Pink Rock Candy-Fashion

Everyone, including myself has been counting the seconds until they can buy Comme des Garcons at H&M. The past week has been full of small, blurry, and/or pixelated ’sneak peeks’, but as per usual, the cool cats at Fashionista.com provide us with the first full sneak peek. After first being distracted by the annoying footwear the female model is wearing, and then swooning over the the cropped jacket and polka dots, I scrolled down even more and realized I love the men’s pieces better than the women’s.

When evaluating runway collections both ready-to-wear and couture, I have a tendency to appreciate the impractical collections more than those with and abundance of basics. However, when it comes to clothes I actually intend on purchasing, I do a appreciate a bit of practicality, and over-sized shorts, oddly cut jackets, and drop-crotch pants aren’t really what I call practical. The goth doll-inspired dress is gorgeous and might be perfect for Halloween, but there are only a few people I can think of that might actually wear it on a daily basis and considering those people, I wouldn’t say that is a good thing.

On the other hand, the male model looks like he’s just come from raving in a torrential rain storm, but I can actually imagine myself and others wearing most of those pieces. I’m obviously really feeling cardigans of late and imagine how cute would a t-shirt with giant polka dots be, but my favorite piece from the entire collection is the plaid(?) suit jacket with the single, white diagonal stitch. I think its safe to say, we all have realized the ingenious of a girl in a slightly over-sized suit jacket, and this one has the perfect balance of practicality and eccentricity.

Follow the jump to see the entire sneak peek. What do you think of the collection so far? Would you buy and actually wear any of the pieces? Oh, and thanks Fashionista.com! (more…)

Rumors, rumors everywhere. Is Marc married? No one cares! For the past week-ish all I’ve been hearing on the fashion gossip side is Marc Jacobs is getting married to new beau Lorenzo Martone. Everyone’s surprised because they’ve only been together for a few months and were supposed to have been getting “hitched” in Paris last weekend, but no one really knows if they did or didn’t— and, now there’s some sort of giant, mysterious scandal that can only be solved by Nancy Drew or a well dressed Sherlock Holmes.

But in all honesty, I could care less who Marc marries, and if he ever marries. He could be in love with a different guy ever 3 months, stay with the same game for the rest of his life, swear off love, swear off men and go straight, the list could go on, but none of it matters, as long as he:

• Keeps pissing off the fashion elite with his extreme tardiness, because their front-row complaints are very amusing to us little people who get to see the photos the next morning on Style.com no matter what time the show starts.
• Keeps making those same spurned fashion elite bite their tongues after seeing his collections.
• Stops making fuzzy halos that Mary-Kate will consistently wear around her bobble-sized head— she doesn’t need an excuse to look even more extraterrestrial.
• Keeps throwing crazy costume parties and dressing up as things like Pigeons and Camel Toes.
• Keeps shocking people with kooky ad campaigns.
• Stops making t-shirts with Hillary Clinton’s ugly mug on it, she’s not worthy— I promise!
• Hires me in some position other than store clerk sometime in the future, hopefully near future. (Just thought I’d throw this on in there for good measure. I have to look out for number 1!)

To be completely honest, the extent of my news watching is having it on in the background while chatting with my parents— most of the time the volume is so low we can’t even hear it. It bores me to no end, and after about 30 minutes you’ve heard all the news stories, and they’re just talking about the same stuff over again. I do, however, quite obviously, read many, many other blogs, and luckily they watch the news or at least know someone who does. While scoping out the blog Model Liberation, I stumble upon a clip from the Today Show talking about the epic all black Italian Vogue.

I know this topic is sort of beaten to death, especially in the blogging world. We’ve been talking about the pros and cons for months, and yesterday Fashionista even posted scans of the entire issue on their site— though I haven’t seen them because the load time is so slow and the files are so large it keeps freezing my browser, joy!

Back to the issue at hand, The Today Show brought Veronica Webb, Jerri DeVard, and Neal Hamil on the show to discuss the issue (I’m thinking that’s a double entendre in this case). Among the many fantastic points brought up in this interview, they landed on the discussion of the ads in the magazine being predominately white. It would have been insane for the magazine to ask all the designers to re-shoot their campaigns with black models, so I never really thought about the ad factor. Now that I think about it, I sort of find the conflicting nature of the ads and the content funny. However, I’m not sure what would be an acceptable median for advertising diversity. That’s the problem with focusing on race instead of clothes, there will never be an end to this situation.

My favorite ideas from the interview:

• People have to vote with their dollars!
• Veronica compared having more black models on the runway to a trend like miniskirts. (Its so true though!)
• Get more diversity in the photography, designing, hairstyling, magazine, etc. fields
• WE HAVE TO BE CONDITIONED TO SEE BEAUTY! (this is the truest statement I’ve heard in a while.)

What do you guys think about this interview? Did you like it or are the just beating a dead horse?

How do I put this lightly? It’s 8:30am, I’m barely awake and I find out Yves Saint Laurent has died at the age of 71. I’ve been dealing with a lot of death mostly by people I haven’t ever really known, and I wasn’t that sad, but either because of the foggy condition in my head or the fact that I love YSL shoes, I’m a little down, almost to the point of grieving.

According to BBC Online, Yves died in Paris last night— I’m assuming he died by natural causes, but I can’t truly be sure. I am sure though, that 71 is a very young age to die, nowadays, or at least in my family, considering my great-grandmother just turned 90 in September.

All age quandaries aside, he will be missed!

Photo Credit: Javno.com

School is driving me insane. I’m almost done, I have one actual class left and then finals, but just having to sit through an entire class of teachers scrounging for things to do just makes me furious. Instead of notes, I find myself drawing sunglasses for the imaginary sun that’s beating on my face in the cell like classes, writing lyrics to the songs I wish I was listening to while driving in my nonexistent convertible, and imagining the fantasia of costumes I’m sure to see in the pictures from the Met Costume Ball.

Its tonight, and right about now everyone attending is scrambling to get ready , but all that’s going through my head is, “The Olsens in DVF. What?” Apparently though, E! has caught on to the gravity of the Costume Institutes’s Benefit Ball red carpet. Not only can Anna Wintour allegedly demand that Maggie Gyllenhaal is present, wearing Som, and strutting her stuff on Peter Som’s arm (according to Fashionista), but it is a night when designers have multiple high-status dates and everyone, or at least the fun ones will be dressed in a superhero fashion. This may excite me because I’m still coming down from my Iron Man high, but I’m stoked none the less.

E! is going to be front and center on the red carpet rubbing shoulders with celebs, models, designers, and Vogue staffers alike; they’re pretty much doing what most little Wintour loving girls dream to do, and on May 8th at 8PM they are going to do a Met Ball special that according to Fashion Week Daily is tentatively called “The E! Met Special.”

They’ll probably completely trash all the crazy get-ups I’m sure to love, but I think I’ll watch anyway. There’s always a funny joke or two strategically placed in each segment by the all-controlling Hollywood writers.

Trying to figure out who’s coming with who and wearing what? Here’s a little insight:

• Anna Wintour and Audrey Tatou- Chanel
• Maggie Gyllenhaal - Peter Som
• Jourdan Dunn - Bill Blass
• Tilda Swinton - Prada
• Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen - Diane von Furstenberg
• Sofia Coppola, Karen Elson, Rachel Feinstein, and Helena Christensen - Marc Jacobs
• Scarlett Johansson and Iman and David Bowie - Dolce and Gabbana
• Molly Sims, Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady - Versace
• Natasha Poly - Phi
• Kate Moss - Stella McCartney
• Lily Donaldson and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley - Burberry
• Sasha Pinovarova - Rag & Bone
• Jessica Stam - Proenza Schouler
• Coco Rocha, Anja Rubik, and Joy Bryant - Pucci

Photo Credit: Style.com

Feet, one of the most disgusting part of the body, in my opinion at least. If I didn’t love the way high heels make my legs look, I would donate both feet to some poor child who lost her feet to a mine explosion in some war-torn country, purchase a hover round, and gladly power wheel myself down 5th Ave laughing at all the suckers who still have to walk. Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ve gotten to the point where donating appendages are viable options, and I still have high hopes that one day, I will actually strut gown 5th in my very own pair of Loubs.

How do shoes that are quite obviously walking the line (no pun intended) between hooker and power femme make every woman and some men lust? Because everybody, including those like me, have a slight foot fetish, or that is are willing to have a foot fetish if it involves donning a pair of Christian Louboutins.

I started thinking about this not only because the man himself, Christian Louboutin, is at Barney’s in NYC today, which I’m missing, but because I read an article by Cintra Wilson on the NYT Website, in which every posh socialite in the Upper East Side Louboutin boutique was swooning over the same style of shoe, but much to their chagrin, their sizes weren’t in stock. The article quoted Simon Doonan saying, “Louboutin girls are very determined. You get the sense if they had an X-Acto knife and some margarine they’d do whatever they could to get that boot on,” and if I even had the slightest chance of owning a pair of Loubs, I think I might sacrifice a toe or two.

This Louboutin complex lots of women have reminds me of a story I heard about an elderly women who is quite obese, to put it frankly, but she won’t work out because she has at the very least one thing going for her. She has tiny, well-kept feet and worries that so much time in the sneakers at the gym would ruin them. She knows there are men out there who fantasize about women with pretty, dainty feet and her weight wouldn’t matter to them. Not to say, it was okay for her to be clinically obese, but she knew the power of feet. Everyone has heard of the legendary powers Christian Louboutin shoes have— just by sliding our feet into the semi-fetish platforms, our legs magically become Bündchen-esque, and we’d do anything possess this red-soled magic.

What would I do to be able to own and actually wear a pair of Loubs? What wouldn’t I do, I donate my siblings to science to be prodded and experimented on if necessary, and I like my siblings, for the most part! Are you part of the Louboutin obsessed? What would you do to own a pair?

Jourdan Dunn is going to be on the cover of the upcoming all-black, Steven Meisel shot, July issue of Italian Vogue. What are my feelings of the cover choice? I kind of wish it was Chanel Iman, simply because I feel like Chanel is really adorable like the little model sister I never had. Jourdan Dunn, though, is very gorgeous, and was the first black model to walk Prada since Naomi Campbell in 1997. My feelings about the issue in general, on the other hand, I keep going back and forth about.

Part of me, is saying, thank god black models are going to get their chance to show the world what they can bring. They will be able to show all those casting directors that just because they have an extra inch or so around the hips, doesn’t mean they can’t wear couture or look as fierce as all of the pale svelte models they normally put in Vogue and send down the runways.

On the other hand, though, I’m very sad and annoyed that things have come down to this. Its grievous that the only way for most young black models to get any attention is if they devote an entire issue to black models. This is almost as if to say, we feel bad and acknowledge that we, as a fashion industry, have shunned you and models like you, so to make amends we’re going to give you your own issue, and you won’t have to compete with the models we actually like. I honestly hate to be the one to rain on anyone’s parade, but I’m sure I’m not the first person to see this. As fabulous as it is to give this set of models a chance, they are still technically segregating them from the other models the industry tends to covet.

This may just be part of the disdain I have for people, black, white, or otherwise, who throw themselves and others into little groups because of their skin color, religious beliefs, or sexual orientation, but whatever the reason, I don’t entirely like the idea of this issue. If only they would make a conscious effort to be racially unbiased with every magazine issue, there would be no need for an all-black issue.

All lamenting aside, I hope this will help open doors for the young black models of today and of the future.

What do you think about the all-black issue? Do you think it will help lead the way for more diverse (in all senses of the word) runways and fashion editorials, or will things just stay the same?

I know I’m probably going to get quite a bit of flack for my upcoming thoughts, but I have to say it considering it does pertain not only to fashion, but to our society in general. So, here it comes, I’m very conflicted when it comes to all of this fashion encouraging eating disorders/”unhealthy eating habits” hullabaloo. To an extent I understand people’s concerns of sickly looking public figures including, but not limited to, models and most of Young Hollywood, influencing the impressionable youth and their not so impressionable elders, but in all honesty how many times does one have to see some waif’s sternum for us to say, “ew, that’s gross,” and move on with our lives?

Being able to count someones ribs doesn’t encourage me to stick my finger down my throat, it makes me want a cheeseburger because I’m afraid those ribs I see when I suck in might start to rear their ugly heads some other time. I do however realize my feelings aren’t the norm and that is disappointing to me.

I’m also slightly conflicted as to whether I think it is a good idea for the French national government or, any government for that matter, to be able to censure the fashion industry. I understand they are passing a bill to outlaw anything that encourages “excessive thinness,” but I thought that was more directed toward websites and other mediums that encourage eating disorders. I happen to think everyone should start doing their part to thwart all of the pro-eating disorder websites that have been popping up, but I think it might be a waste of time trying to prove the fashion industry actually encourages “excessive thinness.”

Though the fashion industry is quite obviously smitten with the very thin, very pale model, never have I heard a magazine, designer, publicist, or model blatantly say “to be fashionable, you need to starve yourself.” Actually, Janice Dickinson said she wishes some of her models would catch an eating disorder, and received loads of well-deserved flack for it. I know, by having very skinny models in ads, editorials, and on runways there is the subliminal element to the fashion industry, but not being an expert on the social effect the thin trend has had, makes me wonder if people are putting a little too much blame on the fashion industry. There are obviously going to be the casting agents/designers who favor thin models above “healthy looking” models, but will that ever change? Stealing is illegal, but people still do it (is this a cop out?).

Though I’m NOT, I REPEAT NOT, saying girls should aspire to look like the models in magazines, I do think the world should back off the fashion industry a bit. Saying a girl who willingly becomes a model, someone who uses their thin, hanger-like body for income, shouldn’t maintain a thin form is unreasonable— its like saying a politician shouldn’t lie, because the all do. On the other hand I think it was rude for the Parisian casting directors to shun Ail Michaels for normal weight gain. I think everyone should try as hard as possible to maintain a HEALTHY weight, but I realize there will always be people who are either simply not comfortable with the weight they are or have a psychologically skewed body image which hinders them from being comfortable with a healthy weight, and in that case making the fashion industry change won’t truly help much. There will always be a lower weight, and there will always be a fad diet, what we can do is try to instill and promote healthy eating habits and weight loss/gain at a young age for both boys and girls, whether it will help anything, I have no idea.

So, the weight debate rages on, not only in my head but around the world.

I truly want to hear what you guys think, even if you feel like ripping my head off. I started thinking about this after I read this article about the topic on NYMag.com. Though I pretty much agree with the fashion insiders, their nonchalance and insinuation that every single model maintains her waif-like form in a healthy manner does bother me.

Photo Credit: The Fashion Spot

I’ve been super busy, for some apparent reason, and that has definitely effected my blogging. Though I try to write good content as often as possible, I’m constantly emailed by PR people trying to get their clients message across, and to be quite honest, many of the messages are really good. I, unfortunately, haven’t really had the time to fully research everything, but I’ve decided to give you, my fabulous readers, a chance to make the executive decisions for yourself. So, here are the deets from best of the best press releases I’ve received this week:

• Saturday, May 12th is Tax Free Day on Montana Ave. in Santa Monica, CA. They’re beyond excited, and if you’re in Cali, you should be too. If you’ve never scouted out Montana Ave. before, here’s a list of the stores you might want to blow a mint on: Café Luxxe, Planet Blue, Pinkberry, Jeany, Dermalogica, London Sole, Benefit, Shabby Chic, Platino, Leona Edimston, Savannah, Anat B, and Khiels. Need a reminder, print this out and post it on your fridge!
• Looking to buy some pretty, pretty jewelry to make you feel like a pretty, pretty princess? Good, because Tejani Jewelry has some of the most gorgeous handcrafted jewelry I’ve seen in a while. The pieces are chock full of jewels and would make any past-life harem girl swoon— ahem. My favorite piece out of the entire spring collection is the two tone pendant necklace with pink topaz, crystal, & glass. Tejani Jewelry is also looking out for all you bangle fanatics by offering a free bangle sizing kit so you don’t shell out and then realize you can’t get the bracelet over you’re hand—I hate when that happens!
• Street fashion has become enormously popular in today’s fashion communities. We look to these stalked fashion-forward individuals for inspiration and in awe. We also like to inspire and awe other people, thus the reason we have wardrobe blogs and style-sharing sites. There’s a new site called Votour.com, which tosses both street fashion and our fashions on one site, and we get to vote on them. Elle photographer, Peter Miszuk, takes street fashion pictures in his free time, and you are given the chance to judge and rate all the fabulously dress wanders he finds. You can also join their beta version and throw your wardrobe choices on there to get others opinions.

That’s it for now. Maybe if I feel like I’m neglecting the publicists next week, I’ll do this again.

I was almost just really stoked. Everyday, I get a slew of fashion newsletters sent to my mail box, and lo and behold, the subject line in most of them reads something like “McQueen to Show in New York”. My first thought is, “WHAT!” Then I click on the pretty little bad news bearing link.

Yes, Alexander McQueen will be showing a collection in New York, but it won’t be during New York Fashion Week in the fall. It will be next Wednesday, March 26th, at Milk Studios. McQueen has decided to do an edited 20-piece fashion show of his Autumn/Winter 2008 collection. “Okay,” you think, “that sounds interesting,” and I’m sure it will be fun for the 120 clients and press who are invited.

I loved the A/W 2008 collection, and hate to say anything bad about Alexander McQueen because I think he’s a genius, but if you really think about it, the majority of the “clients and press” have already seen the show either first hand in Paris or over and over again as they flipped through the pictures of it. Iknow pictures aren’t the same as seeing the clothes first hand, but and “edited version” is the same as the entire collection either, so why would they want to go to an edited version of the same show, just to bask in the fantasia that is A. McQ?

Actually…