Friday, August 31, 2007

Fashion is timeless



Supposedly you can wear white pants all year round.

Um, yeah, sure, if you're Victoria Gotti, maybe.

This is what the Wall Street Journal reports.

What the fug do they know about fashion over anyway?

Read the whole story here, if you can be bothered:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118843034338212804.html?mod=home_personal_journal_left

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Celebrity style

Because this is my blog and I can write what I want and I'm lazy as all get-out today, I'm just going to write about celebs and their "style". Here we go:

Lindsay Lohan--she just hones in on the couture, I hear. Don't like her style, she's trampy.

Gwen Stefani--an icon. Glamourous. Oddball. Looks scary as hell though on the current cover of In Style Magazine. Harajuku meets Chola meets Prepster.

Jennifer Aniston--boring as hell, no style, she's admitted as much on Oprah or Letterman or something.

Angelina Jolie (come on, had to put them back to back! It's like boring Debbie Reynolds versus smokin' hot Liz Taylor vying over Eddie Fisher)--yeah, she's got a modicum of it.

SJP--you know what I think of her. Totally useless in the fashion department.

Reese Witherspoon--I dunno.

Scarlett Johansson--very New York casual.

Rosario Dawson--she's awesome, she's a true New York hipster and dresses the part.

The Olsen Twins--no comment.

Victoria Beckham--She looked pretty good a few years ago when she had long hair and was rocking a kind of Spanish Soccer Wife look. Not digging the new frosty, hard edged look. It's just too contrived, circa Fall '06.

Those crazy boobs of hers freak me out, too.

Check out this photo and tell me, how does she (far left) tuck her nipples so deep inside her top? I'm confused.

And on that note, how the hell did Sporty Spice, next to her, become the total hottie of the group?

Friday, August 24, 2007

Why I think men should dress like cowboys

I like my men in suits. Don't blame me. I grew up in the inner city in the 80s. I don't like weird suits, either. I like nice dark suits, maybe with a little pinstripe but nothing too dandified.

However, I am a convert to cowboy style.

Dusty, rough and unique to the American lexicon...it's the cowboy. The Marlboro man. He smells like tobacco and leather. Of course, having grown up in Toronto I have never actually laid eyes let alone smelled a real cowboy. That's ok. My imagination is fertile.

Today I'm am particularly partial to an extremely attractive Welsh man dressed up like a cowboy.

Saliva, saliva, saliva.

Who is it?

Why, it's Christian Bale of course!

Scroll down and tell me, just tell me this isn't the most delicious sight ever.

He's starring in some shoot'em up film called 3:20 to Yuma with talented, telephone throwing bad boy Russell Crowe.

It's cowboy chic.

Eat it up, ladies.

I'm all over it.








I'm going to see if Niall, aka the husband, aka "Herself" aka the ghetto girl's version of Christian Bale, will dress up like this. Wish me luck!

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Fashion is going in all directions this fall

I'm waiting for a clear directive to materialize. Last year it was straightforward. Out with the pointy stillettos, the tapered silhouette, in with voluminous tops, chunky rounded toe platform heels. At the time, I thought it was very glam. I still do.

But flipping through the September issue of fashion magazines, I'm a bit confused.

I feel like not much has changed. There are lots of grays and blacks (I seem to recall that from last year, too). Same-ish strange new silhouettes.

On that note: bracelet length jackets and coats.

One word: Why?

Actually, they are exceedingly chic, and very flattering. It's a lovely length, especially if you don't have long arms (guilty). However, they are just as impractical as they are fashion-worthy for us folks in cold climates. In other words, everywhere you'd actually wear a bracelet length jacket, your wrists will freeze.

You do have to suffer to look hot. I'm convinced this is fashion karma kicking us for getting away with flats for the last year.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Marc by Marc Jacobs Teri purse in Stone



You lika thisa bag?

I like it too. It's from Marc by Marc Jacobs (not to be confused with the more expensive Marc Jacobs line).

I liked it so much, I bought it on the weekend.

Then I suffered major, gutwrenching buyer's remorse. I mean--really bad. I'm moving, in theory, I can't afford it. My heart says yes. My credit card says, Bitch, put me back in the wallet and stop abusing me.

I took it home. Then I didn't take it out of it's glossy big shopping bag for a day. Very unlike me. I'm of the use-it-the-next-day ilk.

Today, I wore it to work. And I loves loves loves it.

It's so big and roomy.

It's the Teri purse from Marc by Marc Jacobs. Love the feel, love the heft. Did not love the pricetag, but hey, life's short.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Karl Lagerfeld to launch accessory line that's affordable(ish)

Oh Karl. How I love me some Karl.

WWD.com is reporting that he's got a new license to produce a line of accessories. Moreover, it'll be affordable.

Oh yay. Something from Carlo that I can actually afford. There will be handbags, small leather goods and luggage. I hate small leather goods and am paranoid a cracked out baggage handler would steal my luggage, but the handbags....mmm, I could go for that.

Friday, August 17, 2007

Jessica Simpson's new clothing line



Jessica Simpson (also known as "Jugs" over at perezhilton.com) has...guess what? Guess what? Can you guess???

She has...wait for it...launched a new clothing line.

Holla to MyItThings.com for breaking this news. Or at least, breaking this news to me.

What is wrong with these celebs? Hmm? Ok, mind you, she's barely even a celeb, her marriage was the most famous thing about her. Next to the jugs, that is, and her pervy "She's got DDs!" dad, Joe Simpson.

So now this. A clothing collection.

You like it? You be the judge.

Me, I'm tired of commenting on celebs' inane lines of clothing. Ohh sooo tired. So tired. Fingers can barely type out the words.

Can't they just stick to wearing fancy dresses that the studio seamstresses made them, like in ye golden era? What the hell.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Barney's Warehouse Sale: oh sigh, why don't I live in New York?


Y'all know how I constanly bemoan the lack of certain much-loved shops in these here parts.
Well, this just in from fashionista.com. And sidenote: why oh why oh why don't I live in New York City?

"It's crazy, it's overwhelming, it makes you want to scream...

It's the Barneys Warehouse Sale.

But is it worth braving the insanity?

We did this morning, and you should too, if:

-You really wanted a pair of those satin cap-toe platforms Lindsay wore in the Miu Miu ads. There are lots, and they're marked down to $235.

-You need a pair of pants for work. There are piles of basic black, white, and tan slacks from Jil Sander and Balenciaga in the $130-300 range...
There's also the usual clutch of DVF dresses (some nice Vena Cava, too), mountains of Loomstate hoodies, a lonely feathered Giles gown, tons of Rick Owens tube tops ($50), and lots of great stuff from Balenciaga's capsule collections (Knits, Silk, Pants).

I picked up a Balenciaga shell ($99) and pants ($138)..."

LIKE, WHAT???? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I'M DYING INSIDE. I'M DYING. EVERY MOLECULE INSIDE ME IS VIBRATING WITH JEALOUSY.

Maybe I can run away to New York and no one will notice.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Christian Louboutin interview gone wrong


Christian Louboutin makes some durned purty shoes. I read once that he made the soles of his shoes red (all of them are red soled...pay attention next time you're in a crowd of well-heeled ladies) because he wanted to be able to recognize his shoes whenever women wore them.

Snagged this awesome screen grab from http://www.christianlouboutin.fr/

Anyhow, listen to this:

A lifestyle journalist friend of mine once interviewed Louboutin, in person. She showed up, and she says he's a small, nonattractive little dude. She shook his hand. And then, and then....

He wiped his hand off.

I'm not sure if it was on his pants or his shirt, but he wiped his hand off like she was pond scum or something.

That's crazy!

He wasn't that nice either. And after the interview, when the factchecker called to verify all the factoids, the story got all watered-down and I-didn't-say-that (yep, in Canadian print magazines all facts are verified by a fact-checker who will call the contacts back after the fact to ensure a story's accuracy).

Isn't that annoying? I'd still wear his shoes though. They're awesome.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Tory Burch ugly shoes



Oh Tory Burch, Tory Burch.

I've commented on your hideous new collection for old Republican robowives elsewhere, but these shoes take it to another level.

Tory, what the fug were you thinking?

You had the Tory Burch flats, just on the cusp of when flats where becoming fashionable again. Very cute. Saw them on a superstylish woman in Halifax. They were young and fun and I wanted a pair, but I didnt' like how the back was all elasticized. I don't like any elastic in my flats.

But these?

These are just dumb. Obviously you're just phoning it in. You couldn't even be bothered to design a cool shoe, you just smacked your initials on a pair of heels.

No.

Monday, August 13, 2007

Ralph Lauren in Vanity Fair

Ralph Lauren appears in the latest issue of Vanity Fair, in a marginally interesting article.

The thesis: Ralph Lauren has created an unassailable world of WASP, and the America he's selling will never go out of fashion. It's timeless, it's beloved, it's quintessential prep. It's never really in style, so it's never really out of style.

Is it?

I don't flippin' think so.

This meticulously constructed world, where, it's reported in Vanity Fair, the artfully dishevelled in-store displays (of course there are no Ralph Lauren stores in Canada, but I digress) are actually perfectly, one might say evilly calculated.

And I say, how boring.

Friday, August 10, 2007

Style.com's Candy Talker



Fashionistas, this is so crazy you've really got to check this out. It's the fashion director editrix Candy Pratts Price on Style.com

Or rather, it's an animated version of her, gesticulating with fashion-thin arms, narrating a slideshow of all the must-haves for fall.

Loving the clench-jaw Upper East Side voice! It's just beyond the beyond.

(And a thanks to Jessy Ungerman, one of the fashion editors at Canadian Living magazine for bringing this to my attention. It's crazy campy!)

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Net-a-porter


I quite adore this kicky little e-tailer. Though I shouldn't say little. Net-a-porter has become a force in the world of fashion etail, mostly because you can buy practically anything designer-y, anywhere in the world. How about that. Anywhere. In. The. World.

This is a big stretch from the days where nothing could be shipped to Canada...which is still a fact of many American retailers. Just try buying something online from:

Nordstrom.com
Saksfifthavenue.com
Barneys.com
Bananarepublic.com
eLuxury.com
Target.com

I could go on and on and bore the living shite out of you with all the places that do not ship to Canada, even though we are on the border and in many cases, closer than Hillbilly USA that can get a shipment overnight for shipping prices that start usually at either FREE or $7.95. But I won't do that.

Instead, a reckoning of who does it right, etail-wise
Jcrew.com
Bluefly.com

Even our Canadian high-fashion institution Holt Renfrew doesn't do e-tail across Canada. Shame!

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Fashion is a bitchy, bitchy world

That's why I love it so.

It's got everything: sexiness, campiness, skinny women, gay men, beautiful fabrics, high-concept, low-concept, aspiration, inspiration, no sense of irony, trends, classics, haughty editrixes, wannabe bloggers (gulp)...crap grammar aside, it's a world of evil geniuses.

And that's all I have to say about it.

If you don't believe me, read some of this:

"As MySpace will attest Fashionista blogger Faran Krentcil has many friends, one of whom works at a magazine and has an assistant they like to laugh at behind her back because she wears totally hideous outfits all the time, and sometimes they pay her false compliments just so they can get a closer look at her insane ensembles, and today she decided to post a blog entry about this fact, and I think you can see where this is going i.e. commenter MUTINY. Wrote one:

"everyone always laughs at you faran when you go out. trust me on this"...

Read the rest here:

http://jezebel.com/gossip/unpretty/fashionistas-bffs-assistants-ugly-headband--omg-internet-war-287048.php

Friday, August 03, 2007

Oxford shoes--will we all be wearing this come Fall?



These are the Oxford shoes that we've been seeing just tons of in the fashion rags. Not necessarily in this combo, but the wing tips and laces seem to be a common factor.

I find them a bit jolie-laide but they have a certain boyish charm. I think I would wear them. Granny chic has never been my thing, but it is an enduring style that makes the rounds every decade or so.

You like?

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

I'm obsessed with models' lives



Surely I am.

I'm almost embarrassed to admit it, but I'm fascinated by these twiglike beings. Natalia Vodianova...know anything about her? Got knocked up really young by some hot Brit aristocrat, had a baby, they got married, Vogue did a lifestyle spread on their utter fabulousness...it's just too much.

Now Vogues' website does a new column called Model Diaries, where supermodels tell the story of how they got superfamous. The Q and As of Natalia Vodianova and Doutzen Kroes (I know--who the hell is that??) are up, and I quite sadly am looking forward to reading more.

On the streetcar home I was deeply engrossed in Vogue's excerpt of Alek Wek's new memoir. That is one interesting lass.

Winona "Sticky Fingers" Ryder is on that cover. She is lovely to look at, and I've always adored the unusual quality of her voice. Remember her in "Heathers." Oh, I would have killed to be Winona Ryder back in ye day. Back when Christian Slater was still cute.

And that was a long time ago.

Update: I just remembered another reason I'd kill to be Wino. In the movie Little Women, she had a major kiss with none other than Christian Bale. Aka CB aka The finest man on earth. Yum.

If you watch the scene where they kiss, you even see a long string of saliva when their mouths separate. And that never even grossed me out, not even after pausing and rewinding many a time. Such is my devotion.