Christian Siriano Comes Into His Own

Reported by Laura Wood

Text, Vivian Kelly and Laura Wood

When Christian Siriano burst onto the scene after becoming the winner of Project Runway’s 4th season. Back then, he was known for his foppy hair do, “fierceness”, wild prints and penchant for ruffles.

Laura already loved bats [the real ones, not the ones in "Twilight"], and she was wowed by the bat inspiration at Christian’s latest runway show. We already know that Twilight’s Kristen Stewart is a fan, but so is Gabourey Sibide of “Precious” who while considerably larger than the waify Stewart, looked great in his designs.

Now to the clothes – in a word, breathtaking.

Almost uniformly, the flow of the clothes as they moved down the runway gave Laura chills. It was a great collection, starting with the opening platinum crepe satin bat vein dress, which set the tone for the whole show. Subtle elegance showed a new found sophistication and self confidence in this very talented American fashion designer. As always, Laura is on the lookout for clothes that fit real women, ie: those who have curves and aren’t 5’11″. Like all the top designers, Siriano seems to fully understand that a winning collection is one in which the women wear the clothes not the other way around.

Later, Laura found a tried and true substitution to her vintage Michael Kors  Eighties’ batwing dress, exit #13, a wing sleeve sheath dress, which actually more suited to her now that she’s in her Forties.

Siriano still retains his sense of drama but he’s in charge of the drama this time and that bears out in his masterful designs like look #9, the faux fox infinity scarf which got “oohs” from Laura’s neighbors. Because it was paired with The very simple knit turtleneck and silk tuxedo trouser underneath set it off perfectly.

He made sure to include some Academy Award contenders including a black beaded scalloped gown and a wing sleeve evening gown. The trend for beaded gowns on the Red Carpet at the Golden Globes and SAG Awards has already been set. We’d love love to see this gown on Berenice Bejo, who was really cute in “The Artist”.

Our vote for “most versatile dress” goes to #22, the burgundy silk sheath dress with flight neckline.

A Winning Ad Campaign – Joe’s Jeans and Paz de la Huerta

Text, Vivian Kelly

Images of Campaign, courtesy of Paul Wilmot Communications

Most ad campaigns tend to be kind of boring, so when something new comes along that’s out of the box it’s definitely worth a mention.

Earlier this summer, Lily Salembier of Paul Wilmot Communications sent me an email about something interesting Joe’s Jeans had come up with. For their 10th anniversary, Joe Jeans’ latest ad campaign is featuring gorgeous actress, Paz de la Huerta.

Paz is  of particular interest as she’s one one of the stars of HBO’s award winning series “Boardwalk Empire”. Her character, Lucy Danziger, a former Zigfield Folly’s Girl, is  wild and sexy and totally in character with her classic looks and pouty red lips.

Creative Director Joe Dahan and photographer Tao Ruspoli had Paz pose for the campaign images based on a classic movie star story. Ruspoli shot  Paz in Fellini’s cinematic style. The campaign is based on a classic movie story and follows Paz through the various acts of her performance.

The series begins with Paz in full flight on a vintage merry-go-round horse – (Coated Skinny Micro Flare in Fiona and lace top).

The starlet’s closing scene has her  posed in front of her vanity mirror contemplating her lustful last performance (Skinny Micro Flare in Black and Sidonie shirt with tie). There’s something a bit voyeuristic about the campaign and it’s refreshing to see an interesting actress participate in an ad campaign that’s in character. Prior to seeing this campaign, Joe’s Jeans were just another high-end jeans brand. Thanks to this campaign, Joe’s is now a brand I’m paying attention to and one I WILL go into Neiman’s and try on. I’ve got to spend that $100 NM gift card on something….

ABOUT JOE’S JEANS INC.

The company began with concept of unique denim  that fits a range of diverse body types, not just model size zeros. Today’s enhanced fit selection includes such notable names as The Honey, The Provocateur and The Visionaire. In the past 10 years, Joe’s has added a casual, chic lifestyle collection for men, women and kids.

To learn more, visit joesjeans.com or Like Joe’s at facebook.com/joesjeans.

Carolee’s Lux Sandstorm Summer Collection and White Glove Customer Service – Dan Bracciale, of MAC Cosmetics all at Bloomingdales’

Text, Vivian Kelly

I don’t like department stores. That sounds un-American, but my dislike of warehouse sized shopping extends to include Home Depot, Macy’s Herald Square, and until last week, Bloomingdales’ on East 59th Street.

Nevertheless, I ventured in with my Jr. Editor and Daniel Ortega, a professional soccer player, who was in town and who felt like shopping for watches and sunglasses.

Before inspecting the sunglass selections, we dropped into the Carolee/Dior Beaute in store event, because:

1.It was intimate – it was held in a small curtained-off back room, and not open to the G.P.

2. Paul Wilmot’s team has never put on an event I did not enjoy and blog about.

We were late, but got a one on one with Carolee’s Director of Marketing and PR, Nancy Risdon, who couldn’t have been nicer and who graciously gave us a mini preview of the Lux Sunset Stones Collection designed by Carolee jewelry designer  Seung Hye Choi.

The summer jewelry is pretty and the subdued jewel tones and antiqued gold treatment are a great finishing touch to the white and cream clothes we’re wearing this summer. Better still, it’s divided into 4 categories to fit the look you’re going for. My favorite for summer were the carnelian and pumpkin beaded pieces that are just the right thing to wear with this summer’s long  dresses. Worn on their own, the dresses can look TOO boho and a bit downmarket. If you add a necklace and bracelet from  the Sand Storm grouping however, the look is transformed to hippie chic. Think Talitha Getty, Allegra Hicks.

Before leaving, we stopped to sample some Dior Beaute and to chat with Tanya Pack, who was demoing and explaining Dior’s latest skincare and summer color palette.

I loved the anti aging trifecta from Dior’s Capture Totale Skincare line Tanya demoed on me  and the fact that a bottle lasts for nearly a year! You only need 2 [yes, TWO] drops of the “One Essential” toxin remover and “Super Serum” which you apply on top of it. Once Tanya was done, my skin felt as if she’d just performed a 45 minute hydrating facial on it.

[see Video in an upcoming post, which shows Tanya demoing the specific application process. Also visit her beauty site, Fancy Face Artistry, in which she gives all sorts of helpful makeup advice. I'm now a subscriber!]

I’ve saved the best part of our Bloomies’ adventure for last. Here goes.

Our Jr. Editor, Juliette, didn’t fare so well, and had a mild allergic reaction to Dior’s hot “Color in a Flash” product. After a panicked visit to the Ladies’ upstairs, to wash it off, we spotted a mini MAC Cosmetics counter, mercifully far away from the bedlam at the main downstairs beauty jungle.

We asked MAC Makeup artist, DAN BRACCIALE,  if he could cleanse her face, after explaining what had happened.

He was friendly and empathetic. “I know, if it’s free, I’m the first one to try it. Why not, right?” He was also generous with his time. Dan cleansed and spritzed away, using the sensitive skincare products on the line, describing them as “meat and potatoes skincare”. The result? Calmed-down kin with a gorgeous dewy glow.

During the process, we got to know him a bit and discovered that he is a performance artist, painter, and more, in addition to being a slam dunk makeup artist.

He’s also honest. I picked-up the mauve I’d been eyeing in the capsule Surf collection as he worked on J. “No, not unless you wear some eye shadow.” We started in on the topic of the latest collection’s packaging. None of us liked it. The photos on the signage – great, but the graphics on the tubes were we agreed, “kind of Old Navy-like, not MAC.” All of us were crazy for past capsule collections such as Barbie love MAC , Tartan Plaid, and Wonder Woman.

Dan approved the Viva Glam VI I pulled out of my pink Prada bag. “Perfect, this color is great for everyday, nothing else needed.”

Approval! Music to my ears.

He invited J. to come back when she had a special event to get her makeup done. This is an invitation we’re actually going to follow-up on. Gems such as Dan are a store’s most valuable currency. Good, really good, customer service is hard to find. When MAC’s next Limited Edition drops, we’ll  pop into Bloomingdales’ and go upstairs to visit  to compare notes and buy another lipstick and some skincare products.