The Gift Of Style

Visible Panty Line

Nope...not a commentary on what under garments you should wear.  Though ladies, you can't tell me you don't know when you have panty lines...pretty much the biggest fashion don't of all time!!! So use that mirror and if you can't see your behind, then get a second opinion...there is just no excuse.

Visible Panty Line is actually strangely literal and is the meaning behind one of my favorite new lines VPL.  VPL actually built its entire collection on creating pieces inspired by underwear...exhibitionist fashion perhaps?  Now if you don't know the line I am sure you are having visions of Madonna or bra-baring Carrie Bradshaw...if you are, erase those images.  VPL actually is super modern, super cool and super chic.  Though the pieces are boudoir-esque, they are actually more Calvin Klein than La Perla.  VPL designer, ex stylist Victoria Bartlett, launched the collection in 2003 with the desire to bridge the gap between lingerie and easy, casual fashion and I become a bigger and bigger fan every season. 

VPL's Fall '09 show was one of my favorites!!!  It had the easy, semi-decontructed, architectural feel...sort of the anti-Alexander Wang...more sensual than tough, rocker girl sex appeal.  Still crazy edgy and relevant, just also comfy and cozy...not an easy thing to do.  The knit pieces were major standouts and I loved the one yellow dress...taped, draped with an off kilter petal-effect.  I also loved all of the layering...unlike some designers that had layer overkill, VPL's version was perfect.  Sure the one-legged, scuba suits were a little contrived, but I am sure they will be offered as full catsuits which I am sure will be big hits at retail!!!

VPL's Spring '09 collection is in stores now and looks great.  LaGarconne.com has the best selection so far. I am in love with the open back knitwear and if I was just a bit younger, would absolutely want those thigh high leggings...sporty and sexy and oh so covetable.  Luckily there will never be a mirror required with VPL...their slinky backless sweaters are the only "Visible Panty Line" you won't ever be embarrassed about.

~Nancy

Rodarte's Code Of "Armor"

I am obsessed with Rodarte!!!!  It is as simple as that.  Every single season the Mulleavy sisters deliver that other kind of show...one less about commerce; one that moves fashion so far forward that at times we need to catch our breath as we try to attempt to keep with their pace.  They have clearly deeply influenced design since they founded their thought provoking line...it was so apparent this week, with obvious nods to their genius in several other collections.  Perhaps what I love most about them, maybe more then any other, is there ability to never veer off track.  They have a complicated, at times dream-like, yet always so beyond fabulous vision and they never disappoint by completely changing direction!!!  Yes, there was definitely an evolution in their FW '09 collection, but they still managed to show us a world where even the most deconstructed and artfully created pieces not only make sense, yet become the absolute must-haves of the season.

I read that they were inspired by materials found in nature, which you know I love, yet I found the collection less natural feeling, more "protective"...nature's armor perhaps.  This is not a criticism, just my view of what the collection represented.  You see fashion is so subjective...no matter what one sees in a collection, as long as the effect lifts you, surprises you and excites you, who cares if you get the back story.  Rodarte did more than lift me this season...it inspired me to continue to search for true meaning in fashion...personal meaning!!!!

The techniques they use are an amazing combination of pure art and fashion science.  This season, they went for a marble-like effect that to me resembled the most beautifully crafted armor.  Each piece was more fabulous then the next...I can barely choose photos to show you.  I was madly in love with the knitwear, clearly one of their signatures.  Yes, you could really see the connection to nature's elements in the boucle-like pieces, but again to me they had more of chainmail-like effect...not in the harder Knight's of the Round Table sense, more romantic and feminine...less literally protective, more seductively encased or enveloped.  They also use a paper mache-like technique that gives each piece an aged feel, which when combined with beyond forward-thinking design creates fashion magic.

One of these days, I need to get up close and personal with the collection, as I am dying to see, touch, experience the construction, the care and yes the pure love of fashion that goes into it.  I promise when I do, I will share every bit of the experience with you.  Rodarte is the kind of collection we should celebrate ladies!!!!  You may not understand how it fits into your lifestyle (yet), but I promise their gift to fashion is just the pure fact that we haven't quite grasped the Rodarte vision...we all just need to catch up and when we do, I promise it will be magical!!!

~Nancy

Easy Edge At Jill Stuart

I have to say that I am loving the ladies this week.  The female design set has given me cause to jump up and say yes!!!  They just get women.  I celebrated DVF for her design sixth sense and now I want to give props to my longtime fav Jill Stuart.  She is another designer who just gets it.  She knows her girl, she understands her lifestyle, she knows how to make her feel and look pretty, while giving her the edge she desires.  Pretty is her signature and although the FW '09 collection was certainly toughened up, it was still "fem" perfection...slightly Twilight-esque, but still sweet and innocent.  I say it time and time again, the frilly, rocker chic vibe is just my thing.  I love it, I covet it...so it should come as no surprise that I am beyond excited about this perfect presentation.

Every season I look to Jill to give me amazing frocks and I am already coveting so many for her recent show.  The lace dresses and tops were fab, the poet blouses with those exaggerated sleeves, so romantic and the ruffled, almost wedding gown-like pieces were doll-like and oh-so desirable.  I also adored the floral mini-dresses and the gorgeous, feathered knitwear.  The simplicity of the almost entirely black and white collection looked fresh to me (yes others have done this as well) and put an exclamation point on the effect Jill Stuart was going for.

I haven't reviewed any accessories yet, but I feel compelled to mention the to-die for shoes in this collection.  This last fall, she offered some of the best boots of the season and FW '09 looks to be even stronger.  Her cut-out shoe boots are some of the best I have seen yet and I cannot wait to get my hands on them. The hair was also perfect...easy, sexy, feminine.  Finally, I loved the fedoras.  They just looked right on her girl and also had a softening effect to the more dramatic, hard-edged looks.  Kudos to her team for smart, simple styling!!

Now ladies if some of the show concepts this week seem overwhelming, way too youthful and at times too tough, don't despair...brands like Jill Stuart and especially Jill Stuart know how to take the conceptual to the real world; so I can guarantee you will want to flock to her Soho store come September to stock up on all of her slightly edgy, easy to wear, easier to covet pieces!!!

DVF's NYC Vibe

Before I start my review, you know how much I love the avant garde, fashion that makes me think, design that pushes my limits.  That said I also have a profound appreciation for the designers who just get it.  They know what women want, they know how to make women feel great and most of all they deliver season after season.  Diane Von Furstenberg is that designer.  She has built a phenomenal global business that most brands only dream to have and it all started with such a simple idea...the perfect print, the perfect shape, the perfect dress.  I recently reviewed a spectacular collection of vintage DVF wrap dresses from the 1970s from Chelsea Girl Vintage in Soho and it reminded me how only a major talent with a relentless vision can create one item (not a logo) that stands the test of time and for which the brand is always recognized...pretty amazing!!!

What I also love about DVF is that the brand evolves, yet never loses site of the core customer; the FW '09 show was a perfect example of the brand's journey.  Diane Von Furstenberg delivered a global collection that was chic, optimistic and completely modern and relevant. I always feel that she truly celebrates women and realizes that girls just want to have fun...one of my personal credos.  I read that she was inspired by nomadic cultures and I definitely see the connection, but my take was slightly different.  I thought the collection was so NYC, the ultimate melting pot.  Sure I am biased, but I think New York is the center of the world and that New Yorkers are perhaps the ultimate nomads...we are world travelers, we represent the world culturally and ethinically and we influence global fashion.  To me the DVF Fall '09 was about the quintessential NYC woman...how she lives her life and how she relates to the world at large. 

I loved the pattern and texture mixing...the whole collection looked so tactile, so rich, so luxurious.  Some called it comfortable, but I think it was less about cocooning and more about being out there, standing out...true self-expression.  The prints (particularly the black and white and animal print groups) were some of the strongest I have seen yet and I adored the marled sweaters... The vibrant plaid on color-blocking looks were fab and will sure to be must-haves and I will surely be coveting the sequined dresses (yes, I love my bling).  Not a wrap dress in site, yet the same pure concept...the perfect print, the perfect shape, the perfect FW '09 collection!!!

~Nancy

Marc Jacobs 80's "Flashforward"

Marc Jacobs has slowly been building into my ultimate obsession and I think that after seeing his Fall '09 collection, it is 100% official.  He is a fashion genius and at times a fashion god.  He has the amazing ability to transform his vision, his inspiration into at times controversial, at times awe-inspiring designs that push our limits and make us stand up and cheer.  More than any other designer, he brings to life an era, an idea in such a way that it forces us to look forward instead of looking back.  Something as literal as his grunge collection felt forward thinking and his Fall 2009 nod to the 80's does the same.  Marc Jacobs 80's feels more like what the 80's would look like if they happened now or even ten years from now...less Pat Benetar, less Madonna, more Maggie Gyllenhaal, Cameron Diaz. 

Sure the collection was filled with the requisite 80's shoulders, "Flashdance" knits and tutu-shaped skirts, but the resemblance was blurred by his purely modern aesthetic.  Marc Jacobs's shoulders were sculpted and architectural, not angular and severe...his knits revealed skin only by perfectly formed opening, not by the intentional ripping and tearing of a garment...his hard-edged skirt and dress shapes were organically draped, paneled and pleated, not formed by messy layers of tulle and lace.  The color palette was at times subdued, at times eye-popping, yet always balanced.  Neons were used in an intelligent manner...almost as a way to highlight the neutrals they were paired with and not to steal the show.  Marc Jacobs continues to be the true mix master.  His talent for mixing pattern, print, texture and color is unparalleled and he constantly challenges that which makes sense.  The effect is always dramatic and rich!!!

I loved almost every look, every piece, everything about this show (ok maybe not the hair) and I will be shocked if any other collection will inspire me more this season. Marc Jacobs is the ultimate trend maker and for this I am truly grateful!!!

~Nancy

Spurr Of The Moment

It was so great to experience the Spurr buzz on Saturday evening.  There was a packed house at the fabulous Milk Studios and one had a sense that Simon Spurr had truly arrived.  It was a great moment for the brand and perhaps a sign of what is to come...  Simon Spurr and his longtime friend Judd Nydes launched Spurr a couple of years ago.  They felt that there was a big void in American fashion...a need for a more global view perhaps.  This should come of no surprise as Simon is from the UK, so of course he designs with a more international sensibility.  The collection was originally built around key luxury items that every man should own...the perfect pair of jeans, the most fashionable pea coat, a well-tailored, modern suit.  Remember how Donna Karan used to create her menswear line back in the 1990s, the brand's heyday?  She consciously built it around ten easy pieces.  Don't worry I am not likening Spurr to Donna Karan, I am simply pointed out that starting from a simple idea is perhaps the smartest way to build a menswear collection.  So many menswear designers today get caught in the trap of trying to just be too creative, too avant garde, too the "designer of the moment" and what they are left with is a brand that just doesn't have commercial legs.  After Saturday's presentation, I am more than ever convinced that Spurr is not such a brand.

The inspiration for the collection was 2001 Space Odyssey, though luckily a direct link was not formed. Sure some of the pieces would have been perfect in a modern remake of the famed Stanley Kubrick film, but other than that the reference was beyond subtle. The collection was actually pure Spurr with rich fabrics, sleek, sexy lines and just a splash of rasberry and Spurr's signature yellowish camel to provide some oomph.  The leathers were standouts and reinforced the subtle cool guy element always present in the line.  I also loved to see experimentation with texture, with marled tweeds and subtle plaids naturally breaking up the soft black, gray and white palette.  Of course the line included that perfect pea, a tubular and quite modern down jacket, impeccably crafted clothing and yes, must-have denim.  Some have called Spurr the American Dior Homme (Hedi Slimane days).  While I definitely can see subtle a reference (sleek, clean, trim), I think it would be more appropriate to think of Spurr as simply Spurr, as Simon's vision and talent clearly speaks for itself!!!

~Nancy

Boy Meets Girl

Being a long time menswear industry person, I have a profound appreciation for the design set who have done the impossible...translated their menswear mastery into chic, covetable women's fashion.  Of course this is never easy, as women don't ever want to look masculine...so big kudos to two brands that I think just get it right!!!

The first is appropriately named Boy by Band of Outsiders.  Press and fashion set darling Scott Sternberg has successfully crossed over to the dark side... Boy has graduated from simple shirts, jackets and pants that look like little boy clothing (much like shopping in the Brooks Brothers Boys department) to a more feminized point of view...part chic Parisian school girl, part collegiate cool, the new Fall collection is definitely for the "It Girl" set.  I particularly loved the new trousers...cropped to perfection or full and Annie Hall-esque they will absolutely be on my must-have list.  I also loved the proportion of the more tailored looks...Boy doesn't fall entirely into this season's nipped blazer trend, instead offering us easy, almost cardigan-like options alongside some of the best shaped versions so far. I am also crazy for the shoes...I think the the high-top sneaker inspired heels are genius!!!

Next I was so happy to see Swaim and Christina Hutson back on the scene...as you may or may not know, their critically acclaimed Obedient Sons & Daughters was shuttered after their financing dried up.  They reintroduced themselves under their new brand name Hutson with a small presentation at the Bowery Hotel.  Although the offering was tight, I was inspired to see their new direction.  Like Boy, known more for a school boyish view of women, they delivered an evolved vision that was overtly girly.  They experimented with extreme, almost prom dress-like ruffles in heavier flannel fabrics and also used placed ruffles strategically throughout...perhaps their version of the new power female so dominant on the catwalks. Yes tough to wear, but interesting nonetheless.  They also soften up masculine shapes with tactile angora, cocoon-like coats and a 1930s-inspired pant shape...high-waisted, full-legged and definitely feminine.  It will be interesting to see what comes of this talented pair and their new highly anticipated Hutson line...I for one am absolutely rooting for them!!!

~Nancy

"Comey" Hither

 

You are going to see a lot of back and forth from me this week as I cover ONLY the collections I loved...what I mean by this, is that I am equally enamored with this power rock chic image a la Wang and several others and an overt romantic, femininity or girliness celebrated by my new "adulation" Rachel Comey. 

Rachel Comey is another designer who stays true to her vision...no overt trendiness for her.  She creates charming clothes that have sort of a raw sex appeal.  Sure the styling has a lot to do with this, but I always feel like there is this underlying "come hither" attitude in every piece.  She has an amazing knack for tapping into our coquettish nature and for bringing us fashion that makes us simply feel good.  If you recall, her Spring show was one of my top 5 favorites and although Fall didn't make me swoon quite as much, I still feel compelled to comment.

  

Several of the looks were a bit heavy...lots of layering and at times, tough to wear shapes.  That said, the strength of the collection is and has always has been in her whimsical use of prints.  I am always I big fan of wearing spring-like, floral prints all year (I talk about this often) and Rachel Comey gives us some of the best to work with.  I still love the romance of layering these dresses with great knitwear and Rachel also delivers with some of the best sweaters of the season...her double-layered cardigans (her signature) are enchanting and her distressed pieces (a nod to Rodarte perhaps) add that downtown, cool chick factor (also a signature).  She also is one of the best at subtle and sometimes overt pattern mixing and while there was less of it this time around, when it worked, it WORKED.  Finally, although I just said that some of the shapes were difficult, she experimented effectively with some of the draped, tulip-like skirts.  The overall collection felt perhaps a little bit more grown up than the spring line, but Rachel Comey still delivered an evocative show that celebrated our feminine wiles.  In my book, she is definitely one to covet and one that will make you covetable!!!!

~Nancy

Wang Rocks NYC

So I waited breathlessly all day on Saturday to hear if my PR friend could get me into the hottest ticket in town, the Alexander Wang FW '09 show and i got the call at about 5:00, just as I was leaving the Spurr presentation at Milk Studios.  Alas, it was not meant to be...  Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise, as it turned out to be a major madhouse with a ridiculously long line around the corner of the famed Roseland Ballroom...apparently several noteables barely made it in, even after waiting for a good 45 minutes. All I have to say is thank God for my front row seat at Style.com!

I am currently having an Alexander Wang love/hate affair.  He is beyond on fire!!! Stores can't keep the product in stock...it is semi-affordable and gives us fashion girls a taste of the kind of innovative design one sometimes only finds on the European runways. I called his white, jersey, goddess dress the dress of the Spring season. That said the collection is definitely designed with the 20-something set in mind, so at times can look a bit youthful on my generation. Yes, I know what you are thinking...I never care about age appropriateness, so why do I with AW.  Its not that I can't find great items that work for me, it is just that so many of the styles are clearly conceived for a model-esque figure.  I want it, but I can't always wear it!!!

 

So what did I think of the new collection?  I loved it!!!!  NY is sort of having a rock-n-roll moment and Alexander Wang gave us the best of it.  His woman was part powerful, fashion-superhero and part futuristic rock goddess.  Every look was shown with fab, motocross-like capri leggings which I am sure will be the must-haves on the coming Fall season.  He also styled about half the show with tough to wear biker shorts which I am sure won't be a big statement at retail.  The leather jackets or jackets in general were to-die...perfectly shaped and so sexy.  The bandage dresses also were highlights, but the piece-de-resistance was a show-stopping crystal embellished dress, which I am sure will be my answer to Spring's white goddess dress. Sure I saw a little Balmain in the collection, but the core was pure Wang.  The new collection is still model-esque, but I did get the sense that he was thinking of a broader audience this time around as he experimented with texture via some gorgeous tweed-like pieces.  Overall, though, you still need to be fit and confident to pull this one off!!!  I for one plan on being in tip top shape as this will be sure to be one of my absolute wants come September...

~Nancy

Haute Hipster!!!

As you know by now, I am a huge fan of Haute Hippie!!!  I love everything about this brand...is the design over-the-top innovative?  Not necessarily, but what designer Trish Wescoat understands more than just about anyone in the contemporary world is what a girl wants... The feminine, playful, sensual designs are more than just Boho Chic, they truly represent today's modern dilettante, party-girl.  I want to share some commentary from another fellow blogger as I really think it was right on.  "I like their tres glam approach which feels more "Almost Famous" than "Dazed & Confused."  Perfect...100% on the money.  The line is so "Penny Lane", but set in the year 2009. 

Haute Hippie did their FW '09 presentation right.  Set in their amazing showroom, they threw a recession-chic, rock-n-roll bash on Friday night.  The party was packed with a big-time, hipster crowd thanks to their style curator and owner of Q Models, Natalie Kates and a famed DJ spun the ultimate mix of old school, throw-down rock.  They only served beer and tequila straight up.  The presentation amounted to a bevy of model beauties, on stage, dancing to the tunes, further alluding to a rock concert atmosphere.  The overall affect was a high-energy, high-impact celebration of women and of course of fashion.

The line is known for its highly embellished, easy, fluid pieces perfect for any night on the town, yet  conceived for daywear as well.  What I love about it most is its consistency.  So many young brands feel the need to evolve too quickly, which results in a lack of clarity and brand vision...not Haute Hippie!!!  The signature use of beading, fringe, feathers and hardware embellishment did not disappoint and new additions to the collection such as silk prints and some select leather pieces were welcome.  The glitz and glamour was contagious...I wanted every single look.  My favorites were still the allover sequined dresses, though a nude silk dress with placed beading was a stunner.  They also did something really smart...I mean after all, these shows/presentations/parties are all about commerce at the end of the day... They displayed racks of clothes throughout the space so that revelers could see get a more complete view of the breadth of the line.  My favorite rack was filled with styles from their Pure collection, which are the ultimate layering pieces...the perfect tanks, boy shorts and tees mixed in with some of the best gypsy inspired knitwear.  I could just imagine wrapping myself the oh-so fab, wool boucle, ankle length vest on a Sunday afternoon.  Like I said...absolutely what a girl wants!!!!  The presentation hasn't hit Style.com and may not, but to see a little slideshow, click here.

As a reminder, you can get your hands on what I am sure is becoming the new It Girl line, at Saks, Nordstorm, ShopBop and others...  This is one easy, breezy and beyond glam brand, so rock your inner "Penny Lane" and go Haute Hippie!!!!