Diet Coke, inspiring designers, inspiring me.

When I lost my luggage this weekend...I'm sorry--when the airline lost my luggage...my first stop was Target. Spending money on new clothing would be admission that my bag was lost forever. And, well, I'm just not ready to admit that. So, off to Target for affordable, temporary replacements to traipse around Long Island in it was. Much to my great pleasure I discovered a 'Vintage' line of sweatshirts and tees that the mega-superduper-giganto retailer now carries. And lo and behold, I found a heather gray sweatshirt emblazoned with my favorite beverage, Diet Coke's, logo--this is a sweatshirt I would have purchased if my luggage had arrived. This is the sweatshirt I was meant to own, to proudly wear while coolly sipping, what else, a cold can of DC.

But in an attempt to find an image online to share with you of my new favorite dud I discovered these puppies. It turns out that sneaker brand PUMA has a thing for my beloved beverage too. Peep these Diet Coke First Round Soda kicks from PUMA's retro-inspired collection. Love.

And perfect timing for the discovery as my new Puma sneaks are amongst the items lost in my bag lost in turn in baggage purgatory.

Terror strikes. Platform sneakers make a come back on Melrose.

I was shopping in Sportie L.A. tonight for some sneaks to tramp across UCLA's campus in this weekend (for Festival of Books. yay, plug!) and I came upon this eye-catching platform sneaker on an otherwise unimpressive and cluttered check-out counter. The sign--fastened on securely with a paper clip--boldly announcing:

Custom Made Platforms
Weddings
Special Events

And I wondered...did stores still add platform layers of rubber on to walking shoes? Hadn't this stopped after those awful years of misguided fashion in middle school? Someone surely must have alerted the footwear retailers across the country that no, this was no longer an acceptable 'fashion' practice. And then I panicked...would some girl--some girl who'd not gotten the memo--who'd spent the last 15 years under a very distant rock--see this sign and customize her very own platform bridal adidas?

I paid for my own, non-customized kicks before I could have my sense of style violated any
further at the register. But the image won't leave my head. The sneaker nightmare lives on.

Design Dish: New Balance for Nine West. Really?

Who doesn’t love advertiser messaging from their beloved editorial newsletters? Urban Daddy pushing energy drinks? Daily Candy selling me diet powders? Well, occasionally, one of these news sources’ dedicated blasts is worth blasting. Today’s Who What Wear sales pitch announced a new fashion marriage: New Balance and Nine West. Interesting style collab!

Some of the sneaks are cute…

Some of the sneaks are…um…not so cute…

But what I really love? The logo!