Streetwalking For Fun (Not Profit): The summer dog days (so named after the dog star Sirius) are definitely upon us and it can be challenging to look fashionable on the hot city streets. If you’ve ever curbed the impulse to high-five a fellow pedestrian who’s got fashion game or stifled a thumbs down when encountering a passerby who’s a fashion shame, then this column is for you. I spend a good deal of time walking around midtown both east and west in the course of a day and thought it might be fun to compile my observations and chronicle it all; the good, the bad and the fugly.
The unwittingly downward trend that I repeatedly encountered had more to do with bad fit; always the antithesis of good style. The dilemma that I all too often had to face was thus–can anyone tell me why there are so many women walking around the UES with gaping blouses? The button down shirt is a pretty basic wardrobe staple however there is a propensity for women to want a tight, tailored fit in the body perhaps not mindful of the pulling across the bust. As a woman who’s totally unable to relate to that issue (ahem, I hesitate to call having an ample chest a problem) I don’t know if the blouse manufacturers need to take into account that women have larger breasts these days or if women need to go up a shirt size but clearly something is not working here. One thing I’m convinced of is that the button sewer’s union is undeniably doing their job well! Maybe the thread industry should get props since whatever it is they use must be heavy duty in keeping these buttons affixed under the strain!
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| Givenchy turn lock boot |
A more agreeable trend I’m noticing both on the street and in the stores is that khaki is showing signs of becoming the new accessories neutral now and going forward into the fall. The more olive tones of khaki, while not always a great face framing shade, can definitely make a statement when worn during the summer months as a sandal or later as a boot. Designers including Givenchy and Saint Laurent are showing several options to span the seasons. I’m also noticing a dark red or burgundy trend for shoes and bags as well as some great burgundy leather moto jackets being shown for those who wish to branch out from basic black.
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| MSGM lip print cocktail dress at Stylebop |
Loose Lips Synch Ships: Last week on International Lipstick Day (July 29) I wrote about Christian Louboutin’s nail polish. If you are near 50th Street and Fifth, make sure to check out the full frontal window display at Saks (until August 19) including a 3D version of the Gaudi architecture featured in the promotional video. Back to nail polish’s cousin, the leit motif of lipsticked lips and lip print clothing has been on my radar for a long time and I didn’t need a pretend holiday to write about it. In fact I thought about as recently as a few weeks ago when I attended the Metropolitan Museum Young Members Event and spied a woman with an Alice and Olivia dress reminiscent of Prada (Resort/Spring 2012). Designer Hedi Slimane apparently had also got the memo and brought back the “bouche” for Spring 2014 at Saint Laurent.
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| ALICE-+-OLIVIA Pout lip collared puff dress |
Check out Katy Perry’s recent video “This is How We Do” to spy her in the Saint Laurent version. Play Video (Love how she name checks “Chanel this, Chanel that” not to mention “Mariah Karaoke”). The dress has also been seen on several other celebs from Fergie to Bergdorf’s own Linda Fargo and is still available at Luisaviaroma.com as well as Neiman’s/Bergdorf’s online. Of course levres embellishments come in all manner of apparel and accessories from the Rocky Horror-ish Markus Lupfer singular lip sweater renditions to Swarovski necklaces; from high-end designer to Century 21. There’s bound to be a fashionable lip garment after your desire in one of these.
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| “Beyonce from her Instagram” |
Beyonce’s Clutch Gives Serious “Side Eye”: Not just to possibly cheating Jay Z but to The New York Times’ Vanessa Friedman for saying she’s no fashion icon. http://www.nytimes.com Almost to make a mockery of this article, Queen Bey has been featured in several articles this week, some highlighting her fashion (she’s wearing a $16 crop top and Topshop skirt–she’s just like us!) or changing some song lyrics to reflect what went down (besides the elevator as well as all of their reputations!) in that famed The Standard hotel Met after-party altercation. Play Video At any rate, I’m loving this little Charlotte Olympia perspex clutch bag as it combines the whimsical Manga trend with a pop-art vibe, not to mention Bey’s flaunting a great fashion accessory/evil eye to her detractors.
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| Victoria Beckman in her Roberto Cavalli gown |
A Posh Sale: Victoria Beckham is auctioning off some of her cherished valuables; sadly David Beckham is not one of them. So if we can’t have David what can we have from the closet of the former Posh Spice? There will be 600 items from her own wardrobe (clothing and accessories) that she has donned for various events and on the red carpet, as well as pieces from the ’90s that she wore as a Spice Girl including a fluorescent yellow Roberto Cavalli gown. There will also be a reverse auction of a set of 10 exclusive pieces with all proceeds going to Mothers2Mothers, a charity which works with mothers living with HIV and helps to educate as well as provide support including prevention of spreading the disease to their children. The sale runs from August 20 – August 25 but if you “wannabe” a bidder, you gotta first register at The Outnet https://www.theoutnet.com/en-US/campaign/victoria-beckham-charity-sale Now if they could just get H&M to donate the life-size poster of “Bend it Like Beckham” in his skivvies…
