The salt & pepper pearls tee, faux fur trimmed vest, oversized houndstooth pencil skirt, leather satchel and suede lace-up bootie, styled by Alia Ahmed-Yahia

Hosting a viewing preview event – complete, of course, with de rigueur cocktails, finger food and a good-bye gift of a fun, signature, cloth tote-bag, containing a look-book and a sparkly, oversized, jeweled cuff, nestled in a velvet pouch – of the new Fall 2010 clothing and accessories collection, along with an after-party at The Bowery Hotel in the now trendy, downtown area of New York City, LOFT recently introduced editors and assorted guests to its current collection and nouveau “Style Studio” concept.

During the actual viewing, guests were packed in cheek to jowl, where depending upon that guest’s individual pleasure, it was just about possible, to catch a peek at what was going on, in terms of actually seeing the pieces, either as a still-life tableau, on stylized mannequins, throughout the entire length and breadth of the room, or via a looped, video fashion presentation, shown on a huge screen, at the front of the area. Either way, LOFT managed to get the point of the evening’s festivities across to the crowd.

Beaded necklace camisole with flower, ruffle collar anorak,herringbone short, leather lace-up bootie

Nearly always keen on doing things in different ways, the company this time, debuted not only its new line, but also hyped its “style by community” collaboration with high-profile fashion stylists, Tina Chai, Kate Young, Joanne Blades and Alia Ahmed-Yahia, who were brought in, according to the company’s look-book commentary, “to work with the LOFT fall collection to create versatile looks from 10 fashion-forward fall essentials … where diverse style personalities come together to create looks that women relate to, connect with and derive inspiration from.”

Graphic tee, fitted motorcycle jacket, striped mini skirt, suede bootie

Standing by for the most part what everyone set out to do, the company and the fashion stylists managed to pretty much make the mixtures work. When everything gelled, and all of the components meshed, the result was interesting and cool. On the contrary, when the look was simply too plain and not jazzy enough, the result was just too simplistic and rather underwhelming, which is not what one might hope to expect from this type of partnership between a company such as LOFT and fashion stylists the ilk of Chai, Young, Blades and Ahmed-Yahia.

But, in the end, what really matters, aside from what does or does not work on a mannequin or in a fashion video during a crowded press presentation, is the fact that the company’s main objective of showcasing its “Style Studio” concept, does indeed score points for hitting the mark, and coming across to more than just a few of the jaded editors in attendance at this event, as something quite interesting, novel, fresh, and unique.

Beaded necklace camisole with flower, Faux fur trimmed vest, wool pencil skirt, felt fedora, gold and black angular necklace, suede gem belt and over-the-knee riding boot, styled by Tina Chai.

Addressing the best of the new collection, which coincidentally, prices out quite modestly for what it is worth, especially when considering the high fashion quotient on display, there are some really winning, stand-out items within the line. Added to this fact, and considering the tough, economic times in which we all continue to live, LOFT states that it continues to understand and know what its customers want. In this vein, the company and its fashion stylists have put together some good-looking, saleable, wearable options within a framework of the “Style Studio” setting; representing a smart marketing tool, which just might have a chance of impacting well enough with shoppers, to grab their attention and get them to open up their pocketbooks and make the purchase.

– Adrienne Weinfeld-Berg

The post Perfect Mix of What Your Best Friends Tell You & What a Style Authority Can Show You appeared first on lookonline.

So it seems that things at Loft are becoming more upmarket and fashiony with each new collection, and if the summer 2010 grouping is any example of all of this, fashion shoppers should be more than just a little bit happy with what the company has in store for the warm summer days ahead, especially when it comes to lots of style at reasonable price points for the masses.

Although Loft may have been, at times, viewed by some in the fashion arena as quite classic and somewhat mundane, much of this obviously has changed over the past few seasons, as evidenced by the “cool quotient” given to many of the clothing and accessories pieces, rendered by a new design team, brought in, probably, to make Loft appear that much more hip and desireable to shoppers.

Obviously, the basic premise for Loft is to continually fulfill the desire of those shoppers for something unique and different from season to season, while, at the same time, also filling the desire to captivate and attract those shoppers in difficult econimic times, while bringing them to Loft and keeping them in the store to buy. With all of the sharp, new, modestly-priced clothing and accessories served up over the past several seasons, it appears that the company is on the right track towards achieving those goals.

Hooking into what is new and what is definitely cool, Loft presented its summer 2010 collection to members of the fashion press and other VIP guests at Industria Superstudios, located in the ever-trendy, downtown NYC Meatpacking district. Along with lots of cocktails and snacks, guests were treated to an up-close-and-personal viewing of the coming season’s range of super casual, very pretty, and quite wearable pieces, all shown on simple hangers and glossy, white, faceless mannequins, without any live models in sight. Keeping guests in the moment at the end of the evening, were the parting gifts; deluxe white boxes with a pink Loft logo, all neatly tied up with a ribboned, flower brooch, and filled with the company’s look-book, plus an eclectic piece of jewelry.

Overall, just about everything in this new grouping fits well into what Loft’s idea of what summertime dressing should look like. This idea, which focuses on untortured and easy-to-wear pieces across the board, translates into plenty of jeans, shorts and cropped and long pants, mostly all layered up with varied choices of blouses, T-shirts, soft cardigans and little coats and jackets. Dresses are equally great in mixed silhouettes and prints, which easily go from short and flirty, all the way through to longest flowing maxi pieces; the latter bringing to mind, the fun and elegance of exclusive resortwear.

Accessories – from the most fun and whimsical, through to the most sophisticated and exclusive – most definitely hit the mark and do make the point for such a chic look here. Of note are the soft leather cluthches; the big, squishy, bucket totes, rendered in a host of nifty prints and patterns; charming bracelets and earrlings; whimsical pom-pom scarves; and leather and corded belts, shown at the waist and hip, or worn empire style. Not to be missed are the multi-length chokers and necklaces; which look good worn either single or layered, in styles such as the long sea glass dangle; black beaded bib; bronze bauble and cord necklace; longest silver necklace with horn rings; and the grey fabric/chain-link/ribboned bib necklace, so decidedly reminiscent for this editor, of the kind of jewelry which Henry VIII or any important Lady at The Court of “The Tudors” might have worn during the period.

— Adrienne Weinfeld-Berg

The post Quite a Fashionable Summer appeared first on lookonline.