To nobody’s surprise, a little bird let me know that Nau, the outdoorwear company that eschews dorky looks for clean, urban lines, has signed a lease for a space on NW 23rd. That makes sense, considering currently Portland people have to drive out to Bridgeport Village to check out the merchandise of a label whose founding principles are concern for the environment, leaving a light carbon footprint, etc. (I don’t mean this as a dis at all, but I think it’s unintentionally hilarious that on their current homepage it says, “Liberate Yourself from Responsibility”) Anyhow, don’t get too excited just yet; the new location won’t open until sometime next year.

I feel more than a little bit guilty about mentioning a giant sale at a giant national chain store, but there’s folks who need to know: It starts today, with markdowns on new fall merchandise until August 6th, when prices go right back up again. For the first weekend, our downtown location will have these extended hours: Today from 7 am-10 pm, Sat 9 am-9 pm, and Sun 9 am-7 pm. Try not to go too nuts and save your money for our local, hardworking store owners and designers, ok? But I have to admit, it’s going to be hard to resist discounts on some of those designer shoes…

(Burberry)

(Dolce & Gabbana)

Although, in truth, these shoes would have to be, like, 75% off for me to purchase them without diving into either my life savings or more credit card debt. I may go check it out, but the more I think about it, the more appealing it is to take my shopping budget to one of our many interesting local boutiques.

I accidentally ended up at Goldrush Coffee Bar (2601 NE MLK Blvd) yesterday afternoon—when I was supposed to be at a coffee shop in SE Portland for a meeting, oops!—but I’m glad I screwed up.

Lining the brick walls of the shop were amazing aprons by Siva. More art than craft, the aprons are a little on the dark side—you’re not going to catch Martha Stewart donning one of these in her kitchen anytime soon, but I would shell out the $70 (as one was listed). Though I think I’d rather hang it in the kitchen than wear it while baking.

My photos didn’t turn out well, so I nabbed this one off of Siva’s MySpace. The aprons are up throughout July.

I’ve been pretty much barefaced since mid-Spring, which is good. I think it’s important to be comfortable au naturale (although, straight up: my unruly eyebrows look better with a few swipes of Stila’s brow polish), which I highly recommend over a pencil unless you are specifically looking for a more severe look. But with Fall approaching (uh, a bit quicker than I expected—thanks Portland, thanks for the rain. I hardly had a chance to miss it. I hate you.), it makes you long for a li’l something to counteract all the beach hair and bareness. I am pretty anti-foundation/concealer/powder type stuff, unless it’s for a photo session or something, and aside from mascara, which I adore, I haven’t played with eyemakeup too much in recent history. I am into the classic black liquid liner look, however. Ages ago I had a Chanel liquid liner, which I think one of my past roommates ended up walking off with during a move, and I used to be OK at putting it on (but just OK). If I’m going to give it another go this fall, my question is which kind should I get? Am I right in thinking that the “pen style” (rather than brush style) is easier to apply? Any recommendations appreciated.

Though the pun “Fall” fashion is wildly overused in this clip, I have to admit this runway accident is the best I’ve seen in awhile—and it’s hilarity only increases with the inclusion of these great local news anchors. (Why, oh why, can’t we have these guys in Portland?)

Local designer Magalí Corzo is offering 50% off on every item in her store for the whole month of August. Take advantage of this—she has some great pieces in incredible soft cotton, cute dresses, and all of her clothing is super comfortable. Call to make an appointment: 235-6660.

Next Thursday during Alberta St’s Last Thursday chaos, be sure to stop by Foundation Garments, Inc (2712 NE Alberta, 6-9 pm) for a trunk show launching HART, a collaboration between local designer Chelsea Erhart and Heart, Mind and Soul. So says the press release:

The beautiful thing about HART is that both companies have looked beyond the impossible and sought only potential. Luckily, neither company is afraid of using color and recognizes this advantage. When asked about the presence of color in Portland, Peter Nathaniel of HMS says, “I’ve noticed that Portland is fixated on black and white; it seems like people are afraid of using color.” Both recognize how color is needed to brighten the day during the dreary Pacific NW winter months.

Go on and see for yourself next Thursday, when you can also get 10% off dresses in the store.

… or will it be Liza Rietz and John Blasioli? The name order has yet to be decided, but the new retail/studio space being opened by the two local design talents is set to be labeled like a law office—simple, and straight to the point. Your first opportunity to check out the space is coming up on the weekend of the 27th-29th of this month, when Rietz is holding a trunk show of her designs (Blasioli’s inventory will come in later, in August). Get 25% off all of Liza’s designs, including “summer linen jumpers, fitted cotton A-line dresses, lady vests, tunics and babydoll dresses made out of bamboo, and one-of-a-kind couture pieces.” From 11-7 all three days at 2305 NW Savier!

Okay, I’m stumped. Since my love for Liza Minnelli is so overwhelming, I cannot objectively decide whether…
a) Her sheer pants are a godsend to humanity,
b) Her sheer pants are a fashion trainwreck of unbelievable proportion, or…
c) She’s Liza Minnelli and 61-years-old—human laws do not apply.

Provide your answer below, and thanks for the tip, Just Jared!

“I do not like them, Sam I Am,” has pretty much been my attitude towards Birkenstocks. I mean gawd, isn’t that the sort of reputation Portland has been trying to shake? But get this: Flipping Philip Lim is designing a line of Birks for the Tatami side project of the hippie sandal company. So, would you still never wear them? Even if Philip Lim designed them?!

Jennifer over at Dishy Duds blogs about her time at the Mississippi Street Fair this past weekend, and adds this tidbit of news:

I was totally inspired to revive DIY Portland. Originally, this idea came about over 2 years ago, when Andrea and I wanted to form a Portland collective, open to anyone and everyone who owned and operated a small artsy/crafty business in PDX. So now, I’m moving forward with this because I think it is so darned important for the art/craft community to have a real support network. We can share the cost associated with ad space, share booths at shows/events, blog about our happenin’s, and tell the world that we each exist and all about what we do and believe in. So that’s that. Today I wrote out most of the details and I am very excited.

Stay tuned!

Check out their shiny new web site.

A few of my favorite looks from the Denwave menswear show on Saturday:

Adam Arnold looking impish in his high waisted jeans.

Probably the most natural looking combination of model and clothing.

Track suit!

I really like these shorts, and the cotton of the tee is super soft with embellishments that remind me of Clu, but the pouch got the only audible snort out of my BF through the whole show.

In the audience:

Nathaniel Crissman of Church + State wore a shirt from the line he produces with girlfriend Rachel Turk.

Cheap & chic eyecatching green on green accessories.