NET-A-PORTER Presents Fall’s Top 20 Hotlist

July 18th, 2008

I’m loving the summer, even though it’s been extremely hot and humid lately. It’s all good, I’m having my fan on full blast and eating half a watermelon as we speak. I’m definitely not thinking about the fall yet. But NET-A-PORTER.COM has compiled a Top 20 hotlist showcasing hot fall items that you’ll covet from the cocktail gown and party pump to the blouse and the day tote. So of course I had to take a look and droooooool. Many of the pieces are in stock now if they aren’t completely out of your budget ;)

hotlist.jpg
Stella McCartney Fine knit sweater dress
D&G DOLCE&GABBANA Large paillette dress
Anna Sui Patchwork trapeze dress
Miu Miu Lurex tweed pencil skirt

hotlist2.jpg I’m totally digging these hot pink shoe boots!
Christian Louboutin C’est Moi shoe boots

hotlist3.jpg The refined elements are really speaking to me. Methinks comes fall it’ll be time for me to get a tuxedo jacket. And of course some really well-cut dresses.
Paul & Joe Edgarpoe tuxedo jacket
RM by Roland Mouret Montparnasse dress
Tom Binns Neon stone cuff
Marc by Marc Jacobs Paillette embellished pumps

hotlist4.jpg

hotlist5.jpg
3.1 Phillip Lim Crystal embellished blouse
Stella McCartney Suedette boots

hotlist6.jpg

hotlist7.jpg
Chloe Poppy necklace
Burberry Prorsum Bell sleeve coat
Marc Jacobs Loose fit pleated pants

hotlist8.jpg
Chloe Cyndi patent tote

Mmm…sorbet colors

July 15th, 2008

versace.jpg
I am drooling after these gorgeous Versace gowns from the page of The Rules of the Season on Harper Bazaar website, which tells us to pick sorbet brights. “Evening gowns take on a sweetly chic style in a palette of sugary rainbow hues.” I totally agree! These colors look good enough to eat! I can’t pick a favorite color. My next mission is to score a dress close to one of these hues, preferably just as slinky, once my shopping budget increases somewhat.

Alice + Olivia V Neck Ruffled Dress In the meanwhile, although this is not a lslinky evening gown, I’ll be stalking this totally adorable Alice + Olivia V Neck Ruffled Dress ($385). The multi-tiers of ruffles are as pretty as the petals off an orchid.

Flower power

July 10th, 2008

Ever since I saw Giuseppe Zanotti Satin Rose sandals, which is now on sale for $412.50, I’ve been wanting a pair of sandals with floral accents on them.

Women's shoes: Sam Edelman Perrin - Purple Sam Edelman Perrin - Purple $79

Women's shoes: Poetic Licence Margarita - Red Poetic Licence Margarita - Red $80

Dezario ‘May’ Wedge $119.95

Dezario ‘Channel’ Thong Sandal $149

Linea Paolo ‘Calypso’ Sandal $99.95

Born ‘Begonia’ Sandal $84.95

And here you have this baffling flower sandal, at least that’s what they say is. But does it look like a rotten shiitake mushroom to you?

Eric Michael ‘Bonnet’ Sandal $79.95

The gladiator sandals that I like

June 24th, 2008

As regular readers of this blog know that I have not liked gladiator sandals, not since last summer when they first appeared. I still don’t. However, it seems that the definition of gladiator sandals has broadened quite a bit this summer and sandals that are merely strappy are grouped into this category. While I still dislike the gladiators in its truest form, I’m quite fond of the few derivatives. If it’s a flat, I like the more delicate straps, e.g. the thong variety. If it’s a heel, the straps can be thicker and closer together as long as they are offset by the high chunky heel/platform combination. And it’s better not to have the cankle-inducing ankle strap.

L.A.M.B Sunny Knotted Gladiator Thong Sandal L.A.M.B Sunny Knotted Gladiator Thong Sandal $245

pewter-platform-by-calleen-cordero.jpg Pewter Platform by Calleen Cordero $388

stella-crystal-sandal.jpg Stella Crystal Sandal $118

Women's shoes: Enzo Angiolini Hypnotic - gold metallic Enzo Angiolini Hypnotic - gold metallic $80

Women's shoes: Rafe New York Wendy - Silver Rafe New York Wendy - Silver $245.00 $139.99

Women's shoes: Dolce Vita Tahiti-60 - Natural snake Dolce Vita Tahiti-60 - Natural snake $115

MICHAEL Michael Kors ‘Penelope’ Sandal $128.95

REPORT ‘Sasha’ Sandal $39.95

syntax_gold-leather_large.jpg Steve Madden SYNTAX GOLD LEATHER $69.95 $39.95

simmerr_navy-pat_large.jpg Steve Madden SIMMERR NAVY PAT $139.95 $69.95

Shiekh Spunday Shiekh Spunday $39.97. (Save 10% on orders of $50 or more at ShiekhShoes.com with the coupon code JUNESAVINGS, valid now through June 30, 2008!)

botkier-gladiator-leather-tote.jpg And can I just say this Botkier ‘Gladiator’ Leather Toteicon ($695) is simply gorgeous!

How excited are we?

May 30th, 2008

Is everybody going to see the Sex and the City movie this weekend?? The perfect excuse to have a girls’ night out with your girlfriends huh? Wheeee so exciting! I can just see how the movie is going to spark up a lot of new fashion trends. Here’s a great piece in Toronto Star today called The ultimate celluloid closet talking about some big fashion hits that we’ll be seeing this summer after this movie’s aired.

“As a television show Sex and the City was a retailer’s wet dream.
Over six seasons the show embraced and rejected fashion trends the same way Samantha embraced lovers – fast and furious.
Count among them the famous nameplate necklace, the giant floral pin and white pumps. Costume designer Patricia Field was responsible for it all, most notably turning shoe designers Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo into household names.
The show put expressions like “he’s just not that into you” on the tips of everyone’s tongues. The Cosmopolitan was the coolest drink in town. And for a sweet fix we went to Magnolia Bakery.
Now four years later, after a steady diet of endless reruns and boxed DVD sets, fans of the show are getting fresh sex. Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda are back working the trend factory.
But after so long, does SATC still have the golden touch when it comes to igniting juggernaut fashion and cultural trends?
We took five Toronto style seers to a preview of the movie to sort through the endless parade of designer labels and product placements (81 costume changes for Sarah Jessica Parker alone) for their take on the big fashion hits this movie will unleash this summer.

————————————————————————
TOMMY TON, INTERNATIONAL STREET STYLE PHOTOGRAPHER, jakandjil.com

The one coveted piece that will spark a frenzy is the Dior extreme gladiator sandals. It’s readily available online at eluxury.com or you can buy the knockoff version at Browns.
What comes out of the film is being able to treasure an item or a key item in your wardrobe and wear it from day to night. Carrie wore a studded belt – which will be heavily knocked off by chain stores – multiple times through out the film. This idea of loving one particular piece relates to the theme of the film, which is love.
The single-strand pearl necklace is the new nameplate necklace. She always wore her nameplate necklace in the show and in the movie she is seen in the pearl necklace from the moment she wakes up to back in bed at night with Mr. Big.
If there’s one thing I want in the film it would be the long-lasting, loving friendships that the four girls share. As Carrie says in the film, “trends come and go but friendships never go out of style.”

(More after the jump!)
Continue reading »

Mandals…

May 28th, 2008

Speaking of men’s feet, who do you think of mandals? NY Mag asked some guys on the street for their opinion. Looks like not too many guys like them. What do you think? It’s not a new thing, guys have been wearing sandals forever. I personally just don’t like these embellished, strappy, or metal-studded kind. You’ll see actually the women covet these for themselves. So leave it to us girls! I haven’t shown my guy this video yet, but I can just imagine him saying “ghey!” :P

(a side note: darlings, my blog’s spam-catching robot’s been working overtime, sometimes it makes the mistake of throwing the non-spam comment in the garage bin too. Sorry if your comment didn’t appear after you posted it. I have to go into the garage bin to retrieve the comments from time to time, and your comment should appear afterwards. Luvs!)

Nautical chic

May 21st, 2008

The nautical trend isn’t really a trend, every year when summer rolls around it’s a staple in fashion magazines. It’s pretty much a classic, that white, red and blue color combo is just so crisply refreshing and modern. You can incorporate these cute pieces into your wardrobe even if you aren’t going away on a boat.

ribbon-babydoll-dress.jpg Ribbon Babydoll Dress $26.99

stretch-faille-raglan-jacket.jpg Liz Claiborne Stretch Faille Raglan Jacket $119

kelly-skirt.jpg dELiAs’ Kelly Skirt $34.50

Women: Striped deep-V dress - blue & white stripe Gap Striped deep-V dress - blue & white stripe $34.50

stripe-tunic-hoodie.jpg Alloy’s STRIPE TUNIC HOODIE $28.50

Women: Women's Cap-Sleeve Polos - Blue Corsica Old Navy Cap-Sleeve Polos - Blue Corsica $14.50 $9.99

stacie-sandal.jpg dELiAs’ Stacie Sandal $50

Colleen Flat in Navy Matiko Colleen Colleen Flat in Navy $90 $35.87

half-sugar-eva-navy-blue-and-white-stripe-high-heel.jpg Lulu’s Half Sugar Eva Navy Blue and White Stripe High Heel $23

I’m not giving in to gladiator sandals

April 11th, 2008

Modern Vintage Shoes Patent Fernanda Gladiator Sandal Modern Vintage Shoes Patent Fernanda Gladiator Sandal $225
I whined and whined about gladiator shoes last year, and now this spring everywhere I look there’s that gladiator sandal and I still don’t like them. This is one of the trends that I am not giving into. You are probably rolling your eyes at me. Or maybe even wish you could reach into the screen and grab me by the shoulders and give me a good shake. Maybe I do need a good shake to open up my eyes a little. Do I have a distorted vision of them? They make the feet look really long and really wide. The worst one is one that have straps that go up the calf, makes the calf look huge. I suppose it looks good on models that have no calf muscle.

Chain Gladiator Sandal by Sergio Rossi $1,195 $478.00.

Really, yellow is not a flattering color?

April 8th, 2008

Catherine Malandrino Burnout Dress I always enjoy The Guardian’s article The Measure on what’s hot and what’s not right now. Not that I completely agree with it every time.

Going up

The Prada bag An easier way of wearing all those drawings than on a dress all over your body. Tilda has one, y’know

Black suit, white shirt Dressed-up menswear this summer is all about the Obama look

Soap on a rope As redesigned by Tom Ford, ergo good

Power Plate Like doing sit-ups on a washing machine in spin cycle. So weird, it’s gotta work

Men in suits Leaving aside the sexism and psychosis respectively, we are really enjoying the boys in Mad Men and Dirty Sexy Money

Miley Cyrus So wrong she’s so right. We heart. Big time

Lipster.com A truly quality website, joining netaporter and jezebel on our favourites bar

Going down

Pixie haircuts Don’t listen to the style mags. These look good on only two groups of people: models and pixies

Kate Moss’s holiday snaps Photographed licking your boyfriend’s neck outside a Parisian cafe? Even ours aren’t that tacky

Wearing yellow Dispatch from the changing rooms: banana yellow may be fashionable again, but it hasn’t got any more flattering

Shoe heels The teapot-esque ones from Prada? The nonexistent ones from Marc Jacobs? Makes us miss the good old days when one just had to choose between chunky or stilettos

Samantha Ronson It upsets us we even know of this person’s existence

Um…about the yellow color, I like yellow and I think it looks flattering on me, granted I don’t do it head-to-toe. I find this Catherine Malandrino Burnout Dress ($545) totally adorable.

By the way, tomorrow I will have a new contest for you, my darlings.  It’s going to be something fabulous that you will love :D

One shoulder dresses are back!

March 24th, 2008

Was it almost 10 years ago when the one shoulder trend was in? Well it’s back! But this time around it’s not the one-shoulder tank tops (remember those? I always thought they looked cheap). My favorite are the ultra feminine Grecian goddess dresses from Rachel Pally. The fabrics are light and drapey, but not clingy or body-huggingly tight.

Rachel Pally Short Twist Shoulder Dress Rachel Pally Short Twist Shoulder Dress $228

Alice + Olivia One Shoulder Dress Alice + Olivia One Shoulder Dress $367

Cacharel Large Dot Print Dress one shoulder Blue 239EUR

Ruffled One Shoulder Dresses by Rebecca Taylor $370

Madison Marcus Sugar Dress $282

LaROK Cleo Dress in Papaya LaROK Cleo Dress in Papaya $198

Nanette Lepore ‘Love Triangle’ One Shoulder Top $325

Ask Petite Chou - Are sequins still in for spring/summer?

March 12th, 2008

Hey Ma Petite Chou,

Love your blog as always! I was spring cleaning my closet the other day and I just thought of something. I don’t know if I’m among the majority or minority here, but I love sequin dresses and tops. I acquired quite a few pieces over the past season. I’m just wondering if they are still in for spring and summer.

xoxo,
Melody

Awww thank you darling. Hmm…that is a good question. I’m going to open the floor up to everybody here. What do you think? My personal feeling is obviously sequin pieces are not for everybody, it totally depends on the garment and the personality to go with it. I definitely think you can still wear sequins into the spring, however, they are probably need a bit of updating from the heavy colors and materials that we were used to seeing in the winter season, otherwise you might end up looking too “festival” ’cause they were such a big hit for the holidays. I’m thinking for the warm weather the sequins themselves should show a more subtle shine and the colors should probably lighten up a bit. That’s why I’m loving this OMBRE PAILETTE SHEATH DRESS by MaxStudio ($448). The ombre hues from light green to light yellow are so refreshing, like a tall glass of lemonade. And the sequins are very delicate and not loud at all.

Alice + Olivia Sequin Ombre Dress Another sequin dress that I love is this Alice + Olivia Sequin Ombre Dress ($484). The color is perfect for a summer party.

Theory Tressia Sequin Top Theory Tressia Sequin Top $235. Of course it’s a great top for a night on the town. But this sequin top is so versatile that you don’t have to automatically think “party” when you see it. The crisp zinc color is perfect for daytime, under a cardigan or a blazer.

Report Signature Shoes Jemma Sequin Flat Report Signature Shoes Jemma Sequin Flat $165 $115.50. And if you just want a little bit of sequins, there’s always adorable flats like these.

Spring styles to keep an eye out for

March 7th, 2008

eLUXURY.com’s designer and contemporary spring guides are a must-see, whether you are doing some serious shopping or you would like to get some inspirations to put your own outfits together. I’m loving these looks, they are all about crispy colors, subtle prints, clean lines, and great fitting — show ‘em those gorgeous legs and waist!

Roberto Cavalli Matisse Dress $1,401


Marc Jacobs Collection Swan and Mouse Print Dress $2,400
Marc Jacobs Collection Runway Patent Peep Toe with Misplaced Heel $545


3.1 Phillip Lim Knit Motorcycle Jacket $585
3.1 Phillip Lim Cuffed Wide-Leg Pants $340
3.1 Phillip Lim Tally Oversized Carry-All $725


D&G Dolce & Gabbana Striped Bead Tee $175
D&G Dolce & Gabbana Stretch Wonder Fit Jean, Ink Wash $265
D&G Dolce & Gabbana Zoe Patent Belt $255
D&G Dolce & Gabbana Two-Tone Carla Pump $455


D&G Dolce & Gabbana Strapless Pleated Dress $625
D&G Dolce & Gabbana Emy Striped Patent Belt $455


L.A.M.B. Leopard Ruffle Collar Blouse $225
L.A.M.B. Belted Shorts $165


Marc by Marc Jacobs Cashmere Colorblock Dress $368
Marc by Marc Jacobs Dr. Q Colorblock Groovee $498
Marc by Marc Jacobs Patent Round Toe Pump $470

The heiress

February 29th, 2008

I’m on the hunt for some estate inspired jewels. They have been big statement sparklers over the winter season, and they will continue to be in the spring. There’s gotta be gems, gold, silver, crystals, pearls, and of course diamonds. The bigger, brighter, and shinier the better. The designs are classic and ornate, and exude opulence. If you are one of the lucky ones that actually have estate jewels from your grandma, bring them out of the vault ;).

Lemon Quartz Flower Ring by Sazingg $9,295 (eek!)

Roberto Cavalli Amythyst glass stone necklace $490

Jewel Button Earrings by Siman Tu $250

2 Carat Multi-Gemstone 14K Yellow Gold Ring $275

Kenneth Jay Lane Swarovski crystal necklace $90

Juicy Couture Bow drop earrings $52

Nadri Tiered Chandelier Earrings $138

Sterling Silver Emerald Oval Pendant $75 $29.99

Blue is a happy color!

February 21st, 2008

So we know blue is a huge color this coming spring. When isn’t it really? And blue is my favorite color so I got all the more reason to get things in blue. In the cold weather I like darker shades of blue and in the warm weather I wear light blues. I’m wearing this blue dress that I snatched up on eBay. I’m hunting for a blue bag right now, a really roomy, simple and function bag, but the color will make it much more fun. And I want a pair of blue pumps or sandals too. Gosh, I want all of these.

Lewis Cho Draped Dress Lewis Cho Draped Dress $207 $144.0

Foley + Corinna Baby Ribbon Dress Foley + Corinna Baby Ribbon Dress $394 $197

Diane von Furstenberg Jada Top Diane von Furstenberg Jada Top $175

Women: Belted V-neck dress - primary blue Women: Belted V-neck dress - primary blue by Gap $49.50 $39.99

Hooded Top Hooded Top $16.99

Tie Waist Tunic Tie Waist Tunic $14.99

Junior Drake Ophelia Tote $258

Latico Scarlet Buckle Handbag $175

MAXX NEW YORK Sonata Clutch $88

Paul & Joe Libra Multi Wedge Sandal Paul & Joe Libra Multi Wedge Sandal $584

Women's Marquis Carlos by Carlos Santana Women’s Marquis $98.99

Nine West Women’s Testino Pump $79.95

Nutty shoes

February 15th, 2008

This is one of the questions in the article 50 fashion questions you should be asking right now in The Guardians.

15. So do I need to take out a second mortgage for shoes?

No, the high street has some mad styles that the fashion editors are already putting their names on. And you, too, should consider purchasing some seriously nutty shoes - try the leather, wood and metal platform at Faith, £70 - or the tan, beige and blue leather plattie sandal at Aldo, £70. If you want the toned-down version, pick up a pair of cone heels at Kurt Geiger or, our favourites, a brilliant pair of red and black patent cone heel courts, £60, from Topshop. If your shoes aren’t remarked upon by strangers, you’re missing the point.

So the shoes gotta be bold and noticeable. Shall we look at some “nutty” footwear? Funky shapes and unexpected color combos are what the designers are focusing on. I love this trend. I think after a long dreadful winter, we are entitled to show off our feet in some spectacular “foot candy”. Just don’t throw away your classic pumps and sandals. These are for the days when you need to pack a punch in your outfit.

L.A.M.B. Shoes Dominic Two Piece Platform Sandal L.A.M.B. Shoes Dominic Two Piece Platform Sandal $320

Moschino Cheap and Chic Shoes Platform Lizard Stamped Sandal Moschino Cheap and Chic Shoes Platform Lizard Stamped Sandal $525

Robert Clergerie Paradis Cutout Wedge Sandal Robert Clergerie Paradis Cutout Wedge Sandal $495

DAVIS by Ruthie Davis Mod Techno Two Band Plarform Sandal DAVIS by Ruthie Davis Mod Techno Two Band Plarform Sandal $425

Marc by Marc Jacobs Shoes Two Band Ankle Strap Sandal Marc by Marc Jacobs Shoes Two Band Ankle Strap Sandal $370

Theory Shoes Kim T Strap Platform Sandal Theory Shoes Kim T Strap Platform Sandal $285

Theory Shoes Nanna Asymmetrical Flat Metallic Sandal Theory Shoes Nanna Asymmetrical Flat Metallic Sandal $240