1960's-Inspired Songs from Wild Belle

Wild Belle got some traction last year from the music festival circuit, and their happy, slightly off-kilter tunes are the perfect background music for when you are dressing to kill in your mod shift dress.

Comprised of a brother and sister from Chicago, Wild Belle released their first full-length album earlier in 2013. Listening to their funky, 60s-inspired beats, you can tell they were raised by musician parents.

Elliot, the older sibling of the band, also started an afrobeat band when he was in college, which his sister Natalie joined later on.

It's Heating Up In the City

It's Monday and 95 degrees outside. When it gets this hot and miserable in New York City, things can get a little weird.

More people are outside, away from their hot apartments and looking for some reprieve from the heat in the form of air conditioning. Duane Reade, movie theaters and the service entrances to office buildings will do.

Dreamy Beach Pop by Cayucas for the Last Week of June

Our First Giveaway: Bright Futures Sunglasses!

We're super excited to announce our first giveaway! We've got 4 pairs of sunglasses from Bright Futures Sunglasses up for grabs. Yes, that means FOUR WINNERS will each receive one pair of awesome sunglasses!

Swim Trend: Floral and Botanic Prints

Swimwear takes a turn for the feminine with botanic and floral prints this season. Next week, we'll be going into depth with our coverage of this flower power trend and how it's affecting clothing, food, and beverages. 

For now, check out our top picks after the jump, as well as the rest of our swim trends and endless summer coverage!

Swim Trend: Vintage Look

With only a few days left of our endless summer/beach/rockaways coverage, we're winding down our swimwear trend reports. Today's key trend is based on vintage styling and silhouettes, with modern fabrics and updates to each cut.

We especially love this trend that gives a sexy nod to pinup girls while still maintaining a generous amount of coverage. Check out the rest of our picks after the jump!

Swim Trend: Contrast Piping and Straps

Hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend! We're back this week with continued coverage of our endless-summer/surf/beach/Rockaways trends.

Surf and Sun and All Things Fun at the Rockaways This Memorial Day Weekend!

Memorial Day is here and we want to be at the Rockaways!

Swim Trend: Cutouts and Lattice

You already know all about the trend of cutouts in clothing (and an example of how it's affected music with "glitches"), so it'll come as no surprise that this major trend has spilled over into swimwear. Some of the styles are very directly influenced by cutouts, yet others have been translated into lattice work or ladder backs.

While we're slightly dubious of the interesting tan lines you'll receive, we think these styles will be worth it; besides, SPF1000 guys!

Check out the rest of our swim trends for 2013 here.

 

Swim Trend: Ruffles

We continue our coverage of swimwear trends with ruffles!

Check out our picks below, plus the rest of our swim 2013 trends.

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Rockaway Taco Is Up and Running Again

The Rockaways and the boardwalk are synonymous with North Brooklyn kids and summer.

And the one place that feeds all of us hungry souls after sunning, beaching and drinking in the seen and be seen part of the Rockaways is Rockaway Taco.

After opening in 2008, this taqueria is the go-to for all of us who take the trains down on the weekends to surf and beach. But, after Hurricane Sandy devastated the Roackaways and other coastal regions in the area, those cool kids came down to help, partnering with the Rockaway Taco owners to help the neighborhoods who needed supplies, food and continuing help. 

Swim Trend: Animal Print

For swim 2013, we're seeing a lot of the same trends that are also affecting clothing, including animal prints. There's no shortage of styles featuring animal prints, but some definitely stand out more than others. 

Check out our top picks below, then check back every day this week for the rest of our swim trend coverage.

Memorial Day Weekend Means Surfing Season in the Rockaways

Surfer guys, micheladas and tan lines from your backpack only mean one thing... you're biking down to the Rockaways this weekend—and almost every weekend after—to soak up the rays and support our amazing business owners rallying hard after Hurricane Sandy nearly eight months ago.

One way to get you ready to beach it is some lo-fi surfer rock, preferably of the Australian persuasion. Well, we've got you covered with Dune Rats.

After two well-received EPs released in 2011 and a single in 2012, the feel-good, high times surfer rock group performed shows at SXSW, only making their next release even more anticipated. 

Danny Beusa and BC Michaels released a new EP called Smile on their home turf in Brisbane a couple weeks ago and will hopefully be performing it sometime soon stateside.

In the meantime, kick back, chill out and finish that Michelada!

NYT's State of the Beaches; What to Expect at Your Favorite Beaches for Memorial Day Weekend

The New York Times put together an incredibly handy/useful map that shows what beaches and beach facilities will be open this holiday weekend. 

To kick off our Rockaway/SurfRat/EndlessSummer week, we've included the Rockaway Beach report here, but the full map, covering hundreds of miles of coastline in NY, NJ, and CT can be found by clicking here. 

Summer and the City; Your Calendar for the Best Outdoor Concerts and Events in NYC

Summer in the city is both a wonderful (rooftop parties, garden bbqs, governor's island) and terrible (melting-hot subways, cooking garbage, sticky nights) place to be. Personally, we're big fans of summertime, and what NYC resident wouldn't be after suffering through loooong months of slush puddles, freezing temps, and barely any daylight?

To help you make the most of this magical time that is "summer in the city", we've planned a calendar of some of the best concerts and events coming up in the next few months.

Bookmark this page and enjoy, but don't forget the sunscreen!

(click here for the full version.)