New Meaning For Drop Dead Gorgeous

I don't keep up with fashion trends. If I can't go somewhere wearing elastic-waist pants and a baggy T-shirt, then I don't want to go. But I think I'm in the minority. Or maybe it has something to do with age. Younger folks often seem to be obsessed with their appearance and are even willing to put their lives at risk just to look "good". For example, the government of Thailand has issued a health warning that proclaims black leggings put people at risk of catching Dengue Fever. I realize that might sound a bit paranoid, but they have a compelling reason behind the warning: the mosquitoes that transmit the disease are attracted to black and can easily bite through the thin fabric used to make the leggings. You can read more here.

Ugly Dresses

You will spend endless hours in horrified gawping at the Ugly Dress website.

Follies of the Mad Men #106

[From Life magazine for September 12, 1949.]

This is someone's foot. With a face drawn on the sole. Wearing a collar and tie, glasses, and a hat. With fake "head" hair attached. I know it's "just a drawing." But the concept is ludicrous and creepy. I will not buy your shoes, Mr. Roblee!

Smurf Hat for Sale

This vintage 1930's hat is currently for sale. But guess who you would look like when wearing it?

The Amazing Cleft Shield

Created by Kimberly Brewer, the modern fashion designer who "wants to take the stress out of the way you dress", the Backtacular Gluteal Cleft Shield was made for those who enjoy wearing low-cut pants but don't want to expose too much. (Odd, I thought the purpose of low-cut pants was to show off?) The shields are made of denim and are applied directly to the skin. This begs the question, why bother? If you are that worried about exposing too much, just buy some pants that FIT.

Love Is Blind Department

I had to snap this picture covertly, on the streets of Providence, with my camera held at waistlevel and viewfinder image unseen, so I'm surprised it came out as good as it did. Circumstances prevented me from gaping at whatever was on the front of the shirt.

The legend on the back says:

I'M PROUD I MARRIED SUCH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN AS YOURSELF
I LOVE YOUR QUALITIES
LOVE PS

A whole lotta lovin' for a whole lot of woman!

Click foto to "enlarge."

World’s Ugliest Bikini

I never thought I'd see a two-piece bathing suit I didn't like.

I think it's the little booties that add the final burst of disgust.

Just Some Weird Crap!

A New York jeweller briefly owned the world’s most valuable pet earlier this year when his golden retriever swallowed a $20,000 diamond by mistake. Sollie, the dog, had accompanied his owner George Kaufman to the latter’s jewellery shop where Mr. Kaufman and his partner were intending to inspect some gemstones. Unfortunately a diamond weighing 3 carats fell to the floor where it was immediately snatched up by Sollie and swallowed. After a vet recommended that nature be allowed to take its course, Kaufman spent the next three days carefully collecting and dissecting everything Sollie produced before finally retrieving the gem (Telegraph).

Perhaps he should have contacted Ireland’s first official dog-waste removal company, Mr. Scoopy-Poo. The brainchild of Irish entrepreneur William O’Brian, Mr. Scoopy-Poo (motto, “Business stinks – but it’s picking up!”) will clean up after your dirty dogs into biodegradable bags and hygienically dispose of them, for a price of course. After all, where there’s muck there’s brass, and occasionally diamonds (Irish Examiner).

But O’Brian may be missing a trick here, why dispose of faeces when you could be selling it as the latest must have fashion item? What sounds like insanity may be an idea whose time has come. How else can you explain not one but two manure-based products in the same week?

First up is London based artist and designer INSA, who has produced a pair of 10” stilettos incorporating elephant dung. And this isn’t just dung from any old elephant either, this is dung from the very same elephant family that produced the infamous extra ingredient for a series of paintings made by artist Chris Ofili in the 90s. Yup, in these shoes you are literally standing on celebrity elephant dung (Huffington Post).

And hot on the precipitous heels of INSA is Geneva based watchmaker Yvan Arpa, who has crafted his latest $11,000 wrist-candy from toad skin and dinosaur doo. The watches, to be made and sold by Swiss watchmakers Artya, feature a face cut from a 100 million year-old “coprolite”, or fossil faeces, left behind by an ancient plant-eater in what is now the United States. And the quality American materials don’t just amount to a pretty face as the strap is lovingly crafted from the hide of an American cane toad. The mechanism though is pure Swiss craftsmanship (Star Tribune).

Image: Maggie Smith / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Follies of the Mad Men #91

[From Life magazine for September 15, 1941. Two scans, click either to enlarge.]

Choking your wife equals nicer shirts in the future.

Uniforms Are Sexy?  Who Would Have Guessed?

There's a fetish for everyone, and we mock most of them here. So let's add one more to the list. The crisp, no-nonsense uniforms worn by the crewmembers of New Japan Airlines have been much desired for decades. Of course there are plenty of imitations to be bought, but the real thing, previously worn, is considered to be worth any price. Airlines have gone so far as to add serial numbers and computer chips into the garments. So why all the fuss now, when this has been a long standing issue? Because New Japan Airlines declared bankruptcy in January and they are very worried that their laid-off workers will start selling their uniforms for profit. You can read more about it on The Australian.

All original content in posts is Copyright © 2008 by the author of the post, either Alex Boese ("Alex"), Paul Di Filippo ("Paul"), or Chuck Shepherd ("Chuck"). All rights reserved. The banner illustration at the top of this page is Copyright © 2008 by Rick Altergott.