Love, love, loving some of the new purses for fall. Happy to see we’re not going to be stuck with the drab colours associated with the gloom and doom of a West Coast fall. Loving this Lil’ Riz purse from Marc Jacobs. This violet leather handbag is a functional size and shape, oh so important for lugging around all the goodies. And the colour is hot, hot and more hot. Also spotted some fantastic black purses from Jimmy Choo, but it is the colour that has me sold on this one.

Image source: net-a-porter.com

Last week Jack Threads dropped sales on items for New Era, Fluid Watches, 3Sixteen and Kr3w Denim. Don’t miss out this week on some of their goodies.

Sign-up for Jack Threads

Wednesday sales on Gilt also and Gilt Fuse where you can find more discount gear. Sales start at 9am PST. Don’t have a membership or invitation, click here to get one.

::Gilt::
Women’s
Giambattista Valli
Anzie Jewelry
Rodial: Nature-Science Skincare
Marc by Marc Jacobs

Men’s
The ProportionofBlu

::Gilt Fuse::
Women’s
LNA
Freelook Watches

This week we have a new site for you all to shop at and get some cheap gear. This one is for the fellas and it’s called Jack Threads. Jack Threads will try and update us with what they got going on. But until then click on the link below to get an account so that you’re in the know and ready to go. Past sales included labels: 10.Deep, The Hundreds, Beautiful / Decay, Insight, Nixon, Supra and a ton more.

::Jack Threads::
3Sixteen
Sign-up for Jack Threads

Wednesday sales on Gilt also and Gilt Fuse where you can find more discount gear. Sales start at 9am PST. Don’t have a membership or invitation, click here to get one.

::Gilt::
Women’s
Stephen Dweck Jewelry
Marc Jacobs Collection
Shoshanna
Delman
Gianfranco Ferre

Men’s
AG Jeans
ALIFE

::Gilt Fuse::
Women’s
Inge Christopher
French Connection

Thursday sales on Gilt also and Gilt Fuse where you can find more discount gear. Sales start at 9am PST. Don’t have a membership or invitation, click here to get one.

::Gilt::
Women’s
Marc by Marc Jacobs
Dr. Brandt Skincare
Alexis Bittar Jewelry
Dolce & Gabbana
Carlos Falchi

Men’s
Fratelli Rossetti
Oakley Accessories

::Gilt Fuse::
Women’s
A Squared by Alex & Ani

Gilt Groupe’s Monday sales, all sales at 9am PST. Don’t have a membership or invitation, click here to get one.

Women’s
Lorelei Handbags
Rhonda Faber Green Jewelry
Designer Accessories Sale
Marc Jacobs Collection

Men’s
Billionaire Boys Club & Ice Cream

Homeware
Visconti Pens

New York premiered the long awaited “The September Issue” at the Museum of Modern Art. The R.J. Cutler documentary follows Vogue editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, as she prepares for the 2008 fall fashion issue. The film received positive reviews, with designer Peter Som stating: “You can’t make this stuff up. I loved it.”

Sienna Miller and Anna Wintour

Chanel Iman

Lorenzo Martone and Marc Jacobs

Raquel Zimmermann

Phillip Lim

To see more pictures, go to Style.com
To view the trailer, go here

Fashionistas who have seen sneak peaks of Anna Sheffield’s new jewelry collection for Target on the pages of Elle and Teen Vogue know that we’re about to be treated at fun and funky statement pieces at affordable prices.

NYC based designer Anna Sheffield has been called upon to provide finishing touches for runways shows at Marc Jacobs and Phillip Lim and pieces from her Bing Bang line (sold at Urban Outfitters) have been spotted on the ears of fashion forward celebrities like Michelle Williams and Sofia Coppola.

Sheffield’s designs are a little bit vintage, a little bit girly, and a little bit edgy, and often combine both silver and gold so you’ll always be able to match.  I’ve been contemplating a charm bracelet for a while now- and I like Sheffield’s.

The pieces, which will range from $19.99 to $79.99 will be available at Target locations and online from August 30 to December 30.   Perfect timing for a Charm bracelet for Christmas.

With the aide of artist, Camille Scherrer, here is a promotional clip bringing Louis Vuitton’s book, Art, Fashion and Architecture to life.  If anyone can find a way to market a hardcover in style, it would have to be the almighty LV.  The book hits shelves next month.  Although Art, Fashion and Architecture details all past artist collaborations, it’s hard not to associate the brand with Takashi Murakami’s whimsical characters these days.

For the past decade Juergen Teller has been producing campaigns for “every facet of the Jacobs empire”, which has helped Marc Jacobs carve out distinct ad campaigns every season that stays with everyone. Starting this month fans of the ad campaigns will be treated to the book titled Marc Jacobs Advertising 1998 – 2009 by Juergen Teller. The book of course will feature all of the campaigns that the two have worked on together between this time period and is available from Amazon.com for $75.60, that’s $44.40 off of the cover price of $120. Buy it here.

Images: Wallpaper*

Looks like for the upcoming Fall / Winter 2009 Louis Vuitton collection they’ve enlisted pop superstar Madonna to be the lead model for their advertising campaign. The entire ad campaign was shot by photographer Steven Meisel under the artistic direction of Marc Jacobs. The campaign will officially launch in the August 2009 issue of fashion magazines around the world.

The Marc Jacobs Men’s Spring 2010 ready-to-wear line is available for preview. The line has a few pieces that has that cool ’80s feel. The full line will include key pieces such as pleated shorts, elongated tuxedo jackets, biker jackets and details such as hand-traced in ink, zipper trims and lipstick-kiss motif. Gallery below.

Source: WWD

In honor of the Costume Institute Gala’s theme  “The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion” exhibition, Justin Timberlake, Kate Moss and Marc Jacobs poised for a spread on the upcoming May 2009 issue for Vogue.  This also marks the 27th appearance of Moss on the covers of British Vogue.  Marc Jacobs stated on WWD, “Kate is a muse to many designers. A good model can advance fashion by 10 years.”

Timberlake, Moss and Jacobs will be co-hosting this year’s gala with Vogue’s editor-in-cheif Anna Wintour.  The exhibition will run from May 6 through August 9th.

Here is a preview of the exhibition:

Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Tatjana Patitz, Christy Turlington, and Cindy Crawford in tops, 1990, by Giorgio di Sant’Angelo (American, born Italy, 1933-1989) British Vogue, January 1990, Photograph by Peter Lindbergh (German, born 1944), Photograph courtesy of Peter Lindbergh

Twiggy in dress, spring/summer 1967, by Yves Saint Laurent (French, 1936- 2008, Vogue, March 15, 1967, Photograph by Bert Stern (American, born 1929). Photograph by Bert Stern/Courtesy Staley-Wise Gallery, New York

“The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion, the spring 2009 exhibition organized by The Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, will explore the reciprocal relationship between high fashion and evolving ideals of beauty,focusing on iconic fashion models in the latter half of the 20th century and their roles in projecting, and sometimes inspiring, the fashion of their respective eras. The exhibition will be on view at the Metropolitan from May 6 through August 9, 2009. The exhibition is made possible by Marc Jacobs. Additional support is provided by Condé Nast.

The exhibition will feature approximately 70 masterworks of haute couture and ready-to-wear. Fashion editorial, advertising, and runway photography plus video footage of models, actresses, socialites, and rock stars who epitomize their epochs, will be used throughout the galleries to explicate the fashion zeitgeist (Curate Object).”

Source: Curated Object, Vogue UK

Louis Vuitton just recently launched their 2009 Stephen Sprouse Collection, another tribute to the late fashion designer and artist Stephen Sprouse. Vuitton’s creative director, Marc Jacobs, reincarnated the successful 2001 line for a limited 2009 collection that is already flying off racks and difficult to come by. The collection consists of bags, shoes, and accessories splashed with Sprouse’s rose motif as well as his signature graffiti in fluorescent colours scrawled over the Vuitton monogram.

I like the graffiti look. I think it breathes new life into a fashion house with a monogram and signature colour scheme that is…what’s the right word…boring?  Some may argue that Vuitton bags are classic, but they’re really not. With the rampant availability of knock-off bags, the Vuitton monogram has become mainstream and ordinary. I’m sure we’ll see knock-off’s of the Stephen Sprouse collection in no time but at least it’ll revive the brand a little and get that god-awful white and multi-coloured monogram collection stuffed into the back of closets. 

If someone offered me some of the more classic bags such as the Boetie, Manhattan, or  Neo Cabby, I wouldn’t say no. However, I’ve never been compelled to go into a Vuitton store to peruse the merchandise that I can’t afford and that doesn’t speak to me. Like I said, boring. I salute Marc Jacobs for breathing new life into Vuitton and making me actually want to step into one of their stores if only to look at the pretty, bright colours of the new collection.

Marc Jacobs wrapped up Paris Fashion Week with another ’80s inspired runway. From head to toe, each model strutted the runway in Louis Vuitton’s apparel and accessories. It was difficult to miss the attention to detail to each piece of accessory, which includes a new line of LV handbags and ultra high stilettos and knee-high boots.

“Different city, different accent, though, and this slice of the late eighties—ruffled, ruched, and poufed as it was—looked as if Jacobs had pulled out his 1987 magazines and worked up a playful homage to Christian Lacroix” (Style.com via Vogue).

And I couldn’t agree more. The line features bigger shoulders, ruffles, puffy tops and skirts, lace, bubble skirts and sheer fabrics. I am always impressed with Jacobs’ designs for LV. This collection is my favorite RTW line featured during Paris Fashion Week. Below are some of my favorite outfits. To see the rest of the collection, click here.

Photo/Source: Style.com

Patricia Fields joins Marc Jacobs in saluting the late graffiti artist Steven Sprouse. Sprouse’s graffiti prints are mirrored in this collection with the signature print of Fields featured on tops, dresses and skirts.

Priced under $90 for each piece, the collection is affordable for the savvy fashionista. The “Field Salutes Sprouse” line is limited edition and exclusively sold at Patricia Field stores (online and retail).

Fields creations have also been featured on “The Confessions of a Shopaholic” and “Sex and the City” movies.

Last weekend, the RTW collection for Anna Molinari’s Blumarine collection debuted on London Fashion Week’s catwalk. The inspiration of Andy Warhol’s screenprints of flowers and his last series of paintings featuring camouflage motifs were seen on Blumarine’s leggings, dresses and tops.  The line also offers animal prints, micro dresses and  bold colors. The pop art inspiration was visible from the collection to the portraits of Anna Molinari in the background.

From Marc Jacob’s line for Louis Vuitton’s Steven Sprouse collection to Molinari’s latest collection for Blumarine, the legacy of Sprouse’s graffiti and Warhol’s pop art are still alive and active in today’s current trends.  Life inspires Art and Art inspires Fashion.

Source: Style.com

Marc Jacobs never ceases to amaze me each time his collection appears on the runway of New York Fashion Week. The RTW 2009 Fall Collection made me nostalgic of New York City’s Studio 54 and Grace Jones’ “Nightclubbing” power dressing from the 1980’s. The neon colors, mohawks, shoulder pads, dyed denim are a representation of Marc’s memory of the “good old days in New York, when getting dressed up was such a joy” (Style.com).

I am certain that Marc’s latest collection wins the approval of Anna Wintour, Carine Roitfeld and Rachel Zoey, who were all present at his show. Marc is brilliant!

Marc Jacobs

Anna Wintour of Vogue (America)

Rachel Zoey and Carine Roitfeld (Vogue Paris)

To view the entire collection, check out Style.com’s review here.

Photo Source: Style.com

Andy Warhol released a series of paintings based on the concept of camouflage in the 1980’s. The study of camouflage gave Andy the opportunity to explore the use of disruptive patterns based on the military’s motif. Warhol’s camouflage paintings would also become the last group of paintings he produced before passing away in 1987. Warhol’s approach to camouflage has been applied to other forms of camouflage, particularly in fashion.

Warhol’s major contributions to pop culture also included works from his movies, photography and his self-made fame in Hollywood.  Warhol’s intricate use of colors and camouflage theme may be attributed to current trends, from high end luxury brands to contemporary street fashion.

Pictured below are a few images of Warhol’s camouflage screen prints and self-portrait.

“A gallery assistant sweeps the floor past the Andy Warhol’s ‘Camouflage’ artwork during the setting up of his exhibtion in the National Gallery Complex in Edinburgh, Scotland July 27, 2007. The Warhol exhibition opens to the public on 4th August.” REUTERS/David Moir (BRITAIN)

One brand that created a cult following in Japan is A Bathing Ape.  Bape’s founder is known for his collection of popular American products, including Warhol’s famous “Campbell’s Soup” paintings.  Nigo’s influence pop influences were later reproduced into limited edition collections of Bape apparel in 1993.

For the handbag connoisseur, Japanese pop artist Takashi Murakami and Marc Jacobs collaborated on the Monogramouflage collection for Louis Vuitton.

Thanks to Mr. Kim for inspiring me to write this.

Source: Reuters, Artinfo, Bape, Andy Warhol Foundation, Twoday

Since 1932, LEGO has redesigned it’s products to offer children, teens and adults a form of creative expression.  Over the last few years, LEGO has been featured in modern art, music, fashion and pop culture.

Who would have thought a child’s “toy” would become more than just tiny pieces of bright plastic?  We are discovering new ways to express ourselves with LEGO.

Known as the Brick Artist, Nathan Sawaya makes LEGO sculptures as a living.  I can’t imagine how many LEGO pieces it took to construct the figures above.  It’s amazing!

Aside from Art, LEGO is also worn as a fashion accessory:

The Forever Young Collection by artist Jacqueline Sanchez features jewelry made from sterling silver and plastic material resembling LEGO pieces.

The collection offers necklaces, rings, cuff links, earrings and wristbands in an assortment of different colors.  For a customized pair of earrings, the artist will handcraft any piece to your choice of colors.  Some items also include a diamond set in 14kt yellow gold.  The LEGO inspired jewelry line is priced at $95 to $350.

Her collection is funky and stylish for the young, old and hip!  To order custom made jewelry by the artist, please click here.  Jacqueline Sanchez may have some steep competition in the accessories department with twin brothers Dee and Ricky.

The 19 year old twins LEGO inspired accessories became an instant hit with Marc Jacobs this year.  Their brooches and belt buckles appeared in Jacobs’ Spring 2008 runway.  Several notable cameos of Dee’s and Ricky’s designs appeared on Kanye West and recently on Takashi Murakami at an event in Japan.

There must be the child in all of us because LEGO is still hot!

Source: Brandish, Brick Artist, Beauty & Janine, BBC

I love Fall weather. To keep warm, I like to mix and match pieces for a casual and comfortable look that features leather, pleather, bright colors, fringe and men’s inspired styles.

Mix and layer tops with cardigans and jackets during the day. For nights out on the town, flatter your waist by tucking in a fitted cami underneath a high waisted skirt. Wear skirts, dresses and loose tops with leggings or tights to complete the look – and keep your legs warm at night.

These are some of my favorite pieces for Fall:

1. Miss Sixty Ankle Boots

2. Marc Jacobs Neon Pink Handbag

3. Stussy Robot Necklace

4. Antik Batik Scarf

5. Goorin Brothers Fedora Hat

6. Giles for Evoke Jewelry

7. Insight Flannel Top

8. Juicy Couture Mini-Black Jacket

9. Urban Renewal Mens Inspired Blazer

10. Costume Dept. Leggings

11. Vanessa Bruna Fringe Bag

12. Haute Hippie Fringe Cardigan

Some of my favorite websites for the above items are on (Image sources):

www.shopbop.com
www.revolveclothing.com
www.topshop.com
www.stussy.com
www.karmaloop.com
www.whowhatweardaily.com