Rain, rain, go away
FYI: 
From the last Fairmount Flea in September 2008
Sadly, this may put a damper on the many many outdoor activities of the second weekend of spring (well, spring by temperature). This includes one of my favorite things, the Fairmount Flea, where vendors set up tables completely encircling Eastern State Penitentiary:
Due to Pending Inclement Weather For Saturday, May 2nd – Log onto our web site below or call our 24 Hour Info Line below anytime after 5AM on Saturday Morning for an update if the Flea Market will be held on Saturday or will be postponed to the Sunday rain date.
More Than 200 Vendors Will Surround The Historic Eastern State Penitentiary at 22nd & Fairmount with additional vendors around the Bache-Martin School at 22nd & Brown.
This Saturday, May 2nd (Rain Date – Sunday) From 9AM til 5PM
(215) 625-FLEA
Colonial Wallpaper
I’m kind of obsessed with wallpaper, and I think it’s mostly because I know I’m never going to get to do it. It’s not something you really want to do if you have a landlord, and besides, most of the modern, non-hideous patterns can get really pricey. But I remain obsessed with putting patterns! On my walls! Someday!
I always wondered, walking by the Gyro offices at 13th and Sansom, where one could find such interesting wallpaper, if one was not pretty much resigned to renting until one was at least 40 (although I guess I can see why they would put this one in the entryway and not where Al Gore would constantly be staring at you while you’re trying to work. It’s more of an accent wall thing).
Down at 707 E Passyunk (which is right where Passyunk hits 5th, if you’re like me and can’t keep the numbers on diagonal streets straight), there’s a small place by the name of Colonial Wallpaper where you can get (or if you’re me, gaze mournfully at) beautiful, original wallpaper to your heart’s content.
The owner, Paul Sperling, has been in business since 1972, and offers custom paper design if you can’t find something absolutely perfect in the shop already.
They’ve got no website that I can find, which is unfortunate. But damn, do they have some pretty stuff inside. I have some more pictures for you after the jump (including arbitrary pictures of their golden bird spigot on the wall outside, which I envy greatly).
100 Days of Style
In honor of President Obama being in office for 100 days there has been much analysis. However, USA Today also made sure that there is a breakdown of what Michelle has been wearing.
People.com compiled a slideshow of shoes that they think are outrageous. I’m just in love with each and every pair. If anyone out there wants to give me a pair of any of the shoes pictures, please feel free. Aso check out People.com’s home page, the are set to release the names on their 100 Most Beautiful People list.
David Beckham is launching his own style collection! It looks like the collection will be on the more sporty side than the metro sexual side, as the collection is a joint venture with Adidas.
Jezebel posted pages from a 1972 Sears Catalogue. Do any of the pieces in your closet look like these?
return of the fucking hipsters
I gotta agree with Philebrity on their dislike of the tumblr “fucking hipsters in philadelphia,” for all their reasons (e.g. the making-fun-of-hipsters oeuvre is a huge, boring, self-loathing ouroboros; believe me, I am qualified to talk about this, I went to Oberlin for undergrad)
PLUS: half-assed “Some blog phenomenon that’s gotten really popular… BUT CRAPPIER AND IN PHILADELPHIA AND PROBABLY BEGINNING WITH PH!” sites perpetuate the myth that Philly is a second-rate New York knockoff (see Overheard in Philly)
PLUS: if a stranger’s cosmetic clothing/hair/bicycle choices affect you in a way stronger than mild annoyance, you need to get some self-esteem or maybe some weed or a hobby or something
PLUS: they don’t ever link to the original source of the picture, so I can’t figure out who this guy is or the context or WHAT IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST IS GOING ON WITH HIS ENORMOUS ACTION FIGURE FOREARMS
Now you might say, “Dude, but aren’t you doing the exact same thing, except with meta-hatred of hipster-haters? It’s really just coincidence that you’re a few years older than these people and had the time to make the natural progression of seeing elaborate haircuts and Godard references as interesting, then annoying, then infuriating, then boring, then background noise. How much better are you, even if self-expression by nasty tumblr gets on your nerves like self-expression via dumb outfits gets on theirs?
And to that I would reply “Did you seriously just use the word ‘meta-hatred’ in a sentence? You fucking hipster.”
Tumblr: Fucking Hipsters in Philadelphia
Philebrity: Philly Obviously A Part Of Embarrassing New Wave Of Five-Years-Too-Late Hipster Hatred
Speidi and Fake Bakes
Looks like Heidi and Spencer from The Hills or Speidi as they are referred to by Perez, tied the knot this past weekend. In the Us Weekly spread, it says the dress and the jewels were quite pricey. Otherwise, I don’t think anything seems over the top.
Spencer’s creepy flesh colored beard is gone, which is always a good thing. I know Heidi is from the middle of the mountains, so I’m not surprised by dad’s cowboy hat. Lauren Conrad’s outfit seems like one for any other day for her. What are your thoughts?
A while back, NBC10 did a slideshow on celebs that were too pale. Well, Us Weekly did a spread on celebs that are too tan. As much of a genius as he is, Garavani Valentino is the creepiest in this set of photos.
It’s easy to forget how much Fergie of Black Eyed Peas fame has changed her look over the past few years. Looks like you’ve got some catching up to do.
Marie Claire found some cute perfumes on keychains! So cute, definitely worth a look if nothing else!
Philadelphia Magazine attempted to highlight this seasons trends, but I’m not a huge fan of their coverage since the prices are beyond steep for each item that they feature. Cosmo did a better job, giving you ideas on what you can do with pieces you already have.
Apartment Therapy Features Philly Windows
Apartment Therapy has a cool feature today on window bars in Philly. These stylish alternatives almost make me wish I had a first floor apartment so I could have cute window dressings too.
I need to get my first sunburn out of the way
Seeing as how it’s supposed to be 93 goddamn degrees in Philly tomorrow and my old swimsuit is getting ratty, I’ve had getting a new one on my mind for a while.
When I was probably 15 or so, my best friend and I were hanging out at the pool. I had only had pretty juvenile one-piece swimsuits up until that point, whereas she wore only bikinis. We were comparing and contrasting; I felt it was awkward to have 95% of your body on display, she felt like one-pieces made me look matronly.
She was very frank. “Look, we’re young; the closer to naked we have an excuse to be, the better we’re going to look.”
Obviously I’m paraphrasing, there, but the next suit I bought was a bikini. As soon as I got over the “OMG, I’m naked!” thing, I found that she was right, it somehow made me feel less self-conscious about my body. It seems contradictory, but if there’s no possibility of hiding anything, you generally just come to terms with your body and have a good time.
It’s been bikinis all the way ever since. This may just be personal preference, but I think that pretty much every woman under the age of 35 or so would look better naked than clothed, and would also look better in a bikini than in a one-piece.
I was considering hopping off the two-piece wagon for my next one, though, if those awwwwwesome 50s-inspired suits that were mostly very expensive last spring came down in price a bit. Like here, at modcloth:
But then…
Sadly, I came across this, from Cuche Bikinis (…Cuche? Really?) in Vancouver (…Vancouver? Really?), and now I keeping switching back and forth. Damn, people, I can’t make up my mind because it’s so hot and I can’t go cool off because I can’t make up my mind…
Expect the Unexpected
People are still discussing Susan Boyle and her unexpected rise to fame on Britain’s Got Talent. Catch up on the NYTimes’ take on how humans judge other humans by what they look like.
Lucky Magazine’s site features some spots to hit up in Philly, and it’s not just one or two places.
The NY Times ran a piece focused mostly on NY, but still really cute. A woman who moves to Berlin is reminded of NYC whenever she sees her son’s Legos.
In the spirit of it being absolutely gorgeous outside, here are some shots of celebs in their bikinis. I know they’re helping me motivate myself to hit the gym.
Also, Kim Kardashian looks like she lightened her hair. In the never ending battle of Blonde vs. Brunette, what is your pick? I always prefer dark hair, but that might just be a case of always wanting what you don’t have. I recently heard blondes are intimidating, which I don’t think I agree with. What’s your take?
Why Susan Boyle Shouldn’t Have Gotten A Makeover
Susan Boyle: BEFORE
Unless you’ve been living on Mars in a cave with your fingers in your ears, you know about Susan Boyle, the Internet celebrity ala Britain’s Got Talent. (I just felt my traffic go up just from saying her name. Let’s say it again: SUSAN BOYLE.)
Simon Cowell and his cohorts assumed that because she was a homely, middle-aged woman, she’d embarrass herself by singing poorly. Because, ya know, those things are totally and completely related.
Naturally, Boyle proved ‘em wrong, sang her heart out and advanced to the next level of competition. Within a few days, YouTube was blowing up with visits to see her performance and her name was one of the most popular trending topics on Twitter. She appeared on morning talk shows and a fan site popped up.
Now, she’s gotten the inevitable makeover. Darker hair, plucked eyebrows, classier duds, brand name accessorties. She’s even rocking some cute little wire-framed glasses. She looks lovely.
But I’m pretty bummed about it.
Part of The Susan Boyle Appeal was that she didn’t look like everyone else. She was unique and talented and she made the whole damn world question the way we judge people. She made us stop and think. Without directly asking, she challenged the way we categorize people and the way we place individuals in stereotypical molds based on the way we perceive people. She may not have changed the world, but for a few days, she made everyone a little more accepting.
Susan Boyle: AFTER
I understand the whys and hows of her appearance change—and will give you that she looks better in that cookie-cutter, school marm kinda way—but I have to wonder if it’s really a positive change. Will we still like Susan Boyle with tweezed eyebrows and darker hair? Didn’t we cheer for her success partly because of her shabby dress and questionable curls? Isn’t there something to be said for maintaining the look you like?
In the age of new media, Internet celebrities flicker past the public radar faster than Perez Hilton updates about Speidi, so we will probably never learn whether or not Susan Boyle maintains this aesthetic or reverts back to her frumpy dresses and too-gray permed locks.
But part of me hopes she doesn’t.