May Contest: MATT & NAT!

picture-2Holy crap! I am so excited for our May contest. I wish I could enter it myself, but it makes me almost as happy to be able to give something like this away to one of our lucky, loyal readers. If you don’t know Matt & Nat yet, where the heck have you been? Read our interview with the creative genius behind the line, Inder Bedi, and find out why everyone from fashion icons to celebs go ga-ga for his jaw-dropping vegan and eco-friendly accessories.

You can win this $350 bag, Blockhead, in a few simple steps:

  1. Upload a video of yourself to Youtube explaining why you would never wear the skin of another animal, (click HERE for some tips) and what you think of The Discerning Brute and Matt & Nat. HINT! Creativity and humor are held in high-regard here at DB headquarters. Any format is acceptable, from songs to animations to annoying diatribes.
  2. Send us the link to TheDiscerningbrute@gmail.com. The Subject line must read: MAY CONTEST: Matt & Nat (otherwise it may get trashed). Inder and The Discerning Brute crew will decide the winner, and not only will you will win the bag, your video will be featured on The Discerning Brute, as well as Matt&Nat’s blog!
  3. Include your name, what you do, and contact info so that we can send the bag your way.
  4. Deadline is May 30th.
  5. The winner will be announced on the blog June 1st.
blockhead

BLOCKHEAD

Grey vegan canvas handbag with 100% recycled blue faux suede lining, tone on tone stitching, antique silver hardware, and MATT & NAT logo bar. The Blockhead features 2 main compartments with top zipper closure and 1 external zipper pocket on front. Interior includes zip pocket, cell phone and PDA pockets and 3 pen holders. Comes with detachable, adjustable shoulder strap.

Wu Hoo! Vday Vid with Todd Oldham & Pizza Crust for the Gods

We love Todd Oldham, that crafty, veg, designer-genius! He’ll be featured in an EXCLUSIVE DB Video in the coming days! We’ll school you on some Valentines Day awesomeness, and talk about really macho stuff… So stay tuned!

Page Six Magazine

Photo: Page Six Magazine

Wu Hoo! for us. Boo Hoo, for Jason Wu.
picture-8According to Womens Wear Daily (WWD Issue 02/03/2009 ) Jason Wu, who we blogged about the other day, has decided to put his nasty fur collection on hold. An anonymous DB source linked Tim Gunn (Project Runway), who is very anti-fur, to being Jason Wu’s teacher at Parsons. Maybe he inked a letter? Or it could have been the huge uproar, the thousands of letters we wrote, and the realization that if you’re going to dress our liberal, animal-loving First Lady – your next move should probably not be an economically short-sighted horror-show of cruelty, supposed ‘luxury’, and excess.

After Michelle Obama sported a Jason Wu gown for the inaugural balls, the designer has been basking in all the attention. The overnight fame has made him shift gears slightly. Wu was scheduled to launch a fur collection with Sara Furs for fall but, according to him, it’s been put on the back burner until further notice. “As a result of increased interest and demand from our global retailers, we’ve decided to put our fur license on hold and concentrate on our growing ready-to-wear business,” Wu said.- (WWD Issue 02/03/2009 )

Una Pizza NapoletanaOne-fourth of their menu is vegan. 100% of it is vegetarian. This, of course, is incidental – but I’m not complaining. There are only four things on the menu, after all. The vegan “Marinara” pie is simply: San Marzano tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, oregano, fresh garlic, fresh basil, sea salt. Definitely go check it out. but the magic is in the painstaking dough process, involving yeast that dates back 2000 years! You’ll believe it when you taste it.picture-11

Who in the their right mind would spend $20 on a personal pizza?” You ask.  Well, I was skeptical at first, until my friend Jodi convinced me to bite the bullet and bite into the most amazing pasta per pizza I’ve had in my life. At Una Pizza Napoletana in NYC’s East Village – you’ll find the art of Neapolitan pizza most excellently executed. If you are a lover of artisan pizza, this is it’s chapel. Plus, the owner, Anthony, has got some sick tatts.

Coats for Blokes

Jack Frost would have bit my big Jew-nose really hard this morning had I not had a cozy winter coat. It’s not so easy to find really warm, well-built winter coats that aren’t filled with feathers, lined with leather, made of wool, or trimmed with fur. My first recommendation is to check out your local thrift store. My second recommendation are this organic, fair-trade, and vegan coat:

style #300474601 roman surplus cotton winter army jacket

If those don’t work out, here are some awesome, animal-friendly coats to keep the chill out! I have these broken into three categories: Money to Burn, Big Spender, & Average Joe.

MONEY TO BURN

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BIG SPENDER

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AVERAGE JOE

And lastly, don’t forget to stand around on the porch in your organic thermal undies!

organic cotton fleece thermal underwear long johns