Calvin Klein windows on Madison Ave.

Calvin Klein has always been really good when it comes to reminding us that models don’t need to actually wear clothes in order to sell clothes. This summer alone brought us Eva Mendes greased up and stripped down and the foursome on a billboard in SOHO that made moms and this city councilman (who sounds drunk) protest. Now the two windows of Klein’s NYC store give us two stories of model David Agbodji—practically ALL of model David Agbodji. Even the NY Times’ Bill Cunningham, couldn’t help but take note of them in his most recent installation of “On the Street”.

Truth is, I think a little nudity on Madison Ave. is refreshing and I imagine that there are plenty of old ladies wearing Chanel who would agree. The second window (which you can see over at The Shophound) has a kneeling mannequin positioned squarely in front of the semi-transparent scrim bearing** the naked image of Agbodji. As much as I enjoy the rearview, I think this second display is tipping the scales on the side of tacky. I’ll give a few creativity points for the arrangement but seriously CK, it’s still Madison Avenue, not the red light district. Please try to keep your nudity classy.

**definitely one of my better unintentional puns of 2010!

Breathing Easy

A few weeks ago my friend Deb was rushed to the hospital after stopping on the corner of 8th St. and Bainbridge to “catch her breath.” Her asthma had been bothering her but she said she was okay to meet a group of us at Horizons to celebrate her girlfriend’s birthday.

Thank goodness Philadelphia is small. Thank goodness two mutual friends came across Deb while walking home from work. Thank goodness they had a car to take Deb home to use her nebulizer until paramedics arrived and rushed her to the hospital.

Thank goodness.

Which leads me to my endorsement of Hawthorne Yoga and Reiki’s workshop, Breathing Through Winter.

On Sunday at 2 p.m. HYR Founder Sean Jacobs, will be leading a workshop about pranayana, yogic breathing. Jacobs also suffers from asthma but he has used yogic breathing to control his symptoms for the past four years. The workshop is part of HYR’s Sunday Afternoon Workshop Series and  sticks to the sliding scale payment plan of the studio, attendees can pay $5-$20 for the 2-hour workshop.

As a fellow asthma sufferer I’m planning on going and I heard a rumor that  THIS GUY is considering it as well.

Green Pad Living @ the largest Whole Foods in the Philly area

Continuing with my recent “green” theme, as of today, a new Whole Foods Market is opening in Plymouth Meeting and aside from the opening day madness (the store’s Facebook profile claims the Eagles’ pep band is playing?!) this new location is full of more than just groceries. It also houses a community center, touts a roof deck and the eco-friendly goods of the Philadelphia-based company, Green Pad Living.

Owned and operated by the husband/wife team of Darren Hengst and Jackie Giordano, Green Pad Living offers eco-friendly options for your home and bath. Their display (pictured above) at Whole Foods makes use of two pieces of GPL’s “eco-restored furniture” in addition to exhibiting a cross-section of their organic soaps, bath salts and reclaimed wood frames. You can also find GPL’s products at Green Aisle Grocery (owned by PW’s own food critic Adam Erace and his bro) on East Passyunk in South Philly.

Take the time to hop over to the GPL Blog and check out an awesome pictorial documenting the process of building the Whole Foods display. You can see how Darren built the green table using reclaimed wood from the rafters of a garage and salvaged posts from a barn as well as the how he refurbished the cream coffee table to take it from peeling piece of junk to store display unit.

Squeaky Clean

I love soap on a rope. Maybe it’s due to fond memories of the Avon lady stopping by my childhood home or its almost synonymous connection to stocking stuffers, either way just hearing the words make me smile. In fact, I almost bought one to take to the Yankee Swap of a recent holiday party but vouched for the Miley Cyrus throw pillow instead.

So why all the soap chat? Well, believe it or not, Tom Ford, the man who makes everything look sleek and stylish managed to add his effortless gloss to bath bars with ropes too.

I found this basic-yet-awesome soap on a rope in a sudsy round up over at Shoptometrist. It’s a mega list of soaps ranging from the fated roped variety to bars that look good enough to eat (though we don’t suggest the whole chewing up and swallowing thing). Some folks might say giving soap as a gift is boring. Personally, I think it’s a nice way of telling someone they stink while still looking thoughtful.

Ah, tis the season!

Shewolf

Vanity Fair has posted pictures of the photo shoot with the gorgeous Shakira. The accompanying article explains that the reporter found her howl from Shewolf oddly alluring by the end of their time with her.

Continuing with the real bodies theme, ESPN Magazine is going to publish pictures of athletes in the buff. BET is especially excited since the magazine will feature pictures of several high profile African-American athletes including Serena William’s cover picture.

Glamour.com asks “How do you apply your makeup?” Using a brush to apply liquid foundation makes a world of difference. We already knew this since some of us at PW Style aren’t especially artistic yet yearn to be creative.  The brushes help with this.

Courtesy of InStyle.com - This bag is called Big Buddha

Want cheap accessories? InStyle has you covered, with their list of handbags, scarves & sunglasses under 100 bucks. Nice.

Lastly, Stylecaster is excited for Sloane and Eric from Entourage to tie the knot. They’ve gone ahead and picked out what Sloane should wear for her wedding.

abstract body art

So a friend of mine just got a new tattoo, and I am now in love with her artist, Amanda Wachob of New York’s Dare Devil Tattoo. In addition to some really nice examples of more standard stuff, there’s a series in her portfolio that looks like brushstrokes permanently painted on the body.

God, isn’t that just SICK? I’ve always thought that the urge to get another tattoo decreases by inverse squares as time elapses since your last one; I haven’t particularly felt the itch to get another tattoo since I was like 19, but man, the compulsion is back. These are just so unlike any others I’ve seen.

You can apparently just give the lady a general area and say “Go to town!”, which is also kind of appealing in a kind of terrifying way.

Bianca loses her mind: Philadelphia Half-Marathon Edition

I’m claiming a moment of temporary insanity: I’m signing up for the Philadelphia Half-Marathon in November. As an asthmatic that took up running the year after college, I’ve never attempted to run more than 5 miles in a row in my life …and I’m not sure what makes me think this a good idea (aside from the challenge), but …I’m goin’ for it!

I bought a new pair of running shoes in March before a 5k, and I was running an average of 20 miles a week back then for a few months… so I’m due for a new pair.

To ease my nerves on this ridiculous feat, here are photos of new running shoes I want/need. That is all.

Wednesday Morning Links

In addition to admitting that their covers are completely unrealistic, Self magazine has some makeup products to try if you want to make yourself look younger. It’s basically just blush and lipgloss, but I think the slideshow is pretty. They’ve also got a slideshow featuring natural beauty products. Self also has a recipe for what I’ve been craving over the past few hot days – gazpacho. Deeelish.

Glamour has a slideshow featuring gorgeous cocktail rings.

In addition to revealing Self’s confession, Jezebel also has a conversation between a mother and I’m assuming a daughter. It’s funny.  It reminds me of my mom, but I like when she does the little smiley faces. I feel like they are under used past a certain point, except from creepy guys. It’s nice to know someone with no ill intentions like momma dukes just wants to emoticon it up.

Lastly, e-mails from crazy people might become the new fmylife.com or texts from last night.  Check it out.

Sunny with splenda and skim, please.

Today I put in my regular order and set my bag on the counter to get my wallet out. As I was pawing through my purse, Jean asked “skim milk in your coffee, not cream, right?”. I nodded, and even though I had a half-full water bottle in my bag, it was at that moment that I noticed I was the only person not purchasing some cold bottled drink. I looked down the counter and it dawned on me at that moment that I’m really married to my morning coffee/tea.

We’re Holding Out for the Alycia Lane Lipstick

While we don’t make it a habit to tune in to Marnie Hall’s odious gossip videos, we happened to notice today’s topic: Lipsticks named for the NBC10 anchorbabes. Stylist Carie Brescia is starting her own line of makeup featuring the favorite shades of local television reporters Tracy Davidson, Renee Chenault-Fattah and Dawn Timoney, further proving the Philadelphia is fucking desperate for celebrities.