>> It's that time of year again: John Galliano kicks off cruise season with the Christian Dior Resort 2009 show tonight at Guastivino's in New York. Already confirmed for the front row is Dior favorite Charlize Theron, as well as Jennifer Lopez and Christina Aguilera, but I can't wait to see the clothes . . .
*image: source
We have always admired women that effortlessly combine prints. We can barely even stomach wearing one print let along pull off the styling miracle that strong print combinations require. But we were impressed by how easy SheFind's Guide to Wearing Multiple Prints was to follow. She has a few fantastic combinations we feel like we could pull off. We particularly liked her advice to choose similar prints in different sizes.
We combined a Dolce and Gabana Polka Dot Mini Skirt, C&C Dotted Jersey Tank, and Sonia by Sonia Rykiel Studded Cardigan. We threw in a Kate Spade 'Marceau - Malva' Soft Hobo that just happens to have a polka dot lining for fun and topped (bottomed?) it off with Marc Jacobs Collection Brushed Patent d'Orsay Pumps. Overall we think it looks pretty darn good. We guess combining prints isn't so hard after all!
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We are positively miserable with all the rain that has been plaguing May in New York City. We thought it was April showers that bring May Flowers, not May showers that destroy April flowers with downpours. But the crummy weather continues on in the Big Apple prompting more than a few of us to put our rain boots in heavy rotation. In fact, this spring is seeing more rain boots on cute girls in shorts and little skirts than the cowboy boot epidemic of Williamsburg. Thus we have been idly browsing raincoats, rainboots and umbrellas of all stripes. And no we aren't going to bore you with a round up of our favorite picks, even we get nauseated by this content trick after a while. But we did find a raincoat so compelling (at Bloomingdales, another shocker) we simply had to share. The Echo Polka Dot Trench is a clear trench raincoat with black polka dots made of packable PVC. In other words, you can pop this beauty into your purse and whip it at at a moment's notice without ever hindering the view of the outfit you spent so much time perfecting in the morning. And its on sale for $33. Turns out staid department store shopping can be fun after all!
The tote bag is an iconic summer staple, in so much as one can raise a basic to icon status. The tote bag is already making appearances in our community despite the summer being somewhat hazy on the horizon. Bunnyshop is doing a tote bag a week feature. Shopping's My Cardio and Vie Couture have already picked out their favorites.
But we wonder if the rise of the tote bag might be tied to something other than the whims of designers. In fact, it could be a downright insidious plot to help us cut down on our consumption. Consider Libertarian Paternalism.
Human beings are lazy, busy, impulsive, inert, and irrational creatures highly susceptible to predictable biases and errors. That's why they can be nudged in socially desirable directions. A nudge is thus any noncoercive alteration in the context in which people make decisions. The libertarian paternalism behind it is rooted in Thaler's [author of the study] lifelong fascination with the power of small, seemingly innocuous details — the arrangement of food in a cafeteria, the drawing of a small fly in the bowl of a urinal, a pattern of lines on the road — to influence people's behavior.Perhaps Anya Hindemarch's I'm Not a Plastic Bag frenzy wasn't just designed to garner attention and sales. Maybe it was a subtle nudge to help us live better more sustainable lives. OK, we admit it might be a stretch. Fashion designers don't know shit about public policy nor do we wager they care except as it affects import tariffs. But designers do know a thing or two about affecting behavior. In fact, inciting desire and actions against all rational thought is something that the industry has perfected. Thus if you combine our penchant for behavior modification with a desire for change you get a text book example of New Paternalism. The tote bag just may be our summer savior. Sure you can buy an expensive canvas tote bag like the Hermes Garden Tote but there are plenty of classic affordable options like the Eddie Bauer Canvas Tote just waiting to help you make better decisions. And it is just so much easier to forgo a plastic bag when you are running errands if you have a roomy tote on your arm. So go buy a tote. It will help a fashion house and nudge you towards slightly more sustainable behavior patterns. And its entirely up to you. Except you know you REALLY want to buy one. Go buy a bag! And then ponder free will.
The ominous news on the economy front has given us a bout of the blues. While the downturn won't exactly mean breadline poverty for us all, it'll most certainly affect the choices of all but the upper strata.
Where will the fashion-starved turn once our everyday indulgences become unattainable luxuries? Many a fashion lover who feeds her habit with reckless abandon has had to face this reality, whether it's brought to our attention at the gas station, grocery store, or stock market. Practical considerations will almost certainly prompt a reevaluation of spending habits, with less disposable income allocated for the guilty pleasures and non-essentials. Save for the occasional treat, we'll either be shopping less, or shopping lower. If our favorite designer clothing becomes out of reach, less options may mean more time spent trawling the wares at Forever 21. Will the already ubiquitous diffusion lines and mass market retail become our daily bread?
Before you shudder and picture a Manhattan bursting at the sidewalks with a hideous amalgam of khaki and day-glo teen clones, consider the possibility that such a change might be an impetus for designers to get innovative in order to produce reasonably priced, fashion-forward designs. One would hope, but perhaps the more real possibility is that cutting corners in order to cut costs, so that we may continue to consume at a pace that our economy is clearly telling us is unsustainable, will result in a decline in the overall quality of the goods we consume. While you may love the feel of premium cashmere grazing your skin, you might have to get used to a scratchy substitute. When we relax standards out of what seems like necessity or a lack of options, our acceptance indicates to manufacturers that we'll settle for substandard, inferior products. If this becomes a trend, it could yield a worrisome outcome in which the consumer is left little choice but to purchase whatever the market offers.
Such a shift in consumer spending habits may just prove to be a boon for vertically integrated companies like Zara, which has proven its ability to continuously provide a steady stream of new styles to a fashion-conscious but budget-minded populace. It'll be interesting to see how much they stand to gain or lose as pursestrings are tightened. Without further ado, here's what you might be wearing come Fall/Winter 2008, brought to you by Catwalk Queen, who got a sneak peek at H&M's press preview over in London and shows us some of the trends the mass merchant will be shilling. Love it or hate it, it might just be one of your only options.
Community member Sugarshock knows that sometimes its what is not in a product that is more important. We are longtime fans of Alison Raffaele on Coutorture so we were pleased to learn from Sugarshock that her line has been revamped to be entirely talc and paraben-free. With her spiffy new packaging this makes Alison Raffaele more than worth a second look. We love her mineral makeup in particular but Sugarshock clued us into the multi-use Transparent Finishing Powder. Your editor has relatively dry skin so it is only in the summer months that we even consider powder. Thus we aren't normally inclined to buy it very often. But Raffaele's powder doubles as a dry shampoo to sop up hair grease too making it an extremely tempting purchase. We love it when products multitask. Below is a selection of our favorite products from the line including Allison Raffaele Mineral Foundation Powder and Alison Raffaele Transparent Finish To Go Refillable Dispensing Brush
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We have said it before, the boyfriend blazer is back, or at least here to stay, and there's gonna be trouble! Hope Robertson has finally let the boyfriend blazer with its long panels and unstructured chic into her life. Menswear as womenswear has been hot as long as playing with gender roles has been considered marginally taboo. Because nothing gets panties in a twist like not being sure if you're a boy or girl. And while it once got your mother in a whirl even Julie Andrews did it in Victor/Victoriamaking a littlegender confusion positively mainstream. Thus we can put ourselves in a J.Crew Blazer which is about as palatable to regular America as it gets and hum to ourselves that our boyfriend blazer is back and there is gonna be trouble. Even if its just fending off the advances of your actual boyfriend. Hot tramp I love you so!
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