you can easily navigate the marketplace for yourself.
1. I’ve found an auction, now what?
First make sure that you like the item. Read the description thoroughly to check for any disclosed marks, rips, stains, or tears which might affect your decision to bid. Check the measurements of the jeans to try and ensure a proper fit. One way to measure is to take a pair of jeans that fit you nicely now. Lay them flat, and measure the waist, rise and inseam. You’ll notice that often times a size 27 pair of jeans does not measure 27″ at the waist - it may measure 30″. That is because designer jeans generally sit lower on the waist, more at the hip, so this is important when looking at measurements in auctions. If you wear a size 27, but your favorite jeans measure 30″ - when laid flat to measure (15″ across) and doubled (30″), then look for jeans with that measurement. Designer denim sizing is notoriously inconsistent, so checking measurement is essential. If you know the wash of the jeans (or if its mentioned in the auction) you can run a search* of the wash to see if it fits “TTS” (true to size).
*1 ½. What’s a “Search?”
A search is going to HonestForum and clicking on the little tab near the top of the screen labeled “search.” A little text box drops down, and you can type in keywords like “New York Dark TTS” or “Methane wash.” You can glean tons of information from past threads, so check the forum to see if someone has already answered your question. If the results aren’t specific enough, you can click the “Advanced Search” link and further specify your search.
2. Okay, I really like them. How can I tell if they’re authentic*?
The easiest way to see if an item is authentic is to research the seller. 100% or 90% positive feedback does not mean that an item is authentic or that a seller is reputable. Search HonestForum for the seller’s username, and see if any discussions have brought up that seller’s auctions. If you find that your seller is a highly respected, reputable seller, than you’ve got a very good inclination that his or her items are authentic. If discussions mention that the seller is peddling fakes, DO NOT BUY! If you can’t find any threads or posts that mention the seller, don’t panic and move on to step 3. It’s a good idea to continue through the steps even if the seller has positive reviews, just so you become familiar with the process of authenticating items on your own.
*2 ½. Also - NEW blog feature - look to the right hand side of the blogroll - we have a new category called Authentic Ebay Sellers with direct links to each seller’s auctions. We are very selective about which sellers we post here, so the list is not huge, but they are known authentic designer denim sellers, so you can shop confidently.
3. I searched and the seller’s username didn’t turn up anything… What now?
The next step is comparing pictures of the tags and wash. Now head to the authenticity stickies on HonestForum and see if the tag pictures look similar. Each brand of designer denim has key characteristics to look for, and each specialized sticky can help you compare. If the auction doesn’t include tag pictures, ask for them! Some fakes look nothing like the real thing, and it’s fairly easy to tell. Another tell tale sign of a fake item is the wash itself. See if you can find stock pictures to compare the washes. If your item’s wash looks streakier, more distressed, or uneven, then the item is probably fake. Once you become better at authenticating, back pockets are key in determining authenticity. Most beginners don’t notice the differences in shape, but in time you’ll be able to pick out pairs that just look “wrong.”
4. I don’t know… I can’t decide!
If you don’t feel comfortable with authenticating on your own, you should save the pictures of the auction to your computer. You can upload them to a free photo-hosting site like Photobucket or Flickr. Once you’ve uploaded all the pictures you can create a thread on HonestForum and the members will do their best to authenticate for you.
If you were wrong with your initial authentication, feel free to ask for specific details. The more you look at authentic pairs; the more the fake pairs stand out in comparison.
5. A few more tips for Ebay buyers
6. All Done!
Once you’ve determined authenticity, you’re good to go! Happy hunting!
Big thanks to Callire for the help with this blog!
What do you think about True Religion’s new line of shoes and boots? I like a few pairs of the high heeled boots, and the Bikey flat boots, but the rest are pretty horrid. The tennis shoes look like Hypercolor T-shirts from the 1980’s and the last two pairs of boots look like men’s boots to me!
Check out this article from this month’s InStyle Magazine featuring actress Sophia Bush, a self-proclaimed “expert in Jeanetic theory”. I have to admit, the fact that she buys multiples of the same pair of jeans, hems them, and then categorizes and labels them by length (L for Long, S for Short) does qualify her as a denim lover for sure! Love her favorite picks too - including J Brand’s Lovestory jeans.
Britney Spears was spotted on April 20th in a classic white t-shirt and a pair of Levi’s. What do you think of her casual look? Even celebs are being spotted in Levi’s more lately instead of designer jeans…hmm.
Photos courtesy Celebutopia.
Distressed denim was featured in the latest issue of Elle magazine. I love distressed denim but sometimes it can go too far. For example, Destroyed Brand takes distressing to an extreme. I don’t care that Britney Spears wore a pair in her music video - they are just too much!
A few notches down on the distressed scale are True Religion’s Bobby jeans in Death Valley Medium and their Joey jean in Mo-Fo. Still distressed but not too crazy.
If you want a bit more distressing in a pair of True Religions, check out the Joey jean in Destroyed - definitely more rock n’ roll but not hideous like the Destroyed Brand jeans.
The most wearable version of the trend, and my favorite is 7 For All Mankind’s Flare jean in Havana 2 wash - a little distressing here and there, pulled out stitches and a cut out tag on the back pockets. The Havana 2’s have just the right amount of distressing to be cool, but not so much that it looks like you attacked your jeans with a pair of scissors!
What do you think of this trend? Would you go for the super destroyed look or the more subtly distressed look?
Loading …Thought our readers might enjoy these scans from the latest US Weekly magazine:
It’s a match! US Weekly paired sexy young stars with the hot designers who dress them for a special photo exclusive.”
