Carolina Herrera: From Munch to La Mode

New York - Though Carolina Herrera remains America's pre-eminently classy designer, she's inspiration for her latest collection was Edvard Munch's painting of a bohemian anarchist. Yet the contradiction, far from confusing designer led to one of the finest collections we've seen so far in the New York season.
Munch's painting of the radical Hans Jæger, whose neighborhood in Oslo, Christiania, was a funky and alternative quarter, may have been a bizarre source of stimulation but the net result was couture quality coolness. Ideal clothes for the very opposite sort of people the super-well-heeled women from the Upper East Side who sat front row.
Remarkably sleek tunic dresses finished with glass bauble trim reminiscent of the modernist functionality of Art Deco or brilliantly wrought robes with erratic geometric appliqué patterns echoed Munch's imagery and obsession with Jaeger.
Yet Herrera's collection for fall 2007 oozed haute sophistication, from the remarkable jacquard coats to the stockings finished with jade.
Munch's friendship with the freaky bohemians led by Jæger deeply marked his life and was source of almost permanent inner conflict. Ironically, designer's connection to Munch's art made for remarkably balanced fashion, clothes that flattered, had poise and looked great. Uncanny, surprising and unexpected, but true.

Underwear. Not only fashion but healthy!

There’s nothing like good underwear, is there? Comfortable, nice-fitting undergarments can make the whole day go better. The problem is that what’s comfortable isn’t always the most attractive choice for feeling sexy. And sometimes, what our partners want us to wear can put more than our comfort at risk. Barely-there undies can have real repercussions on our sexual health.

I always say that the rule when it comes to thongs is this: Anything with a string is for special occasions only. The same goes for shiny, inflexible fabric. While these design features work great for increasing the heat inside the bedroom, they also increase the heat that’s on your genitals! Fabric that doesn’t move or breathe creates an environment that breeds bacteria and infection. Strings or other parts that chafe can cause irritation (and transport bacteria from one part to another, know what I mean?).

However, there can be a happy medium between this and your cotton bloomers. Good underwear can be pretty, too. Just check out the Hanky Panky line of colorful, lace thongs and panties or the Lisa Masterson. The key is that the fabric moves with you and all styles have cotton crotches, with no strings attached!

New York FW07 Fashion Week Wrapup I

Fun! It's fashion weeks again.

Marc Jacobs
I really don't know what to think about this Marc Jacobs collection. It's so... different and grown up. I mean, I know Marc Jacobs' main line is meant to be for grown-ups and all, but this is really different. The main difference is probably the silhouette -it's much narrower than the previous one, (probably because Marc slimmed down himself.)

The obvious standout accessory of the show -the hat.

I haven't studied fashion history before, so I can't be certain, but this collection reminds me of YSL decades back. And some pieces reminded me of Prada's SS07 collection.

This collection doesn't seem quite as girly as the past collections, except maybe for the sophisticated-looking ribbons at the end.

Diane von Furstenburg
I've never quite appreciated DvF until last year. This collection of DvF seemed again, a bit different from her previous work. There were almost no wrap-dresses, but there were a lot more of other types of dresses. Like her last few collections, there were a lot of bold colours.

There was a continuation of this season's black and grey trend.

Lisa Cant (middle) in the silver dress... wow.

Lots and lots of pretty, yet modern cocktail dresses.

DKNY
While DKNY isn't exactly a large or influential show, I do like that it's more relateable than other big brands because it's for the young crowd. The fashion wasn't ground-breaking or anything, but there were a lot of wearable pieces.

This collection is all about doing the grown-up looks in a hip, cool way.

I really like the silk dress in the middle. And that coat on the left is so girly -I want!

Photos credit: Marcio Madeira @style.com and elle.com.

Happy Birthday Harrods Girl!

So to kick off fashion week, I'd like to wish my darling Harrods Girl a HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY! You're officially legal everywhere now! This year, HG spent another quality weekend celebrating at Oxford and had lots of fun. I am just so jealous. I spent the weekend moulding in my room studying for midterms. . . anyway, back to the celebrations, here is the bday list devoted to you for your bday: Front row tickets to any fashion show of your choice. So I guess we'll start with the Marc by Marc Jacobs runway first and proceed from there.
These pair of gorgeous Christian Louboutin's. Every girl needs a pair of booooootiful Louboutin heels.
This adorable Rachel Leigh Necklace. A perfect match for all your SS07 outfits!

The perfect black blazer, should you ever find one. This one is from 3.1 Phillip Lim.

A stylish white (for SS07!) Botkier bag, since I know you've been eyeing them lately.

The Dior 5 color palette. . .

. . although, maybe you'll like the Lancome Color design artist palette with 6 colors better?

And if you didn't already have it, Fashion Babylon would've made the perfect gift for a fellow fashionista. Too bad.

Season 2 of House. I've personally not seen it yet (I am watching waaaay too many other shows for my own good already. . maybe this summer?), but I've heard nothing but good things about it.

Lastly, a glass of champagne to toast your birthday!

photo credits:
www.vogue.co.uk
www.net-a-porter.com
www.shopbop.com
www.amazon.com
www.sephora.com
www.bergdorfgoodmans.com

Marc by Marc Jacobs SS07 Ads

As the fashion-addicts know, most of the SS07 ads have been released in the past month, which of course caused a lot of excitement among us. One of my favourite ads this season is the Marc by Marc Jacobs ad. True, it looks pretty much like the ones from the past few seasons -afterall, they were shot by Juergen Teller. But I love how the ad really gives off that young and hip vibe. It just feels so Marc by Marc Jacobs. I just really like the clothes and the styling of this shoot! Iekeliene Stange looks so cool in this shot -she (and the clothes) look girly-pretty in the non-cutsy, slightly edgy way.

Another cool, or perhaps slightly odd thing about this ad is that the brand name isn't completely printed on. While I'm sure any normal person knows the ad is by Marc by Marc Jacobs, it's just not normal advertising to not print the full designer name. Anyways, I'm loving the other features of the ad too-the colours are so vibrant and the poses are so fun! Plus, I love the style of the photographs. Pretty cool huh?

Oh btw, NY fashion week has started already. For a fun insider read, check out Derek Blasberg's Fashion Week blog @ Jane.

Urban Outfitters SS07

I used to LOVE Urban Outfitters. I'd go there everytime I go downtown, just in case I missed something the last time I went or something I had my eye on was on sale. But now I find myself going to UO less and less. I don't even have their online catalog memorized anymore! So I thought I'd pick a few to analyze- and no I did not delibrately pick ones that I thought were hideous.

I think I would've found these two camis pretty. They're feminine and pretty. But I just don't see it fitting very well into my current wardrobe! More cutesy camis that would be good for mix and match. But now that I know UO better, I can tell from here that the quality of these are probably not too good and may potentially look cheap. So is it still worth almost $30? Moreover, is this really the look we're looking for?

Cool bold tees. I guess these are alright for casual wear. I rather like the grey one actually, a decent attempt at the oversized tshirt thing.

Jackets! I have mixed feelings. I like the way the striped one looks on the model, but with the thin material and all, would it look chic or cheap on us normal mortals? But I DO like that cropped jacket on the right. Although I'm not sure if its worth $48, if I can get a better one by waiting a bit and paying a tiny bit more. . .

Classics. Am loving the simple design. Although again, the material? Not so sure.

More classic bottoms. I rather like the style of these flare skirt and wide legged denims. Although beware the skirt is probably made of a flimsier material than you think.
An example of getting it right and wrong. The red one is soo off. But I think the one on the right is . . well right. Could potentially be cute and this season actually! These two are pretty, but waaay too bohemian chic for me.

So what do you think? Is it just me? Am I growing out of Urban Outfitters or are their designs too bohemian and off for the current season?

The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency

Ever since I got cable, my apartment mate and I have been obsessed with one show: The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency!

I first caught a glimpse of it this January when we sat down and watched a marathon of it. At first it was just something to watch while we had lunch, but then we got hooked and we couldn't stop! We knew she had quite a character from ANTM, but who knew it was quite this big? She jumped into a fountain in a one of a kind, really quite gorgeous, couture gown. She made her models sing christmas carols to strangers in the cabins in christmasy UNDERWEAR, which is both hilarious and scary, because if I opened my door and a bunch of half naked people were singing Christmas carols at me I'd freak out. Although I must say, they were a rather good looking bunch of half naked people. . . . Oh and her version of the 12 Days of Christmas was completely shameless and one cannot help but want to wince and laugh atthe same time. One modeling agency, two giant breasts, three former husbands, four Italian suits, five naked men. . . . . . .LOL. For a 53 year old, she really isn't doing too badly, although many pictures and stuff are SO photoshopped (i.e. the cover. . . ).

Another thing I like about this show is that there aren't just female models, but male models too. It definitely adds something more to the norm. And they look soo hot, esp when one of them was pouring water down his half naked body the other day for a photoshoot. Plus, the whole situation is actually real and the models are actually getting somewhere, unlike some shows where they put models in unrealistic situations for ratings and tell them they're being trained for the real world *cough cough*. We actually get to know what the modeling world is really like, which is nice.

Anyways, from the feedback I'm getting from my girlfriends, it doesn't seem like its just me whose obsessed with the show. So if you haven't given it a try yet, check out season 2 every wednesday night 10/9C. And when you get hooked, you can join me and catch up with season 1 on their DVD which was released just yesterday.

Happy Procrastination everyone!