Nov 6, 2009 | Fashion
With the Hilary Swank movie Amelia hitting theaters less than 2 weeks ago, you may have noticed a resurgence in aviator fashion recently. Despite the fact that movie is, er, bombing at the box office, the leather bomber jacket has become a trend in and of itself, being spotted on many celebrities recently such as Hilary Duff, Vanessa Hudgens, and Katie Cassidy. I think I’ll skip the $550 Miss Top Gun Aviator Jacket Katie’s wearing, though.
I saw the Forever21 Pilot Leatherette Jacket ($44.80) on some site somewhere, and wondered if the real thing indeed lived up to its rather crappy-seeming photo. With Forever21, you never know. Especially outerwear, which always seems to be made terribly (no lining, splitting seams, el cheapo outer fabric, you know). So I made my way to my nearest Forever21 to check out the goods in person.
And I didn’t even want a bomber jacket. I didn’t think it would suit me. The aviator look is something I didn’t think I could work, quite frankly.
But!
It was all over as soon as I touched the jacket.
It’s made well. Really, really well. Tons of details, heavy to the touch, soft plushy fleece lining (none of this crappy pilling that you find on cheap fleece), strong, topstitched seams, fabulous buttons, lovely cracked “leatherette”…even a nice leather-y smell. I can go on an on about how great this jacket is…and how it certainly should demand a higher price than its $45 tag. It could be sold for $150 at least, and no one would notice the difference. (I hope no one in Forever21’s marketing team is reading this, lest they get impure ideas.)
So I paired it with my tie-dye jeans (love the super-saturated color on them), my aviator shades that Hub tells me make me look like Tom Cruise in Top Gun (like in a bad way), and my over-the-knee Colin Stuart cordovan [whatever that is] boots from Victoria’s Secret. Too much? I look like I have my own personal turbo-prop stored in the backyard somewhere.
Love it!
xoxxo
Carly
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Nov 5, 2009 | Media
Another V Magazine spread for ya! (It published yesterday, so I’m a little behind…sorry.)
Natalie Portman was shot by Mario Testino for issue #62 of V Magazine, winter 2009/10 which hits newsstands today. She wears Calvin Klein Jeans with crystallized Swarovski elements on the cover. Claire Richardson styled her and the shoot took place in London. Natalie appears sexy androgynous and tough with her “pompadour” hairstyle.
A star at the age of 12, Natalie Portman could have found herself a victim of fast fame. Instead, the insanely talented, supremely beautiful, and intensely focused young actress has carved out a Hollywood career of stunning depth. Now she’s expanding her repertoire in the season’s war blockbuster “Brothers”, starring in her first-ever sex scene, and speaking her mind, as always.
Now I don’t what they’re talking about with the Calvin Klein jeans reference (must be in some other photos) but I am D.I.YING over her jewel-encrusted shoulder-thingies. Not sure where I would wear them, though!
What do all of you think? Is she fierce and fabulous? Or is it the stylist that is?
-Carly J. Cais
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Nov 3, 2009 | Score!
So Challenge #2: The Studded Ankle Boot is now LIVE on StyleList.com and Bluefly.com…
I’d love to have your vote if you liked how I styled it…
Plus there’s that $1000 Bluefly.com shopping spree up for grabs -AND you can vote every day to increase your chances of winning!
So please vote if you can by clicking the widget above or accessing the contest through StyleList.com or Bluefly.com!
Thanks for your support!:-)
xoxox
Carly
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Nov 3, 2009 | Score!
(silk crepe shirtdress, handmade necklace, marled chunky-knit wrap sweater, cross-body chain bag, Prada Ash Suede Studded Ankle Boots, script “love” and “dream” rings)
It took forever to find the perfect shoe to go with her ensemble for the evening. It was going to be a magical evening: dinner, dancing…something romantic and long-awaited. She had the perfect outfit already…
She planned to create something alluring, but edgy and sophisticated. A crepe shirtdress shot through with threads of silver and gold. A chunky-knit sweater in latte brown to keep the November winds at bay. Gold rings with cursive curliques: words reminding her to dream more and to love more. A cross-body chain bag with a brass doorknocker as an amusing detail. She even had the perfect necklace to offset the femininity of the look: a piece she had made herself after a trip to the hardware store, adorned with straight couplings and compression nuts in burnished gold (sourced from the plumbing section), strung on dove gray satin ribbon. (No one would ever realize!)
But the shoe was the piece de resistance; she needed something elegant and understated. Something on-trend but subdued…something to play up the feminine chicness of the outfit but not overpower the muted palette and gleaming accessories.
To that end, she knew she had found a match with Bluefly.com‘s Prada ash suede studded boots. In a beautiful taupe velvet (so not completely matchy-matchy), the high heel was to-die-for – and the gunmetal studding caught the light in a darkly dangerous glitter. They were perfect – and would soon whisk her away on an evening to remember.
The ensemble was not for everywoman; just for those who wanted to be remembered.
Thank you and I’d love to have your vote on StyleList.com!
xoxox
Carly
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Nov 2, 2009 | Score!
Are you an aspiring designer?
Are you fueled by adrenaline, able to rise to any challenge thrown at you?
Do you see Project Runway as a competition for wimps?
Then irreverent, in-your-face STYLE WARS may just be your ticket to fame and stardom.
Sign up to compete in the
US Style Battle Championships 2009
“A guerilla Project Runway” -The Los Angeles Times
“If Fashion had an Olympic Sport, it might look like Style Wars” – The Chicago Sun-Times
“The start of one designer’s rise to stardom!” -San Francisco Chronicle
Fusing the intensity of a rap battle with the glamour of high fashion, House of Diehl’s STYLE BATTLING™ is a fresh new fashion competition that pits designers head-to-head to cut, slash, twist and tape, creating fashion LIVE in 5-minute knock-out rounds.
With 15 shows worldwide, Style Wars has jumpstarted the careers of young designers with the guts and the talent. Can you make new looks from recycled clothing and household objects? Can you cook a look faster than Pat Field on PCP? Are you a take-no-prisoners talent? Then, this is the competition for you!
It’s DESIGN OR DIE as the crowd and a panel of celebrity judges decide who stays in the game, and who bites the dust. The battle selection committee includes designer Claw Money, celebrity stylist Rebecca Weinberg, model Elettra Rossellini Wiedemann, producer Dallas Austin, and more!
Past judges include Catherine Malandrino, Agent Provocateur’s Joe Corre, and Mick Rock.
Think you have what it takes?
And don’t miss Style Wars live on tour this Fall!
Nov 4 LIV @ Fontainbleu Miami
Nov 7 Don Hill’s New York
Nov 13 Opera Atlanta
Nov 18 Cinespace Los Angeles
Nov 21 Mezzanine San Francisco
STEP UP. BATTLE LIVE. WIN MAD PRIZES– INCLUDING A FEATURE IN SURFACE MAGAZINE!
So get those applications in – or if you happen to be in any of the above cities on the Style Battle dates – drop by to take a gander at the freshest, craziest improv fashion competition around.
-Carly J. Cais
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(Forever21 Pilot Jacket, Newport-News scrunch neck turtleneck, Aviator sunglasses from I forgot,
With the Hilary Swank movie Amelia hitting theaters less than 2 weeks ago, you may have noticed a resurgence in aviator fashion recently. Despite the fact that movie is, er, bombing at the box office, the leather bomber jacket has become a trend in and of itself, being spotted on many celebrities recently such as Hilary Duff, Vanessa Hudgens, and Katie Cassidy. I think I’ll skip the $550 Miss Top Gun Aviator Jacket Katie’s wearing, though.
I saw the Forever21 Pilot Leatherette Jacket ($44.80) on some site somewhere, and wondered if the real thing indeed lived up to its rather crappy-seeming photo. With Forever21, you never know. Especially outerwear, which always seems to be made terribly (no lining, splitting seams, el cheapo outer fabric, you know). So I made my way to my nearest Forever21 to check out the goods in person.
It’s made well. Really, really well. Tons of details, heavy to the touch, soft plushy fleece lining (none of this crappy pilling that you find on cheap fleece), strong, topstitched seams, fabulous buttons, lovely cracked “leatherette”…even a nice leather-y smell. I can go on an on about how great this jacket is…and how it certainly should demand a higher price than its $45 tag. It could be sold for $150 at least, and no one would notice the difference. (I hope no one in Forever21’s marketing team is reading this, lest they get impure ideas.)
So I paired it with my tie-dye jeans (love the super-saturated color on them), my aviator shades that Hub tells me make me look like Tom Cruise in Top Gun (like in a bad way), and my over-the-knee Colin Stuart cordovan [whatever that is] boots from Victoria’s Secret. Too much? I look like I have my own personal turbo-prop stored in the backyard somewhere.
Love it!
