Appozitegeist

Announcing Eco-Chic ZiteFight, presented by 302designs

Jenn — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 19:15:28 +0000

302designs is an eco-friendly clothing label in Austin, TX. They make stylish and unique t-shirts that are made from organic, sweatshop-free materials. I like lots of their designs, but have a particular affinity for Independence and No Limits.

A bit about 302designs, from their website:

302designs is a clothing label whose poetic, artistic & unique clothing inspire, define, and push the limits of the t-shirt fashion status quo. Our sweatshop-free and organic cotton t-shirts convey a powerful, philosophical, and motivational message through our creative and unique approach.

Starting today, Appozite is partnering with 302 to bring you Eco-Chic ZiteFight. It’s a ZiteFight specifically for photos of organic, eco-friendly, or all-natural style. Anyone can participate; just upload a picture or few of your best green fashion. It can be handmade or store-bought, new or old, as long as it’s eco-friendly. And the best part? We’re giving away prizes! Details here.

So, go take some pictures of your best eco-chic style and add them to ZiteFight. Or if you don’t have anything you’d consider eco-chic, then maybe you should start with a shirt from 302designs.

Stuff that’s so awesome it hurts, Vol. 24

Jenn — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:06:52 +0000

This week, I’m going to focus on eco-friendly and organic items. That’s pretty easy to do, since there is a lot out there to choose from. In fact, I couldn’t narrow it down to just five items, so I included six.

1. Loomstate Flux Jeans. Eco-friendly doesn’t have to be boring - check out these great, 99% organic cotton jeans. It’s recommended that you wash these jeans while wearing them in the shower. Really? Anyone ever do that?

2. Knittles Organic Cotton Baby Bucket Hat. No pesticides or dyes in this little cap, so it’s perfect for a baby’s sensitive skin. Plus, it’s adorable. This hat model looks very thoughtful. I wonder what he’s planning.

3. Leah Braided Halter Dress by Meadow. It might be the wrong time of year to include this dress, but it’s so pretty that I had to. I love the easy-to-wear silhouette and the rich gray color.

4. Bamboo Fine Jersey Scarf. It’s starting to get cold, so maybe it’s time to update your scarf collection. These look warm and soft and they come in very cheerful colors. They’re made from 100% organic bamboo fabric.

5. Simple All About Me Sneakers. These sneakers are made of organic, recycled and reused materials (the black stripe is a piece of old tire). And they come in a variety of colors, like this one called Green Eyes.

6. 302designs Shine T-Shirt. All organic and sweatshop-free, the t-shirts at 302designs are both stylish and eco-friendly. I really like the design and color of this one. I can just imagine having a picnic under that tree.

That’s all for this week. Next week, I’m going to hunt down some good deals in honor of the start of the holiday shopping season, so stay tuned!

A big list of fashion websites

Jenn — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 18:34:29 +0000

A couple days ago, Mashable posted a list of 25 top fashion websites. Their list ranges from magazine and news sites to social shopping and outfit sites. I visit many of these regularly, like StyleHive and Sugar, but have never heard of many of these others. I’m also a bit surprised to not see some of my favorites on there, like YouLookFab.

The sites Mashable listed:

Are any of your favorite fashion websites missing from Mashable’s list? Which sites on this list do you visit regularly?

A few reasons why Etsy is great

Jenn — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 18:00:02 +0000

I’ve been writing this blog for almost six months now, and I’ve yet to write a full post on Etsy (though the volume of awesomeness was dedicated to it this week). It’s about time I do that, so here it is.

I’m sure most of you have heard of Etsy, and probably many of you shop for or sell things there. If you don’t know what Etsy is, you should hurry over and check it out (their FAQ will explain a lot). Etsy is an online marketplace where people sell and buy handmade goods. It’s been around since 2005, but has become very popular in the past year or so. It’s so popular, in fact, that there was an article in this week’s Time discussing how Etsy and similar sites will do likely very well this holiday shopping season, even though physical retail stores are not expected to do well at all. There’s even a Ning site for people who love Etsy.

Sure, Etsy has a few technical problems and kinks to work out, but overall it’s a useful, fun and innovative shopping site. So let’s talk about a few of Etsy’s merits.

One-of-a-kind goods.

I’ve talked before how important uniqueness is to style, and on Etsy, you can find completely unique (or at least very small run) items. I love this part of Etsy; I take great pride in wearing a pair of earrings only a few other people in the world own. Why would you buy mass-produced jewelry at Target when you can get awesome stuff on Etsy for the same price?

So many ways to search.

My favorite way to find products is the color search, where visitors can find products that are a particular color. Sometimes I just run my cursor over all the pretty colored bubbles. But you can search for items in lots of different ways. You can find newly listed products, items from a brand new and undiscovered store, look at featured or favorite items, search through categories and locations and more. There are so many ways to find what you’re looking for. I can’t think of another shopping site that has so many cool ways to discover new things.

Supporting local and individual artisans.

There are no corporate chain stores on Etsy. Everything is made by an individual person. In my head, Etsy sellers are all crafty artisans toiling away in their basements. Even if that’s not quite true, I feel good supporting people who take the time to create something. If I had more creative tendencies, I would be selling my own stuff on Etsy, so buying from others is the next best thing.

Community.

I follow a number of Etsy sellers on Twitter and there’s something really cool (dare I say authentic?) about talking to someone on Twitter about the items I just purchased from them on Etsy. It’s so traditional, like the social media answer to the cottage industry. If I post a link to an Etsy item here on my blog, I’ll often get a new Twitter follower with the same name later that day.

Links.

An Etsy post wouldn’t be complete without sharing some link love. There are so many great Etsy shops; I can’t possibly list them all. But here are a few that have attracted my attention lately. If you’ve got a favorite I haven’t listed, please add it in the comments!

Always Amy - jewelry

AnitaCraftyCreations - bath and body products

Celisa - jewelry, crocheted items, hair accessories

Chaotic Curios - buttons and badges

Debris Design - clothing

Duece Goods - yarn items, bottle cap art

Emily Gray - jewelry

LouLouBell - bags

Katie Blair Designs - cards

Kim Westad - pottery

mimipea - bags, cloth items

Ocean Avenue Silks - scarves

polishedtwo - jewelry, hair accessories

stOOpidgErL - jewelry, photograph, art

thedreamygiraffe - paintings

The Glass Onion - jewelry

Stuff that’s so awesome it hurts, Vol. 23

Jenn — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 22:59:20 +0000

This will be an all-Etsy edition of awesomeness. Many of these are Twitter followers of @zitefight and I thought it would be cool to give them a few shout outs. Plus, Etsy is really great and I like supporting it and the people who sell things there.

1. Love, Luck and Horses Charm Necklace by PoisonAppleNYC. After last week, I’m realizing I love skulls as accessories. PoisonAppleNYC’s Etsy’s shop is full of funky, pretty jewelry with a bit of an edge. Lots of skulls and bows. I like this charm necklace a lot. A lot.

2. Hangar Standa Wall Decal by artwallproject. Wall decals are way cooler than wallpaper. If you want to snaz up a room without committing to new paint, this is the way to go. I particularly like this coat rack decal. I wonder if it would confuse guests.

3. Olivine Drops Earrings by ladyhawke. These are simple and beautiful earrings. The green is gorgeous and I like the simple teardrop shape.

4. Ho Ho Ho Glass Marble Magnets by ksickles. It’s about time to start thinking about the holidays. Start with these cute magnets. And get some for all of your friends.

5. Bluebells Earrings by polishedtwo. Adorable! There are a few dozen cute earrings in polishedtwo’s shop, so if these flowers aren’t doing it for you, try some of the others. They are all wonderful.

That’s all for this week! More next time.

Some pretty interesting boots

Jenn — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 18:13:38 +0000

Okay, so maybe these aren’t quite as bad as those pants from a few weeks ago, but check out these boots. What do you think? I look at these and see some weird combination of science fiction, superhero and stripper. Would you wear these boots? With what?

Update: Ha ha, it gets even better. Betsy just pointed out the description of these boots on the Zappos page:

Honey, sexy and shiny are in your destiny when you start a marvelous mutiny wearing these seductive Highest Heel shoes.

Awesome. Also, what? What does that mean? Are these supposed to be sexy pirate boots?

Stuff that’s so awesome it hurts, Vol. 22

Jenn — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 03:17:46 +0000

Wow, I’m so late with the awesomeness this week! To make up for it, this week’s volume has six items instead of the traditional five! Forgive me?

1. b.chyll Chloe Cashmere Cardigan. Word on the street is that this is one soft sweater. I love the silhouette and the colors, and you can’t go wrong with cashmere. Sign me up.

2. Alcove Sofa by Hive Modern. I have a weird thing for red sofas. I love them. This one is so sophisticated, but it also seems cozy. You could snuggle down in and hide from the world. I love it.

3. Dovetail Neighborhood Plates. These are wonderful plates. It’s kind of like a little kid drew a few buildings on an old white plate and then sold them for $24, but I like it. I could eat from these plates on my new red sofa.

4. MacBook Envelope by fernfiddlehead. Though I don’t personally have a MacBook, I know many of you do. You probably need one of these fabric laptop covers to keep it nice and shiny, then. I like this green one, but there are many to choose from.

5. Grin and Bear It Teddy Bear Lamp. This is the stupidest name ever, but the lamp is adorable. I look at this lamp and I imagine all kinds of crazy scenarios where the bear was tricked into taking shots by his cool bear friends, and maybe things got a little silly, and then he ends up passed out with a lampshade on his head. I hope no one took any pictures of his drunken antics. Poor thing.

6. Catherine Michiels Bob Ring. Oh. My. God. This is the single most awesome piece of jewelry I have ever seen. Ever. I would be so badass in this ring. If it didn’t cost $4,800 I would already have one. As it stands, I’ll have to save up for it, but it will be so freaking worth it.

That’s all for this week. I’ll be on time next week!

Stuff that’s so awesome it hurts, Vol. 21

Jenn — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:06:03 +0000

This week’s volume is full is quirkiness, snark and enthusiasm. Enjoy!

1. Finger Food Mini Plates. Finally, a safe way to hold my caviar when I’m sipping on champagne. Do you know how long I’ve been searching for something like this?? Forever. So, this may be a clever way to hold both an hors d’oeuvre and a cocktail, but there’s something vaguely unclassy about strapping a mini plate to your finger so you can chow down. Plus, I’m not sure how you actually keep the food on your little plate when sipping.

2. The Meat Eater Earrings by AlwaysAmy. ZOMG! T-Rex earrings! I’ve got to get these and wear them with everything. Think of the fear I will inspire with these meat-eating monsters on my ears. I love dinosaurs. Though, I wonder what they are looking at.

3. ASOS Satin Pleated Peep Toe Platform Shoe. These teal satin pumps are so pretty. Just in time for the fall and winter party season, too. Okay, so maybe you don’t consider Christina Aguilera a style icon, but these really are lovely.

4. Sport Wine Charms by glassidentities. Shrinky Dinks! Wine! Sports! For the sports fan and wine enthusiast in your life, I present to you these sports-themed wine charms. Football isn’t just for Miller Lite anymore. (Now it’s also for Franzia. Ha ha, burn.)

5. Toto Knits Safari Sweaters for Baby. This little lion is too cute! This sweater (and the other adorable sweaters on the site) are knit by women in Nairobi. So, these sweaters are warm, cute and good for the world. Look at how fierce this lion is. Grrr.

That’s all for this week. Tune in next time. And while you wait, did you see these horrific pants?

You could win a free t-shirt!

Jenn — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:52:49 +0000

If you upload a new ZiteFight photo this week, you could win an awesome (and free) ZiteFight t-shirt! Just sign in or sign up and add a new photo to enter the contest.

More about the details here. Good luck!

What is the deal with these pants?

Jenn — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:10:47 +0000

Can we talk for a minute about these pants? I have lots of questions.

So I know the dropped crotch thing is working its way around the runways and shops, but seriously. How does a person walk in these? What kind of top do you pair with them? Is the purple and gray pattern meant to distract from the ridiculous fit? And why are they $95?