New York Magazine Look Book

Bergdorf's window on 57th street celebrates the release of New York Magazine's "New York Look Book: Gallery of Street Fashion" It contains just a few of the hundreds of photos taken of the stylish and stylishly outrageous New Yorkers during the past 3 years. The magazine has become well-known for its weekly feature of ecclecticly-clad city folk and has included shots of celebrities such as Parker Posey, John Waters and Helen Mirren.
Photo courtesy of Amazon.com

Parker Posey, photo from Nymag.com

For a great book of street fashion photos from around the world, check out Nylon's "Street: The 'Nylon' Book of Global Style"

Photo courtesy of Amazon.com

The Sartorialist: High-end street fashion blogger

Fashion from the street Part 1

My latest obsession is street fashion blogs. These blogs are true social equalizers; it used to be that only those with the right bank balance or cool job were able to travel regularly and see fashion trends developing abroad, now the global and local trends that are emerging in major fashion capitals like London, Paris and Berlin can be viewed by anyone with access to a PC and an internet connection. This has major implications for young designers who can find online a limitless database of inspiration and trend information that is updated on a daily basis. It is also great how these blogs highlight individual style and people dressing outside the norm.
How influential are these blogs? Recently an exhibition of photos from some of the most popular street fashion blogs was held in Berlin and during the month of October the Colette store in Paris will host the largest exhibition of street fashion photographs to date. Still don't believe these blogs exert any influence? Scott Schuman of "The Sartorialist" received a shout out from Time Magazine naming his street fashion blog one of the "Top 100 Design Influencers." That's enough street cred for me.

Here are my favorites and some great shots

Stil in Berlin www.stilinberlin.blogspot.com



Style Clicker (Munich) http://www.styleclicker.net/



Dans Paris http://dans-paris.blogspot.com/

Malandrino all a flutter for Spring 2008

So every once in awhile a fashion miracle happens: maybe it's finding a pair of perfectly good Jimmy Choos at the bottom of a 50% off pile or getting a job with a clothing allowance, but for me it was New York Fashion Week Spring 08 shows when all those years of interning finally paid off. For this one day the clouds parted and some fashion goddess, or probably just a poorly trained intern, blessed lowly fashion assistant me with a front row seat at the Catherine Malandrino show.

Never mind that I was seated amongst editors from Vogue and WWD or that Tim Gunn and Veronica Webb were chit-chatting across from me, the real highlight of the whole experience was when Janet Jackson and Mary J. Blige casually strolled past and and sat down a few seats away (gasp!). But forget about the audience, it was the runway show I came to see!


After about a half hour of waiting, the show finally began and models adorned with ruffles, side-swept chignons and clunky platform shoes Malandrino's modern French look, which is both sexy and polished, was accented with the African influence that is often found in her work: tribal-patterned belts, beaded shoes The trends such as high-waists and knee-length skirts were there, but the collection was still very much her own personal style

all photos courtesy of style.com

More Parisian Chic for Fall/Winter 2007

Although I'm a big fan of the Paul & Joe line, I have to say the Fall/Winter 2007 pieces from its younger counterpart collection, Paul & Joe Sister, offer all the must-have Fall pieces from a modern little black dress to over-sized sweater dresses and cropped pants with suspenders. How to top of this tres chic look? With a darling beret of course... although I'm more enamored with those faux knot booties. I'm searching furiously for them everywhere!

J Crew does Paris

For Fall/Winter 2007 J Crew has struck the perfect balance between quintessential Parisian chic and that of the style of the classic American prepster: boulevard coats, cropped pants, collarless jackets and whimsical sweaters done in a bright J Crew palette give a fresh modern look to these very retro silhouettes. Coats in a variety of lengths and silhouettes are central to this collections, which also includes cropped pants and full skirts; ideal for any girl that is going for that effortlessly tres chic look this fall.

See more, including a cute video of the photo shoot at www.jcrew.com

I'm not...a crazed shopper!

Handbag designer Anya Hindmarch has cancelled the last of the worldwide events launching her "I'm Not a Plastic Bag" in Beijing, Jakarta and Shanghai out of concern for customers following fights in other cities sparked by the limited supply of the bag. The frenzy for Hindmarch's bag has reached unprecedented heights as people in cities all over the world waited in line for hours, and sometimes threw punches just to buy one of the bags which retail for $10.
In response to what can only be described as contrived mass hysteria, Marissa V. has designed the "I'm Not a Smug Twat" bag for those of us who couldn't get our hands on the real thing.

Available for about $40 at frommarissav.com

Fashion has a brand new bag

I recently saw an ad on New York Craigslist selling Anya Hindmarch's now infamous "I am not a Plastic Bag" for $149. Despite the fact that the lucky few who stood in line for hours were able purchase one for a mere $15, the price of one of these "it" bags has gone as high as $250 on Ebay.
Although Anya Hindmarch has gained the most press for her eco-accessory, there are other options for those of you that wish to be environmentally responsible and stylish at the same time, here are some suggestions

He convinced indie girls everywhere to trade in their leather handbags for cute graphic totes. Now Marc Jacobs offers roomier versions for shopping and lugging, with the city in which it was purchased printed on the side.

Available only at Marc Jacobs stores, $12
For further info and store locations marcjacobs.com


The Hermes silky pop bag has more than just a cute name. It comes in four exclusive Hermes designs and is made of the finest silk. Best of all it collapses into a leather case about the size of a wallet. A tres chic emergency carryall bag for an unexpected trip to the store!

$960 at Hermes boutiques
See hermes.com for more information



Part of the Destination: Berlin collection spotlighting German designers at the Museum of Modern Art store in New York, this leather shopper is simple and utilitarian. Its design is that of a simple plastic bag, but a stylish reinterpretation done in supple leather.

$395 at the MoMa store
Buy online at momastore.org

The Romero bag is made from recycled seat belts, coats and bicycle inner tube. Maybe it's not large enough for groceries, but it definitely affords more space than a handbag and is more durable.
Costs approx $130 Available at terraplana.com