Mar 2, 2010 | Fashion, Life
I know, right? Again????
Full disclosure: I am in Hawaii now and desperately trying to catch up on posting all my New York Fashion Week coverage from my laptop that I was silly enough to bring with me.
Hub’s best friend had his wedding February 12. His brother has his wedding March 6. Both decided to have their weddings in Hawaii.
So what does one do? Decide to only go for one of the weddings? (You’d have to go to your brother’s, obviously.) Go for the first one, stay in Hawaii 4 weeks, go for the second one, then go home? Or go to Hawaii for the first wedding, fly back, the go back to Hawaii a few weeks later?
Well, that’s kind of how it worked out for us (except for me going to New York Fashion Week in-between). It turned out the roundtrip plane tickets for all of us were way cheaper than the cost of daily meals, hotel, pets’ boarding fees, missed school for Lil Tot, etc., so we decided to fly back to Portland in-between.
Basically we had a week in-between our flights. I’m a little tired of living out of a suitcase by now!
(H&M DIY’ed destroyed sweater, Old Navy lame-knit tanktop, unknown brand bag from Pineapple County, Forever21 rhinestone bracelets and double-wrap belt, Norma Kamali for Spiegel convertible minidress worn as a skirt, Wet Seal gold chain flats)
Bought the H&M sweater while in New York and because it had a small hole in it I was able to get it at a whole 10% off discount the original $26 price. [wooo. Not.] So I unraveled ladders in it a bit more, ended up with it looking really cool and Raquel Allegra‘d…and then snagged it moments after this photo was taken on my bracelets, thus altering it from an intentionally-destroyed sweater…to a sweater that just looked like I’d pulled it out of the trash. Not good.
I finally figured out what these skull studs are a knockoff of – Thomas Wylde‘s designs! It was bugging the hell out of me. I found this bag for $40 at Pineapple County last…last week when I was in Honolulu, and today when I was browsing in the store the salesgirl asked me if she could start wrapping up my bag for purchase. Problem with stores that sell affordable, cute merchandise: sales staff is usually clueless LOL.
I’ll be leaving…on a jet plane soon. Again. Arrrgh!
Day after the “tsunami” and everything is fine here – just a little windy.
xoxox
Carly
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Mar 1, 2010 | Fashion
From the website:
Designer, visionary, artist, Rad Hourani reinvented fashion by transcending its conventions, creating a unisex luxury that is changing women’s and men’s wardrobes since he launched his namesake label in 2007 in Paris. He follows no gender, no season, no rules, epitomising the very modern values of freedom, passion and unisex elegance.
RAD by Rad Hourani is a complementary unisex collection to the main label, and is recasting the same silhouettes in more casual cuts and fluid materials. Launched in 2009 in New York, the aseasonal collection consists of light and wearable basics in shades of black, white, grey and midnight blue. Classic styles include one size unisex top/dress with suspender straps, bold prints or dress/top/veste sheer paneling, zip straps pants/jeans, and drapey cardigans, embodied in long, layered silhouettes, razor-sharp tailoring, and simple and geometric yet intricately detailed pieces.
With prices ranging from $170 to $390, this diffusion line is just as cool but far more affordable than Hourani’s eponymous line. Buy online here.
And just because I love it, I’d also like to share with you images of the Rad Hourani A/W 2010 Unisex collection:
I’d argue that maybe the tights and liquid-look bike shorts on the men are not exactly unisex, but everything else is utterly covetable. I just want to drape myself in black, cocoon-like layers, like some insect shedding skin after successive skin.
Think Forever21 will ever do some knockoffs of this??
And would rad be too pedestrian a description for this anti-social chicness?
xoxoxo
Carly
images from radhourani.com
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Feb 28, 2010 | Fashion
“Preppy With a Pop”
From the PR company:
“The Fall 2010 collection retrofits Tommy Hilfiger’s preppy heritage from 1985 for a dynamic new decade. All-American sportswear that is uncontrived and luxurious; casual but refined. Classics get a cheeky spin as conventional Ivy League looks turn sophisticated.
“The women’s collection is for the rose-cheeked co-ed turned successful entrepreneur who channels a young Katharine Hepburn- East Coast pedigree with a whole lot of sass…The charm is in the mix…Dashing between work and play, she knows that confidence and a little savvy go a long way.”
Classic American sportswear. Many of these pieces I felt, were a surprise (in a good way!) coming from Tommy Hilfiger, a brand that hasn’t had a lot of good press in recent years. (Sweatshop accusations; the sale of the company to a private group; lagging sales, etc.)
But what distinguishes this from say, Michael Kors or Ralph Lauren? (Less luxe, I suppose.)
There’s a bit of unevenness going on, and I would have liked to see a more tightly-edited collection, but still there are some very wearable, covetable pieces in the bunch. (Silvery-gray gown at the end? Spangled black jacket? Yowza!)
Plus, it was the final show at the Bryant Park Tents forever…like as in, final for ever and ever, since Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week will be moving its venue to Lincolm Park come September. I would have loved to actually be inside and watch the show – but they were way over capacity, and while I was still standing in line to get in they closed the doors. I did meet a really cool girl with covetable Jil Sander booties while waiting in line – who works as a designer for the brand’s intimates line…and we had a fabulous time talking and bonding over her love of fine cuisine and our shared love of M.A.C. cosmetics. So I ended up watching the last show of the season on the TV monitors outside the venue.
What do you think of the pieces?
xoxox
Carly
(photos from Getty Images)
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Feb 27, 2010 | Fashion
clockwise, from upper left black boot:
More photos of the gorgeous Jeffrey Campbell X-On shoe…
At a mere $98 (!!!) I am itching to add these to my Spring wardrobe. Pure hotness on a stick. Karmaloop, you are killing me!
Luuuuuuust.
(I actually ordered the Percy Boot from Alloy in the beautiful light gray canvas [$39.90 was a great price + you can take $20 off any order over $75 with code 20DISCA!]…can’t wait to post a piccy of it when it arrives!)
xoxox
Carly
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Feb 27, 2010 | Fashion
c. marchuska, an eco-friendly and sustainable brand, had their Fall/Winter 2010 show in the Lower East Side, closing the series of The Green Shows last week.
Conceived by Christine Marchuska and Brooke Bresnan and manufactured in New York, the brand has only been around since August 2009 according to their website, and strives to provide eco-conscious clothing that is chic yet affordable to the modern woman. Both founders formerly worked on Wall Street and share a philanthropic passion for Safe Horizon, the nation’s leading victim assistance organization, donating a portion of their annual proceeds to the organization. Since inception the brand has had a lot of press and had some celebrities (such as Brad Pitt!) wearing their pieces. Retailing from around $38 – $190, c. marchuska’s pieces are touted as affordable, available in a variety of colors on their website, and the epitome of understated chic.
I expected quite a lot of the chow because there was an impressive turnout there – the tiny venue at The Green Shows was packed! – standing room was three rows deep (though there was only space for one row to be honest). There was also a lady (likely a socialite) sitting front row who had brought her tiny, clothed doggy with her to the show – the poor pooch was quite unnerved by the loud music and crush of people and she eventually stuffed him back into her handbag.
Now, on to the clothes…
These are just a few pieces from them since I didn’t feel like hunting down the official images of the entire show – I feel this pretty much represents what the show was all about.
Though the clothes were indeed wearable and salable, they felt far more suited to a lookbook circulated among buyers and press rather than a full-blown runway show. A runway show is about the inspiration, the story, and above all the spectacle – and this brand still felt as if it was developing and struggling to find its own voice.
The “eco-friendly” principle is a great selling point, but unfortunately I feel that these conform to the often negative stereotype of “eco-friendly”…i.e., lots of jersey, loose silhouettes, indistinguishable looks, lack of embellishment, and a somewhat drab and singular color palette. Sure there were some cute pieces, but I truly feel if they want to grow as a brand they need to create something to distinguish them from the slew of other eco-friendly jersey-using girly-laid-back clothing lines out there…and refine their offerings for a runway show.
What’s your take on these looks?
More info about the brand and photos of their previous collections can be found on their website. You can buy c. marchuska in select stores around the country and on their site above.
xoxox
Carly
(photos provided by c. marchuska’s PR representative)
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Feb 26, 2010 | Fashion
(handmade snap tape bauble necklace, Forever21 long-sleeved top, handmade chiffon mini-bustier, Forever21 rhinestone knuckle ring, Icing by Claires silver rhinestone tendril ring, handmade studded fabric ring, Jeans Warehouse wool mini-shorts, Spanx reversible tights, Mossimo tricolor over-the-knee socks, GoJane slouch suede flat boots)
I wore this last Tuesday while in New York at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.
The night before I had noticed a few tiny flakes swirling down as I made my way back to my hotel. When I woke up Tuesday morning, outside it looked like this:
I began to be very sorry I had not brought my travel umbrella as the falling snow got heavier – and wetter- as the day went on. I spent 30 minutes curling my hair into a big Dallas-esque poof in the morning – and it went completely flat within an hour of being outside.
My feet were also soaked in their GoJane suede boots. (The only water-resistant shoes I had had a 4″ heel and my feet were aching so badly from the previous day’s city-trekking that I nixxed them in favor of flats.)
That day I took some photos of fashionable people in the tents, watched the
Pamella Roland show (I was third row – almost directly behind Brooke Shields!), shopped at
STEPS boutique, met a friend for a late lunch at Chef Yu, headed out to the Lower East side, poked in some boutiques (including Cloak & Dagger and
AlphabetsNYC), went to the Samantha Pleet show and interviewed the designer, then back to the tents at Bryant Park for the
Toni Francesc show.
Sorry for the bad pictured – camera troubles abounded, and eventually I was just using my Blackberry to snap photos.
I had a big piece of hair sticking out the left side of my head – why doesn’t anyone tell me these things before we take a photo????
I’m also experimenting with a matte nude lip – M.A.C. makes the best nude lipstick ever (exactly the same shade as my skin!!) called
Myth.
Well- at least I was warm (except for my feet) & comfortable! I barely took off my coat the entire day.
xoxo
Carly
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