Trend of the Day — Black Puffer Jackets

I was overjoyed to find out that puffer jackets, specifically black ones, are trendy this winter. I have spent the past month in the San Francisco Bay Area with its temperate climate, and predominantly indoors besides. But next week I will be back in Manhattan in all its chilly glory, and I have a feeling that my hip-length bouclé jackets aren’t going to cut it anymore! Whether I am walking to class or taking the subway to a sushi restaurant in the Upper East Side, I usually put on an ankle-length black hooded puffer coat (and whatever I want underneath). Here are some puffer jackets of various lengths to help you get through a cold day!

TBR  T Tahari

1. TBR high-neck puffer jacket, $15

2. T Tahari, $100

 

Phase Eight  French Connection

3. Phase Eight, $150

4. French Connection, $290

 

Burberry 2     

5. Burberry London, $796

6. Red Valentino, $985

 

Donna Karan  Moncler

7. Donna Karan, $1,223

8. Moncler, $2,065

A Kiss on the Lips

The lips are one of the most beautiful and expressive parts of the body…so it only makes sense that they would be picked up as a common motif in women’s clothing. Whether you crave the delicacy of a pale pink lipstick, the pop of an Andy Warhol piece, or the edginess of an Ed Hardy tattoo, in today’s trend landscape it is easy to find an item you will want to kiss as soon as you bring it home (just take your own lipstick off first).

Putting on Lipstick   Alice McCall  Liz Blackpurple lipstick

Putting on Lipstick   Romwe  Giles purple lipstick

Putting on Lipstick   Hallhuber  Philipp Plein 2   purple lipstick

Putting on Lipstick   Choies  American Retro (2)purple lipstick

Putting on Lipstick  MSGM Yes  MSGM 2purple lipstick

Putting on Lipstick  Choies 2  MSGM 3 Yespurple lipstick

Putting on Lipstick     MSGM 4purple lipstick

Putting on Lipstick   Au Jour Le Jour 2    Adriana Degreas   purple lipstick

Putting on Lipstick  Mimi Hollidaypurple lipstick

Putting on Lipstick   Mancienne   purple lipstick

Putting on Lipstick  Philipp Plein 3purple lipstick

Putting on Lipstick  Stephen Webster  Delfina Delettrezpurple lipstick

Putting on Lipstick  Solange Azagury-Partridge  Lydia Courteillepurple lipstick

Putting on Lipstick  Alison Lou  Overstockpurple lipstick

Putting on Lipstick  American Retro 2  Anna Coroneopurple lipstick

Putting on Lipstick  Studio DKS by Deborah Shavlik  Diane von Furstenberg 2purple lipstick

Putting on Lipstick  Melie Bianco  Sarah's Bagpurple lipstick

Putting on Lipstick  Miss Sweety 2  Philipp Plein 4purple lipstick

Putting on Lipstick  M.R.  Manish Arorapurple lipstick

Putting on Lipstick   Unique Vintage 2  Diane von Furstenberg 3purple lipstick

 

1. Alice McCall dress, $440

2. Liz Black dress, $2,480

3. Romwe blouse, $14

4. Giles shirt, $420

5. Hallhuber t-shirt, $14

6. Philipp Plein t-shirt, $545

7. Choies sweatshirt, $27

8. American Retro sweatshirt, $291

9. MSGM jacket, $478

10. MSGM coat, $3,162

11. Choies skirt, $24

12. MSGM skirt, $310

13. Soho Girl jeans, $30

14. MSGM trousers, $192

15. Au Jour Le Jour shorts, $154

16. Adriana Degreas swimsuit, $329

17. New Look thong, $6

18.  Mimi Holliday thong, $61

19. Mancienne sandals, $31

20. Rupert Sanderson sandals, $835

21. QQ Trend flats, $21

22. Philipp Plein sneakers, $814

23. Stephen Webster necklace, $4,100

24. Delfina Delettrez mono earring, $6,311

25. Solange Azagury-Partridge ring, $2,300

26. Lydia Courteille ring, $17,719

27. Alison Lou bracelet, $1,495

28. Overstock sunglasses, $10

29. American Retro scarf, $160

30. Anna Coroneo scarf, $325

31. Studio DKS by Deborah Shavlik carryall, $46

32. Diane von Furstenberg pouch, $158

33. Melie Bianco clutch, $35

34. Sarah’s Bag clutch, $1,645

35. Miss Sweety handbag, $21

36. Philipp Plein handbag, $2,985

37. M.R. backpack, $29

38. Manish Arora backpack, $747

39. Unique Vintage umbrella, $13

40. Diane von Furstenberg iPhone case, $48

 

If I Could Buy the Entire Collection, I Would — Moschino

Moschino Pre-Fall 2015

I will admit, the McDonald’s stuff kind of freaked me out. When I think of McDonald’s, I think of a place where college students go at 4am because there is nowhere else to eat when they are studying, and where homeless people go at 4am because there is nowhere else to sleep. I also don’t think barnyard red and sunshine yellow are a pleasing color pairing, fast food connotations notwithstanding.

But as Katy Perry would say, that was then and this is now (“Part of Me”). For Pre-Fall Jeremy Scott is still basing the collection around one obvious motif, but this time it is much more chic. The pieces below evoke objects found in a clothing atelier, like tape measures, order forms, hangers, and garments still under construction.

Moschino 7 Yes   Moschino 11 Yes  Moschino 3 Yes  Moschino 6 Yes  Moschino 8 Yes  Moschino 5 Yes   Moschino 15   Moschino 12  Moschino 10 Yes   Moschino 1 Yes   Moschino 4 Yes   Moschino 13   Moschino 9 Yes   Moschino 14

Standouts from Pre-Fall 2015

While I understand that the planning and execution of a single seasonal collection involves more time and work than the average end consumer could even imagine, the idea that the fashion world has two seasons per year, while the weather and our lifestyles have four, is still a bit of an odd idea to wrap one’s head around. Even more trippy is the fact that technically, February is the first month of “Spring/Summer” and August is the first month of “Fall/Winter”. It is as if the fashion world is proof that a parallel universe does indeed exist.

Thankfully, Resort and Pre-Fall collections are here to (somewhat) normalize the annual cycle, so that, just as we plan our year around four seasons, we can plan our fashion calendar around four different points of reference. Pre-Fall collections are the epitome of “short and sweet”; they do not involve as many looks as the average Fall collection, yet the looks are more wearable than the theatrical ensembles one might see on a Fall runway. Here are ten such looks that caught my eye:

Theia   Giamba 5

Theia, Don O’Neill ~~~~ Giamba, Giambattista Valli

Rodebjer  Co

Rodebjer, Carin Rodebjer ~~~~ Co, Stephanie Danan and Justin Kerr

Noon by Noor  Mantu

Noon by Noor, Shaikh Noor Al Khalifa and Shaikh Haya Al Khalifa ~~~~ Mantù, Jane Hayward

Public School  Yeohlee

Public School, Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osbourne ~~~~ Yeohlee, Yeohlee Teng

ICB   Won Hundred

ICB ~~~~ Won Hundred, Nikolaj Nielsen and Anna Bauer

Love This Brand — Alice + Olivia

My fantasy is to travel the globe in search of new Alice + Olivia pieces. Here is how I would go about it…

START: ALICE + OLIVIA BOUTIQUE, NEW YORK, NEW YORK

Alice + Olivia boutique  Alice + Olivia from Alice + Olivia

Cherry pouf dress, $698

SCOOP, NEW YORK, NEW YORK

Alice + Olivia from Scoop              Scoop

Lewis drop waist knit skirt, $220

SAKS FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK, NEW YORK

 

Saks Fifth Avenue           Alice + Olivia from Saks Fifth Avenue

Lang two-tone strapless cut-out waist jumpsuit, $440

NORDSTROM RACK, WESTBURY, NEW YORK

Alice + Olivia from Nordstrom Rack                          Nordstrom Rack

Dakota ankle strap flat, $120

MYTHERESA.COM ON THE PLANE

mytheresa Alice + Olivia from mytheresa

Verity fur jacket, $1,315

OXYGEN BOUTIQUE, LONDON, ENGLAND

Alice + Olivia from Oxygen Boutique      Oxygen Boutique

Wynn sleeveless slim fitted dress, $525

SELFRIDGES, LONDON, ENGLAND

Selfridges                     Alice + Olivia from Selfridge's

Floral ball gown skirt, $900

SMETS, BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

Alice + Olivia from Smets              Smets

Sheer crochet top, $235

LA CASA MODA, SCHORNDORF, GERMANY

La Casa Moda   Alice + Olivia from La Casa Moda

Breton sweater, $173

EXCELSIOR MILANO, MILAN, ITALY

Alice + Olivia from Excelsior Milano     Excelsior Milano

Mandy dress, $352

SHOPBOP.COM ON THE PLANE

Alice + Olivia from shopbop

Shopbop Logo. (PRNewsFoto/Shopbop.com)

Vintage box leather car pouch, $225

LANE CRAWFORD, SHANGHAI, CHINA

Alice + Olivia from Lane Crawford          Lane Crawford

Perna flower swing coat, $810

THECORNER.COM ON THE PLANE

Thecorner                         Alice + Olivia from thecorner

Knee length skirt, $490

NORDSTROM, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

Alice + Olivia from Nordstrom                               Nordstrom Headquarters

High waist wide leg pants, $365

DSW, NOVATO, CALIFORNIA

DSW                   Alice + Olivia from DSW

Dina floral pump, $290

CUSP NEIMAN MARCUS, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

Alice + Olivia from Neiman Marcus Cusp                             Neiman Marcus

Eddie floral-print boot-cut pants, $298

BLEU, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

Bleu                           Alice + Olivia from Bleu

Sarita sequin drop shoulder top, $385

ZAPPOS.COM ON THE PLANE

Alice + Olivia from zappos                        Zappos

“Only you could know how perfect our trip is XOXO” Stella, $345

TOOTSIES, HOUSTON, TEXAS

Tootsies                         Alice + Olivia from Tootsies

Cady patterned shorts, $290

AND BACK HOME TO NEW YORK, WITH A BETTER WARDROBE TO SHOW FOR IT!

My Favorite Things at Nordstrom

I work at Nordstrom in Corte Madera, California, mainly in the TBD and Savvy departments, but also in Point of View, Individualist, Dresses, and Men’s Clothing when needed. Here are the best things I have noticed during my days there…

Kensie   Natasha Couture

Kensie, $15              Natasha Couture, $48            ASTR, $49

Joa   Sondra Roberts        kate spade 2 (2)

J.O.A., $92              Sondra Roberts, $98                           Kate Spade, $109

Jane Post   Alice + Olivia        St. John

Jane Post, $325             Alice + Olivia, $345                         St. John, $2,595

Departments (from top left): Hosiery, Trend Accessories, Savvy, Savvy, Trend Accessories, Accessories, Studio 121, Via C, Via C

Stand Out — But Stay Warm!

Now that we are in the dead of winter, it makes sense to see most every person outside wearing a coat. What does not make sense is walking through a sea of drabby black coats. Here are a few pieces guaranteed to give the wearer a street style advantage!

Nº21 overisze coat; MSGM digital print coat; Au Jour Le Jour lips print duchesse coat

Derek Lam bonded leather trenchcoat; Liska brushstroke print coat;  Marc Jacobs, silk jacquard coat

Etro cotton coat;  Dolce & Gabbana embroidered cape coat; Opening Ceremony jacquard coat