I think INm okay with not receiving a hastily procured, plastic-wrapped bouquet of supermarket roses this ValentineNs Day. The holiday probably stopped being fun sometime soon after high school, when Hello Kitty cards with perforated edges lost any kind of significance and one finally stopped to question just why this one delegated day of the year should be so significant in a relationship.
And do grown men and women really like the mass-produced products covered in squicky, naked, winged babies and fuzzy animals and hearts?
ThereNs a moratorium this year on the holiday with the boyfriend and me—no cards, no flowers, nothing. Fancy dinners or flowers any random day would mean a ton more.
Yeah, youNre right: Hating ValentineNs Day is every bit as clichN as celebrating it. But INm totally okay with that.
Running this photo is my one concession to the holiday. The coordinating couple (awww!) was photographed outside the Sound Trolley, a record shop/boutique on 17th Street in Costa Mesa. (The shopNs MySpace page headline, by the way? “Cheap records means more money for drugs!!!!” I like Nem already.) The gal on the right is the lovely Sydney Costely, an employee of Sound Trolley, and the dude with the awesome hair is her boyfriend, Branden Barsch.
Dressing head-to-toe in vintage or vintage-inspired pieces usually means bad news for most. ItNs just overkill. Remember: Just because itNs old doesnNt mean it also looks good. Mixing and matching vintage and thrift-store finds with pre-existing items from your wardrobe is always the safest route to take. With even Urban Outfitters jumping into the game, purchasing secondhand clothing to revamp into new, expensive, way-overpriced pieces ($48 shrunken flannel? What about a $58 boysN blazer? Or a $38 tie-dyed slip?) for their Urban Renewal line, buying into “vintage” is as simple as ever.
But this photograph makes no sense. No, seriously. TheyNre breaking all the “rules” here. Argyle sweater vest with a corduroy sport coat and flared trousers and a fedora at the same time? And that Strokes look, with the skinny denim, leather, worn-in Chucks, military-style coat and T-shirt peeking through, that Costely is sporting isnNtsupposed to be cool anymore. But it is on her. Undoubtedly. Her skinny frame was made for the androgyny thatNs broken up only with the cropped, tangerine-colored top.
Then again, thereNs also another rule to keep in mind: When youNre as cute and hip and young as these two, you can pull off just about anything you want.
