Archive for October, 2008

 

 

If you think shopping doesn’t get any more desire-worthy than Wilshire, Robertson and Melrose Place, drive an hour and a half south and check out South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa one Saturday afternoon, preferably when the sales are on. All under one roof are Nordstrom, Burberry, Valentino, Chanel, Bottega Veneta, MaxMara, Balenciaga, Barneyes Co Op, Hermes, Harry Winston, Marni, and even H&M. You feel like you’ve died and gone to fashion heaven – where you don’t need cars, subways, or even to deal with traffic lights.

 

On Tuesday night at the South Coast Plaza mall, the 1.5 billion dollar annual selling mall held a chic dinner – right in the center of its new wing, dubbed “The Penthouse.” Catered by the mall’s best restaurant, Marche Moderne, the 20,000 square foot wing is home to brand new stores by Oscar de la Renta, YSL, Canali, Christian Louboutin – who visited and christened the store on Tuesday all the way from Paris – and SoCa, the new less expensive but still chic concept from Orange County’s own St. John Knits. SoCa opened their first shop in The Penthouse, and plan to roll out at least 30 more across the world in the next few years.

 

The dinner was held for executives from Christian Louboutin, from South Coast Plaza, men’s store Canali, and for L.A. journalists from Angeleno Magazine, Women’s Wear Daily, InStyle Magazine, C Magazine, Los Angeles Magazine (Laurie Pike), The Los Angeles Times Magazine (Annie Gilbar), – and of course, Fashion Rules.. They were treated to visits to the new boutiques, all ooohing and ahhing over the fact that YSL has different handbags and shoes at South Coast’s Penthouse – that Louboutin actually stocks different shoes – and that Oscar de la Renta has dresses there we’ve never seen.

 

From autumn salad with pears to a fish course to beef and lobsters, to the outstanding crème brulee with Calvados and peanut brittle, everyone agreed that a trip to the OC can be very chic – and that you have to be ready to pound some serious – escalators. We’re thinking – Christmas at the Penthouse?? – Merle Ginsberg

Tags: Angeleno Magazine, Balenciaga, Barneyes Co Op, Bottega Veneta, BURBERRY, C Magazine, Canali, Chanel, Christian Louboutin, H&M, Harry Winston, Hermes, InStyle Magazine, Los Angeles Magazine, Marni, MaxMara, Nordstrom, Oscar de la Renta, The Los Angeles Times Magazine, Valentino, Women’s Wear Daily, YSL
Posted in Eye of the Beholder - by Merle Ginsberg | No Comments »

 

The Melrose Place family has a gem of a new neighbor: Neil Lane. The Diamond Man finally opened his La Cienega boutique, right above Monigue L’hulier’s store, just slightly north of Melrose Place, on Wednesday night. And it shows just what rocks can buy, with his turnout: Kate Walsh, Rachel Griffiths (in an American flag shirt for the election, even though she’s Australian), Debi Mazar, Tori Spelling, Carmen Elektra, Dana Delaney, Nicky Hilton – it had a high density of celebs for a store opening, but then, Lane has surpassed Martin Katz as the king of Hollywood award shows and diamonds. Lane was in a tiny antiquary mall on Beverly Boulevard for many years, where he created birthday gifts for Annette Bening and Goldie Hawn, but when a fire ravaged the building, he decided to get serious about a real boutique that befits his celebrity clientele. No recession visible here. There were diamonds and gowns galore, just in time for November sweeps and the tv ratings blitz – and time to start planning those Golden Globe and Oscar jewels.

Tags: Annette Bening, Carmen Elektra, Dana Delaney, Debi Mazar, Golden Globe, Goldie Hawn, Kate Walsh, Martin Katz, Melrose Place, Neil Lane, Nicky Hilton, Oscar, Rachel Griffiths, Tori Spelling
Posted in Shopping Landscape | No Comments »

 

Ashley Olsen keeps is brief – and chic – on her way to take the David Letterman Show

Tags: Ashley Olsen, David Letterman
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Nicolette Sheridan goes decidedly old school at the National TV Awards in London.

Tags: National TV Awards, Nicolette Sheridan
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Remember that iconic photo of Jennifer Lopez in the dove grey floppy hat?

 

It made a lot of girls drop everything to run and procure floppy felt hats, a la the seventies. It’s a hippie boho look, but it’s pretty much a classic – it always looks femmie and sweet – and is great for a bad hair day.

 

Well, the floppy hat is back this fall, in felt. Yes, they look right with all those print chiffons over leggings and boots – it’s the total L.A. look, only this time, it’s worn with dresses and leather jackets, and not jeans.

 

One of the best is Juicy Couture’s floppy, which comes in ecru, a great neutral tan-camel, and black – and has a nice inset bow in the felt. For $85.00, it’s a good buy, and you can pack it, because it’s non crush-able.

 

 

Best way to find it fast Bloomingdales.com. But the one at Forever21 in dove grey is an even better buy, at $14.80 – and you can snag it at Target.com.  – Merle Ginsberg

Tags: Bloomingdales, Juicy Couture
Posted in Eye of the Beholder - by Merle Ginsberg | No Comments »

Fashion Rules was lucky enough to see a preview of the new spring 09 collection from the revamped Gianfranco Ferre line – after last year’s death of the master of architecture in design, the reigns of the company and its future were left to the Milanese design team of Tommaso Aguilano and Roberto Rimondi – better known as the designers behind the cutting edge Italian line, 6267. In Los Angeles, 6267 has been carried at Curve on Robertson, and women with an eye for edge and unusual pieces discovered it early on (Jennifer Lopez, Reese Witherspoon, Renee Zellwegger, PR powerhouse Nanci Ryder). But when Aquilano and Rimondi put out their first Ferre collection in Milan earlier this month, editors and retailers responded in a huge way – and Saks did a giant order, knowing how their customer would respond.

 

So here is the first interview with Aquilano and Rimondi, who gave a show of Ferre spring 09 at Saks on Tuesday, with models having similar hair and makeup to the Milan show – and all of the pieces available for customers to pre-order. And pre-order they did! Meanwhile, 6267 is revamped, too – the boys have changed the name of that line to Aquilano.Rimondi, and showed in Milan this month under that new moniker, their edgier, flowier collection. – Merle Ginsberg

 

MG: Is this your first trip to Los Angeles? 

TA: No, we were here two times over the past year. We like to go to the great L.A. vintage stores for inspiration – Lily et Cie, Resurrection, Decades. Cameron Silver came to see us today, to see the new collection – he wants Jeanne Yang, the stylist who dresses Katie Holmes, to see the Ferre gowns. Today, we are going to see the vintage store The Way We Wore. We love to see the way the great vintage clothing is constructed.

MG: Why did you change the name of 6267 to Aquilano.Rimondi? People were just starting to get to know 6267 and its particular aesthetic.

 

TA: We need to evolve. For us, the new line is a totally different direction from 6267. It’s important as an artist to push your ideas and your mindset. We get a lot of adrenaline from work – and the more we work, the more creative we become!  This line will be sold in Los Angeles at the store Savannah and at H. Lorenzo.

 

RR: Anyway, there are two of us, so we split the work. That makes it easier.

 

MG: Were you both big fans of Mr. Ferre in his lifetime?

 

TA: Yes, for a long time. His aesthetic was one of the best in the world of style. We both had and have big respect for his taste. When we set out to design this first Ferre collection for us, we wanted to re-interpret Ferre in a modern way, but to pay homage to the man, as well. He is so deserving of our respect – much in the way Givenchy and YSL were, when they were re-interpreted by new designers.

 

RR: I once interviewed with Mr. Ferre for a position in his design team – but in Italy, military service is mandatory, and I was called to the military. But I suppose it was destiny that I do this line in the end!

 

TA: I sat behind him at the Italian “Who’s On Next” dinner that Franca Sozzani of Italian Vogue hosts, and I was so thrilled. And we won that year! When I was a young design student, I got a job working at a Ferre show in Milan, blowing artificial snow under the stage. It’s fairly ironic now. But at least I got to be in the milieu.

 

TA: The thread of this dress is made from fishing line – and the pailettes are three dimensional, made to stand up to put volume on top of volume.

 

TA: We designed that heel from Ferre vintage bracelets – in fact, we did belts, cuffs and other accessories from plexiglass and rubber and plastic this season. They keep their shape.

 

MG: How much did you refer to the Ferre archives?

 

RR: We studied them for a few months, they detached ourselves when it came to designing – we wanted to make sure we had freshness.

 

MG: How did you feel when the Ferre spring collection was greeted with such high praise? It was fairly overwhelming.

 

TA: It makes us scared for the next show! After the first show is over, you are so excited and fulfilled, and you think, “It’s done!” And then five minutes later, you realize – there is a next one you need to begin! I know people will have high expectations now for the second show. But we were pleased that people saw clear ideas in the show, and that they did not feel we had gotten too close to Ferre, to the legacy.

 

MG: What was the one thing from Ferre’s legacy you wanted to preserve?

 

TA: Well, he is most famous for the architecture of the white shirt. He based a lot of his ideas on studies he did in Japan, he liked to give stiff fabrics a lot of folds, like in organza – it is based on the tradition of the Samurai. Mr. Ferre was a fan of the Japanese, and so are we. If you recall, his 2003 collection was all based on kimonos – volume that is cinched with the obi belt. How you tie that belt in a specifically bowed way was an obsession of his. And ours.

 

MG: I could see a lot of these gowns having real drama during awards season in L.A. – particularly that black one with the silver lurex thread detail at the shoulder.

 

TA: Yes, we have hired Carlos Souza, who worked with Valentino for years, to help us with that. He knows all of the stylists and the players in Hollywood. We would love to dress Tilda Swinton – she’s our favorite actress. 

Tags: Jennifer Lopez, Katie Holmes, Nanci Ryder, Reese Witherspoon, Renee Zellwegger, Saks Fifth Avenue, Savannah, The Way We Wore
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Attention, Melrose and Melrose Place shoppers! The spacious BCBG store that is located on Melrose and Orlando, next to Marc by Marc Jacobs, is morphing – and soon. It shut its doors on Sunday of last weekend, and will open them this Friday, Halloween – as “Herve Leger Max Azria.” This is only the second store of its kind – the first is up on Sunset at the Sunset Plaza.

 

Herve’ Leger is known for their Azzedine Alaia style “bandage dresses” – made of heavy stretch fabrics that are wrapped tightly together, copied from all old Egyptian technique the Azzedine began experimenting with in 1985. Leger had huge success, then dropped out of fashion for a while – eventually selling his name to Max Azria, the ower of BCBG. The label is now known as Herve Leger by Max Azria – and actresses such as Ginnfer Goodwin, Rose McGowan and Mandy Moore have all worn the dresses, which retail from between $1,000.00-$4,000.00.

 

Why the sudden change in store aesthetics? Well, there’s a BCBG store nearby on Robertson near Third Street, and according to a spokeswoman for the company, “There is more upscale foot traffic on Melrose near Melrose Place, due to stores like Alexander McQueen and Marc Jacobs. We wanted to cater to the customer who is looking for extreme designer items.” And that, they will.

Tags: Alexander McQueen, BCBG, Ginnfer Goodwin, Mandy Moore, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Marc Jacobs, Rose McGowan
Posted in Shopping Landscape | No Comments »

 

If the idea of going into an Hermes store and trying on all those gorgeous silk printed scarves ($375.00 apiece) is a bit intimidating to you – you can do it online! Which means – you can go scarf shopping in the middle of the night now. And the technology on the site even allows you to play with the scarf!

 

First of all, if you didn’t know – Hermes scarves are the most beautiful, intricately patterned, and well made in the world. If you saw the movie “The Queen,” they are the scarves the Queen of England wears (Helen Mirren in the movie.) They may have seemed a little old school when that movie came out two years ago – but now, in high fashion circles, Hermes scarves are back. And since color is such a key statement for fall: greens, purples, pinks, blues, oranges – one or two of these babies can really liven up an outfit, can be tied onto the handle of your handbag, can be worn knotted, belted (how chic!), or as a turban or tied over a fedora. Unlike the rest of us, they DON’T age – your grandmother’s Hermes scarves are still relevant, but of course, there are hundreds of new styles. If you go to Hermes.com, you can click on all of them by choosing a color or a pattern first – you can see each pattern in all its color variations (there are no bad colorations), AND you can even see the scarf twisted. AND you can order them online, so there’s so needing to go to the store. You can have immediate gratification almost – yesterday – the way we like it!

 

Our  heads are spinning with all these scarf designs – it’s like looking through a kaleidoscope of Hermes. I also accidentally bumped into the “Medor Twilly” online, too – named after the favorite dome-studded watch – which is a vertical shaped Hermes scarf with three removable “Medor” domes with it – it’s $245.00, and about the BEST Christmas gift I can ever imagine!! (Hint, hint, to whomever of our friends might be reading).

 

We’ve also included in this story a one minute video from the studios of Hermes in Paris about how the scarves are made, which is quite incredible. Hermes first starred making them in 1937, purchasing Chinese silk and spinning it into yarn, making their scarces the heaviest and strongest of all silk scarves – and designers have spent years developing new prits. Each color, back in those days, took a month to dry. Enjoy!

Tags: Hermes
Posted in Shopping Landscape, Stylists Speak | No Comments »

 

Daniel Craig in Tom Ford, which he wears throughout the new James Bond movie, “Quantum of Silence” – and his girlfriend Satsuki Mitchell, at the London Premier of the new Bond movie.

Tags: Daniel Craig, Satsuki Mitchell, Tom Ford
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