If you’ve ever been baffled by a multi-look clothing item take note: DKNY has launched a new app that demonstrates by video and still photography the many ways you can wear the Cozy. The sweater, a top seller for the brand since 2003, appears to be a comfy cardigan on the surface, but is, in fact, much more. Twist it tight as a warm, cover-up for a long flight, or knot it up and pair it with a mini skirt for a date night The list of options gets longer from there. Maybe Hermès should launch one of these for its scarf, no? You can find the app on iTunes.
Today’s pick: Warm and cozy
Categorised as: fashion
London: Savile Row subverted
-By Wayne Tippetts
Name: Aaron Dash
Spotted: London
Occupation: Sales assistant
What he’s wearing: “I’m wearing an Ozwald Boateng ready- to-wear, birds-eye, brown suit with a Bespoke reversible bow tie made by one of the tailors, especially for me. I am also wearing a golden, chisel collar shirt, by Ozwald Boateng. And my shoes are by Post”.
Old meets new: “I like a slightly traditional Savile Row suit, mixed with a contemporary rock look. A tailored slim fitting suit is definitely in for men at the moment. It’s my favorite thing because it’s a way for a young man to step up his look a little, but in a very stylish way.”
Categorised as: fashion
Today’s pick: Bodkin makes it easy to go green
With the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen quickly approaching, we’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of being green here in the office. One of my favorite earth friendly fashion brands at the moment is the New York label Bodkin. And that’s not just because I went to school with its founder and creative director Eviana Hartman (we performed in the same dance company during our university days.) It’s more so because her line features easy, architectural, and yet pretty, pieces that you can’t help but find appealing whether you believe in global warming or not (see her knife pleating treatment of the classic gray sweatshirt above). She gives us her top three everyday tips for going green.
1) “Shop at the local farmer’s market once a week. Not only does it make sense from an emissions standpoint, but it’s immensely satisfying, delicious, and a great way to connect with the people who grow your food.”
2) “Support small businesses in your community instead of going to the big chain store. Strong, vibrant neighborhoods are sustainable.”
3) “Use household cleaning products and personal care products that are naturally derived and nontoxic. Or make your own with natural ingredients (you can clean with vinegar, or use coconut oil as body lotion). This is really important. Most mainstream household and beauty products are nasty. Everything that goes down the drain ends up somewhere in our waterways and drinking water. Hormone disruptors don’t just harm fish and ecosystems, they harm us.”
Categorised as: fashion
Milan: The retro beauty
Name: Jessica
M.
Spotted: Milan
Occupation: Student
What she’s wearing: “My headband and coat are both by H&M. My bag is by Vivienne Westwood and the shoes are a gift from my mother. My leggings are from Zara and the scarf is vintage.
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Her sartorial weakness: “I love anything vintage. I also love the rockabilly look and anything else from the 50’s. The women of that era were much more feminine and sexy. Not like the frail, anorexic types of today.”
-Tamu McPherson, All the Pretty Birds
Categorised as: fashion
Closet Envy: Meet Jane Aldridge, the teenage blog star who out dresses the average 30-year-old
The blog has lead to some pretty big projects for you. If you could pinpoint a defining moment in your blog’s existence, what would it be? Hmm…being in the Chanel Haute Couture fitting rooms and thinking, “The only reason I’m here is because I started a blog!” Your mom seems to be a huge influence on your personal style. How would you describe her role in the blog now? We both have blogs and it’s really nice to be able to share content and take each other’s pictures. My mom and I share a huge love of fashion. She has an amazing eye and knowledge of designers. She used to be a model in the early ’80’s and lived in Tokyo. She moved back to Texas and ran a very successful line called Atlantis Underground that she eventually wants to re-launch. But for now, she is really busy with her vintage store, blog, and side projects. So is your house one big walk-in closet? All of her inventory is just sitting in our garage. Between her inventory and our ever-expanding collection of clothes, our house is totally run by our wardrobe. It’s a small house and we have clothes hanging in our bathroom, kitchen, living room, studio — and the two extra closets we built are totally overflowing. We love clothes a little too much. We’re a bad influence on each other. How do you balance school and the blog? It’s hard. I was at a very small school with an extremely rigorous curriculum and it was impossible to balance my blog duties and my school duties. Now I’m finishing up my English credit at home and graduating this spring. Where do you hope the blog will eventually lead you? My biggest dream is to design shoes of my own some day. Even if this dream never comes true I have a lot of other things in the works right now that may keep me busy for a long time. Are you ever surprised to find out who is reading your site? Probably the most surprising was Kanye West. I was so amazed to find an email in my inbox from Kanye West that I spilt coffee all over myself. I talked to him on the phone a few times too. It was very exciting and totally unreal. He has great ideas!
Actually, chances are, you’ve heard of Jane Aldridge already. The 17-year-old Texan has a more impressive wardrobe than most adults you know and shows it off through her cleverly styled personal look book, the blog Sea of Shoes. She’s one of the best of a growing number of bloggers who chronicle their outfits online. “I was bored one weekend in 2007 and started it with my mom as a small project. We lost interest after about two weeks,” she says. These days, celebrities such as Kanye West and industry insiders regularly check out her D.I.Y. fashion shoots where she models looks crafted from the high street, eBay and high-end fashion finds that make up her wardrobe. But the blog is mostly about the shoes. In fact, her taste in designer footwear is so rarefied that Urban Outfitters commissioned Aldridge to design not one, but two capsule collections for the brand. And the blog perks don’t appear to be dying down anytime soon. This week, Chanel Haute Couture is dressing her for the annual Crillon debutante ball in Paris.
Categorised as: fashion
Milan: Woman in black
Name: Wendy
Occupation: Student
What she’s wearing: “My coat is by Patrizia Pepe. My Bag is Balenciaga and I picked up my boots from a small boutique here in Milan. I found my scarf at a market.”
-by Tamu McPherson, All the Pretty Birds
Categorised as: fashion
Do-it-yourself: We love recycling
The girls in the office have been pulling out all kinds of recession-friendly ideas lately. It seems to be all about shopping one’s wardrobe around here. First, our new intern, Phillippa walked in wearing a very cool ring that she made out of an old broken necklace on Friday morning. She explains: “The original necklace was made up of long gold-plated tubes and matte black beads. I liked the shape of the tubes and wanted to use one to create a statement ring. I used the broken chain of the necklace as the ring’s band, looping it through the tube of the ring.” She then made a matching necklace by slipping a delicate gold chain through another one of the gold pieces. “I like the contrast of the tiny chain and the strong metal tube,” she adds.
A few minutes later, Romina strolled in rocking one of her aunt’s old knit creations. But I’ll let her tell you the story. “Being addicted to the ‘True Blood’ series has its style advantages. I got headband envy after seeing one on a vampire and remembered this old necklace that my aunt knitted for me last summer,” she says. So she cut a few inches off and tied it around her head. Cute!
Categorised as: fashion
London: We’ll take those Ashish shoes please
Name: Annabelle White
Occupation: Fashion editorial assistant
What’s she’s wearing: “My shoes are by Ashish. The dress is from Weekday in Sweden, the jacket is vintage and my bag is Vivienne Westwood.”
Her least favorite trend right now: “The current pre-Communist Russian Dior trend, because it’s too elaborate and fancy. There’s too much detail there.”
-Wayne Tippets, Street Style Aesthetic
Categorised as: fashion
His and hers: The fatigue jacket
Inspired by the classic American Army staple, this J. Crew fatigue jacket is technically for men. But I think it looks even better on women. I personally have been living in it lately (along with my fairly new boots) because the weather here in London has been so weirdly mild and damp. The cotton twill blend and removable hood keeps me dry in the rain and cool on the oppressively hot rush hour tube. The thing that sucks for those of you on this side of the Atlantic is that J. Crew only ships to the States, Canada and (randomly) Japan.
Categorised as: fashion
Today’s pick: Bumble and Bumble goes Deeep
This is the conditioner to grab when you’ve had a few too many color treatments and blow dries. The treatment is a hydrating formula of sunflower seed oil, soy protein, wheat protein and vitamin B5 that works to smooth hair and repair damage. Bonus: The passion flower fruit juice leaves your locks smelling nice.
Categorised as: fashion
