Dos and Don'ts? Total Do!

Glamour Magazine's Dos and Don'ts were one of my favorite things growing up. While other nine-year-olds were actually splashing in the waves at the Jersey Shore, I was sandside reveling in the unusually high ratio of don'ts to dos that existed in Seaside Heights, NJ. I loved the back-of-the-mag feature. Of course the dos were helpful and totally doable, but the don'ts were pure finger-pointing, hysterical fun.

Glamour has added a whole new exciting dimension to the feature. It now exists as an interactive gallery where you can do some Don'tspotting of your own and upload candid snaps of the fashion statements that should have pled the Fifth. You can also post the dos of course, but we all know we're really there to see real-life mullets, exposed thong straps, cottage cheese thighs encased in gold lame, and oodles of plumber's crack. Once photos are uploaded the whole viewing population can rate the mishaps and crown ultimate don'ts (okay, and do's). It's all a bunch of nostalgic fun. So don't waste time, get Don'tspotting!

Mix Master

One day I'll tell my grandkids about the time when I had to sit and fast-forward and re-wind a cassette tape on a walkman to hear my favorite song one more time. Oh, who am I kidding? I can tell my younger cousins about it and impress them with my wacky tales of ancient relics.

Yes, they'll laugh at the ridiculousness of the idea, but part of me will be sad for them. Why? Because they will never know the joy of crafting an ultimate mixtape on cassette for a new love, that cool punk chick they seriously want to be friends with, or their own broken hearts. Or, better yet, receiving a mixtape created just for them with every song carefully selected, sequenced, and timed to say just the right thing.

The closest they'll get to the real deal is this crazy clever contraption. It's a modern day mixtape: a cassette case hiding a USB stick. Nostalgia all mixed up with new; the best of both worlds.

Yes, I know you can't wear this, but damn it's cool.

Time Out New York featured this in their newest Gift Guide issue. You can click the image to get your own.