Text and Videos, Vivian Kelly
SHANGAI
This City served as a source of inspiration last season for society designer, Douglas Hannant. This season, designer Tadashi Shoji drew inspiration from past and present Shanghai to deliver a beautiful collection that stars such as Olivia Spencer, will continue to love and wear.
To read more and to view my backstage video interview, click here for the full story on my new URL.
Enjoy!
Hi All!
In case you missed it the first time around, this is the new URL so when you come here – please get rid of the “wordpress” part of the address – you don’t need it anymore.
Here’s the new URL to bookmark : )
THE NEW URL IS: http://www.thefashionexaminer.com
Your subscriptions are GREATLY valued. p/s click the SUBSCRIBE button after entering you email on the new site and you’re good to go!
I’m posting every other day as usual and lots of good stories for spring 2012.
THANKS!
Cheers,
Vivian Kelly
Hi All!
In case you missed it the first time around, this is the new URL so when you come here – please get rid of the “wordpress” part of the address – you need it anymore.
THE NEW URL IS: http://www.thefashionexaminer.com
Your subscriptions are GREATLY valued and p/s click the SUBSCRIBE button after entering you email on the new site and you’re good to go!
I’m posting every other day as usual and lots of good stories for spring 2012.
THANKS!
XO Vivian
Hi Everyone!
Exciting news, I’m now under my own URL which will be going live tonight.
It is: http://www.thefashionexaminer.com
This version is THE NEW and IMPROVED The Fashion Examiner.
Thanks for following and this change would not have been possible without YOU all following me.
Looking forward to bringing you much more fun and fashion and style info.
Vivian Kelly
xoxo
latex woman: Pandemonia…dying by the time Jena Theo show rolled in…but loved every piece. Would buy 99% of it…it’s like they thought…what does Sofia like to wear…baggy black tops and skinny jeans it is.
STORY, Anthony Palermo
Preface,by Vivian Kelly
I’ve always admired gorgeous women with long blonde locks since I was 5 years old, starting with Goldilocks and later, Princess Aurora, Farrah Fawcett Majors, Marilyn Monroe and more recently, Blake Lively and Maria Sharapova. Family friend, William, then a Dutch University Student, and now a KLM pilot, jokingly showed me an image of Maria Sharapova on his iphone, casually calling her “my girlfriend” and then laughing when I believed him – for a second.
Apparently, we weren’t the only ones to think Maria was something really special.
This season, at NYFW, Maria was front row at some of New York’s biggest shows. Below, Anthony Palermo, tells us how his ALS partner, Leonard Zagami, created some fresh looks for the gorgeous tennis star. I’ve featured the one she sported at the Marc Jacobs show.
And, now… here’s Anthony!
“Mercedes Benz Fashion week is always filled with fabulous people. These Fall RTW 2012 collections were more about the who’s who in the front row. One of our all time favorites , Maria Sharapova , knows how to make an entrance and cause a frenzy on the court, but the real commotion starts when she is spotted at all the hottest shows! Celebrity make up artist and friend of the AnthonyLeonard Salon , Andie Markoe -Byrne, teamed up with Leonard Zagami, Creative Director of ALS, to complete Maria ’s looks for the shows.
Read on as Leonard explains look 1 of the 3 looks he gave the grand slammer for this very fashionable NYC Week!
AT Marc Jacobs:
Maria , seen here with famed photographer Patrick Demarchelier and his wife Mia , had a slightly pinned back side part . “I used Super Shine Cream by Oribe to get a sleek look with out it being too overdone” says Zagami. ” I also used a Kent Brush ( for fine hair) to help smooth down fly-aways”. Maria usually parts her hair in the middle so this was a great change for her!
Text, Vivian Kelly
Video Generously Provided by LaForce & Stevens Public Relations
I’ve always admired India Hicks’ elegant easy breezy appearance and manner, probably a result of her diverse life experience ranging from roughing it, backpacking around the world, to the polar extreme – serving as Princess Diana’s bridesmaid. I met her years ago, at a Michael Kors casting and she was just as she appears in public, down to earth and refined – someone you want to get to know better.
Speaking of royalty, India is from a family of design royalty. Her Father was the late David Hicks, whose work The New York Times* characterized as “relentlessly organized, color-clashing home interiors were the acme of jet-set chic in the 1960′s”.
She’s not just an annoying “the daughter of famous person X; India is down to earth a a working royal. India has some notable projects to her name, such as the hotel in the Bahamas she restored.
These images are from a wonderful site [Life of Style] I found late last night, which I’m now following.
India Hicks' Modernized Version of Babe's Round Hill Retreat
*FUN POLL: Play Interior Designer with me – which version of this glorious Round Hill home do YOU prefer?
A well-known example of her work is the re-design of Babe and William Paley’s former Jamaican residence. Yes, it WAS beautiful when Babe was in charge of the decor in 1959, but India has updated it and softened the decor.
In the video below, India talks about her design aesthetic.
After watching this, are you thinking, “Wow, her home is beautiful, but how am I ever getting some of that for my home?”
Answer: Until today, it was tough to do unless you
made the trip to the Sugar Mill Trading Company, India’s cultishly revered boutique on remote Harbour Island in The Bahamas. in other words, it was a super-insider thing.
Not any more!
As of today Friday, January 27th at 9:00 AM PT / Noon ET, India shares hand-picked global goods with MyHabit.com members through an exclusive curated sale featuring carefully selected styles for him, her and the home at up to 60% off .
Some of the island-inspired items for sale include: a silver seashell pendant, tie-waste tunic and beaded sandals, as well as luxury linens, throw pillows, trays and more from brands such as Thomas Paul and French Laundry.
* For more on the Jamaican Get-away, visit lifeofstyle-lifestyle.blogspot.com
It’s Friday, shop till you drop!
Text, Vivian Kelly
Kate Middleton’s little sis, Pippa, stole the show on Kate’s big day – her much anticipated wedding to Prince William. I woke up at 1:00a.m. EST, and started watching the arrivals, with half an eye open as ladies in pastel suits and over the top hats arrived at Westminster Abbey. My eyes flew shut when Pippa Middleton made her entrance in a shockingly form fitting white Satin Alexander McQueen dress by Sarah Burton.
I know – almost everyone [particularly straight "red-blooded" males] looooved the dress, but I did not. It was white [hmm, doesn't only the bride and maybe the flower girl get to wear white?], puckered up in the front and completely molded to her now infamous behind. I thought of the dress Marilyn Monroe had made for her, the one where she suggestively sang “Happy Birthday Mr. President” to JFK. Legend has it that it split open later that evening.
Marilyn Monroe Showing Off Her Assets, While Singing "Happy Birthday" to JFK
I stopped thinking about Pippa’s dress after a long conversation with close friend, Theadora Brack in July, in which we’d [I thought] put the dress to rest at last – until November 14th.
Last week, the dress, turned up again, like that proverbial “bad penny”. Scallywag and Vagabond’s November 14th post was titled, “Sales of new padded pants have sky rocketed as women flock to achieve bottoms that resemble Pippa Middleton’s.“
The padded panty is available at the Debenham’s Department Store for 19 Pounds and is as retailers love to say, “blowing-out”.
I can see why it’s a hot item. Pop starlets Britney Spears, Beyonce, and Jennifer Lopez have the Pippa bum, but high, lifted buttocks take work. Without a steady regimen of squats and butt-squeezes, or daily hip hop dancing, the gluteus maximus cedes to gravity and hence the dreaded “pancake look”.
If you don’t happen to live in England, Yummie Tummie by Heather Thomson, has you covered with not only panties, but with dress and leggings that also deliver that royal rump. Slip one of these on and you can get that perfect behind AND stop worrying about the post-Thanksgiving bloat this year, thanks to the contour waistband.
Added perk – Yummie Tummie is having a Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale , 30% off of everything on YummieLife.com* , but only from November 25th to November 28th.
Just please promise you won’t wear your Yummies with an overly tight white satin dress! It’s a McQueen, yes, but nonetheless, a “fashion don’t”. Do, however feel free to flaunt your assets in a pair of Y.T. black leggings while channeling your inner Pippa.
Text, Vivian Kelly
It was early in the morning, mid-way through NYFW, and in the dash from our West 56th Street hotel to the Lincoln Center tents to go backstage for Callula Lillibelle, no time for some sorely needed coffee. The lobby at Lincoln Center was weirdly empty, but Neiman Marcus’ Fashion Director, Ken Downing was there, Starbucks in hand, and we stopped by to chat and to get a bead on what one of fashion’s sharpest forcasters thought of the New York s/s2012 season so far. I mentioned we were on our way to chat with William Calvert, backstage at Callula Lillibele.
“Is it Neiman’s?” Ken asked us as Mark [Behnke, of Fashion Tribes],whiled- away those few pleasant moments before hitting backstage.
Good question. I replied, “Hm, well there was a great coat I saw last time.”
“Honey, it takes more than one coat to be in Neiman Marcus” he joked. It struck me then, how hard his job is. I kept that question in mind a few minutes later, as I watched the models get into their looks and pose on the white backdrop backstage, presumably for the lookbook that would be in stores for spring.
I finally actually “met” the designer, William Calvert, after an aborted attempt to record our phone conversation a few months earlier, in which he told me that C.L. had a few winning silhouettes that worked well from size 2-12 and that he worked on tweaking the winning formula each season. I botched that interview, but this describes Callula’s mission – to make women look good and to as the French so aptly put it, “look comfortable in their skin”, and to be proud of their curves.
During our backstage interview, that took place in front of the scrim where the models were posting for the look book, William said “Callula Lillibelle is primarily a dress collection” and in answer to our other question, “it sells at Saks”. Unsurprisingly, the strongest looks were dresses such as the lemon/silver stretch tweed boatneck one that would look as good on a curvy woman as on the size zero models posing in the Box presentation.Best in show was the white “Penelope Cruz” – that had a beautiful wrap front bodice, that was both glamorous and practical.
While pointing to the models posing in front of him , he told us that he was inspired by strong curvy fashion icons such as Sofia Lauren, Penelope Cruz, Beyonce and Rihanna. Clients and fans include curvy ladies such as Oprah and Gayle King.
There were though, non-dress looks that stood-out, such as the right-on-trend pink jacquard jacket over an ivory dot lace tank and ivory pin dot slouchy shorts. It seems that grown women really WILL be wearing shorts to work, after all. Both looked great with a pair of chic Stuart Weitzman pumps.
To answer Ken’s question, ["Is it Neiman's?"], we concurred that Callula is a solid collection that is perfectly placed at Saks, rather than Neiman’s which houses cutting edge design and where shoppers go to find what they expect to see on the pages of US Vogue. The Neiman’s woman is one who counts fashion and her wardrobe in her top three life priorities. Neiman’s top customers have Ken on speed dial.
By contrast, Saks and Callula are more mellow in their approach to fashion. This brand offers an excellent fit and the fact that the designs do not vary radically from season to season is reassuring to women who want some style but who don’t want a whole new wardrobe each and every season. This collection fits her lifestyle, as while she enjoys her fashion, she doesn’t want [or need] it delivered at warp speed. She paces herself with easy to wear fashions such as Callula. Fashion and her wardrobe are important but rank lower on the priority list, and like Saks, there is a sense of decorum in her attitude. Despite the year-round throng of tourists and buzz, the Saks Fifth Avenue flagship continues to maintain the air of stately dignity when well-to-do ladies shopped there on their way to lunch and their choice of gloves was an important matter. Similarly, Callula also possesses that gracious sensibility but there’s no better way to experience it than to slip on one of William’s dresses and to see for yourself.
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TEXT, VIVIAN KELLY
Yesterday, as I thought back to my IM conversations earlier in the week with friends PR maven, JONO WAKS, and CASI DENSMORE COON, Editor of www.cupcakemag.com, it hit me.
I LOVE THE PRE-SHOW ASPECT OF FASHION WEEK BECAUSE IT REMINDS ME OF BEING A KID AND GETTING READ TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL. ALL OF A SUDDEN, I WAS 14 AGAIN, AND THE MOST PRESSING THING ON MY LABOUR DAY AGENDA WAS TO ORGANIZE THE OUTFITS [AND ACCESSORIES!] I’LL TAKE WITH ME ON WEDNESDAY A.M. when I check into the Cornell Club and officially start s/s2011 fashion week. THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF THE VERY ENTERTAINING ASPECT OF BEING A FASHION WRITER/EDITOR, IS THAT I’M WEARING FALL, BUT I’M PREVIEWING SPRING DESIGNS I WANT TO WEAR RIGHT NOW.
AFTER VIEWING THE SUPERLATIVE s/s 2010 PREVIEW ARTICLE in www.nymagazine.comFASHION TRIBES FRIEND, WRITER MARK BEHNKE EMAILED ME AS A “MUST READ” – I’M EXPECTING A FASHION WHITE OUT FOR SPRING. BY WHITE, THOUGH, DESIGNERS ARE EXERCISING A LOT OF CREATIVITY WITH IT, NOT JUST THROWING A BORING WHITE LINEN SUIT YOUR WAY OR WHIPPING UP DRESSES THAT YOU’D HESITATE TO WEAR FOR FEAR OF BEING MISTAKEN FOR A BRIDE.
TAKE BINETTI. Buenos Aires born Diego Binetti tenured at Bulgari and Jill Stuart, and later founded his eponymous line in 2001. The Benetti bohemian chic collection is sold in over 60 storefronts across the United States and 22 countries worldwide.
His upcoming collection will feature an “air” print, white chiffon infused with black china ink, and “the Bodice” mixes textures of metal beaded work and organza cutouts of fish scale shapes, all over delicate white tulle. After flipping through the 100 preview images from NY Mag’s “The Cut” [referenced above], it seems that white + nature inspired detailing = a novel and romantic approach to wearing white and banishing black come spring.
