It sees you through blood, tears and (lots o') sweat year after year, and in fact, only gets better with age.

It proves you've been cool for a very long time, decades even.

It tells others who you were and who you are, all without trying.

It's the most dressed down and comfy you can be, but it makes a style statement like no other article of clothing there is.

We're talkin' about the vintage band or concert t-shirt. The one you've had for 10, 20 or 30 years. It's paper thin, perfectly faded and kinda loose (they didn't make many fitted tees or youth sizes for us ladies back in the day like they do now).

It's not ironic (that's for the kiddies) or faux (fake vintage tees are blasphemy to old schoolers, though we gotta admit we have a Stones one somebody gave us and it does have a flattering fit, plus it's mighty soft. We've also got a ton of real ones dating back to '73, so our rock karma is in tact okay?)

Part Time Punks' music fest, which took over the Echo and EchoPlex last Sunday, was the perfect place to snap some of these beloved rock relics (which by the way, you can buy worn-in at some pricey vintage shops or on Ebay for hundreds of dollars). Don't think that's the case here though. These peeps and their tees are the real deal. Oh the stories both could tell....

No Nightranger this week, but you can see more from the fest (and pics from Club Nokia at LA Live! and The Felt Club)
here. Read about the music at PTP here.

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New Star Trek Trailer:

Who had better style? The old 1960s Star Trek crew members or the new 2009 Star Trek crew members? By "new" I mean "new version of the old." The movie drops next year. I know you're already in line. Here are some fashion-related things to think about while you're setting up camp on the sidewalk. You can also watch (and re-watch) this piece of video. It's the latest trailer, which our web editor bribed a couple of Dabo girls for.

Star Trek Fashion Smackdown: Old vs. New

1. UHURA (Nichelle Nichols vs. Zoe Saldana)

The key to her look is the mini-dress. Nichelle rocked the bright cardinal red Mary Quant-ish mini-dress like the future depended on it. Note that she wears black sheer tights to go with her knee-high whip-me boots, which tones down both the shortness of the dress and the aggressive sexiness of the boots. It looks like Zoe won't be doing the trademark Uhura beehive, but a sleek little bun at the crown of the head and a long Go-Go girl fall. It's a more modern way to go. You'll notice that instead of the polyester double-knit fabric, her mini-dress has texture. Is that because it's made by present-day nanotechnology robots? I'm not sure. But I can tell you that the raglan shoulders give it a nice sporty/athletic edge that's a bit more "ready to spring into action and kill aliens" than old Uhura's ice-skater-chic cowl neckline. It's more of a bordeaux shade, too (a la Jean Luc Picard in Next Generation) rather than bright red. Her cats-eye eyeliner is adorable. And the earrings! Who wears earrings to space? Uhura, that's who.

2.KIRK (William Shatner vs. Chris Pine)

It's tough to evaluate Shatner-Kirk's sense of style because it is so eclipsed by Shatner-Kirk's Shatner-Kirkness. Look at that wavy, caramel hair! The mustard yellow makes it look even more golden. What I will say is that that gold rick-rack along the 1960s version of the uniform sleeve always bugged me. Is it supposed to indicate rank or something? Chalk it up to it being the '60s when no one was immune to the effects of a little bit of gold cha-cha to tacky-up an outfit. New Kirk is shown here in an all black scuba-type ensemble. I'm not sure why he's dressed goth. Is that part of the Star Trek oeuvre? It will all be explained months from now, of course.

Read on...

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You can't go anywhere these days without someone busting out with their digital camera and taking your picture (i.e. stealing your soul) with it. Maybe you always look like crap in them. Maybe you always ask people to delete-delete or threaten to murder them if they post it on Facebook. If so, this is for you: Carson Kressley (remember him? The funny, hyper one from Queer Eye For The Straight Guy?) and Nikon made a series of videos called Look Good In Pictures to show you how to look better in pictures.

He has suggestions like: practice at home in front of the mirror figuring out which is your best angle. Then adopt that pose whenever someone takes your photo. And beware of background distractions like lamps sticking up out of your head. There's a lot more. Like, how to take a good online dating photo, how to take good night photos, how to take good vacation and pregnancy photos. How to take good portraits for your corporate website. And, my favorite, how to use your camera when you're shopping.

Check it out. Plus, Kressley is pretty endearing in a cute, squirrelly kind of way and is just entertaining to watch on his own.

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Here is a business idea for those casting about for things to do in the economic downturn: start a cat cafe. Japan has one. No, correction, they have seven. Seven places where visitors to the cafe pay $8-$12 an hour to sit with cats and drink tea with cats and read comics with cats and pet the cats. One of the cafes is called Neko JaLaLa. "Neko" means "cat" in Japanese. Hell if I know what "JaLaLa" means. The Christian Science Monitor (which has recently shut down the print edition of its publication and has gone all-web, and no it's not because they wrote about cat cafes) reports that cat cafes are a cultural trend in a city where space is at a premium and pet ownership is difficult. They also argue that cat cafes are great for people who are stressed. Stress, tight spaces, hot new cultural trend...is this not perfect for LA? Come on Silverlake, Brentwood, Culver City, Tarzana. Let's step it up.

(via www.csmonitor.com)

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Kinda sick, yet kinda cool. That could be said for a lot of creepy fashion these days. Especially for this 14K gold-plated Retainer Necklace by 24-year-old wunderkind designer Kiel Mead. He cast the piece from his brother's retainer. Hangs from a 30" chain. Buy it for $300 at Fred Flare...or not.

Mead also makes these fantastic Gum Necklaces. Between the gum and the retainers, I like the gum better. But, hey, you could wear them together. Mead clearly has a knack for turning mundane objects into art.

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Passing along some fun pre-holiday shopping events for you mall-phobic spend-sters. Yeah K-Mart has lay-a-way, but these weekend sales got hot jeans for cheap, crafty curios you wont see anywhere else and even music and booze! Let the holiday cheer and ka-chingin' begin!

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Last week WORN OUT featured the ubiquitous legging, an unforgiving garment that's definitely come out of the gym and (for hard bodies) out from under other pieces too. But let's face it, few non-models/actresses/teen waifs can pull off butt-hugging lycra alone.

Still, lots of us have great legs and when leggings don't scream loud enough (or when what they're screaming is "Do The Jane Fonda"), tights are a more fashionable n' funky option, especially in vibrant hues like these above (seen at Paper Magazine's LA Project pop-up party space last week).

We're not really sure about the two different leg-color thing (did she 'em buy that way or cut two pairs up?), but against all logic, her trippy big tee and two-toned tights ensemble works for us. Maybe it's the sassy heeled Mary Janes or the wacky eye-makeup... either way this gal looks like she knows how to have fun, Cyndi Lauper kinda fun.

Her pal didn't go as far, but her bright red opaque tights paired with sparkly gold flats and strappy animal-print dress are a bold choice in their own way. We have a similar frock and usually pair it with fishnets and black boots. Safe. Sometimes obviously sexy can be a snooze... Looks like it's time for some bright nights in the big city!

See more fashion-forward types at Paper mag's week of parties and some decidedly harder looks at Punk Rock Karaoke at the Roxy in this week's Nightranger Slideshow. Read about it (along with a mini-Madonna concert review and a traffic tirade) here.

UPDATE: By the way, our pals at Paper are in the voting stages for their annual Nightlife Awards (they asked moi to suggest a couple of the nominees). Have your voice as a club-crawler heard and vote here.

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Maybe you've heard about Machine Gallery? If you live in Los Angeles, if you like strange and strangely beautiful events, if you like being buried alive, if you like secret galleries that you peep into through a hole in the floor, if you like depleted uranium and unicorns and flowers and volcanoes and robots, electrons, poets in the wall, ice cream and chemistry...then by god, go to LACMA this Saturday 11/15 from noon to 10 p.m.

Mark Allen and his Machine Gallery army will be taking over the museum. They will put mariachi bands in the elevators. They will teach you how to crochet a hyperbolic coral reef out of plastic garbage bags. They will have a murder mystery thingie that you have to solve. They will have musical performances inside the Richard Serra sculpture. There will be so much more. If you want to read more about Machine and Mark, here is a link to the epic cover story I wrote on them a while back as their embedded journalist for the better part of a year. I say "epic" because each time I'd think I was done, Mark would keep doing more and more cool stuff that I'd try to work in. Per Mark, the LACMA event is "the biggest thing we've ever done, and dare we say, the raddest."

See you on Saturday!

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It must be one of the best jobs in the world to work for Droog, the Dutch design collective that creates furniture like this Log Bench (which you can buy for $20,932 from Retromodern). Or maybe it's one of the most insane jobs in the world. They make stuff like this Chest of Drawers below. Their designs are perfect for people with a lot of money to throw around, who don't require actual, you know, functionality in their furniture, who appreciate benches that more closely approximate Art than Furniture.

Take this "Do Hit Chair." It's a box that comes with a hammer and you hit it to make a chair shape. Or this sugar cube cage. Why, that's just what I needed! A cage for my sugar cubes! It's based on something Marcel Duchamp said. I don't know what it is exactly he said, but you simply have to say "inspired by Marcel Duchamp," and everything makes sense. That's your basic default explanation for weird crap.

Droog's stuff isn't ALL weird, it should be noted. Like this Hippo Mat. Okay. Fine. It's weird. Awesomely weird.

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How about those layoffs? Those of you who still have jobs, do you still have lunch at restaurants or buy takeout? Magazines and various lifestyle segments on TV "news" programs are saying that to save money, people are brown bagging their lunches more these days rather than eating out. It's probably going to be a while before Obama can fix the economy. In the meantime, this Last Supper Lunchbox seems particularly appropriate. I know a lot of people who feel like every lunch break they take could be their last. "It feels like the Last Supper," a friend said. When she returned to the office, a bunch of co-workers had been laid off.

This is another lunchbox I've been eyeing for some time. It's like your lunch is dead. It's for sale at Halloween Town in Burbank.

This super hi-tech looking one from Zojirushi (you know, the rice cooker people?) is less stylin' than the other two, though probably more likely to keep your lunch at optimal temperature and prevent you from getting food poisoning.

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Japanese Schoolgirls at the Museum Nov 11, 2008
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Is the Entire World For Obama? Yes. Have a Button. Nov 3, 2008
Anti-Hipster Haunted Garage Party in The Burbs Nov 3, 2008
Obamaware--Drink It Up Nov 3, 2008
WORN OUT- Last Minute Halloween Costume Ideas Seen On Sunset Strip And Beyond. Oct 31, 2008
Men of Mortuaries--The Perfect Stocking Stuffer Oct 30, 2008
Chocolate Skullapalooza Oct 29, 2008
Sweater Buck Oct 28, 2008
Scream Queen Superstar: Jackie Beat Gets Gruesome at the Cavern Club Oct 27, 2008