CULTURE

BOOK CLUB: JUST KIDS

Thu, 16 Dec 2010 00:12:00 -0600

For everyone who's wanted to take a walk in Patti Smith's legendary shoes, here's your chance. In Just Kids, the iconic singer, artist and poet lets you follow every step of her journey, from her first days in New York City in the late '60s to her rise to mega-stardom.

But Smith's professional success is only a small part of the touching recollection; in many ways, this autobiography serves as a tribute to her former partner and friend, Robert Mapplethorpe, who passed away in 1989.

And despite the fact that Smith goes back decades in time, she still manages to capture the wide-eyed innocence of two artists in New York: living with Mapplethorpe in the Chelsea Hotel, trekking to Coney Island to take photographs, and the contagious excitement of the bohemian rock 'n roll era.

With Mapplethorpe's Polaroids of Smith interspersed within the prose, Just Kids is equally beautiful, heartfelt, and sad. And just like all great books, you're left wanting more when it's over.
--LIZA DARWIN

Buy it at Amazon.

ZIP IT

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 00:12:00 -0500

At this point in the techno-sphere, an iPad has as much cache as a Brenda tote. But does your status gadget need its own status bag?

That's what Mulberry thinks. The British brand most famous for bringing Alexa Chung her own purse has debuted a new range of bags for Apple, designed specifically to fit their latest products.

There's a cross-body bag for your iPhone, a riff on their famous Daria purse for your laptop, and all manner of leather treatments for your Macbook Air.

But this being Mulberry, the bags cost as much as the Apple gizmos inside them. On the one hand, it's a relief to know your favorite bags will fit your computer or phone without any fuss. On the other hand... remember the "old days," when you'd just wrap your computer in a pashmina and go?
--FARAN KRENTCIL

FOLD 'EM

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:12:00 -0500

Can you recycle Post-It notes? Here's one way to do it: Fold them into paper cranes after they're done stashing a message.

Fred Flare's latest play-at-your-desk device is a stack of origami sticky notes, which have one blank side - and one side full of fun-folding instructions. You can make pigs, birds, bears, or a pinwheel - just make sure you're not desperate for the phone number or address on them before you start turning it into a paper grasshopper.

And if you really want to recycle them later? Just rip off the sticky part before you put them in your big blue bin.
--FARAN KRENTCIL

$6 a pack at Fred Flare

TAPE IT

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 00:12:00 -0500

Face it: Mix tapes don't exist anymore.

But if you're still yearning for an old time cassette, you can get one at Worldwide Fred.

They've made new iPhone cases for 3G and 4G phones that mimic the look of plastic Casio decks, but lose the possibility of a mangled or knotted tape strip.

Also: when you press "rewind" or "fast forward" on your iPod, you won't have to wait 30 seconds to get to the next song.
--FARAN KRENTCIL

Available at Worldwide Fred

IN SONG WE TRUST

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:12:00 -0500

Attention theater kids, Green Day fans, and anyone who wants to have a free, exciting, and loud good time:

We have a few pairs of tickets to the American Idiot musical on Broadway - you know, the one starring John Gallagher Jr. (the cutie from Spring Awakening) and based on Green Day's hit album.

Here's how it works - we'll pick five winners, who each get two tickets to the show, valid through August 31.

The tickets come in the form of a voucher, which means you pick which night you want to see the play, then email the super-secret address (it'll be on your voucher). If there are seats available, they're yours! (If not, just email them back with another night, until you get a time that works for you.)

Click here to enter.
And here to learn more about the show.

CALL ME

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 00:12:00 -0500

As if Friday weren't already the best day:

Now it comes with a Blackberry App for NYLON!

It's free, it's fast, and you can download it RIGHT HERE.

You're welcome.

(PS, iPhone and Droid users, get your free NYLON app here)

POP BOTTLES

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:12:00 -0500

Just when we think we've seen the last of limited edition, Warhol-inspired collections (i.e. DVF swimsuits, Bond No. 9 Perfume, etc), the foundation announces their latest partnership: A Tribute to Andy Warhol by Dom Perignon.

But unlike past brand collaborations, there's a genuine connection between the pop artist and the renowned champagne label. As the story goes, in 1981, Andy Warhol opened a show in Munich. When he returned back to New York, he wrote about a wild experience he had while abroad. According to his diary entry, he spent a night with a group of twenty guys called the "2,000 club," who planned to "buy 2,00 bottles of Dom Perignon which they will put in a sealed room until the year 2,000 and then open it and drink..."

Call us suckers for a good story, but we're sold on this bright, bubbly collection.Designed by students at Central Saint Martin's School of Art & Design, the bottles come in three different variants, and retail for the same price as a regular ol' bottle of Dom ($150). The one hang up? You'll have to wait till October 15th to purchase.
--ALI HOFFMAN

HOMEGROWN

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 00:12:00 -0500

This morning, the office conversation went like this:

Faran: OMG, did you know Annie's Mac & Cheese makes a microwave version?! I just found it in whole foods!
Ali: No way.
Liza: Really?
Intern Nicole: Duh.

(long pause)

Intern Nicole: I live in a college dorm. That stuff keeps me alive.

Well, now it keeps us alive, too. We tried it, we love it, and at $5 for a pack of six, it's even cheaper than our tried-and-true pizza diet. Plus, the pasta is organic and the packaging is 100% recyclable - so we feel way less guilty for devouring two (or three, or four...).
--FARAN KRENTCIL

Available at Whole Foods, or lots of other supermarkets...

BONE UP

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 00:12:00 -0500

It's not news that fashion designers are wild for the underworld. Bones have been popping up everywhere on the runways, from Commes de Garcons' recent collection to Alexander McQueen's ubiquitous skull scarf.

Now, your favorite childhood game has officially jumped on the bones bandwagon too.

Jenga's new spooky incarnation takes the original rules up a notch, adding new obstacles like a balancing skull placed on top of the pile and uneven bones that make stacking difficult .

With skulls as the latest cultural obsession, who even cares that Halloween is still 4 months away?

--LIZA DARWIN

$18 at Uncommon Goods

HiPAD

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 00:12:00 -0500

When Apple unleashes a new commercial, you can bet on two things:

1. It's bound to feature some great new music (The Ting Tings and CSS both got catapulted from an iPod ad...).

2. There will probably be a NYLON spotting (we've already been in ads for the iTouch and iPhone).

So when Apple debuted their new iPad commercial last week, it was pretty exciting to witness 1) a great new song (According to AOL, it's "There Goes My Love" by the Danish rock group The Blue Van. According to you guys, it's The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and you're probably right.) and 2) NYLON's website taking up some prime real estate.

Did you miss it? Watch the full ad below.