Fashion Quote

Some food for thought as we enter the new year:

"You have a much better life...if you wear impressive clothes."

Vivienne Westwood

Lipstick Predictions for 2007

Vogue has put their stamp of approval on the new lipsticks for the new year. The Vogue 25 lists the top 25 beauty and health products (et al.) for 2007. Here are the lipsticks we should be looking out for.

1. Shu Uemura's New Rouge Unlimited Lipsticks
A series of 5 mix and match lipsticks that when mixed together creates your own custom blend.
My View: Seems to hard and time-consuming for me.


2. The New Pinks: Nars Schiap, Lancôme Proenza Pink, Dior Pink Legend, YSL Venus Rose, Estée Lauder Sweet Lychee
Apparently, the new trend for spring 2007 is "superbright power-pink" lips.
My View: I think the Lancôme Proenza Pink is going to cause riots (launches in March).


3. Tarte Inside Out Lip Gloss
Every time you lick your lips you will get a dose of clinically proven complexion refining acai, green tea and grape seed extract.
My View: Why not? It can't hurt. The next time I am in the market for a new lip gloss (which is soon), I will give this one a try.


4. L'Oréal Penelope's Red
Now we all can achieve Penelope Cruz's perfect crimson lips.
My View: The price is right. I will definitely be trying this one and if it doesn't work it won't hurt my investment fund!


I mostly look forward to trying out the new pinks.

Photos: Vogue January 2007

Movie Wardrobe: The Holiday

I recently viewd The Holiday starring Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Kate Winslet and Jack Black. While the movie was cute in its romantic comedy sort of way, the wardrobe just blew me away. In particular the wardrobe of Cameron Diaz's character Amanda.

From the first scene of Amanda, in her white striped cotton pajamas, we new that she would have a fabulous wardrobe, and that she did. The coats and sweaters were the stand outs as this is what her winter wardrobe was based on. From full-length cashmere camel coats to winter white wool-trim jackets and the hats and scarves to match, big fluffy sweaters underneath (a different one each day) to her skinny jeans and leggings, Amanda's wardrobe is the envy of an girl (fashionista or not).

I think it's the fact that Amanda just seems to have an effortless style - simple, yet classy and very put together. It seems as if it is innate, like there is no effort on her part to look as she does, and I think that is the thing (yes, of course besides the stellar garments) that attracted me the most to her character and her wardrobe. This will be a memorable film for modern fashion, if anything else.

I was not able to get many photos, and the ones I did get do not depict her wardrobe very well. I am also trying to get names...I know we all want to know who made these fabulous clothes. I will keep you posted.

In the meantime, you can try bidding for some of Amanda's wardrobe on ebay.com.

Check out some of the movie clips:

Photos: yahoo.com, ebay.com

Happy Warhol-idays

This year Barneys New York built their Holiday 2006 promotion around the iconic Andy Warhol. Everything from clothing and shopping bags to mailers, gift cards and of course the famed windows had a Warhol theme. Their tagline Happy Andy Warhol-idays was quite catching, as was their Warhol quotes spilled throughout their holiday catalogue and website.

Warhol-inspired T-Shirts

Warhol Gift Cards

Their gift cards make definite collector's items as does all the other Warhol/Barneys infused paraphernalia, making this holiday campaign a very successful marketing campaign, perhaps their most interesting to date. Who doesn't want to keep a little Warhol or give a little Warhol?

It seems that even Campbell’s got in on the holiday spirit, as the company reproduced the infamous Warhol soup can. These limited edition cans (filled with real soup) will be sold exclusively at Barneys.

The Campbell's Warhol Soup Cans

Apparently (according to Barneys Creative Director Simon Doonan), Warhol was chosen because, “despite his major art-world standing, Andy had a distinctly frivolous side. He loved spending money. He loved shopping. He designed store advertising and reveled in it. He decorated store windows and proudly signed them! He is, in many ways, a kind of patron saint of American retail. For Andy, stores represented a kind of heaven on earth.”

I think the campaign was a fantastic idea. It was a great merge between art, fashion, commerce and history. A kind of merge I would like to see more of within the industry.

Not to mention this campaign also gave back. Barneys held a window installation of Warhol portraits done by the local children’s art program. 100% of the funds raised through the auction of these portraits will be donated to the program.

Children's potraits from The East Harlem School

Kudos to Barneys.

Click here to read Simon Doonan's account on the Warhol campagin.

Some of the store's Window Displays:


Photos: barneys.com, flickr.com

British Vogue Turns 90

Happy Birthday Vogue UK. The magazine turns 90 this month and to celebrate the editor-in-chief Alexandra Shulman decided to put together a cover retrospective for their anniversary issue. Vogue.co.uk describes it as "90 covers reproduced on a four-page, gatefold cutout-and-keep cover that itself is an illustration of the history of the world's most fashionable magazine." I am thinking this is a definite collector's item.

Anyone interested in the publishing side of the magazine should take a look at this video clip , where Robin Derrick, creative director of British Vogue, explains the process behind the anniversary issue's cover and talks about his favorite Vogue covers.




Photo: vogue.co.uk

Ma Venduese

The January issue of Vogue showcases Jacqueline Schnabel’s "eclectic brilliance" in the profile, titled, “Bohemian Reverie” on her re-decoration of her Hampton's home. Tucked into the article was a plug for her daughter Lola's movie, Ma Venduese. A collaboration with Anne Beaurang, her grandmother (as narrator) and Zac Posen, her childhood friend (as producer).

"In this enigmatic film, models cavort in Zac Posen's current resort collection while director Lola Schnabel's grandmother reminisces about fashions of the thirties and forties," as stated in the film's synopsis on style.com.

This Indie-type film begins with a couple of girls dressing in a darkened manor, to them running wild in the great outdoors. Signifying, I am assuming, the liberation of women's dress. It then shoots to a scene on the beach, where you see a little old lady juxtaposed with her BYTs. The background music seems ethnic, Indian maybe, as they dance the day away. Night falls and “grandma's” BYTs drive off. The film ends with a quick reel rewind, while you see a wheel ablaze in the background, as if to exemplify that the ever turning cycle of fashion has come to an end.

The film is an interesting alternative to reading an article on the topic. The scenes were quite dark, and it was hard to see Posen's beautiful clothes. Mrs. Beaurang's voice was that of a 93-year-old woman, yet even though it was hard to understand at times, she did have some very enlightening reveries about the fashion of her times.

You can also view this movie on style.com.

Happy Holidays

I hope you all have a fabulous and (of course) very stylish Holiday, filled with laughter, cheer and love.

The Beautiful Fall

In the past couple of weeks there has been much controversy over journalist Alicia Drake's book, The Beautiful Fall, which chronicles the Parisian fashion revolution of the 1970s, namely the rivalry between two iconic designers, Karl Lagerfeld and Yves St. Laurent.

The Beautiful Fall has sparked great turmoil for Mr. Lagerfeld as he has filed a legal suit against Ms. Drake for invasion of privacy, amongst other things. Apparently, Lagerfeld, being the closed up (to the neck, literally) private person he is feels that the book reveals too much about him. For one his real age, which the book states he is 73. As well, the tome digs into his upbringing in Germany, which some say he likes to keep silenced, due to his less than modest childhood.

Who really knows what the real reasons are for Lagerfeld to get all fired up, but whatever they are it makes it all the more an interesting read.

While I have not read the book (yet), I will be picking it up soon. It discusses "the beginning of fashion as rock-star spectacle... the dramatic collision and rivalry between two titanic geniuses... this irresistible moment...the stunning highs and heartbreaking lows, the glorious achievements and dramas of an era when style reigned in the most glamorous of cities.”

I think a description like that is a sell in itself, regardless of the “Lagerfeld Effect.” Which avid fashionista would not want to read about the tumultuous and glamorous fashion revolution? I cannot think of any.

Visit amazon.com to purchase the book.

Photo: amazon.com

A License to Walk

A license to walk the runway? Yes, you heard right. Hot of the heels of Spain's new regulation that models must have a BMI higher than 18.5, La Camera della Moda Nazionale, Italy's governing fashion body, is attempting to introduce a new system for the Milan runways. If they are successful, the girls will soon need a license to model. The license would ensure that the models are “healthy” and would be issued after a thorough assessment by the CDMN, the ASSEM (the Association of Fashion Services) and a committee made up of doctors and other experts.

The main rules thus far are that models will have to be at least 16-years-old and they will have to have a BMI of at least 18.5 (this number was set by the World Health Organization as a healthy/normal index). However, and here is a foreseeable loophole that will sure become abused, geographical and ethnic factors would be taken into consideration in determining a healthy BMI, if models do not meet the 18.5 cut-off.

I think this is a step forward in a positive direction for the industry. Whatever the inconveniences will be of imposing said rules I think that it is completely worth it. Fashion is such a strong influencing force in today's society for everyone but of course it is most influencing to young teens and if it is not positive it could have severe detrimental effects, as we all witnessed early this month with Ana Carolina Reston.

If the industry’s governing bodies do not start taking preventative measures, not only will an influx of models be adopting these "aesthetically inclined" diseases but so will more young women aspiring to be like them.

This does not mean that the industry should promote 200+ lbs. women either, as that is unhealthy on the opposite side of the scale. An average body type would be ideal. Yet, what is average?

I think that average is anything more than these stick thin models storming down the runways. Robin Givhan, fashion writer of the Washington Post put it best. She says many models today are "pale, almost to the point of translucent, and astonishingly thin. They look positively rickety. Seeing one in a swimsuit can make you shudder. They are not sexy or even particularly pretty. How can they be when they look as though the life has been sucked out of them?"

She went on to say that "if the industry does not think carefully about the current aesthetic…what comes next could be truly ghastly." And I completely agree with her. Hopefully, with Spain and now Milan, the industry is on its way towards promoting a healthier aesthetic.

Personally, I think we need more Catherine Zeta Jones and Beyoncé types on the runway.


Photos: style.com

Miu-Miu-licious

I just don't quite know what to say about all these Miu Miu shoes I have been seeing of late but wow, wow and wow. I am definitely in love. Their shoes are just fantastic. I am not sure if there was a change of guard at the design helm or what exactly happened but all I know is that I must get my hands on a pair of these precious gems (yes, they are definitely like precious gems) and I urge you all as well. Every time I open a magazine another Miu Miu shoe just comes crawling out of the pages and into my desire realm. Another plus, is that their price points are great (well, compared with a few of their competitors, whose shoes I just get weak for as well). I need to get some more information on who is designing this wonderful little treats for our feet. I will keep you all posted, but for now here is a peak of some of the styles that are just shoe-nomenal!

These are my favorite.
Or these.
Great flats for day or night.


Photos: saks.com, netaporter.com, Harper's Bazaar December 2006

Shirin Von Wulffen

After seeing this image in Vogue I had to post it. As the tag line indicates - A Vision in White is what Shirin Von Wulffen was. The former Yves St Laurent US Public Relations Director looked splendid on her wedding day in a Stefano Pilati creation, inspired my Ms. Von Wulffen's grandmother’s wedding veil. She married the famed hairstylist to the stars, Frédéric Fekkai at her family's 17th century manor in Germany this past summer.

I first met Shirin, fresh out of school, at an interview. I remember cold calling her office and on my third attempt I was able to speak to her directly. She let me do my spiel and then asked me to come in for an interview. Of course I was a little intimidated, but that all faded within the first two minutes of meeting her. She is the nicest person one can ever meet, even on an interview. She was very composed and mild-mannered. She made me feel very comfortable and took much interest in everything I had to say (even though I was an ingenue).

I never forgot that meeting with her. And until this day I still think about it. I remember leaving the interview and telling my friends about it, saying that "When I grow up I want to be just like her." Well, not in those exact words, but coming out of school and meeting her was an inspiration to me, and still is to this day.

She has since resigned from her post. I assume she has been busy planning her wedding to Mr. Fekkai, and taking a much needed "time-out." I have not heard of anything post-YSL. I await, much anticipation, to hear which house/project she will occupy next. As well, I look forward to my next encounter with Mrs. Frederic Fekkai.

Photo: Vogue December 2006

Another Bag...

OK, I'm in love with another (out-of-season) bag. I love the current season's assortment of handbags but sometimes certain bags just stick to me and I just cannot let them fade away into the past like some 3 second trend. And that said, this Luella bag is just too pretty to pack away and forget about. I am not sure from which season this adorably stylish bag is from (I am guessing Fall 2005) but yet again, it falls on my must-find-old-season bag list.

Photo: unknown

Best-Dressed: Windows

For those of us who are not able to see the wonderful Bergdorf Goodman Holiday windows, Miss Stylologist gives you a glimpse. Their windows are always so fantastic. You can seriously fall into a deep dreamlike state just looking at them and their Holiday windows are by far the most magical of all.

The 57th Street Windows:

Go to bergdorfgoodman.com to see more of their Holiday windows.

Photos: bergdorfgoodman.com

The Mystery Bag

I adore this image. It is so free, fun loving, and most of all stylish! I downloaded it from an E-mail I received from saks.com one September (cannot remember which year). I absolutely love the bag and I am trying to figure out how to get my hands on it. I do not even know what brand it is. I think it may be Jimmy Choo. Have you any ideas?


Photo: saks.com

Best-Dressed:Jennifer Lopez

The star of Harper's Bazaar's Best-Dressed issue was Jennifer Lopez. I know many of you have probably seen all these photos, but I think that Ms Lopez's cover shoot is absolutely amazing. It is not too overly done but I think it shows her best feature which is her natural beauty. I know the image is air-brushed and completely photoshoped, yet I still think there is something so pure and beautiful about her on this cover. Perhaps it's her new brunette locks I am attracted to or her ravishingly glowing face. Whatever it is I think she looks magical on the cover and within the other shots.

Photos: Harper's Bazaar December 2006

Barbara Walters interviews Vogue Magazine's Anna Wintour

It seems as though Ms Wintour is coming out behind that big Condé Nast shell. She actually gave an interview, a rather brief one (4 minutes and 08 seconds to be exact), but an interview on National TV, nevertheless. She speaks to Barbara Walters about the state of fashion today, saying that "Jeans and t-shirts can be equally fashionable as an Oscar de la Renta ball gown." (Yes, this we know. No new info there.) She goes on to say that the state of the world has a big influence on fashion and tells us that we should expect the fall shows to be more optimistic. It was a little teaser of an interview. Definitely all pre-scripted. She really didn't have to talk much. I love one of her statements on the way Vogue employees must dress, “We expect, we do not dictate a certain style of dress."

Have a look for yourself!

Fashion Quote

"Fashion wasn't what you wore someplace anymore, it was the whole reason for going out."

-Andy Warhol on fashion

Where Does It Come From?

Have you ever stopped and wondered where that t-shirt or your pants, jeans, scarf or hat....really come from? Or shall I say from whose hands. Do you really know what is behind that Made in China label?

The images above are of Chinese workers at a factory in Huaibei in the Anhui province.

Photos: WWD, Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Personal Style: What, When, Why, Who & How

Fellow blogger, The Sartorialist, has just posted his first-ever Sartorial Contest on the topic of personal style. Winners will receive a signed copy of Bruce Weber's new book Sex & Words (only 2,000 in publication). The contest asks readers to answer the simple, yet complex, question - "What has most inspired your personal style?"

A question that is not novel yet which so many people (I think) are clueless too. How did our personal style come about? What really is our personal style? When did it happen? Where did it derive from? Who influenced it? Who didn't influence it?

Personal style - not an easy feat, it seems. This question has sparked some tribulation in my mind. Am I really on a quest to achieve my personal style? Do I already have a personal style? Do people see it and I don't?

I think that if we look back we could recognize the individuals with a true sense of personal style. Individuals who have, inadvertently, made a mark in fashion history - Lauren Bacall, Katherine Hepburn, Audrey Hepburn, Coco Chanel, Elizabeth Taylor, Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly, Marilyn Monroe, Madonna... and on and on. I wonder, did they know what their personal style really was? Did they know that they were leaving their marks?

Well, I answered The Sartorialist's contest question on the basis of what first came to mind when I read "What has most inspired your personal style?"

"My personal style is, at the present moment, in development. I feel like I am just coming into my own personal style. I have stopped trying to emulate my friends or stars on TV or anyone else of the like. I take style hints from everything and everyone, but if it does not stick to me then I don't adopt it regardless if it’s all the rage at the moment.

I think personal style has a lot to do with really knowing yourself, trusting yourself and doing what works for you (and only you). And this is why I say it’s in development because I am in the process of really beginning to fully trust myself and know who I am (despite what people say or think I am).

I also think personal style changes, yet there is always a root of your personal style that will follow you through the years. I think my “personal style root” is classic no matter if I am in a grunge mood or a sweater set and pearls mood. And I think that root was inspired from everything about the person that I am today – my childhood, my parents, my schooling, my friends (past and present), my non-friends, books, movies, travels, work experience.

For me, it’s a melting pot of life that has really inspired my personal style and which continues to do so."


What do you think about Personal Style?

She's Bringing Sexy Back

Yes, Ms Cameron Diaz is certainly bringing sexy back and her spread in the December issue of W magazine proves it so. I think these shots of her are absolutely breath-taking. With her new dark lush locks bringing out her crystal baby blues, and a tip top toned golden bod, not to mention a leading man by her side, and a new blockbuster hit (The Holiday), Ms Diaz is certainly one to watch. Besides her aforementioned assets, I think she has a great style. It is chic and simple, yet sparked with a sexy undertone.



Photo: W Magazine December 2006

"M by Madonna" - The Clothing Line

Madonna is set to launch "M by Madonna" this coming spring but don't get too excited this is to be a limited-edition one time deal with none other than the Swedish retailer H&M. Instead of scooping up another design star, the company has entered into "a more of a style icon collaboration versus a designer collaboration,"as noted by a company spokesperson. Slated to be in stores March 2007, the collection of 30 garments and 10 coordinating accessories will include tailored trench coats, feminine dresses, sexy narrow-leg pants and fitted jackets. I am assuming that this collaboration will be nothing like the white track suit H&M designed with the Material Girl. At least I am hoping so because that suit was quite embarrassing, to say the least. By the looks of the sketches, I think that this union will be much more interesting. Hopefully I will be able to get my hands on at least one piece, unlike Viktor & Rolf. Apparently, we will all have better chances, as the collection will be available in 1,300 H&M's worldwide as opposed to the designer collaborations that were just available in flagship stores. Stay tuned.

Photos: fashionweekdaily.com