Fab on-trend brand Wallis has just launched their Summer Stylist Contest. I style some fab outfits using some (or all) of three pieces they sent me - like this awesome leopard jumpsuit - competing against outfits styled by other fashion bloggers. Wallis is a sister brand to Dorothy Perkins, Miss Selfridge & Topshop & an excellent source of gotta-have-it-now goodies. If you like the way I've styled this outfit, please vote for it right HERE on the Wallis FB page. The contest ends June 30th, 2013 at midnight. And to snag this look for yourself, everything is available at WallisFashion.com.
Curated by The Design Museum London in conjunction with the designer, this exhibition celebrates 20 years of Monsieur Louboutin's designs and inspiration - from stilettos to studded sneakers - revealing the artistry and theatricality of his aesthetic. And for legions of Loubie fans, it's a magical journey of style, glamour, power, femininity and elegance. The Christian Louboutin exhibit will be on display from June 21 through September 15, 2013.
Things we both like: shopping! Things we both really like: good prices!! Things we both really, really, REALLY like: both at the same time! The Fash Forward Boutique is giving you a chance to do both, especially if you win the fun $100 GC - which goes a long way with their on-trend merch because their prices are definitely fashionista friendly. Cute dresses run between $25 & around the $50 mark, while a bold statement necklace like the one above are around $25 (turquoise with lipstick red = one of the most awesome color combos. Ever.) To enter to win the $100 GC giveaway, make sure to "LIKE" Fash Forward's Facebook page & leave your comment here, on the Fashiontribes FB page, about why you should get the Gift Cert. Be sure to have your pals vote for your comment as that counts as well. The winner of the $100 GC will be chosen next Friday, June 21st.
And my two fashion cents? For a graphic black & white stylish summer statement, I'd plan on adding some of Fash Forward's items to a few already in my closet (and no doubt in yours) - namely a straw fedora, tortoiseshell sunnies, nude summery clutch & some matching wedges. From Fash Forward, I'd definitely slip into one of their black cold-shoulder blouses & slip on this pair of adorbs ivory-lace shorts. For the final sweet touch: a coordinating "Rock Candy" necklace the color of cream.
- Lesley Scott
[Note: This was written in partnership with Fash Forward Boutique. The words & styling are mine.]
Proof: this groovy varsity jacket which they recently sent me. It look like the classic school letterman jackets, but is much more lightweight & made from a super-stretchy fabric. For fun, I paired it here with accents of blue - 'cuz black & white + a bold color = awesome - and some fun Isabel Marant wedge sneaks to reference the sportiness of the jacket.
GET THE LOOK: varsity jacket - Members Only; colorblock top - MiH Jeans; blue pants - Maison Martin Margiela; sneakers - Isabel Marant; sunglasses - Alexander Wang; necklace - Amedeo; canvas clutch - Anya Hindmarch (except for the jacket, all Net-a-Porter.com)
Proving that it's hard to improve on a classic, a pack of surprisingly uninspired to downright goofy designer duffles are currently being auctioned off to support emerging design talent.
DETAILS magazine partnered with the CFDA on a collection of weekender duffles, giving 20 US menswear designers each a standard Army-Navy duffle to customize creatively. The results are up for auction on eBay until Monday June 17th & are one-of-a-kind...which is a good thing in most cases (dopey stenciled sayings, weird photographic prints, uninspired pin-up illustrations & high-schoolish graphic pins).
Some, however, came out quite stylish, such as the ones by:
A black & gray print gets a summery lift if you add some cheery bright-yellow accents, especially shoes & a bag. I added printed cardi that compliments the dress with a graphic print is in the same tones but different enough to save the whole ensemble from being too matchy-matchy; the chartreuse hue in the sleeves also ties in with the yellow of the various accessories. But wait...a cardi for summer?! If you get stuck on the over-airconditioned subway or work in an all-too-common meatlocker'ishly freezing office building - you'll thank me.
GET THE LOOK: striped t-shirt dress - DKNY; cardi - Etro; neon-yellow pointy pumps - Sophia Webster; patent bag - Gucci; sunglasses - Illesteva + Zac Posen; earrings & bracelet - J.Crew - all Net-a-Porter.com
The foliage of fall just promised to get even more fabulous & colorful this year, thanks to H&M's new collaboration with the designer responsible for those covetable wedge sneakers all the It girls have been rocking of late. "I aim at creating something real – something women want to wear in their everyday lives – with a certain carefree style," explains Marant about her asthetic. "I think this is very Parisian: You dress up, but don't pay too much attention to it, and you still look sexy. The collection is infused with this kind of easiness and attitude. Everything can be combined following one’s own instincts, and my take on fashion is all about personality."
Which she has long had in spades, starting in high school when she began customizing her own clothes. A graduate of the prestigious Studio Berçot, she first designed jewelry followed by knitwear and finally in 1994, her eponymous collection of boho caszh meets menswear tailoring - with just enough effortlessness Parisienne chic thrown in to make her brand of fashion so coveted by the cool kids.
"We are excited to have Isabel Marant as a guest designer at H&M," adds says Margareta van den Bosch, Creative Advisor at H&M. "The way she mixes different elements in her collections, creating a style that is effortless and urban, makes her very contemporary. She has a fantastic eye for ethnic detail and the rare ability to create something that people really want to wear."
Sarah Jessica Parker has teamed up with the CEO of Manolo Blahnik, George Malkemus, on a collection of Italian-crafted sandals, flats, pumps, and boots in fun color combinations that will be priced between $200-$400.
Having tried on & trotted around in literally hundreds of pairs - from the fresh to the freakish - as the shoe-obsessed Carrie Bradshaw in Sex & the City, she does know a thing or two about wearing fabulous footwear. "It was like having an entire education presented to you," she recently explained to Footwear News. "You can't imagine the things we saw, the designers I was around. I tried on every single thing I could, even if it was ridiculous and laughable." And after years of 12-15 hour days shooting on concrete in heels, has she given up & gone to the Flat Side? "I feel like I need to make a public proclamation," she continues. "I will never give up heels!"
SJP will be carried exclusively at Nordstrom & Nordstrom.com.
Love this "Life at the Beach" by the Ecuadorian-born, Miami-based neo-pop artist Leonardo Hidalgo. His mediums certainly reflect the fusion element of life today, melding photography with computer graphics, paint & fabric, memorably mashing up & depicting the times in which we live. This is available through Hidalgo's Art Invasion gallery.
In the game of chess, the most powerful & unpredictable piece on the board is the queen. She embodies tradition within a patriarchal system...and yet, in the hands of the right player, can creatively redefine the rules. The World Chess Hall of Fame is celebrating this shapeshifting royal with "A Queen Within: Adorned Archetypes, Fashion and Chess" (October 2013 - April 2014). This exploration uses Jungian archetypes and archetypal patterns in literature, film, folktales & fashion photography to examine how this figure is associated with taking risks & assuming power - while still embodying the feminine. In medieval and early modern European society, queens were increasingly powerful, which is thought to behind her exceptional role in the game of chess and privileging on the board of play.
To tell this tale in such a novel way, an international team of fashion insiders, chess players, curators and thought-leaders was recruited, along with designs - both radical & experimental - from the likes of Alexander McQueen, Noritaka Tatehana, Sandra Backlund, Henrik Vibskov, Hussein Chalayan and Viktor & Rolf and Margiela.
To celebrate, they provided an advance look at the fashion fabulousness at a shindig held at Christie's in NYC. “There is something fascinating about the game of chess and the queen’s role within it," noted the exhibition's curator, Sofia Hedman. "She breaks the rules. She does what she wants on the board. When we began to research how this kind of thinking has an influence on fashion – and specifically among the private collection pieces that became the starting point for the show – we knew that there was an important story to tell.”
designers/images: top - Serena Gili 2012 (Kirill Kuletski - i-D online); middle - Octavia Xiaozi Yang / Joinery for Jewels (photo: William Tang); bottom - Rein Vollenga; Christie's event photo - BFAnyc.com (Benjamin Lozovsky and Matteo Prandoni)
