The Fashionista is in - The young and the chic-est

I’m not sure if you were aware, what with all the Hollister and North Face roaming around the city and the too-short trousers and horrific, 1995-era kitten-heeled mules I see tromping around the skyway, but there are some pretty chic folks dwelling within our fair city. I, of course, think it’s only right to spotlight them, so today I present to you the first of the fashionable, the lovely Jane Magnitude. Who’s Jane? I first became aware of her through Lookbook, where she posts pictures of herself looking like a ’60s-era rock star’s girlfriend, and then I noticed she was from Minneapolis. Jane was nice enough to take some time out from running her online store, Magnitude Vintage, to chat with me and here are some of the highlights. (The rest can be found on the A&E Blog.)
How would you describe your style?
A highly stylized, dark, rock ‘n’ roll version of a 1960s socialite.
Where are your favorite places to shop in the Twin Cities? Why?
One of my absolute favorite stores here is Go Vintage. It’s in St. Paul and it is immaculately clean and everything is organized by decade. They have beautiful vintage wear and fabulous shoes & jewelry. It is definitely my go-to spot in the Twin Cities when I need something to wear to an event. I also absolutely love GH2 in Northeast. They have an amazing selection of designer pieces and the staff is always very knowledgeable.
What are your ultimate fashion dos and don’ts?
Figure out what suits your body type. Find a signature look. You can never go wrong with black. A killer pair of 5-inch heels will always pull a look together. Invest in classic pieces that will never go out of style. Don’t ever put a look together with pieces that are all from the same store. We have enough Urban Outfitters store mannequins walking around the Twin Cities already.
On any given day, what are you most likely wearing?
Almost every day I wear some variation of a black dress, a pair of Christian Louboutin ankle boots, a fitted leather jacket and a black pashmina.
What’s an item of clothing you wish would go away forever?
Bubble hem dresses, I cannot stress this enough. No one looks good in a bubble hem dress!
Living in Minnesota and dressing the way you do, do you get weird looks on the street from the less fashionable?
All the time. I went to Barnes & Noble this winter in leather skinny pants, a silver fox fur coat, and 5-inch-heeled boots. I think it must have been 3 or 4 in the afternoon. There were some very confused/concerned looks thrown my way that day. If I were in a city the size of New York, no one would have looked twice.
(Jane can be found on eBay: http://stores.ebay.com/magnitudevintage and on her blog, http://magnitudescloset.blogspot.com)

Something I stumbled upon recently during my fashion-centric Internet surfing and wanted to draw your attention to is the world’s most fashionable 8-year-old ever, who actually had me both stunned and pleasantly surprised. Arlo Weiner is the son of the creator of a very stylish TV show, “Mad Men,” and got kudos from GQ magazine for his passion for fashion. Seriously, if this kid is 8 and can dress like he does, can’t you 22-year-olds step up your game? The “LA Times” calls him a “clothespony,” mentioning that young Arlo was desperate for a monocle (yes, I said a monocle) and gets several pieces of his wardrobe custom-made by designers and finds pieces in Old Hollywood costume shops to suit his dandy style.
What’s up now, boys? Do you really want an 8-year-old to trump you in the style department?

As you probably already know they’re bringing a sequel to last summer’s label brigade “Sex and the City” movie to screens. I didn’t approve of the last and I won’t approve of this one. What was so charming about the series’ clothing, because of the styling genius of fire-engine redhead Patricia Field , was its mixture of vintage, thrift and designer. The movie, whose shoe-centric, Cosmo-swilling pink promotion drove me nuts, lacked all that. Everything that foursome wore was designer, from Charlotte’s hideous “Gucci Loves New York” bag to Carrie’s ridiculous, over-the-top wedding gown. Even that “label-less suit” she wore to her real wedding was vintage Dior! I’m all for a little product placement, but the constant barrage of Gucci, Pucci, Fendi and Prada gets a little old.