Savvy Shopping - Ferragamo For Fall

This year I've totally missed the NY fashion week...there's so many shows that it's hard to keep up. OK, I admit it's not really hard, I've just got fashion fatigue.
But, I just perused the Ferragamo Fall-Winter 2010 show and loved these bronzy-brown evening gowns by Ferragamo. I was less impressed with the entire Ferragamo collection which had beautiful fabrics, leathers and suedes in rich earth colors of chocolate, cognac, olive, slate and bronze,
but way too many shorts suits. Seriously, how many pieces in a Fall-Winter collection should be shorts?

You can see the Ferragamo Fall Collection here
Aren't these lovely?

and here is the estate jewelry that I would wear with them

Antique Victorian Old Mine Cut Diamond Ring in Rose Gold

Atelier Marisa Chocolate South Sea Pearl "Orbit" Earrings in Rose Gold

Also lovely, non?

Fashion Fatigue

Sometimes I just get bored with the whole fashion week phenomena and this little image from the Frisky.com style section sort of says it all. But if seeing yet another collection...or 20...doesn't make you yawn, check out the Trendy Fashionista. She has a great rundown on the collections and videos from Style.com.

Other weekend links,
Jill, who knows her dogs and her fashion, has found the Komondor's fashion doppelganger. Metscan, braving the frigid Finnish winter, has won an award...do go congratulate her.
We Magazine's 101 Women Bloggers to Watch in 2010, other than Amy Alkon, I have no idea who these other women bloggers are...why aren't our blogs on this list?
Privilege, with the easy recipe for a fuss free dinner.
What is James Wearing, because I have to adore a man who wears aubergine suede YSL boots.
and on the serious side
The Perfect Storm of Ignorance, because economic ignorance is not bliss.

Une Autre Femme A Paris ou Avec Les Fashion Foibles

Givenchy 2009
Louis Vuitton 2009

Susan Tabac over at Chic in Paris has reported on the Paris shows.

While she has tastefully described the Givenchy and Louis Vuitton collections using such expressions (uh cough, euphemisms) as "how elegant a bit of rock'n'roll can be", and "Belleville, Piaf and the nightclubs of the 40's",

I can only use the descriptive words "totally unflattering and uninspired fashion foibles".

Going for Galliano's Spring Jewels

I don't know why the John Galliano Spring 2009 Ready to Wear show this week in Paris needed to have models in over sized little bo peep hair and Napoleonic hats when some of the dresses were so very lovely. All that crazy accessorizing was superfluous.

Take these three dresses for example.

I love the rich jewel tone palate and the feminine silhouettes. Overall, I found this collection to be less over the top than his usual designs and except for a few pieces that were totally transparent, I found all of the outfits wearable.



In my dream Spring wardrobe, if I could only have this lovely long dress with the keyhole front... I would wear it with these 18 karat Etruscan style amethyst, zircon and yellow beryl dangle earrings from Beladora.com.

I don't know how much these Galliano dresses will retail at, but I would bet that they will be at least twice as expensive as these earrings.

Well no matter....I'm sure that our current economic meltdown will be over by next spring...you know with the bailout and all the "Change" that is coming our way. Surely I'll be able to buy one of these dresses and the earrings too!

Fashion Week Reporting - Are Sample Sizes to Skinny?

When I want to read quality reporting on the Fashion Industry and Luxury Brands, I check out the Heard on the Runway blog on the Wall Street Journal online. While I enjoy reading WWD, I find their articles to be more product promotion than actual serious reporting about the Fashion industry.

From the blog:

It’s a fair bet that there has been nary a runway show all week without the presence of a model with an eating disorder. The industry has begun trying to come to terms with the high prevalence of malnutrition among the six-foot-tall models who are asked to slip into size zero clothing samples.
One tell-tale sign of severe malnutrition is a blotchy mosaic of mineral deposits under the skin. At runway shows, this is visible on some models’ arms and legs from as far back as the third row. A fashion photographer told me recently that they use special software to digitize this effect out of photographs.

Skinny Model

What I would like to know is how much better do the clothes look on an anorexic model? Would an extra 5 or 7 pounds on these girls be so devastating as to ruin the designer's concept on the runway?

There is a simpler and more effective way to end the extreme pressure for models to look emaciated: show larger sample sizes on the catwalks and magazines.
“We see this as a first step,” says Ms. Billinkoff, the CFDA’s spokeswoman, of the signatures on the petition. “Depending on the reaction, it’ll be time to mobilize. Will the next step be to go back up in a sample size from a zero to a two or a four or a six — which is what it used to be?”

Note: A little over 20 years ago on one of my trips to Paris I did my usual shopping for some pret a porter. Even then I was looking for a bargain so at Ungaro I ended up purchasing clothes that had been samples worn by the models in the Paris shows. They were chic and priced right.

My point...I was reasonably thin but certainly not skinny...and the clothes fit me fine. Today's models would have been swimming in the clothes that fit the runway models from 20 years ago.

Question: Were runway models during the 1980s too big to show clothes properly?

Fashion Week - Baby Phat Fans - Udderly Ridiculous

I think that Kimora Lee Simmons is quite talented.

I especially like these floaty, translucent caftans from her spring collection.

But I was just wondering if her designs come in XXL boob size.

Swedish model Victoria Silvstedt at Baby Phat Show

Is it just me or is there something a little tranny about this girl?

Ice T and Coco at Baby Phat Show

Why does this photo remind me of cow's udders?

Celebrity Nonsense - The Rich Are Different

Denise Rich

September 12, 2008 --
DENISE Rich enthralled 100 Fashion Week-lings at Brasserie Cognac with a report on her summer vacation: "London is the best place to buy Jimmy Choo, St.-Tropez has the coolest Pucci. I get my Lacroix in Cannes, Louis Vuitton in Paris and Cavalli in Bal Harbour. Don't tell anybody."

Yes Denise....I won't tell anyone...but what I really want to know is where do you get all that pink eyeshadow...CVS?

Lanvin and Galliano bring on the Big Jewelry

La Petite Blog, if you haven't already added it to your daily fashion reads, you should. It is a great resource for glimpse into the latest runway looks. I found it through Chic in Paris, another one of my favorite fashion blogs.

La Petite shows more of the ginormous jewelry that's being shown in the Paris collections. Lanvin and Galliano have joined YSL in the big jewelry trend.

But from the runway to real life...who's going to wear accessories this large?

Fashion Week Los Angeles Faux Pas

Meanwhile, in the fashion forward town of Los Angeles, Fashion Week has brought out the best in taste...cough, cough.

Check this out.

I hope this isn't an example of what goes for taste in this city.

Jewelry Trends Paris 2008

Leslie Scott at Fashiontribes has the weekly wrap up in fashion and trends.

One unfortunate trend that she points out is oversize jewelry that's being used on the Paris runways for the fall collections. While some would find this style playful, I find it so tacky and I'm surprised to see it coming from one of my favorites, Marni. Seriously, who would pay for this wood, metal and plastic necklace from Marni?

YSL 2008 The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Style Spy has posted on the fall collection by Stefano Pilati for YSL. Like her I admire the craftsmanship of the cut, but I find it to be a mix of the the brilliant and the unflattering.

You can probably guess which I find to be good, bad and downright ugly!

(hint: I don't know how to configure the image layout in blogger so the ugly is most definitely the necklace that Style Spy loved!...Yikes)

Not Thin Enough

This is where we are today....from the Wall Street Journal.

A sad statement on where we've evolved in terms of female beauty.

Chic in Paris

I just found this new blog

Chic in Paris

Gorgeous! But why is she showing this not so chic jewelry?
It looks like she needs a shopping spree on Beladora.com!


All I know is that I want this blogger's life!

New York Magazine's Fall Fashion Trends

Everyday I'm faced with so much to blog and so little time.
While it looks like I'm destined to be a weekend only blogger I just couldn't not take the time today to list the 10 most important trends coming out of New York Fashion Week.
I mean how would we live without this necessary information!

1. Slimmed down Silhouette.

Thank God we can finally get rid of those floaty dresses that make us look 4 months pregnant!

2. Tweed.

Excellent...there's nothing like a little Horse and Hounds look for Fall.
And with the extremely cold weather we've had this winter, some warm tweeds will be practical.

3. Oversize Chunky Knit Sweaters.

Uh oh....what happened to the slimmed down silhouette?

4. Pants...and not just pencil jeans.

Once again, excellent. It will be nice to have some comfortable trousers to wear again.

5. Visible Zippers.

This is so bad that no comment is needed.

6. Hats.

While totally impractical I love this trend. Note my remarks about the Tricorne hats at the Marc Jacobs show. I love them.

And...with everone worrying about sun damage and slathering on the SPF 40, why not provide your own shade by wearing a hat?

Or in sub zero weather, there is nothing so practical as a hat.

7. Navy and Black.

This is a classy pair...and it suits my existing wardrobe.

Plus, Navy and Black are perfect background colors for beautiful jewelry!

8. Heels with more subtle Platforms.

Perfect. High heels without platforms are gorgeous but so difficult to wear...iespecially f you actually have any amount of walking to do. A bit of a platform makes wearing heels so much more comfortable.

9. Sequins.

This is so wrong unless used in moderation. Unless subtly incorporated into the design, sequins, beading and other accessorizing generally clashes with jewelry and tends to have a seriously cheap look.

and if that wasn't enough...

10. Feathers.

Oh please, do we really need to channel our inner Zsa Zsa Gabor?

Fashion Week New York

(photo: WWD)

Here is Ellen Pompeo at Fashion week.

This is why actresses need stylists.

Where is Rachael Zoe when you need her?

I can't wait to read the Fug Girls comments on this pathetic outfit

Waif Men From Euro Fashion to Reality

(photo: New York Times)



Where have all the adult men gone?

Pajamas Media recently featured a post Single Men in Never-Neverland? by Dr Helen responding to the article by Kay Hymowitz in City Journal about the perpetuation of adolescence in adult males.

While I've noted a trend towards this in men in the 20-30 something age bracket, most of the men I know who are 45 and older fit into the traditional adult male category of married fathers providing for their families.

Meanwhile, media and fashion continue to promote the male image of perpetual adolescent in both what activities men do an in how they look. The New York Times fashion blogger reports in The Vanishing on the desired look in male models by Europe's leading menswear designers. They are all going for the waifishly thin androgynous physic.

"Their waists, like that of Mr. Svetlichnyy, measure 28 or 30 inches. They have, ideally, long necks, pencil thighs, narrow shoulders and chests no more than 35.5 inches in circumference, Mr. Brown said. “It’s client driven,” he added. “That’s just the size that blue-chip designers and high-end editorials want.”
For Patrik Ervell’s show on Saturday, the casting brief called for new faces and men whose bodies were suited to a scarecrow silhouette. “We had to measure their thighs,” Mr. Brown said. "

In other words, a hairless six foot tall man weighing 145 pounds is the ideal. Seriously, I don't know any men over the age of 21 who even look like this...or would want to look like this.

“I personally think that it’s the consumer that’s doing this, and fashion is just responding,” said Kelly Cutrone, the founder of People’s Revolution, a fashion branding and production company. “No one wants a beautiful women or a beautiful man anymore.”
In terms of image, the current preference is for beauty that is not fully evolved. “People are afraid to look over 21 or make any statement of what it means to be adult,” Ms. Cutrone said.

I don't agree with the idea that it is the consumer is demanding this male image. Do you?