Fashion Friends

It’s the time of the year when change is in the air and there’s just so much going on that it’s nearly impossible to keep up with who’s going where and doing what with whom. Classmates are graduating and moving cross country for jobs or spending the summer at home before heading to grad school in the fall.

However, the friends that I have kept track of are my fellow fashion followers. And let me tell you, they’re up to some pretty amazing things. Not only are they making me insanely jealous of their summers stomping the streets of the City, but they’re doing more than just hanging out on Houston and spending their days recovering from the night before at Sub Mercer.

Elana Fishman: I met Elana last summer, and I can safely say she is probably one of the most intelligent, smart and funny people I’ve ever met. From our jaunts in the rain at Fashion Week to nights at Momofuku and BabyCakes for dessert, we spent some great time together. Miss Fishman recently graduated from NYU and has taken the position of Jason Wu’s  (fashion prodigy extrodinaire) administrative assistant.

Connie Wang: Connie was my partner in crime this past Fashion Week as we attempted to impress the fashion crowd at a hoity toity afterparty. Our attempt failed, as Connie lost her voice and I just wasn’t interesting enough to hold snooty PR people’s attention. Connie’s left her post as the wittiest West Coaster I know and graduated from UC Berkeley and will be headed to NYC soon to show the world who’s boss; because, well, I’ve never seen anyone rock a fur vest and vintage YSL tuxedo pants quite like Connie.

Casey Lewis: Casey was the first Teen Voguer and fellow fashion intern I met last summer. When I found out she was bringing TeenFashionista to NYC for the summer, I sent her a quick email and we decided to meet up at my favorite West Village cafe, Cafe Angelique, on Bleecker. From there we got rained out at the Vampire Weekend concert, ate the best PB and J sandwiches ever, just to name a few highlights. Casey’s spending the summer back in NYC interning for Conde again, this time at Cookie Magazine. Just what the world needs, a fashionable girl who can throw a killer dinner party.

John Huetter: John actually sat next to me in my marketing class back at St. John Fisher. I wouldn’t necessarily call us BFF, but he made the entire class crack up on a daily basis. Between his insane sense of humor and his VMan-worthy good looks, this boy’s got it made. John’s taken his marketing history into marketing himself, having signed with ADAM model agency in NYC and working the casting circuit. Fashionista favorite Jeremy Kost has already shot him on a summery rooftop.

Summer’s here and I can’t wait to see where everyone ends up!! Congratulations everyone and good luck!

 

Behati and Coco, Fashion Week’s most famous BFFs

Connie Wang, for Chictopia

Elana Fishman, shot by AltamiraNyc, in Central Park

John Huetter, shot by Jeremy Kost

Miss Casey Lewis, enjoying her new Union Square fashionista pad

The Good, The Bad, The Impossible

These, I think I'd be able to live with.

Let’s change that to the bad, the worse and the mediocre. 

During my glory days (glory used loosely, but it was pretty much the most perfect summer of. my. life.) at Fashionista, I wrote this post about finding the perfect sandals for guys for the summer. Well, it’s that time of the calendar year again and I’m on the hunt. 

Too bad the pickings are looking pretty slim these days. Slim as in a crackhead on the Master Cleanse, slim. 

Now, I haven’t completely exhausted my resources, so if you know of a great place to get guys sandals (yes, guys, I’ve tried ordering women’s gladiator sandals ..hey, I’m OK with it…and it doesn’t work out in my favor) that are fashionably and socially acceptable outside of Bodunk, Mississippi, please direct me in that direction.

I’ll post a fun little gallery of some of the comical, decent, and down right embarrassing excuses for men’s footwear. I just don’t get how even Barneys and OAK can only have one decent option for guys and 100,000 million trillion for women. Then, the ones that are even decent cost $600, which is a no no for footwear that I’ll only wear for one summer. AND I am still unsure as to how the flip flop morphed into these bizarre shaped slide-type sandals that would leave the funniest, most redneck, tan lines after a day at the shore.

The Doc Marten/Raf combo is definitely interesting, but I’m looking for something acceptable to wear in and out of the office throughout the summer, and I’m thinking that those would just look crazy. Although, crazy can be a good thing.

Maybe it’s just time to order my second pair of Grecian leather options from that nice little man stowed away in the Isles of the Mediterranean.

Enjoy!

These, I think I’d be able to live with.

Vomit inducing. Literally. Oye.

No words. And not in a good way. REALLY!?

Channeling 5th grade science teacher. Socks sold separately

This is a joke from Co-Op to the guys of the world. Gag.

My trusty Grecian standbys, incase my search amounts to canvas flip flops and rubber catastrophes.

These are pretty killer, I must admit. But still..not.

seriously? people pay $65 for this?

New York, New York

So now that I’ve officially moved into adult life and left intern world, I’ve also sadly left my second most favorite (second only to the beach on St. Maarten) place in the world, New York.

Yup, that’s right, no more walks up 5th Ave., strolls in the West Village, shopping on Broadway or trips to Cafecita Bogota in Greenpoint. I’ve officially moved back to one of the most un-fashionable places in the world, where plaid isn’t a trend for fall, it’s a lifestyle; where Marc rainboots solicite comments like “did you just come from the farm”, instead of garner comments like “ohh, cute!” like they once did.

So I’ve compiled a top-ten list of reasons why I will miss New York:

10)  Going to work in acid blue skinnies or grass green jeans is normal. No one makes comments like “St. Patrick’s Day was a month ago.” In public, no one stares on the street, come ot think of it, no one thinks twice.

9)  Bowties are a regular occurance in the fashion world. The W fashion assitant wore one everyday, Alber is known for his, Brad equally as much. Here, they garner giggles. Still SO cute though. Who knew bowties were so fun?

8 ) Situation: the thought of buying a Balenciaga bag, yes? no? In New York: everyone’s an enabler, “yes” “OMG let’s go to Barneys right now” “is that even a question?”. Here: “WHAT?! $1500 on a purse!?”

7) The idea of a “murse” in the city is SO five years ago. Now, everyone has one, it goes without mention. Here, the word “murse” is still used. And in reference to one of the “reusable” shopping bags. Oye.

6) Driving. Hate it. Cannot stand it. I will take an hour commute home with three trains, including the ridiculous G train, any night over a 20 minute drive to the nearest bar that’s not filled with Nascar fans.

5) Exercise. Never have I ever been in such good shape or had such a shapely butt than the two times I’ve lived in the City. The formula of little money = no groceries + walking 6 blocks home, 20 blocks to work, etc. + being late for work = running those 20 blocks = amazing calves, gluts and a flatter tummy. What could be better?

4) Celebrities. This is the 12-year-old girl in me. But whenever I met a celebrity of any kind, my life in New York, no matter how wet my pants were from walking in the rain or how much I couldn’t feel my fingers from the fridgid winter weather, it was so reaffirming to just chitchat with Brooke Shields or Mr. Zoe (!).

3) Pinkberry, BabyCakes, Magnolia, Le Pain, Delicatessan, Cafe Havana, Cafe Bogota, any other restaurant I frequented on a weekly, if not daily, basis.

2) Access to every magazine published in the entire world. If Around the World (off Bryant Park) didn’t have it, the magazine store on Spring and Lafayette would. Ugh, I miss.

1) Temptation. When the closest store to me (currently) is Target, followed quickly by American Eagle, Hollister and any other mall chain, I miss the golden days. The days of wandering up Mercer before work and looking in the windows at Marc, Philip and Marni. Especially now that Topshop is there, I’m jealous, soo jealous.  The days when I would “window shop” at Uniqlo, MadeWell, OAK and more, have come and gone, along with my bank account.

But as the Governator would say, “I’ll be back”, and so soon. Because I’m going to need a wardrobe rejuvenation as well as a large pomegranate swirl Pinkberry with white chocolate and pineapple.

Oye.

YSL Hearts Caroline..but..

It’s no secret that Caroline Trentini, the jumping, leaping, bounding and flying Brazilian that
Vogue loves, has been missing for not only New York and Milan fashion weeks, but no one has seen her thus far in Paris either.

Until now.

Apparently YSL had an exclusive on the model. Meaning they paid her top dollar not to walk anyone else’s show but their own. But my question is, if she was an exclusive for YSL, why the hell did they put her in such awkward outfits? Sure she rocked that leather corset/swimsuit-ish outfit, but the second is so M.O.B. (mother of the bride) I can’t handle it. Plus she looks so unhappy to be there.

Why, why, why?

Upside Down, Inside Out

Everyone knows Isaac Mizrahi is a bit out there. But he is still one of fashion’s most beloved designers and characters. So who knew that he might be onto something when he sent Karlie Kloss down his Fall 2009 runway with a bottomless handbag plopped right on top of her head.

A little quirky, a whole lot of confusion, but it was oddly nautical. Even though none of his collection was nautical at all.

So this morning when I was thumbing through the Wednesday WWD and saw this photo of Borsalino’s Fall product line-up, I couldn’t help but think that maybe Isaac was onto something. The famous Italian milliner’s hat-turned-handbag is a bit intriguing, but it reminded me too much of when people attempted to make their jeans into handbags, which turned into a denim catastrophe, then came animal handbags and much more.

Good thing Borsalino’s is a bit more refined. And to think, this all may have come from Sketches And Answers.

Best Of The Best

Paris Fall 2009 Fashion Week officially starts tomorrow; but, needless to say, I’m super excited about it. Not only because Paris is THE fashion week to be at since it truly guides what will be coming next fall, but because NY Fashion Week was less than stellar. Not too bad, but not 100% great at all. 

So, basically, I’m counting on Paris to lift my fashion spirits and get things back on track again.

In celebration, I’ve relived each of the Fall 2008 Paris collections and picked out some of my favorite looks from the “majors”. They’re truly la creme de la creme and were seen on anyone from Julia Frakes to Carine Roitfeld to the pages of Vogue. 

Chanel tights: ignore that Lily looks like a hot mess, these tights were the hottest thing this fall and were seen everywhere. F21 and H&M did millions of knock-offs, but the Chanels were the original kick-ass tights.

Balenciaga LBD: This dress was the femme fatale LBD. As if this photo doesn’t completely convey the “don’t mess with me” attitude, just seeing the dress on the hanger at Barneys send shivers down my spine.

Balmain: Not only was this collection meant for the total rockstar, this dress has “sex” written all over it. With the up-to-there slit and the red and black cheetah print, this was one of the sexiest, yet not overtly sexy, dresses to come down the runway for Fall.

Givenchy coat: Um, this coat is spectacular. That’s all there is to it. It’s feminine but hardcore but militaristic but can totally be worn over an evening gown. D.I.E.

THE Givenchy necklaces: No words. They’re amazing. If they didn’t cost probably $500 a piece, I would have bought them all and worn them around while people called me Mr. T. But that would be totally OK.

Margiela coat: Martin Margiela has a sense of humor when it comes to fashion, I think. Some people will say his completely avant-garde designs are the result of something deeper and more serious. I think he just wants to make fun of all the people who take fashion too seriously by making clothes that they actually will wear and look bizarre in. But at the same time, the clothes le maison makes are just so damn awesome you can’t help but push your personal style to the edge.

Louis Vuitton Fur: Every celebrity (ie. Maggie Gyllenhaul) who wore this ensemble looked absolutely ravishing in it. It just looks so warm and fuzzy and perfect for the too lux customer who’s hitting the slopes. Not that anyone should wear Vuitton on the ski slopes.

THAT McQueen dress: The ultimate princess dress. For some reason I’ve had dreams about this dress on a princess the night before her fairy tale wedding. The red is just so seductive and evil, yet the feathers make it refined and almost too good not to be couture.

Balenciaga coat: OK, so I have a think for Balenciaga. I not only have  monthly tendencies to place a black Moto bag in my shopping cart on Balenciaga.com and let it sit there until I talk myself out of it, but I also make trips to Barneys to look at it all up-close-in-person. These coats intrigued me for the minute I saw pictures on WWD. They had to be insanely uncomfortable, but they were just so futuristic but so wearable. Je t’aime

Photos

Photo Shoot Fun

 On Monday, myself and some C staffers spent the entire afternoon at the George Eastman House shooting the Fall 2008 issue of C Magazine.

First of all, let me tell you, this is going to be a sick edition. Everyone was so cool and so friendly and nice and everyone was ready to work, work, work.

Clothes all came from the amazing people at Men-tality and L’Avant Garbe in Pittsford, so if you’re in the Rochester area, definitely look them up and stop by. They have a ton of great stuff and are the friendliest people in the world.

 

So, because I love each person that visits me here at FRC, I took some behind the scenes shots for you all to get a sneak peek at the photoshoot for this edition and even some of the really awesome clothes we got!

Enjoy!

-K

Scott, Emily and Keith doing what they do best.

John Q and his agent.

Shoes, and more shoes. All Keith’s.

Brittany Alexander, off duty

Table full of clothes

Eva velvet and jersey dress from L’Avant Garbe

J Brand Jeans and ABS Bubble Dress

Seven For All Mankind Fall ’08 velvet blazer

Megan Baker, contemplating how to pose models next.

Back and Better Than Ever

Much to my, very excited, surprise: Maggie Rizer is on the cover of L’Officiel Singapore’s First Anniversary Edition! She’s been gone for a while, having her money stolen by her step father and writing books, opening doggy daycares, things like that but now she’s back to what she does best!

Maggie is kind of the unexpected super model. She had her day a while ago, then came back for a while and disappeared and now she’s popping up on Vogue Best Dressed from time to time, going to all the great events and scoring covers and ad campaigns.

Keep up the good work (even if the pink hair is a little too much), way to represent us Upstate NY’ers.

-K

Images from the Design Scene Blog > L’Officiel

Dean and Dan Grow Up

Seeing Chanel Iman open the DSquared Milan show with her sexy-but-not-so-much pose at the end of the runway in a slinky white swimsuit, I was expecting the worse.

I mean, DSquared isn’t so much known for their sleek and sophisticated clothing as they are for their shorter than short, probably won’t work unless you’re Brazilian, clothing designs.

Until now. Three piece suits for women. Generously cut trousers. High-collared dresses in heavy silks. 

DSquared has officially grown up and started running with the big dogs. And, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it reminds me alot of the sophisticated sexiness that Tom Ford gave to Gucci some eight years ago. Not quite there yet, but it sure looks like it’s on its way.

Wow. Bravo.

-K

 image source

Love Her: Rihanna

 

Image via SFPT

Rihanna is not even 21 years old yet and she is already easily one of the biggest style stars of our generation.

 

I know she could get any clothes she wants and could wear anything and get photographed, but I like to think that she styles herself and picks her own clothes in that little-kid-ready-for-school kind of way. You know, where there’s always the outfit that was picked out beforehand but then there’s something that totally doesn’t belong.

Whether it’s a beret, some crazy jewelry or that fact that she’s wearing a brand that no one stateside (ex. the floral PPQ dress below) has heard of, she’s always got something new to bring to the table.

Bravo, my dear.

-K

Image via SFPT

 Images: Source, Source, Source