Self-proclaimed tomboy surfer Mel Wells of Portland, Oregon was inspired by the modest, one-piece bathing suits from the twenties to create her own line of similarly-cut swimwear. Her company is called Beefcake and her genderless swimsuits are for any body.

After a successful crowdfunding campaign for the suits last year, she told PopSugar in an interview:

"If you look at old photos of people on the beach, [body shame] didn't used to be a part of our culture," she said. "The main excitement [I've heard from people is] 'I've been looking for a swimsuit like this for years.' . . . I think a lot of people are looking for swimwear that is more function than fashion, but not ugly. A lot of performance swimwear is not very fashionable — it's all about performance. And I think there's a lot of people who want something kind of in between."

Her "beefcakes" (how she refers to the swimsuits) are made in the USA, come in sizes XS to 5X, and sell for $95/each (right now they're 20% off).

Thanks, Whitney! Read the rest

When legendary (and deeply private) New York Times street style photographer Bill Cunningham died in 2016, he left behind a photo archive valued at $1M. His family soon discovered he left the world another gift, a photo-filled memoir he penned secretly. It's titled Fashion Climbing and is due to be published in September.

The New York Times reports:

But aside from some scenes of family discord, Mr. Cunningham’s memoir is a rosy account of an irrepressible dreamer who tripped his way from the stockroom of Boston’s newly opened Bonwit Teller to hat shops of his own in New York. He arrives in the city in November 1948 on opening night of the opera — then a tent pole of the New York social calendar — and stays long after the Social Register stopped being anyone’s bible.

Much of the material is new, even to his relatives. “Bill kept his family life in Boston and his work life in New York very separate,” wrote his niece Trish Simonson, in an email. “He told us stories over the years, but nothing that painted a full picture of what he did and how he came to do it. The drafts of the memoir we found, titled and edited and written in his own unmistakable voice, filled in a lot of blanks of how he made it from here to there, and what he thought along the way.”

Also, if you haven't already, do check out the 2011 documentary Bill Cunningham New York. Read the rest

Sara Elizabeth Williams' long, beautifully written profile of the merchants who established illegal storefronts on the Champs-Élysées, a stretch of road in Jordan's Za’atari refugee camp -- home to 93,000 Syrian refugees -- is a lens on the crisis created by decades of western complicity in the brutal Assad regime, followed by a global proxy war fought on Syrian soil, with no compassion or regard by any of the belligerents for the civilian costs. Read the rest

A team of material scientists from Northwestern University figured out how to make hair dye in various shades of grey, all the way to a very, very black black, out of graphene sheets. Read the rest

So, Mattel recently caught some slack after announcing a Frida Kahlo Barbie. Kahlo's estate is saying that the toy manufacturer didn't get permission from them to use her image and likeness. Mattel disputes the claim.

They did, however, get the blessing of "geriatric starlet" Iris Apfel to make a single Barbie doll in her likeness. Yes, just one.

The Cut reports:

Unfortunately, Iris Apfel Barbie is one of a kind. (Same as Iris Apfel herself.) But if you’d like to dress your regular degular Barbie just like her, that will soon be an option. This fall, Barbie will release a “Styled By” Barbie, complete with glasses and necklaces from Apfel’s own Rara Avis collection. In a photo taken “at the Carlyle Hotel” (one of Apfel’s haunts), Barbie even sports a new, short bob haircut to fit the profile.

Note that the emerald green Gucci suit the nonagenerian's Barbie is donning is styled after the one she wore on the cover of her new book, Iris Apfel: Accidental Icon.

(WOW) Read the rest

I prefer to think that the name and description for the "Podcast Co-Host Sleeveless Top in Fog" was written by a neural net:

Even a late night in the studio deserves your best style effort. Show you agree by sporting this black top to record your next episode! Boasting a notched neckline and deep blue trim down the center, this loose 'n' flowy ModCloth namesake label top makes your outfit just as clever as the insights you share with your digital audience.

[via] Read the rest

EFF-Austin's Jon Lebkowsky writes: "Every year while thousands flock to a certain large festival that temporarily colonizes Austin, EFF-Austin throws a honking big geek soiree. Keynote speakers are this year are Caroline Old Coyote and Michael Running Wolf, Native American VR/AR activists who are using technology to preserve their culture and heritage. Additional speakers include EFF Investigative Researcher David Maass discussing police surveillance, government transparency, and legislation in California, former EFF-Austin president Jon Lebkowsky, Carly Rose Jackson with Texans For Voter Choice, and Vikki Goodwin, Democratic candidate for Texas House District 47. Also music by Michael Garfield, Pilgrimess, and UBA, plus custom video game consoles, lockpicking, and cosplay. " Read the rest

The Cease and Desist enamel pin—a hauntingly familiar soup can mounted on hauntingly familiar robot legs—is $7 on Kickstarter.

CEASE and DESIST will be Packaged Action Figure Style. With very thick Archivist Backing Cards and Custom Sized Miniature Blisters holding the pin in place.

The Enamel Pins themselves will shiny Chrome Metal finish where all the Grey areas Fall. With Black, and White Enamel Fills and one of 4 Different Standard Color Fills, Seen Below, for that extra layer of Tribute, or Infringement, depending on your point of view. PIN SIZE: 1.64 inches tall X 1.125 inches wide

I've been making making excited beeping sounds and rocking laterally since I saw it. Read the rest

I love Jen Wang's work: her debut graphic novel Koko Be Good was thought-provoking and challenging and beautiful; "In Real Life," her adaptation of my story Anda's Game took the tale to places that delighted and surprised me -- today, Firstsecond publishes The Prince and the Dressmaker, which I believe will be her breakout graphic novel.

These stats are just staggering.

According to Amit Kalra, the fashion industry is the second largest polluter in the world, right behind oil and gas.

He says that in the United States alone, 85% of unsold apparel, a whopping 13 million tons a year, ends up in landfills instead of being donated or recycled.

In his November 2017 TED@Tommy Talk, he offered three creative ways to deal with this issue. Kalra suggests methods for making garments more recyclable and even compostable, and for using spices and herbs to dye fabric instead of the harmful chemical colors that are currently being used.

"There's no fix-all, and there's no one-step solution. But we can get started by designing clothes with their death in mind. The fashion industry is the perfect industry to experiment with and embrace change that can one day get us to the sustainable future we so desperately need."

Read the rest

On Saturday at London Fashion Week, Burberry will reveal its new collection featuring a rainbow plaid that the company says celebrates LGBTQ communities. They've also announced support for three LGBTQ charities.

"My final collection here at Burberry is dedicated to - and in support of - some of the best and brightest organisations supporting LGBTQ+ youth around the world," says Burberry chief creative officer Christopher Bailey who is leaving the company after 17 years. "There has never been a more important time to say that in our diversity lies our strength, and our creativity."

From the BBC News:

The Albert Kennedy Trust is being helped by the fashion house. It works to support young homeless LGBT people in the UK.

It says it's overjoyed to be receiving a generous donation from the brand - saying it will make a big difference to them.

"This announcement gives voice to a large and influential community about the importance of raising awareness of LGBT youth homelessness," it added.

The International, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association is also being helped by Burberry.

The third charity receiving funding is The Trevor Project - a US organisation that works to prevent suicide among the LGBT community and young people questioning their sexuality.

Read the rest

Never let your pristine kicks touch the filthy ground with these thick-soled shoe-sandals. They strap onto another pair of shoes, in this case a pair of military-style, high-top sneakers.

Both pairs are the latest offerings of Chinese fashion brand Sankuanz who unveiled the bulky combo on the runway at Paris Men's Fashion Week in late January.

NPR reports:

[Sankuanz] sent male models down the runway wearing high top sneakers — that never actually touched the runway.

"They're transformable sneakers that have an outer layer of protective sandal that you can enter Velcro into and you can strap them on or off," is how Sankuanz publicist Courtney Wittich describes the concept.

But ultimately, they look like big-cushioned, rubber and plastic orthopedic Birkenstocks — with Velcro straps — and you strap them on top of your existing shoes.

Or they look like open-concept galoshes. That's up to you...

"You can walk totally normal in them and it gives you an extra layer of protection and then also height," Wittich says.

I wonder if they were inspired by these vintage Space Boots from the late sixties:

Or maybe by these Moon Shoes:

Either way, the shoe-sandals will be available in August for $355 and I don't think the sneakers are included in that price.

image 1 via Hypebeast, image 2 via Ebay, image 3 via Amazon Read the rest

JUMPSUIT is a "counter-fashion" created by "Marxist fashion designers" who solicited Ivanka Trump clothing to be shredded and rewoven into black and white fabric that is custom-made into one of 248-sized "ungendered multi-use monogarments," which come in fitted and unfitted (the winter line has long sleeves and the summer line has short sleeves). Read the rest

Stefan Lawrence is a much-loved designer whose work graces such Maximum Fun podcasts as Judge John Hodgman and Bullseye, noticed that the "fast-fashion" brand Topman (a division of the notorious slavers Topshop) had ripped off one of his designs and used it without license or credit in a bunch of its products. Read the rest

San Francisco-based fashion brand Betabrand sent me an important email today. The subject line, "Sasquatch Conquers All!," immediately caught my attention. Inside was a promotion for their new, totally out-there Sasquatch: Apex Predator Shirt:

WATCH him crush God's creatures with ravenous bloodlust! LISTEN as they beg for mercy! ALAS, Sasquatch has none!

Woe be to any man or beast who dares challenge MIGHTY SASQUATCH!

If you thought he was but a shy, woodland herbivore, you'd be wrong. Catastrophically, jaw-rippingly wrong.

Here's a closer look at the art (which totally cracks me up):

It's part of a crowdfunding campaign which makes it available now for $57.80 (prices go up with its popularity over time).

Previously: This 'Clowna Sutra' shirt shows copulating clowns (and non-copulating balloon dogs) Read the rest

Fix Your Kicks proprietor Joshua Marin, 20, is a third-generation cobbler whose specialty is restoring classic and highly-collectible sneakers. (Great Big Story) Read the rest

It's $18 from Gamiss, perfect for your next BBQ. (via Crazy Abalone) Read the rest