Trendzilla

40-Percent-Off Sale

A A A Comments By THEO DOUGLAS Thursday, Aug 10 2006

Sneaker freak. Photo courtesy Adidas

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It happens this way every year: August gets here, it's super-hot/humid, and you're left with, like, two-and-a-half wearable shirts to get you through a five-day week. Everything else is either old, faded, worn-out, or long-sleeved. And it goes on like that for six weeks—during which everybody in the civilized world throws a sale of long-sleeved shirts. (Or else, über-expensive short-sleeved stuff you'd never wear—see: Rack, Nordstrom.) Thanks.

Except right now—in newspaper speak: last week—at Carve and Blends in The Lab, your anti-mall in Costa Mesa, they're having a 40-percent-off sale through the end of summer (Sept. 20). These are two stores where we always window shop forever and walk away empty-handed—not because they don't have great stuff (they do) but because it's not shirt-jackets, or Chromspun, or otherwise vintage. We're narrow-minded.And at Carve, arguably the more expensive, jeans or sneakers by Yohji Yamamoto for Adidas clock in at around $230.

Blends, of course, is where you'll find your best collectible sneakers—varieties of Nike, Puma, Vans and Cons that never make it down to the likes of Shoe City. And Carve has everything else that's super-exclusive or somehow cut on the bias—your headquarters for examples of Yamamoto's Y-3 line, including sneakers you could actually wear to work. Perfect.

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