Jeffrey Sebelia: Best TV Character 2006?

See: http://www.prblognews.com/

Best TV Characters 2006
[10 January 2007]
by Matt Cibula
Laudable reality characters also emerged in 2006. Jeffrey Sebelia was a lot of fun to hate on Project Runway 3. He was an arrogant prick and his designs weren't anywhere near as edgy as he though they were. (In my house, we preferred Michael's humility, Uli's practicality, and even Laura's weird WTF-ness.) But the winner of the best "reality" show contest was undeniably its best character as well, if only because his neck tattoo highlighted the fact that his head resembles a penis. Plus, Laura was being such a sore loser, we kind of rooted for him too.

Gap Makes the Man

Have you seen this man around town? He glides through the streets and avenues like an urban myth, sometimes sporting a bass, other times a laptop.

He seems "nice" and "harmless," but don't let the friendly midwestern, aw-shucks exterior fool you. He is sly and cunning and takes no prisoners.

By putting forth a laid back, care-free style, thanks largely to The Gap (see shirt in photos) and Marshalls, this chap turns up when you least and most expect it, often wearing the 90s slacker's uniform - a short sleeved T-shirt over a long sleeved T-shirt. Offputting? Yes. Dangerous? Maybe.

What does most of this have to do with Guerilla shopping? Well, he promised to fix my computer and make my Guerilla Shopper NYC business cards, so I thought I'd give him 15 minutes of fame to encourage his timely response. Which is already overdue. But once it happens, a-look-out!

Sexy Banana Republic, Woo Woo

I'm not sure what the message is here, but I think my mother may be taking some drastic measures to get me married off, seeing how she bought me that which is pictured here for Christmas. (And yes, that's the tag still attached in the middle of the top.)

I am an "every so often" kind of Banana Republic shopper. I usually find myself in the one on 34th St., even though the one in Rockefeller Center is enormous. Every so often I can find things in there that are in the Club Monaco league, but usually it's a bit too conservative for my tastes and small for my body.

However, this little number escalates the Republic to the likes of Frederick's of Hollywood in the Banana Republic. Maybe they need to create a new spin off store...I keep hearing their sales are off - and sex sells - so I offer them another one of my genius ideas. Give me a call, will ya?

Les Nanas: 30% Off!

Hey everyone! My favorite store, Les Nanas, is having a 30% off sale on various fall/winter items so go check it out! Both of the jackets that I am sporting like America's Next Top Model are part of the offering. The black and red one is particularly flattering and there are only two left - size M and L - so get yourself on over there!

And hooray for me (but too bad for you) that I bought the pictured hat, which my friend described as "part Jamaican Rasta, part English Punk Rocker." A splendid combination indeed. Now if the temperature would only drop below 65 degrees in the shade, maybe I'll actually get to wear this sporty wintertime cap!

Amazon: Shoes & Handbags

You heard it here second...or third. Straight from The Wall Street Journal:

AMAZON STARTS WEB SITE TO SELL SHOES, HANDBAGS
Amazon.com Inc. introduced a Web site, Endless.com, devoted solely to selling shoes and handbags, a departure for an Internet retailer that spent years building one of the best-known one-stop-shopping destinations. Amazon, of Seattle, said Endless.com represents the first time it has created a new specialty retail site at a Web address different from its flagship Amazon.com address. Steven Goldsmith, an Amazon vice president, said the company created the site in response to requests from customers who were footwear and handbag connoiseurs and wanted a Web site more closely focused on the category. Amazon aims to tap a category that has seen speedy growth, in part via specialty Web retailers such as Zappos.com. Online apparel revenue this year is expected to jump to $11.3 billion from $9.6 billion in 2006, while online footwear sales could rise to $3.5 billion from $2.9 billion Forrester Research estimates.

The "P" Word: PURSE (BCBG & Elliott Lucca)

OK, so now that I have shown myself to be a complete mommy and daddy's girl, without reservation I shall tell you how the 'rents came to my rescue in the arena of PURSES (the word I like the least, James Lipton take note).

For at least two years I have been sporting a free p.o.s. that my dad got at his company convention. It did not inspire...anything...ever. It was kind of funny the first two times I used it, but after two years?

So any of you who have been reading this blog regularly know that I am hangbag-impaired. I hate the words to describe them about as much as I hate them themselves, with the exception of vintage evening bags.

Now that I am all adult and working on recognizing my weaknesses, I realized that I needed external help to raise my handbag IQ. I called on those who brought me into the world, and with the help of Daffy's and zappos.com, they presented me with the pictured bags for Christmas. The black one with the 70's styling is BCBG Max Azria and the tan, au natural one is Elliott Lucca.

The punchline is that I love them both, but have only used the black one once and the tan one never, instead opting to use the $10 maroon one that isn't pictured and is reminiscent of the free p.o.s. instead. This may take some time...

Gravitas.

Sabon: Cool Store, Skin Products

Oooohhh weee. I love accidental shopping successes. After an impromptu tour of Steinway Pianos on 57th St. with a mysterious and handsome stranger with a Spanish accent, we stumbled upon Sabon on the west side of Sixth Avenue between 55th and 56th Streets.

The kind salesgent ushered us over to the Sabon Sink in the back, where he directed us as we tried out the fantastic soaps, scrubs, and lotions that they have to offer. Talk about effective selling! Not only did I emerge feeling clean, smooth and fresh like a daisy, but I also emerged with the bottle of Ginger Orange Body Gel Polisher ($16) pictured here.

The products are made in Israel and there are a few other locations in NYC and a few more spread out across the U.S., including everyone's favorite state: New Jersey.

Nanette Lapore Smells Good

This stuff smells so good that I want to eat my own arm off when I wear it.

When I find a scent I like, I wear it for years. Nanette Lapore is one of those scents. In high school I wore Animale, which is probably a very funny 80s commentary.

Anyway, I again have to give thanks to the Guerilla parents who bought me the pictured Nanette gift set, which includes a GIANT bottle of perfume (much bigger than I would buy myself) as well as a candle and body lotion that is just as fragrant! I believe they picked it up at...that's right: Lord & Taylor.

It's all pink and beflowered and girly and when I wear it, I have to run down the street from all the men who chase me as if I were an ice cream truck on a summer's afternoon.

Clothing Makes the Woman: A New Year's Tale

My Upper East Side stringer is on fire this weekend. A mini manifesto for '07?...

I have become much more interested in fashion. Keep in mind that growing up in the desert, the defacto uniform was shorts (jeans in the winter), flip flops and a tee shirt. When I was young, I thought fashion was a joke. Yes, I was cynical even then. I've slowly come around to believe that fashion can change your life. It changes how you feel about yourself, how others perceive you, how you get treated by others, and if you get that job or boyfriend that you want. And it can be a lot of fun.

I find the things that I remember most are 1) what I wore and 2) what I ate. I remember the strawberry cake I had for my 8th birthday, and I remember the $50 Wolford tights I wore on my 30th birthday. And those are really the best memories.

I saw this little old lady walking in my 'hood the other day. She had on these beige shoes, a fabulous green coat and a green print scarf around her head. She looked fierce, and I love anyone who puts some thought into their look, especially at that age. It shows that you've got some fight. And a well-dressed man makes me swoon.

I've been meaning to get this book for a while. It occured to me that you might like it. http://www.amazon.com/Love-Loss-What-I-Wore/dp/1565121112/sr=1-1/qid=1167683038/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-7538309-1225509?ie=UTF8&s=books

Stellar Online Stores for Women

I don't usually write much about online shopping, as it is not fully part of the Guerilla Shopping mission. However, one of my fine stringers has done some excellent research, and has given me permission to share the following finds with you, my baby guerillas:

I have been browsing online for a major 2007 wardrobe update and noticed the following enticing items.

A Stella McCartney Dress for $215. Unfortunately it's only available in one size, but if it fit me, I would buy it. http://www.traceyross.com/shop/product_info.php/products_id/771

Cute Jacket -- Not cheap, but cute.
http://www.traceyross.com/shop/product_info.php/products_id/551

Adorable Party Dress - I may actually buy this.
http://www.girlshop.com/shop/girls/catalog/product.asp?pf%5Fid=KRN%2DK65559D&bt=KRN

Cute Black Dress - Once again, not cheap, but so cute.
http://www.janescloset.com/catalog/jersey-dress-black-p-109.html?cPath=22&jcid2=348c0f87a149ddaa2346992fea50ed8f