Color Me Fall: A/W 2010 Features--COLORS!

While a great majority of fashion's great designers still showed an aggregate majority of grays and blacks, standout collections from Proenza Schouler, Peter Som, and Phillip Lim showed color is the word for autumn/winter 2010.

Proenza Schouler continued in moderation the bold prints they showed for Spring 2010, but with a winter update.  The collection began with a barrage of somber looking models painted with scarlet lips, pale foundation, and sheathed in dark plaids, blacks, greens, and fur.  Perhaps one of the most impressive parts of the beginning of the collection was the excess of wearable well designed outwear.  From updated toggle coats to a line of peacoats lined in dark black, navy, and green fur ending in a cheeky update of a fur trimmed letter jacket.  The collection moved into black and white prints splashed with bold splashes of blue , royal purple, and green.  Standount babydoll dresses bring to mind a dark moody tragically chic schoolgirl at University PS.  In total the collection was a continuing evolution of Jack and Lazaro's distinct aesthetic that has shot them to stardom.

Phillip Lim was one of a handful of designers who took the first tentative step out of the 80s and back into a more sophisticated decade--the late 70s.  Yet, unlike many of his compatriots Lim, as he usually does, was careful to make sure his designs were reinterpretations and inspirations of that great decade when disco rose and fell.  Lim's collection featured roomy pants very reminiscent of a Lauren Hutton in her prime.  The collection ended in a flourish of purple dresses that would fit right in on the floors of Studio 54.

Peter Som, how to begin.  Over the last decade Peter Som was a part of the young crop of designers that took the industry by storm.  Yet, it must be admitted that perhaps in the last few years Som's name has been overshadowed if only ever so slightly by other phenoms like Wang, Lim, and Wu--not anymore.  Som's A/W 2010 collection was the toast of New York.  The collection was a psychedelic trip through a winter that is nothing if not incredibly fun.  Som came out of the gate very cautiously with a fur coat showing signs of what the collection was to contain--the coat was lined with a wild green print while the blouse, skirt prints were incredibly complimentary.

On a side note, I apologize for me 2 week late posting on fashion week.  I recently started my first two internships both in fashion.  I'm not going to class and working internships 5 days a week.  I'm absolutely loving both!



All images copyright New York Magazine

Have: Rose-Gold Acessories

J Crew Scarf, Anthropologie Bracelet, Andrew Marc Bag

I find comfort in the beauty of little things. From a sweet note left by a friend, to a brand new notebook in your favorite color, little things can bring so much joy. And so in the darkest, coldest days of this Texas winter, I stumbled across a collection of joy-inducing accessories in a shimmering shade of rose.

It all began with the scarf. My mom gave it to me for Christmas, noting its slight metallic thread and complexion-enhancing hue. Next came the jeweled bracelet with its beautiful blush jewels that catch the light with every movement. After a week or so of obsessing over the combination, I stumbled across the bag. Buttery black leather with rose-gold hardware! How could I resist?

Though these items are just little things, material possessions at that, they have cheered me on throughout the last few weeks. And when the big things in life seem even larger than usual, I say there's not a thing wrong with turning to the little things for some simple joy.

Alexander McQueen 1969-2010

McQueen and Isabella Blow 1997

I don't quite think there is there is there is anything to say.  I won't talk about how much he will be missed or about his short but spectacular history from Isabella to Givenchy to the McQueen decade.  Instead I will just say what McQueen meant to me.

As a young person trying to absorb live breath and justify the art of fashion McQueen has always felt like a true artisan of this generation.  Yes others have become stars and darlings but I always felt McQueen exemplified why I wanted and always will want to live fashion.  Looking at McQueen for Givenchy I remember being awed at the world he had the ability to create.  Many designers shock you with their textures and their designs but McQueen drew you in to a world that he created in his mind on paper and then right in the photographs of his runways.  Designers usually have a point of design, an idea, a theme but McQueen did not need to tell us his theme.  When dark debonaire men walked down the runway a year ago dapper and masculine in 1800s suits and fur we all felt the dark streets of London stalking Jack the Ripper.  Fashion is aspirational, it is a mantra I live by.  I am always aspiring to taste and live the artistic minds of fashion, and to this little gay boy from a small mountain town in California McQueen will always be the aspirational point to which I reach for.  Thirty years from now when another hot young designer has taken the helm of the House of McQueen and revived it I will tell the fresh faced interns of McQueen's Victorian collection,  alien shoes, and where I was and how the breath left my chest the moment I found out we'd lost him forever.

So my tribute to McQueen is to continue to live by my mantra and reach and aspire to lift and uphold the creativity that he and so many before him bore.

-Sam Kraus

Come One Come All See: The Incredible Shrinking Magazine!

As any young fashion lover can attest one of our first memories of the fashion world is begging our mother to buy us an issue of Vogue in the grocery line, finding a copy of Bazaar in our sister's junk pile, or simply sitting in the magazine section of a store letting the glossy pages with other worldly clothing slip through our fingers.  For future fashion mavens all over the world the fashion magazine is often the very first dipping of the toe in the fashion world lake. The pages of Vogue, Elle, Harpers Bazaar, W, and Marie Claire have held the far off hopes and dreams of girls and gay boys everywhere.  So imagine today how painful it is to witness an entire generation forsaking our sacred glossies.  


The true sign of a magazines current success is advertisement sales.  The advertisers show that there is a significant enough audience to start, continue, or stop advertising.  Vogue, W, and Harpers have hemorreged ad sales dating all the way back to 2009 while Elle has been more of a success story in the the current economic climate.  Looking at Vogue and Elle as the two top American fashion magazines what is it that separates the two titans?  Vogue has long been the inequivocal leader in terms of legitimacy and clout in the fashion magazine world, so why has Elle suddenly surged while Vogue has fallen?

Studying the Vogue v. Elle battle it is difficult to determine the formula that has made Elle so successful as of late.  It is painfully evident to fashion junkies that celebrity culture has taken stranglehold of the fashion industry from shows to magazines to parties to advertisements.  Yet this cannot be an explanation in Elle's success because both Vogue and Elle have bought full well into the idea of placing the same actresses on the cover year after year.  Elle on one hand has specifically targed their design, stories, advertisements, and even outfits to a much younger audience.  Vogue still banks on the fact that women of a certain age still have subscriptions.  On one hand Vogue features quirky, interesting, groundbreaking Grace Coddington produced editorials while Elle features editorials of Sarah Jessica Parker in clothes that would have been too young for even Carrie Bradshaw circa 1999.  While both Vogue and Elle have both become lifestyle magazines rather than fashion, Vogue is the stuffy Upper East Side society wife to Elle's reality television starlet.  Neither is ideal to a fashion lover, but Elle on a newsstand now has the flash and sparkle to draw in a teenager while Vogue's cover's simply look in perfect consort growing dusty next to O Magazine and Ladies Home Journal.

So now, in the time of their greatest peril the world of fashion magazines have switched gears to defense.  In the last few years the explosion of fashion blogs have made the flow of fashion information instant.  There are more deft opinions coming from more voices and faster.  Recently 13 year old stylerookie Tavi Gevinson has gained great fame for her blog and with it great consternation and criticsm from magazine editors themselves.  Editors dismiss Gevinson and others as amateur, childish, and gimmicky.  Yet what these magazine editors fail to recognize is the possibility of fashion blogs.  Bloggers advertise for free theirfavorite buys.  Bloggers review their favorite magazine editorials.  Bloggers are a gold mine of advertisements to go out and buy the full fashion articles.  At the heart of it, bloggers are the core base customers of fashion magazines.  


Fashion magazines have become overwrought with boring celebrities telling the same bland story about their first breakup and their favorite designer buy.  Magazine editors think it is good business to write the same stale articles about something entirely unrelated to fashion.  What editors need is a high dose injection of fashion into their magazines.  People look at fashion and particularly fashion magazines as aspirational.  To flip through a glossy and see an amazing outfit is to daydream at your cubicle.  To flip through a glossy and see a story about a divorcee who opened up a horse farm in Colorado is neither aspirational nor fashionable.  Editors must wake up and realize their lifestyle efforts have failed and to take a lesson from bloggers success--fashion magazines must make a return to fashion.

Give: Valentine's Day

I really love buying gifts. Like, seriously. Valentine's Day has always been one of my favorite gifting holidays—but not for the promise of roses and chocolates. In fact, my boyfriend and I don't really celebrate the holiday, opting to enjoy a gift-less dinner together.

Instead, I love Valentine's because it's a great chance to show everyone you love how you feel—with sweet, sparkly tokens of appreciation. So in the spirit of appreciation, I've picked out some great Valentine's gifts for the many loves of your life.

1. Chanel Spring Nail Color: For the best friend, sister, or mother, a fresh spring polish in a soft color. The entire Chanel makeup collection for spring is delicious—leave it to Chanel to create products that are nearly too pretty to use. Any one of these shades would be sweet and surprising for the DIY manicurist and salon devotee alike.

2. Sweet Suds Cupcake Soap: Another great gift for friends and family when you've got to do multiples. Scents and colors are customizable, which mean you can give them a personalized touch. I did a round of these at Christmas, and they were a hit. And if you're not into cupcakes, there are many sweet soap alternatives—from popcorn to donuts. (AJSweetSoap on Esty)

3. 3-D "I F-ing Love You" Card: Through many holidays, I've discovered something about buying for my guy: he actually appreciates meaningful gifts. The Jesus and Mary key caps from Christmas before last? Still in the package. All my handmade/handwritten cards? Proudly displayed on his bookshelf. My advice is to make it from the heart. Forget candy, diamonds, or clothes. Create something that commemorates your relationship. Steer clear of flowery greeting cards. Make your own. If you're short on time, money, or talent, buy something comical (to offset sappiness) with a blank inside. (Urban Outfitters)

4. Heart N Soul Clutch: This blog is called The Wish List. It's only fitting that I choose one wish item for Valentine's Day, right? On this made-up commercial holiday, what could be better than indulging in the ultimate luxury gift? Yes, it's under 5 inches and costs more than $2,000. What's your point? It's beautiful—and sparkly. (Net-A-Porter)