Pink Rock Candy – Top fashion trends, news and shopping of 2010

Fashion Week. Fashion Week. Fashion Week. Today I officially went to New York fashion week for the first time. I mean, I was actually in the tents, I was beyond stoked because before I even went in the tents I passed Nigel Barker and Hilary Alexander. Nigel looked straight at me, but it might have been because I had on my giant sunglasses.

I didn’t actually get to see any shows (I was helping the Coutorture girls), but I think things were more exciting off the runway than on anyway. I also saw Leigh Lezark and Geordon Nicol (that’s 2/3 of The Misshapes) going into Lacoste and Patrick McDonald sipping an espresso.

As for the actual shows. It looks as if Baby Phat is trying to rid itself of the typical ghetto fabulous vibe and has thrown a bit of flapper in the mix. Victorya Hong (yes, Victorya who was auf’d from this season of Project Runway) showed her Na-Be collection, and it looks a bit blah, but I heard the music at the show was great. BCBG Max Azria will have everyone tying their belts instead of buckling them next fall, and Nicole Miller shows us how to match that oh-so-fall mustard yellow color. So much has gone on, but by far, my favorite look has come from the Academy of Art runway show. Hot pink and ruffles— score!

Head to the Coutorture gallery to see pictures and video of the shows.

Unfortunately none of the Pink Rock Candy readers won last weeks Coutorture Giveaway, but another week means another giveaway. Actually this giveaway will go on for two weeks, so you guys have an extra week to add your names into the drawing. This time Coutorture is giving away two, yes two, dresses from New York based designers Lewis Cho. All you have to do is sign up using the form in the far right sidebar on in our fashion section. Don’t be afraid to enter, they won’t spam your inbox, I promise!

Lewis Cho was started by two friends, Annie Lewis and Helen Cho, who first met while working for Anna Sui. They describe their designs as “stylish, versatile pieces meant to be worn from season to season” and was inspired by “the casually elegant lifestyles of their busy and creative friends.”

The dress you could win is a Royal Blue Jersey Dress with a retail price of $198, and is available in petite, small, medium and large. I absolutely love the modern looking sleeve with the ruching across the chest. This would be perfect for a girl with a smaller bust or just one who loves to draw attention to what her momma gave her.

For more information on Lewis Cho including store locations visit: www.lewischo.com

You may have notice the contest widget we’ve had in our sidebar for a month or so. I put it up, but never really talked about it. Well, I’m going to explain. Every week the great people at Coutorture, give away a new item to one lucky reader, chosen from all of the fashion and beauty blogs in the network, but the catch is you have to enter. You just have to give your email address and you can choose if you’d like to be contacted in the future or not. It’s super easy! This week Coutorture is giving away a gorgeous Madewell scarf.

Madewell, is a new project from the J. Crew team, who recently opened a pop-up shop at 532 Broadway, in Soho, but will soon be the proud occupants of a permanent shop on the corner of Broome & Broadway. Though their newest store is in NYC, Madewell also has shops in Los Angeles, Dallas, Austin, Las Vegas, Natick, MA, and Short Hills, NJ. You can also visit the Madewell website to see their newest collection and a great denim guide.

The scarf is a beautiful maroon, washed-wool scarf valuing at $48, but you could get it for free. Scarfs are “so in” this season, with it being winter and all, and even if you live in a warmer state scarves looked great juxtaposed with a t-shirt. So, don’t forget to enter, because you never know, you could be America’s Next Top Model the proud owner of this radiant scarf!

As a college student, with a very limited income, the words luxury and clothing don’t often find their way into the same sentence. I may swoon over a pair, or ten, of Christian Louboutin shoes or the entire Chloe ready-to-wear clothing line, but in all actuality my acquisition of luxury clothing is confined to birthdays and holidays when I receive presents from people who are much older, wiser, and monetarily secure than I. This brings me to the term, affordable luxury.

When I think of luxury, I think, “out of my reach”; so, when the word affordable is place in front of luxury, I get a bit confused. Does this mean the Balenciaga military jackets are on major sale? In my dreams!

Affordable luxury clothing is the term given to brands like Coach, DKNY, Baby Phat, etc. This is pretty much the major brands you can buy at stores like Macy’s and Nordstrom’s. According to the Wall Street Journal, the once booming industry of affordable luxury clothing, is plunging into the pit of doom. No longer are middle class buyers spending all of their extra money on these affordable designer duds, and even more interesting, the luxury clothing industry is feeling no negative effects because of the lack of consumers. In fact that industry is blossoming, but why?

Obviously, there are economic difficulties in the United States and around the world for that matter. This is definitely having a giant effect on the spending habits of middle and lower class people. Also, it can be noted that people in the upper class may be losing money, but most times this loss of money means less to the wealthy than to the people living from paycheck to paycheck. When you have money to blow, you usually do.

There is also the access factor. When everyone has the same Louis Vuitton bag, it isn’t worth spending the money to buy it; so, what do you do? Save a little bit more money and buy a higher end bag (a more luxurious bag). To me many brands have become so accessible and such a ‘status symbol’ it is an annoyance. We’ve all seen the person who looks exactly like this model in the Coach perfume ad. Why is it necessary to be a walking Coach billboard? Many brands are trying to distance themselves from this affordable luxury category in an attempt to save face and continue making money.

Perhaps this is a lesson learned. Every other day there is a new celebrity clothing line coming out at Macy’s or a new capsule collection at Target or H&M. Not to say I don’t adore the options, “Do I want to go to H&M and shop the Roberto Cavalli for H&M line or do I want to head to Target and get that white and purple Erin Fertherston dress I’ve been fawning over,” but often when people have too many choices they become overwhelmed and tend to choose to abstain. Its all celeb-line fun and capsule-collection games until the fashion industry gets hurt!

[via The Wall Street Journal]