NYC SAMPLE SALES!

What: Foley + Corinna
Why: Up to 75 percent off vintage, ready-to-wear, and bags.
When: Jan. 28-Feb. 1. Wed.-Sat., noon-8 p.m.; Sun., noon-7 p.m.
Where: 143 Ludlow St., b/t Stanton & Rivington Sts. (212-505-2650).


What: Luca Luca
Why: Discounts on fall and spring merch. Pants from $60, tops from $50, and shoes from $75.
When: Jan. 29-Feb. 1. Thurs. & Fri., 8:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m.; Sat. & Sun., 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Where: 19 W. 36th St., b/t Fifth & Sixth Aves., 4th flr. (212-644-5568).



What: Temperley London
Why: Fall/winter goods at up to 80 percent off. Sexy Kaleidoscope and Zola dresses were $1,295, now $323; Beatrice tunic was $995, now $248.
When: Jan. 30-Feb. 1. Fri., 8 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sat., 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sun., noon-7 p.m.
Where: 453 Broome St., b/t Greene & Mercer Sts., 2nd flr. (212-219-2929).

What: RavinStyle Why: Take 50-80 percent off Secrets of Charm, Nili Lotan, Matt Bernson, and more. Plus, bins chockful of stuff for $50 and less.
When: Jan. 29 & 30. Thurs. & Fri., 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Where: 466 Washington St., b/t Canal & Watts Sts., ste. 1w.

What: Daryl K and Kerrigan
Why: Up to 75 percent off retail on fall and resort items from ’08.
When: Jan. 30-Feb. 1. Fri., 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sat., 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sun., noon-6 p.m.
Where: 21 Bond St., b/t Bowery & Lafayette St. (212-529-8790).

THE BIG REVEAL!

At last. . . I watched the Inauguration with new English, South African and Australian friends. . . one Brit in particular (actually, a bunch of them) said of the Inauguration day dress: [insert strong Tottenham accented English here] "She's dressed like the Queen Mother!". . . I actually liked Michelle's day dress by Isabel Toledo, 47, whom I only first heard about when I read this article about her and talented husband, Ruben, several months back (thanks for the article David B!).

Like the rest of us, neither Jason nor Isabel knew what Michelle would wear. They found out that she was wearing their designs by watching the inauguration coverage! Left: I had a feeling she'd wear white just like her fashion forebear Jackie O! The one-of-a-kind Jason Wu chiffon dress; Right: The Isabel Toledo satin-backed wool dress is made with lace called guipure, it's a kind of lace used most often in French haute couture.

The Toledo dress is colorful (is that chartreuse?), screamed optimism, and how great did it look against the yellow of St. John's church? Michelle kept the look youthful by adding fun green J.Crew gloves and Jimmy Choo heels. . . it fit well and was totally appropriate for the occasion. I did enjoy the extra bling from all that bezel. And, to Jason Wu, 26, the lucky designer whose silk chiffon dress--with organza rosettes, Swarovski crystal rhinestones and silver embroidery--was worn by Mrs. O to 10 Inaugural balls, congratulations!!!

Left: The President and First Lady the day before the Inauguration--Michelle is wearing a tan and black Narcisso Rodriquez suit; Right: Obama in J.Crew at the Kids' Inaugural Concert. She's wearing Loree Rodkin's green saffire earrings and deco-inspired belt!

Both designers are representative of new Americana, a la Barack Obama, diversity and talent at their best. Both are people of color and in Mr. Wu's case, gay. Both are from immigrant backgrounds, Mrs. Toledo a Latina from Cuba who grew up in New Jersey and Mr. Wu from Taiwan, who grew up in Canada, France and Japan. CNN points out Michelle's penchant for wearing American designers from other nations. Her choice no doubt sends a message of hope throughout the embattled American fashion industry.

Didn't Malia and Sasha look downright edible?! They were super cute in their J. Crew coats from the Crewcuts line (sorry, you can't buy one) and enjoyed their lip gloss way too much. . .Let's not forget about Jill Biden, who is clearly a fashionista herself. She looked fantastic in her red Reem Acra ball gown! I thought her day ensemble (red Fleurette coat and a belted glen plaid dress by Milly) was a bit casual, why boots and not some hot pumps? It's cold, but still. . .

As discussed previously, President Barack Hussein Obama was slated to wear a Hart Schaffner Marx tuxedo--from an American made, Chicago based union shop. . . But, I'm not sure what he wore. Unsurprisingly, it doesn't appear that anyone has written about his outfit!

P.S.--Looks like J. Crew is geeked about the Presidential publicity! Check out the front page of their website as they congratulate the First Family.

IF YOU ARE WHAT THEY SAY YOU ARE...

Michelle is not the only one with designers clamoring all over her...The man of the hour needs attire as well! Women's Wear Daily asked, and fashion designers answered...from Richard James Saville Row (featured above), to Sean John, Perry Ellis and even Nicole Miller! Geoffrey Beene, Elie Tahari, Countess Mara, to Zegna and Tim Hamilton...They all submitted designs for Barack Obama's inaugural ensembles. All 53 looks are featured in the slide below. Click here to check out WWD's slideshow.

I'm excited to see what he picks, but I already know that it will be spectacular! I'm partial to Zegna (always)....and Ferragamo is a good look, but might that be because they were the only ones to draw a figure that really resembled the President-Elect? I'm not feeling D Squared's depiction of Obama in the least and I'm not quite sure the folks at Duckie Brown were serious...Nautica's suit looks like something he has already worn on many occasions... Some designers took the Lincoln reference just a bit too far...they had everything but the top hat!

Fashion aside, I'm psyched to experience this moment in history. Even though I'm so very far away from Washington, D.C., I'll be there in spirit!

Click on the link below for vintage Politics of Fashion posts.

GLOOM AND DOOM

I fear my fashion journalistic integrity would seriously be called into question if I failed to acknowledge the impact of the global financial crisis on the fashion industry.  Halas, here it is...

Established and emerging designers are equally affected (NY Fashion Week's cancellations are indicative of their plight), web based shops and physical spaces alike are being decimated...What to do? Shop our way out of the crisis? If you have disposable income, I guess that might be the answer. You'll get ridiculous deals, downright steals, and you'll help the "economy", no? Guilt free shopping at it's best? Shopping for the sake of the world economy? Maybe.

Chanel

Chanel is to lay off 200 Paris staff in an unmistakable a sign that even fashion's elite are not immune from the effects of recession.

Macy's
Department-store operator Macy's Inc. said on January 8, after an abyssmal holiday season--one of the worst in decades, that it would close 11 underperforming stores in 9 states. The store's operator reported a $30 million loss in the first nine months of 2008, with sales dropping 4.3%.

E-Luxury

Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey's e-commerce site, e-luxury, will be closing up shop within the next 6 months.

Saks
An 80% off sale? Really? This could only mean that bad news is forthcoming...and, this weekend we learned that Saks is axing 1,100 jobs...that's 9% of its workforce!

Té Casan

One of my favorites, mentioned on this blog here, here and here has folded. Recently in the news for their alliance with Natalie Portman and her line of vegan shoes, the boutique closed it's doors the day after Black Friday.

Steve & Barry's
retailer, known for their association with Sarah Jessica Parker's line, Bitten, filed for bankruptcy last July. The owners of the store will liquidate the company's remaining 173 stores.

And, sadly, the list goes on and on... I hope that I will not have to update this post, but the Wall Street Journal doth portend a wave of bankruptcy filings for retailers in the wake of the holidays :(

However, in other news, Versace's CEO, Giancarlo Di Risio, is not having it. He had this to say to Vogue UK: "Our regular client was not queing on January 3-4 in Milan or Rome but was on the slopes in St. Moritz or on a boat in the Caribbean. We want to offer a real luxury and not to open our doors to the consumption of young girls who can put the designer handbag of their dreams on their arm with less than 300 Euros. We are not interested in that." Zing!

GOLDEN GIRLS @ THE GOLDEN GLOBES

And, the winner is...Dior! Looks like everyone and their mother was wearing the house's designs. The 66th Annual Golden Globes was last night, and while I'll have to catch it on youtube, that won't stop me from writing about the outfits! Check out my slide and what I'd like to consider stream of conciousness, ahem, colorful commentary below.

Eva Mendes rocked my world in the white silk taffeta Dior and Van Cleef and Arpels jewelry.* Eva's dress was rivaled only by Cameron Diaz's Chanel Haute Couture and Jennifer Lopez's gold beaded Machesa. January Jones' blue Versace was fierce! Drew Barrymore brought it in that custom-made Dior Haute Couture! Demi looked fab and tanned in a peach Dior, and Kate Bekinsdale's Mendel was yum!

Poor Bey Bey...Beyonce (my favorite celeb, usually) and Blake lively were both victims of the same ill-fitting, too-high-slit contraption. America Ferrara (or her stylist) is still stuck in the era of the short bubble dress...that was like, so when the Dow was still above 11,000. Olivia Wilde kept it interesting in the violet Reem Acra. Angelina's Atelier Versace gown bores me, but I guess when one's life is so interesting the clothing shouldn't be. Anne Hathaway's Armani Prive was yawn, I swear I've seen that dress before!

* "You can learn how to dress by checkin' my fresh..." - Jigga. I see that Cameron Diaz kicked off the white fluffy dress and turquoise jewelry trend! Check out her outfit from the 2007 Golden Globes and compare Eva Mendes' and Sandra Bullock's white fluffy Dior dress and turquoise jewelry from this year's Golden Globes.

ISAAC MIZRAHI + LIZ CLAIBORNE

Credited with starting the hi-low phenomenon which is now almost de rigueur (and aprospos given the tumult in the world financial markets), Isaac Mizrahi is moving on from Target and is now creative director at Liz Claiborne. Check out the slide that I created below for more...

Color and prints, geometric stripes, oh my! A few choice words from Mizrahi:

“I’m trying to shift the paradigm once again...The Target thing, that’s thinking very high and very low. But now there’s this whole other cultural thing that’s taking place before our eyes, and it’s only accelerated because of the terrible economic thing we’re going through. It’s like, I believe firmly in the middle now.”

Based on the pics of Mizrahi for Claiborne line which will be in stores Spring 2009, I may have to rethink Liz Claiborne, a brand which I associate with, ahem, older women. But given the pics, I'll be keeping my eyes open! That pink dress is mine!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Sooo, I have no real excuse for being absent. It’s not like I was traveling during the holidays. I was on mental holiday though (whilst worrying about not blogging).* But, I’m back and am excited at the prospect of an adventure filled, creative, healthy, happy and prosperous 2009. My new year’s resolution? To blog consistently and to stop offering excuses for random hiatus from blogging.

Picture taken at the stroke of midnight (or very, very shortly thereafter) during Shakira’s New Year’s Eve concert in Abu Dhabi. Good thing too, because Sheikh Mohammed cancelled all New Year's Eve celebrations in Dubai in a show of solidarity with the Palestinians and those living in Gaza.

 

Here’s to living in interesting times!** Excellent success and the best of wishes in 2009! Love ya, mean it!

* I did, however, travel home to the states, a month or so ago, to celebrate my parents’ 35th anniversary, Thanksgiving, a dear friend’s wedding and my birthday. While in the airport—heading to Orlando for Aliya’s wedding celebration (pure fantasy)—I ran into none other than ANDRE LEON TALLEY. Swoon. And, what do you think the editor of this fashion blog, with the heady crush on all things Vogue (notwithstanding some healthy criticism thereof), say upon this chance encounter? Nothing. Not. A. Damn. Thing. Ok, so I’m lying. I did say something. The reason for not writing about this sooner is because I didn’t want to share the embarrassing details (I have this thing about being truthful at all times—I try!). But hey, it’s a fashion blog, it’s Andre Leon Talley…

Picture it. LaGuardia Airport, 5 December 2008. It was an early morning flight, and I was walking groggily to my gate (celebrated birthday the night before). I saw this person approaching (disembarking from a previous flight) and for some reason decided to focus on him—eyes only, my mind was elsewhere. We walked towards each other, he looking at me, me looking at him—and all the while, my brain cells are slowly perking up—and I realize as we’re about, umm, maybe ten feet from each other, that it’s him! So in the space of that ten feet I manage to do the following: (mind you, I could have pulled out my card, talked about my blog, pulled out my camera, sing his and Vogue’s praises, make the hard sell for a guest contributing spot (ha!), anything but what I did) ever so slowly, with what I imagine to be a look of complete and utter bewilderment and star stricken-ness, I said: “Oh My God.” Then faster: “Ohmygod! Ohmygod!” And he said: “Have a happy holiday” and smiled. And just like that, he was gone. Talk about missed opportunity.

** May you live in interesting times, often referred to euphemistically as the Chinese curse, is reputed to be the English translation of an ancient Chinese proverb and curse. But, we wouldn’t want to live in boring times, now would we?