2011 Fashion

Christian Louboutin Dresses Barbie

Shoe designer Christian Louboutin teamed up with Barbie to create a collection for the doll - My Year in Paris. Christian Louboutin gave Barbie doll a complete makeover on her 50th anniversary. He not only designed shoes for her but also revamped her whole wardrobe.

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My Year in Paris with Christian Louboutin will see three different Barbie - the jewel thief-themed Barbie (to be launched in December 2009, safari-themed Barbie (to be launched in February 2010), and Cannes Film Festival Barbie,(in May 2010). Louboutin's Barbie will be available at the price of US$120 for a set. All the three dolls will be packaged in Louboutin shoe boxes, which will be accompanied by four pairs of Barbie-sized Louboutin heels. Thousands of women would die to get a Louboutin pair, but here's our lucky Barbie who's wearing them (and not one but four pairs in each set!!!!).
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As part of the collection an album will be published, for which a whole city was created for Barbie, and not just any city but City of Paris. The images include beautiful pictures of Paris and a gorgeous doll-girl wearing Louboutin shoes and perfect clothing.
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Sure the pictures look good and the idea is interesting, but creating Louboutin clad Barbies for little kids sounds too materialistic. They're just small kids, wanting to play with their dolls, what do they understand about designer mania. And why make them understand at such small age? Hoity-toity women would be happy to but these Barbie for their kids. But honestly, spare the kids of these materialisms.

Instead of roping in Mr. Louboutin, some other publicity stunt, that would have benefitted society too, would have been a better idea.

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Jimmy Choo for H&M to debut on Nov 14th

Early in June H&M announced that Jimmy Choo will be doing a Collection for H&M. The collection will include handbags, shoes (of course), men's line of shoes and accessories and yes there will also be a clothing line to complement the accessories.

We're eagerly waiting for 14th November, as this is when the collection is debuting.
Read on for the collection preview.
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Jimmy Choo for H&M - Collection Preview

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For full collection preview, click here.

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Price Range?

- Footwear will run from $99-$129, with high-end models topping $299.

- Handbags will be priced from $59.95 to $299.

- Clothing line will have $69.95 tank tops and $249 suede one-shoulder dresses.

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Related Posts:
Kate Moss for Topshop's Christmas collection
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Photo Courtsey: Shoe blog, Nitrolicious, Fab Sugar
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Kate Moss for Topshop's Christmas collection

Topshop unveiled its Kate Moss Christmas Collection. And obviously, for the photoshoot of campaign the model was Kate Moss herself. The photoshoot was done with unusual lightling making Kate look really curvy and hot.

Kate Moss has been designing for Topshop for quite some time. This collection is inspired by traditional Japanese and Chinese styles and techniques and fuses the old with the new. It displays prints of bamboo, flying stalks, lotus flowers, fireworks to reflect the richness of orient.

The 35-year model also included lingerie to Topshop's Christmas Collection that included floral printed silk pyjamas, chiffon jumpsuits and traingle shaped bras.
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To shop the collection, click here

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President Influencing the Fashion World

President and Prime Ministers are now influencing the fashion world or another way of creating attention on runways?

Last year, Jean-Charles De Castelbajac showed off his Spring 2009 collection during Paris Fashion Week with President Barak Obama inspiring his collection. Even Sonia Rykiel's Spring 2009 collection had the Prez Obama effect. Her collection included sweaters that read "I have a dream" and "Obama".

Spring 2009 looks at Sonia Rykiel (left) and Jean-Charles de Castelbajac (right)

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Now is it the west effect or really the PM inspiration, Indian designer Rohit Mittal flaunted his model who was wearing a dress with a picture of Prime Minister Mr Manmohan Singh. The short-length black and white checkered dress, with a kitsch, bearing the image of a smiling Mr. Singh wearing his trademark blue turban – is a part of Mittal’s Spring 2010 collection.

Rohit Mittal Spring 2010 Collection

Its one thing to get attention on the runway, while other thing to wear such pieces.
You like?

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Related Posts:
Lady Gaga influencing the Fashion World
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fall, on spring

spring street, nyc. october 28, 2009

...i see it, a yellow leaf

among so many.

nothing distinguishes it,

nothing striking, striped, stripped,

strident, nothing

more than its yellow

on this day,

which is enough...

--from "a yellow leaf"
by alberto rios
via the american life in poetry project, by ted kooser, us poet laureate.
the project offers a free weekly column featuring the work of contemporary american poets (curated by mr. kooser) to newspapers and online publications, with the hope that editors will see that poetry can offer "a spot of value" to readers. details here...

read a good poem: leaving early (and see a fine picture)

raymond saunders. this and that of what wants to be beauty, 2005.
mixed media on panel. 48 x 36 inches.
via the stephen wirtz gallery, san francisco.

on the occasion of sylvia plath's birthday, i present leaving early.
(she had me at, "lady, your room is lousy with flowers...")

***

Lady, your room is lousy with flowers.
When you kick me out, that's what I'll remember,
Me, sitting here bored as a leopard
In your jungle of wine-bottle lamps,
Velvet pillows the color of blood pudding
And the white china flying fish from Italy.
I forget you, hearing the cut flowers
Sipping their liquids from assorted pots,
Pitchers and Coronation goblets
Like Monday drunkards. The milky berries
Bow down, a local constellation,
Toward their admirers in the tabletop:
Mobs of eyeballs looking up.
Are those petals of leaves you've paired with them ---
Those green-striped ovals of silver tissue?
The red geraniums I know.
Friends, friends. They stink of armpits
And the involved maladies of autumn,
Musky as a lovebed the morning after.
My nostrils prickle with nostalgia.
Henna hags:cloth of your cloth.
They tow old water thick as fog.

The roses in the Toby jug
Gave up the ghost last night. High time.
Their yellow corsets were ready to split.
You snored, and I heard the petals unlatch,
Tapping and ticking like nervous fingers.
You should have junked them before they died.
Daybreak discovered the bureau lid
Littered with Chinese hands. Now I'm stared at
By chrysanthemums the size
Of Holofernes' head, dipped in the same
Magenta as this fubsy sofa.
In the mirror their doubles back them up.
Listen: your tenant mice
Are rattling the cracker packets. Fine flour
Muffles their bird feet: they whistle for joy.
And you doze on, nose to the wall.
This mizzle fits me like a sad jacket.
How did we make it up to your attic?
You handed me gin in a glass bud vase.
We slept like stones. Lady, what am I doing
With a lung full of dust and a tongue of wood,
Knee-deep in the cold swamped by flowers?

Nail Trend Fall and Winter 2009/2010

A woman's nails can really make or break her impression. Clean, tidy well-shaped nails is a must for every woman. Now let's see what are the Nail Trends for the nail-savvy women this season.

Shape and Length
Natural is the word for this season. Keep your nails in natural squoval shape. Square, the French way, has always been popular but natural shape is what you should go for. And keep your length keep them medium-long, the very long ones are a passé. The short ones are not only fashionable, but easy to maintain.

Squoval?
File nails into a square shape with rounded edges, keeping them a little longer.
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Colour
This season’s colors are elegant, bold and suit women who love to take risks. Many celebrities and across the runway were flashing the look of high shine, to metallics (golds, silver, bronze), and glittery finishes. Dark cues were ubiquitous like navy blues, dark plums, bright and deep reds, greys and charcoals, deep purples navy blues, rich chocolate browns, copper, lavender and wines.

If dark is not your thing, go for glittery, sparkly and shiny look in your favourite hues. Classic red is always in vogue.

Chooing the Dark Nail Colour according to your skin colour

For light skin: If you have fair skin, opt for blue-based shades with soft shimmer, which will look crisp, not gothic. Reds or Crimsons with hint of pink or earthy chestnut with mettalic finish will give a pretty edge to your look. If you want something in shades of purple then a feminine berry would suit your complexion.

For medium skin: Opt for gold flecks and warm undertones which make even tricky colors, like purple, flattering if you have olive or tan complexion. Classic ruby red with a sexy metallic finish, deep violet with gold shimmer or copper would suit your skin colour.

For dark skin: You can take the dark nail trend to the extreme by opting for strong hues that border on black. Deep luxe burgundy, inky aubergine with high sheen or dark chocolate would make your nails pop.

Bored of the same shades?
MAC special Fall-Winter Collection 2009 is the answer. MAC, in association with Jin Soon Choi, has lunched six daring and unique shades . You won't be able to find these colours in stores, as they're only available on the MAC website. In case you don't know, Jin Soon Choi is a nail guru and founder of Jin Soon Natural Hand and Foot Spas in New York. She has catered to many celebrities, fashion shows, and photography, and is especially known for her beautiful and intricate nail art designs.

Their shades include:

1. Cool Reserve - Dirty Grey Lavender
2. For Fun - Rich Clean Purple
3. Dance All Night - Brick Red
4. Dry Martini - Khaki Olive Green
5. Rich Dark Delicious - Rich BLackened Brown
6. Beyond Jealous - Blackened Blue Green

Tip for wearing Dark Nails:
Black is a severe nail shade and tends to highlight chips or cracks. Use a ridge-filler as a base and apply a top coat daily (from Instyle).

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hear a little song (play a little guitar)

which music magazine was it that had the "if you were stuck on a deserted island, what 10 records would you take with you" feature in every issue? was it tower records' free mag? and was it 10 records? or 5? why can't i remember these details?

in any case, i have invested a lot of/too much time compiling and reassessing my own list over the years. i am certain i would be unhappy to be forever without "to be surprised", so i guess that means the dan in real life soundtrack is coming with me.

wasting one on a soundtrack, you ask? i know, i know. but it's almost all sondre lerche material, sweet, lovely tunes, some of it written expressly for the film. of them all, "to be surprised" owns my heart. "i'm not gonna lie..." the song makes me want to fall in love.

it also makes me want to learn the guitar--especially that picking guitar intro (arranged and played by ole ludwig kruger). isn't it a brilliant and bright sound? i was so inspired i actually started looking into guitar lessons last fall, but it's going to a little while before i can pull it together. plus, i can't sing, so that makes the whole strumming my guitar bit a lot less compelling. but still, i aspire.

do you? watch this, and be prepared to...

Styling Tips from Celebs for Autumn Winter 2009

Autumn has started and winter is soon approaching, let's take some smart styling and fashion tips from our favourite celebrities

Black Formal Jackets paired with your jeans or a simple tee is what we're seeing an instant hit with our fav celebs. The style varies from classic to tuxedo or with strong shoulder detailing. They are definitely a must-have and not only this season, but is a classic item for every wardrobe.

Penelope Cruz in NYC on October 10th 2009
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Penelope Cruz wore her stylish black jacket with strong shoulder (strong shoulder is huge trend this season) with a stripy black-and-white vest top, blue jeans and riding boots.

While Penelope chose boots, Kate Moss paired her black jacket with black jeans and platform lace booties and a colour knitted top.
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Our fav Victoria Beckham was spotted at Heathrow in a rather formal tuxedo jacket in black, which she paired with beige jeans, the classy Hermes Birkin and what looks like her favourite YSL platform court shoes.

If you see closely, Posh is wearing another huge trend, bright nail varnish a colourful hot pink.

Jessica Alba chose the military style jacket in black. Pay attention to Jessica’s handbag with chain handle and fringe.

Jessica Alba in Beverly Hills

After the Coco with Chanel and the new Chanel mania, the chain handle bags are just about everywhere. And who else but Kate Moss was seen wearing the trend. Its a great way to pep-up your simple outfit.

Long scarves is anothr popular trend for this Autumn/Winte 2009/2010, which was spotted on Lindsay Lohan at LAX Airport.

Lindsay Lohan at LAX

ghost bike memorial

david smith. sixth avenue/36th street, nyc.

testing testing: the sigma at cu

last night i joined a college friend, who's visiting from california, at a great teachers event at low library on columbia's campus. it was kind of a fancy affair. men in dark suits, and ladies in floor-length gowns, sporting big baubles, bangles and beads. i was decidedly more casual, though i tried to give it a little ooh-la-la: a favorite top that i bought a couple of years ago at a boutique in le marais, and slim black slacks and slate grey heels from comptoir des cotonniers. it turned out to be a smart choice, as one gentleman that we became acquainted with that night, mr. hooper (i think he said he was class of '68?), asked me to take a few photos for him. having only my 50mm portrait lens with me, i had to sneak my way up to the front of the room, crouch down, crawl around to have any chance at a decent shot. i welcomed the opportunity though the photos, in the end, were not great. but i couldn't have tried to oblige him if i'd been in any kind of gown.

mr. hooper is himself a serious photographer (he taught digital photography at parsons, while working at citigroup) but i'm pretty sure he wasn't looking for photos of the dinner we were served. so i took these for me! the light was acceptable, and the plating was pretty. i wanted another chance to see what i could do with this lens, since i'd been a little frustrated before.

all of these are at 2.0 (and btw, delicious)...

these are not classic food shots, and the focus is a bit off, but i sort of like the look of them...

thoughts? i'm open to critiquing.

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a quick note about the event: the great teacher honorees were professors austin quigley, who was dean of the college from 1995-2009 and zvi galil, who served as dean of seas from 1997-2007.
also in attendance was the college's new dean, dr. michele m. moody-adams, the first female and first black dean in the college's history...

tripping the light fantastic: more from the gap

hip-hop! (choreographed by toni basil, featuring a very young wade robson)

go-go dancing (my specialty?)
song: wild elephants (blow up a go go) by james clarke.

a matthew rolston directed "swing" number (with marco mazzei, dp), to louis prima's jump, jive, an' wail...

have you ever tried country line dancing? actually quite fun...

hear a little song: lovely day

this song, lovely day (aka dan and liz's wedding song, and "the ricky ledée song"--hear it? loveledéeloveledéeloveledée love le-dée) is one of the most played on my ipod.

the bass line, and the cymbals? oh, those cymbals.

feeling blue? it might help.

and here's 30-more seconds of joy, via the gap khaki soul commercial, directed by hype williams and choreographed by fatima robinson.

i've spent part of the morning looking at the series of spots from this campaign--
will post more later...

see a fine picture: herman leonard

dizzy gillespie and sonny stitt, nyc, new york, 1953. © herman leonard, 1953. via the morrison hotel gallery.

almost forgot to mention in "catching up" with professor o'meally, i found out that there's an exhibition of beautiful jazz portraits, photographed by herman leonard, at lincoln center. (the professor is part of the curatorial group.) it will be on view through february 14, 2010. admission is free.

address: peter jay sharp arcade, 5th floor, frederick p. rose hall. jazz at lincoln center, broadway at 60th street, ny, ny.

hours: tuesday through sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. and monday from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.

the photographs are also on sale via the morrison hotel gallery. have a look at the set...

a portion of proceeds from the sale of photographs will benefit jazz at lincoln center.

tgtt (too good to title)

while searching for information about a "great teachers" event that i'm supposed to attend uptown on thursday, i found my way to the jazzman testifies, an article about one of my favorite teachers, professor robert g. o'meally. professor o'meally is the zora neale hurston professor of literature at columbia university and the founder of the university's center for jazz studies. it's fair to say that barnard and columbia had its share of celebrated professors, some who strutted through bi-weekly lectures and others whose amazing dullness belied their stellar scholarly reputation.

but professor o'meally was of a different class. the kind of person who made you relax, but also sit up straight. he was smooth--quietly elegant in every manner, from the way he dressed to the way he addressed us. his lectures were instructive of course, but he seemed to want more to guide and inspire conversation. the class wasn't merely about listening to music-- it was about a culture that was alive. and he presented it with an urgency and earnestness. if you listen to this npr interview, "the intersection of jazz and social protest," conducted by farai chideya in 2008, you'll have an idea of what he's like.

i remember how well he listened--leaning in, ear-first, sometimes nodding, as if we were musicians trading fours. i loved that he often said "agreed!" instead of "yes!" (for a time i tried to adopt that exclamation as an o'meally homage.) i don't know how much i excelled in that class, but i felt encouraged in the inquiries i attempted (not surprisingly, sometimes about sports and photography and improvisation).

***

i've spent that last couple of nights looking though my notebook (yes, i still have it. and boy, was my handwriting nice back then). i'll need to refer back to the texts for a proper de-coding of some. i do wish i had taken better notes about the music that he played for every class intro.

t.g.t.t. (too good to title), performed by alice babs, one of duke ellington's favorite singers, has been a favorite since he played it for us (unfortunately, i don't seem to be able to find a link with the full track). so, too, with heaven which ellington wrote expressly for her. i teared up the first time i heard it--and i still can't comprehend the notes she hits for this number. she may be just a touch off in the live recording. sadder to me is this video doesn't show the full performance of johnny hodges on alto sax. you can hear him on the cd recording of the second sacred concert.

LCF for Puma

Sportsear giant Puma has collaborated with London College of Fashion to come out with exclusive designs under 'fashion meets music' theme to bring spunk to the basic work-out tee. The idea was to create fashion forward designs.

The t-shirts are now available to shop at Asos.com. Check out the two winning designs.
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Fringe detail T-shirt

Cut-out over back design

saturday shoot

rufus...

miiiike

we ran in to mollie, who is featured in a couple of chaos theory episodes.

oh captain, my captain

"jeter" in brooklyn. may 2009.

let's go yankees.

following up, and from out of the past

janice lucena is nike's tennis design director. i didn't see her discuss nadal's blue checked shorts anywhere (but i also didn't google around for too long. i did find that his shorts are a fairly hot topic amongst super fans--but i guess this is nothing new? even ny mag got into the act last month).

anyway, ms. lucena is quoted in sarah thurmond's piece on tennis.com about color and design in tennis clothing. she also gave a couple of good lines about rafa's style to a new york times blogger during the us open.

***
this reminded me that i never posted any photos from my second trip to this year's US open. it's been one month, but it feels like 2 seasons ago, thanks to today's forty degree weather.

shall we reminisce about one of my favorite nights of the summer?

***

my first trip to the 2009 us open on labor day was so cheerful, so nearly perfect, i nearly convinced myself that i didn't need to go back.

but as the second week progressed, the matchups and the storylines were just so...beguiling. oudin, clijsters, pennetta, wozniacki still in...murray already out, and most meaningfully (to me): nadal was making a good show of it, despite his injury. by the time wednesday rolled around, i was getting ideas. nadal v. gonzalez on thursday night was a tempting ticket... it was pretty easy to talk myself out of the opportunity from a purely practical perspective (did i need to go all the way out there a second time? shouldn't i just save the money? or at least spend it on a class or a workshop? and: if i'm going to all the way out there, flying solo, shouldn't i just watch it from home). but really, the ride would seem long and lonely, and the ticket price would really only sting if in the end nadal lost. i didn't know if i could take being there for the losing.

and then i solicited and received some advice: if it doesn't rain, go see rafa. he was born to play at night.

SOLD!

within the hour, i hopped on the train. it wasn't possible to tell from the us open site at that late juncture in the afternoon if there were still tickets available. i figured, if i go, and there are some available and i can afford them, great. if not...then it wasn't meant to be...

by the time i arrived, the first set was well underway. but i wasn't the only one running late.

luckily, there were still tickets available. and the cost didn't break my bank (completely).

the seat i purchased was good--no squinting required. but i was sitting on the south side of the stadium. which meant, when he was on my side of the court, i would be looking through my zoom lens at nadal's back and backside. not an unattractive view, but very limiting in terms of composition. i was able to take a couple of decent ones, from the far side...

then came the mists that turned into sprinkles. it was enough to halt play.
the first time this happened, there was still a kind of hopeful buzz that play would resume...and it did.

nadal was pumped and primed to take the second set.

pretty good hops

i have many shots similar to this, his service motion well-documented.

can you tell how the wind is starting to pick up and swirl around?

i kept picturing nadal standing at the bow of a ship...bracing for wind from all sides...

nadal would lose a set point for the second set, on a let, after something blew onto the court. we were in for another tiebreaker (nadal won the first, 7-4).

and it started sprinkling again. full-throated boos rained down on gonzalez as he tested the lines, serving at 2-3, and they stopped play. and then the real rains came.

so i bought a hotdog. and then met up with a friend who was covering the match. he brought me some press notes and a big fat brownie. and then i went back to sit in the mist, with my magazine. i had a good feeling that play would resume.

the techs took their slow drive onto the court and there was wild rejoicing. people danced and lip synced for the television cameras.

i love this drying method. i've seen my mom clean floors like this. i am excited for her to see that this is how they do it at the slams, too.

after a short while, i noticed many people rushing toward the exits: we were officially allowed to move down, waaay down. i hotfooted it, not believing my luck. all the waiting was paying off. i was already picturing the kind of photos i would be taking from courtside...

and just as i was texting my friends ("4th row!"), i was getting incoming messages ("sorry, babe." "whoops. that sucks...") and after thinking, babe? when did my friends start saying babe? i realized they heard the news before i did: no more tennis for the night.

but let me just say that even with this resoundingly "bad" news, people were in good spirits. many lingered to take photos of each other courtside because like me, they couldn't believe just how close they came to being...so close.

i took this picture of the perfect stranger who had been posing courtside with his friend--it would be "the closest i got to rafa." my camera was drawn to the colors and stripes he was sporting.

i met them shortly afterwards (he is alexei, a filmmaker, and she is kiara, a singer). see what i mean about people being so happy?