leopard print shorts

I want. Gimme now. Rawr.

Images via Satorialist

 Not to mention, these photos are amazing.

* Joplin * Turner * Smith *

Oh how I adore female rockers of the 60's and 70's. Three of my favorites: Janis Joplin, Tina Turner and Patti Smith:

JOPLIN:

TURNER:

 

SMITH:

All sassy, all fighters and freaks and ridiculously talented. And the clothes??? Joplin was a hopeless hippie in fringe and color and beads. Turner went nuts for the short embellished dresses (now, not as much). Smith was/is a truly "rock" rocker - ripped jeans, tshirts and an amazing repertoire of head gear.

My favorite Janis Joplin albums: Cheap Thrills and Pearl
My favorite Tina Turner albums: River Deep - Mountain High (with Ike) and Acid Queen (solo)
My favorite Patti Smith albums: Horses and Easter

Go forth and download.

Say Hello to History: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe & Weimar Classicism

Sometimes things from school stick...most of the time they don't. In college I took a History through Music class, and for some reason Weimar Classicism stuck. This cultural and literary movement in the late eighteenth/early nineteenth century was basically an explosion of art, music, philosophy and poetry in Europe...pretty much all of the things that the weirdos in Williamsburg claim to be awesome at. At the forefront of this movement was this dude named Johann Wolfgang von Goethe:

Handsome fella, no? He was a writer...a playwright, a poet, a novelist - and a philosopher...oh, and a scientist. Faust, one of Goethe's plays, was written in two parts. Here's an excerpt from the first part that I think truly speaks to everybody with art in their hearts...any kind of art:

"What you don't feel, you will not grasp by art,  
Unless it wells out of your soul  
And with sheer pleasure takes control,  
Compelling every listener's heart.  
But sit - and sit, and patch and knead,  
Cook a ragout, reheat your hashes,  
Blow at the sparks and try to breed  
A fire out of piles of ashes!  
Children and apes may think it great,  
If that should titillate your gum,  
But from heart to heart you will never create.  
If from your heart it does not come."

...if that doesn't make you smile I don't know what will :)

90's love

I love the 90's. In the downtown NYC crowd it's super posh to reminisce about the 90's hip hop scene - the clothes, the music, even several parties are dedicated to it. So allow me to specify that I love 90's grunge. The music, the fashion, the movies, the makeup...it was so angsty and rebellious and unpretentious. It spoke directly to teen pain and confusion, it gave us an out - it gave us an in - grunge in all its glory was a sympathetic haven for those of us who needed something different. Hipsters and young folk today have tried their damnedest to recreate the grunge movement, but it's much more intentional and calculated - completely detracting from the essence of the original movement. I guess I've become the older generation musing about the good ol' days...oh well, I suppose it was bound to happen eventually. Trip down memory lane? Okay!

 

Obviously these pics could go on and on and on. I can't even be sure that I've never posted on this before, I love 90's grunge that much.

One of my fav Nirvana songs, if you feel so inclined...


3snaps to 90's grunge.

Motown Rain

I was raised listening to Motown. My mom used to put it on while I danced around the living room, twirling around in circles to make my skirt spin out. I was also raised in the rain - growing up in the quaint hippie town of Eugene, Oregon where it rains a solid 8 months out of the year.

To this day I always find myself wanting to listen to Motown on rainy days - nostalgia is truly a force to be reckoned with. So on this gloomy, rainy day in NYC, it's been nothing but Smokey Robinson & the Miracles on rotation. One of my favorites:



It's romantic, it's sexy...it's a vibe, the best vibe as far as I'm concerned.

more and more and more...

I'm perpetually planning my next tattoo. They're sexy and moody and creative - they show a "no regrets" attitude toward life, and quite frankly people who have them have way more life cred in my book than those who don't. Sorry...I'm inkist...

I came upon an amazing blog - Tattoologist - that basically just features people and their tattoos. Here are some of my fav's: 

Collarbone tattoo...totally love that

This one looks eerily like a tattoo the bestie designed for me a few years ago

I'm kind of obsessed with seeing leg tats through sheer tights

I mean really, I could go on and on and on with these photos. People come up with the most incredible ideas...I want more and more and more...

All Black is the New Black...again

This is probably a little unconventional and maybe totally annoying, but I'm about to re-post a blog I wrote in January of 2009. The topic is still completely relevant...like, daily relevant...and since my bestie just posted about wearing all black, I thought I'd resurface my post as well. 

I'm going to cut out the whole first part about my favorite fashion photography blog Jak&Jil, and get to the part where All Black is the New Black. Here goes...flashback to 1/6/2009:

*******

In my time browsing Jak&Jill, something very important has come to my attention - the fashion industry is calling out something new. Or maybe it's not new...but it's hot, and I plan on figuring out a way to make it work on me. Let me show you a few pictures (source Jak & Jil):

Do you get it yet? No? Want more pictures? Okfine.

I'm assuming you get it now. The All-Black outfit. And though the majority of these photos feature ladies, this post is for the dudes too. Anybody with the right state of mind can and should partake.

I Googled "how to wear an all black outfit" to see if there were rules I didn't know about, but it turns out there aren't, so I'm going to have to write them myself. So without further ado...

The 3snaps Guide to Wearing All Black:

1) All black articles of clothing are not created equally - Just because we're saying All-Black is Back, doesn't mean you should run out and get anything black you can find. You are not a stagehand and you are not a gothic angsty teenager.

NO TO THIS:
AND NO TO THIS: 2) Pieces can be classic or unique and funky - It is perfectly ok, even encouraged, to go for classic all-black looks (black jeans, black boots, black wool sweater) or more whimsical ones (black dress with insanely tall shoes with an embellished black coat)...or to find a way to combine them!
3) TEXTURE TEXTURE TEXTURE - This is perhaps the most important piece of information when it comes to wearing all black. Take this opportunity to play with textures! It's perfectly fine, if not preferred that the texture of each piece of clothing be different from one another. What do I mean? Leather, lace, denim, suede, knit, silk, fur/feathers, sheer, velvet, plain cotton, metallic...catch my drift? Great.
4) Don't forget the accessories - Those can be all-black too if you really wanna go for it, or you can use them to spice up the outfit. Scarves, gloves, jewelry, bags, hats, sunglasses...here are some good examples:

5) Be practical - Is the all-black ensemble appropriate for where you're going and what you're doing? It's a statement. It's slightly rebellious, it's sexy, it's a little moody, it's mysterious...I think in most situations it is appropriate and you should be fine, but always double check with yourself just to make sure.
And last but not least 6) Own it - Like I just said, wearing all-black is indeed a statement. Just like plaid shirts with skinny jeans and converse, just like sweatpants and a college sweatshirt, like Uggs and miniskirts (cough cough), like tie dye shirts and corduroys, like leather and...whips? Everything you put on yourself means something - there is no such thing as accidental dressing. So if you're going to wear all black, wear it, walk it, work it.

Well there it is, my dear readers. Brace yourselves for this one:

Until the next one - stay stylish, stay hungry, stay black.

The Hidden Wedge

If you're an active 3snaps reader, you know by now that I love a wedge. As far as I'm concerned Jeffrey Campbell is currently at the top of the wedge game. I recently wrote about them in a post about fall boots and highlighted a couple, but here are some of my favorite:

Images: Solestruck

Why do I love wedges so much? I think probably for the same reason regular girls love heels. They make legs look long and lean, they dress up any outfit - but unlike heels, these suckers are easy to walk in and don't hurt my 87 year old back. 

As design teams tend to do, there's a brand out there that's changing the wedge game. 80%20 Shoes has been up on the "Hidden Wedge" steez for a while, but for fall 2010, designer Ce Ce Chin is taking it to a totally new place. Take a gander:

 

 

 Images: 80%20 Website

Sometimes a gal just doesn't wanna be in flat shoes!! These 80%20 hidden wedges essentially give you hidden height inside the shoe - because while it looks like you could potentially be in flats, you're still actually getting the lift, adding a little extra height and a little extra gorgeousness to your legs.

The hidden wedge is about to get huge y'all - you heard it here first.
3snaps to 80%20.