Best Ads of Fall 06

I think by now I've seen all the advertisement campaigns worth seeing... so now i present my Top 5!
And in fifth place is BCBG with Jessica Stam. They don't do a great job showing off the clothes, but the picture and Stam looks so pretty! Plus, this ad is so totally appropriate for fall. In fourth is Blumarine, with Hilary Rhoda and my new favorite model, Anna Maria Urajevskaya. I like the color scheme and how beautiful yet simple the ads are. They do remind me a bit of Prada's ads last season (my favs last season).

In third is Roberto Cavalli. I believe this is actually the men's ad, but it was my favorite. The women's ads feature Du Juan and Daria Werbowy. I don't actually like how Daria looks (she looks creepy) but I love Du Juan's Geisha like look, especially when she's wearing an androgynous suit like in here. In second place is Alberta Ferretti with Angela Lindwall. The ads show a dim candle lighted room with Angela and anonymous women wearing golden masks. The idea is kind of scary, but the ads look so classy and beautiful.
My favorite adversiting campaign this season is Miu Miu. As many know, Prada is infamous for ignoring Asian models, but Miuccia featured all Asian (Chinese and Japanese) models for its Miu Miu campaign. The ads are so edgy, and the lighting, clothes, poses, and styling go absolutely perfectly together.

Emmy's 06

The fashion at the Emmy's was such a disappointment. Noone looke absolutely amazing, noone looked absolutely horrid, everyone was different shades of boring.
Nevertheless, I felt compelled to pick favorites... so here we go.
My pick for best dressed: Ellen Pompeo in a Christian Dior gown from fall/winter 05 The dress shows off her body well, and when put together with the hair and makup, it's quite edgy, which is an improvement for Ellen.
Allison Janney, in a red f/w 05 Elie Saab couture flapper-esque gown also looked nice... at least she was smart enough to remove the ridiculous flower that was on the original version of the dress.

The dresses were so boring that I can't even pick a worst dressed.

The biggest disappointment of course, is that House didn't win best drama!!! I will never forgive the Emmy's commission for not nominating Hugh Laurie (who looked great at the Emmy's btw) for best actor in a drama... he's the few reasons I even watch television.

Lagerfeld is not so nice

Karl Lagerfeld, designer for Chanel and Fendi, turns out to be quite opinionated, which in my opinion, is another reason to love him. Lagerfeld verbally expressed his disappoval of "frumpy" stars such as Jessica Simpson ("Ecch"), the Olsen Twins, and Pete Doherty (maybe Kate Moss can help him out a bit). He also called Heidi Klum's Project Runway as "Trash that is funny for five minutes if you're with other people." Harsh, maybe, but he is quite right.

Vera Wang for Kohl's?!

I welcomed the prospect of Karl and Stella for H&M, I reluctantly accepted the idea of Luella, Tara, Paul & Joe for Target, but I cringe at this: Vera Wang will design an exclusive collection for Kohl's for Fall 2007.

I've not a big fan of Vera Wang (bridal or rtw) but I'm still shocked a prestigious designer would team up with Kohl's. How do you transition from A-list bridal dresses to cheap clothes for a midwestern retailer?

The beauty of a meaningful truth...

Are effective exactly is Meaningful Beauty, Cindy Crawford's beauty line?
Cindy said calls it "the best skin care available".
However, how good can these products be if Ms. Cindy herself relies not on her products but on cosmetic surgery for the past 11 years to maintain the quality of her skin?

I appreciate her telling the truth but I think she'll have a few mad costumers...

Nilsson out, Theyskens in?

Lars Nilsson is leaving Nina Ricci for "personal reasons", which means there are now 4 great designers without jobs: Nilsson, Olivier Theyskens, Phoebe Philo, and Patrick Robinson (of Paco Rabanne). Rumor has it Olivier Theyskens may be joining Nina Ricci. I'm not sure what to think of this rumor... Nina Ricci seems too much of a cute label (the runway was pink!), but it has the potential to become the next Chloe under the right designer.

Lars

vs.

Olivier

A blast from the past

Here's the 1960 spring/summer fashion show from Balenciaga.

Mayle for Chloe?

Telegraph reports that Jane Mayle (of Mayle) may take over Chloe.
She fits better than Luella or Rouland, but she's still no Phoebe. In my opinion, Chloe should keep the person who designed the fall 06 collection.

Mayle's designs. Jane Mayle on far left.

Smart and Beautiful Lily

Lily Cole, 18, will be attending Cambridge University in 2007 after earning straight A's on her senior high school exams. She will study social and political sciences at King's College in Cambridge. I'm so proud of her! I hope she still models, as she does amazing editorial work.

Dressed like a Queen

Despite the ridiculously pink Vogue september cover, the accompaning photoshoot is actually better than I expected.
Vogue even managed to use the Chateau de Versailles.
I just wished they actually used a model rather than an actress.

When you know you're not a style icon...

Victoria Beckham was seen at London's restaurant, J Sheekey’s, with Burberry's creative director Christopher Bailey, spurning rumors that she would become the new face of Burberry...
Rumor has it, Bailey received complaints from Burberry bosses for socializing with Beckham.

According to the recently published fashion industry-tell-all, Fashion Babylon, Tom Ford freaked out, yelling "somebody stop her!" when he saw Victoria Beckham wearing one of his Gucci designs.
I don't know whether to feel sorry for her, or be glad that she thankfully will not be destroying Burberry.

Best Bets Shopping

New York Magazine is having its first annual Best Bets Shopping Experience.

The editors of NY mag have put together this shopping experience where shoppers can buy goods from 30 stores at discount prices. The stores fall into the following categories: Beauty, Fashion, Home Design, Jewelry, Kids, Leather Goods, Shoes, and Tabletop. A list of stores is not yet available but if anyone is interested, click here to learn more.

I'm not too familiar with best bets or NY mag, but this could be a fun experience.

Ingeo is the new Nylon?

As the closing of Rochas has shown us, fashion is not immune to the way economy works. In the recent political turmoil that our world is in, petroleum has become quite expensive. Unfortunately for the fashion industry, this means that petroleum based products, such as nylon and polyester, are also going to be more expensive. Biotechnology Industry Organization or Toronto, Canada, is developing a new product called Ingeo, made from genetically modified corn that will be cheaper than nylon or polyester, and supposedly more comfortable than cotton. Oscar de la Renta and Versace will supposedly use this cloth to make dresses that will be shown at the Toronto biotechnology conference.
Would you wear these dresses if they were made of corn..... or any other material?

Those are old Oscar de la Renta and Versace dresses cause I couldn't find any pictures from the real conference. I just saw this picture today... this is what clothes made from ingeo would look like. I think the dress in the middle is Oscar, cause it looks like something from one of his 2005 shows.

Vogue Germany September

Originality is a bit lacking, it seems. Hana, wearing a black Gucci dress, reminds me a bit too much of Sasha in China's September Vogue...
At least we know that black will definately be a big trend this fall.

Shoe Bargains

I have somewhat of a shoe fetish (and I'm willing to spend much more on shoes than clothes). In my opinion, the best part of the end of a season is the shoe sales. Unlike clothing, which in some cases are unacceptable after they go out of season, shoes are more timeless. Of course, there are very trendy shoes (such as wedges, which I personally hope will go out of season), but many styles are simply timeless.

These Jimmy's are 50% off and now cost $225. I actually got these in full price a month or so ago. There is also an adorable sandal version of this that I've been trying to find forever, but can't, so I got these instead. Order information can be found at Foot Candy. If anyone knows where to find the sandal version of these shoes and wants to tell me.... I'll love you forever

The Christian Louboutin tassle heel. I'm not the biggest Louboutin fan, but I do appreciate the originality. These now cost $320 (originally $640) and can be ordered from Foot Candy. I've always thought the tassle heel was better for fall than spring/summer.

I vote these as my best find. Pink Satin Rochas slingbacks with a 4.5 inch heel. They now cost only $305.99 (originally $765!!!) on Bluefly. Unfortunately, they only have size 10s left. They have another pair of black leather pumps in size 6 that I'm tempted to buy, but I know I shouldn't. But who knows, maybe my size 7 feet will fit in them.

YooX Wonderland

The Spring/Summer Season is coming to a close, and Yoox has some items on sale at remarkable prices. Here's a long sleeve t-shirt by Sophia Kokosalaki (size 10) that now costs $44, compared to it's original price of $240.

Here is a pair of size 31 pants by Helmut Lang, which now cost $30 from its original price of $209. They'd be quite flattering on someone with a pear shaped figure.
Here's an adorable corduroy mini skirt from Balenciaga in size 12. It will only cost you $38! Wear it with leggings and boots, and it's perfect for fall!
And of course, being me, I had to check what Rochas had on sale. There were two items, that unfortunately were both too big for me, and their not exactly cheap, although their prices are significantly but down. First, there is a size 10 lilac Rochas blazer for $304, cut down from $1014.
Then, there's the size 10 light gray blazer, which costs now $582 (originally $1454). This is quite pricey, but it is Rochas. Honestly, I don't like these two pieces very much, but I am dying to own something from Rochas.
Happy Shopping!

Time to Shine

School starts soon, and besides clothes, shoes, and bags, a really nice accessory to have is a good watch. Having a watch that you really like might even encourage you to be more punctual.

This pretty Haurex watch consists of a flower case bejeweled with Swarovski jewels and a pink leather band. The jewels and the pale coloring make it suitable for formal occasions, but the decoration makes it perfect for casual events, such as school. In addition, it's not overly pricey. It could be found at $164 at www.forzieri.com.

For something more daring and different, we have this silver serpent shaped Roberto Cavalli bracelet watch. The serpent has sapphire eyes, and even the dial is shaped like a snake. Sometimes it's hard to find watches to match an edgy and daring outfit, but this would definately do. $338 at Forzieri.

Here's another watch by Haurex: "La Mostra". This watch is quite artsy, but the colors in the dial match nicely. The dial is also decorated with Swarovski jewels, and the band is made of white croc leather. $263 at Forzieri.

For something a bit more formal, we have the tennis watch, by Haurex, A watch version of the oh-so-popular tennis bracelet. This is perfect for someone who wants a simple but stylish watch that will never go out of style. $197 at Forzieri.

If i had the money, this is the watch I'd pick for school. A cocktail watch from Tiffany & co., studded with Baguette diamonds and Lucida Sapphires, and completed with a dark blue satin strap. So elegant, so chic, yet quite modest and toned down. Pair it with a vintage Givenchy gown, and who wouldn't feel like a modern day Audrey Hepburn? If I could only afford a this $27,500 watch...

Happy Anniversary to Vogue China

Vogue China is celebrating it's one year anniversary!!!
This September cover shows Du Juan wearing a Givenchy 2006 Fall/Winter dress, flanked by Gemma Ward and Sasha Pivovarova, photographed by Mario Sorrenti.


Much better than Vogue (US)'s pink September cover. Now, how can I get this issue?

cover from vogue.com.cn

Tribute To Rochas

I'd always planned on having a blog some day, but that day never seemed to arrive. However, recent tragic events have made it urgent for me to finally create one.

As many of you may know, Proctor & Gamble has decided to close down the Rochas ready-to-wear line, designed by the ineffably talented Olivier Theyskens, who happens to be my favorite designer. So, I have decided to dedicate my first post to Rochas, and commemorate the wonderful pieces it has introduced to us over the 3 short years of its existence.

This dress is from fall 2003, Olivier's first collection for Rochas. It is among the best and most daring pieces Olivier has created for Rochas, and will surely become a collector's item.

from spring 2004, we have...

from fall 2004 there's this gorgeous mini dress on gemma...

from spring 2005 we have this outfit that could actually be worn during the day. Rochas was a bit lacking in day wear.
From fall 2005,
Spring 2006, Rochas famous Monet inspired collection.

This is the pantsuit that made me decide Rochas was my favorite.
And finally, from Olivier's final collection for Rochas (besides the resort 07 that won't be sold)...

What Olivier Theyskens will do next, one can only hope. There were rumors that he would join Oscar de la Renta or Valentino, and I really really hope they aren't true. He's much too good for that.

Good Luck, Olivier!!!

(pics from style & firstview)