fashion news

Free People April Catalog – Morocco

by Kirsten on April 9, 2010

Free People, a fresh, bohemian clothing brand that I adore, dropped their April catalog this week, and I think it is gorgeous!! Shot in Morocco, the gateway to Africa, the photos are beautiful. Photography happens to be a favorite hobby of mine, one that I am continuously developing and practicing. Seeing distinct photos such as these, with such rich culture, color, and mysticism, it makes me long for another vacation to a far away place. Nothing compares to that feeling, and photography is a way to capture those moments forever.

Free People’s team stayed in Marrakesh (aka Marrakech, depending on who you ask) while shooting their catalog. Their creative director chose this city ‘because that is where all the action is’. As they wrote on their blog, “In addition to having one of the country’s largest traditional African markets (called a souk), Marrakech is also home to one of the busiest squares in all of Africa, and the world – called Djemaa el Fna. Walk into this square on any day and you’re likely to go into sensory overload: Orange juice stands, acrobats, monkeys, snake charmers, storytellers, musicians, dancers and handmade goods are just some of the things you’ll see. At night the food stalls take over, filling the air with exotic aromas and creating a massive open-air restaurant full of mingling people. Exit into the medina, Marrakech’s old city, and lose yourself in a shadowy maze of walls and narrow streets where donkey-driven carts replace automobiles. The city’s artistic culture and vibrance made it a popular destination for hippies in the 1960s who flocked there in search of inspiration and free expression…and in Marrakech, inspiration is lurking around every corner. This month we are very excited to bring you along on our journey.”

more gorgeous photos and clothing after the jump

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Because He Can – Karl Lagerfeld of Chanel Travels with 14 Pieces of Luggage

by Kirsten on April 2, 2010

There is a simple answer to this question. Why would someone travel with fourteen pieces of luggage? Because they can. “They” in this instance is Karl Lagerfeld, the head of Chanel. The funny part about him traveling with this many pieces of luggage is the fact that this 76-year-old fashion designer is known for his daily uniform of a white shirt, black tie, blazer, jeans or trousers. What in the world can possibly be packed in that many bags? Maybe he changes five times a day? That doesn’t seem right. Shoes? Who knows.

Lagerfeld rarely deviates from his monochrome look. If anything, he accessorizes. Fingerless leather gloves, sunglasses, black stacked heels. As reported by the UK Daily Mail, in 2007 and 2008, Lagerfeld could be seen virtually wearing the same outfit, save for a change in jewelry.

The head honcho of Chanel was seen leaving his New York hotel with stacks upon stacks of luggage. He was in the States working on shooting an advert for the couture house’s Autumn/Winter 2010/11 collection.

Despite rumors, Chanel said they have no plans to replace their long-standing head designer. A spokesperson for Chanel said: ‘KL is Chanel’s creative director and has a long-term contract that is by no means reassessed. ‘His succession is not on the agenda.’

See the original article here. Photo credits by Xposurephotos.com

Love, K.

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Rue de Jeans – Brand Designed for Travel

by Kirsten on April 1, 2010

Rue de Jeans features an elastic logo

Bridging together denim and travel is music to my ears. Today, Ross Tucker of Women’s Wear Daily, wrote an article introducing Rue de Jeans, a new denim line by Cindy Yun, designed to provide consumers a comfortable and fashionable jean that can be worn on a flight from London to Los Angeles and immediately out for a night on the town.

Constant travel has always been a part of Yun’s life. Born in Seoul, she grew up in both Hawaii and California. Her past work experience included working for Anderson Consulting and Yahoo before getting a degree in fashion merchandising from the Fashion Institute of Technology, and later opened her own showroom. These jobs required frequent travel both nationally and internationally, prompting Yun to design a denim line that will no longer require her to change clothes upon arrival to her destination.

I can totally sympathize with this issue, which is why I wrote a previous post about the importance of a comfortable and fashionable outfit for air travel. Knowing that I may soon be able to buy a pair of jeans designed for this specific purpose in mind is really exciting!

Due to ship initial inventories next month, the prices will range from $150-$250 and has been picked up by specialty retailers including Scoop, Atrium, Ron Herman, and H Lorenzo. Yun is also in talks of bringing her line to Bloomingdale’s and Barneys New York. Rue de Jeans is based out of Los Angeles, and financially backed by Yun.

Here is some detail provided by the WWD article:

Use of lightweight premium Italian and Japanese fabrics with 2 to 3 percent stretch is a key to achieving comfort, but Yun has gone further by adjusting other details. Instead of using a traditional leather logo patch, Yun has developed a 2-inch elastic insert that sports the logo and gives the waist room to expand when the wearer is sitting.

“I wanted it to be more of a stealth element on the logo,” said Yun.

The women’s collection centers around three core fits — a skinny, straight and flared boot cut — and also features corduroy and velveteen bottoms. There are several limited edition styles, including the Etoile, which features a waistband studded with Crystallized-Swarovski Elements. Some items are hand-sewn and all the jeans feature red stitching on the inside seams, adding a design element for women who roll their jeans.

I particularly like the idea behind making the logo with stretch material. Very smart and different, which is exactly what a new denim designer needs to provide to both retailers and consumers these days. “The retailers want something different,” she said. “They’re asking, ‘Can you give us more comfort, anything that is one more step beyond the premium level?”

I look forward to seeing the first lookbook for Rue de Jeans. I can be pretty picky about my denim as I hate embellishments that take too much away from the original design. I am a firm believer in ‘less is more’ with my jeans. Make a beautiful cut with great material, but please don’t go overboard on everything else.

What do you think? Can you see yourself buying a jean that promises to give more comfort and style to your traveling? Please share in the comments below!

Love, K

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Spring Style for 2010 – Melissa Plastic Shoes

by Kirsten on March 22, 2010

With the dawn of spring and summer just around the corner, it is prime time to bring out our warm weather clothes and shoes. Brazilian shoe company, Melissa Plastic Dreams, has been an international sensation for over 25 years with over 50 million shoes sold worldwide. Their claim to fame – if you haven’t figured it out yet, plastic shoes! I have quite fond memories of my jelly shoes as a child and the rainbow of colors they came in. From a functional standpoint, the ability to get them wet and dirty, and then later throw them inside the dishwasher to make them good as new, was a blessing to my parents. (Was I the only house that put them in the dishwasher?!?) These days, plastic shoes have made quite the evolution.

Melissa Plastic Dreams is a Brazilian global fashion icon manufacturing and selling shoes made of extremely flexible PVC. Of the 50 million pairs of shoes manufactured, 20 million were exported to over 80 different countries. With an ethical and environmental focus, Melissa shoes are sustainable, zero-waste, fair-trade, cruelty free (devoid of any animal products) and made from recycled plastic. To add a cherry on top, the company recycles 99.9% of factory water and waste, reuses overstock styles in the next season’s collection, and their employees are paid above-average wages and benefits. Melissa has partnered with fashion sensations Vivienne Westwood, Jean Paul Gaultier, Alexandre Herchcovitch and the highly sought-after Persian architect Zaha Hadid (among others). Celebrities from the likes of Jessica Biel, Vanessa Minnillo, Leona Lewis, Katy Perry and others have been spotted in them.

Although they used to be very difficult to find in the US (you’d have to fly to Brazil or Mexico to buy them, not a horrible problem in my endless pursuit of an excuse to travel), they now are available on Tobi and Epaulet in prices ranging from $38-$160 (sources say Melissa plans on opening their online shop to the US soon!). With styles including mary-jane peep-toes, gladiators, sling-backs, booties, wedges, and our old-school favorite, jelly flats, it is literally impossible to not find a style that doesn’t suit your fancy.

These styles are some of my personal faves:

Melissa + J Maskrey Ultragirl Flat with Swarovski Crystals

Melissa Campana Zig Zag

Here are some of Vivienne Westwood’s Melissa shoes. I think they are really cute, but I am unsure if I would find a way to wear them. What do you think?

Vivienne Westwood for Melissa

I also find these booties to be totally hot, in a very different, yet sexy way:

Melissa Ashanti Bootie

With a vacation to Hawaii quickly approaching, I can’t help but want to pick myself up a pair (ok, maybe three pairs) of these shoes. I think they are super adorable! Total flashback to the 80′s, and a reminder of how great it was to be a kid skipping around in our jelly shoes. In addition to being water-resistant, they are hypo-allergenic, extremely flexible (supposedly the warm weather molds them to your feet for an “oh so comfortable” fit), eco-friendly (keeps plastic out of the landfills!), and totally fashionable. And for you ladies out there interested in learning more about Melissa shoes for the man in your life, check out this great blog post from Joshua Katcher of thediscerningbrute.com.

Melissa Plastic Dream shoes don’t necessarily break the bank, but could be on the pricey side for some of you. Currently on Epaulet.com, they have some styles as much as 75% off, ringing in for the low price of $30! If you didn’t have an excuse to try these babies before, you certainly do now. Enjoy, my fellow fashionistas!

Love, K.

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Nudie Jeans Pop-Up Shop Event Review

by Kirsten on March 11, 2010

The Nudie Jeans Pop-Up Shop event was held last night at Azalea Boutique in San Francisco. Unfortunately, I was previously engaged to attend a fundraising event for the American Cancer Society and was only able to attend the first 45 minutes. Nevertheless, I was happy to be able to stop by and see not only a great new place to shop (danger!), but also a new denim line I had little exposure to.

Azalea Boutique is a split-level designer boutique in the hip Hayes Valley of San Francisco. In addition to their awesome selection of all the latest designer brands, they also host a full-service salon in the back. Talk about a girl’s dream, shopping and beauty all in one place! Genius!

Tobi hosted a great event that night complete with a DJ, free Vodka, and free PBR. Denim, music, and drinks? Now that is right up my alley. While I was there, I learned a few things that were a first for this jeans-lover. Nudie Jeans does not offer a separate women’s line! Yet, what they do offer are a few pairs that in essence, are considered unisex. For those gals interested, the Tight Long John, Thin Finn, High Kai, and Narrow Boot are the popular fits that work for women. I found this facet of their line to be really interesting, and definitely something I had never experienced before. I’m not quite sure how I feel about sharing jeans that are meant for both men and women (aside from the popular boyfriend cut), but I am never one to shy away from a new style or brand. That being said, I checked out their website to get a little more info on Nudie Jeans. I really liked what they had to say:

We love jeans, a passion we share with everyone who mourns a pair of worn out jeans as a close friend. Jeans share the same soul and attitude as music. The inspiration springs from the same dreams. As a true jeans brand we are not looking for the short-term trends. The inspiration is far from glamour and catwalks. The collection is tight, like a rock band, reflecting the feeling of everyday life.

Design goes beyond creating just a product that serves to fulfill a need or a function. The philosophy of Nudie jeans is to become part of your dreams. Jeans have a natural built-in dream and attitude.

Nudie will stay true to jeans and all about jeans.

Nudie is the ”naked truth about denim”. Denim has the ability to age beautifully – formed by its user into a second skin, naked and personal. The longer it lives the more character it gets. The indigo is a living colour that fades and gives the denim its character. The more you wear your jeans the more beautiful they get. Jeans are more than just a piece of clothing.

“Naked truth about denim!” Loves it.

Big thanks to Azalea for featuring Nudie Jeans, Tobi for an awesome event, and Denim Debutante for steering me their direction! (I still am bummed I had to leave early as I couldn’t participate in the free jeans giveaway, sigh.)

Love, K.

You can also see this posting at DenimDebutante.com ~ Thanks JP!