Dope Ambition

While editors wearing Givenchy and Prada heels may get snapped the most, I find myself attracted to those who don’t take themselves, or their respective ensembles, too seriously.  Nothing says “trying too hard” like a mean scowl and a monochromatic outfit; fashion is supposed to be fun! And personal style is supposed to be, well, personal. Yours. Your outfit should be like your personality morphed into knits and silks and wools and wrapped itself around your body.

With that said, here are a few looks I loved from the past few weeks. While I definitely gravitate more minimal looks, I appreciate anyone who looks like they’re actually enjoying what they’re looks. Any favs?

images via:///1 vanessa jackman///2 facehunter///3 elin kling///4 citizen couture///5 and 6 mr newton for harpers bazaar///7 tommy ton for style///8 adam katz for elle///9 marie claire///10 william yan///

In the next few weeks, I’ll be breaking trends down as I see them. Some may be insular to one city’s fashion week, while others may pick up momentum as the monthlong fashion shows continue.

I’m excited to announce that, while I admittedly prefer minimal looks with a dash of femininity, Fall 2012 looks promising in the party department. More specifically, party pants are making a debut in alluring sheers, loud prints and new experimental fabrics. Some of my favorite renditions were seen at Peter Som, Rag & Bone and Prabal Gurung. While dresses and skirts seemed to be a theme at this year’s shows, both harking back to a more feminine aesthetic while looking forward with futuristic cuts and fabrics, pants have pushed their way in as well…and thank God.

Don’t get me wrong, I love dresses. I wear dresses and skirts more than I wear pants. However, I don’t know about you, but when I go to parties, I want to be able to sit comfortably, dance without worrying about showing my fun parts, and (perhaps a bit vainly), wear a party garment that every other woman in the room isn’t wearing. With that said, the following pairs of pants were one of few in their respective collections, which reflects how your attitude should be towards an attention-grabbing pair. You can’t wear them everyday; that’s why they’re called “party pants;” save them for loud music, crowded spaces and the like.

Peter Som‘s pair of subtly sparkly pants may be my favorite. The hammertime metallic drop-crotch pants from seasons past need not apply here; these are sophisticated and subdued, only revealing their sparkle to those who will look close enough. Rag and Bone offered a few options for those with a penchant for pattern or metallics, but the sheer paisley-on-acid print, paired with a boldly graphic belted and buttoned-up jacket, are easily transferrable to “real life.” Worn with shorts underneath and a basic white T, they could make a statement without even trying. Even Jason Wu, the purveyor of new school femininity and garments-Mrs-Obama-wears, offered up a pair of loosely-slung printed pants, paired with studded shoes and jet black fur. Prabal Gurung‘s collection, too, had a few loud pairs to offer, cut in a form fitting bell bottom is lustrous fabrics that let the pattern shine…literally. (His collection reminded me a bit too much of Riccardo Tisci’s Givenchy Fall 2011 RTW collection, but that’s a story for another day).

All in all, fashion week got off to a feminine start, with lots of dresses and skirts heading the pack. But party pants? They’re going to start hitting shelves late August, so if you’re really cool and have lots of parties to attend come fall, be sure to scoop a pair. If you’re not that cool, perhaps a pair of party pants are a step in the right direction.

Sadface. When I moved to New York in August of 2010, New York Fashion Week was around the corner, and I was antsy. I knew my mailbox wouldn’t be flooded with invitations, having only lived in New York for around three weeks. No one knew my name, no one cared how much I cared about the fashion industry, and how could they? All I had was a little blog and a pretty bleak resume to show for myself. But instead of feeling shut out, like I didn’t make the varsity squad of fashion reporting, I weaseled my way into Lincoln Center with a press pass from my graduate program and a clipboard to seem official. (D0 fashion bloggers and journalists carry clipboards? Probably not. Perhaps it was a bit much). While I didn’t attend any shows, I felt satisfied being in the midst of well-heeled chaos. This was NYFW’s first year at Lincoln Center, and the enclosed space allowed for close up pictures of Anna dello Russo, Hamish Bowles and Grace Coddington, to name a few.

That was then, when I was just beginning my Master’s program at CUNY. Now that I have essentially finished, you’d think I’d be at the shows, at least pestering models backstage or spritzing Anna Wintour’s face with Evian to keep her alive and glowing. But no. Unexpectedly, I have begun a roughly 4-month fellowship program at the Tow Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism. I also just took on a significant and exciting project I can tell you more about soon.

But because I don’t work for a magazine at the moment, and because I’m not the type of fashion “journalist” (read: personal style blogger) who attends shows, takes pictures, and “drools” and “dies” over every item in any given designer’s collection, I have to sit another season out, following fervently from the sidelines (read: the internet).

For those of you attending, whether for work, pleasure or the ideal mixture of both, enjoy it. I’m looking forward to collections from Band of Outsiders, Prabal Gurung, Kenzo, Altuzarra and Celine, to name a few U.S. collections. But I’m really eager to see what London Fashion Week’s newest stars have to offer, especially my favorite, Christopher Kane, as well as Thomas Tait and Simone Rochas. And with such a stellar Spring season, I know Carven is going to kill it, along with Balenciaga, per usual.

Expect lots of ranting and raving on my end, but take it all with a grain of salt, since I will not have seen these collections in person, but rather from behind the screen of my laptop. I’ve got other things to worry about at the moment, so the runway will have to wait until further notice. But I look forward to the day where my presence is asked for, and I am fairly confident (and hopeful) this is not a pipe dream on my part.

Until then…

image via///

The phrase “do or die” takes on new meaning in the magazine publishing world, where  ”innovate or die” might be a more appropriate phrase. With Vogue still trumping other fashion publications when it comes to ad pages, its March issue will debut a whopping 442 pages of ads.

While Hearst’s Harper’s Bazaar (the first and oldest American fashion magazine) will close its March issue up 15.5 percent in ad pages from 2011, the magazine will also debut a brand new look and slick redesign. Publisher Carol Smith told WWD the mag was “embarking on a brand transformation” But aside from a few tweaks in font and less cover clutter in terms of typography, titles and hints at the inside content, Hearst is giving Harper’s Bazaar an e-commerce and m-commerce makeover.

“We are rethinking this product from magazine to mobile shopping. The new look very much calls on our past as we look towards the future,” Smith told WWD. And this makes a lot of sense for the magazine. Harper’s Bazaar has eschewed the explicit emphasis on celebrity shopping and style, and has been consistent for over a century with its focus on luxury goods and runway fashion. Because of this, the magazine’s transition to the world of mobile commerce should and can feel rather natural for the reader/user (terms which will become more interchangeable as magazines blur the line between editorial and digital storefront). I’m not sure if they’re pushing a “scan-to-buy” option for smartphones, or if they will align themselves with luxury online retailers like Net-A-Porter, but there are a few options that would make a lot of sense for a magazine that is sort of a heritage brand on its own.

The March issue of the physical magazine features a faceless Gwynth Paltrow, shot by Terry Richardson. WWD’s Amy Wicks describes the aesthetic transformation:

…it’s like the party guest who you recognize when she enters the room, but you know she’s hadwork done — a lot of work.

The magazine is larger by one inch, the paper quality is noticeably thicker and there is new cover typography. Inside the issue, the pages look less cluttered and thrown together, with more white space, while sections are more tightly edited. So far, there’s less celebrity and the related popcorn stories that can come with that.

While HB remains the fourth fashion title in terms of ad pages, behind Vogue, InStyle and Elle, I think the magazine will benefit from sticking to its focus on high fashion and letting Elle and Vogue overdo it on the celebrity coverage (though using Gwyneth as the debut cover girl is only excusable because we don’t know it’s her until we’re told so).

What do you all think?