Fall winter 2016/17 Trends

        While the heat of summer is still upon us, soon enough the leaves will turn and the cool of fall will set in. With a new season comes a new set of fashion trends.  While you shouldn't follow a trend just because everyone else does, it is useful to understand what clothing you will start seeing in stores, if you like it, and how to wear it if you do.  Designers presented their clothing lines for fall and winter this past February.  This gave the bloggers, magazine editors, and major retailers time to digest what they saw in the fashion shows and pick out trends among the different designers.  While these people decide what becomes a trend, we, the masses decide if a trend lasts.  Below are predicted trends for men and women for Fall and Winter of 2016 and 2017, and my thoughts on these trends.

        I have just moved to a new city, and do not have any realistic looking gentlemen on hand to pose for the male trends, or take pictures of me dressing up in the female trends, so please excuse these photos that I ripped from the internet of unrealistic people wearing the trends I describe.

Women's Clothing

Luxury Street or Sport Wear

This woman did not actually go to the
gym, she just wants you to think she did

What is it?  This is the high end version of what you would roll out of the bed wearing, or what you would wear to the gym.  That means hoodies, sweat pants, graphic leggings, and sporty looking outfits.

The Good: Luxury street wear and athletic clothing is legitimately comfortable, easy to wear, and easy to move in.  

The Bad: The Juicy Valor Track Suit is one of the most tasteless trends of the 2000's and it is easy to find oneself in such a track suit when sweats shirts and sweat pants are in style.  Luxury street wear is an expensive imitation of something meant to be affordable, and luxury sport wear is not something you can actually work out in.  There is something disingenuous about this.

How to wear it:  Maintain balance.  Wear a chunky graphic sweatshirt skinny jeans, or leggings.  Pair sweatpants with a form fitting, or cropped top and a jacket with a distinctive structure.

Velvet

This model likes her legs, which is why
she covered them in velvet, or maybe
she just likes soft things.

What is it?  Velvet is a fuzzy kind of fabric.  It is warm, heavy, and can look luxurious or old.
The Good:  This fabric will keep you warm in the winter, and is distractingly soft and fun to touch.  The color will look different from different angles and in different light.  The effect emphasizes the folds in the fabric and is very interesting to look at.  Velvet has an association with luxury and elegance.
The Bad:  They way velvet reflects light makes it hard to hide any flaws under velvet.  Too much velvet can look heavy, add volume, and resemble old people's curtains.
How to wear it:  The beauty of this fabric is how its folds look in the light.  You can capitalize on this by wearing a cowl neck, flowy sleeves, a flowy skirt, or even bell bottoms made of velvet.  Anything that can move around a bit will look interesting in the light.  You can also wear it in a form fitting way over parts of your body you want to show off.

Inspired by 100-1000 years ago

Now you are ready to conquer the World, or binge watch
Game of thrones.

What is it?  This trend is harder to name.  Designers seem to be pulling inspiration from historical European fashion.  Whether that inspiration is Medieval, Edwardian, Renaissance no one can agree.  Whatever you call it this trend is about old world grandeur and luxury.  You can expect corsets, bell sleeves, rich patterns, and dark lace.  Channel you inner Cersei Lannister.

The Good:  This trend leaves a lot of room for interpretation, which means people can follow it in their own way.  Also you get to impersonate Cersei Lannister in your clothing.

The Bad:  The trend may be difficult to tone down and translate into something reasonable to wear on a normal day.  Also Cersei Lannister is a terrible person.

How to wear it:  Wear velvet, wear lace, wear long gloves, wear ornate or metallic patterns.  Just remember to make the rest of your outfit understated to avoid looking like you are playing dress up.

Shearling Jackets

The leather makes it badass, but the fuzzy makes it
soft and full of love

What is it?  It is a leather, or fake leather jacket, with a fuzzy inside that is often visible at the cuffs and neck.  

The Good:  These are warm, practical, and can easily look badass.  

The Bad:  The fuzzy lining makes these somewhat bulky.  If you are small like me, it can be difficult to wear this without being somewhat overwhelmed by the amount of material, especially if you are wearing warm layers underneath.

How to wear it: This is a jacket, you wear it over your clothing when you go outside.  I wouldn't plan outfits around something you only wear outside.  If you feel compelled to plan your outfit around your jacket, wear a form fitting under layer and some dark form fitting pants with an interesting geometric pattern.

Layering

This is basically normal layering done backwards

What is it? You know when you wear one layer of clothing on top of another.  Though in this specific trend it is more than just piling clothing on.  The trend generally involves wearing those slip dresses, that were popular in the spring, or anything strappy and insubstantial, over a sweater.

The Good:  This sort of layering, is still layering, which will keep you warm, and allow you to adapt to changing temperatures.  Also it lets you wear clothing you would normally only wear in the summer for more of the year.

The Bad:  This style requires embracing looking a bit weird in the name of fashion.

How to wear it: Wear a form fitting, neutral colored sweater or long sleeve shirt under an interesting shirt or dress with skinny or no straps, you would normally only wear in the summer.  This will look best if the color of the two layers pair nicely, such as black and white.  For extra fashion points (whatever that means) use a sweater with the shoulders cut out, or a long sleeved shirt meant to be worn off the shoulder.   

Women's Makeup Trends

        For those of you that like putting goop on your face to look pretty, here are some new ways to put goop on your face that the fashion hire ups seem to think would be a good idea.

The Badass Who Maybe Has Some Goth Friends Look

Note the random eyeliner scribbles, yes kids
random eyeliner scribbles=fashion.  My hair is
flipped because they got a bit too scribbly on
the other eye

        This is a combination of a popular eye make up, jewelry, and lipstick trend.  No need to rock them all at the same time.  This 'look' is composed of graphic eyeliner, a choker and a dark lip.  By graphic eyeliner, I mean noticeable eyeliner in interesting shapes.  This could be an above and below the eye cat eye, or it could mean drawing a bunch of straight lines around your eye with an eyeliner stick until something looks cool.  A choker is a little necklace worn directly against the neck, sort of choking you, hence the name choker.  Some people are wearing black lipstick.  This will make your lips look rather small.  To avoid this effect, or if you are not ready to revisit your goth stage from high school, I suggest trying dark reds and dark  purples.  This can still look edgy and mysterious, without looking like the mistress of darkness (unless that is what you were going for).

The Person Who Played in the Snow and Returned Perfectly Made Up

It is 95 degrees out, but let's just pretend I played
in the snow and emerged wearing a ton of
mascara.

        This is another collection of trends that can be put together or worn separately.  This includes long piecy eyelashes, a pink flush, and glitter.  The long piecy eyelashes entails a large amount of mascara, or fake lashes, on both the upper and lower lid.  The pink flush is meant to look like you were just outside in the cold, and your cheeks are pink as a result.  This is meant to be very soft, and not contoured.  Just put extra (pink) blush on your cheeks  and nose.  Finally just put the glitter on wherever it makes you happy.  Maybe it is spread evenly over your face, maybe there are surprise attack clumps over your eyes.  Just remember, once you open up any sort of glitter, it will get everywhere, and never fully come off.

Men's Clothing

        While men do not have the same opportunity to experiment with fashion, I still highly encourage all of you well dressed, or aspiring to be well dressed man creatures to try out any of the fall trends here that look interesting to you.

Military Jackets

Dear Men, Please wear this. Please

What are they? These are meant to be old school military style jackets, what a general or young well dressed revolutionary might have worn in the 1800's.  Large lapels, double breasted, navy colors, or ornamentation are some ideas of what to expect in these jackets.

The Good:  These jackets look very cool and powerful, who doesn't want to look cool and powerful?

The Bad: Military style can be a bit severe, or a bit too much material to carry on a smaller frame.  And maybe some of you actually don't like looking cool and powerful.

How to Wear it:  It is a jacket, you wear it over your clothing when you go outside.  If you want to coordinate with it, slim fit dark pants, maybe in a deep shade of red even, will look good with the jacket.

Fuzzy Jackets

I question whether this man actually fought
a bear for this jacket.

What are they? Maybe you are not into this military jacket thing.  Maybe you would rather look like you fought a bear, killed it, and are now wearing it as a warning to any other bears who might cross your path.  Well then these jackets are for you, they are jackets made of fur, or with fur accents. Please opt for fake fur, and please do not actually kill any bears for your winter wear.

The Good: These are quite warm, soft, and bold jackets, especially the ones that are all fur.

The Bad: These are rather bold and ostentatious.  If you do not want to call too much attention to yourself this is not the jacket for you.  Also this trend may encourage more people to buy real fur.

How to Wear it:  People will not likely notice much other than the furry jacket.  As long as you do not wear ludicrous attention grabbing pants, you should be fine.  For a more subtle look just opt for a jacket with a fuzzy lapel.

Shiny

Look shiny isn't scary.  You can start
with leather accents if it is less
intimidating.

What is it? This trend encompasses slightly shiny fabrics, metal accents, and yes even sequins.

The Good:  The shiny fabric can either be subtle or flashy depending on what you choose to wear.  It can make on outfit look more fancy, and can be paired with matte colors to create interesting effects or draw someone's eye to specific places.

The Bad:  Most men are not ready for sequins.  Shiny fabrics can look cheap and tacky.  Even worse they can make it look like you are trapped in an 80's music video.

How to Wear it:  A good place to start is with suits or pants made of shinier fabrics.  If you want to be adventurous and try very shiny fabrics, just incorporate the shine into details in your clothing.  Maybe a jacket has shiny sleeves, or a shiny lapel.  A good rule to follow is the more shiny fabric you wear at once, the less shiny the fabric itself should be.

Baggy Suits

What is it? These are loose fitting, even flowing suits.

Dear Men, Please do not give up the
skinny suit for this. Fight the power!

The Good:  For those of you that didn't like skinny suits, or didn't look good in them, here is an alternative.  The legs may flow in an interesting way when you walk.  The extra room should be more comfortable.

The Bad: This may open the door to men just wearing ugly ill fitting suits.  Those of you that rocked the skinny suit, may see them falling out of style.

How to Wear it:  This is just a style of suit, you can still rock any color that you would usually.  You may want to avoid patterns because you will resemble old people curtains.  Make sure the suit fits you properly.  Just because he fit is looser and flows is no excuse to wear a dumpy ill fitting suit.

Copper

He is clearly happy about his color coordinating
skills.

What is it? Well Copper is an element represented by Cu on the periodic table, but in this case I am referring to the color copper, the rich orangey brownish color of a penny.

The Good:  Looks good on a variety of skin tones, is a pleasant warm color, can be paired with other colors.

The Bad:  Looks bad if your skin is close to the color of your clothing.  

How to Wear it: You can wear as much or as little copper as you want.  It will look good with deep blues or grays which will balance the color, warm reds or yellows which will compliment the warmth of the color, and tans and browns, which will be neutral.

        Trends are an artificial and trends can convince people to wear ugly and ludicrous things.  But trends also introduce new ideas and variety into fashion.  So use these for inspiration, rock what you like, but don't take them too seriously, only some will survive the winter. 

Beginner's Guide to West Philly Food

           When I first got to Penn I was told not to go past 40^th street.  That was where West Philly really started.  I was told the neighborhood beyond 40^th street was unsafe and not particularly interesting anyway.  Eventually curiosity got the better of me, and I began to explore what lies on 40^th street and beyond.  I realized I had been sorely misled.  The neighborhoods west of 40^th street are not only an interesting mixing ground of hipsters, immigrants, academics, and long established West Philadelphia communities, but a haven for culinary curiosity.  Despite the things people say about West Philly, it gets an unfair reputation.  I have wandered around much of West Philly on my own, and I a tiny white girl, have never felt unsafe. 

This is what I was told to expect from West Philly

          I was talking to some freshmen recently who had no knowledge of the fine food available beyond 40^th street.  This reminded me of my ignorance when I was a freshman.   Aside from ignorant freshmen I have met upperclassmen, and even students living west of 40^th street that weren’t aware of the dining options available to them.  I think students tend to want to go to center city or stay on campus for food.  Maybe eating in West Philly does not have the glamorous reputation of going downtown to eat, but glamour isn't actually edible.  

This is what I found

         To rectify this ignorance I have compiled this beginners guide to food beyond 40^th street in the hope of inspiring more of you to explore the great food options you might otherwise overlook. 

Brunch 

All the Lemon Ricotta Pancakes!

If you were deeply upset when Café Renata burned down, fear not!  It has been reincarnated as Renata’s Kitchen, at a new location. If you don't know what I am talking about, that's alright, but you should still check out Renata’s Kitchen on 4533 Baltimore Av.  It offers fine Lebanese fare during dinner hours, but their brunch is their real strong point.  You might remember me mentioning them on my last post for having one of the best hot chocolates in West Philly.  This is not all they have to offer.  The brunch menus includes such offerings as the Lemon Ricotta Pancakes.  These delightful pancakes are tasty enough to be eaten without any maple syrup.  

Chinese Food

All the sweat inducing, mouth burning
Chinese food you can ask for!

On the east side of the 40^th street dividing line are some fine options to satisfy your Chinese food cravings, the most obvious option being Han Dynasty.  If you enjoy the spicy and slightly more authentic than usual offerings at Han Dynasty, you will also enjoy Chili Szechuan.  Chili Szechuan lays on the West side of 40^th street, at 4205 Chestnut St to be exact.  Chili Szechuan offers an Americanized menu and a non Americanized menu.  If you are bored of the generic Americanized options the non-Americanized menu at Chili Szechuan is certainly worth checking out.  Chili Szechuan offers food just as spicy as what you can find at Han Dynasty, has interesting menu selections you won’t find elsewhere outside of Chinatown such as duck blood soup, and makes a fine bowl of Won Ton Soup.  Their offerings have been deemed slightly more authentic than Han Dynasty's by some Chinese friends who went to both restaurants.  Chili Szechuan is a BYO, but they card so bear that in mind when planning your visit there.

Ethiopian Food

Seriously, why haven't you visited this place yet?

There is a decently sized Ethiopian community living in West Philly. With this community comes an abundance of Ethiopian restaurants in a relatively small area.  If you are new to Ethiopian food, which I certainly was when I first came to Penn, introduce yourself to Ethiopian food at Kaffa Crossing, 4423 Chestnut St.  Kaffa Crossing was also mentioned in the last post for its delightful hot chocolate.  Other than making delectable hot chocolate, Kaffa Crossing provides an approachable environment for introducing yourself to Ethiopian food.  I encourage you to simply explore as many of the different menu options as you can, and try the smoothies, and the hot chocolate. If you have not tried Ethiopian food before know that, at least at the Ethiopian restaurants in West Philly, the food you order is served on top of Injera.  Injera is a thin spongy bread that you use to eat.  If you are a strict vegetarian make sure to order your food separately from the rest of the group because everything your table orders is typically served together on one large piece of injera. 

Korean Food

Hot stone bowl = cook your food, and eat it too.

Unless you are Korean or grew up in an area with a large Korean population, Korean food is probably not something you have been exposed to.  There are two restaurants that offer Korean fare on campus, Koreana, and U-Town.  While you can go to these restaurants to satisfy your Bi-Bim-Bop craving, or to explore an unfamiliar cuisine, you have a better option if you venture past 40^th street.  Tampopo at 269 S 44th St offers Korean and Japanese food.  Tampopo has a nicer atmosphere than Koreana and U-Town, and offers better food.  If you decide to go to Tampopo, be sure to try the Bi-Bim-Bop in a hot stone bowl.  Bi-Bim-Bop is a good introduction dish if you have never tried Korean food before.  The hot stone bowl cooks the food while it is in front of you, and makes the dining experience more exciting.

Mediterranean

Oreo Beignets, enough said.

Aksum, 4630 Baltimore Ave, is one of my favorite restaurants in West Philly.  Basically everything here is good, so you can’t really mess up with your ordering options.  Even so, I recommend trying the hummus and the Oreo Beignets.  Yes Oreo Beignets, these are like fancy fried oreos...but better.

Middle Eastern

It is in your best interest to try all of the manakeesh

Manakeesh,  4420 Walnut St, delivers great food on multiple fronts.   They make a fine hummus, delectable wraps, and yes great manakeesh.  In case you did not know, manakeesh are Lebanese flat breads topped with seasoning, cheese or meat.  If you are craving something sweeter Manakeesh sells fruit smoothies, baklava, Lebanese pastries, and crepes.  I suggest trying the fig goat cheese crepe.

Pho

 

NOODLEY GOODNESS!

        Pho is a Vietnamese beef noodle soup served with bean sprouts, lime, chili peppers, and basil.  I find this to be a wonderfully comforting soup. There are places to get Pho on campus, but there are also some great places to get Pho farther west.  

• Pho & Café Saigon on 43^rd and Spruce offers Pho and fresh fruit smoothies.  What’s not to like about this combination?  
• For a more upscale dining experience check out Vietnam Café, 816 S 47th St, which offers a fine bowl of Pho, and plenty of other Vietnamese options to satisfy a curious diner.

Pizza

Pizza, brewed in house beer, and the exterior of a firehouse,
Dock Street Brewery has everything you could want...if all
you ever wanted was pizza, beer, and an old firehouse.

         While I will have a complete breakdown of the pizza of West Philly in a separate post, there are two locations on 40^th street or West worth mentioning now.  

• The first is Smokey Joe’s, 210 S 40th St, technically Smokey Joe’s and Enjay’s Pizza.  Yes, your favorite campus bar ate a pizza truck and now sells greasy bar pizza.  That said this is very good greasy bar pizza.  The menu is simple but worth trying while actually sober.  The pizza crusts here have a nice slight crunch which adds to the pizza eating experience.  
• The next pizza worth trying can also be found in a bar of sorts.  Clarkville, 4301 Baltimore Ave, serves pizzas that also have a nice bit of crunch to them.  These pizzas are not as greasy as those found at Smokey Joe’s and taste like they are made with better ingredients. I greatly enjoyed the Danger Pie, a simple pizza made right. 
• Finally there is Dock Street Brewery, 701 S 50th St.  This place brews its own beer and makes its own pizza.  The pizza menu here is extensive and interesting.  Each pizza they offer has a carefully thought out combination of toppings different from the options you see at most other pizza places. 

           None of these bars serve pizzas that travel well, the nice texture of the crust is often damaged while the pizza waits to be picked up and carried home.  Eat them in the restaurant or, if you must order them for takeout, be ready to get the pizza right when it is ready for pick up and transport it to the site of consumption quickly.

South East Asian Food

Not to be confused with Vietnam Cafe which is within
one block

While Pho is an aspect of South East Asian cuisine, there is certainly more than just Pho to explore.  Vientiane Cafe, 4728 Baltimore Av, sells excellent Laotian food.  They have extensive options for vegetarians, and offer surprisingly large portions given the nice atmosphere of the restaurant.  This is a cash only establishment, so make sure to stop by the ATM before visiting.

  

Sweet Things

           I have already mentioned Kaffa Crossing, Manakeesh, and Pho & Saigon Cafe as offering ways to satisfy your sweet tooth.  But West Philly has more to offer still.  

MORE LASSI THAN YOUR BODY HAS ROOM FOR!

• Mood Café, 4618 Baltimore Ave, has approximately a gazillion and one flavors of Lassi (you can round this down to about 100).  What is Lassi you ask?  It is an Indian yogurt based drink typically served in sweet, salty or mango flavors.  While most places only offer 3 types of Lassi, Mood Café offers approximately… a lot.  
• Other places with interesting smoothie options are Hibiscus Café, 4907 Catharine St, and Brown Sugar Bakery, 219 S 52nd St.  These two Caribbean establishments offer a unique selection of smoothie flavors and ingredients.  Both places also sell Caribbean soda brands.  I took someone from Miami to both of these places and they immediately became excited to find the Caribbean sodas they had not been able to find since leaving Miami.  Don’t be intimidated by the bulletproof glass between you and the cashier, or the long hike to get to Brown Sugar Bakery.  The drinks are worth the trek. 

             This is not a complete list of all of the restaurants worth exploring in West Philly, just the ones I consider important to try.  All of the remaining places are for you to discover.  Next time you are searching for a good meal, consider venturing West instead of staying near Penn or crossing the river.

The Good, the Bad, and the Chocolaty: Ranking of Hot Chocolate in West Philly

          I don't drink coffee, so when the weather gets cold, or when I find myself in a coffee shop, I turn to hot chocolate as my drink of choice. Coffee shops are the most common vendors of hot chocolate, but they are first and foremost coffee shops.  They put in an effort to sell good coffee, but not so much to sell good hot chocolate.  I have searched far and wide for respectable hot chocolates.  After extensive searching I have provided a ranking of the hot chocolate of West Philly.  Yes, I have tried every single hot chocolate I could find in West Philly so you don't have too.  A surprisingly large number of them were simply not worth drinking.  Yet there were still a few gems out there.  Below are my findings.

          Before we dive into my thoughts on the hot chocolates of West Philly, let me specify what I think makes for a good hot chocolate.  A good hot chocolate is made with milk not water, but should not depend on whole milk to taste good.  It should be served hot, but not uncomfortably so.  The hot chocolate should have a thick and smooth texture, and a strong chocolaty taste.  I enjoy rather dark chocolate, but do not tolerate distinctly bitter hot chocolate.  If you are someone who enjoys a bitter hot chocolate weigh my ratings with caution, as I tended to give the bitter hot chocolates the worst ratings.

The Worst Hot Chocolates

5. Penn Design Cafe in Meyerson  Hall (210 South 34th St)

Penn Design Cafe, cannot design
good hot chocolate

          This hot chocolate was not bad per se.  It was just unfortunately mediocre. Given that most people can make a decent hot chocolate at home, being mediocre is pretty bad for a hot chocolate.  Occasionally it tasted sweet, occasionally it was bitter.  Most of the time it tasted like nothing.  Also it was powdery on the bottom.

Named for a great philosopher, not
a great chocolatier

4. Pertus Ky Cafe (3900 Chestnut St)

         This hot chocolate has a pleasant texture.  At least it was smooth.  This only somewhat compensated for the taste.  At best it was bland.  For the most part though, it was mildly unpleasant.

3. Accenture Cafe in Towne (220 South 33rd St)

          This was the first distinctly bad hot chocolate.  It was weak, bitter and impossible to finish.

2.  Satellite Cafe (701 South 50th St)

They knew I wasn't cool enough for good
hot chocolate the moment I walked in.

          At first I was intrigued by this cafe.  It seemed like the kind of place anarchist musicians, and struggling writers in tiny glasses would go to hang out and muse over vegan pastries.  Unfortunately, I am neither an anarchist musician nor a struggling author, and thus was clearly not designed to enjoy their hot chocolate.  This hot chocolate was terrible and bitter.  Maybe they were just too cool to sweeten their hot chocolate.

1.  Avril 50 (3406 Sansom St)

Come for the tea, not the hot chocolate.

          Avril 50 is a fancy foreign newspaper, coffee, and chocolate store.  Perhaps in foreign countries hot chocolate is served like coffee--soul-crushingly bitter.  If this is the case, I had no idea that I was supposed to sweeten the hot chocolate on my own.  One sip left me wanting to shave my tongue.  The entire experience was made more awkward by the fact that the person making the hot chocolate had overfilled my cup.  I had to drink some of it in front of him to make room for the lid.  I tried very hard not to grimace.  Hot chocolate aside, Avril 50 seemed to have a fine selection of coffees, teas, and yes even chocolates.  It is worth it to check these things out, just don't buy the hot chocolate.  

The Best Hot Chocolates

This hot chocolate was good enough that I even
deigned to photograph it.

5) Sabrina's Cafe (227 N 34th St.)

          Drinking this hot chocolate was a lovely experience.  If sipped through the foamy layer on top the hot chocolate had a mild sweet flavor, and a light foamy texture.  It was less pleasant if I tried to drink the foam with the hot chocolate.  Given that I normally prefer a more pronounced chocolate flavor,  this hot chocolate proved to be very enjoyable.

3) Dunkin' Donuts 

Surprise! Dunkin' Donuts sells many delicious flavors of hot
chocolate you can try.

          After about two weeks of sampling mediocre hot chocolates, I was pleasantly surprised by this hot chocolate.  It was sweet, thoroughly chocolaty and even had a slightly rich texture.  The taste may be a bit too sweet for mature palettes, but I very much enjoyed this hot chocolate.  Also it's location on Walnut Street makes it tied for the title of best hot chocolate on Penn's campus.

3) United By Blue (3421 Walnut St)

United By Blue, a place where you can buy outdoor clothing,
feel like a hipster, clean the ocean, and enjoy good hot chocolate
all at the same time.

          This place sells coffee, clothing, and damn good hot chocolate.  The hot chocolate here is smooth, and has a deep chocolate taste.  This is a less sweet and more grown up hot chocolate than what Dunkin' Donuts serves.  So which one you will prefer is a matter of taste.  Like Dunkin' Donuts it's location of Walnut Street makes it one of the best hot chocolates you can get on Penn's campus.  You get to feel extra good about getting hot chocolate here, because United by Blue uses it's sales to support cleaning trash out of the oceans and waterways.

1) Kaffa Crossing (4423 Chestnut St)

If you have not tried this place, stop reading this and go check
this place out.  Seriously, go.  This post will still be here when
 you get back.

          If you haven't yet been to this Ethiopian restaurant, I suggest you go soon.  They have a delectable selection of interesting food, smoothies.  And now it seems they can add hot chocolate to the list of things they make well.  Unlike most places that only offer plain hot chocolate, Kaffa Crossing offers four interesting flavors of hot chocolate.  I tried the Jungle Fever Hot Chocolate.  It contained hazelnut, banana, and chocolate.  It was delightful.  The only speck on an otherwise lovely hot chocolate was that the texture was rather ordinary.  It was perfectly smooth, but lacked the thickness of some other hot chocolates I tried.

1) Renata's Kitchen (4533 Baltimore Ave)

NOMNOMNOM HOT CHOCOLATE!

          Renata's Kitchen is a well known and well loved brunch place in West Philly.  Among their fine selection of brunch offerings is the Spiced Hot Cocoa.  The Spiced Hot Cocoa has a light foamy texture, and a distinct taste of chocolate and cinnamon.  The only drawback is that it is rather small.  If you are something of a hot chocolate purist, and looking for a drink that tastes mostly like chocolate, go to United by Blue for your hot chocolate.  If you are interested in something delectable and a little bit different, Renata's Kitchen or Kaffa Crossing are the best places to go.

Honorable Mention

Best Hot Chocolate You Can Buy on a Meal Plan
Houston Market (3417 Spruce St)

While it feels like the list of things worth spending dining
dollars on shrinks each semester, Houston Market's Hot
Chocolate gives us something to believe in again. 

         This hot chocolate was completely a dark horse.  I expected nothing from the large canister labeled Homemade Spiced Hot Chocolate.  This was served hot, had a strong chocolate flavor, and even had a spicy kick to it. The texture was a bit grainy, but still, this was vastly superior to everything else you could buy with dining dollars.





Interesting Variety
Both William's Cafe (255 South 36th St) and Metropolitan Cafe (4013 Walnut St) offer more variety in hot chocolate options than most places in West Philly do.  William's cafe made a hot chocolate that tasted delectable at first, then tasted like nothing after a few sips.  Metropolitan Bakery made a hot chocolate that was overwhelmingly spiced beyond the point of being enjoyable.  Despite the fact that the hot chocolates I tried at these places were not particularly good, Williams Cafe and Metropolitan Bakery offer more variety in hot chocolate options than most places do.  Perhaps some exploring of their different flavor options will yield a better hot chocolate than the ones I tried.

A hot chocolate too powerful for mere mortals

Hot Chocolate for a Refined Palate
Capogiro (3925 Walnut St)
          The Italian Hot Chocolate at Capogiro has been written up by multiple sources as one of the best hot chocolates in the city.  Honestly, I was not that into it.  Yes it gets points for being exceptionally thick, rich, and made of what seemed to be high quality ingredients.  But the flavor was not exactly enjoyable.  Consuming this hot chocolate, was sort of like eating the inside of a molten lava cake to which the baker forgot to add sugar.  The hot chocolate became more palatable after much sugar was added.  If you have a more refined palette than mine, then you might agree with the city's food critics, and proclaim this hot chocolate to be one of the best in the city.

Dishonorable Mention

This is fine to drink at home, but don't make me
pay for something I could easily make on my own

          Dishonorable mention goes out to all of the places that clearly sold me Swiss Miss in hot water, or hot chocolate made from some other brand of hot cocoa mix that I could just buy at the store myself.  Do not pay these people to make you hot chocolate, really you can make it on your own.  These places are not included in the Hot Chocolate ranking at the bottom of the page because I do not count them as legitimate vendors of hot chocolate.  The dishonorable mention locations include: The Chemistry Building Cafe (231 South 34th St), The Cedar Park Cafe (3914 Baltimore), and Donuts Plus (4325 Chestnut St).  Don't think these establishments are bad places, by all means visit them for coffee, breakfast, or donuts, just don't waste your money buying one of their hot chocolates.

Overall Rankings

1. Kaffa Crossing (4423 Chestnut St)/ Renata's Kitchen (4533 Baltimore Ave)

      3. Dunkin' Donuts/ United By Blue (3421 Walnut St)

     

      5. Sabrina's Cafe (227 N 34th St)

      6. Lil' Pop Shop (265 S 44th St)

      7. Corner Bakery Cafe (3737 Market St)

      8. Houston Market (3417 Spruce St)

      9. Green Line Cafe

     10. The Gold Standard Cafe (4800 Baltimore Ave)

     11. Replica Creative (3711 Market St)

     

     12. Wawa

     13. Kitchen Gia/ Gia Pronto

     14. McDonald's (3935 Walnut St)

     15. OCF Coffee Shop (2930 Chestnut St)

     16. Joe's Cafe in Steinberg-Dietrich Hall (3620 Locust Walk)

     17. William's Cafe in William's Hall (255 South 36th St)

     18. Au Bon Pain

     19. Capogiro (3925 Walnut St)

     20. Reed's Coffee and Tea House (3802 Lancaster Ave)

     21. Saxby's Coffee

     22. Joe (3200 Chestnut St)

     23. Metropolitan Bakery (4013 Walnut St)

     24. Fagan Hall Cafe (418 Curie Blvd)

     25. Starbucks (and Le Petit Creperie, and Mark's Cafe, and anywhere that sells Starbucks coffee)

     26. Hub Bub Coffee (3736 Spruce St)

     27. Milk and Honey Market (4435 Baltimore Ave)

     28. Bridge Cafe in Huntsman Hall (3730 Walnut St)

     29. Cosi (140 South 36th St)

     30. Penn Design Cafe in Meyerson Hall (210 South 34th St)

     31. Pertus Ky Cafe (3900 Chestnut St)

     32. Accenture Cafe in Towne (220 South 33rd St)

     33. Satellite Cafe (701 South 50th St)

     34. Avril 50 (3406 Sansom St)

Did I miss your favorite cafe?  Do you agree with the judgement I passed on these hot chocolates?  If you haven't tried some of the hot chocolates from the top of the list, I suggest you go out, try them for yourself, and let me know what you think.  In any of these cases let me know.  I will investigate any place that sells hot chocolate that I failed to consider.

Dressing Well on a Budget

     People with power and money often display their power and wealth in their clothing.    While I generally find ostentatious displays of wealth in clothing, especially wearing large highly visible designer brand logos, to be tasteless, the clothing still conveys power and wealth.  Expensive clothing often looks very good, and lasts well, but this does not mean you cannot dress well on a budget.  With a bit of creativity you can look powerful and interesting and have money left over for important things, like burritos.

Nice clothing is nice and all, but not when it interferes with my Burrito Budget.

     The first step to amassing a solid wardrobe on a tight budget is to examine what you already have.  Take out all of your clothing, your shoes, your accessories, everything that you wear, and try each item on.  There could be great options buried in the back of your closet, or covered by more worn out things you already wear.  Now ask yourself, is the clothing visibly stained, worn, or damaged?  If so, can you repair it?  Can you make it look like it was intentionally torn, worn, or discolored?  If the clothing is visibly damaged and irreparable you will not look powerful in it.  If you are crafty, you can cut it up and use it for some other purpose, if not, use it for cleaning rags.

     What remains in your closet should be in salvageable condition.  Now ask, does this clothing fit?  Will it fit in the future?  Can I find a way to wear it if it does not fit?  Your weight may fluctuate throughout the year, so its fine to keep clothing that fits you appropriately for all seasons.  But don't hold onto something that fit you in middle school, or during your 8th month of pregnancy with triplets.  You won't be that size again.  If the clothing is particularly nice, or used to look good on you, it may be worthwhile to take it to the tailor to have it refitted to you.  If it would cost less to buy a replacement, don't keep it.

     If your clothing is clean and fits you, it will look nicer regardless of what you paid for it.  Now it is time to assess the clothing you actually have to work with.  Do you like this clothing?  Do you feel good in it?  Do you or will you have occasion to wear it?  Can you pair it with a different piece of clothing, or something new to make it look better? If the answer is yes, keep this, if not put it aside with the clothing that does not fit you.  The reason you are doing this is to figure out what you need, and to get you thinking about new ways to work with what you have.  You might not need to buy any new clothing at all.  Do you have enough comfortable clothing for all seasons, for work, special occasions, going out, and everyday wear?  If so, you may just need to combine your clothing in new ways to make it interesting.  If you wear the same shirt, with different pants, and accessories every time you wear it, it won't look or feel the same.

     Once you have gauged  what clothing you have, and how you can wear it, you can start plugging up any holes in your wardrobe.  Before you run off to the store, realize there are many ways to get nice clothing for free.  For more timeless or vintage options, raid your parent's and older relatives' closets.  If they still have old clothing that they no longer wear, or that no longer fits them.   Your relatives will likely be happy to let you have their old clothes.  Do not worry too much about the style, fashion tends to follow a 20 year cycle, so clothing your parents wore, could easily look current today.  For more contemporary stuff, try holding a clothing swap with your friends.  Have everyone bring clothing they no longer want (like that pile of ill fitting clothing you no longer like you put aside a few paragraphs above).  Lay out all of the clothing, and let people take what suits (and fits) them.  You can donate anything that no one wants.  Even if you and your friends are different sizes, this can be a great way to change up your accessories, which are often all you need to transform an outfit.

Remember this jacket and dress?  They were in
my last post, when I discussed spring trends.
You want to know where these current trends came from?
My mom, and my grandmother's closet.

     Now that you have exhausted your options for getting free clothing you can actually start shopping.  The amount you should be willing to spend on something should be proportional to how long you expect it to live.  Buying cheap jeans are not going to save you money if they implode after two washes.  Here are the things to spend or save on:

Spend:

• Basics (Everyday shoes, jeans, versatile shirts, sweaters)
• Dress clothing (Women can get away with cheap dress clothing more easily than men)
• Wintergear 
• Bags and Wallets (you only need 1)
• Belts and Watches (more for men)

Save:

• Workout Clothing (Women you need a good sports bra, you can skip the lululemon leggings)
• Stockings (Nice ones fall apart just like cheap ones do)
• Socks and Underwear
• Accessories
• Anything trendy

     For clothing with a shorter lifespan, explore local flea markets, and thrift stores.  These can be especially good places to find unique accessories.  Some thrift stores are associated with charities, such as Philly Aids Thrift, so you can feel good about the things you purchase.  If you have an average build and a keen eye, you should be able to find clothing in these places.  If you have a less standard build or lack patience, thrift stores and flea markets are not the place to buy major articles of clothing.  It will take some extra effort to find clothing that fits well and is of high quality in these places.  

Even if you can afford new clothing, this place is worth checking out.
You can find anything from clothing, to silverware, to furniture here.

     The next level of clothing store is a consignment store.  These often sell high quality second hand goods. You can find consignment stores that specialize in anything from professional attire to prom dresses.  This is potentially a place to look for accessories.  Visit the more high end ones for blazers and dress pants.  You can find good everyday clothing in ordinary consignment stores, and trendy clothing in some consignment stores designed to sell current fashion.   You can even sell the clothing you no longer want to a consignment store for money, or store credit.  People with non standard builds may have a hard time finding clothing here, but will likely have an easier time here than at a thrift store.

At a consignment store you can put all of that ill fitting, unwanted
clothing to work.  Instead of lazing around in your closet, you can
make it earn money for better clothing at a consignment store.

     Fast fashion stores such as Forever 21 and H&M are great for trend pieces because they are cheap.  The clothing here tends to fall apart, so don't come here for long term wardrobe staples.  Adjusting to trends can be a big drain on your budget because you may need to get all new clothing every season.  Don't waste your money this way.  Get maybe one cheap trendy piece of clothing each season to keep looking current.  If you really like a trend, or it really suits you, consider investing in a nicer piece of clothing for that trend.  You can wear old trends without looking dated as long as you are tactful about it.  If you do not want to buy a new outfit for each new season, you have other ways to keep your look current.  Getting a trendy haircut, a new accessory, or one new color of lipstick or eye makeup is enough to keep your look fresh.  You can also just ignore trends entirely and stick to timeless looks.

This highlow skirt can be worn in many different
ways.  In it's full high low form I can wear it for a
date, or fancy occasion.

If I change my top, hair, and shoes, and add a
scarf, that same skirt that wanted to party
is now ready to do serious things with serious adults.

The highlow skirt has evolved! (I wrapped the long
end in the back around my hip, and tucked it into
my waistband in the front)  Now I can wear this
skirt to a concert, a party, or to glare at strangers.

   For those timeless looks, and basics you should focus more on quality than cost.  These pieces will form the basis of your wardrobe.  You want them to be versatile and last a long time.  If you invest in a quality piece of clothing, you will save more money in the long run than if you repeatedly buy cheap pieces that quickly fall apart.  Investing in quality clothing does not mean buying designer brands, it just means being willing to look outside of standard bargain sources.  Each store and brand of clothing cuts their clothing a little bit differently.  So do a bit of research and find a store or brand known for the quality of their products, that cuts their clothing in a way that suits you.  This will be the source of your basics.  Major holiday sales are a great time to get basics you might not ordinarily be able to afford.  Many trend items will be sold out for the season, but there is no reason to expect to have any difficulty in getting basics during these major sales.

     Basics are simple pieces of clothing that you can wear in many situations.  Many people think of a boring t-shirt and jeans when they think basics.  Basics don't need to be boring or plain, just versatile. They should be a color and cut that suits you.  Some basics worth investing in are dark well fitting jeans, a navy blazer, mid length skirts, and nice sweaters.  For shirts, you want to look for something low key enough for everyday settings, but made of nice enough material that you can dress it up for special occasions.  Any basic you invest in should fit in with the rest of your wardrobe, unless you plan to do a complete overhaul.  You want the new piece to pair well with multiple articles of clothing you already own for a variety of different situations.  That versatility is what will prevent you from needing to buy many different articles of clothing, which will save you money.
 

As promised, I give you Eli, a real boy!
This is a sweater that he wears for many different
situations.  He gets bonus points for having
bought it in a thrift store.

In this picture, Eli and his sweater feel dressy and
ready for mildly formal occasions.

Sometimes Eli wears these pants to be dressy.
Sometimes he wears them to jump out from behind
trees: such versatility.

 
      With any article of clothing you get, the fit contributes largely to how good it looks on you.  So no matter where you get your clothing from, consider the fit, and the cost of altering the clothing when you decide whether or not to purchase it.  Buying cheap clothing that you do not care for, or that does not fit is just a waste of money.  Do not spend money on anything unless you like it, you can get it to fit, and it can contribute to your wardrobe in more than one way.  Now go my friends!  Go off into the World and look interesting and powerful without cutting into your Chipotle budget.