Fashion Posts

Hoodies Are Stupid

I have four hooded sweatshirts in my closet. That’s probably not an unusual number, because the hoodie is a popular shirt style. It also seems like a very practical garment, designed to keep people warm and cozy. It’s like an indoor/outdoor jackety blanket for people who don’t want to feel weird about wearing a jacket inside or a blanket outside.

Though I sometimes wear hoodies and appreciate the idea behind the design, I don’t actually like them. The reason is that there are really only two things that differentiate a hoodie from a sweatshirt — the hood and the kangaroo pocket. And both of those things are stupid.

Yet, somehow, hoodies are far more popular than regular sweatshirts. The reason, I think, is because most people believe they sincerely like the hood and the jumbo single-pocket abdominal pad. But really, they don’t. They just can’t.

Surely hoodie lovers have been waiting for decades for someone to come along and explain how stupid they are. Well, here I am. Society is now just a few paragraphs away from the end of the hoodie, because everyone is going to agree with me, change their ways immediately, and heap praise upon me for freeing them from their misguided perceptions of fashion and comfort.

Selective Focus: Noihsaf Bazaar

Noihsaf Bazaar is a community-based resale marketplace focusing on independent designers and small labels. Founded in Duluth by Kate Lindello, Noihsaf has recently launched its own online platform to better provide a more curated experience for its unique community.

Sexy Duluth Sweatshirt from 1988

This gorgeous piece of high fashion has a copyright date of 1988 and a set of initials that must be in reference to the artist, “A.V. – A.W.” The design is likely based on a photo from the 1970s, because the Northern Drug Company building is included in the art, and that building was torn down in 1977.

Anyway, if you think the front of this sweatshirt is smoking hot, wait for it …

Duluth online business Noihsaf Bazaar in New York Times

Photo by Riah Beth Photography for the New York Times

Duluthian Kate Lindello and her Instagram-based business Noihsaf Bazaar are featured in the New York Times today with other business in an article titled “How to Make Friends Online the Old-Fashioned Way (Buying Clothes Together).”

Glamourous Duluth

Duluth’s Ashley Sullivan, sporting a Duluth Cider hat, is part of a feature in the online women’s magazine Glamour titled “Insanely cold polar vortex temperatures are literally freezing people’s eyelashes.” The article refers to a social media trend of people “posting commentary and photos of themselves turning into Elsa from Frozen simply by going about their lives in a polar vortex.”

“Depending on how cold it is, you can feel them freeze right away,” Sullivan told Glamour reporter Abby Gardner. “It doesn’t hurt and doesn’t affect your eyesight, but by the end of a hike, you get the pretty frost. The aftermath isn’t so pretty as the ice melts and mascara runs down your face. But it’s like Mother Nature’s art on while you’re outside, if you think about it. It’s like you’re your own snowflake with the frost vibrating to your own energy.”

Selective Focus: Tami LaPole Edmunds

SF-TeaserTamiLapoleEdmunds
Tami LaPole Edmunds has taken her art — repurposing clothing, jewelry and accessories — and made a successful career out of it. Art in the Alley now has two locations in Duluth.

TLE: I have been upcycling jewelry and clothing since we opened Art in the Alley 8 years ago. I love taking apart an existing garment and using it to create a totally different piece. It is like putting together a puzzle…without knowing what the final outcome will look like.

A few questions regarding sagging pants

In news out of Chaska: Some old guy was arrested for starting a fight with a younger dude over his sagging pants.

Question #1: Was “sagging” ever “in style”? Because rampant sagging has been going on for at least 15 years now. If this is a trend, shouldn’t it go away at some point?

Question #2: Although most people will generally concede that folks should be left alone to dress as they want, how acceptable should it be to be openly annoyed by saggers?

Parrty with two RRs …

Minnesota Vikings badass Jared Allen talks about his mullet lifestyle.