Today’s outfit is all about optical illusions, or what the French call trompe-l’œil. It’s a design technique that doubles as an inside joke for the fashion crowd — which may explain why I can’t pronounce it. (Someone really oughta burn my French minor.) A trompe-l’œil is the art of “perspectival illusionism” — i.e., making something flat appear […]
Month: September 2014
How to Shop Joseph Altuzarra x Target
As I mentioned Friday, Target’s design partnership with Joseph Altuzarra was a critical cog in its latest strategy: “Be cool again.” (Hey, I didn’t say it — CEO Brian Cornell did.) Based on what I saw in-store, Target’s gamble paid off. Unlike recent candy-colored, “kooky” collaborations aimed at millennials, Altazurra’s designs were sophisticated, gimmick-free and work-appropriate. The collection proves that […]
The Target-Designer Collaborations: A Personal Retrospective
Like many women in their early 30s, I have a soft spot for the Target designer collaborations. I was fresh out of college when the first uber-trendy collection (Luella Bartley) debuted — and with entry-level income, it was as close to Rodeo Drive as I could get. The collaborations became cultural touchstones and my constant companions for the milestones of my 20s, […]
Catalog Police: Revolve Autumn 2014 Edition
This week, I received manna from the mail-order gods: a new catalog that ISN’T J. Crew. That means it’s time for Catalog Police, my weekly critique of retail crimes committed against American shoppers. Today, we’re frisking Revolve. Let’s welcome the newest gals on the cellblock: Revolve’s e-commerce site boasts 30 million page views per month. Despite those […]
An S.O.S. for Wet Suede Shoes
If you’re a style pragmatist, you make an effort to maintain your clothes’ quality. Your dry cleaning bill is huge. You know how to polish your shoes. You actually USE the dust bags that came with your handbags. These precautions are a MUST to prolong your wardrobe in Manhattan. After all, sweater-eating insects run rampant here. Freak snowstorms stink-ify wool coats. Subway grates shred stilettos. […]
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The Foolproof Work Outfit
First, let me apologize for the fuzziness of today’s photographs. Summer is fading quickly — and shaving precious minutes off the “magic hour” that’s so critical for photos. I’ll have a new system in place before we plunge completely into fall. (Sadly, I think it involves photos at 6:45 a.m., in which case I’ll be apologizing for the […]
The Top 4 Trends in Fashion Tech
If you aren’t convinced technology is reshaping the fashion business, just try to imagine the world without Instagram — and its viral offspring, the OOTD hashtag. And there are even bigger changes afoot. On Sunday, I got a sneak peek at fashion’s future game-changers at Global Fashion Battle, New York Start-Up Weekend’s fashion tech competition. (If you’re a style blogger looking for future monetization […]
Can I Pull This Off? The “Statement” T-Shirt
Plain white T-shirts are a celebrated facet of American style. Marlon Brando and James Dean made them iconic in the 1950s. Alexander Wang built an empire on them. Hell, a pop band even borrowed the moniker. No outfit could be besmirched by a white T-Shirt. But then there are graphic-printed tees, and their kissing cousins — the dreaded STATEMENT TEE. Oooh boy. Those […]
Catalog Police: Dedicated to Joan Rivers
When I first debuted the Catalog Police feature on Instagram, the inspiration was Joan Rivers’ playful snarkiness on Fashion Police. She made an art out of saying exactly what everyone else was thinking, and this fearlessness sizzled in her red carpet critiques. No one was safe from her microscope — least of all, herself. Today’s installment is devoted to Catalog Police’s patron […]
The Faberge Egg Manicure
This week’s manicure is a bridge between the seasons — bubbles of summery color anchored by autumnal shades of plum and gold. The crazed color palette somehow works, and it’s guaranteed to match most outfits. The manicure may look complicated, but the technique couldn’t be easier: It’s just a series of stripes and dots. (I call it the “swipe […]