RADAR – Nude Obsession for Spring 2010

I must tell you that nude is one of the MAJOR colors for Spring 2010. I love nude + feminine draping and ruffles. Nude goes with everything, and I can’t wait to make some new clothes of my own with it. Make-up is also on the nude trend, especially the nude nails (get yours at Chanel for $700NT).

Here’s my Polyvore set, all for Spring 2010:

Nude Obsession by ricesociety featuring Miu Miu bags

Dress on the left is Rick Owens, Valentino runway shots, Chloe dress on right.

Miu Miu bag, and shoes from left are Valentino, Rosegold, Christian Louboutin, ASOS and Aldo. Oooh I’m so totally obssessed with nude. It’s a nice change after all that color last summer (and neon the winter before that) and all the black black black this winter.

Nude Make-up Spring 2010 by ricesociety on Polyvore.com

The first row all M.A.C. Spring 2010, Nars Spring 2010 ad, Chanel nude nails, and Dior duo eyeshadow.

Now, this doesn’t mean I’m gonna start liking brown. Nude, ok. Just don’t call it beige. Brown, bleh, not for me. It’s taken a while to come back to earth colors after being on the so-bright-it-hurts-my-eyes phase. You just watch this summer. Nude will be everywhere.

(New pool party trend this summer? hehehe…)

3 days til NYFW begins!! Ooh the anticipation!

Radar – Go Rock Speakers

Everyone knows the best present is music. But now – a way to play that music – on the cheap – everywhere you go – that is a gift!

Introducing Go Rock – the hottest portable tiny speakers – priced between $300-500NT!! ($10-17US)

The greatest part is that they’re LOUD and chargeable!

Or perhaps because it’s even smaller than a wine stained coffee cup?

I’ll show you how it works. Comes in a pod like above, which is two parts held together by magnets. (Watch those ATM cards, son!)

Here’s the bottom after you take it apart:

Then, you stand them up and push on the top to make them expand:

They each have a cord that comes out of them, like a vacuum cleaner. Pull to come out, pull again and it reels back in.

One cord is to connect one speaker to the other by way of mini-USB. This same cord connects to a regular size USB (looks like a little zipstick) you plug into your computer to charge.The charge lasts up to 6 hours on a 2 hour charge. (Not yet tested fully.)

The other cord is a headphone jack, which you can connect to any portable device with a line out – like your iPhone, iPod, or mp3 player(who even owns one of these anymore?)

The volume control is on the side of the speaker, and each cord has a cover to protect the end. (Cuz if you’ve ever carried a USB in your pocket, you know shit likes to get stuck in there.)

First found by BOB, and given to Mar as a Xmas present. Good Job, Bob. Great find!

You can buy it too – just go to the big Computer Market building (on Civic) and go to the 5th Floor.

Packaging looks like this (Sorry photo’s a little blurry!):

They have a bunch of different ones. All LOUD. Just think of your bicycle or the beach! Or if you’re in high school, public transportation!

Adidas x Star Wars

Ya heard. Adidas- stencil advert to promote party, new sneakers, and new line? Um did they just watch the second Star Wars Family Guy too?

***NOTE – Check at the Adidas store for the DL and they said that they get the first shipment of the Star Wars sneakers in on Jan 8, 2010. Not all of these will be there, but they’ll be slowly bringing them all in.***

Found it in Dong Qu down the tiniest lane.

Then we walk into some store 20 min later an they got Storm Troopers on the TV. Trend take 763?
Really?

Found the Darth Vader ones online: Here’s a close look at the Darth Vader Adidas sneakers.

I thought about being a journalist and just stating the news without my opinion. But, you come to MY blog for MY take, so I’m telling ya what I think. If you have a different opinion, please blow up the comments or buy the shoes I diss so I can take a picture of you and laugh. I’ll piss myself if someone I know buys the Yodas!

Photos following stolen from The Vine(thanks right click copy save as)

The X-Wing, quite possibly my favs for how mellow they are. I could imagine a cute boy rocking these out:

The Darth Vader ones (ew, seriously? Some 8 year kid might be stoked? Not me, even NB looks better than these, I don’t care if they took elements from the Vader costume and incorporated them into the design. NOT COOL):

The Darth Vader Shell Toe (Which is only ok cuz it’s basically a black shell toe with the Vader logo on the side):

The Princess Leia (I wouldn’t rock it, mostly cuz I couldn’t find something to match, but I think it might look good on a dude in jeans. I do like the hi-top)

The Storm Trooper. I dig the short toe and the extra long tongue, but doesn’t every girl:

The SuperStar Death Star (Yet another Shell Toe, could it be the best selling Adidas ever?):

The Star Wars Micropacer (Micro = small = made for children. I’ve seen this shoe already on the feet of 5 year olds, who don’t even know what Star Wars is. Like maybe SpongeBob has the same style. I only like the silver plate on the bottom)

The Millennium Falcon (…so….. white sneakers with a blue label. Easy sell. Low key. I’d totally buy them just for chillin’. Rain is gonna happen though folks. Or you probably have a friend who steps on new white shoes. Carry an eraser with you to keep them white!)

The Forum Mid At-At. (The big robot things they drive that walk.) I dig the strap across the top. They kinda look like skate shoes, ala Globe, great ankle support. Kick flip anyone?

The SkyWalker (Points for making the SKYwalker a HIGH-top. But ORANGE??? Come on now, if this shoe was any other color – or perhaps a basic color – I think it would sell better than ORANGE. There’s not a lot to be said for words that nothing rhymes with.)

The Fighter (I like it cuz it looks like a jazzed up version of the classic Converse All Star. It would be cool if those side panels were rubber and, instead of printed lines, were actually 3-D like the bottom tread. I would buy them instead of a new pair of Chucks. Adidas, that’s your new selling point? You invented the new Chuck? They even have the circle on the side!):

Last, and least, The Yoda. This style of sneaker is not what Adidas is loved for, and by far the ugliest ones of the collection. I suppose, Yoda is the ugliest main character, so it’s fitting. Doesn’t he wear a burlap potato sack? Is that what they’re made from? FAIL. Leave the people who do this shoe right to making them cuz this one looks like shit. Camo colors? What kinda guy is gonna buy these? Please don’t introduce me.

I know what you’re thinking. Forgetting a few people??

What about the Chewy x Adidas? Would they make them out of fun fur? I’d really like to have some R2D2 metallic ones that actually have a lazer in them, or with a hologram button!! Or maybe metallic gold C3PO ones for Cresencio? Come on Adidas, if you’re gonna do a collab, you better do the whole shebang! Furry little EWOK shoes? Or maybe this season is only Return of the Yedi.

One side of me thinks – ADIDAS – seriously, can you not be more creative? Star Wars came out 33 years ago. It’s over. It’s gimmicky. It’s fucking played out man. There are a thousand rad artists that could make those shoes look awesome and ORIGINAL.

The other side is – OOOOOHHH so you wanna capitalize on a classic to get your millions. Almost everyone I know has seen Star Wars, and it’s made over 4 billion, and that’s just at the box office. I wonder how much profit they have to split with George Lucas? Everyone has a favorite character, and now maybe they wanna get the shoes too. There’s so much HYPE. HYPE = $$$ (well, not always, smarty pants)

It comes down to cool shoes – yes or no? If you get them – which ones do you get? Definitely a conversation starter. (Cuz I’m SO ragging on you if you get the Yoda ones!)

PS – While we’re at it, go read the Wired review of Family Guy’s new Star Wars spoof, Something Something Something Dark Side and try to download it somewhere. I watched it already and it’s great. (So you should too, theoretically.) Stewy is Vader and the Dark Side is Gay. Worth the hunt to watch it.

oh and PPS – They are doing another one in 2010. (Yay!)

RADAR – Christian Louboutins

The red soled shoes girls dream of. They are crazy expensive and instantly recognizable.  I want them.

I thought there was no way in hell I would be spending the 2000US it was to own them.

Then I discovered what I think is a knock-off site selling them at 83% off at $397US

ChristianLouboutincom.com

I thought, really, is this really true? Can they really be mine? It almost feels like stealing. I guess, if you’re buying knock-offs, it is stealing. I download free music off the internet, would it really be a shame to own fake Louboutins if no one could tell the difference?

I mean, they use the same description and details as they do at Neiman Marcus.

After further hunting, I found them here

buylouboutin.com

for an amazing $298US. This site states that it ships directly from China. Both sites have my size AND ship to Taiwan.

Should I go for the more expensive option cuz you would think it would be a better fake, or should I go for the cheap option? They steal the pictures from the internet, but who knows what you’re going to get when you open the box? It could be too good to be true, but I mean, they better be a pretty good pair of shoes for 3-400 either way.

The main difference I saw, was that the first site says it comes with the box, and shoes bags. If you really wanted to pull them off as real, you’d need to have the evidence.

Should I go for a cheaper pair to test out how good their fakes are, or maybe a pair I’d wear more often?

Like these for $239US?

Or these delicious gold shoes?

Your thoughts? BEST part is they make up to size 41 (OLIVIA, MARIKA, LESLEY – they have our size!!) and can ship here. I REALLY REALLY want Louboutins. Which ones should I buy?? Or is it too much of a risk with the made in China?

All I know is, I never have to hear another sales girl in Taiwan laugh and say, “bu ke nen chuang” which means you can’t wear them(cuz your feet are too fucking huge.) or “bu hao yi si, wo men zui da de size shi 38.5 hao.” “I’m sorry, the biggest size we have is 38.5.”

Ya, fuck you too. You know how frustrating it is to hear your feet are too big for the shoes they sell? YOUR SHOES ARE TOO SMALL. Makes me feel like Cinderella’s step sister. I wanna open a shoes store in Taiwan for big sizes only (size 40 and up) and tell them, “Oh sorry, 39 is too small. You can’t buy our gorgeous shoes cuz your feet aren’t big enough.” How will that feel??

RADAR – REEBOK

After picking up two new magazines this week, WAD (from Paris) & SUPERSUPER (from London), I noticed they both had articles about Reebok. Somebody’s trying to make a comeback. Although I was never an avid Reebok fan (mostly cuz that’s what my Dad used to wear, and still rocks, and also cuz Nike and Adidas are sofuckingcool), I have recently got turned onto them mainly(could it be advertising digging a hole in my brain?) because I get to customize them myself – more on that at the end of this post.

First up — WAD — PUMP UP THE JAM (this always makes me think of Megan and Olivia, hehehe)

(Nice thumbnail homeboy. Hope you got paid for keeping those cuticles all perfect, and that half moon! Thumb models, ahaha.)

The 20th Anniversary of the PUMP, first released November of 1989, was put out to try and compete for attention over the Air Force 1s and Air Jordans from Nike that had been going strong since 1982 and 1985 respectively…. I guess that’s why their ad campaign’s tagline was “Pump Up, Air Out”, a not so subtle jab at Nike. Who wouldn’t want to? Nike was killing it! Reebok did outperform Nike’s Air Pressure (which was the same kinda deal) 20 to 1 in 1990 though.

After reading WAD and researching with my best friend, the Internet, I learned a few more things. Reebok hired a designer, Paul Litchfield (who is currently their VP of Advanced Concepts) to try and get an upper hand on the market. He made the actual Pump mechanism, but couldn’t make it look fashionable. He collaborated with Design Continuum, who came up with the brillant idea of putting it behind a basketball logo. The pump is actually made out of a rubber bulb from a blood pressure monitor, an air-release valve for a bike tire, and an IV. Add a $17 bladder (to hold the air) to that, and that’s the mechanics of the pump. Pretty simple shit.

They had this pic of some Reebok pumps which look vaguely familiar:

That’s when I remembered they tried to do this comeback thing already, a year and a half ago. They had an ad for the women’s Freestyle (but in pastel colors) in the first couple pages of Missbehave Mag (June Issue, 2008) and I seem to remember Jo or Andy (DABS) rocking them at least a year ago, if not longer.

Hmmm well, you be the judge. See how many people choose to buy it stead of Jeremy Scott for Adidas or all the varieties of Limited edition Nikes we get here…. just saying….

Here is the reincarnation of the PUMP:

Reebok even made ice skates with the Pump too, which I think is totally ridiculous and funny.

Second – SUPERSUPER’s Reebok’s Global Freestyle Series – where they selected “an empowered, trendsetting and revered stylist in London, New York, Paris, Hong Kong, and Munich, each who embodies the spirit of freestyle (free thinking, independant, creative) to create a series of artworks based on their interpretation of the iconic shoe”

In London they chose Namalee, who expresses herself “through the collision of fashion, art, music, and culture”, says Reebok. I think she’s hot(in the hey, we should totally hang out sometime cuz you look like fun kinda way), and the Pat Hogg catsuit she’s rocking in all the promo images is pretty fucking awesome.

There are some other images, which are kinda weird, but also thought provoking. Like, whose room is that, and do they have a kid or not?

Here’s a close up of the shoes she’s wearing in all the pics. I found them on the Reebok website for $79.99 (was $89.99) called the Femme Fatale (comes in 2 other designs under that same name). That price was not what I was expecting, it’s pretty fucking cheap. But then again, so are the shoes.

Another thing I think is strange – doesn’t it look like the American flag just shit all over these shoes? They’re promo-ing the hell out of it in London – had a huge launch party and everything. I will never understand the world’s obsession with America.

Since I don’t like the design of these Freestyles, I wanted to check on their website for what else they had.

Go here to see what the pictures the 5 stylists made on the Reebok website.

Looking around, Low and behold, you can customize your own Freestyles for THE SAME PRICE!!! (And it’s not just Freestyles boys, it’s everything!) Well, that changes everything! They have a niffy section of their site which lets you choose from about 20 colors and your choice of leather, suede, or metaliics. (Metallic color selection is limited to 5.) You can even customize the back with 7 characters of your own for an additional 5 bucks. Extra laces are 3 bucks a pop, and you can choose standard or ribbon. That’s cool!

I played with it a little and came up with these:

Now go make your own. DIY! You can email the pic when you’re done customizing. Just go to Reebok’s Website to start creating your own masterpiece. Click here for women or click here for men. I really wanna see what you come up wi and there’s no pressure to buy after you finish customizing. So go play, and email me your photos at ricesociety@gmail.com and I’ll take my favorites and post them. I might take a little more time and redesign mine. For 85 bucks or whatevs plus tax and shipping, you can’t go wrong! I just wish they had more colors, cuz I’m so into the primary spectrum.

Adidas has their own Miadidas site here although I find it confusing to understand as it keeps referting to the Chinese version, and Nike’s iD is here, which I found a little better organized, and after watching their vid, it’s better than Reeboks. On the Nikes, your custom message is longer, and goes on the side.

RADAR – Fendi Boots… or are they shoes?

US Vogue September 2009

Vogue girl Korea September 2009

You can wear them as boots, as these two models have, or you can untie the belt just below the ankle and VOILA they are a stomping pair of high heels. My friend Kate used to have a pair of shoes like this, where the boot part snapped onto the shoe. They were flats, and I love this idea of the strap wrap around! Good job, Fendi, everyone wants to transform their outfit!

HuaShan Update & RADAR – Featured Sellers

I went to HuaShan on Sat. to confirm my table and check out how White Label was organizing things. Originally I wanted to sell this weekend, but for some reason, the dude in charge said it wasn’t allowed. But I was pleased to see many of the same sellers I met the first 2 times.

UNfortunately, they informed me that my first weekend to start selling, Oct 3/4th, was postponed (canceled) because of Mid-Autumn (aka Moon) Festival. The organizer thought most people, including other sellers, would want to take this weekend to par-take in the BBQ tradition and be together with their families.

Fair enough, but thanks for calling to inform me. Good thing I happened to swing by and hear about the news. I wouldn’t have been too happy to find out that morning, or only a few days before. Confirmed dates are at the bottom of this post.

The crowd on Sat, however, was the largest I’ve seen so far, and so full of awesome new people!

These peeps were all watching/listening to an incredible violin musician. Such a nice change to have classical music at the venue instead of the usual up and coming but not that appealing hodgepodge of bands.

Met up with Kiah and decided to make some new friends with our fellow-to-be-sellers.

This dude, Steven (Moonkey) was making these awesome handmade key chains or key covers (and rings!) out of glass (or resin? plastic?) tiles with a custom picture on the bottom.

*Correction** – He sells tailor-made rings or a key chain for only 200 NT, and a key cover also only 250 NT.

I might order 10 custom ones with my logo, 米 inside. Steven said, he can do it on the spot with a picture you have (just smaller than 1″ squared) or you can email him and he can do it. If you want 10, it would take about 3-5 days.

Another cool thing was that they were all glow-in-the-dark. Steven was all too quick to show this off, as he had set up a lamp to prove it. (I have no idea how he got power on a mat on the grass, but props to dragging the extension cord!) He could speak English and Chinese, and was an interesting character to talk to. If you want to inquire about his product, please email Steven: dingli168@gmail.com

Pictured here with his friend and neighbor seller, wearing her custom made mask (Have I seen these somewhere before?):

She had some self designed glow-in-the-dark rings, but I didn’t get her real name, only K82 on her sign:

Not too far away was this cool chick(on the left), although I really should’ve gotten her picture before she was handed her noodle dinner. Sorry, girl.

She said she’s part of the collective KIDZ AT T DISCO, and they have a party coming up n HsinJu. Their slogan is “We make things happen.” I got a free sticker too. Check out their blog, they got some posts of interest, and some music vids too. Pretty Sure she’s one of Jo’s friends (of Pet Shops Girl) If you haven’t clicked any links on here, these are the two to click. Excellent display of brave Taiwanese style!

This is the purse I bought from her. It’s actual thick rough leather, painted on the outside only. (The inside is grey.)

Did it come from Bangkok? Some people think so…they say the same company also makes leather bracelets that snap on. Hmmm

It didn’t come with a strap and she told me I had to add my own. The strap in the picture I found over at the Shadow booth:

These two were fun to talk to. I’ve seen them before, set up in the Red House Theater market in Ximen. I like Shadow because it has a really strong brand identity, and the cut-outs are cool. I first saw them maybe 1 or 2 years ago. About half or more of the designs are the same. An experienced seller told me it’s smart to sell what’s selling, so they must be doing something right! I’m looking forward to seeing them in October!

If you want more of their stuff (necklaces, phone charms, straps, & more) you can email them at: shadowboss_inc@yahoo.com.tw or go on Yahoo Auctions, but only in Chinese, sorry foreigners! Just scroll to the bottom of their Yahoo page to see their products and prices in $NTD.

On our grand tour around all of the tables, booths, and blankets on the grass, we came by these two lovely young lads, of FUCK BARBIE:

They made hand-made jewelry. I thought they had a creative point of view, and I really liked the styling of their suitcases. (Gotta get me one of those!) They had towering cake rings, little zippered change purses with stenciled cameras, metal/resin? collages as necklace pendants (like a picture of Mary with a Picasso face holding an AK47 with the words, I am NOT your Mother across the top), huge plastic jewels and real Barbie dolls, bunch more stuff. They are also selling on Yahoo Auctions, (although when I check they didn’t have anything listed), as well as XinMen Ding (in the Red Theater). If you wanna inquire, email janwa93@yahoo.com.tw.

Here’s Kiah with Mr.Still-Don’t-Know-Your-Name-But You’re-Pleasant Guy. Both rocking the Rice Society necklaces.

I was sad to leave around 5, just when it was starting to get good. I heard the crowd for the bands was intense, so many people there.

Words through the grapevine about selling there:

*Don’t be sitting out in the sun the whole day. It’s fucking hot and that makes you tired.

*It’s the cheap-o gimme a deal or I’ll walk crowd. Low prices make the sale, more expensive items, almost no interest.

Things Kiah and I realized after doing the rounds and scoping everyone’s booth:

*Color and branding are the two major draws to any booth. Others just blended in.

*Sign/banner is a must

*Don’t block yourself in with you on one side, customers on the other.

*Have a mirror!

It’s super easy to tell which people selling there took their business seriously and professionally, and those just out to do their best (low-quality) efforts. It makes a real difference when you take the extra step in quality, instead of just choosing the cheapest materials to complete your project. There were some accessories I would’ve bought, had I not noticed the sloppy glue job, or that they used really low-quality material.  It’s that extra little care and attention that makes the purchase worthwhile.

HUASHAN CONFIRMED DATES:

Oct 10/11

Oct 17/18

Oct 24/25

Oct 31/Nov 1

Nov 7/8

Radar – Leather Corset Belt

Been seeing this leather corset belt by Ann Demeulemester everywhere:

US Vogue Sept 2009

Vogue Australia Sept 2009

Makes for a pretty easy DIY piece. You just gotta find a nice big piece of leather. I found a site selling the shrunken version at Browns in the UK, for £285.  The shitty thing about that is that it has only 5 buckles, instead of the 14 shown on the runway & these pics.

Top view for DIY copy cats:

Ann Demeulemester Corset Belt

*Jezelda