What to Wear, Where to Shop

THE EARLY BIRD GETS THE GOODS: While you’re no doubt planning on spending your day today (that’d be Thursday, Aug. 19) sitting around and reading every last word of this week’s Indy, I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest you stop. Right now. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. On second thought, bring the cash, and make your way to Dressed and Ready (1253 Coast Village Rd.) for a trunk show featuring urbane, eco-minded designer Elaine Kim’s fall collection, not to mention cocktails, snacks, and mingling with the designer herself, plus, you know, shopping. The event starts at 11 and winds down at 5, so … why are you still reading? The paper will be here when you get back.

THINK GLOBALLY, SHOP LOCALLY: Local line EcoZuzu, brought to us by former skate-wear graphic designer Josephine Tournier Ingram and carried at the Lotus Boutique (637 Chapala St.), is offering a sweet deal that comes with a nice side of warm fuzz. Their 100-percent organic “flower drawing” skirt is comfy, cute, and embellished with a silkscreened graphic and pintuck needlework … and currently a steal at 50-percent off. But here’s the cool part: The skirt is fair-trade, handmade by a women’s cooperative in India—and with each skirt purchased, EcoZuzu contributes a percentage to a grant that goes to support women launching small businesses in Africa. Get it here: ecozuzu.com/printskirt.html.

NAUGHTY GIRLS GET LOVE, TOO: The ever-fabulous Miss Kitty, proprietor of local lingerie (and other fun stuff best kept under wraps … or not) shop Purrmission (18 W. Calle Laureles) has scored a coup, earning Intima magazine’s award for Best Shop in North America, which she recently collected at a nicely stacked affair in New York. The winners were voted on by a prestigious group of European vendors, which is totally appropriate: After all, Miss Kitty’s love of undies grew from the care packages her English auntie sent her growing up, which would include Marks and Spencer’s knickers … and chocolate. “Buried deeply into my five-year-old psyche was the obvious fact that ‘underwear’ must be pretty special stuff to be allowed in the same package as European chocolate!” Indeed. And one look around the shop proves that fancy knickers are still this kitty’s catnip.

SPOTLIGHT ON: Space Invaders: A Crafty and Artsy Invasion

Ask and ye shall receive. Fortune cookie-grade wisdom, yes—and yet, check it out: You may have noticed my woeful tone in last month’s edition, when, while singing the praises of the Presidio Motel’s fabulous new shop, The Supply Room, I couldn’t help but lament the passage of one of my favorite annual exercises in shopping: Jill of All Trades. But, turns out, I wasn’t the only one feeling the loss. Vanae Rivera, designer of S.B. line (and JOAT participant) Mary and the Machine was, too—only she opted to do something about it. (Those who can, do; those who don’t … write about it. Or something. Anyway.) Rivera’s taken the ball and is running with it, putting together an epic, spin-off affair dubbed “Space Invaders: A Crafty and Artsy Invasion.” The Salt Lake City native’s own work is pretty interesting in and of itself, pulling from her skills with spray paint and stencils, and marked by her sense of humor. “Mary” is a nod to her “graffiti name,” as well as to Mary the mother, or the feminine aspect, and her screen-printed tees feature a juxtaposition of a street-art sensibility with religious iconography—where, she says, “organic meets metal”—and always, just a touch of sarcasm. One that reads “Save Yourself, No One Else Will” is a fave—“The Christians love it,” she says—as is the Mary design sporting the words “Your Time Will Come.” She did a commissioned design for gay night at the Wildcat, too: “Everybody’s Gay on Sundays.” (No mention of what the Christians think of that one, though.) But Rivera’s skills are not limited to art of the wearable variety: She also does graphic design (including the logo for the Brawlin’ Bettys roller derby team), as well as smaller pieces—stencils on wood, drawings—operating according to an ethos that art should be affordable. And that’s one of the drivers behind Space Invaders: “I want people to be able to come and leave with something.” At the event, which will go down on August 28 from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. in the industrial, upper-State space that’s home to her art studio (4159 State St.—behind All Around Landscape Supply), expect to find around 20 vendors (including Ellen Beebe, Cimmi Cumes, Stiletto Ninja Baby, CMND-Z, Grammatique, Collage Philosophy, The Sweet B, Frenchie LaRue, Iconoclast or Color, Adina Mills, and Giggle Sparkle) from S.B. and L.A.—many of whom you’ll recognize from JOAT—offering everything from handmade clothes to vintage collections to dolls to original artwork and jewelry, as well as deejays, henna artists, and cupcakes.

CHECK OUT: Jill Johnson

… What Jill Johnson’s been up to. The Santa Barbara designer is truly a Jill of All Trades, and whether you know her from the way back True Grit days, or were envying the ladies sporting her handmade, Fiesta-themed dresses and minis earlier this month, you should make it a point to get acquainted. Here’s why:

1. She’s set up shop at 19 Blue (19 W. Ortega St., 965-8200), so if you have a stack of pieces in need of repairs or alterations, bring them with you the next time you’re in for a cut, a wax, whatever, and call it multitasking.

2. She’s continuing to bang out her famed Bunny Jackson dresses, which offer her trademark, double-take-worthy combo of a sexy cut in vintage fabric. And she has a tendency to post pics on Facebook as soon as they’re finished, which makes for the easiest one-of-a-kind shopping around. Yay, Internet.

3. She’s still doing commissioned work, so if your dreams have been haunted by an item that doesn’t seem to exist yet, give her a shout.