Nordstrom Rack, Target's GO International - Zac Posen

Today I was dreamily strolling along in Union square, enjoying the sunny rays beating down on me when enormous black letters reading "NORDSTROM RACK" stopped me in my tracks. I had heard endless rumors that there was to be a Nordstrom Rack opening near Union Square, but I had yet to see any signs of it actually being built. It will be located right on 14th Street, taking the space of the old Virgin MegaStore that closed last year and conveniently placed next to the enormous Filene's Basement and DSW on the next block. Merchandise from both Nordstrom stores and their website will be sold at Nordstrom Rack for 50%-60% off original prices. As the sign states, the store will open its doors May 11th.

Another shopaholic secret - A pop-up Target store will be opening on Thursday, April 15th for a full 24 hours at 481 Eighth Avenue. Target is calling this event a "shopping party," where customers can scope out the new collection, shop until they drop, while rocking out to the girl-band Like and a stage set of DJs hired specifically for the grand event. Although doors open at 11:00PM, the line to get in will presumably be piling down 34th Street much earlier with stylish fashionistas eagerly awaiting to get their hands on the metallic gold one-piece bathing suit or red asymmetrical moto jacket that was shown in the lookbook released in January. Check out Fashionista.com for a preview of the collection, if you haven't already!

Photo Credit: Fashionista.com (look book)

Who says sporting sweats isn't cool?

These girls rocked their sweats while staying fashionably (yet comfortably) chic. Bravo!

 

Photo Credit: stylesight.com

How to get the "model-off-duty" look

Today I took advantage of the beautiful weather and took my break between classes to sit outside on campus and people-watch the FIT community. Summer outfits were out in full force because of the ninety degree weather, and a lot of individualized styles marched down 27th Street. As I watched the passerbys stroll fashionable to and from class, I noticed something... every few minutes a fellow classmate would walk by sporting a dress and close shoes combination. And then it hit me, this look is a definite translation from last fall's androgynous trend that was played up strongly with the oxford shoe. Ballet flats were out of the question today, but Keds, Vans, Sperrys, Toms and even Converse low-tops were on the rage - in both slide-in or lace-up styles. It got me to thinking about the look and then I remembered something: last summer I worked in production for a Danish advertisement and the model had worn this exact look to the shoot! A pink American Apparel cross-back dress with "optical white" chucks was her "model-off-duty" look. Although it may seem easy to get this care-free look, there is a fine line of how to stay sweet and simple without looking like you threw on the first thing in sight that morning. Think cute feminine sneaker shoes with a printed dress, or for a more hard-edge look, worn-in high-tops or slide-in vans with a basic cotton dress.

Here's how you can get the look:

American Apparel and Converse

Patterson J. Kincaid  and Toms

Mixing spots

Photo Credit: Tommy Ton

Style.com reported on their "Global Best Dressed" and the top trends for fall from photographs that JakAndJil's Tommy Ton had taken at FW'10 Fashion Week. For the past few years mixing florals on florals or stripes on plaids has blown up, especially in editorial spreads where louder style choices are encouraged. This fall, mixing animal prints is on the move. Leopard prints have always been hot, but now a new level of "spot on spot" print mixing is appearing - - see the mis-matched leopard heels and tights combo above. My personal favorite was done in an Alexander Wang shoe for this Spring; three different designs of leopard print were coordinated together creating one wild shoe.

Alexander Wang
Photo Credit: style.com

Spring sprung with the trench

Long are the gloomy days of winter. I'm not sure if it was the sunny skies, warm breeze or what, but this morning I awoke and found myself subconsciously analyzing the trendy East Villagers more than usual as I walked to the subway for my daily school commute. It was as if it was "National Trench Coat Day.." if that day even existed. Trenches of every style, length, size with various details popped into my eyes - on St. Marks Street, Astor Place, the subway, Seventh Avenue... everywhere! Now, I know the trench is predicted to be in this spring and even more so for the fall season, but from what I saw today, the trench will be a top hit in stores this season. Here are some trench inspired jackets I found by Juicy Couture, Nanette Lapore, JCrew, Lanvin and Burberry.

Wouldn't this Diane von Furstenberg "Arita"  dress and hair bow scarf go great with any of those trench jackets? The perfect LBD for the perfect trench.

Spring '10 Print Report: Flourishing Florals

Spring 2010 is full of both new and continuing trends from past seasons. Nature inspired printed textiles is one trend that is being expanded further within apparel and accessories. I noticed in mass market level retails (e.g. Topshop, H&M and Zara), floral prints will be one of the top trends for the upcoming season - seen on all types of garments (dresses, skirts, leggings/jeans, bathing suits and tops) and accessories (scarves, shoes, sunglasses and headbands). There is much variation with size of the print repeat ranging from small liberty prints to those with such large repeat sizes that range outside the area of the garment (e.g. patio prints). Stylized, washed out/ watercolored flora and delicate, feminine flowers are seen for Spring 2010 with the color schemes of saturated brights and muted pastels. The bright color scheme includes: hot pink, “Kelly” green, “sunshine” yellow, high chroma orange and violet; while a pastel color trend was also seen with de-saturated hues of the same color families. The combination of these color harmonies and floral designs directs an overall vintage and retro look for the season’s fashion. To add to the vintage feeling, natural fibers are the main fabrication make up, including cotton, flax and either woven or knitted viscose made to feel and look like silk. This season is all about nostalgic feelings and sticking to what you love. These flouncy vintage prints bring about childhood care-free memories, perfect for summertime when the livins' easy.

Fashionable Fizz

Always looking for new and strategic branding approaches, Karl Lagerfeld recently collaborated with Coca Cola to create Coca Cola Light. The stylish beverage will be launched April 28th across France, along with the fun pop of advertisements shot by Lagerfeld, himself, for the campaign.The creative king also designed the packaging label, incorporating his unmistakable silhouette and signature black suit, white collar and pony-tail look on the aluminum bottle. The full packaged soda bottle and coordinating bottle opener will be sold for $64 - a wee bit ostentatious but hey, it's designer soda!

"Lagerfeld has long been a fan of diet cola, and says he prefers to drink it in a delicate crystal goblet to accentuate the taste." - WWD

Beatiful People. Beautiful Clothes. Oh, it must be Paris.

Style.com created a short film reviewing what was seen in Paris for Fall'10. A few top trends that you should note:
1. Minimalist: a simplistic style revealed on real girl models
2. Power Silhouette: minimal styles come with a powerful silhouette, structured elegance creates a "sexy in strength" feeling within
3. Camel: camel colored everything - trenches, blazers, trousers, shoes - the list goes on. . .
4. Fur: faux or real, as long as its fuzzy, warm.. and of course, fabulous.

Did you notice how Leigh Lezark happened to mention that she believes we are out of the recession. I am sitting here wondering where she had gotten that impression from. Minimalist garments, lack of textile print, power silhouette (a little toned down from the "power suit" but still.) - doesn't that scream that we are still in a recession! Not to mention the extrodinary amounts of people who have been layed off and jobless for months at a time? Luxury will always live on, but even the top luxe brands are innovating new products and switching from mass-marketed back to good'ol hand made luxury. It's the only way to keep their consumer base coming back in times of economic troubles - not just in America, but across Europe too.

Anthropologie takes us on a safari adventure

Recently, Anthropologie created a line of safari printed pillows along with a herringbone weave "Shadowy Chair" that popped out from their usualy nostalgic, antique and natural inspired products. Safari animals - - an elephant, tiger and hippo - -were screen printed on the canvas pillows while tribal inspired print covered the reverse. Brightly colored yarns of green, blue and red, were used as trim edging - a perfect addition to the bold African look! The "Shadowy Chair's" large herringbone weave and bright green and blue hues stuck out immediately, along with the modern design of the sun chair. Although pricey (pillows being about $140, and chair about $2,000), these items are quite a fun match for the summer months ahead!

The coordinating Pillows:

Paper Bag Pant

In otherwords - dropcrotch, baggy, oversized, boyfriend-esque.. hey, even athletic pants-ish. You can call it what you want, but Anne Valerie Hash ruled the style this season in her SS'10 collection. All of the runway looks incorporated the flowing, careless silhouette, ranging from layered skirts, full body suits, dropped crotch pants with seams reaching the ankle, and loose, low-cut cowel neck tops. The collection as a whole screamed young, sporty and sexy. With converse hightops and all, the collection was definitely a positive stray away from past lines done by Anne Valerie Hash.



PS. My opinion - the lavender paper bag trouser above is a must-have this spring.


Looks from: Style.com

The look I want for spring.

Araks Spring/Summer collection consisted of conservative yet flirty pieces. The styling done for their lookbook honestly reminded me the JCrew catalogues I have been getting non-stop in the mail for the past few months - - or maybe I should be saying the opposite in regards to the designers at Araks. Boyfriend blazers, baggy shorts, cardigans and pleated skirts were just a few garments that made the look. Stripes and floral were used minimally to add some feminity to the "boyfriend" look of the collection. The overall collection was about staying stylish-ly plain - in the best way possible! However, the rainbow striped overhead-sweater paired with blue-green silk shorts popped out from the rest of the collection - --I would say it is as fun as being a kid in a candy story. This effortless look is what I want to pull off for Spring.

Oooh Paris.

Today my sister and I talked about how we are going to have a Paris adventure - - one day - - together.
This 1920s, effortlessly fashionable and fabulous photograph of two Parisian women made me long for that day to come... as soon as possible.

Back to Couture Week - - Spring 2010

I had researched SS'10 Couture Week back in February and had yet to report
on some of the new and continuing trends that I found within the collections:

Highwaisted is a continuing style that has been ongoing for about two years now. Seen in both skirts and pants, the high-waisted trend is still prevelant in both Spring & Fall 2010 collections.

Metallic: an accent within garments that we have seen in the past 2 seasons is getting ever more popular. Metal influences are shown ranging from bronze, gold, silver with a weathered appearance or high-shine look.

How about that Couture Chanel gown? - to die for.

Lastly, my all-time favorite - Bodysuits: we saw a 1970s retro influence on the runways with full body suits. Some were done in a flowy and care-free style, while a straight and tailored look was also seen. Spring/Summer 2009, the romper trend was quite successful, so it only makes sense that the bodysuit will be a strong style this year.

Designer Looks from: style.com

What's black, white and red all over?

Badgley Mischka's Spring 2010 collection consisted of a whole'lotta black and white done in stripes, sheers and ruffles. Red and silver chunky jewelry definitely added to the luxury of the collection. The use of stripes, gold detailing and contrasting black/white/red colors added a bit of a nautical story alongside.

Looks from: style.com

Acne SS'10

Metallic knee plated jeans.
Acne - Spring/Summer 2010 Collection

Photo Credit: style.com