Bienvenue à Paris!

As you all know, Paris Fashion Week has begun in all its glorious beautifulness. Ahhhh....glamour, couture! My top five looks from Balmain:

Photos [Style.com]

Christophe Decarnin, how do I love thee...let me count the ways. I completely adore his dresses, so perfect are they to go out and be fabulous with yourself and friends. The first two I chose for their vibrant colors, shape and cut. I'm also in love with the studded sandals they're wearing. The little black number is feminine yet edgy which I'm really into right now. That awesome white dress is just amazing, as were the other similar dresses to this one in various bright hues, which I equally admire. The cascading ruffled skirt is fantastic! This last look, I'm not super thrilled with the distressed, holed up skinnies, but that jacket rocks.

K, sorry to be so short but heading out soon. Few errands to run after work and then GG is on tonight! Don't miss it! This week's episode revolves around Fashion Week and features Abigail Lorick's stylings. Yay!

-B

TGIF...

Yay! Just about off for le weekend! Here's something pretty for you to look at while I'm away and internetless...


Amaaazzzzing photos shot by Steven Meisel for Italian Vogue. Check out more fabulousness via Jezebel.

Have a lovely weekend and don't forget to watch the debate tonight at 8 p.m. (CDT)!

-B

Fashion Inspiration: Clueless

Like me, I'm sure many other girls were absolutely giddy when Clueless came out back in the day and revealed a whole world of fashion. Cher and Dionne were the epitome of cool and trendy and definitely knew their designer labels and all the best stores for shopping. Perhaps the exaggerated stylings of the Clueless crew were back then what the exaggerated stylings of films such as The Devil Wears Prada and the upcoming Confessions of a Shopaholic are for today's teen girls (and, yes, still me even though I'm past my teen years).

I digress...my point is that films like these are great influencers on fashion and what becomes "stylish" and "trendy." Case in point:

Photos: Beckerman Jacket [Shopbop], Cher [Google]

This morning after reading that with the checkout code SHOPBOPSECRET you can get 20% off regular priced jackets and sweaters, I decided to browse a bit to see what I could see. What I discovered was the above Charlotte Plaid Tux Jacket by Beckerman. It bears a striking resemblance to the yellow plaid jacket and skirt ensemble that Cher wore early on in Clueless, no? Yes, the cut is obviously different and the plaid stripes are more defined, but I think it's pretty clear that the influence of these fashiony films remains quite strong.

What do you think? Into the yellow plaid look à la Cher? Hmm, I wonder if there's a matching skirt for that? Hahaha....

-B

Things I Learned Today...

-Models were falling all over the Prada runway in Milan due to some extremely high heels. I don't blame them... [NY Mag]

-Mary-Kate and Ashley are collaborating with Steve Madden to do a shoe collection for their Elizabeth & James line. [FashionIndie]

-All the cool kids hang out here and here and here.

-Drew Barrymore made out with Chuck Bass! Hahaha. [Gawker]

-Posh and Becks will be at the Macy's in Herald Square THIS FRIDAY at 5pm to meet purchasers of their Signature Set. [Macy's]

So much information, so little time to write it all down!

-B

The Three R's

That's right. We all know them. Reduce, reuse, recycle. No, I've not suddenly taken off on a "green" frenzy, not that that would be a bad thing (no worries, I do recycle).

However, I now refer to the magazine industry. As I said in my previous post, I did stop into B&N to pick up some mags to play some catch up. What did I see? A very familiar In Style cover. I noticed it right away because In Style is one of my frequent magazine buys, not to mention I thought it seemed a bit too "springy" for an October issue.

How strange, I thought, that they would be using that again! Of course upon closer inspection I realized that this was the October issue for the UK. I did a little checking (and will confirm when I get home, since I'm certain I still have the US issue) and I believe this was the May cover for the US.

Hmm...so this got me thinking, about how often do magazines recycle their cover images? Is this common practice? We all know they love to Photoshop, and I've certainly read about images being Photoshopped to look like they're in a certain location or wearing something that they never wore, even on covers.

For some reason I'm inclined to believe that this is more commonly done on covers for their off-shoots such as the UK, Paris, Australia, etc. and not as much on US covers. Then again, they could probably just as easily shoot a cover for a UK edition and then later recycle it for the US a few months later, and would I really know? Most likely I only noticed this because I bought my mags from B&N this time, which usually carries the European issues as well as the US. It just seems a bit unfortunate, because if European issues can be purchased here, then US issues (and I know because I bought them in Paris) can be purchased over there. And really, if you're going to recycle a past cover image, at least make it appropriate to that month...

-B

L'Appartement

Apparently everyone and their brother is currently trying get themselves some internet because the earliest appointment we could schedule with Time Warner isn't until October 2nd! Ughh, so it will still be a while longer before I'm actually able to upload any of my own photos.

Photo [Flickr]

Ah yes, wishing and hoping that was my apartment...I'm loving browsing Apartment Therapy now to get decorating ideas, particularly the house tours which are so much fun! I'm totally planning on creating my own framed photo collage wall kind of like the above, and I think I'll also throw in a decorative mirror.

Any ideas on where to get some home furnishings, etc. on the cheap? Thrift stores, antique stores, flea markets, yes, but I wonder if there are ever any sample sales on home items such as bedding?

Eek, sorry, I know this doesn't really have anything to do with fashion but it's a big focus for me right now. Anyhow, after work I plan to pick up some of my fashion mags, which I need to catch up on, as well as some decorating mags.

In the meantime I'm thinking about taking a night class on fashion writing. For fun or maybe it will turn into something more, we'll see...have to check on the funds first. And DON'T forget (as if anyone could), GG is on tonight! So thrilling...AND Grey's premier's Thursday! Yay for the return of Fall TV.

-B

Style Icon: Jean Seberg

Since we're coming upon the weekend I thought I'd leave everyone with a little "fashion inspiration." I love the Godard film, À Bout de Souffle (Breathless). If you haven't seen it then I highly recommending you check it out, particularly if you're interested in French New Wave. I was thinking about style earlier today and for whatever reason Jean Seberg, one of the film's stars, flashed across my mind. She had a great tomboy-ish and yet feminine look. Simple, clean lines but not harsh and never looked like she tried to overthink her style.

"Si tu n'aimes pas la mer...si tu n'aimes pas les montaignes...si tu n'aimes pas la ville...vas-tu faire foutre!"

Ahhh...pardon my French si tu comprends...

Happy Friday mes amis!

-B