Three Looks Featured on "People of Wal-Mart" That Are Actually Sort of Amazing

I'm not a big fan of People of Wal-Mart. For those who don't know, the blog shows oddly dressed or otherwise weird looking people shopping at Wal-Mart. I thought it was sort of a funny idea when it first began, but I quickly realized that:

a) 90% of the posts are just "look at this person with a mullet and/or fat rolls and/or visible thong."

b) It's pretty mean spirited. It refers to the fashion victims it features as "creatures," which crosses the line from funny over to mean, in my opinion.

The funny thing is that, while most of the fashion is pretty bad, some of it is secretly sort of awesome.

Exhibit A:

You can't tell me people wouldn't be all over this look if she was some nubile young hipsterette. I'm possibly biased, because I think the elderly pull off eccentricities better than anyone, but I think this woman is ridiculously cool.

Exhibit B:

I'm sorry, if you don't think appearing as if you have befriended oodles of butterflies is a good look, than you are no friend of mine.

A slightly more understated version of the look showcased on Jak & Jil

Exhibit C:

Doesn't this one sort of remind you of Jeremy Scott's latest collection? Or of something Tavi would wear?

I guess one person's trailer trash is another's sartorial treasure?

Mall Rats: Style Spotting at Toronto's Eaton Centre

Malls get a bad rap. Sure, in the suburbs the mall is often the place to see and be seen. But with the stylish people of Toronto more likely to congregate in Yorkville or West Queen West than at any mall, many Torontonians consider the mall to be something of fashion wasteland - a sartorial graveyard of fluorescent lighting, sweatpants, and Hollister tees. To be dressed "like you're going to the mall" is not a good thing.

While the stereotype of the mall shopper in sweats and Uggs is not completely unfounded - it's impossible to go to a Toronto mall and not see anyone dressed this - I knew that there were well-dressed mall-goers out there. So I wandered Eaton Centre and found five people who redefine mall style. Spotted them: Walking towards the food court.

Stopped them because:I liked the way they fearlessly played with colours, patterns, and styles. The girl on the left's top has a lot of text on both the front and back, but pairing it with jeans makes it fun, not overly busy. Plus, her boots with the multi-coloured fringe remind me of Pocahontas, which is my favorite Disney movie ever, and thererfore always a good thing. The purple plaid coat paired with a white leopard print scarf on the girl on the right is bold, but works really well. I think it's because of the different sizes of the patterns and the lack of colour in the scarf. The patterned bag works well with it, too. More people should take chances with fashion like this. Spotted her: Outside Indigo.

Stopped her because: She looked so chic with her black coat, scarf in Burberry plaid, jodhpur-style pants, and flat brown boots. It's a classically preppy combination, but the messy topknot in her hair stops it from looking too fussy. Her small jewellery completes the effortlessly pulled-together look. Spotted them: On a bench outside Victoria's Secret.

Stopped because: I first noticed her bright red circle scarf. As I got closer, I noticed her other cool accessories - I love the combination of the earthy red, yellow, and green of the leg-warmers and the pink shoelaces of her black combat boots. It's a fashion risk that shouldn't work but does, and it amounts to this amazing sort of nineties grunge look. I liked her male companion's jacket. It lends a cool, casual vibe to his dress pants and leather shoes.

In Which I Shamelessly Solicit Your Help

Hello dearests.

It's crowd-sourcing time.

As you might know, I'm a journalism student/freelance writer in real life. I'm currently working on an article about the increasing role young teens are playing in the fashion industry.

Here's where you come in.

I'd love to interview (over email or the phone):

-Teen bloggers (especially fellow Canadians!)

-People of any age who are inspired by the style of young teenagers like Tavi Gevinson, Elle Fanning, and Hailee Steinfeld OR who feel passionately against the fashion industry's focus on super-young celebrities.

Howwww are you so well-dressed? You are infants!

Email me at jillianbell@hotmail.com if you're interested!

If The Fall/Winter 2011 Collections Were High School Students

Ann Demeulemeester sits in the corner, reading Sylvia Plath and listening to death metal. She tells everyone that she hates the conformists at school, but deep down inside she wishes that Tommy the football hero would go to prom with her.

Band of Outsiders has carefully cultivated her reputation as the effortlessly cool grungey girl who doesn't give a shit. Her trust fund is her greatest shame.

Carolina Herrera regrets getting kicked out of private school for rigging the class election. She hates all of the peons here.

Marc Jacobs just transferred from a school in 1950's Berlin in a parallel universe. She is deeply confused by the local customs.

Marchesa is the prom queen. She will shock everyone next year when she drops out to become a tattoo artist.

MM6 Maison Martin Margiela x Opening Ceremony just spent the night at her boyfriend's house. His parents are out of town.

Rodarte takes the bus to school from her family's farm every morning. She's a social outcast but all the boys are secretly in love with her.

Caught Between Love and Hate: Lil Wayne's Teddy Bear Sneakers

Sometimes, I know that I have strong feelings about something but I don't yet know whether these are feelings of overwhelming love or overwhelming hate. Examples: Tyra Banks, "Sister Wives" (that's a lie, I love "Sister Wives"), most Usher songs. This is one of those times.

I was bewildered today, when using iTunes homeshare, to discover that my dad has a Lil Wayne song in his iTunes library that I don't own. Now, I'm not a huge Lil Wayne fan, but this worried me. Is my 56 year old father (sorry for publishing your age on the internet, Dad!) more up to date with the pop culture of today's youth than I am? Am I no longer cool? (Okay, I was never cool, but humour me here.)

But my quarter-life crisis aside (it's probably more of a fifth-of-a-life crisis thanks to modern medical advances, but I digress), the main reason that Lil Wayne is on my mind today are the Jeremy Scott x Adidas Originals by Originals shoes he wore on New Years Eve.

Weezy (that's what the kids are calling him, right?) rocking the aforementioned shoes.

(Photo from upscalehype.com)

Dudes. They're freaking TEDDY BEAR shoes.

(Photo from upscalehype.com)

LOVE:

-They are TEDDY BEARS in shoe form.

-You could wear them with a super-jazzy dress and people would be all "Nice outfit! [glancing down] Oh..."

-They're adorable. I JUST WANT TO PINCH THEIR TINY, FURRY CHEEKS.

-The muted colour palette is very Phoebe Philo (you know, if Phoebe Philo designed stuffed animal shoes).

-They're like bunny slippers, but you can wear them in public without being judged. Okay, with slightly less judgement.

HATE:

-They are TEDDY BEARS in shoe form.

-They're actually really ugly.

-The decapitated bear heads look like they're crying out for help behind the smiles.

-They're over $300. That's a lot of chedder, yo. (That's not remotely current slang, is it? I give up. MY FATHER IS MORE CULTURALLY RELEVANT THAN I AM.)

Verdict: Love. I don't care what you say, world. These are awesome.

Inspiration - Pretty, Meet Punk

I've really been feeling a sort of return to pretty lately. I'm totally in love with the grungey, edgy looks of the last few seasons, but part of me is ready to see clothes that are purely pretty make their return (like those in Badgely Mischka's super glam S/S 2011 show). I really like the idea of doing pretty looks with an edge.

(clockwise from top centre: Giles Spring 2011, style.com; "Orphan" by Sam Winston, Wallpaper.com; Jessica Miller photographed by Carter Smith, fashiongonerogue.com; Chanel Spring 2011, style.com; No Magazine, fashiongonerogue.com; Vogue Turkey, January 2011, fashiongonerogue.com. Also, I'm a total loser and can't remember where I found the background image is from. If anyone recognizes it and can help a girl out that would be amazing.)

The solution to all of life's problems

Fact: I seldom wear pants. There's not any real reason for it, I just find myself wearing leggings and skirts more. I'm known in some circles as "the girl who doesn't wear pants."

Fact: I live in Canada. It's cold here. Especially in winter. It's winter right at this exact moment in time.

So my world was rocked the other day when I discovered these little suckers:

Plush tights, $35 at Shop Bop

They're fleece-lined tights! How ridiculously cool is that? Screw penicillen (seriously, I'm allergic to it and so I always had to have this gross strawberry medicine when I had ear infections as a child instead of the delicious banana-flavoured, penicillen-containing stuff), this is the greatest innovation of our time.

(Come to think of it, penicillen probably doesn't count as being part of our time. Hmm...Facebook? That singing mouse they cloned, which is disgusting, by the way? Beyonce's "Single Ladies" video? Whatever, this blows them all out of the water.)

(Also, lately I've been using parentheses like they're going out of style. I'd better kick this habit before school starts up again.)