DVF SAMPLE SALE!

Fabric from Diane von Furstenberg's Spring/Summer 2012 collection.

It's  that time of year again! The DVF Sample Sale is upon us. Beginning December 10th, you can enjoy up to 70% off Diane von Furstenberg's signature clothing. Click "read more" below to learn how you can access the sale. You can thank me later!

DURO OLOWU + J.C. PENNEY

"I've always tried to give women a sense of inner beauty with joy, and now it's just the right time to make that more democratic. When I was thinking about this collection, I wanted to give American classic shapes and ideas a global flair."- Duro Olowu

We know that J.C. Penney is not doing well, posting a $55 million net loss during the first quarter of 2012. But, the retailer is hitting back, tying its survival to a reinvention strategy announced this past January. Chief among it is J.C. Penney's strategic approach to wooing a highly desired demographic: the fashionable young consumer. According to dailyfinance.com, stores will be reorganized into specialty shops; high end designer collaborations with the likes of Duro Olowu,  Marchesa, Tourneau and Cynthia Rowley; and leadership by CEO Ron Johnson--who brought Apple to retail stores and is responsible for Target's strategic partnerships with fashion forward designers--are expected to turn the struggling retailer around. After digesting some competitive analysis, J.C. Penney is (finally) diving head first into the world of mass-retailer-and-hot-designer collaborations and is starting off by pairing with Nigerian-by-way-of-London designer Duro Olowu. Olowu, a former a laywer, is known as the designer responsible for bold, brash, painterly prints, a mix master of sorts, who is also the 2005 British Fashion Awards' Designer of the Year and a favorite of First Lady Michelle Obama.

Click "read more" below for additional pictures and more on Duro Olowu's capsule collection for J.C. Penney. Click the label below for vintage Style Collaborations posts!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Roost's Pumpkin Spice Donuts with Cinnamon Butter Glaze

Happy Thanksgiving, Fashionistas! Today is a day to give thanks for all that we hold dear. Whether you express your gratitude by feasting with friends and family or volunteering to feed the needy, the common thread of this holiday is food. See below for a round up of fabulous Thanksgiving recipes from some of my favorite food and drink blogs. Happy eating!

SPERRY TOP-SIDER® + J. CREW

   Sperry Top-Sider® for J.Crew short Shearwater boots, $138 at J. Crew online.

Invented in the ‘30s, becoming popular in the ‘70s and ‘80s, on the decline since the ‘90s, Sperry Top-Siders® are making quite the comeback in 2012. Enjoying a resurgence that began in the late 2000s--due in large part to better marketing, celebrity endorsements and strategic partnerships with fashion forward brands like Band of Outsiders, Milly, J. Crew and the Japanese brand A Bathing Ape--the quintessential preppy shoe has been updated in a myriad ways (with varying colorways and fabrics including sequins and prints) and serves as the inspiration for many a brand.* If imitation is the highest form of flattery, then the Sperry brand should take comfort in its resurrection, knowing that its legacy is firmly established and living on through collaborations like the one from J. Crew. Get your Sperry Top-Sider for J.Crew short shearling boots, depicted above, for $138 here. Click here to see additional footwear from the Sperry Top-Sider® for J.Crew collection!

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* Recently, I spotted this Sperry boat shoe display in a local Macy’s and, a few minutes later, came across these boat shoes--highly reminiscent of the iconic Sperry boat shoe--in Steve Madden.

ONE KINGS LANE + DESIGNER GIFT WRAP FOR CHARITY

Just in time for the holidays! One Kings Lane and seven forward thinking influencers in the world of fashion, interior design and food (my three favorite things, not necessarily in that order) will give you an opportunity to be fabulous while being altruistic. Log on to One Kings Lane beginning next Wednesday, November 14, to access gift wrap designed by Rachel Roy, Rachel Zoe, Lela Rose, interior designer Charlotte Moss, Alice + Olivia’s Stacey Bendet, Simon Doonan and food critic, Katie Lee.

   

Proceeds of the sale will benefit OphanAid Africa, Save the Children, Edible Schoolyard, the Bone MarrowFoundation, Girls Who Code, Lower East Side Girls Club, and Feeding America, respectively. If you've been living under a rock you don't already know, OneKings Lane is a member's only website that offers time-limited sales of furniture, home decor accessories, gifts, vintage items and then some--every single day. Joining One Kings Lane is easy, use this link: https://www.onekingslane.com/invite/NakiaThomas to sign up. You can thank me later. Happy Holiday shopping to you and yours!

STEELITE GIVEAWAY WINNER

Congratulations to Lisa Brown-Hall, the winner of StyleChile's latest giveaway: six crystal wineglasses from Rona, a century-old manufacturer of crystal stemware. Thanks to Lisa and the many others who participated by liking my Facebook page! Thanks to Steelite International America

for the glasses!

H&M CELEBRATES MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA COLLABORATION {VIDEO}

 Photo courtesy of H&M 

Last night H&M celebrated it's collaboration with Maison Martin Margiela at historic 5 Beekman in NYC's storied financial district. The star studded art and dance event was attended by celebrities such as Kanye West, Julianne Moore, Sarah Jessica Parker, Mena Suvari, Helena Christenson, Slema Blair, Alan Cumming and Chase Crawford. The dance was choreographed by Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker and the art installation were curated specifically for the event. I'm not sure how I'm going to cope without those plexiglass wedges in my life. . . Plotting on how I can get a pair on November 15th.  Click the "read more" link below for a video of the red carpet and the theatrical presentation of the collection. Thanks to Emily at Paul Wilmot Communications for the photos and video! Click on the label below for vintage H&M and Style Collaborations posts!

LADY DIOR WEB DOCUMENTARY + MARION COTILLARD

The venerable French fashion house of Christian Dior recently released the third installment in its seven series web documentary featuring French oscar-winning actress Marion Cotillard. (I love a good run on sentence.) Episode 2, entitled Up and Up, my favorite thus far, is featured directly below.

Episode 3 features Marion wearing Dior designs from the 1940s and 1950s. She undergoes a metamorphosis, transforming from various Dior muses of times past. You'll learn design details of Dior's iconic Bar Suit, the forebear to today's peplum craze (e.g., the suit is cut to fall 40cm above the ground) and all about the Dior Bombshells. Episode 1 gives viewers a peek behind the scenes as artisans design, cut, fit and sew and Cotillard oversees in the Dior workshop.

Click on "read more" below to view Episode 1: Fantasia and Episode 3: Metamorphose. Watch this space for the next in the series.

ARLENIS SOSA + H&M

My love affair with H&M continues. Please indulge me while I share these fab photos of Arlenis Sosa modeling a selection of the retailer's Fall outfits and accessories. I came across these as I was conducting research for my latest project--more to come on that! These photos were featured in H&M's Fall 2012 trend update, photographed by Peter Gehrke, with art direction provided by Mikael Kangas. Designed with the working woman in mind, this sophisticated collection includes many of this season's trends: peplum is prominent, oxblood makes an appearance in the ruched long sleeved dress, a bedazzled Peter Pan collar is outstanding--all accessorized with chunky pumps in malachite green and a neutral taupe.

Click on the "read more" below to see more pics! Click on the labels below for vintage Style Collaborations and H&M posts!