Apartment Rental Tips – Choosing a Neighborhood in Los Angeles

Los Angeles living is exciting, fast-paced, and exceedingly diverse. Life in one part of the city can be a striking contrast, bearing no resemblance to life elsewhere in LA. The apartment rental process can be one that is fraught with difficulty, if only due to the huge number of choices available. When you start the apartment rental process in Los Angeles, you’ll quickly get overwhelmed because there are well over 100 distinct, named neighborhoods in the city. Which ones are hot? Which ones are dangerous? Which are kid friendly, and which have the best nightlife? Apartment rental is stressful enough in Los Angeles, so we’re going to bring you our picks for the best neighborhoods in LA for apartment rental today.

Venice Beach. If beach living is the life for you, look no farther than Venice Beach. Life here is affordable, diversified, and colorful. It’s clear when you visit Venice Beach that the free spirit that attracted so many artists of yesteryear, including Doors frontman Jim Morrison, survives today. Life in Venice Beach is populated by street performers, wandering musicians, craft vendors, and of course the hip bohemians who make Venice Beach their home. Variety is the spice of life here.

Westwood. Westwood is home to UCLA, so it features plenty of students, with the requisite affordable student housing, bars, and nightlife. Life in Westwood is fast and happening, but if you’re young and looking for a place you can truly unwind, and don’t mind fighting for parking, then Westwood may be the place for you.

Silver Lake. Silver Lake is a young, hip neighborhood characterized by organic cafes, dive bars, artsy boutiques, coffee shops, and easy-going, friendly, trendy people. Its proximity to downtown, Hollywood, and other great night spots around the city makes this an ideal spot for someone who likes to keep all of their options open.

Los Feliz. Once a mecca for the artists and indie crowd, Los Feliz has evolved into an upscale neighborhood attracting trendy residents looking for a quiet place to call home and retreat from the bustle of the city. The Los Angeles apartment rental prices are understandably rising as the neighborhood improves, but it’s still possible to find affordable digs in Los Feliz.

Midtown. A true melting pot of the city, Midtown is home to wealthy city-dwellers, working-class families, students, and more. Home to Koreatown, this centrally located hub is a great place to live if you always want to be connected to the action, but be warned, being centrally located means being in the middle of the city’s infamous traffic congestion, so plan accordingly.

Dressing For a “Brave New London” – Examining the Iconic Look of Twiggy and the Mod Style

Even before I crossed the Atlantic Ocean, I knew there was something special about London and the United Kingdom. After all, how could a place that is smaller than the state of Oregon produce so many legendary musicians, such as The Beatles, Elton John, Radiohead and Underworld. How could it produce cult movies such as Clockwork Orange, Trainspotters and Shawn Of The Dead. It’s my belief that only great cultural centers could produce such great art.

Fashion is another cultural phenomenon that has echoed across the world. In popular culture, the Mod subculture and style was born on the streets of London in the 50s, but it still lives on throughout today on the streets of San Francisco, New York, Hong Kong, Moscow, etc.

The origination of the Mod style can actually be traced back to Mary Quant, a British fashion designer. Through her boutique on Kings Road in London, she let loose a style that the masses would eventually make their own.

It’s never easy to explain a fashion style. After all, fashion is meant to be a visual art. The best way to explain a fashion style is by looking at those iconic figures who the general audience associates with that style. In the case of Mod, The English model Twiggy may be the most iconic figure of this style.

In her most simple outfits, Twiggy could be seen wearing a simple solid color a-line shift dress. The shift dress is a corner stone of the Mod style. The shift dress is defined as a dress without waist shaping or seam. When laid out flat, the shift dress is very geometrically shaped in nature. In fact, the Mod style can be described as a very geometrical fashion style, especially compared to the Bohemian style with its flutter sleeves and floaty tops. It is rare to see a photograph of Twiggy in the 50s and 60s where she is not wearing something geometric.

Another defining characteristic of the shift dresses worn by Twiggy is the length. Though there are those who would dispute this claim, Mary Quant has also been credited with creating the mini skirt and dress or at least making it popular among the young women of the United Kingdom. Quant believed the mini skirt to be liberating and also practical, allowing women to run after the bus. Quant’s mini dresses and skirts were raised 6 or 7 inches above the knee, attracting women who were interested in something daring and outside of what adults found socially acceptable.

Additionally, when browsing through photo galleries of Twiggy, one would find her in horizontal striped tunics and dresses. Mod stripes should not be mistaken for nautical stripes. Nautical stripes are meant to be more sophisticated and classic American style. Meanwhile, Mod stripes are far from classic. Mod stripes are thicker, bolder, and more glitzy, further defining the Mod style apart from traditional more conservative English dress.

Finally, since the Mod style originated in London, a jacket or coat is necessary to walk the often gloomy and wet streets. In public photos of Twiggy, she rarely dawned a jacket. Rather, she is mostly photographed wearing a statement coat with a check print. Just like the Mod mini dress, the coat should take on the a-line shape and slightly longer than the mini dress. In fact, the Mod coat, when buttoned up, should almost be mistaken as a dress itself.

Though Twiggy is seen as the iconic figure for the Mod style, women across London and the world have influenced the look with such pieces as the flat boot, boxy jacket, and double-breasted coat, etc. Nonetheless, if one is inspired to relive this era in London history, Twiggy can show one how to do so with sexiness and style, characteristics that women still strive for today.

The Various Advantages of Shopping in Bridal Boutiques

When you are looking to shop for your wedding which is one of the most auspicious moments in your life, a bridal boutique can be your ideal place. There are a variety of reasons which facilitates you to shop from there and you can certainly make the best of your shopping experience which they provide you. As you are looking to shop for your wedding, you certainly need the best dresses and this type of a boutique can provide you with the same.

One of the utmost advantages of shopping from a bridal boutique lies in the fact that you get a variety of wedding dresses under one roof. You get different kinds of designer wedding dresses which also have various types of expensive jewellery on them. As there are a variety of dresses which you can get in a boutique, you need not take the hassle of going from one shop to the other with your partner before getting married.

When you are looking to shop from a bridal boutique, you also have the advantage of getting a lot of other items other than dresses. You can also opt for a range of wedding decoration items like chandeliers, table linen, garlands, table cloth etc. which are available for you to pick.

When you walk into the bridal boutique shops, you are provided with a warm welcome by the cordial staff and proper information about every single item is provided to you. Apart from such information about these items from the staff, price lists are also provided to you instantly.

When you shop from a bridal boutique, you also get the option of shopping at your own pace. These shops do not remain crowded very often and you can certainly enjoy a convenient shopping experience. With the advent of the online medium, the popularity of the boutiques which have a presence on the internet has grown in leaps and bounds. These online boutiques provide you with numerous advantages as a shopper. You can buy from the utmost comfort of your homes and you do not need to travel anywhere to buy from them.