Hilfiger Style - Twisted American Preppy

I'm all for classic American style like these boots from LL Bean

But I was wondering if Tommy Hilfiger was taking the style a step too far with these boots

Check out Couture Carrie for these over the knee boots and more

Also, the Preppy Princess has given us her take on Tommy Hilfiger's new Fall 2010 ad campaign featuring his all American twisted preppy faux family

Tailgating with a twist.  I like it.

Dior Couture Spring/Summer 2010 - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

John Galliano for Dior Couture is always a master of the narrative
And I'm certainly loving his Belle Epoque Equestrienne narrative for 2010

Seriously...what's not to love here

and here

and here

These gorgeous riding habits make me think of Sher and her sidesaddle!

But with the good comes the bad

and the ugly

but Galliano as Cavalier is always part of the narrative

Doesn't he look like he just stepped away from his four in hand?

Recession Dressing - Designer Denim

Can someone please explain to me this whole designer denim trend?

It's not just the gorgeous Jessica Biel modeling designer denim by Ralph Lauren on the front cover of Vogue.
She models depression era worthy Ralph Lauren denim patchwork overalls in the feature article.
We are seeing more denim patchwork clothes on the runway with a distinct lowbrow look.

On the high end we've got Dolce & Gabbana denim handbags at Neiman Marcus for $1295

Is this some kind nostalgia for the great depression or some kind of 1970's recession based style signifying that we are ready to go to work?

What's your theory?

2010 Trends - Back Away From The Bakelite

So here we go again...a new year with new trends.
According to Bazaar in the list of top twenty trends
the new look in jewelry will be Lucite and Bakelite bangles
like this one from designer Mark Davis.

Mark Davis Lucite and semi-precious gemstone bangles $1600-$3200 (yikes!)

Here are the other overpriced Mark Davis pieces at Barneys

OK...so call me a boring traditionalist but I just can't see spending over $1000 on Lucite, Bakelite of any other plastic type material that has zero intrinsic value....semi-precious stones or no.

UnoAErre tri-color gold cuff bracelet in 18K $1250

I'd much rather have this tri-color 18k bracelet by Italian design house UnaAErre

Would you consider buying $1600 Lucite or Bakelite Bangles?

Trending Towards Turquoise

Thank God that style guru Imogen Lamport and vintage style crusader Mary Kincaid have informed me of the fact that turquoise is going to be the dominant color of 2010...because I'm always late finding out about these things.



I love the vibrancy of turquoise, it is certainly one of my favorite colors and while I don't often wear the color in terms of my clothes, I do accent what I wear with plenty of vintage turquoise jewelry.

Here's one of my favorite peices because of the blue on blue motif.

Beladora Vintage Turquoise and Zircon Ring in Platinum

Do you wear the latest trend in color in your clothes, accessories, both or neither?

Fall Fashion Trends 2009 - Barcelona Fashion Week

I found these freaky photos from Barcelona Fashion Week on Yahoo News.

Considering that Spain has the highest rate of H1N1 in Europe

(there were 3 confirmed cases in the compound where I was staying)

is this going to be the new trend?

Fall 2009 Shoes - Runway to Realway

Does your insurance cover these shoes?

Fall 2009 RTW - Lanvin - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Overall, I think that Alber Elbaz scored big with his Fall 2009 Ready To Wear Collection
for Lanvin with
structured draping and

luxurious fabrics

And as with any collection

there were a few looks that I thought were unflattering

And others that were downright ugly

Thankfully he mostly stayed away from that 1980s Disco Days theme with over the top shoulders.

Elbaz's collection has a wearable Michael Kors look to it, don't you think?

From Style.com

"People keep trying to divide designers into optimists and pessimists, but me—I'm a realist," declared Alber Elbaz. "I thought with my heart about what women need from fashion—dresses, suits, blouses, coats. Life isn't just parties and lunches." With this empathetic orientation, Lanvin for Fall added another dimension to the revival of Parisian values that are turning out to be the distinguishing feature of the best of this season's collections.

Life isn't just parties and lunches...

who knew?

Coming Back Down To Earth - Fashionable Women Can Walk Again

Is this a result of the economy and a returning sense of seriousness?


From Manolo The Shoe Blogger

The End of the Highest of High Heels?

Manolo says, the Manolo has been predicting the end of the ultra-extreme towering heels for many months now, and at last it has come to pass, as announced by Leon Andre Talley himself.

Designers with an obsession for towering torture chambers, often poorly designed
for the well-being of the foot, must get a reality check. I, for one, am over
the mania for the high, high heel. Too many career women look like a herd of
fashion beasts, aping one another in impractical shoes . . . Can’t anyone take a
cue from First Lady Michelle Obama, in the elegant low-heeled shoes she always
wears? A flat would be nice.

Phillip Lim Resort Collection - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

According to Style Spy Phillip Lim is the next Oscar de la Renta

Phillip Lim showed his Resort 2010 collection in New York Monday. I won't go so far as to say that it's my favorite collection ever, or even my favorite Lim ever, but it doesn't do anything to dissuade me from the fashion crush I have on this very talented designer.

I think I've stated before that I feel like Phillip Lim is our next Oscar de la Renta. He makes chic, gorgeous clothes that most every woman admires when she sees and looks good in when she wears. There is a definite, inescapable femininity and youth in Lim's designs, but he is very young himself and there's no reason to imagine that his clothes won't mature as he does.

I wish that I could say the same.

Looking for The Good, The Bad and The Ugly in Lim's 2010 Resort Collection all I could come up with was The Bad, The Ugly and The Hideous.

Even a pretty willowy blond model can't make these clothes look appealing.

I too think that Lim is very talented

but when designers purposely create clothes that are unflattering, as Lim has in this collection, they show disdain for their clients.

In The Swim - Retro Style

Have the editors of Marie Claire magazine been reading BHB?
I noted the similarities between BHB's Beachy Keen
and
Marie Claire June issue's Steal or Splurge highlighting Retro swimwear
according to MC
Feel-good Gidget glamour is back!
Peachy-keen retro suits flatter
every beach body and budget

Vintage Retro Citrine and Ruby Ring in Rose Gold

Vintage Retro Tank Tread Bracelet in Rose Gold

Well whatever.

I love the Retro look in swimwear and in jewelry

it's glamorous...but with a sense of humor

and I'm all about not taking myself or fashion too seriously.

Here's some more Vintage Retro Estate Jewelry

Here's the Marie Claire Retro style swimwear and stuff.

Dr. Helen - On The Down Low

Around the fashion blogosphere there's plenty of posting and commentary back and forth about everything from vintage ossie clark (wendy b) to brand new balenciaga (style spy) to the greenness of vintage (zuburbia) to scarves by hermes (une femme) to strappy shoes (miss cavendish) to looks of the day (stella's roar) to all around style (of a certain age). Jump out of this little group of bloggers and we've got the brilliant bag snob girls, second city style, the coveted, the glam media girls, the daily candy girls and last but not least the incomparable fug girls.
I peruse all these blogs regularly, including the comments, and while I do see disagreement over fashion and trends, and some gentle ribbing, I never see anything truly nasty.

Dr. Helen, wife of uber blogger Glenn Reynolds asked in a post today
Low-rise pants: What's the verdict?

Since Dr. Helen mostly writes about men's rights, it doesn't surprise me that most of her commenters are men....But what does surprise is how the low rise debate quickly morphed into a discussion on women's tattoos, including the famous "tramp stamp".

Here's one comment

Women are attracted to tattoos the same way they are attracted to anything that is effortless and has zero imagination. Anyone can with 50.00 and poor judgement can get a tattoo.

What takes effort is character, humor, wit, charm, ethics, and accountability. Men find all of these traits very attractive in women, but as in all other areas of life, women want an effortless, consequence free lifestyle, thus all the sour women with no corresponding intelligence to the world they live in we see today with the personality traits of cardboard living utterly empty, fruitless, soul dead lives.

And ladies, you can cut the crap with the fake front of how your lives are so 'fulfulling' and that you're just so 'happy.' That may work on other women, but we as men can spot that snowjob a mile away. And a tattoo only gives an early warning before you open your mouth. I suppose tattoos are significant after all.. they symbolize an empty, meaningless life going nowhere because of bad genetics. It's like letting the world know up front, "Hey, I make a lot of bad choices."

Now I don't have any tattoos, and I don't particularly like them
but whoa dude...take it down a notch.

What's your opinion on low rise jeans....has the trend finally run its course?
and
What do you think about tattoos....would you get a tattoo?

Jeggings - The New Skinny On Jeans

From New York Magazine
When Trends Collide Just when you thought skinny jeans couldn't get any skinnier, the marketing geniuses at Topshop introduce a new term into our fashion vocabulary: Jeggings. (Or Treggings, to you Brits.) The brand's jean + legging hybrid is knit from cotton, polyester, and spandex, for that suck-it-in, painted-on look without the loss of circulation in your lower half. The Topshop site helpfully suggests that you pair these with an animal-print tunic (tunimal?).

Considering that most of the female population isn't 6 feet tall and 115 pounds with legs as long as Gisele Bundchen....are jeggings really a good idea?
Isn't painful enough that we have to wear skinny jeans which aren't exactly flattering for those of us without the DNA of a glamazon.

More McQueen Mayhem

Can someone please explain this?
Was Alexander McQueen afraid that we wouldn't notice his genius without all the styling antics of chain mail, umbrella hats, swan feather dresses and clown makeup?

Even with the magpie mayhem and houndstooth from hell fabrics and Philip Treacy surrealist toques, this collection was brilliant.

There's something so "little boy at the back of the class with his hand raised and a NOTICE ME PLEASE expression on his face" about all of this.

It's McQueen for God's sake...why does he have to try so hard?

Calling For The Classics - And a $60,000 Clothes Budget

This week's Wall Street Journal Magazine put together these 7 Classic Looks
to amortize your investment and bank on long term returns.

Hermes Scarf $375
Thomas Pink Shirt $150
Loro Piana Belt $595
Acne Jeans $299

Tory Burch Dress $325
Mikimoto Pearls $3980

TSE Sweater Set $720

Hermes Kelly Bag $7150
Gap Shorts $39.50

Rimini Sandals $98

Elsa Peretti Necklace (worn as a bracelet) $7500

Cartier Tank Francais Watch $17,925

Kiton Blazer $3500

Gap T-Shirt $16.50

Armani Jeans $725

Persol Sunglasses $270

APC Trench $420

Rolex Datejust $6050

South American Secrets Panama Hat $144.95

Ralph Lauren Satin Shirt $1098

Hermes Belt $950

Banana Republic Pants $79

Bass Wayfarer Loafers $89

Lanvin Dress $4145

Lanvin Lucite Necklace $3608

OK...here are some of the comments

If you can afford the clothing and accessories in these photos, you’re not worried about “getting through the slump.”

I’m not sure how a $7,000 Hermes bag and a Rolex “help get you through the slump?” Have you checked the front page of your website, the little piece about the unemployment numbers…it’s outrageous that you’d post something like this.

This is a bit silly, really, 950 for a belt, 1000 for a shirt, 6000 for a watch, 7000 for a handbag…that’s Fifteen Thousand dollars, and you don’t even have pants yet! This will help get WHO through a slump???

I just checked and the total of all these “classic looks” come to $60,251.95. Can I get economic stimulus funds if I buy these?

I admit that these clothes fit my style right down to the white dress and tennis shoes.

Most of my life I've worn clothes like these, in fact the white t-shirt, white jeans, blazer, white tennis shoes and good watch, was sort of my signature look for years.

What I like about these looks is that they can easily be created with less expensive pieces. Seriously, who needs white jeans from Armani for $795. And don't even get me started on the Lanvin lucite necklace for $3608....it's just so wrong in so many ways. Akoya pearls are way less than $1000 so the Mikimoto akoya strand for $3980...well that's another example of insanity.

All insanity aside, is this look chic or is it uninspired?

Does this wardrobe look like $60,251.95 to you?

Just curious.