Fashion,Style & Beauty on Fashion Girls

The editorial of Vogue Nippon is like born for lace and ethereal photoshoots, it’s like the Japanese do have an addictions for lace. The most recent issue of Vogue Nippon October 2010 features Raquel Zimmermann dressed in black laces in front of the lens of Mario Sorrenti. The photoshoot Darker is the Memory nicely shows the the feminine seductive of black lace.

Mario Sorrenti and Raquel Zimmermann go on location once again for the October issue of Vogue Nippon. Set in Naples, Italy, the photographer and model pairing navigate the streets as Raquel dons monochromatic ensembles styled by George Cortina. Featuring the work of Givenchy, Emilio Pucci, Balmain and more, Raquel plays a tormented soul in Darker is the Memory.

This editorial can’t really be called ethereal, but the black lace look is really amazing, totally appealing!

Personally I really love waistcoats and blazers, they can create a capable impression and still very feminine look although they’re actually traditional menswear. And I know a lot of people who share the same sense with me, so it is no surprise that the fashion world has brought it on the runway and to the stores as well. This is an announcement, that the Menswear Trend is officially coming for fall.

Fashion is having a masculine moment. Menswear-inspired pieces, sent down several fall runways, are heading into stores with looks that lend a feminine twist to traditionally male vests, trousers, blazers and accessories.

“The menswear trend gives an empowering edge to women,” celebrity stylist Joey Tierney tells us. “There’s something sexy about a women in a well-tailored suit. The look is strong, yet still feminine, with clean and simple lines.”

Menswear appeals to women because of it’s seductive, androgynous appeal. Thank heavens for legends like the late Alexander McQueen and even Coco Chanel, who have taught us that, when executed well, it can result in a chic, sophisticated finish.

Menswear fashion expert Mordechai Rubinstein, who helms the blog Mister Mort, says traditional menswear pieces can look great on a woman, especially waistcoats, high-waisted trousers and the double-breasted blazer. “Not some tiny girls’ poly-blend blazer thing,” he says, “But a proper blazer, that if you wanted to roll the sleeve a bit, it’s long enough.”

As long as we love the menswear trend and the fact that we do want to be in fashion, there’re still something we should be careful with when considering menswear. Here are some tips from the pros on wearing the menswear trend, while still looking like a lady.

1. Suiting Up:
“Make sure that your jacket fits you well, otherwise it could create a boxy silhouette,” Tierney says. “Women should make sure of the fit when practicing this trend. You want to keep it sexy and make sure that the clothing you are wearing accentuates your body and doesn’t hide it. Just because the trend is called menswear doesn’t mean you have to dress like a man. It means you create a feminine classy look with well-tailored lines.”
“Fit is fashion,” Mai agrees. “Even in a boyfriend blazer, shoulder seams should be aligned with your own and darting should fall along your bust line appropriately.”

2. Add Girlie Touches:
“To give a softer touch to menswear, mix it with sheer fabrics and lace,” says Tierney. “Color is always a great way to mix in your own personal style through your accessories and accent garments.”
“I prefer accents of the menswear trend,” Mai says. “A newsboy cap with a pencil skirt and a button up is a chic touch, or add penny loafers to your trousers with a feminine soft blouse. Heels are always a good touch to sass up menswear, and also add height to lengthen the look when necessary.”

3. Looks that Work:
“On a casual day, a simple vintage blue work pant and a fisherman’s knit sweater or cotton (sweater),” Rubinstein says. “All a few sizes up, of course. For a cold autumnal or winter evening, a gray chalk stripe flannel double-breasted suit with gray wool Birkenstocks, rag wool socks, and a fedora.”
“Women should look for a well-tailored pencil skirt, fitted blazer and tailored button up shirt,” Tierney says, adding that oxford shoes, such as the styles from Marc Jacobs, are great footwear choices.

4. Accessorizing It:
“I always add cuff links to my favorite blazers, especially antiques I’ve collected from my grandfathers and their fathers,” Mai says. “I recently found an unbelievable old pocket watch that hardly works, but it works when I leave the chain dangling out of my front pocket. Really there’s no wrong way to wear menswear.”

All in all, menswear are officially coming for this fall, and you should be prepared! But don’t worry, this will be casual styles so you can hardly go wrong, just enrich the look with your own little ideas, and it’ll be just great!

I’m not quite a person for winter, although I do like the white scene when it snows but I really don’t the like the winter styles, always too much to wear, and I don’t like it. So I’ll just pop off to spring, let’s have neak peek at the Carlos Campos Men’s Spring 2011.

There are those guests at a party who need everyone to know who, where and how they are at all times; they are loud and brash, and annoying in anything but the smallest doses. And then there are those who don’t need to make a racket, who are interesting or beautiful, or both, and can simply let the party come to them. If collections are party guests, Carlos Campos’s Spring/Summer 2011 would be the latter, and if I couldn’t talk to him all night, I’d just be happy to sit back and watch others do so.

Campos has effectively synthesized light knits and cottons with the sophistication and refinement we’ve come to expect from the 39-year old Honduran-American.

While he’s previously described the man who wears his clothes as “a clean rock star,” for next spring, he’s envisioned a young man traveling through Europe, “backpacking, but in a chic way.” No word whether he’s traveling with his axe, but Campos’s more fitted looks have given way to a more relaxed look, like his white 100% prima cotton pants, which give the legs some breathing room without descending into the realm of the too-casual.

He’s got some cool jackets, like a navy trench, where he’s forgone a full lining for seam binding, adding to its levity. There’s also a navy blazer inspired by a pea coat, so refreshing and cool you might not even notice the slight asymmetry of the lapels.

For shirts he’s sticking with plaids, like many of his compatriots, but with less dedication than others I’ve seen. Using Italian fabrics and Honduran assemblers, Campos insists on 22 stitches per square inch (most shirts have 14-16), and refuses to use any glue in his products. “These will look even better after you wash them,” he promises. But his real triumph here is in the plaid’s subtlety; there’s nothing garish and the details—French seams as well as gussets at the bottom—show innovation, without making a big deal out if it.

And there’s shoes, too! For the first time, Campos designed footwear. and the result is consistent with the achievements above. He’s fabricated a canvas oxford (in my mind it’s an oxford-meets-espadrille), with smooth leather interiors in 7 of the 12 muted colors he’s chosen for the collection.

The whole thing is a quiet triumph. If I can go back to my original metaphor, I left the party smiling, and looking forward to the next time we’d meet again. Hah…

Comfortable but not too casual, I like the feeling of inbetween, feels so nice, perfect!

To be honest, I’m quite a sunglass fashion person, I love different kinds of sunglasses, so I’m always happy for that I’m not short-sighted. But recently I almost feel frustrated for the perfect vision, I almost want to be short-sighted. All for these Ksubi Eyeglasses, they’re totally fabulous!

These days, eyeglasses are as fashionable as sunglasses–maybe even more so. But ironically for some of us, perfect vision gets in the way. Yet Ksubi’s new optical range makes us (almost) want to wear a pair sans-prescription.

The seven-style-strong collection is the latest addition to the growing book of tricks from the Bondi duo, and helps to dust off all those pesky “are-they/aren’t-they out of business?” rumors.

A new sunnies collection will be released alongside the optical collection–both will be available in Australia this month at Myer and David Jones and online at Generalpants.com.au, with prices ranging from AUD $289 – $329 (USD $265 – $300). Both ranges offer toughened up yet quirky retro shapes and materials, and should come as a welcome addition to the usual bland optometrist fare.

The icing on the cake for the boys’ big comeback is of course the stunning look book and campaign, featuring our favorite model of the moment (and founder Dan Single’s current squeeze) Bambi Northwood-Blyth.

The apocalyptic farmer/pirate like shoot, complete with hessian bow ties and gas masks, shows just how far this pair has come. While the addition of a few cheeky loose ‘eyeballs’ throughout some of the shots makes it clear that the rats-down-the-runway spirit that Ksubi is known and loved for is still alive and well.

I totally love the new optical eyeglasses line, they’re so stylish. And the photos for the campaign feels just great, not gorgeous, but it do shouts “Why not get one pair of yours!” (Luckily, I didn’t do anything stupid after all.) By the way, Kate McKibbin is the founder of Australian online publication Drop Dead Gorgeous Daily.

Accessories is something that is so small but so important in every apparel, you can’t be all dressed up without the help of some great accessories. And what kind of accessories do we love the most? Jewelry of course. So, despite the fact that we all love Katie Hillier’s fabulous accessories before, let’s see how she’s going to make her eponymous jewelry line.

Katie Hillier has had a career most could only dream of. Designing accessories at Luella, Marc by Marc Jacobs, and working as a contributor and senior-editor at POP, Katie’s resume is a fashion wonder.

But it was only recently that the British designer turned her sights on a different goal: creating her own label. Fresh on the heels of her win as Accessories Designer of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in 2009, Katie set to work on Hillier, her eponymous jewelry line.

Mixing luxury with fun, Hillier is adorable, unexpected, and highly covetable. And we totally want to know more about this gorgeous jewelry line, so here’a short interview for you:

1. You’ve had a lot of success working for different companies like Marc by Marc Jacobs and Luella. What made you want to start your own line?
Katie: We’ve been discussing the possibility of our own line for a very long time and it just seemed a natural progression at this stage. Fine jewelery is a very big passion of mine and I wanted to explore this part of the market in our very own way. It’s something we don’t do for any of our other clients. We have so many ideas that we are unable to work on, so the Hillier line gives us an outlet for them.

2. Why jewelery, instead of, say, handbags or accessories?
Katie: There’s a specific craft to fine jewelery which I am very passionate about, being able to work closely with local artisans and very precious materials was very seductive.

3. How is creating your own line different from working with an established company?
Katie: It’s actually much more challenging because it’s about you, it’s very personal, no briefs are given or paths to follow. So it really can be whatever you want it to be. But I think that’s what makes it so exciting, establishing something new and hopefully lasting.

4. Hillier is described as “Luxury. With a wink.” How does that phrase embody your style?
Katie: Because we work in very precious materials but the finished object is not conventionally precious, it’s a found object twisted. So it’s luxury with a nod to the unconventional.

5. The short film on your website is adorable, how did you create it?
Katie: We worked with an amazing team Sadie and Jo Williams, brother and sister combo and really good friends of ours! It’s a really fun process working with them–just a few conversations, not much of a brief, with an amazing end result.

6. Any plans for expanding your line?
Katie: For now we are concentrating on the fine jewelery. But watch this space!

7. What was the best job you’ve had in the fashion industry? And the worst?
Katie: I am very lucky to have worked with the most amazing people in the industry, I have had hard jobs but never bad. I think my experience at Marc Jacobs has been one of the best; certainly the longest, nearly eight years! I love my job so every day is great, however tough it may be, because I’m doing what I love!

8. Any dream clients you’d love to work with?
Katie: I would love to do a project with one of the big jewelery houses: David Morris, Cartier or Boucheron. Now that would be amazing. But for now I couldn’t ask for anymore dream clients, as we already work with them!

9. Are Bunnies the new “It Accessory”? It seems like they’re really gaining momentum, especially in the UK!
Katie: Indeed they are! Show me the bunny!!

So, this is the story, and what’s next? Wait for its official launch, and take out your bunnies!

Handbags is a forever great topic for women. No matter how many bags we have, we can just never stop searching for a nicer one (or simply a different one). And jewelry is another favorite of all women, and Tiffany & Co. jewelry appeals to us greatly, literally every women love them. So, how glamorous it will be if combine the two favorites together! The news today is that it seems Tiffany & Co. wants to have a try to design handbag line.

When Tiffany acquired the bankrupt Lambertson Truex, we did not envision that these lovely bags would be the end result. Sure Lambertson had a decade-long history of luxury bags, but could they transition the high-end jewelry retailer into this market?

The union may have been questionable at first, but the pairing has brought about beautiful bags with an ‘it’ bag factor. These handbags come in various styles, shapes and sizes, but the above is our favorite. Sure they’re stylish and sleek, but never under-estimate the Tiffany blue element. Say hello to the Lyn clutch, this may be our first meeting, but the odds are good that we will be seeing them about town soon.

Shinning, glamorous and elegant, all you would ask for a clutch, the Tiffany & Co. new handbag line is totally awesome, love the stunning clutches!

Designer shoes are usually adorable but not quite affordable for people like me who don’t have like $700 budget for a single pair of platform heels. So it is always struggling for me to see these gorgeous designer shoes, always dreamed that they will come out with a lower price. Now it seems that the dream is almost coming true: Jones Apparel Group nabs Brian Atwood to launch an affordable footwear collection.

Buzzy shoe designer and Rachel Zoe-favorite Brian Atwood recently resigned from his post as creative director at Bally, so it’s no surprise that he’s getting into something else.

Jones Apparel Group has inked a deal with the designer to launch a contemporary footwear and accessories collection. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

In the past few years, Jones has attempted to revive its fuddy-duddy image through partnerships with the likes of Stuart Weitzman and Rachel Roy.

The line, tentatively named B Brian Atwood, will feature shoes priced between $200 and $400, as well as boots around $600.

This gives those of us who can’t afford $720 for a pair of patent leather platform heels some hope. This initial contract is for five years.

Totally great news, right? I just can’t helping imagine wearing those incredible shoes, let’s just wait for more details to come.

Fragrance is something that will add whatever sense you want to your apparels, you can be sexy, cute, sweet, elegant or whatever else with one same apparel, just with a little help from different fragrance. It’s like every woman has some sort of obsession with fragrance. So as we also love Gucci, the Gucci Guilty is coming, the fragrance inspired by Streisand.

Yesterday, we got a sneak preview of Gucci’s upcoming fragrance, Gucci Guilty. We learned about the scent’s composition, the inspiration from Streisand and the Frank Miller-directed TV commercial starring Evan Rachel Wood. Today, let’s share the information on this new fragrance.

First, the fragrance: The top notes are mandarin and pink peppercorn; middle notes are fruit and lavender; and base notes are amber and patchouli. It smells good, but the amber and patchouli are a little much for me, personally.

The name: Apparently, Gucci’s creative director Frida Giannini is a big Streisand fan. The name “Guilty” came to her while she was in her car listening to a Streisand song of the same name. Another source of inspiration for the fragrance? The cover of the 1976 film A Star Is Born starring Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. In fact the resemblance to the print ad is almost striking.

The bottle: The bottle is awesome. It’s Gucci’s first perfume bottle to feature the interlocking G’s and it almost looks like it’s hollow from the front while the liquid is more visible from the sides. It’s simple and chic, has a retro/art deco feel and would just look really pretty on top of my dresser.

The ad campaign: Apparently, Gucci Guilty’s ad campaign is the brand’s biggest ever. As you may know, a 30-second trailer started buzzing around the internet a week or so ago for Frank Miller’s Gucci Guilty, which will debut as a 60-second commercial on September 12th during the MTV Video Music Awards. The short film was shot in front of a green screen in Fellini’s studio in Rome. We got to see a slightly racier version yesterday and let’s just say you get to see more than just a couple of silhouettes undressing. We also learned that all of the tattoos are Evan’s own.

The casting: Frida wanted a girl who embodied the idea of the “Guilty” character, which is basically girly with a sexy edge (hence the “guilt”). As far as the choice of Chris Evans, whose last name happens to be his love interest’s first, they mentioned something about all these super hero movies he’s starring in; so perhaps that’s the direction they wanted to go in with the character.

Gucci Guilty will hit stores in mid-September and will include a lotion, shower gel and shimmer powder. We’re not sure on the price, but it will be tough to call this one a guilt-free purchase!

OK, that’s all we’ve got on this upcoming Gucci Guilty. And guilty or not, I definitely want to get my hands on this little cutie, even just for the cute bottle.

Charity is one of the hottest topics in fashion, and a very good one too. The fashion world seems to have made a lot from the society, so it seems that everyone do look forward to the celebrities to show their kindness in charity and to take their responsibility too. So it is really breaking news that fashion world always teams up for charity, and this time Naomi Campbell and Dolce & Gabbana design T-Shirts for charity. Despite my personal feelings about the supermodel (and it’s really nothing), this is really great news.

Naomi Campbell and Dolce & Gabbana have collaborated on a collection of 14 T-shirts for charity. Each tee has an image of the supermodel that was captured by some of the most acclaimed fashion photographers, like David La Chapelle, Patrick Demarchelier, Steven Meisel and Paolo Roversi to name a few.

Fashion for Relief is Campbell’s charity, and it raise funds whenever an urgent need arises globally. This organization mobilizes the fashion industry from within to help society at large. You can get a signed tee from the supermodel at Fashion’s Night Out on September 10th at Dolce & Gabbana’s Madison Avenue store in New York City. They will be sold for $200 each, but remember that the proceeds will go to a worthy cause.

I love the tees and the gift wrap is so nice and sweet, and it’s for charity! We love fashion all the way, and we love it even more when it comes to charity!

When it comes to wearing and other outfits, it seems to me that the fashion world cares more about the women than the men. I don’t know exactly why, maybe because women care more about their apparels than men? Or maybe because I always just always pick the women’s.

Anyway, I do believe that guys deserve some more fashion attentions, and here’s something for the boys: Rebecca Minkoff dishes on the man’s bags you’ll want to steal.

Rebecca Minkoff stole out hearts years ago with the so-called Morning After Bag (MAB, for short), and now she’s out to steal our men–or the spot on their arms, at least–with the introduction of Ben Minkoff. Inspired by her grandfather, a World War II fighter pilot, the collection-for-guys promises all the rugged durability and old-school details we love…and, with any luck, the cool factor required to make your significant other spring for a new look. We won’t tell if you want to take one for a spin, either.

Want some real information on this new Ben Minkoff collection? Here’s a short interview of Rebecca Minkoff:

Many times, designers going from catering to women to targeting men will just add chunkier hardware and adopt a more rugged design. But your products tend to be hardware-heavy and durable to begin with. Was it difficult to really make this line stand out and feel more masculine?
Rebecca Minkoff: With the Ben Minkoff collection, it was important to take a step back from our female customer and think about what men are really looking for in terms of functionality of a man bag. We did include similar brass hardware that we use in the women’s collection because I love the aged look. And it’s not super shiny, which gives the bags that vintage feel. I believe in the little details that make things unique, whether it’s a bag for a man or a woman.

The Ben Minkoff line is visibly inspired by the 1940s. Where specifically did these bags come from? Does each one cater to a slightly different person?
The spring 2011 collection was inspired by the bags the Air Force used during the ’40s and were based off of the three classic bags–the map, mail and motorcycle.

Who do you imagine are the men who will use these bags? Can you describe your dream client?
We pictured a west coaster-meets-urban kind of guy who would look at the bags and see classic, functional, but stylish pieces. My dream client is simply a cool guy looking for versatile pieces with a timeless feel. We’ve even had an incredible response from our female customers who wanted a more masculine bag!

How cohesive does this line feel in terms of your past work? Did it feel like a very different direction for you when designing it?
Designing Ben Minkoff was a natural next step for me as it’s a great way to grow the Rebecca Minkoff brand into more of a lifestyle brand. We had an abundance of requests to create a men’s line and felt it was the right time to introduce the collection to our customers.

What are you inspired by lately? What influences can we expect to see in your next line?
I get a lot of inspiration from vintage pieces and traveling. Being absorbed in history and other cultures is pretty inspiring. Before I set out to design a collection, I typically put together a mood board with a mix of vintage designs, beautiful photography, sketches and mementos I’ve picked up from my travels.

Well, this is the story we’ve got, and you can now start gossip with your friends or boyfriends. And in case you don’t already know, the Ben Minkoff line will be available this spring at BenMinkoff.com.