Oct 10, 2009 | Fashion
(Forever21 shirt, DIY chain harness, DIY zipper cuff bracelet, Hot Topic watch, leggings from Japan,
Sam Edelman Zoe Platform Booties, Icing by Claire’s “Dream” knuckle duster ring,
Cartier and Tiffany rings, jumpring opening ring tool)Woohoo! Post #250 already!
Day #3 of Portland Fashion Week saw me in this – since I was only going to be covering a few designers for the shows that night, I decided to finally try out my brand-spanking-new Sam Edelman’s, from Amazon.com (and thanks to that gift card I’d been holding onto for 3 months!).
It was already getting pretty dark out while we were shooting…in retrospect, we should have upped the ISO since everything turned out slightly blurry. Anyway, you get the picture.
What to say? I got tons of compliments on the boots, but my metatarsal bones were hating me after just an hour. 5 3/4″ heels really put alot of strain on the foot. Anyway.
Zipper cuff is my DIY version of the Kate Cusack cuff that’s been out there for awhile…I left the zipper pull on the teeth for interest. You can buy the original for $110 at her Etsy store.
I fell in love with this two-finger ring from Icing by Claire’s the moment I saw it…they also had “Love” and “Peace” versions, both silver and gold. I love that it’s a knuckle duster that says “Dream.” How ridiculous is that??
And I was making jewelry that morning and forgot to remove my jumpring tool! It’s just a little ring [on left index finger] with slits in it for anchoring jumprings as you pry the other end open with pliers…and I realized, hey this is jewelry too! So I just left it on. Wearing some of my wedding rings which I rarely wear since they get scratched super-easily by coming in contact with just about anything. Who knew platinum was such a soft metal??? My $5 nickel jumpring tool is still shiny and perfect, whereas my platinum Cartier ring is a mess of scratches. What gives?
It’s Portland! I figured the tee slogan was particularly appropriate. [“To be Green is to Be Serene.” Made by Forever21, likely using non-green, non-ethical manufacturing practices. Super-irony.]
Chain harness is a copy of the one Norwegian Wood makes…I have the zipper and chains laying around, so I just DIY’ed my own. I am so in love with everything from that brand…and I’m saving up for a little bustle suspender set and feather-shoulder harness.
And then my son decided to take off his pants and get his picture taken too.
Mommy’s trying to look pretty, ok? Just…can you move over to this side…please…?
Oh, for goodness’ sakes.
Portland Fashion Week is…so far, interesting…somewhat of a letdown in the quality and innovation of the designs…a lot of it seems RTW straight off the Macy’s racks…
But that’s for another post…
Hope everyone’s enjoying their weekends!
xoxox
Carly
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Oct 7, 2009 | Fashion
In case you were wondering what happened to that chick with the flirty dresses and bad posture from “The Fashion Show” (that aired in late Spring 2009 on Bravo; admit it! You were watching since “Project Runway” was still a couple months off and there was nothing to watch except that horrible Isaac-Mizrahi-fueled train wreck)…
Anna McCraney, winner of “The Fashion Show” on Bravo, launches her Spring 2010 collection under the label Annabelle, inspired by the photographs Sally Mann took of her children, published in her book Immediate Family. According to critics, the photos “captured the confusing emotions and developing identities of adolescent girls” and created “a place that looked like Eden, then casting upon it the subdued and shifting light of nostalgia, sexuality and death.” For Anna, they evoke memories of her own childhood, growing up in the South, the good, the bad, and the ugly, seen through the eyes of a child.
Sorry, but the one on the left cannot possibly be a dress. Didn’t she watch Project Runway Season 2 and remember Zulema’s barely-butt-covering gold disaster?Some of Sally Mann’s photographs:
This one truly disturbed me until I found out it was a candy cigarette. It’s still disturbing. Yeesh.
Visit
her website to learn more.
(I could do without the photo of her on the toilet, just FYI.)
What do we all think of her collection?
In the infamous words of the many idiot judges that passed through those chairs on the show….
I’d buy it.
-Carly J. Cais
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Oct 4, 2009 | Fashion
Viktor & Rolf is one of my favorite big-name designers; with each successive collection they always push the envelope; their clothes border on the theatrical, the jaw-dropping…but always feature amazing details that separate them from the pack.
They say: “We are attracted and inspired by what we call mega-women: strong women who follow their own path and are uncompromisingly themselves.
“[Irish singer-songwriter] Roisin Murphy is a source of inspiration for us. We share with her the need for theatricality and performance in our work. Roisin personifies a power of transformation. On-stage she easily morphs into a beautifully fierce character, while off-stage she is the counterpart of her theatrical self: soft-spoken, modest, even quiet.
“Apart from the innovative and terrific music she makes, she has a unique sense of style that is fearless and uncompromising. She wears theatrical pieces with the ease of a t-shirt, making them her own. It is an honour for us that Roisin will be performing live at our show!
“For us, fashion is more than the trend of the season. A fashion show is a way to communicate with a bigger audience, not just the inner fashion circle. Music plays a powerful part in this communication as does the internet. To exemplify this, our show, including Roisin’s performance, will be available on our website the very same evening”.
Roisin says: “I am a huge fan of Viktor & Rolf, their designs encapsulate futuristic techniques and wry surrealism, the clothes are literally a thrill to wear. I have been known to go to some extremes in my fashion choices but the Viktor & Rolf dress that I wore for my ‘Overpowered’ promotion had it’s own sound and lighting rig incorporated which tops them all.
“I find levels of story and concept in their work and have road tested many of their designs on stage. For my performances I am looking for clothing to amplify the often conflicting emotions in my own work. I want nothing to box me in as a performer , any notions of “chic” must be counterbalanced with humour and wit, intelligence comes with fearlessness and joy comes with the memory of pain. Being human is a complex business and that is exactly what I wish to reflect, even in the way I dress. These ideas are timeless and so are Viktor & Rolf”.
At the moment of the show, Roisin is highly pregnant, which gives an extra symbolic layer to her performance. It expresses a feeling of hope and positivity for the future, starting right now and with the Spring/Summer 2010 Collection.
Viktor & Rolf have posted the live performance to their website- viewable below.
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Oct 2, 2009 | Fashion
So I’m sure all of you already know about RueLala, the online destination for designer sample sales where fabulous merchandise is often marked down to 30-80% off retail…
But if you haven’t and/or are not a member yet, they’re running a promotion now where all new members who sign up get their account immediately credited with $10! (They usually don’t do random account credits, so definitely take advantage of it while you can!
The promotion runs until Oct. 10 so click and join – there’s no obligation, and you get an instant account credit!
(I’m a member under my legal married name…you don’t be surprised when you click through and see a different name at the top of the page…it’s still me!:-)
xoxo
Carly
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Oct 1, 2009 | Fashion
Being not really one of gingham’s biggest fans, I can safely safe I’m not falling all over myself about this collection. Now, don’t get me wrong – I love Christopher Kane, and his scallop-edged dresses and gorilla-print dress (that I’m currently working on a DIY for!) from previous seasons were gorgeous and to die for. (DIY for?)
But gingham’s a difficult print to work with, especially with such a large-scale check print, and the leg slits don’t lend any sophistication to the pieces. I applaud his use of an unconventional fabric and his inclusion of his signature mesh paneling in the dresses – it’s nice to see consistency from collection to collection. But gingham is an unconventional fabric simply because of how it conjures up images from “down home on the farm” and it’s difficult to make it look sophisticated and chic, though CK definitely tried his best with these dresses. They just look overworked – too much detail, too much piping, flowers that were probably beautiful close-up but in the photos look like a collection of worms, slits too high and too revealing- all of which doesn’t downplay the cheesiness of the tablecloth-like print.
See more after the jump…
What do all of you think?
Photos: Marcio Madeira, Style.com
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Sep 30, 2009 | Fashion
JewelryFlash.com has just been launched – and it’s a mega shopping site dedicated to everyone’s favorite weakness: jewelry!
Brought to you by the team from DesignerApparel.com, they aggregate jewelry and watch item from all the top shopping websites: Neiman Marcus, Max and Chloe, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale’s, ShopBop, Nordstrom, Revolve Clothing, Singer 11, Bluefly, and Zappos (and there’s plenty more!). It’s like visiting all your favorite store under one roof so you don’t have to hunt around. You’ll find casual jewelry from Chan Luu and Dogeared, hot trend items from Erickson Beamon and CC Skye, classic standbys from David Yurman and Judith Ripka, and plenty of watches from designers like Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, and Movado.
At JewelryFlash.com you can also sign up for MySale, a daily email newsletter sent to your inbox with updates on new items and sales on brands hand-selected by you. And they’re giving away a designer bag, so when you sign up for MySale you’ll be automatically entered to win!
-Carly J. Cais
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