She Loves Me Not

I LOVE designer collaborations, I LOVE reasonably priced lines and I LOVE Forever 21. But...I DON'T LOVE Forever 21's new line, "Love 21".

After the upset that was Matthew Williamson's line for H&M and McQueen's line for Target, I was a little skeptical at the news of the launch of Faith 21, Forever's plus sized line and the ensuing announcement of Love 21 "Contemporary" which landed in select stores on May 19th. With their classic line, the heritage line and the twelve by twelve line, Forever 21 is trying to run the gamut when it comes to individual style. Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that Forever 21 is reaching out to people of different sizes and age groups but I'm just not convinced that they hit on this one.

When Forever released Twelve by Twelve, I sprinted out of Screaming Mimi's faster than you can say "overpriced vintage". I can't even tell you how many pay checks have gone into ritual trips to the Forever 21 in Union Square (which by the way is now even bigger and more awesome).

With the goal of Love 21 being to cater to consumers aged from 25-45, I feel like a few hem lines were dropped and a name was slapped on. While the prices still stay reasonable ($17.80-$29.80), the designs are just so BORING. At 25, I'd like to think that my fashion sense will not magically fly out the window. Come on Forever, we know you could do better than that!

Sorry, Love 21, I'm Just Not That Into YOU.

Fashion Faux Pas

Okay so I'm back. Sorry about the extremely long hiatus but I've been in internship limbo and caffeine overload as of late.

Anway...When it comes to trends, my mantra is generally "to each his own". I love to see people work really crazy trends and pull them off. After all, that's what fashion is. But to me, if there's one article of clothing that should stay buried very, very deep in the back of your closet, only to be unearthed when Vanilla Ice comes back (ie: never), it's a denim jacket.

After browsing my ritual editorial rags (a.k.a Star Magazine, US Weekly, etc), I was horrified at the "Trend Watch: Denim Jackets" section. Um no, I REFUSE to watch this trend. While it doesn't look HORRIBLE on fashion icon Chloe Sevigny (nothing could look bad on this girl), her outfit would've been much better had she worn a leather jacket rather than that god forsaken 90's horror trend.

One reader on thefashionspot voiced the same concerns that I have:

"NO MORE, PLEASE, I BEG OF YOU! I cannot see anymore denim and denim combos - its terrible! Unless we are totally reworking the garment in a whole new way (unlikely) - I just dont want to know!"

And I don't want to know either, because Abercrombie's signature jacket has not changed since 1892 (yes, the year it was established), and I'm sure it won't change any time soon

If you feel that you MUST wear one, please oh please I beg of you, no denim on denim. Wardrobe 911 tells it as it is: "Wearing a jean jacket with jeans is only okay if you are Will Farrell doing a Gap ad".

So keep your skinny jeans, denim shorts, faux denim leggings, denim skirts, just
please don't let me see you wearing mom's boxy jean jacket from 1982. Because we
all know you can do better than that.

Back!

Sorry about my brief hiatus, I've been super busy with finals/moving out and writing for ASOP!! I'm always posting there so check it out if you get a chance! I'm going to a press conference at Borough Hall in Brooklyn tomorrow to chat about the upcoming Wunderbloc shop night which will be July 8th and 9th. It'll be sort of like a girls night out with shopping, refreshments and great deals so I'll update you on that after tomorrow! I'm also starting my internship with Stylecaster on Thursday and I CAN'T WAIT for that. I went to their first ever styling competition earlier this year and had an incredible time..Here are the videos, the first is before the competition and the second is the outfit we came up with. If I've learned anything, I have to work on my television skills...I'm a nervous wreck.

Anyway, a more legitimate post to come later this week!

Fighting for the Copyright

American Apparel versus Urban Outfitters

When I heard that Maria Cornejo tried her luck in Washington, DC along with Thakoon Panichgul, Narciso Rodriguez, and Jason Wu, lobbying for a copyright law on clothing designs, I couldn't help but think of Urban Outfitters brazen rip-off of American Apparel's designs this season.

But what's really at stake here? Well, I'll admit, I'm the first person to head to Forever 21 to look for a dress similar to that to-die-for Betsey Johnson dress I saw on the Spring runway. But let's be honest, I'll be paying $20 for a low quality dress that I could probably wear no more than twice. I am sacrificing quality, and that's okay with me as long as the price tag is SUBSTANTIALLY different.

But when another designer completely rips off your design and then charges MORE for it, that's when I get really confused. How could Urban Outfitters blatantly copy the interlock skirt, figure skater dress, pocket skirt, afrika print leggings, to name a FEW and then charge MORE?!

The United States and China are the only two countries which do not have copyright infringement laws when it comes to fashion design. In the UK, a designer has the right to sue anyone who copies his/her garment.

Stores such as Target, H&M, and Uniqlo gives us the chance to purchase low priced designer duds that are created by the actual designer thanks to a myriad of designer collaborations. A designer catering to celebrities and the upper crust such as Alexander Wang, Balenciaga, Balmain (...you get the point) is less threatened by a copy at Forever 21 because their customers would not dare step foot there. But as American Apparel are competitors, this is where I see the need for a copyright law in the world of fashion design.

Your thoughts?

Reason to Stop Mourning the Loss of Our Monday Night Addiction

For East Coast fans of MTV's "The Hills", Whitney Port's spin-off show "The City" was a huge hit. With talks of the Hill's final season in the works, we are expecting a return of the DVF crew on a second season of "The City". Even more exciting (or not?), Audrina Patridge, LC's faithful sidekick, will be filming a show with Mark Burnett featuring her life after the Hills.

Mark Burnett is credited with shows such as "Survivor" and "The Apprentice" and has certainly proven that we can only expect great things from him. The new show which is currently untitied will allegedly be edgier than The Hills. The new show will cover more of her life and the California lifestyle. Will this mean that we'll actually get to see the Paparazzi encounters and life outside of the Lauren Conrad bubble?

And what will happen to Justin Bobby? While Audrina can't dispel the ultimate outcome, she promises that the tumultuous relationship will ultimately be transcended and she promises new love and new romances. Audrina's relationship with Justin Bobby is similar to our relationship with The Hills: so utterly wrong but so completely addicting we can't help but come back.

Audrina is also pursuing a film career with a role in the straight-to-DVD sequel, "Into The Blue 2" and the gory remake of "Sorority Row" which will hit theaters later this year. Hey, you have to start somewhere.

And what about Spencer and Heidi? Actually...do we really care?

"Look It's A PBR Fountain!

So if you know me, you know that I'm obsessed with Hipster Runoff, the blog that sarcastically and brilliantly pokes fun at all of those pseudo hipsters and bizarre, "ironic" tendencies and stereotypes that we all know and love.


So when I came upon "Look at this f-ing hipster" recently, I was SO happy to add another blog to my reading list. The blog kind of reminds me of the Sartorialist only Scott Schuman doesn't add scathing comments to the bottom of his pictures.


We've all seen them. On the L train to Beacon's Closet in Williamsburg, outside Lit Lounge in the East Village, actually EVERYWHERE in the East Village. Those poor unfortunate souls that would do anything to make it onto the Cobrasnake. But when trying to seduce Mark into making them his new Cory Kennedy-esque muse doesn't work, they turn to other antics.


And Look At This Fucking Hipster is the perfect venue for making fun of those PBR sipping people in the ripped tights that make your head turn and make you utter obscenities under your breath. Amongst my favorite snarky remarks are “This is what a retarded chicken looks like.”:


I also appreciate the wit behind:


“If I didn’t already know I was listening to Animal Collective on these headphones, I would bet myself $100 that I was listening to Animal Collective on these headphones.”

They got my attention. I'll be checking back daily and possibly even sending in a picture of my own.

Tres Rip-Off

For some reason, the "Chanel essential tote" doesn't seem so "essential" to me. Priced at $2265, the medium sized tote resembles Bloomingdale's "Brown Bags" which go for a reasonable $35.

I'm all for the reusable totes. I have my Whole Foods and Trader Joe Bags that I purchased for $1, my free topshop tote, an NYU green tote. I even save all my cute shopping bags (admit it, we all do it). In this recession, $1 for a tote bag is in my opinion, reasonable. $2265 is not.

I am always impressed with Karl Lagerfeld's designs and this time is no different. The adorable pink, black and white leater totes are fashion forward and functional. But unfortunately, the price tags are not.

The bag is modelled after the instantly recognizable shopping bags at the 31, Rue Cambon flagship store in Paris. And I'm sure that these bags will pop at 31, Canal Street as they are so simple and probably ridiculously easy to replicate.

While the bag itself is tres chic, for $2265 we can do better, no?