The Kate Effect

There has been a lot of talk in the fashion world recently about the “Kate Effect” on fashion, is Kate Middleton a style icon and just how much will she influence the fashion world. Some say yes and others say no, it’s just a matter of opinion. Although the more demure styles that took over the runway this spring lead one to suspect designers were listening when women were swooning over Kate’s more conservative way of dress.

As far as I am concerned, I find it refreshing to see a style icon like Kate Middleton. So often, fashion worships strung-out, drug-addicted models (who I think often look like they need a shower, gross and sleazy looking) or over-tanned, over-done fake looking celebrities and reality show stars or overtly trendy bloggers who take fashion risks but just end up looking stupid (ie The Man Repeller). Kate represents class, style and elegance, something often in short supply in Hollywood and in the pages of fashion magazines. Fashion should be about making one look and feel beautiful while also being functional.

Anyway, time to hop off the soap box! As you can see I am huge fan of Kate Middleton’s style and will continue to happily allow her outfit choices to inspire mine! My recent purchases were inspired by two of her outfits.

I loved the Sebago Bala boat shoes she wore in Canada and promptly ordered a pair. The tan and white color Kate wore is currently sold out but will be available in January, so I ordered the gray and black suede pair. They are super comfortable and look preppy worn with skinny cropped jeans. Available online at Sebago.com.

Wear your Sebago boat shoes with another favorite of Kate’s, Paige’s Skyline Ankle Peg jeans. Paige is my favorite jean maker and these are sure to be my go-to jeans until the weather gets chilly. Available at Paigeusa.com.

If you are a fan of Kate Middleton’s style you can keep up with all her outfit choices at WhatKateWore.com and NyMag.com.

Advertisement

Don’t Quit Your Day Job

Dear Rachel Zoe,

Don’t quit your day job! It looks like you are a better stylist than a designer. Your strength lies in creating jaw dropping outfits using pieces created by other designers not in creating outfits out of thin air.

I just flipped through Rachel Zoe’s debut collection look book and I was far from impressed. Don’t get me wrong, there are some very cute outfits but like other celebrity clothing lines, nothing in the look book screams new, innovative, modern or anything that can’t be found at a much lower price in stores like Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, Nordstrom or White House Black Market. Maybe Rachel should take a page out of her protege Nicole Richie’s design notebook; Nicole’s Winter Kate collection is far and away more unique and innovative.

Don’t feel too sad for Rachel Zoe, she still has her amazing stylist career, a tv show, a QVC collection, a website and pretty much anything else she slaps her name on but designer isn’t really something she should add to her resume! I expected her debut collection to be over the top, glamorous and just more.

My favorite looks:

Yuck Looks: (They look cheap!)

Looks like something off a junior store sale rack and worn to a middle school dance:

Ruffles, been there, done that:

No, No and No:

What do you think? Like it or no?

 

 

Looking Ahead

I know winter is just settling in and Christmas is around the corner but there are hints of spring poking through the tinsel and ice. Pantone (the color forecasting company) released this week that Honeysuckle (Pantone 18-2120) will be THE color for 2011. Honeysuckle is a vibrant yet soft reddish pink shade that will liven things up. Pantone Color Institute Executive Director Leatrice Eiseman, “In times of stress, we need something to lift our spirits. Honeysuckle is a captivating, stimulating color that gets the adrenaline going – perfect to ward off the blues.”

What do you think? Do you like Honeysuckle?

White House Black Market Resort Collection featuring Honeysuckle.

Mr. Ford Has Returned

Tom Ford has returned to the world of women’s fashion and not a moment too soon! We have missed you Mr. Ford and welcome your new collection with open arms!

You can get an exclusive look at the new collection on www.vogue.com.

In Tom’s own words describing the inspiration for his collection:

“It’s about individuality. Real clothes, real women. For a fashionable woman aged 25 to 75. That’s why I literally put many of my own muses in the show. I hear them say, ‘God, I can’t find that anywhere!’ ” Women friends had been “begging” him to make them suits as soon as they heard he was starting a menswear line; he couldn’t find anything to buy his mother; it all built up. “I want this to be somewhere a woman knows she can go when she wants a great jacket—not a fake expensive jacket, something that has intrinsic value. I don’t think fashion has to change every five minutes. I’d like these to be clothes you can wear for a long time—ten, 20 years; pass on to your daughter. Why buy vintage when you can open your own closet!” It’s not for the Gucci girl he left behind. “At this point?” he considers. “She’d be too trendy.”

The Big Pony

I wouldn’t be a true “clotheshorse” if I hadn’t have gone completely crazy over the new ad campaign and video for Ralph Lauren’s Big Pony cologne collection. It is a delicious display of male model eye-candy, dressed to preppy perfection with clips of posh polo interspersed with gorgeous people at play. Oh, and don’t forget the soundtrack is One Republic’s newest single, Secrets. Before I even smelled my first whiff of the new cologne collection, I wanted to buy it for my husband. That my friends, is good advertising!

You can watch the video on a bigger screen and learn about each fragrance by clicking here. My favorite scent is #2 Seductive, a warm blend of dark chocolate and musk that is tantalizingly seductive.

I couldn’t talk about Ralph Lauren fragrances without a gratuitous nod to the very hot, very sexy Nacho Figueras, a real polo player and Ralph Lauren model.

Fashion Trends Men Hate To See On Women

I came across this interesting study that surveyed 1,564 guys ages 18-30 and asked them what they thought about a variety of women’s fashions. In a perfect world, we all should be dressing for ourselves wearing what we love and not caring what others think but the reality is we often dress for the men in our lives (or hope to be in our lives) as well as dressing to impress other women. With this in mind, it is important to see what men actually think of the fashion we wear and aspire to wear. Here are the fashion looks and items a majority of the men surveyed despised.

Rihanna’s Style: 3 in 5 men labeled her the worst dressed celebrity of 2009. She is definitely fashion forward and takes risks but I guess most men (straight men) like more mainstream style.

Uggs: 57% of the men rated these the most hated item of clothing. I guess most men prefer more feminine footwear.

Neon: A whopping 73% of the men surveyed thought that the neon trend was just ridiculous. I guess most men want to avoid the 80’s looks that often come in neon.

The Color Pink: Pink came in second behind neon as a hated color among the men surveyed. I think that has more to do with men not wanting to admit that they might like pink.

Jeggings: Just over 1/2 of the men surveyed said they did not like jeggings and 1/3 surveyed did not even know what jeggings were. Not sure if any man would even notice them if the rest of your outfit looked good.

Too Much Makeup: 68% of the men said they were anti-over made up faces but 20% said that some makeup was better than none at all. Men have long complained about women wearing too much makeup and it is best to keep your face natural looking.

Harem Pants: 80% percent of the men surveyed said a resounding hell no to this trend. Enough said, I agree.

Crappy Tatoos: When it comes to ink, 44 percent of men weren’t feeling the idea of tattoos on women because they thought either the designs sucked or were tacky. On the other hand, a third of the men liked tattoos and 23 percent said they could take ‘em or leave ‘em. I think more people should really think through what their tattoos will look like before they get them.

A Decade Of Fashion

A decade has come and is almost gone and each decade is usually marked with a few major fashion trends that we can all look back on and say oh that is so the 60’s or so the 80’s and this past ten years is no different. It seems, thanks in part to the internet, trends are disseminated very quickly and many originate with celebrities. Here are few major trends that will define the past decade.

Boho:

We can thank Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen as well as Nicole Richie and Rachel Zoe for bringing us this hippie inspired trend. Key items of the boho look included oversized sunglasses, fringed purses and boots, long flowy skirts, crochet halter maxi dresses, wide leg pants and loose, oversized layers of tees, sweaters, scarves and skirts.

Super Casual:

We all embraced a super casual look with the help of Juicy Couture and Ugg. Who would of thought a velour track suit paired with suede and sheepskin snow boots would be the height of fashion? Juicy and Ugg reigned supreme and outfitted many a chic fashionista. Women were wearing their track suits with their diamonds and furs and college girls wore their Ugg boots with their Abercrombie mini denim skirts. It was the first time in a long time something so casual and comfy became so fashionable.

All About The Midriff:

Celebrities were all about showing off their toned abs this decade. This trend made it through in terms of women working super hard to make sure their tummies looked as toned as the celebrities they saw.

Denim, Denim and More Denim:

Designer jeans reigned supreme this decade and pushed the envelope in terms of price and fashion. It became acceptable to wear jeans to everything from movies to cocktail parties. New designer denim companies popped up every year offering more styles, colors and more expensive prices. We used to pay $50-$60 for a pair of jeans and it became commonplace this decade to pay $150-$250 for a nice pair of jeans. Skinny jeans became the style du jour and a major must have for every wardrobe. Designers also threw at us slouchy, rolled boyfriend styles and super wide leg jeans. Thanks to this decade designer denim is firmly cemented in high fashion.

Leggings and Tights:

Leggings and tights were major fashion must haves with tremendous staying power. I am pretty sure we will still be wearing both into the next decade.

A Tale of Two Heights:

The past decade went from one extreme to another when it came to shoes. Ballet flats became a fashion staple but also shared closet space with sky high platform heels.

High End Meets Low End:

High end met low end this decade when it became fashionable for women to wear their high end pieces with cheaper, more fashionable items from stores like Target, H&M and Old Navy. Target really got the trend going by hiring Isaac Mizrahi to design for them and then by adding subsequent up and coming designers like Thakoon and Rodarte. Lela Rose designed a line of shoes for Payless and Karl Lagerfeld and Jimmy Choo joined forces with H&M to create lower priced yet still fashionable merchandise.

Lela Rose for Payless

Have You Met Kate?

If you are a fashionista you are probably quite familiar with Kate, as in Kate Spade. The original creator of one of the first “it” bags, the nylon, boxy Sam bag seen on the shoulders of many a fashionable woman in the 90’s. Since then the company has faltered and stagnated a bit but thanks to new creative director Deborah Lloyd (by way of Banana Republic and Burberry) it seems to be roaring back to its rightful place of high fashion.

Kate Spade just debuted its clothing collection and it is beyond fab! It is chocked full of trendy, mod pieces that can easily be mixed and matched adding a touch of drama and elegance to your wardrobe. The new shoes for fall are gorgeous and the handbags and jewelry are worth a look. Reacquaint yourself with the new Kate at www.katespade.com.

The Kate Spade items that are on my must have list.

Straight From The Horse’s Mouth: Rachel Roy at Macy’s

Jones Apparel Group announced that it is launching a contemporary line designed by Rachel Roy, called Rachel Rachel Roy, to be sold exclusively at Macy’s. Jones Apparel Group owns a 50% stake in Rachel Roy. The contemporary Rachel Rachel Roy line, scheduled to debut in Macy’s 85 stores in August, is priced at $59 to $299 for sportswear, $79 to $199 for shoes, up to $195 for jewelry, and as much as $109 for handbags. There are also plans to sell Rachel Rachel Roy online as well.

This is exciting news! I am a huge fan of Rachel Roy’s work and am thrilled that she will be doing a more affordable line! You can shop Rachel Roy at www.neimanmarcus.com and www.shopbop.com.

Straight From The Horse’s Mouth Project Runway

Two bits of Project Runway news to share with you today:

Project Runway will be back on the air this summer on Lifetime with its already completed sixth season. Look for guest judge appearances by Christina Aguilera, Eva Longoria Parker and Rebecca Romijn. Yeah!!!!!

In other Project Runway news, winner Christian Siriano signed a multi-season contract with Payless to design a line of super trendy yet affordable shoes and handbags. The collection will be available to purchase at Payless stores and on www.payless.com this fall.

A sneak peek at the Christian Siriano Collection for Payless