“Is everyone secretly going home and backing up at night?”
I’ve got a sad Mac on my hands, and until Apple returns my computer in 3-5 days, posts will be a little thin. No, I don’t need a new computer, I just need my computer, fixed.
August 17, 2010
The September Issues: Which rags should you buy this year?
The September Issues — aka the fall fashion issues — are the biggest issues all year in fashion and beauty, in size and importance. Unless you’re scheduled for a round-trip to Tokyo, you probably don’t need them all, so which ones are best?
- Marie Claire: It’s got Mary-Kate on the cover, and while her interviews are always a little obnoxious, her spread is great, and the overall coverage is so complete and well-edited, I actually bought this issue twice, after losing my first half-read copy at my boyfriend’s apartment.
- Vogue: If the September Issue documentary didn’t convince you of all the work that goes into this bible, then maybe you’ll pick up Vogue because Halle Berry’s the first second ever African-American woman to grace the magazine’s September cover.
- Harper’s Bazaar: If you’re not into the Jennifer Aniston-as-Bahbrah thing, buy this one for the Ralph Lauren at-home feature.
- Glamour: Again, you might want this one for what’s inside: Leighton Meester on beauty, Tommy Hilfiger on dressing classic, and Michael Kors on fall. In other words, advice from the people you really care about.
- Vanity Fair: VF is actually quite awesome at fashion, and Lady Gaga’s their September girl. Plus, this one has the International Best Dressed List.
Any other gems I’ve missed?
August 13, 2010
Interview with Passing Fancy designer Danielle Williams
Last month at the FGI event to launch Haute Houston, I met young, local fashion designer Danielle Williams. I snapped her picture because I loved her calm but stand-out style, and then she told me she has her own line. I thought she’d make a great interview, so keep reading if you want to learn more about Danielle’s Passing Fancy designs, how to break into the business, how it all works, and why it’s so much fun.
FSML: When did you start designing?
Danielle: I started designing about two years ago. I have always been into fashion and styling. I started to do some minor sketching but never thought I’d end up doing it for a living. My partner and I work with our seamstress now to come up with ideas by literally draping fabric around us and throwing out ideas until something works. There are times now where Ivette and I will call each other in the middle of the night to express a new idea!
FSML: What is your education/training background?
August 12, 2010
Which “It” item are you secretly craving?
“It” bags and clothing pieces have finally gotten a bad rap after the 90s and early 2000s: no one wants to look like everyone else anymore. And thanks to a paparazzi culture that gets even more rabid by the week, everything has become instantly recognizable: what scarf Vanessa Hudgens wears to Barneys, Kate Hudson’s favorite plane bag, and Sienna’s go-to beach wrap.
You can tell when an item has been pushed to death by PR — it’s in every campaign and editorial, and often on the red carpet — but that doesn’t mean every “It” item deserves a yawn. I’ll admit I’m still yearning just to touch Alexander Wang’s Coco Duffel and Rocco bags even though Miley Cyrus, Kristin Cavallari and Dakota Fanning have them. Which “it” items are you secretly pining for? An Herve Leger bandage dress? A Marc Jacobs Stam? Lauren Conrad’s collection of plaid button-downs, or those JBrand Houlihan cargos?
You can post as anonymous if you want 
August 11, 2010
Frye’s Billy Shootie
Do you likey?
Or does it make you think of a pimp shoe? Still on the hunt for the perfect brown bootie for this fall.
August 10, 2010
Marc Jacobs expands to books, plus-sizes, Internet
Photo Source: Observer.com
Last week, Marc Jacobs announced that September 15 — during New York Fashion Week — his company will open an e-commerce site as well as a bookstore on Bleecker, called Bookmarc. And with all of this expansion may also come a plus-size line, or at least more sizes beyond the current highest size, 16.
The news arrived via Twitter, when Marc Jacobs CEO Robert Duffy asked the designer for larger sizes since he himself is “a bigger guy.” Jacobs — who also used to be a little on the softer side — apparently responded in the affirmative, but nothing’s in the works yet. “It will take me about a year,” he said. “But stay with us. Problem solving is a big part of our job.”
August 10, 2010
Mad Men Casting Call photos
Rebecca Minkoff’s Twitter feed just cued me on to this little gem. If you’re bored with your regular RSS and blog visits today, head to AMC’s website and scroll through the photo submissions for the Banana Republic Mad Men Casting Call. Judging from the number of votes — and costumes of course — people are really getting into this.
The winner gets a walk-on bit, but I’m also hoping the applicants are so inspired by their own styling that they start dressing like this in real life.
August 6, 2010
Elaine Turner offers boutique shopping in Rice Village
I breezed through Elaine Turner’s shop in the fall but didn’t spend quite enough time to appreciate all the corners and shelves filled with lifestyle-branding items and whimsy. Last Thursday, I visited the store again to snap some pictures for a Toast the Coast event, benefiting the National Wildlife Federation and the Gulf Coast oil spill, hosted by NOLA native Alixe Ryan.
It vaguely reminded me of a Tory Burch or Lily Pulitzer boutique, but less pretentious than the first, and not as beachy as the latter. Keep reading →
August 6, 2010
“The house should go with him.” McQueen weighs in on Versace
Last night I watched the 2001 documentary, Fashion Victim: The Killing of Gianni Versace. I didn’t know that much about Gianni and the beginnings of the Versace brand, and I was also intrigued about the film because I was on vacation visiting family on Long Island the summer he was killed, and it was a huge story there. I was 12, and my cousin and I were always on the lookout for Andrew Cunanan.
The documentary is fantastic: it provides a critical look at Gianni’s spending, his ambitions, and also his creativity, and there are great shots of Claudia, Helena, Kate and Naomi as just babies.
But one of the most touching — and then eerie and upsetting — aspects of the film is the commentary provided by the late Alexander McQueen, who was then building his own brand and also designing for Givenchy. You really get the impression of how sensitive he was, and even his criticisms of Gianni are translated as a sweet study in how one designer chooses to do business vs. how another values the art behind it. For his last quote, regarding Donatella’s takeover, McQueen almost made my own heart stop.
“I personally think when a designer dies,” he says, “the house should go with him. I wouldn’t like McQueen to carry on without McQueen there.”
Sarah Burton might want to sleep with a night light.
August 5, 2010
What do Coco Rocha and Naomi Campbell have in common?
Photo source: AFP/Getty Images
All that traveling, and only a passing knowledge of world geography, apparently.
Naomi — who started modeling at 15 — testified in front of a war crimes tribunal that she’d never heard of Liberia when she attended a 1997 dinner party (and unknowingly accepted blood diamonds) there.
And smart little Coco on whom we’ve come to depend for her rational perspective on the modeling industry, told the Huffington Post that she’d never heard of Corsica when her fiance James suggested it for their honeymoon. (via Fashionologie)
