Before: The 505 house-party uniform

The fashion bloggers at BurqueStyle have embarked upon an age-old endeavor.

You see, there comes a time in every young jerk’s life, when one might want to get the kind of job where clothes matter a little.

I’m not talking about life at the Alibi. Most days, we’re just lucky we’re all wearing pants. (To be fair, some staffers dress very nicely here. I’m not one of them.) However, if I were a lawyer defending you in a triple-homicide case, maybe you’d want me to class it up a little. Like with a hat or something.

Which brings us to Jersey punk transplant J. He once drove a car through a Home Depot. He hangs around Dumpsters, if the photos on the blog are any indication. Soon, he will be a young professional. So BurqueStyle and local clothing shop Toad Road hooked him up with some ideas.

After: Top o the mornin’, guvna!

I think it’s actually kinda hard to dress professionally but still feel like yourself if you’re coming from an counterculture background. They did nice work. And J still got a chance to point out that if you’re wearing pants that cost $180, it totally blows if you screw them up somehow. But they fit nice, he says, and feel better than the mass-produced, cookie-cutter $15 jeans dangling from plastic hangers at Walmart.

And all the better if you can support local business or avoid child-labor-made goods in the process.

BurqueStyle’s got an event happening this weekend, too. Pop Up ABQ is Saturday, 7 p.m., at the Corrales Bistro Brewery. Details here.

From Burque Style: Sean and Stefanie Montano. He is the co-owner and general manager of Monroe’s. She is owner of Stilo Lifestyle Accessories, a boutique in Nob Hill.

Most fashion writing bugs me. It’s usually snippy, sexist, classist, racist and, above all, anti-local. Women are the primary targets of criticism, everything is absurdly expensive, and white people fashion is the right fashion. Experts usually espouse advice in line with national trends that have nothing to do with your area.

And as we all know, ours is a region with identity.

Which is why I was thrilled to see some locals doing fashion right. The good people at Burque Style embarked on a mission to document our city. (Disclosure: One of their writers, Jessica Del Curto, used to work with me at the Daily Lobo.) The site doesn’t front a nasty tone. Instead, it celebrates the local fashion of regular people.

Today, the team’s posted a boo feature showcasing couples. It’s damn cute.

Fashion. Icon.

Get a line drawing of me tattooed on your forearm.

TWEEt.

If you cross a unicorn with a frosty treat, do you get a unicornicle?

A member of Animal Collective, (which never sounded better than as the soundtrack to some serious porn in Shortbus ).

I hear Kmart sells these T shirts now, which should launch the trend’s postmortem.

I am the future.

• SEE!!! (Grey) [ Fri Dec 30 2011 7:23 PM ]
  
• i predict the wolf and moon (Greenley) [ Sat Dec 31 2011 6:39 PM ]
  

The faux designer duds in question

Missoni’s heavily marketed=highly anticipated line of wares for big box retailer Target hit the shelves/internet today. The brouhaha was so intense, it crashed Target’s website. Admittedly, I kind of want some tumblers ... but think most of the merch is a little tacky.

• I went this morning (RodStewartsLov​​er) [ Tue Sep 13 2011 1:55 PM ]
  
• Someone spent a grand (RodStewartsLov​​er) [ Tue Sep 13 2011 2:04 PM ]
  
• They'll restock ... (Jessica) [ Tue Sep 13 2011 2:08 PM ]
  

This is for real. Now let’s bring extremely pointy boots to New Mexico and combine it with planking. We’ll call it “pointing.”

More Videos

• the music is stinkin' catchy (genericabqfema​​le) [ Fri Jul 8 2011 3:57 PM ]
  
• TopCat says (TopCat) [ Sat Jul 9 2011 1:13 PM ]
  
• I want (Mayor McCheese) [ Mon Jul 11 2011 10:47 AM ]
  

Princess Beatrice (pictured right) and her famous tea rose hat

At first glance Princess Beatrice's tea rose hat looks like a Cindy Lou Who hairdo. Don't be fooled, this is no Dr. Seuss invention, but a design by Philip Treacy.

The extravagant hat worn by Princess Beatrice to the royal wedding between Prince William and Catherine Middleton, got almost as much attention as the wedding itself. The hat inspired mockery, admiration and even a Facebook page. Now Beatrice is giving up the head piece to help benefit children's charities. The bidding on eBay.com, which began this week, has now reached more than $35,000.

The auction is being overseen by Auction For A Cause and all proceeds will go to The The Little Bee Initiative, a campaign set up by Princess Beatrice. The money raised by auctioning off the hat will be split evenly between two charities, UNICEF and UK Children in Crisis.

For all of the prosperous fashionistas out there, there is still time to place your bid on this truly individual hat. The auction closes on May 22, so hurry.

Elmar Weisser won world’s best beard for the reindeer he sculpted into his facial hair.

As most folks are aware, the World Beard and Moustache Championships 2011 are going on in Norway. Wait, you didn't know? The United States won an impressive six gold medals, including one in the largest, most fiercely competitive category: Full Beard Natural.

However, top prize went to Germany's Elmar Weisser; he received the honor of best beard. His luscious beard, styled to look like a reindeer, flew right over the competition.

A total of about 150 contestants competed in 14 different categories, from Natural Moustache to Musketeer. Beard Team USA sent a respectable 35 representatives to the world championships. Sadly, there is no chapter in New Mexico. Interested in starting one?

If you haven’t checked out the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists, it’s another way to get your hair fix for the day.

• TopCat feels lame (TopCat) [ Tue May 17 2011 4:27 PM ]
  

 

So, I bought a pair of TOMS about three months ago, very enthused to be a supporter of the company's One for One campaign: For every pair you buy, another is given to a child in need. Pretty good deal, right? At around $55 for brand-new, high-design shoes, I thought so.

After a few days of breaking my TOMS in, I was hooked. They are the most comfortable pair of shoes I've ever had and I felt good in them. They're no high heels, but they’re cute. And the best part about them is knowing that I'm helping someone in need.

But about two months into wearing my TOMS, I started to question the love affair. They started to smell. I wasn't sure if it was my own feet or what, but it was bad. Other shoes that I've worn for a year smelled better. Carrying this kind of stank around, I didn’t feel comfortable anymore. So I decided to take a break.

My brother mentioned the other day how he stopped wearing his TOMS, too. He had the same thing happen to him—about two months into wearing the shoes, the foot funk got horrendous. He said they were starting to get sticky inside, too.

The idea of helping someone else out is great. But if they only last for a couple of months, I'm not sure if they're worth it. C'mon, Tom. If a kid's poor, the last thing he's "in need" of are stinky shoes.

• My oldest son's feet stink so bad (Carl Petersen) [ Thu May 12 2011 10:38 AM ]
  
• I'm sure your son is glad (marisa) [ Thu May 12 2011 12:29 PM ]
  
• They work ok for me... (michellew16) [ Thu May 12 2011 4:25 PM ]
  

All dressed up and no place to go, except my stomach.

The most chichi water ever bottled has found its way onto shelves at Whole Foods on Carlisle. San Pellegrino—for some reason—teamed up with Missoni—the Italian fashion house most famous for knitwear that features brightly-colored zigzag patterns. The designer water has been available since this summer, yet, I’m guessing, it’s late arriving in Albuquerque. As usual. A bottle of this limited edition water now lives in my humble refrigerator. See Lea, Perrins and Mr. Tapatio quiver with inferiority.

• My uncle (Nick Brown) [ Tue Nov 16 2010 2:33 PM ]
  
• I hear (Jessica) [ Tue Nov 16 2010 3:12 PM ]
  

A snapshot of less attractive Forever 21 merchandise

Praise the gods of affordable apparel, the 20,000 square foot Forever 21 at Coronado Center is open. Out of key makeup items, yesterday I grudgingly stopped by Coronado to shop at Sephora and was pleasantly surprised to find the new Forever 21 open for business. The store shines like a tranny out on the town. The decor, naturally, is that mega-trendy faux Lucite and chandelier-bedecked, quasi French boudoir style, which compliments the voluminous stock of cheap, whimsy-laden merchandise. This store, unlike its Cottonwood Mall counterpart, has a men’s section, a lingerie section, shitloads of accessories and who knows what else. I’d have to spend hours in there to give a full assessment. Sadly, the store was closing when I arrived and it was all I could do just to contain my excitement long enough to locate and purchase some big-ass sunglasses and ruffley pajama shorts.

• Re: Forever 21 (amberparker) [ Mon Sep 6 2010 2:28 PM ]
  
• Duh (Wednesday) [ Mon Sep 6 2010 2:50 PM ]
  
• Forever 21 and sweaty (Pattriot) [ Tue Sep 7 2010 10:42 PM ]