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Mary-Kate, Ashley and The Row
2008-05-16 04:07:00
They made the ?bag lady? popular and built a mini empire on the back of ?Tweens?, but Ashley and Mary -Kate have officially grown up. Last week, London department store Harvey Nicols hosted the launch for their latest label ?The Row?, a collection that would have left many of their former fans with raised eyebrows. Sheer tops, suspenders and more than a hint of chest characterised the Olsen?s first ?Row? collection (named after London?s Savile Row), revealed first at a top-secret show in Paris earlier this year. With 29 stockists confirmed world-wide including 10 Corso Coma in Milan, Isetan in Tokyo and Nicols, it?s a step up from their previous Walmart label ?mary-kateandashley?. The official launch at Nicols revealed $1700 cashmere tuxedo jackets and a $3220 Tuscan lamb coat to the applause of Peaches Geldorf and Amy Winehouse. Inspired by androgynous black-and-white Helmut Lang photographs, it?s a big leap up from the Walmart isles.
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Costume change. By Alicia Pyke.
2008-05-16 04:05:00
Sometimes when I?m dressing, I like to imagine myself playing a role. Just as actors garb up for a particular part in a play, so I like to prepare for the day or night ahead in theme. Usually it?s a pretty large leap of imagination but that?s exactly what makes it fun in the first place. So humour me if you will when I think I?m channelling a Rock Goddess, Sexy Secretary, French Poet or some other fashion muse. Rock Goddess naturally involves jeans and killer heels to catch a band while French Poet might just mean wearing a beret, scarf and scuffed boots on a rainy day. Russian New Money meanwhile only surfaces in the middle of winter on an especially chilly evening when I can get away with wearing the Ginger & Smart black rabbit fur hat I once purchased on sale for $10. Girl Detective likes to gad about in the same deluxe belted trench coat Sexy Secretary also ventures out in. But that?s where the wardrobe overlap ends. Did you ever hear of Nancy Drew sleuthing around in mes...
More About: Change , Costume , Alicia

Angels and Devils ? The Right and Wrong Way to Dress for Fancy Dress. By Me
2008-02-06 16:08:00
Have you ever been invited to one of those fancy dress parties where you aren?t good friends with the hosts and are not sure just how dressed up you should be?I don?t know which option?s worse you either disregard the Super Hero?s fancy dress notice and end up being the Plain Jane in the corner while everyone else gets down and dirty in their Catwomen suits while you try and pass yourself off as Lois Lane or worse still you turn up in last years Play Bunny outfit and if you are anything like me you look more Sara ?Bunny Ears? Marie from Big Brother than Elle Woods.So what is the correct protocol? How do you stand out from the crowd without wishing you had emptied a stiff drink first?..Start by reading the invite properly or ask for clarification. If your host?s theme asks for Hookers and Hobos its not asking you to turn up looking like a beef eating linebacker.Is the occasion heavily based around the fancy dress theme or has it just been tacked on at the bottom of the invite ?so and...
More About: Angels , Dress , Wrong , Devils , Fancy

The ones that got away. By Alicia Pyke.
2008-02-01 01:00:00
Regrets, I?ve had a few. Among them is a tiny cream lace dress I wore with hefty boots aged 16 and a collection of glamorous vintage slips and nighties worthy of a silver screen goddess I really was too young to appreciate.Sure, there are certain other items I wish I had purchased at the time rather than letting common or financial sense stop me but it?s the items I?ve loved and lost that continue to haunt me.Clothes are hopelessly linked with emotion. No surprises there. Who doesn?t remember their first pair of heels or what they wore to graduation? Incidentally mine were black patent courts from Big W in 1987 and my high-school graduation frock five years later was a plum sand-washed silk sack Dad had purchased at Country Road as a gift. A $200 gift I felt very grown up swapping my usual Levi?s 501s and band T-shirts for. If only on that occasion. And while I?m not in mourning for these particular items, there are others worthy of misty-eyed memories.Not that I?m alone. After rece...
More About: Alicia

An Ode to the Maxi Dress. By Melanie Moss.
2008-01-30 18:05:00
Oh maxi dress how fond of thee am I Thy flattering jersey hangs softly at my side You leave me free to butter my bread each side As I don’t need to worry about the thighs I need to hide I love a good maxi dress, have been wearing them for years. Born into a family without the best legs, they been my saving grace on many an occasion. I do worry about my daughter though as I pass on the family curse, although to look on the bright side I do have a smaller than usual waist……. This summers fashion is built on the foundation made last season by designers with maxi dresses appearing on catwalks, in the windows of chainstores and even on the stage of Idol, not that I watch it….. The trick to a good maxi dress is to play up your assets and hide the rest. You don’t want some unsuspecting stranger to walk up to you on the street, pat your belly and ask when you are due. Too much excess fabric isn’t good for anybody and in particular with the maxi dres...
More About: Dress , Melanie , Moss , Maxi

Get THAT Dress.
2008-01-29 23:26:00
Last week, Top Shop sent out a mailer to all its eNewsletter subscribers with the header ‘Get THAT Kate Moss Dress ’. Just WHAT dress are they talking about? Let’s just say it has something to do with an old flame, a charity and 60,000 Swarovski crystals…. Fashion lore has it that 10 years ago, when Kate Moss met Johnny Depp (also known as the ‘Brad and Gwenyth’ era) she was wearing a 1920s vintage flapper dress. The romance might have fizzed, but the dress lived on – albeit under her bed. But a few months ago, Ms Moss shook out the beaded beauty and used it as inspiration for a Swarovski/Topshop collaboration. Embroidered with 60,000 Swarovski crystals, 500 limited edition copies are to go on sale at TopShop’s Oxford flagship next month, and the original? It’s been auctioned on Ebay for the Prince’s Trust. Want to nab it? You need to be a size 6-8 and have around 5000 pounds up your sleeve. Ouch.

Fact or Fashion. By Alicia Pyke.
2008-01-23 22:57:00
I?ve been present at a lot of fashion shoots lately and what you see in a magazine has as much to do with the art of illusion as it does the clothes. Or the model. And I?m not even talking about Photoshop. Here are some of the tricks of the trade that routinely take place before a single frame is snapped?· Sometimes it takes as many as three people to shoe-horn a model into a dress: one to hold the garment in place, another to bring the fabric together and one to work the zipper. Speaking of zips, whether you?re in a studio or at home, never rush these temperamental metal monsters. If it sticks try again in a couple of minutes. Persisting will only result in a tear or broken zipper.· Squeezing into a corseted gown is even less pleasant. Did you know a model?s ribs can actually be lifted and compressed slightly to help with fastening the hooks and eyes? Ouch. According to one clothes horse, the bones settle back into position after the dress has been on a few minutes and breathing fi...
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Sail Away With Me Hunny. By Melanie Moss.
2008-01-22 09:45:00
Its Tuesday afternoon, you?re fed up and you?ve decided to pack up and go away for the weekend.The best part about going away on the weekend is the lead up. You spend Tuesday booking the beach house, flights and food. Wednesday listing what you are going to wear, Thursday writing your cleaning list and washing enough undies then before you know it its Friday and you can waste the day emailing all of your friends telling them about your plans for the weekend.Cleverly executed, a weekend away can take up your entire working week.I consider myself an expert packer. I can cram enough for myself, husband and two cats in the same leather overnighter, throw it in the car and be ready to go in half and hour.Packing for a weekend away is fun. There?s the expectation of the escape, the fun adventures you might find yourself on, the opportunities that may crop up and so on. The not so fun part is spending most of Sunday afternoon repacking rather than lying on the beach.After heading off to Je...
More About: Sail , Melanie , Moss , Hunny

Fashion Optimism.
2008-01-21 04:37:00
The world might have wars and warming on its mind, but the fashion world is still one great optimist. At the Paris shows last month, some of the biggest names painted the fashion future, and it was bright.Balenciaga was voted by many as leader of the pack, Nicolas Ghesquière?s floral armour had models iron-clad in bold silk mini dresses, capped sleeves and hand-span waists. He then doused them in peonies, hibiscus and chrysanthemum ? talk about a floral revolution.Another flower child, Stella McCartney created a virtual garden of cloth, with bouquet-covered silk voile jumpsuits, parachute blazers and silk georgette dresses. It was a garden party without the annoying neighbour?just embossed porcelain and iced-cupcakes.Dries van Noton mixed flowers like they were cocktails but emerged without a headache. Combining tropical print with floral motifs and chunky jewellery, the collection packed more colour than 72 Derwents. Spring greens were splashed over violent golds, in a celebration ...
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Pack attack. By Alicia Pyke.
2008-01-20 09:55:00
Call me schizo-fash-ic but I have an entirely new wardrobe worry this week: Pack ing Paranoia.In a little over a month I?ll be relaxing on a remote island in the South Pacific with my favourite person in the world and nothing but snorkelling excursions, sunset cocktails, seafood feasts and trashy novels to consider. Mmmm, I can almost see it now.But for one major detail ? what I?m wearing. Yes, I know the location dictates it probably won?t be much but that makes it even more important to choose wisely. I also know I want to pack smart, pack light and pack to with a nod to my inner island princess without looking like I?ve been shipwrecked en route to a costume party.My main problem stems from thinking I have to pack for holidays like I?m preparing for one of those fashion stories the magazines are currently brimming with. You know, ?Seven clever pieces to mix and match over 10 nights in three countries?. Oh, did I mention in just one overnight bag?It doesn?t stop there. Having style...
More About: Alicia , Attack , Atta

Fat Free Accessories.
2008-01-18 04:33:00
What if we said that you could indulge in creamy macaroons, whipped cream rings, choc-dipped banana and scooped ice-cream without gaining a gram? You can. It?s called Q-PotHailing from Harajuku, Japan, Q-Pot is an accessories company with a major sweet tooth. Surprisingly, founder Tadaaki Wakamatsu has perfect pearlers, probably because the treats he produces are for fingers, necks and wrists ? not mouths. In crafting each piece Wakamatsu studies the shape andform of his subject in depth. Testing legions of biscuits, cakes and creams(hard life!) to create the perfect whipped-banana rings or soft macaroonnecklaces. Sold from a chocolate covered store in Tokyo (or at Incu, Via Alley, Harry Highpants and The Outpost in Oz) the label is not just about fat-free accessories - but interaction between people. Food is something that every person in every country can connect over, without reference to language or even culture. See a choc-dipped banana hunk on someone?s index and it?s hard not...
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Vintage fashion is here to stay. By Melanie Moss.
2008-01-16 18:40:00
My grandmother bought her first pair of jeans last month at the ripe age of eighty three. She felt very groovy walking into Susan and walking out with a pair of sensible slacks in denim.Each night I kiss the photo of my Nanna with my grandfather looking very glamorous on holiday together in the 60?s. My favourite picture of her, she is wearing a knitted camisole and matching shrug, gloves and pearls, my grandfather in his beige linen suit, both of them footloose and fancy free.I truly believe the fascination we have with vintage fashion comes from a desire to return to a time where ladylike dressing was the rule not the exception. With couture classics selling for more than ever in stores and on Ebay and celebrities clamoring for vintage gowns to set them apart on the red carpet it?s a phase of fashion I don?t see ending soon.My grandparents were not well off, both coming from large families and in turn having seven children of their own but they and the kiddies were always dressed ...
More About: Fashion , Vintage , Melanie , Moss , Stay

Collaboration Nation.
2008-01-16 18:38:00
Here at Tragic, we talk a bit about colabs. So it seems fit to draw into the discussion one of the most epic local fashion/store collaborations of them all, ?Designers for Target?style by design?It?s become a sort of local fashion lore. When Stella McCartney released for Target in March 2007, women cued up around the block to catfight over her range. However, a month later, racks were full with mark-downed items.Few before her had caused such a furore (T.L. Wood, Tina Kavalis and Alice McCall) but few had left the racks so full. Josh Goot has fared a similar fate, his fast fashion left lingering on the floor. Still, designers Yeojin Bae and Gail Sorronda have just released through the store, making a new season of colab creation.So what are the benefits of a collaboration nation? On the up side, we have once inaccessible designers at market price. On the other? A trend-obsessed phenomenon that prioritises commercial clout over innovative design.Image credits: www.designersfortarget....
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Paris Hilton Gets Her Gear On
2008-01-16 03:24:00
Take one hotel heiress who became famous for being famous, and combine with a Korean sports label and what do you get? That?s right, it?s Paris Hilton for Fila folks. Last week, the blonde American ?beauty? renewed her estimated one million dollar contract to represent South Korean sportswear giant Fila Korea. Paris has been working with the brand since March 2007, and on a recent visit to the country proudly proclaimed: ?I?m very excited to be in Korea. This is a great market for me?My favorite color is pink, so I wore this today,? before whisking off to host a charity party attended by Korean A-list entertainers as well as Beyonce Knowles. Word on the Korean streets is that Paris is a decent pick for the promo due to her ?sexy? image. Pretty sure the tone was different back in the Rick Saloman days of 2004. But that?s yesterday?s news right? Image Credits: www.hollywood.com
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Christian Lacroix On Show.
2008-01-13 14:35:00
There are fashion designers, and then there are couture designers. Christian Lacroix is both. Over his 30-year long career, the designer has created pieces that have adorned red carpets the world over.Recently opened at France?s Les Arts Decoratifs Museum Christian Lacroix : Histoires de Mode features 400 dresses, capes, coats and hats dating back to the 18th century alongside 90 designs from Lacroix?s own haute couture shows. Running until April 2008, Lacroix is rumoured to have gone through over 80,000 items to come up with the final 500.Pieces from Yohji Yamamoto, Comme des Garçons along with postwar classics from Christian Dior and Pierre Cardin, and creations by early couturier Jeanne Lanvin are all included. So if you?re in France before April 20, put this in your itinerary.Images from the exhibition and Christian Lacroix?s collections courtesy of Les Arts Decoratifs Museum and www.christian-lacroix.fr
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Yummy Mummies in the Park. By Melanie Moss.
2007-12-17 11:50:00
Have you ever noticed that Yummy Mummies are all starting to look the same? It seems to me that the schoolyard is no longer the place to be cool, its now the play-yard. I took a friend?s toddler to the park the other day in practice for my upcoming servitude (yes I know I?m mad). Here I was heavily preggers wearing a plain white lycra singlet, black lycra roll top pants and thongs. Believe me, if they came in lycra I?d be wearing those too. I figured there wasn?t much need to dress up I was probably going to get some child?s ice-cream smooshed into my top anyway, so I just threw my look together, swept my hair up and headed down to the park. It quickly became apparent that the days of running out of the house, screaming toddler in tow, competing with the other mums for the title of most sleep deprived are long gone. I was surrounded by Citizens of Humanity jeans with just the right amount of fade, sleek blow-dried hair (not the ?Double Bay Blond? kind but the shiny natural healthy...
More About: Park , Melanie , Moss

Romper Stomper. By Melanie Moss.
2007-12-14 14:08:00
So I?m sitting here at my laptop on a cold, rainy weekday looking out the window at the poor people struggling past me in wet weather gear, umbrellas and ruined shoes thanking the powers that be that I didn?t have to get out of my jammies today.There is certainly something to be said for working from home. As a personal stylist I?m sure people think I sit around drinking fresh cups of tea on pure white lounges filled with chintz cushions. The truth is oft more grizzly. Take today for instance. I haven?t had a shower yet, am still in my flannies, my cats are resting on my lap and I have a jug of orange juice beside me with no glass. Oh the joy of drinking straight from the bottle????.I guess the only saving grace I have left is that I would never let anybody see me like this. In fact it?s in this weakened state of fashion that I am even telling you the bare truth. You have to ask yourself one question, would I answer the door to a courier wearing this outfit. If the answer is no ? an...
More About: Melanie , Moss , Stomper

Fashion Designer Top 5 Logos
2007-12-05 10:22:00
Kind - an integrated element for almost all with the approach to style and elegance in way which it or it appears. And in the today's competitive world, there are certain author's marks, which ranzhirovany above the others. They are responsible for creation and popularisation of new tendencies in a fashion, and some of them have reached almost similar guru of a condition because of their huge popularity. Thus, some author's emblems managed to reach the international recognition unlike others. These author's emblems are synonymous with a high-efficiency kind, charm, elegance and style. They - emblems of corporations which operate the kind world.Designer Chanel LogoThe firm of Designer Chanel Logo'The Chanel ? is the popular French author's firm established in Paris, based Gabrielloj Bonheur "Coco" Chanel. Fash ion house Chanel world famous clothes for the line, spirits and other fashionable accessories.Designer Chanel Logo is protivovkljuchennoj blocking, being imposed on double...
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BREAD & BUTTER celebrated a premiere in the Shôko Lounge Club in Barcelona
2007-10-23 01:32:00
BREAD & BUTTER celebrated a premiere in the Shôko Lounge Club in Barcelona : for the first time, the company awarded the Young Talent Prize 07 in its second home Barcelona in cooperation with the Catalan fashion school "Escuela Superior de Diseño y Moda Felicidad Duce".The award for the best designer of the ?Graduation Show? ? the design school?s official exam show, which took place during the BBBarcelona in July 2007 ? went to Manuel Bolaño. The second award went to the graduate Andrea Llosa, who has already won the second prize of the ?Mittelmoda Fashion Awards? in Gorizia, Italy.Both prizewinners will be honoured with a stand in Studio VI at the BBBarcelona in January 2008. The studio is one of the most important platforms for young, progressive fashion design talents, offering them the opportunity to present their collections in an extraordinary environment, from installations to temporary exhibitions.With the Young Talent Prize 07, BREAD & BUTTER is expanding B&B Des...
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Past Vogue CFDA winners doing well
2007-08-21 11:55:00
In advance of announcing the winner of the 2006 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Award ($200,000), Vogue Editor in Chief Anna Wintour gave a run-down of what?s become of winners past. She also spoke very highly of the award?s career-boosting effects. ?In only the third year of the competition, we know that to win a first or runner-up prize is to receive a substantial professional boost. The inaugural winner, Proenza Schouler, is one of the most important collections in New York, and its moving spirits, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, were nominated for Womenswear Designer of the year in 2006 by the CFDA. Last year?s winner, Trovata, has just launched a terrific handbag line? Runners-up winners ($50,000) ? have also thrived. Thom Browne, in addition to growing his own brand, is now a guest designer for Brooks Brothers. Michael and Nicole Colovos of Habitual have moved on to become??
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Zara, Cortefiel, Corte Ingles stand up for Plus Sizes
2007-08-21 11:49:00
Leading Spanish fashion houses including Inditex and flagship brand Zara agreed an unprecedented move to draw up a beauty ?canon? including harmonizing dress sizes after a recent storm over the number of young women suffering from anorexia.The 12-point package of measures, or beauty ?charter? ? drawn up with the health ministry ? includes a stipulation that shop windows display sizes of 38 minimum (size 10 in Britain, eight in the United States) and that size-46 apparel be placed in easy view in stores under the generic label ?large sizes.?In a joint statement the couturiers said they intended to harmonize sizes in a bid to reduce the possibility of ?consumer error? with sizes currently not in sync from one firm to the next.Aside from Zara, other signatories included Cort efiel, Mango and chain store Corte Ingles as the Spanish firms, most of whom also sell their wares abroad, are reacting to concerns that anorexia is on the rise and that models are ?excessively thin.?
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USA Fashion Schools
2007-08-11 22:22:00
Listings by StateAlabama Auburn University, Textile Engineering | Auburn | (334) 844-5457 Arizona The Art Institute of Phoenix, Fash ion Marketing Program | Phoenix | (800) 557-7216 California The Art Institute of California - San Francisco, Fashion Programs | San Francisco | (800) 557-7216 California Design College, Fashion Programs | Los Angeles | (800) 557-7216 American InterContinental University - Los Angeles Campus, Fashion Programs | Los Angeles International Academy of Design & Technology - Sacramento, Fashion Design Programs | Sacramento Westwood College, Fashion Merchandising Program - Upland FIDM/The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising | (800) 624-1200 | Email Campuses In: Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, San Francisco Apparel Arts | San Francisco | (415) 436-9738 California College of the Arts, Fashion Design Program | San Francisco | (800) 447-1ART California State University - Los Angeles, Department of Art, Fashion Programs | ...
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Jean Paul Gaultier : Fashion Show FW07-08
2007-08-10 16:42:00
Part 1Part 2
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Beyonce's The House Of Dereon Fashion Clothing Line
2007-08-10 00:46:00
There is a great online place to visit that is hot, hot, hot. Beyonce's The House of Dereon Fashion Clothing Line will leave you drooling for more. This new clothing line is defining the popular fashion term, 'urban chic'. You don't want to miss out on Beyonce's and her sister's modeling this feminine and exquisite fashion line. Not only will you want to purchase some of these fashions and accessories, they're easy on the wallet with their affordability. You can show off your figure and your style with all types of clothing from denim jeans to their well-designed blouses while accenting them with modern accessories that are also offered.Top-quality suede satchels with numerous accents are now part of the Beyone House of Dereon Clothing Line. Accents include intricate embroidery designs, classy studs, leather trimming, elegant plush trimming, handy side pockets, magnetic claps and even double chain link straps. For shoppers wanting the casual shoulder bags, the Beyonce House o...
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About Collegefashion.net
2007-08-10 00:38:00
Collegefashion.net is a blog for stylish college coeds, featuring fashion tips for students, the latest trends, beauty tips, coupons for shopping on a budget and advice on how to maximize university life.Briana (an alias) is the name behind this blog. I?m a blond, blue-eyed college junior and I attend a large-ish university in New England, USA. I?m all about fashion, but unfortunately I wasn?t blessed with rich parents, so I?ve learned the hard way how to manage my money and still look hot. I?m all about well calculated splurges on designer pieces every so often and style on a budget the rest of the time.My Favorite Designers are Marc Jacobs, Valentino and Michael Kors. For my designer denim fix, I like True Religion Jeans, Frankie B, Seven for all Mankind, and Hudson. I love casual and cute clothes from designers like Juicy Couture, Ella Moss, Primp, Splendid and Rachel Pally. I have a taste for Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton handbags, even though I probably won?t get my first for ma...
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