Flannel is my Hot, Hot Sex

Hello-

Needless to say, my lack of posting over the past few months is quite sad but in my defense, wireless in Manhattan is nearly impossible to find and lets just say that even though I spent most of my time in the city staring at the clothes of well-heeled New York girls (and even a few from Jersey, traipsing in Uggs) I'll just use that inspiration for the future.

Let's start on the road to blogging recovery with my newest obsession. Besides Cansei De Ser Sexy's song "Music is my Hot, Hot Sex," which by now, I'm sure, has been in heavy rotation on your iPod for a few weeks, FLANNEL, or actually flannel shirts are the item that I am smitten by.

Yes, the thick box-plaid print turned grunge era relic has emerged as a piece that some hate, as one of those ironic hipster fads, like the keffiyeh, or love, as a look that is surprisingly chic with its simple patterns and no-fuss feel, like on Mary-Kate, paired with a leather jacket, splashed upon the cover of Nylon.

A quick note: There are many different patterns that flannel shirts come in but I'm currently in love with the buffalo plaid, as you can tell from the selections below.

Steve & Barry's has a great flannel shirt from Amanda Bynes's line "Dear." While her line is as overexhausted and boring as her too-tan locks and skin, her red and black flannel shirt is cozy and cheap, at about $13 bucks.

SGB wears the shirt with Ray Ban Wayfarers and a black headband.

J.Crew has their own buffalo plaid option, a little skirt that would be perfect with tights and flats for $98.

Delias has the perfect antidote to your black staple winter coat. Sure it goes with everything and doesn't dirty easily from your morning commute but fading into a sea of staples is no way to spend your 20s. For about $90 you can rework your daily look.


If you need more reason to pick up something flannel, check out the NYTimes article about the "Lumber Man" proving that you should not only buy something in buffalo plaid for yourself, you should get the guy in your life something flannel as well, be it your dad, boyfriend or best friend.

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NYTimes Style Mag: Fashion from Art

This issue of T Magazine has derived the art that inspired the recent NY collections with the help of the curators of some of the most well known collections, like the MOMA. I love the Dior Homme jacket that looks like Pollock woke up one day and decided to become a designer.

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Back from Africa!

Hello Hello, sorry for being MIA this past month, I was in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia visiting family and didn't have reliable internet, but now for fashion week, I have my trusty Macbook and high speed wireless. Unfortunately I'm 2 continents away from NYC, so I can't troll around Bryant Park looking for The Sartorialist or hoping to catch a peek at the beautiful people but thanks to style.com, I can see what's in store for Spring '07!

In honor of my recent jaunt to Ethiopia, I want to show you my favorite looks that Liya Kebede, has worn so far during fashion week.

Kebede's best accessory at the Rag & Bone show are her fantastic legs. The whole urban jungle shirtdress thing is a classic, but the straw fedora topper makes the look au courant.

At J. Mendel, Kebede wore a pumpkin chiffon gown with a dramatic satin trim. My favorite part of this dress is the off-the-shoulder styling (to play up her sharp collarbones). The sleeve cleavage gives the admirer an unexpected glance at the upper arm, an overtly sexy gesture in an overall modest look.
You can almost envision the PYT wearing this Diane von Furstenberg frock over her bikini to the beach then shaking the sand off it in the evening for dinner and drinks in the city.
I love the baby blue sash carelessly tied between the skirt and fur top, separating the two different texture and shades of black. (Carolina Herrera)

Expect more fashion week posts this week!

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Eve: Video Fashion

The black female pop stars have left much to be desired. Ruled by lookalikes Rihanna and Beyonce, the uninspired listener (apparently there are many of them, Rihanna has ruled the UK and US charts with Umbrella for weeks) is content with the same old story: bling and boobs.

Girls and boys searching for something with a spark of creativity on the radio, don't fret! Eve of the cat paw tattoo fame is back.
Her song "Tambourine" is fun with enough energy to give you whiplash. And the video for "Tambourine" shows that Eve has her perfectly manicured nails directly on the trend pulse of the nation. Her video is filled with bright colors and lamé leggings. She even rocks an Herve Leger'esque dress in one segment, fanning herself furiously. Her French maids wear an updated uniform: their dress is shiny patent leather, a sexy touch. In a party scene, a dancing girl bounces in a sequin minidress, one of the oft seen summer looks.





My one complaint is that her video looks like an ad for MAC. There are too many shots of her preening with some product in her hand. But let's face it. She's Eve, and as one of the few women of color that can make a blonde 'do look as nonchalant as dark brown highlights, I'm going to let it go.

Check out her video and stop singing along to Rihanna, I promise it'll all be better once she's off the radio.



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Target: Devi Kroell

Devi Kroell, the designer behind the luxurious bejeweled and python clutches below, has come out with a more affordable line for Target. Her usual line is the perfect touch for a cocktail party or for a afternoon of meandering down Oak Street.

These two beauties are a little over $1000 which places them in the "aspirational" or "I'm not going to pay my rent this month" category of our wish list.

Kroell's line at Target, however, does not flirt with any number higher than 50 and is so cute and functional.

This little gold clutch will add some sparkle to your usual summer sundress ensemble and can hold the essentials as you run to the Whole Foods for a peach ice tea run. Since the clutch is $30 you can afford to pick up a few iced teas for your friends and share the love.


This tiny python print purse is perfect for night. The moody grey will look great with a purple jersey dress or even your standard lbd. And it's only $20! Who needs real python when you have youth and long nights with your buds ahead of you?

So, head to Target for more from Devi Kroell. She even has a couple of totes that could be used for work or school.

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Summer Trend: Metallic Nails

Black nails served us all well through the winter. Even if I looked like a giant puff schlepping in the snow, i felt a little more chic because of my darkly stained nails. Then we transitioned to white nails for spring, a look that was oddly appealing and reminded me of lazy afternoons in middle school, using white out as a top coat.

My favorite tiny fashionista is my littlest sister SAB and when I was dabbling with black nail polish she had already moved on to the world of metallic tones. She rocked a silvery color that I always used on vacations home (Its Wet and Wild and goes on surprisingly smooth).

So, inspired by the adorable SAB I have been on my own hunt for the perfect metallic shade. I found it last week at Max Studio when I noticed the pixie featured saleswoman's nails. They were a sharp blue with a metallic sheen. She told me her color was from OPI and after intensive Google research, I present to you, the ultimate summer shade: blue my mind by OPI.

It's fun but not offensive (some of those day-glo shades can be painfully tacky) and the metallic touch adds some glamour to a very downtown look.



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Chanel Couture

The Fall '07 Couture collections are debuting in Paris and this means oodles of decadent clothing.

This was the most stunning piece from Chanel. She's drizzled in sequins and the inside of the cape looks like a controlled version of a drip painting. I also love the Amelia Earheart'esque head covering, its like she's sashaying down a airplane runway, about to take flight.

If I had to buy one look from this collection it would be this short sequin dress. I love the bows on the shoulders and the draping cape makes it look less like a Paris Hilton party dress and more elegant and fit for somebody like Queen Rania.


There were 2 versions of this jigsaw dress. The other one grazed the gravel with a little tulle at the bottom and looked like something a mermaid would wear if she was visiting above the water for a day. I like this style especially because of the bunched leather leggings.
N.B. You my dear can probably never pull off leather leggings. But if you have the build of a model or the attitude of one, start looking for a pair. You'll probably have to wriggle into them, laying on your bed and pinching your eyes (and belly) so hard you'll start to tear, but paired with a lacey or more demure top, you'll look like a sexy rockstar, kind of like Kate Moss at Glastonbury (PVC leggings, the woman is superhuman)

What I love about this look is the length added onto the tweed coat. This jacket would look perfect with a skirt (something a first lady might wear...obviously not Laura Bush, someone more on the lines of Cécilia Sarkozy) or with ripped skinny jeans (like an Olsen twin).
I just love the universality of Chanel and the multitude of ways her look has been reinterpreted by Lagerfeld and the women who absorb the style in their own distinct way. ++
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From Malevich to Marc Jacobs

I've been obsesed with this Marc by Marc Jacobs frock for months. I love the tiny squares, varying in shade of grey and solid and striped patterns. It looks like mini glass panes but all that it reflects is your excellent taste. I also love the dainty collar and how it upturns gently on each side.

It reminds me of the geometric art of Kazimir Malevich. Both Marc and Malevich use small geometric pieces to create something larger: a sparkling dress or pioneering art.

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Guernica: from Picasso to Rushdie and Rifat Ozbek

Salman Rushdie's tale "At the Auction of the Ruby Slippers" places the fantastical red slippers at the center of a raucous auction. The characters, from witches to political refugees, are all desperate to return to some time, some body or some place. They drip with desire for this tool and are armed with Uzi's and couture jackets.

One woman wears Picasso's Guernica on her back. The bombing of the Spanish town displayed on her body.


I came across this dress by Rifat Ozbek and was instantly reminded of the scene in Rushdie's novel. The Guernica'esque figures are etched onto her cool grey metallic shift.

I can see her slowly stepping around an auction house, only deigning to crinkle her dress to peer into the glass box with the ruby slippers.
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Dior: Reinterpreting Art for Fashion

My lovely roommates CW and SM have one of Hokusai's prints of Mount Fuji on our living room wall. The Great Wave at Kanagawa is terrifyingly stunning. Sharp white tendrils creep off the end of wave with calculated precision and Mount Fuji sits calmly in the distance.

I came upon this piece perusing through the Dior Couture Spring '07 collection and I love how Galliano reinterpreted Hokusai's work. The proportions are sinusoidal. They vary from the wide, bell sleeves and full hoop skirt, to the narrow, banded waist and slim legs poking out of the gown. The crinkled bow around the model's neck looks like an elegant wave but the graphic print creeps up the gown adding turbulence to the white stillness.
I love it when the lines between Art and Fashion blur. It's beautiful to think that you could wrap your most immediate form of expression, your body, in something inspiring to the many who meander through The Met.

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Balenciaga: The Scarf to Covet

Keira Knightley's article in Vogue romanticizes Africa from a colonizers point of view. There are photos of her in couture soaring above African "tribes people" and herding a group of cows in Marc Jacobs with "natives." I'm just going ignore the article (she kept an LV journal filled with musings reminiscent of a dimwit European settler) and focus on her look because frankly, I have minimal patience for such trite reading.

She is wearing head to toe Balenciaga. The side striped pants were all over the fall07 runway and are perfectly slouchy and fitted around her waist. She wears them with a bright blue button down and I love the thick white cuffs. The best piece is the fringed scarf. I'm obsessed with this accessory. It's the perfect topping with its light patterns and dangling coin detail.


On the runway, variations on this scarf were thrown together with intense gladiator heels and patterned dresses.
This variation was preppy (the fitted blue blazor screams Eton schoolboy) but tough. The scarf was pulled up close to the model's face as if she were a bandit, about to pull it over her face and perform the most daring (and glamorous) heist of the decade.
This scarf reminds me of the Palestinian Keffiyah. This symbol of liberation for Palestine has also become a controversial fashion statement. Freja Beha rocked one backstage at a Rag & Bone show.
So if a Balenciaga scarf isn't within your reach, check out Desert Store for $10 keffiyahs and wear it like Kiera or Freja, carelessly thrown around your neck.
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Dissecting White Leggings

You either love 'em or hate 'em. Live in them or cross yourself when you pass by their rack in Urban Outfitters.
I'm personally pro-legging, they're far more comfortable than pants and since I'm trying to cultivate a look of culture and class wearing something rather than nothing with short dresses helps the image.
So it started with the black legging. Simple enough, you threw them on under frocks that were more shirt than dress, hoping you could get away with it. Then you layered them with your Burberry (posers) rainboots and Frye boots.
But the rush of never having to wear pants made you crazy, so you bought leggings for fun, not just warmth and practicality. Lace on the bottoms of your leggings then patterns and now...color.

I have a serious problem with all of the white leggings I see on my daily walks to class. I may be wearing sunglasses so dark nobody knows if I am acknowledging their existence but trust me...I notice you.

My stunning friend HK is an example of how TO wear white leggings. She wears a brilliant turquoise tunic complemented by her rich coffee tone.
Since she:
a. has beautiful coloring
b. is wearing color
c. has a slender frame
d. is wearing shoes with a slight heel (result: toner calves) and
e. is wearing a long dress, not just a "long shirt," HK does not err.

I think the college girl is now searching for the "spring legging" and I want to let you know that unless you fulfill all of the criteria above, the only spring legging you should rock is the same pair you wore all winter: black. White leggings accentuate wobbly bits so why do that to yourself?
Just let your legs enjoy the sun and walk away from the white leggings. Please.

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Lohan in Léger

Even though my favorite movie of her was when she wasn't overly tanned and over exposed, oh the days of The Parent Trap, I still adore Lindsay Lohan. She's always willing to throw on something zesty and provide us with something to read on perezhilton.com during sleep inducing lectures (you know you do it too).
It doesn't matter if she's groping delicious British men on a beach or denying rumors of a coke addiction, Lohan was voted #1 on Maxim's hot 100.

I'm not sure if she's deserving of this number one spot, but the amount of publicity she garners for a trip to Jamba Juice proves there are enough Lohanophiles that agree with her placement.

I love her Hervé Léger bandage dress. The dress fits like it was sewn onto her body and the different colored strips are fun. It's a bit shocking with violent swaths of yellow on her hips but when you're young you should be able to wear something daring, skipping the lbd.


Lohan's worn vintage Léger before. This is the counterpart to the voluminous frocks drowning the PYT's. This look is more classic but as Maxim's #1 hottie, her previous flirty pick was definitely more appropriate.

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What Not to Wear on a Magazine Cover: Beyonce

I was perusing CVS when this magazine cover shocked me out of my routine browse. Even Maxim's cover seemed tasteful in comparison to this Vibe. (A Nicole Scherzinger doppleganger, you should check it out)
Beyonce is undeniably a stunner but when she takes her mother's House of Dereon taste to heart, drama ensues.
Shes wearing the Chanel sequin panty-shorts that Sienna Miller debuted at her Factory Girl party. It didn't look good on a twig so I am confused why Beyonce would think teeny shorts would flatter her curvy figure.


The shorts awkwardly bunch which tends to happen when you wear sequined panties. (Don't ask me how I know.)
She's trying to work the whole "sexy when wet" look but it looks like she's rockin a jeri-curl 'do and consumptive eye makeup. Her shirt also looks uncomfortably tight, strapping in her breasts.
As a stylish male friend of mine, EM, said, "She looks like she got beat up." And when you're on the cover of Vibe, why would you rock a look that thugs put together instead of a fabulous designer.


It's not like Beyonce doesn't know how to work the sexy when wet act, she did it for Sports Illustrated. I think its all in the eyes. She bores into the reader with her steady sultry gaze. Her hair also looks naturally wet, as if she just rolled in the sand after a romp in the water. Unprocessed and natural suits Beyonce better.

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The Party of the Year: Accessories

The Costume Institute's gala at the Met is always full of celebs, PYT's, designers and other people with last names like "Lauren" or "Missoni." This year I found a few dresses I wouldn't mind spending the rest of my life with. However, the accessories were the delectable pieces of the night.

Cameron Diaz wore a voluminous Dior gown by John Galliano. It's one of those looks you either love or hate. I'm in Cameron's camp and Love the jewel toned fuchsia. The turquoise accessories are so smashing especially with her newly lightened 'do and bronzed skin.

Kate Bosworth looked incredible with her flapper'esque locks, red lips and satin Prada frock. I'm equally obsessed with her gold accessories: a jeweled clutch and mary-jane platform pumps. Everything she wears is within the same palette but she does not blend into a khaki haze, instead her pieces stand out and sparkle.
Lucy Liu's gold headband (tiara?), clutch and bracelet popped out against her purple Zac Posen gown. The perfect amount of garnish for a dress that looks like a a floating garden with flower straps and train.

I'm not committed to liking this dress. The rosettes look like they are hanging onto the dress languidly, too blasé to even look fresh for the camera. Of course Emily Mortimer is in Chanel because this reminds me of Rinko Kikuchi's Golden Globes dress. It looked like 20 light pink giant cotton balls trailed down Kikuchi's legs.
Anyways, the color is lovely and so is the bling belt and gold purse. Nice touches that didn't get lost in the mountains of chiffon obscuring her pretty gown.
Julia Restoin-Roitfeld (should I know who she is?) is super under dressed for this gala. It looks like she ran to the Met after a day lounging and chain smoking at the Park. She lost track of time then threw on her best padded bra, a thin slip and then her dressing gown.
I forgive this all because her shoes are amazing.
They look like men's shoes of a past time and we've seen this front lace style around for a while. But Julia is wearing them in gold! and they're ankle boots! The sooner urban outfitters comes out with a version of these shoes the better for all of us.
Jacquetta Wheeler is so glamorous in this fitted sheath by Roland Mouret (he's next to her). The shape is classic with a flared bottom and updated with puffed cap sleeves. Wheeler's shaggy forest green clutch and black headband take this look from timeless to 2007. She adds a touch of youth to an otherwise elegant (read older) gown.

Kirsten Dunst take notes. THIS is how you wear a flapper headband. Zani Gugelmann looks lovely and she's wearing feathers! And that's no easy feat. Zani (perfect name isn't it?) carries a a feathered clutch as well and even though her accessories shed (see bottom of picture, a hint of feather) Zani's pose suggests she is thinking "oh this old thing, isn't it fantastic?" prompting us to applaud her daring choice of headgear.
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Berry Lovely

Halle looks absolutely ravishing in this jewel toned Hugo Boss dress. This color is perfect for her cocoa brown skin and she accessories simply: a necklace grazing her decolletage. It's a girly frock and also age appropriate, not at all like an older woman playing at youth in a Juicy sweat suit.


If you want to look like Ms Berry, and who doesn't, look into this Foley + Corinna dress. It's quite a lot of pennies at $438 from shopbop.com but hey, a little bit of online browsing won't put a dent into your wallet.

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Color is the New Black

Take off your Chanel black nail posh. Even if the weather isn't on schedule (hail in April? Now that's as cruel as an invite only sample sale) you should bring out your spring frocks, colorful tops and tropical accessories. Lets all pretend its spring, even if we have to layer with sweaters and tights.

1. French Connection has a fun and flirty trapeze dress. The geometric patterned dress mixes
bright colors in a non-offensive way. Sometimes color can accost the eye, but I think the black borders mute the palette making it palatable. I love that you can wear it as a loose trapeze dress, perfect for running to the beach, or cinched, to meet the bf for brunch. Pick it up from nordstrom.com for $168.
2. I adore this Missoni-esque tank top from Old Navy. It would be perfect over your light wash Sevens or with a frayed mini. You can own this lovely piece for only $10.

3. Dolce Vita has delicious lemon sandals (put 'em in the closet til it warms up) from shopbop.com for $100.


4. You can stow your loot in this nautical inspired tote from J.Crew for only $40. This is an easy way to transition your stuff from the utilitarian bag you wore all winter. 5. I don't usually like Coach products (the obnoxious C's, the high school girls who think they are the epitome of chic with khaki logo totes) but this coin purse is so adorable. I love the chain link strap and the sunny hue. For $98 you can brighten up your look.


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