They’re hand-painted by LA-based artist David Palmer, and proceeds from their sale will go towards helping protect the rain forest.
You still all hate them, right? We’re not just imagining that this is $18,000 worth of ugly flip flop, are we?
The fact is, many of our readers hate ALL flip-flips. It wouldn’t matter if they were hand-painted by Jesus, they came up so many times in the comments on our “What Would You Ban?” post last month, that we were actually scared you’d all come and lynch us for the couple of pairs of the (non-hand-painted, not-even-close to $18,000) things lurking in the back of the Fashion Police cupboard.
We’ll come clean: we don’t share the flip-flop hate in general. We’re not saying we’d wear them to the office, or even on the city streets, but for a day at the pool or beach, they’re handy to throw on, and the kind of thing you don’t have to worry about getting damaged by chlorine from the pool, or being accidentally drenched in sunscreen. And they’re cheap, too. Or at least, the ones we buy are.
Paying $18,000 for a pair of flip-flops we wouldn’t even be able to wear for fear that the paint would come off, though? Only if they came with a free holiday, Oh, wait: they kind of do: if you buy a pair you also get a “meet and greet” with the artist, and a two-night stay at the Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills. (The website says nothing about travel costs, so we’re assuming you have to make your own way to LA, if you don’t already live there. Then again, if you’re buying $18,000 flip-flops, the cost of the plane ride probably isn’t going to stand in your way, is it?)
You also get the fuzzy, warm feeling of knowing that you have helped protect the rain forest: AND got yourself a pair of flip-flops into the bargain!
Here are some other things which may or may not help justify the price of these:
They have 6 grams, hand-made solid 18 carat eco-friendly gold Chipkos emblem.
They’re a one-of-a-kind hand painted piece.
They come with a mahogany and glass display case.
And a certificate of authenticity.
Don’t forget the eco-friendly Chipkos carrying bag.
Basically, they’re not so much a pair of shoes as a work of art/opportunity to Do Good, then. In other words, no one’s expecting you to wear them, but you can certainly put them on display or use them as a convoluted way of donating money to a worthy cause.
Are you convinced, yet? If you are, you can buy a pair. And if you don’t have the spare $18,000, Chipkos’ other flip-flops are a little less expensive, and proceeds are also used to help save the rain forest.
It’s Kate Moss’s famous “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels” quote, printed on a t-shirt. A t-shirt for children. Because THAT’S a really healthy message for kids, isn’t it?
If you think it’s bad enough to be emblazoning this particular message on a shirt for little children, though, how about the onesie version? And no, we’re not referring to the ubiquitous adult onesie, here, but the ones for babies:
Luckily, the Advertising Standards Agency agreed that this kind of message isn’t suitable for childrens’ clothing and have banned adverts for it from appearing on custom shirt site Zazzle.
“Because we considered the ad could condone or encourage an unsafe practice or result in physical, mental or moral harm to children, we concluded that it was irresponsible,” said a spokesperson. “We told Zazzle to ensure future ads were not irresponsible and, particularly where they were addressed to or depicted children, did not contain anything that was likely to condone or encourage an unsafe practice or to result in their physical, mental or moral harm.”
We’re just amazed that Zazzle needed to be told this…
Vivienne Westwood, flame-haired fashion designer, has had a quick pop at Kate Middleton, Duchess, high-street shopper, this week, for having “a problem” with makeup.
“I think she’s got a problem with eye make-up,” said Westwood. “The sharp line around her eyes make her look hard. Either she should be smudgy or wear none.”
Westwood also thinks The Duchess of Cambridge is “ordinary”, and should take steps to be “extraordinary,” a bit like Dame Viv herself, presumably.
‘It seems to me, that her image is “ordinary woman”. Therefore, High Street shopper. And I just think that she should be an extraordinary woman, wherever she gets her clothes from.”
Oh, come on, Viv! Since when was “high street shopper” an insult? It’s where most women shop, after all: we can’t all afford Westwood (Although, we must admit, we’d like to: she is one of our own fashion icons.). And some would argue that it’s her very “ordinariness” which forms a large part of the Duchess of Cambridge’s appeal: we like the fact that she shops in the same places as us, and wears her clothes more than once before discarding them. Maybe we also like the fact that she does her own makeup, and continues with the lower-eyelid line, regardless of what people say about it?
Kate Middleton, of course, isn’t about to lower herself by responding to such barbs, but if she did have something to say on the subject of People Who Apply Makeup Badly, we’d imagine her response might possibly include the words “pot”, “kettle” and “black”.
Vivienne Westwood: more extraordinary than you
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Kate Middleton criticised for her habit of applying liner to her lower lids, though: does Viv have a point, do you think, or is Kate fine the way she is?
THIS IS NOT A DRILL, people. We know it seems like this must be someone’s idea of a cruel joke, because seriously, Katie Price, fashion designer? The same Katie Price who thought THIS was a good look for a book launch?
Future Fashion Designer
Someone actually looked at THIS Katie Price and thought, “You know, this girl should design clothes. She’d be good at it!”?
Well, yes, someone did. That person was British designer Lamis Khamis, who has joined with Katie to create a new label called Day 22. According to the label’s website:
“They wanted to create a brand that is stylish, comfortable, edgy and of quality. Pieces you would want to wear forever.”
Did they succeed in that mission? Well, the fact that even our image agency chose to title these photos “Chavtastic” is possibly a clue that our answer to that question would have to be, “Er, not really.”
The collection, as you’ll see in the images below, is full of animal print and TRACKSUITS. Nothing particularly “edgy”, or that you wouldn’t find on your standard market stall, but who knows, maybe our photographer missed those pieces? We can’t speak for the quality, of course, but we also notice that quite a few of the items are emblazoned with the brand’s name, and, you know how we feel about that. (For those of you who don’t know how we feel about that, let us quickly sum it up for you: VISIBLE LOGOS = SCOURGE OF HUMANITY. Clear enough?)
We’ve put some of the images from the new collection in the gallery below, and we’re keen to hear what you think of them. If you don’t like these particular looks, however, don’t worry: the brand’s name reflects the fact that on day 22 of each month, new clothes will be released. We can’t wait.
You can shop online from the Day 22 website by clicking here.
Pictures of Freida Pinto looking gorgeous in a pale pink dress on Jimmy Fallon earlier this week had our officers sratching their heads for a second, and thinking, “Wait… is she wearing… Closet?”
Of course, she wasn’t. Freida was, in fact, wearing a dress from Victoria Beckham’s Spring/Summer 2011 collection, which, like the rest of the Victoria Beckham line, is beautiful, but not exactly realistically priced for those of us who aren’t on celebrity salaries. Most of the dress collection, for instance, retails from £900 – £1,500, with some pieces costing more.
Enter Closet, with their pink asymmetric neck dress, which… look, we’re not going to beat around the bush, here: it’s damn near identical, isn’t it? In fact, we can’t spot a single difference, other than the one on the price tag, which, while we’re on the subject, is £27 down from the original £45 at A|Wear.
So, what do you think, Fashion Jurors? Would you buy Victoria Beckham or Closet? Or would you buy neither?
She wouldn’t be allowed to shop in Tesco like this, but luckily for Rachel Roy, there were no such pesky rules in effect at the One Day premiere this week, so she was able to rock up in her PJs without fear of being thrown out. Well, we guess it would’ve saved her a bit of time when she was getting ready for bed, hmm?
And WHY is a respected fashion designer wearing sleepwear to a premiere, we hear you ask? Oh, it’s the old “taking risks!” shtick:
“I have an eleven-year-old and I like to show her that it’s OK to take fashion risks and to have fun and tell a story with fashion,” says Rachel. ”I also believe in balance. It was hard for me to find something to go with these shoes where I didn’t feel too dressed up and too done. So I thought, this is how I can wear these shoes by Mr. Blahnik!”
Sounds a bit like Rachel swallowed the “How To Talk Like a Fashion Victim” manual whole here, with all of the “risks” and “fun” and “telling a story” stuff. She’s just missing an “edgy” and an “unexpected”, and she’d be sounding just like a fashion editorial. She didn’t dress like this as a joke, folks: it’s SO SERIOUS, and all about balance and risk-taking and stuff. This must make the people who walk around supermarkets in their dressing gowns feel much better!
What do you think of Rachel’s attempt to take risks with fashion and avoid the pitfalls of looking “too dressed up”? Fun? Edgy? Wackyzanykerrazy? Are these black sandals really so tough to style that only PJs will do? Is the Huffington Post correct in assuming that everyone else on the red carpet “must have been secretly jealous?” Tell us!
From the brief look we’ve had at winter 2011′s fashion trends, courtesy of Primark and River Island, one of the (many) thiings that’s stood out so far is the pussy bow. This is, of course, part of the 70s revival that’s hitting the fashion world this winter, and while pussy bows can always be found on the occasional item, next season we’ll be seeing a whole lot more of them. They’re on dresses. They’re on blouses. They’re on… well, they’re on dresses and blouses, but that’s more than enough to be getting along with, don’t you think?
Today, then, we want to know what you think of pussy bows.
On the plus side, they can be cute, sassy, and they do help add a touch of the “sexy, seventies secretary” to a standard shirt or dress.
On the minus side, however, the high neck, combined with the midi-length dresses these are often attached too, can also look fussy, prissy, and be very hard to pull off.
Some people will be able to pull this look off with panache, of course. Are you one of them? What do you think of pussy bows? Take a look at our gallery before you decide…
The Teen Choice Awards has traditionally been one of The Fashion Police’s favourite award shows, primarily because so many starts seem to think, “OMGTEENS! Must! Dress! Kerrraaazzy to impress the teens!”, and many arrests are made. This year, though? We’re underwhelmed. Aside from good efforts by Tyra Banks and Kat Graham to get themselves arrested, plus a few other eyebrow-raising ensembles, we’re mostly just bored by these outfit choices. Come on, celebrities, this isn’t what we’re paying you for! Remember Bjork at the Oscars? Cher… just about anywhere? THAT’S the kind of thing we want to see from you. For now, though, here’s the 2011 Teen Choice Awards red carpet. Who’s your best and worst dressed
