And the winner of the Best Use of Leggings Award is. . . Berube!

Oh, wow! What a surprise! They win for Most Innovative Shorts as well!

McCalling Me

You know, I thought the fifties were passé. Sure, Lanvin, Dior, or Balenciaga can sometimes recreate a fifties shape with great success, but the bright color palette, the cutesy details, the predictable silhouette—I thought that they had been reinterpreted enough in the past few years to last quite a long time.

This was, of course, before I saw the Alice McCall show. The problem with getting inspiration from the femininity of the fifties is that it’s been done so many times that it’s hard to make it look fresh. Alice McCall is not plagued by this problem.

The way that she transitions from a bit of a vintage look to something completely contemporary is impressive, too.

This piece even looks like something that Alaia would have done in the 90’s, but it doesn’t look out of place here.

So forgtive me for the terrible pun in the subject line. But do keep Alice McCall on your fashion radar.

Anna Sweet

Can I admit to something? It’s my blog, of course I can. My admission is that I just don’t understand why Anna Sui has never quite achieved the same fame as Marc Jacobs. Anna Sui is certainly no unknown in the fashion world, and Marc Jacobs is, in my opinion, in every way deserving of his fame, but the more of her stuff I see, the more I think that she’s damn good. The reason that I compare her to Marc Jacobs is that she has the same sense of ‘devil may care, I’m doing what I want,’ in her design, but she’s also always equally on the mark, trend-wise.

Take this dress as an example. The shape is perfectly sweet. The patent, vinyl-y bow is a little ironic--a bow is a touch that's about as cutesy as can be, but the sheen gives it a lot of edge. It's almost bondage-esque. The pattern is completely Anna Sui's work. It's unexpected, busy, and a bit strange, to be honest, but it works perfectly well.

I liked the palette of black and white. It was interesting to see how much fun she could make sophisticated looks be. But really, Anna Sui works best in color.

Don't you agree?

Fashion week lives on in me

Ok, yes, I know that if I wanted to blog about fashion week, I should have done so a while back. But can you blame me? I’m in London, and I don’ t have too (by which I mean any) time to spare, but the more footage I see from the New York shows (I hardly even acknowledged London Fashion Week), the more I want to talk about it. So, prepare yourselves for a (slow) barrage of runway talk! Yay.

Loving Lanvin

In the August mags, I definitely thought that Lanvin had the best fall advertising campaign. Now that I'm finally looking at their runway shots, it looks like they had one of the best shows, too.




Sigh.

Well, one day. Until then, it's H&M and Primark and the occasional designer splurge on eBay.

SCREAM!!!!

THE NEXT GO INTERNATIONAL DESIGNER IS PROENZA SCHOULER! THE NEXT GO INTERNATIONAL DESIGNER IS PROENZA SCHOULER! THE NEXT GO INTERNATIONAL DESIGNER IS PROENZA SCHOULER!

Whew. That was terrible for my voice. But it's great for my wardrobe!

Amsterdameriffic!

Well, I'm back from my fabulous weekend away (and I've been back for the six busiest days of my life), and I must say, it was too short. I spent last Saturday and Sunday in the Netherlands, enjoying the art, the architecture, and the culture of what's probably the most relaxed country in the world. Of course I indulged in some shopping as well, but I've gotta say, I feel like the country is so mellow that Dutch style just happens--everyone looks simple and well put-together, and happy in what they're wearing. Really, what more could you ask for in great clothes? I did notice a few chains in Amsterdam that I've never seen before, but Fornarina and Diesel seemed like popular brands, too. I shopped at a place called Only, that had awfully simple, well-cut pieces, and I have a new long hoodie that I'm positively fond of. But judging by the number of them, who holds the shopping monopoly? See below. . .