Lanvin SS09...Men's

It's pretty hard to receive a standing ovation from the jaded fashion crowd, and even harder to earn that kind of response for the men's shows. But last week, just as the men's shows in Paris were coming to a close, Alber Elbaz and Lucas Ossendrijver garnered just that. I have to admit, for a fashion junkie I don't think I pay enough attention to the men's shows, but this show caught my eye. It was definitely a great collection for the rising star Ossendrijver, who has been making a name for himself with his collections for Lanvin. The slouchy elegance and great shapes kind of make me wish I could buy men's Lanvin. Bravo!

Quote of the Day

"Yes, Alber can bust a move." -The Moment

This is why I love him.

R.I.P. Ruslana

By now, most people have heard about the tragic death of model Ruslana Korshunova, who purportedly commited suicide in New York just last weekend. So sad. She will be missed.
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Musicology

Stuck in my head: Again With the Subtitles by Yppah

Nooooooo...

Man, I never get any slack, do I? I signed on an hour late to a sample sale this morning, and practically everything was sold out. Despite the fact that I shouldn't be buying any more clothes, there was some good stuff to be had, if I had only woken up at the crack of 9! I guess it just goes to show, sample-sale goers are as crazy as me when it comes to shopping. Oof.

Givenchy Fall 08 Couture

I look forward to Ricardo Tisci's couture collection every season at Givenchy. His dark, gothic collection from a few seasons ago was perhaps the first couture collection I really fell hard for, especially when I saw the detail shots of the show itself. Breathtaking. So I'm always really excited for Givenchy's couture presentations, and although I don't love it quite as much as that mermaid collection, it maintains that dark, detailed quality I love about Tisci's work. My favorites for sure were the lace and fringe gowns, some with jackets over them, and the fur-hooded dresses. The colors were typical Givenchy dark colors with some shocking pink thrown in for good measure (just like at Chanel...hmm...), but this time around there was less black and more brown. Keep up the good work, Msr. Tisci.
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AMFI Individuals

For no particular reason (I think I was reminiscing about things I wish I had bought and will now never have...sad, I know) I was thinking about this amazing shop I stumbled upon last summer in Amsterdam. First of all, I absolutely love Amsterdam. Such a picturesque and interesting city. One of my favorite places I've ever been. Anyway, I happened on this store called Individuals, which showcases a rotating cycle of some of the Amersterdam Fashion Institute's students' work. I definitely don't get a chance to own some of the future generation's clothing (my generation!), so I got pretty excited when I found it. The store is well-edited, very cute, and pretty well priced, considering the pieces are very limited in quantity. The pieces are, in general, subtle, and their beauty lies in the details and interesting cuts, yet they manage to have the little weirdness that I love in clothes. They have that effortlessly cool vibe that makes them pretty easy to wear. I wanted this pair of pants made out of a kind of a grey (of course) sweatpant-like material, so they were incredibly soft and comfortable, but definitely did not look at all like sweatpants. Unfortunately, when I tried to go get them at the last minute, the store was closed! I was really distressed. One day I will return and raid that store again!

Quote of the Day

What should every woman have in her closet?
"Alexander Wang. And black tights." - James Worthington DeMolet (an awesome stylist, if I do say so myself)

Chanel Fall 08 Couture

Ah, Chanel. I always look forward to Chanel's couture show, and it's usually one of my favorites. Karl Lagerfeld may be controversial, a lot of people might hate him, but I have a lot of respect for him. He's good at what he does. He takes a few old symbols and manages to make them look fresh and new every. single. season. He's made countless variations on tweed suits, quilted bags, camellias, and they always look new. I mean, tweed jackets? I don't even like tweed! And yet, every season he marches out his latest variation on that classic boxy jacket, and I always think it looks fantastic. This season was no different, although it was quite different from the spring couture show inspired by seashells. The tweed suits had really cool, bold shapes, but what I really loved were the dresses (this is couture we're talking about). The color palette was my favorite black, white, navy, and grey, with some really cool, stiff, architectural shapes. The embroidery and crystal details were absolutely breathtaking, and I really liked the pleating around the waist, skirts, and hems of dresses. There were just a lot of really great elements executed perfectly. It also helps that Karl Lagerfeld's inspiration is so interesting and wide-ranging. Using the organ as inspiration. Only he would ever think to do that. And it worked so well, from the gigantic metal pipes that formed the centerpiece of the space to the tubular pleat-like details that used his inspiration but wasn't completely obvious. And the Anna Wintour bobs were hilarious.

Dior Fall 2008 Couture

Nowadays, the shows never seem to end, with the fall couture shows in Paris starting hot on the heels of the resort collections. I like couture because it is really a dying art form that is fading off scarily, and it really embraces the art of fashion and exquisite craftsmanship. But I was a little unimpressed with yesterday's Dior show. That's not to say I was disappointed, there are plenty of amazing clothes here, but it didn't immediately capture me the way that amazing spring show did. The silhouettes mostly favored large flared skirts and other classic Dior shapes, and there were some really pretty pieces, but the elements were ones that were seen a lot on the spring and fall ready-to-wear runways: lace, sheer fabrics, tailoring (although what is a Dior show without tailoring, really). There wasn't any forward-leaping trend that I could latch onto and obsess over. Just some pretty spectacular workmanship and line. So overall it doesn't inspire me much, but it's definitely not bad. Maybe it's not dark enough for me. I'm currently obsessed with a darker vibe than this decadent show put on (Rodarte, anyone?).
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