Rita Wilson... stop.

  

For the most part, I thought the Emmy's fashion was pretty ho-hum this year. I didn't catch the awards show Sunday evening (sorry, I'm all HBO that night), but did about 30 seconds of extensive research post airing. Did Hollywood stylists fall asleep for the week before? Where was all the drama? The only person I could come up with that looked at all fashion forward was Australian actress Rose Byrne and Julianna Margulies in L'Wren Scott. Bryne's Gucci dress is modern (love the gold hardware) yet not weird or too promy; the accessories are just right.The hair did feel a tad big, but her dress fits well; she looks likes she's wearing it, not the other way around. Anna Paquin's Alexander McQueen and Rita Wilson dripping in Prada (see below) are fine examples of girl hijacked by dress.


Rita Wilson with Tom 

And then there's Betty White...

Ken & Julie...

Ken Downing

... Not Ken and Barbie. Although I am trying to find an outfit so that I do like Barbie when I have my picture taken with Ken Downing, the fabulous fashion director for Neiman Marcus. He is at our store today for a private fashion show and event with a few lucky ladies. I'm looking forward to two things:

the fashion show 
&
his hair 

Having him in store is like having a fashion celebrity in the mix. Ken is engaging and knows our product so well. Seeing what he does with our merchandise for the fashion show is always inspiring for styling with clients in the future.

Pictures tomorrow! I'm hoping to get a picture with him for my blog... here's Ken on Spring 2010...

Fashion's Night Out Beyond New York

      










The second Fashion's Night Out, started by Anna Wintour and the CFDA, hits Paris Sept. 7 and our own Birmingham, Troy and Grand Rapids Sept. 10. Boutiques and brands across the globe will join in the festivities that night to support the fashion economy and create a special experience for fashion savvy shoppers.

Read more about the international experience here:

Fashion's Night Out Beyond New York - Retail Store and Industry News - WWD.com

ALT Monday

I've decided that every Monday should start with Andre Leon Talley. His larger-than-life take on the world is more energizing than any cup of coffee or morning jog. If a giant black man in a cape doesn't inspire you to get your day going - what will? It only makes sense that I should acquire an autographed picture of him for this weekly tribute.

A few titles to his name:
45th in Out Magazine's "50 Most Powerful Gay Men and Women in America"
Editor-at-large for Vogue magazine
Judge on America's Next Top Model
BFF to aspiring fashion designers
.

I'm off to Vegas for the weekend!

It will be a dirty, delicious weekend spent shopping, drinking and carousing with friends. Full details when I get back!

a sparkly something

Every girl needs a beaded jacket in her closet. Definitely a stop above the jean jacket or classic black blazer which can be so expected sometimes. I love this navy one from Parker, a NYC label who is a go-to source for sexy, fun tops and jackets. Its relaxed, swingy silhouette is sophisticated and chic.

Piperlime has this cool function (like Polyvore) were users can create set looks with items from the site.

Here are a few styling ideas I like:

cheap summer entertaining

WWD ran a piece today about chic summer entertaining on the cheap... I loved Anthony Todd's ideas so much I wanted to include them here. 2010 may have flipped home economics on its side, but not even a financial downtown, can squash the desire to gather with friends in style. Bon Appetite! 


ANTONY TODD
An Impromptu Garden Part

I just threw a last-minute dinner in Istanbul in the garden of a friend’s home. 

• Over her large wooden table I ran a piece of “ready-to-go” painter’s canvas or cotton duck, and the salvage on both sides has a cool undone, natural look to it. 

• There were a bunch of cool, tall bud vases in the house, and I placed seven of those along the table and cut light branches and placed them in, creating a light green canopy above the eye line. Twenty small votives at the base lit the water. 

• I made pitchers of sangria (à la Capri) with inexpensive local dry white table wine. In the morning, I put cherries in the wine and cooled it in the fridge, and before guests arrived, cut white peaches and sprigs of mint.

• I bought some roasted chickens and placed them in a large tureen with pieces of pineapple, tangerine, shallots and celery, then made a sauce of sour cream, honey, garlic and lemon, with toasted almonds thrown on top. 

• I served a salad alongside local cheeses and pots of spicy jam, and for dessert, vanilla ice cream and local wild berries.


See more from....
SEAN DRISCOLL, GLORIOUS FOOD Summer Alfresco Entertaining
MUFFIE POTTER ASTON, HOSTESS Cocktails Chez Toi
OLIVIER CHENG, OLIVIER CHENG CATERING AND EVENTS

watch out gladitors

Converting to flats this spring from the sky scraping insanity of last fall makes total sense when you've got these sweet as pie Doris flat espadrille sandals from Paloma Barcelo on Net-A-Porter. Honestly, my eyes cry sometimes... what a much needed visual break from the those damn gladiators. Buy now, I swear this is the next big sandal look.

On a sandal side note, I saw the cutest young woman sporting Jack Rogers yesterday and her look totally washed away any Grosse Pointe preppy I used to see. Hers was so simple, almost Kate Moss simple, that I had to double take... something like cute little jean cut offs and a Winter Kate billowy style tunic.

My favorites were the Navajo Hamptons in gold...

september magazines

Good thing the inch thick September issues of Vogue and Elle didn't arrive on the same day... My mail lady is a saint for doing her part to spreading the gospel. Does that shirtless little boy nustling in JR's bosom weird anyone else out?

HAPPY SEPTEMBER!!

And ... because I love the movie...

my better half

J.Crew's Fall look book - inspired by the concept of Edie Beale goes to summer camp - is fantastic. Cat's out of the bag that J. Crew, under Jenna Lyons, is the go-to place for cheap, chic garb any season of the year.

Can't afford the designer inspiration? Use it as just that - inspiration and head to happier price points.

My wardrobe strategy is this: find a few pant styles that work. I've nailed down three or four pants (gap, J. Brand, DVF) that work best for my body leaving ample room for tons of tops and blouses to dress up or dress down. One such is the Novo stripe wrap top .. one of my FAVORITE pieces from J. Crew this Fall. Soft, feminine, and fun, but strong and graphic. An easy, chic top to wear for Fall. Amp up the drama with over the top accessories or let the top do the work with minimal add-ons. Styling options are endless here... Love it!

upcycling your home

A bout of "upcycling" in my apartment this weekend has inspired a search for budget chic decorate ideas. This home tour on The Nest caught my eye and is right on par with the modern, playful atheistic I'm channeling. Enjoy!

funny face

carter kustera.com

THE PERFECT GIFT ... for anyone who loves Jonathon Adler (designer, style icon and BF of Barney's Simon Doonan) and/or his signature modern, quirky aesthetic. 


Or anyone who needs a gift that is personal and unexpected. I'm a sucker for these types of things. Portraits are such a cool way to mark your look at a certain point in time. Here you also get to add a little personal blurb. 


Make your own custom cameo/portrait by Carter Kustera for Jonathon Adler... go to JA's website and click "wall art." Who is Carter Kustera? An artist who does an modern take the classic silhouette portrait. 


Pick your paint color, desired photo and tag line. A few weeks later you get chic wall art and an amazing gift that will blow any design lovers mind. 

gwen, i love you!

instyle.com

Gwen Stefani ... I love you. If I were a boy I would steal you away from Gavin Rossdale. She's perfection in a polka dot Vivienne Westwood dress paired with classic pointy toed pumps. The cut of the dress make the dots look more sophicated and carmel and latte colored fringed bag and wrap soften it all up.

She's always glam without appearing over styled like a lot of other celebrities do. Although I'm sure a lot of thought goes into every element she puts on. Andrea Lieberman is her long-time stylist and near bff; their collaboration is genius. A few hours spent soaking up their styling serum is worth my left arm.

By way of Karla's Closet I arrived at Art Tattler... the colors in "The Window" by Matisse inspire me. I love the cool turquoises, latte browns & crisp lettuce greens. I almost feel the warm Parisian day and hear the mid afternoon street noise coming through the Juliet balcony.

Closet Cleanse

Since I've opted into a two week cleanse/clean eating experiment this week, it's fortuitous finding Six Items or less on NYtimes.com. Perhaps a higher power is telling me to expand my thoughtful consumption to my closet. Six Items or Less is a group of people across the world (one from Michigan) who opted into picking only six items of clothes (accessories and shoes don't count) to wear for one month. Motivations for joining ranged from anti- consumption, creativity, and curiosity to interests in wearing a "uniform." I'm part uniform and curiosity; why not cut getting dressed down from 30 minutes to 2. But then in the same breath with no limits on shoes or accessories - the sky is the limit with how you style it. Right?

Reminds me of something I read that Chloe Sevigny said about her Resort collection for Opening Ceremony. "Girls buy the same silhouette over and over. " For Resort, her five dress silhouettes come in five prints each. If I think about what I gravitate towards in my closet, it's more than six pieces, but certainly falls between a core group of 10 or so items I grab because they are comfortable and cool. 

After checking out a few profiles, it's hard to tell exactly how much everyone embraced the project. Everyone was supposed to post regularly; some did, some didn't. The blog format makes it hard to digest participant posts and see what everyone actually picked as their top six pieces which was what I really wanted to see.

I think this is a challenge I'll take for September. Stay tuned.

Stuff I want: Lam's Ram

No doubt Derek Lam's Nyla hobo bag will be whispering to me in my dreams... "buy me, buy me." Other than the sleek, easy to wear shape, the ram hardware caught me eye. If animal lure is true, this bag is certainly the strong, powerful, virile type in the handbag world.  If only I were an Aries... Bag Snob goes deeper into the matter.  A little info about the significance of Lam's ram:

The Fall '10 rams head detail is a new generation version of what I did for my very first bag collection. Everybody kept asking me to bring it back, and so with some updated tweaks, it is back. But the original rams head bags from Fall 2006 remain unique and will not be reproduced ever again. This way, I wanted those who have the original bags, my early supporters, will always know they have something special."

If only I had an extra $1200 in 2006 to spare. Perhaps a new eBay search is in order...

Vera Wang it is!