Luella goes Underground

Luella lovers take heart. Our favorite boyish Britster, who won our affection after producing a collection of cheap and lovelies for Target, is offering something new for her fans with limited budgets.
Through a collaboration with UK label Underground, Luella brings us her classic winkle pickers, available in silver lame or a graphic alphabet print from her spring RTW collection.
I'm considering the silver lame pair, thinking they'd especially shine with pair of jeans, a mini skirt, or black leggings. British Elle features them in an editorial with a Gareth Pugh dress, giving the shoes the right look. They're
available at Trash and Vaudeville for about $120, or for us non-New Yorkers, check out Underground's website.

Earth Girls Are Easy

L.A. designer Jeremy Scott put a smile on my face with his fall/ winter collection of hyperbolic doo-wop girls. Records! Beehives! Kitsch Galore! I think I could quite possibly replace my entire wardrobe with his most recent fashions and be happy forever.

Spotted Trend

Ostrich leather popped up all over the Fall RTW runways, particularly via Gucci and Dior. The speckled skin is occasionally criticized for looking like an overblown case of measles on leather, but I'm partial to it, equating ostrich with the same kind of lux as snake and lizard.

Delightful Dandy-ism

I've never been much of a Karl Lagerfeld fan. I just can't seem to warm up to a man known for shielding himself behind a hand held fan and publicly stating his distaste for for women larger than a size 4.
However, this spread in the Autum/Winter Numero Homme par Lagerfeld won my affection with its daguerreotype style photos of these Jane Austin era gentleman. These vignettes reminded me of every woman's true ideal: the dashing Mr. Darcy. I dare you, take one look at these images and try not to fall in love.

Galliano saves the season

God Bless you, John Galliano, for giving us some color for fall, and saving the world from what could've been a very drab season. . . Lucky for us, the master of couture showed a ready to wear collection for Christian Dior full of classic glamour . . . Fur trimmed citron frocks with 1940's tailoring, tilt hats to high heaven, and platform heels in exotic skins Ava Gardner would've loved. (Whoever said platforms were on the way out - Was it you, Vogue? - was thankfully mistaken).

Oscar Best

In general, I don't watch awards shows. Their a bit dull, and certainly over-rated (take the Grammy's for example. . . Elvis Presley never won a Grammy. Milli Vannilli did). Still, I'm always interested in who wore what, and for this year's Oscars I'm going to have to award Gwyneth Paltrow as the queen of the red carpet. This Zac Posen dress is simply stunning, and refreshingly not strapless.

Return of the Turban

Turbans. . . I wasn't entirely sold on this Prada inspired spring/summer 2007 trend, though I appreciated the strong retro glamour it brought to the runways. After feeling major inspiration from W's March noir-style beach spread, I realize I am indeed a turban girl. I wore a purple vintage SAKS 5th Ave turban today, and though it received mixed reviews, I felt as glam as Mrs. Fowler from The Women!

Yikes!

Shaved head? Psychotic expression? Yep, Brittany Spears has officially lost it.

shoes worth talking about

By now, you've probably heard of Tom's, the the simple canvas shoes inspired by traditional Argentinian styles. With spring approaching, I've been thinking what will work best for summer bike riding and beach strolling. Tom's seem to be just the ticket with their extremely reasonable prices and worthy cause (for every pair purchased, Tom's donates a pair to a South American child in need). Really, the only thing left to consider is which color to purchase!

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's one of my favorite days of the year! Andrew is taking me to see the greatest show on Earth tonight: the Circus! Have fun celebrating everything pink and red! xoxox

Finger Painting

The verdict is out on these body art animals painted by Milan based artist Guido Daniele. Positively stunning or simply hilarious? I haven't quite decided yet.

It's about time!

Last night I went to see the much anticipated Factory Girl. Finally, I got to see the movie that influenced two seasons of fashion and made Sienna Miller a superstar before the film was even released! I'm eager to hear what everyone's thoughts are on the film. . . Good fashion? Honest depiction of characters? I must say I was overall impressed with what could've been an over-hyped, celebrity fueled disaster.

Christopher Kane

I must admit that my first impression of Spring 2007's runway darling, Christopher Kane, was that the emperor has no clothes. . . However, the more I spy his clinging neon bandage dresses popping up in my favorite magazines, the more I seem to like them. They draw to mind something Grace Jones might have worn in her modeling heyday. My favorites from the collection are the dresses with the simplest, cleanest sleek lines and streamlined adornments like a single zipper.

Lily Allen!

With all of the excitement surrounding fashion week, I'm dying to post on some of my favorite looks. . . So far, none of the usual suspects are thrilling me with their Fall 07 designs, so perhaps more on that later?
What I am really excited about currently is Lily Allen! I caught her on SNL last week, and realized she is indeed worthy of all of the hype BUST and NYLON have been showering on her. The girl has PERSONALITY (so rare among pop stars these days), vintage dress wearing/ British tough girl style, and humanizing baby fat. I love her and her fun danceable debut album. Mucho recommended.

Victoria's Shoes

And speaking of Victoria's Secret. . . I always like to check out their 'trashtastic' shoe selection on the website. So many of the heels look like stripper cast-offs or victims of an over-zealous bedazzler. Some of the latest styles I'm seeing aren't half bad, though. Or perhaps I'm just cheapening myself. Either way: a girl needs a little cheap dazzle sometimes!

Anna luvs Victoria

While perusing the latest NYLON (the one unfortunately bearing Sienna Miller on its cover), I was excited to read about an upcoming collaboration between Anna Sui and Victoria's Secret. Like most ladies, I'm a huge Anna Sui fan and have been rather pleased with Victoria's Secret's other collaborations with the likes of Betsey Johnson and Chantal Thomas.
But so far, the Anna Sui collaboration is looking a little less than stellar, though. I haven't seen anything worth charging to my Angels account. . . Perhaps there will be more?

Gaultier's Saints and Sinners

Like Galliano, Jean Paul Gaultier's Spring '07 Couture collection was out to remind us what couture is all about! As a big fan of religious icon imagery, I was amazed with this breathtaking show of well-studied religious imagery. Gaultier made his models into statue-esque saints with makeup making them appear almost waxen.
But beneath the pomp and circumstance of halo headgear and blood-stained tears, there were certainly some very wearable pieces in the collection. It would be no surprise to see Dita modeling one of these numbers off of the runway. Though, more than anything, I'd love to take a whirl in one of those halos!

Galliano's Kabuki Girls

John Galliano's glorious origami swans dazzled in his latest couture collection for Christian Dior. Galliono has given us the kind of theatrical fantasy that we've come to expect from the King of Couture. Mixing Dior's New Look silhouettes with traditional asian prints, outrageous origami folds, royalty worthy headpieces and heavenly theatrical make-up. . . This is the grandest I've seen from Galliano since his Dior couture retrospective for Fall 2005. I can't wait to see these looks editorialized, or on the red carpet. It will take a woman with real character to wear them well. . . Paging Gwen, Dita, and Chloe!