The Chic Suite

Didnnt get your custom JOMA’ by John Mack biini this summer? Well, there’s still a few weeks before summer official ends and Poshly is giving one away.  Hurry though, there’s only 4 days left!

http://beta.poshly.com/giveaway/howlin-for-houndstooth

Check out Poshly coverage of the Summer Solstice celebrations around New York City.  Yoga for beauty? You betcha.  And Nivea…that’s a no brainer!

http://blog.poshly.com/post/25664093894/summer-solstice-celebrates-beauty

If nothing else will get me out of bed at some unseemly hour a gorgeous 53-piece collection all under $60 at Target will.  Jason Wu, whose career skyrocketed after he designed the First Lady’s gorgeous inaugural ball gown, has struck again, and this time he’s doing it for the little guy.  Well, maybe not so little, but certainly the fiscally challeged sartorialist who still values her chic.  The collection debuts on February 5, mere days before Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week fall collections.  Perfect timing—when opulence is shameful but people still want to look dazzling.  Trends last longer than a season and well made classic pieces have become more accessible as high end designers regularly collaborate with affordable retailers.

“American women want something they can wear for more than one season,” Wu told the Today Show, also commenting that the collection’s inspiration is French New Wave cinema, which—in a word—translates to mischievous.  Come rain, hail, snow, earthquake, sleet, terrorism, or shine, I’ll be at Atlantic Center waiting for the doors to swing open.  There’s no doubt that the website will indeed crash, and stores will be sold out within hours.  So I’m planning ahead.  Now I wonder which Target the First Lady will flock to. 

Oh yeah…and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the ommercials.  he’s adorable!

Someone in the landromat gave me a Lena Horne calendar, and even though I’m going to pass it along to someone else (ummm, note to laundromat guy: it’s 2012, everything is digital, even calendars—why do people still think calendars are a good idea, they’re not) I looked at all the lovely pictures of Ms. Horne.  She really was a gorgeous woman with a gorgeous smile.  As an actress, singer, entertainer and civil rights activist she changed the game in many ways.  She was also a fashion icon.  Before there was Be and Ri, there was Le.  Kudos to her and her tremendous accolades, may she rest in peace!

Jeans have been a style staple for several decades now.  In the 1960’s and 70’s patchwork denim and flared jeans embroidered with peace symbols and interesting details became commonplace.  In the 1980’s acid wash, Z. Cavaricci, and the now popular skinny jeans were faves amongst the fashionable crowd.  In the 90’s Urban streetwear made its splash on the fashion map by labels like Tommy Hilfiger, Phat Farm, Sean John, and J.Lo.  Though many of these styles have lived their fashion life and died a tragic fashion death, the best of the styles made their way back into our closets today. 

Said to have been popularized in the 21st century by bite-size supe Kate Moss, skinny jeans grew from a daring style plunge to everyday uniform for many.  A departure from the previously popular baggy jeans, they began to show up on the runways of Balmain and Dolce and Gabbana, and eventually trickled down to stores like Guess, Levi’s and even Target. 

This fall/winter wide leg trousers and flare legs are absolutely everywhere.  With the sought after effect of elongating ones legs (most likely because they’re best worn with heels) flares and wide legs are two of this season’s biggest trends. 

But no matter the style or the longevity of the trend, women are looking for one major thing when it comes to buyng jeans—the butt effect.  No one stares at themself in the mirror and asks, how do these jeans make my calves look.  It’s all about how nice the jeans are on the butt.  Pockets should be simple, free from too many bells and whistles.  That way you can really see the shape of the butt, the lift that the jeans give, and whether or not the jeans round out the bottom nicely.  Flap pockets do a good job of creating curves for less ample bottoms.  Express makes great jeans for women of all sizes, and styles with spandex, which are especially flattering for women of color (who often tend to have small waists with larger butts and hips). 

It’s not unusual these days that some people wear jeans every single day of their life.  They’re simple, easy, comfortable (usually), and can go with almost anything.  So it’s important that women find ones that are flattering for their bodies.  When new trends emerge, or re-emerge, a frenzy of Missoni for Target proportions can ensue; but trying out new trends can be tricky.  The best way to try out the trend without busting the bank is to buy cheap—go to stores like Forever 21, Charlotte Russe, H&M.  There are two bonuses to this method: 1. If the trend doesn’t last past a season or two you can sleep tight knowing that you didn’t invest a ton of money into something you won’t get any more use out of. 2. You have the benefit of finding a pair of jeans that fits through the leg and then you can tailor to fit the butt and waist.  The latter ensures that for less than a high end brand you can have a pair of jeans that look so great on the butt that they resemble an expensive bespoke label. 

Kate Upton.  She’s hot.  Very hot.  And she’s branding herself and building her career on her hotness—more specifically, her hot body.  So it was quite disturbing to see her on Tosh.O with a bit of a….dare I say it…..pooch.  No not a cute little Giggy like a real desperate housewife, but a tummy pooch like a real desperate housewife of D.C. (let’s face it, that season was such a bust, they’re never coming back on the air). 

It makes me sad.  Sad that us mortals shell out a pathetic $10 a month to “workout” at a near filthy Planet Fitness just to get our legs and abs to look like the images we’re fed by glossies ads.  And in the backs of our minds we know that there is a tremendous amount of touching up, airbrushing, photoshopping, and beautifying.  But that doesn’t stop us from wanting to achieve the image that we’re fed—women with perfect butts, perky breasts, long goddess legs, and brick wall abs.  I can respect that most models really do have the bodies and skin that we see (for the most part) in magazines and shows.  But this Kate Upton pooch has got me thinking.  I’m torn between being disappointed that she (or IMG) would actually let her appear on television with a little Giggy under her tank top, but also I’m glad that she has a real body, and glad she felt no qualms about being on television in her real body. 

To have been a Sports Illustrated swimsuit Rookie of the Year is to say that this girl has a BODY.  And initially when I spotted the fat lower belly I decided to write it off as such.  But then I remembered all those sexy kitten Guess ads that put her up there on the fashion map.  And she looked every bit the hot blonde pinup that Guess is known for in their ads.  I’m just worried that this promising young hotness will get too comfortable in her “real body” and go so far to the left that she follows in the footsteps of blonde Guess pinup Anna Nicole Smith when she had that reality show….not horny, I mean fat. 

I’m all about a healthy weight for young women.  And perhaps Kate had a bloated day, or was wearing a very unflattering tank top and was caught on some really bad camera angles.  And to be quite honest it wasn’t like she appeared to have a big stomach really.  But there was muffin top.  And that’s not appetizing.  And if for nothing else, all those bikini clad shots put me in a state of mind when it comes to Kate.  It made me happy for her (cuz she is hot and nice to look at) and semi-envious (I never did get those longer legs for Hannukah).  The other night I couldn’t look at anything but her waistline. That espisode of Tosh.O simply left me shocked.

***Kate is on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Sports issue looking super hot with flat abs. I guess it really does matter how you stand***

Miley Cirus photo from HQcelebrity.com

I remember the days when models graced the covers of fashion magazines.  When we got our fashion advice from experts and editors, and a handful of movie stars became fashion icons because they had a phenomenal sense of style.  Today, the movie star as fashion icon has become the norm.  But it shouldn’t be.  All too often we praise a celebrity’s style saavy only to find out that it’s the work of a stylist.  And when that celebrity is left to their own devices they can barely match colors and textures.  In my frustration, while checking out the fashion poilice at Eonline, I came up with a list.  The Good, the Bad, and the safe enough that I sometimes give them a pass. 

The Good: I love these celebrities’ style.  They always look very fresh and fashion forward and I’m confident that this cannot always be the work on a stylist.

Halle Berry: she looks magnificent in a gown or a flowy tank and jeans.  And no one looks better while traveling by plane.  Rachel Bilson, The Kardashians, Lauren Conrad: LC gets it right everytime.  She knows how to mix it up and how to accessorize wonderfully.  How many Chanel bags does that girl have?

Some Middle Ground: Okay so they don’t always get it right, but most people have their moments.  Since fashion is all about one’s own unique take on style, I give them a pass when they look like a hot mess.

Rihanna: I know many people will hate me for this, but that Chris Brown incident did wonders for this girls image, and her stylist knew exactly the right time to vamp up her edge.   Sometimes she looks absolutely nuts, and I think she looks like Ronald McDonald with that red hair.  Beyonce (I heart her stylist), Blake Lively, Sarah Jessica Parker, Nicole Richie.

The Ugly: (covering eyes) A simple wtf is in order.  Who dresses these people? Who ever tells these folks that they look good? Do they not own a single mirror? I’m appalled, disgusted, and would like to grab them by the hair, drag them to a bunch of stores, and dress them myself!

Leighton Meester: everyone should be gossiping about how terribly awkward she always looks.  I’m all for pushing the envelope, but the packaging still better make sense.  Mariah Carey, Lea Michele, Hayden Panettiere, Vanessa Hudgens, Miley Cirus: those poor Disney kids.  They literally get thrown into the spotlight with pacifiers in their mouths and are forced to live out all their mistakes in front of the world.  The exchange, shitloads of money.  So go shopping kids, and stop looking like that.  Kelly Osbourne: I am going after her job at the fashion police.  When she dresses herself it’s tragic! Padma Laksmi: beautiful, beautiful woman.  Horrible, horrible fashion taste.  Tiny, Alicia Keys in jeans. 

Photo from Hermes Fall RTW 2010

Dear God,

Please let Richie Rich do a line for Target that includes a leather jumpsuit.  Not polyeurythane—but leather—for under $100.  I know it’s a lot to ask.  But I didn’t pray for Heatherette’s reuniting.  So I think this is the least you could do.

AMEN!

I see it going something like this:

Mercedes Benz fashion week in New York, fall collections of course—they always have more drama and zhuhzh—the ex-communicated artiste co-designs a collection with a small name (or even no name) American designer who got lucky enough to show in Milk studios.  He/she has nothing to lose and probably only has this one shot.  Project Runway won’t touch John Galliano, neither will Vogue, W, or any other fashion publication whose “people” have “people” and all answer to a higher editorial power—Conde Nast and the like.

But Galliano will turn it out and he’ll be back in everyone’s good graces before the models take their final walk down the runway.  We’ve seen this story time and time again.  And if C. Breezy can pull himself out of the trenches after that domestic violence rap, with a song where he’s chucking a girl the “deuces” nonetheless—not with a “baby take me back I’m sorry” ballad—then surely one of the kings of haute couture can come back from his fashion exile. Because at the end of the day we love to see beautiful clothes.  And we’ll say things like “aren’t most creative geniuses narcissistic and crazy anyway?” and “we’re a society that likes to tear down so that we can watch one build oneself back up, and we’re rooting for them to do it,” and don’t forget “that was a year ago, are we going to continue to make him suffer for the past.”

But fashion industry insiders know what’s really at the core of it.  At the end of the day Galliano committed an offense against humanity, not a crime against fashion.  And for most people who pack the tents at Lincoln Center (and beyond), that is what’s at the top of their priority list.  And so we wait.  And the pressure is on for Galliano.  He’ll certainly have a lot riding on his comeback.  And most fashion industry people will be rooting for him.  I’m almost certain the designer has learned to keep his mouth closed and let his designs speak for him as they have in the past.  Exile is often good for an artist.  It gives them time to reflect, to grieve and to pain.  And I must admit, perhaps the Jew in me should be more offended, but  I’m excited for the comeback, and I can’t wait to see what his next collection has to say. 

From top to bottom: Charlotte Ronson, Costello Tagliapietra, Vena Cava

In my best Rachel Zoe, “ba-naa-naas!”  These threads are adorable.  I can’t wait to get my hands on the cheapie pieces.  At $29.99 each they are a dream come true.  The designs are true to the formality that is Japanese culture, which is at the heart of the store.  Uniqlo has done collaborations before (see Jil Sander) and this latest team up with nine designers to bring mini collections to the store seems a lucrative and stylish idea.   

Photos courtesy of Zara, www.zara.com

There’s nothing more discouraging than setting out for a glorious day of (window) shopping and having the weather turn on you.  What was seersucker worthy weather when I ventured out to the gym for a quick workout transformed into ominous storm clouds (that eventually gave way to cold rain), impolite winds (yes the type that like to steal hats), and people scrammbling underneath store awnings for brief shelter before a mad dash to the subway station.  Don’t you just love New York?  Not to be defeated on my quest for new fashion finds I decided a mad dash into Zara made more sense.  And it was there that I found summer.  Weightless gold sweaters, brilliant green maxi skirts, and multi-colored smock tops filled me with a sense of nostalgia.  You know that feeling you used to get as a child when standardized test time was over, and your teacher would let you play Seven Up for the rest of the afternoon? You knew school was ending and summertime was around the corner.  That meant playing double dutch in the street, endless games of help tag all over the neighborhood, water balloons, 25 cent ice pops from the bodega, eating chilled pineapple on the stoop, running through the open fire hydrant until the fire department came and shut the water off.  Aaah summer in New York City.  Now as I’ve gotten older it’s more like hanging out by the Shake Shack, people watching in the park, having a pitcher of sangria in an open garden of an East Village restaurant, afterwork parties that feel like Saturday night everyday, eating chilled pineapple on the stoop (some things will never change), and the loveliest summer clothes that show off just the right amount of shoulders, legs, back and arms.

It’s not like Zara was going to let me roll out a bed so eventually I had to venture back out into the cold, rainy day.  But time stood still and I enjoyed the warmness of the colors of summer.  The brightness of the collection took me back to a time when responsibility was just a word and my peach colored dress was adorned with smoky grey dirt patches by the time the street lights came on.  And I perked up, as I was reminded, summertime is around the corner.  And who knows, maybe the boss will let us play Seven Up tomorrow.

Photo courtesy of Payless ShoeSource

The last time I bought a pair of shoes from Payless was 2005.  I fell in love with these nude colored faux suede knee boots.  And although it seemed as though every other 20-something in New York seemed to fall in love with them too, I found a great trick to give my pair their own flare (actually it was pretty easy, I simply unfolded the faux leather on top).  I found it hard to part with them even after their condition reached a point where I couldn’t wear them in the rain or extreme cold (Thank God for that 2-year stint in the Bay area).  I didn’t love a Payless shoe again until Christian Siriano’s debut line for the shoe chain, which sold out in what seemed like minutes.

And now Payless has done it again…….

Though as a whole I found the recent Isabel Toledo for Payless line to be simply cute and not my style aesthetic, I am absolutely smitten with the Vespadrille wedge bootie.  I tried that bootie on and Barry White’s “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love” began to play, a cool breeze began to tickle the back of my neck, and the sun shone on my cheeks, giving them a warm glow.  Okay none of that is true.  But my legs looked fabulous and I didn’t want to take them off.  In my puffy jacket and running tights I was reminded that summer really is around the corner. They even felt comfortable—the type of shoe you could shop around the city in, catching all those memorial day sales. 

I learned my lesson with the CS for Payless mock armadillo style sell out and I’m not making the same mistake twice.  So of course I have to jump on these immediately.  And at only $59.99 they won’t break the bank.  Now I will always have a special place in my heart for Isabel Toldeo (as if I didn’t already).  It’s a special thing when designers bring luxury to the masses.  I mean really bringing it to the masses, not a $199 shoe in a store that otherwise would never charge that much for an item. I’m excited to see which designer Payless collaborates with next.  I don’t want to throw any premature speculation out there but……..

Nicholas Kirkwood I’m waiting.