One of the many things the Femmeinistes share is an appreciation for a night out on the town with a well-made cocktail or two.  I’ll be the first to admit that when I was in my early 20s, I was pretty undiscriminating about the kind of alcohol I drank (fruity wine cooler, anyone?).  Really, it just had to be alcoholic.  I even drank tequila and Kool-Aid once when desperate.  (I really don’t recommend it.)  Now that I’m in my 30s, though, I find that I just don’t want to drink badly enough to drink crappy alcohol.

As a result, I’ve become a huge fan of the many New York bartender-focused bars that make a point of offering great cocktails made with fresh ingredients and a little thought and creativity. The Femmeinistes’ latest find is Apotheke, a bar hidden away on Doyers Street below Chinatown whose website describes it as a “19th century royal Austrian apothecary.”  Opened by Albert Trummer, an Austrian-born “bar chef,” Apotheke is a great addition to the New York bar scene, with creative cocktails served in a setting that’s a cross between a speakeasy and a European salon of days gone by.

read more »

I know that our readership includes a number of fans of Mark Bittman, the author of the New York Times’  The Minimalist column in the Wednesday food section.  (Betsy, for example.)  I’ve got to step out today, however, and take exception to something he said in an article about seafood in yesterday’s Dining & Wine section.  His article, which is certainly worth a read, discusses the problems inherent in being a seafood lover in a world where the ocean is becoming increasingly fished out to meet vastly increased worldwide demand for seafood. All well and good and true.  Knowing for sure what to eat and where to buy to avoid contributing to unsustainable or damaging practices is extremely difficult and seems to become more so with the passage of time (although this dilemma is definitely not exclusive to seafood, as anyone who’s tried to parse out the issue of local and organic foods is aware). It’s definitely an issue worth being aware of.

Here’s my issue with this article: read more »

Plus size model Whitney Thompson of America's Next Top Model

In light of the retail landscape right now, some retailers are responding with what seems like a good business decision: pulling plus-size clothing, which doesn’t turn much of a profit, from brick and mortar stores, offering them only online.  But when clothing giant Ann Taylor announced their decision to do the same, all hell broke loose on the blogosphere.

Look, it’s true that fashion knows no size (seriously, check out the Fatshionistas – those girls are seriously good at pulling together an outfit), and that as an overall systemic issue, the fact that it’s hard to find adult clothes in plus sizes sucks. I get it, and I’m incredibly sympathetic.

This post is not meant to be fat-shaming or anything else – ultimately, I just wanted to add something different to the conversation, which is some industry insight as to WHY some of these decisions may have been made.

An interesting sidebar is the issue of vanity sizing.  A few years ago, we had a similar trend that affected the other end of the scale – I, at 5’2 and (at the time) 115 pounds, could not shop in a number of stores.  In fact, while working at Abercrombie in college (shut up), I had to walk across the mall and dress myself in Abercrombie Kids just to meet the dress code.  Yet, we didn’t see the sort of venomous reaction to the idea that adult women had to dress themselves in kids clothes that we’re now seeing directed at the idea that adult women need to order adult clothes online.

That aside, there are some very real, tangible reasons why plus size clothing is being phased out.

read more »

Sigh

That picture just never gets old.

Anyhow, AMC has officially announced the premiere of the third season of the critically acclaimed (and much beloved by me) show Mad Men: August 16th.

If you can’t wait that long, here’s the official trailer (which seems to revisit some point from the second season, mixing them with foreshadowing in the third):

Still not enough?  The second season box set hits stores on July 14th, but you can preorder your copy now.

The online shopping guide rolls on, and this week we’ve arrived at one of my favorites — the membership only sites.  I have to admit, the membership site sales are a BIG weakness of mine.  I hesitate to specify how much money I’ve spent on Gilt, but let’s just say that my wardrobe is a whole bunch nicer than it was before I joined, and I have a few really fabulous handbags.  The great thing about the membership sales is that while you can’t rely on getting the season’s latest offerings, you can get some really great items at discounts way beyond what you’re likely to see in the online or physical stores on a regular basis.  The online membership sites are the perfect place for opportunistic shopping; if you keep your eye out for, say, a dress to wear to a wedding, and give it a little extra time, you’re likely to see something going by at one of these sales that you’ll love and that won’t cost you anything like retail.

A discussion of the various sale sites follows after the jump!

read more »

Call it the end of an era: eLuxury, the go-to shopping site for LVMH designer brands, is closing its doors.  In order to move a lot of its remaining merchandise, the site is having a sweeping clearance sale, with up to 80% off.

Happy shopping!

Find more videos like this on AdGabber

Kinda NSFW, but funny as hell.

If you’re like me (late 20s/early 30s age bracket), you were probably obsessed with Saved By The Bell.  (In fact, the show was so popular that I actually had a fairly lengthy discussion about Jesse Spano’s caffeine pill additiction just last night.)

And if you were like me way back then, you had a massive crush on one Zack Morris.  The bleached hair, the tan, the rolled up acid wash jeans … Le sigh.  Luckily for me, Zack made a comeback last night on Jimmy Fallon, complete with his oversized cell phone (Jesse called mid-interview!) and an impromptu performance by Zack Attack.

Apparently, he became an actor after SBTB, but had to change his name to Mark Paul Gosselaar, since there was already a Zack Morris in SAG.  He married Kelly, but they ended up divorcing and she moved to “a different zip code.”

Ha!

Foley & Corinna, how I do love you!

I believe I’ve gone into the whole fact of my not needing more cocktail dresses before, but man, do I love this dress.  That teal is just about my favorite color, I love the ombre effect, and the fringe just begs for me to take it to the Flatiron Lounge or one of the city’s other speakeasies and have a Prohibition-era cocktail.  Love, love, love!

Really? A stiletto heel appropriate for the bride AND Nike comfort?

Admittedly, I knew that Cole Haan made heels using this technology — I have a gorgeous pair of brown suede peeptoes that are possibly the most comfortable heels I own.  What I didn’t know was that Cole Haan also had the genius idea of making a whole line of shoes in dyeable white satin for special occasions.  This might be the best wedding fashion idea EVER.  Cole Haan’s offerings come in varying heel heights, from 4″ sandals to ballet flats, so there are options for everyone.  The real advantage here, though, is in the heels — the difference between a 3″ Cole Haan Air heel and your average stiletto is hours of additional standing time while looking great before your feet really start to protest.  And let’s be real, if you’re the bride or a bridesmaid, you’re going to be on your feet a lot on the big day.

I’m partial to the one at top (yeah, the rosettes are a little lavish, but what better excuse are you ever going to have?), but there are a whole slew of styles available — check them out at Nordstrom or on Cole Haan‘s website, and get ready to dance the night away!