Who: Uffie and André
Where: The Faline Valentine’s Party at André’s club, Le Baron de Paris
Photo by: AM

Here we go again!:

The Red Light Clothing Exchange, Portland’s celebrated buy-sell-trade men’s and women’s fashion emporium, will host their popular, annual Co-Ed Naked Shopping Spree at the Hawthorne store on Sunday, February 24. Four contestants (2 male, 2 female, chosen from hundreds of customer entries) will strip down to nothing* at 5 pm, then have three minutes to run through the 7500 sq. ft. store – in front of hundreds of onlookers — and put on as many clothes as possible. Whoever pulls on the most garments wins everything on their body plus a $100 Red Light gift card. (Prizes will also be given to first, second, and third runners up.)

Live music by Roll One kicks off the in-store event beginning at 3 pm, and door prizes will be awarded throughout the afternoon. According to Visuals Manager Ryan
White, “customer response to the Shopping Spree has been incredibly enthusiastic. We already have a record number of people entered for a chance to compete in it. And
we’re all really looking forward to it, because it’s like having a big party during store hours.”

Started in 1999, The Red Light Clothing Exchange is one of Portland’s most prominent independent businesses. It has been featured in numerous national and
international media; it was named by GQ as one of the 100 best independent shops in the country and dubbed by Lucky as their favorite shopping destination in the city.

The Red Light has downtown (333 SW 10th St.) and Hawthorne (3590 SE Hawthorne Blvd.) locations; the Naked Shopping Spree will take place at the Hawthorne store.

*Shy contestants may opt to wear a store-provided sequined G-string.

Check out our video of Wednesday’s English Dept. bridal show!

Just in case you missed it (or want to relive it) Merc photographer Minh Tran shot the clothes and the crowd at last night’s annual English Dept bridal show:

I really love how Mario’s eventually just basically gives stuff away. This time it’s the dudes’ turn to score: Starting today, and running through the 18th, take an additional 30% off of already marked down sale items. There won’t even be a need to stop at the Rack.

The former Poppi Swim has undergone an expansion and revamp, and it’s reopening under a new name: Popina Swim. To celebrate, they’re having an upcoming sale: 15% off everything from 2/22-29. Check out the new (retro, super-flattering) styles, including my favorite, the Retro Sadie:

DIY Alert, creators of the local craft calender and weekly DIY news e-mails, is looking for some imput.

What’s Your Favorite Thrift Store?
In our quest to create the best darn crafty Google Map of Portland ever, we’re getting ready to add thrift stores. (Because we all know they’re amazing sources of crafty raw materials.)
Which ones are your favorites? Drop us a line and let us know. And we’ll let you know when the map’s ready.

Contact Sister Diane here to add your favorite thrifting place to the map.

Check it:

Since STRUT was founded three years ago we have continued to grow this event as a showcase for Portland designers and a benefit for equality in Oregon. Each year we continue to grow attendance and increase our fundraising for Basic Rights Oregon. With the success of the show and the rave reviews in the media (The Mercury, Willamette Weekly, Ultra, Just Out, PDX Magazine and The Oregonian), we continue to work on making this one of the premiere fashion events of the year! We would like to invite you to submit your designs for a spring fashion show to be held on Friday May 16th at the Wonder Ballroom. This is a unique opportunity to raise money for a great cause while showcasing your designs to the public at no cost to your company. A little volunteer time and help in distributing marketing materials are all that is required. We are looking to really showcase the diversity of designers in Portland and hope you will consider supporting Basic Rights Oregon while bringing something fun and different to the runway. To submit your designs for consideration , simply send two image samples of your work to StrutPDX@gmail.com along with your company name, contact name, contact phone number, a brief description of your work (50 words or less) and where your line is available for purchase by March 1st. After a quick review, our committee of industry professionals will contact those chosen for the show in mid March. Unfortunately, not everyone can be in the show due to the vast amount of talented local designers. If your company is not chosen and you would still like to be involved, there will be plenty of opportunities for volunteering, advertising and sponsorship!

And hey, as long as you’re submitting your designs, don’t forget this.

I was in Seaplane recently, and noticed some lovely men’s shirts by a brand I didn’t recognize: Minor Poet. Lo and behold, they (John and Kerry Ann) found me, and let me know that they’re preparing their first women’s line for this coming fall, and a web site is forthcoming. I’m looking into meeting up and getting to know them and their work better, but in the meantime, what handsome shirts:

Reminder that tonight is the annual bridal show put on by The English Dept., which this year features not only one-of-a-kinds from co-proprietress Elizabeth Dye, but a handful of other locals: Holly Stalder, Kate Towers, and Adam Arnold. Read about it here. 7 pm, Maison (1611 NW Northrup). See you there.

Valentine’s Day inspired crafts! Spread the love.

Clockwise from top:
1. “Big Love” Note Card Set from Ouou
2. Pink and Black 2 Piece LOVE Heart Pendant by Green Kitten
3. Red Heart and Buttons Top by Spider Lily Clothing
4. Original Painting, “This Is A Portrait Of A Girl Who Loved Too Much” by The Dreamy Giraffe
5. Tab Heart Necklace by Made from the Heart.

It’s right at that time of year when annoying things happen like you rip two of your thick pairs of tights, and desperately need to replace them seeing how there’s, like, at least two months to go before you can get away without wearing any under short skirts and not freezing your keyster off. The good news is that thick winter tights are on sale, the bad that the pickin’s are slim—that’s why I had to replace my beloved, eminently useful black ribbed MPs with bright freaking red ones. They’re okay, but I passed them up at the beginning of the season because they’re a little Mrs. Claus…

Anyhow, the same can be said for lots of winter gear: you stained your coat, some idiot who lives in your apartment building put your cashmere through the dryer, etc. And if you happened to have trashed your boots, there’s good news: It’s boot month at Olive. Styles from Georgina Goodwin, Repetto, Cydwoq, and more are at slashed prices, in some cases up to 60%. Definitely worth the look.

(These Georgina Goodmans are my faves—they’re like a much classier version of those ubiquitous vintage ones.)

Gretchen Jones of Moth Love has been concentrating on the wild, lovely accessories end of her line lately: Hair combs and headbands made with real snake skin, braiding, metallic and natural leathers, and hand plucked pheasant feathers. She just put a bunch up on her Esty site (along with, of course, the dresses), go get ‘em before they go…

More location shuffling is going down on Hawthorne, some of which you’ve probably already heard about. This email just came in from the Hawthorne Boulevard Business Association, giving a complete rundown on the latest changes:

Naked City, 3730, currently has two small storefronts and will consolidate into one rather than relocating. Address will remain 3730 (The westmost storefront in the building) Jackpot Records, 3736, is moving into the former Practically Divine location, 3574. Mink, 4314, will move into the former “Le Rouge” location, 3418. A Mink employee, Elsa, will open “Elsa and Sam,” a tableware shop in the current Mink location. Garment, 4136, has closed, and that building will become the MuseRoom, an annex to Muse Art & Design, for art classes and similar purposes. Kimberly Kent,Hawthorne artist, will exhibit there during the SE Area Art Walk, March 2&3. Business looking to move to a new Hawthorne location: Tibet Spirit, 4125, Practically Divine (formerly 3574). Business wanting to find a gift or art-related business to share space with them: Jewelry by Poncé, 3288 Prime storefronts available as far as I know: former Bamboo Lifestyles, 3321, former Daily Grind, 4026, Nick’s Coney Island, 3746, former Jackpot Records, 3736, and former half of Naked City, 3734. Businesses adding Hawthorne locations: Por que no? (Mississippi) will announce its new upper Hawthorne location soon. Albina Press on Hawthorne, 50th, next to Sapphire Hotel.

Last week, Marjorie made a post about the launch of a new website called Shop Vintage Portland. I talked with the creator, Anne Weiland, about her new website, as well as her other vintage clothing blog LuLu’s Vintage, and the Artist Trading Card Swaps she and her husband, Chris Weiland, organize every month here in Portland. You can check out my interview with Miss Weiland after the jump.

MERCURY: Tell me about your new blog, Shop Vintage Portland.

ANNE WEILAND: With ShopVintagePortland.com, I am combining my love and knowledge of Portland and everything vintage to share with the public an unprecedented guide to the city and all the vintage things that it has to offer.

The blog features posts on all the vintage stores in town, vintage expos, fashion shows and nightlife. Interviews with local store owners and vintage enthusiasts are also featured, and listings of store sales and vintage related classifieds will be coming soon.

So, if someone wants to buy or sell a vintage item I will post about it on my website for free. I am also looking for people to participate in the Portland Style Council. Readers can contact me at shopvintageportland@yahoo.com.

You also have an online vintage clothing store/vintage clothing blog collectively called Lulu's Vintage. Tell me about that website, and what made you start up that endeavor.

On Lulu's Vintage online store, I sell items from my vintage collection such as sewing patterns, hats, ties and clothing. On Lulu's Vintage blog I act as a vintage shopping editor, scouring the internet and picking out what I feel are the best vintage clothing, accessories and housewares to share with my readers. I will often give some history or background about the particular type of item that I am writing about.

Mondays I have a theme for my posts called Manly Mondays, and I post only about men's vintage clothing and accessories. Fridays are what I call Fashion Fridays, because I feature new clothing and accessories that have been influenced by old clothing and accessories. So much of what is being designed today is based on vintage clothing.

The whole idea for Lulu's Vintage blog came about when my brother was designing my website and suggested that I have a blog about vintage. I did research and found that no such blog existed. I had fun starting the blog from scratch and enjoyed creating the format for the blog posts and what they were about.

In addition to all your work with vintage clothing, you and your husband run monthly Artist Trading Card (ATC) Swaps. Tell me a little bit about what ATCs are, exactly, and what people can expect to find at the swaps.

Artist Trading Cards are 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" works of art that are produced to trade with other artists at swaps. ATCs can be drawn, painted, sculpted, collaged, stamped, sewn, beaded, welded, etc. You can use photographs or almost anything that you can think of to create them.

At the swaps we gather together to trade cards with one another. A lot of ATC regulars put their cards in baseball card sleeves inside of a notebook and pass them around for people to select cards from. This isn't necessary, but it can make swapping easier.

For those readers who are interested in coming to an ATC swap, what information do they need to know?

The Portland ATC swaps take place monthly. We are currently experimenting with the time and location of our meetings. Our next meeting is taking place on Sunday, February 17th from 5 pm to 7 pm at the IPRC (Independent Publishing Resource Center) located at 917 S.W. Oak Street #218 in downtown Portland. People of all ages and skill levels are invited to come and join us.

To view some of the Artist Trading Cards that we have made and for more information, check out our website or email us at atcpdx@yahoo.com.

Who: Reiko
Where: Inside the boutique Faline in Harajuku
Cutest piece: My Jeremy Scott mini-dress and button!
Photo by: AM