Committing to a winter coat is as weighty a decision as purchasing a car. (And with the price of coats these days, it feels as expensive, too.) Earlier this year, I wrote about some of the coats I was considering. I wound up eschewing all those options, choosing this navy Maje mohair blend, which I snagged during their […]
Shopping Secrets
5 Things I Learned from Teri Agins
Last night, I went to the 92Y for an onstage interview between Fern Mallis and Teri Agins. Fern famously situated Fashion Week at the Bryant Park tents. (She was also the subject of this must-watch documentary.) Teri is an enormously influential fashion journalist, whose 1999 book, The End of Fashion, was my primer during my first journalism job. […]
The False Idolatry of the It Bag
In the early aughts, I was obsessed with owning a Louis Vuitton monogram canvas bag. Logo-mania was at its peak. Jennifer Lopez was the face of the LV campaign. I was so consumed with my desire to own the monogram, I drained most of an internship stipend to buy my first It Bag: the newly released […]
The Art of Buying a Winter Coat
When I first moved to New York in 2009, I had never seen snow. A born-and-raised Floridian, I owned exactly one winter coat: A Ralph by Ralph Lauren military number I picked up at Burlington Coat Factory in 2000. My first few years in NYC were lean. It got so cold in my Brooklyn apartment, I slept […]
How to Identify a Classic
Over the weekend, I flipped through a Saks Designer Lookbook that was stuffed with some of the latest trends: oversized layers, thigh-baring slits and petal skirts. The kicker? The lookbook was from 1995, and the designs were almost 20 years old. It got me thinking: What defines a classic? And more importantly, how can you pinpoint the trends with the […]
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, […]
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 […]
Carbon-Dating Your Consignment Purchase
When you shop luxury consignment, knowledge is power. Many shoppers fall victim to the assumption that if an item “designer,” it automatically is tasteful, classic and worth the splurge. This is untrue. Despite the millions of marketing dollars spent to convince us otherwise, high-end brands can churn out garbage, just like every other company on the […]
My First Time: The Barneys Warehouse Sale
I’ve lived in New York for more than five years — but until this week, I never braved the crowds at the Barneys Warehouse Sale. This sale is legendary among New Yorkers; Many of my girlfriends would call in sick JUST to be the first in line. But I still was not convinced. My reasons for avoiding the […]