Lady Gaga Looking NORMAL!

It must be a sign of the Apocalypse! Lady Gaga was spotted arriving in NYC wearing somewhat normal clothes! She wore an YSL skirt, Chanel sunglasses and Louboutins.

Source: Refinery 29

Get the Look: Audrey Hepburn

Audrey Hepburn is one of the most iconic and fashionable women ever to walk among the stars. Her elegance and class was what set her apart from the other women of her time. Nowadays, that old-Hollywood sophistication has been overrun by the image of perfection— skinny, blonde, and tan.

Read on for our style guide on how to get Audrey Hepburn’s classic looks from her movies!

We Prefer No Logos!

Consumer research has shown that low and high prices items have something shockingly in common. They both have less obvious logos or brand markers. In the high-end fashion world, designers tend to use discreet markers to identify their collections through intricate design. They want to be recognizable to the elite group who can recognize the high status of the product; designers want to avoid obvious advertising to the mainstream. For example, fashion students, over regular students, tend to choose products with subtle signals than products with the logo on it. Yet, the elites don’t have a dislike for logos, says assistant professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania, Jonah Berger. They avoid them “in identity-relevant domains to distinguish themselves from mainstream consumers who buy such products to show they’ve made it.”

I find this research applicable in my own life. Before I got “in-the-know” in the fashion world, I was always gravitated towards products that had large Juicy Couture or Chanel logos on them. Now being involved in the fashion world, I look for products that are more intricate and finely made. I feel it also more rewarding to say, “Oh, it’s BCBG!” when someone admires my dress than having BCBG written all over my bag. However, I can never part with my Pink clothes from Victoria’s Secret! I am obsessed with their logo-ridden products!

Source: 1

Chanel Cuts Model Crystal Renn Off

The ad for Chanel’s store reopening on Spring Street has been released, which features plus-sized model, Crystal Renn. All together, the ad is very disappointing. The ad shows male model, Baptiste Giabiconi, lying down shirtless next to fur-covered Crystal Renn. Except, the image is cropped; only the upper portion of Renn is shown. Her complete body is cropped out! Chanel obvious doesn’t have a problem with Crystal Renn’s appearance since she walked the runway in their last resort show. Even Jean Paul Gaultier used Crystal’s full figure in his fall campaign this year.

Personally and from an artistic view, I think that the photo, even though it is nicely photographed, has an awkward flow. It abruptly stops, making the figures float in space. But the greater problem I think is the way the editing will reflect on Chanel. Because they’ve cropped Crystal’s curvy figure out of the photo, they are supporting the trend of sickly skinny models. Chanel could have easily made a stand and used Crystal’s body in the picture to declare all body types are beauty. In this case, I feel what Chanel did is just as bad as Ralph Lauren editing their models thinner.

This also raises the question of why use a plus-sized model in the first place if you are only going to take the photo from the chest up? A skinny model would have been just fine as well. If I were Crystal Renn, I would definitely feel hurt, but most of all cheated.

Source: 1

Archival August: Paul Poiret

Parisian Paul Poiret was one of the greatest visionary artists of the early 20th century. He called himself the “king of fashion” and others dubbed him the “Pasha of Paris.” Strongly influenced by orientalist and neoclassical styles, this French fashion designer helped do away with the confining corset and introduced hobble skirts and harem pantaloons.

Poiret had a lowly start, being born to a cloth merchant in the poor French city, Les Halles. To help support his family, Poiret was sent to work with an umbrella maker. Although the work wasn’t very good, Poiret used to opportunity to express his creativity. He collected silk scraps from the umbrellas and made clothes for his sisters’ dolls. He even sketched out designs of dresses and capes.

I freed the bust and I shacked the legs. – Paul Poiret

Price of Chanel Bags Rumored to Increase!

Starting August 1st, it is rumored that classic Chanel bags will have a price increase of 20%! In 2008, the Reissue bag cost $2,850. Now it costs $3,600 and now come August 1, it might go up to $4,100. If you have had your eye on a Chanel bag recently, you better get it while it’s “cheap!”

New French Designer: Alexandre Vauthier

I first saw Alexandre Vauthier’s work featured in a spread for new designers in this month’s issue of Vogue Paris*. Along with a short article, Vogue featured a photo of a model wearing a piece from his collection; The dress was a simple black, yet it created an artificial silhouette with arched and pointed shoulders. The movement of the dress was spectacular and allured me in right away. After seeing only one dress from his collection, I immediately turned to Google and visited his website and watched his show. I knew instantly that I had to feature him on my site! If I had quickly fallen for his look, I know others will!

* Vogue Paris, June/July Issue 908, “Les Laureats,” pp. 194

Alexander Vauthier, born in Agen, France, credits his interest in fashion to the strong female presences in his childhood. His mother, who was a single parent, always wore fox fur and YSL perfume. “She’s the one who made me become nuts [about fashion,]” Vauthier says, “My mother would get me out of school to do shopping.” Apart from his mother, Vauthier’s grandmother adorned herself in France’s greatest designers like YSL and Chanel.

Despite his exposure to fashion as a young child, Vauthier did not start off in the fashion world. He spent two years dabbling in law before transferring to ESMOD (l’Ecole Supérieure des Arts et techniques de la Mode), the first and oldest fashion school in France.

Upon graduating in 1994, Vauthier worked for Thierry Mugler. Vauthier had not thought of designing his own line until his boss, Thierry Mugler himself, told him, “Do something on your own, dammit!” Looking for more experience, Vauthier left Thierry Mugler after four years and he became head designer for Jean-Paul Gaultier’s Haute Couture collection.

Goo Goo for Gaga

(Originally written for Blogger.com)

We are living in a Gaga Nation. It’s undeniable. Ever since the release of her single, “Just Dance,” last summer, America can’t seem to get enough of the Queen of Electro-Pop, Lady Gaga. Lady Gaga’s immense popularity and quirky fashion sense has lead her to dabble in the fashion world and current trends.

Lady Gaga’s style is incredibly easy to recognize–it’s surreal, it’s loud, and it usually does not require pants. In her clothing, Gaga complete disregards convention and the social norm and creates outfits that transcends even the greatest fashion minds. From head to toe red lace to spherical metal headdresses, Gaga does it all.